Chapter Four: The Battle Continues

Feeling himself grow much stronger, with even the wounds on his body slowly healing and his exhaustion fading away, Liang Jing stood up.

Bzzz… bzzz… bzzz…

“Ah… damn mosquitoes!”

Hearing Xiao Gao’s voice outside, Liang Jing’s expression changed. He glanced outside and, only after seeing the situation clearly, did he breathe a sigh of relief. At some point, two mutant mosquitoes had emerged—perhaps only now daring to come out after sensing the mutant spider’s death. Now, they were circling Xiao Gao, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Liang Jing knew that these mutant mosquitoes were nearly impossible to hit and kill while flying. He immediately grabbed a nearby mosquito net, lunged forward, and, like a vast net descending from the sky, trapped one of the mutant mosquitoes. With agile hands, he quickly wrapped it up, pinned it to the ground, and crushed it underfoot.

At that moment, the other mutant mosquito was also slapped to death by Xiao Gao. It had recklessly tried to bite him, but without its agility in flight, it was extremely vulnerable and was killed instantly.

The two of them returned to the room together and locked the door behind them, finally able to breathe a little easier. Even this somewhat ramshackle wooden door brought a sense of security.

“Xiao Gao, how are you now? Are you alright?” Liang Jing asked with concern, looking at Xiao Gao, a recent university graduate who’d only just begun working.

“I’m fine, Brother Liang. That mutant mosquito didn’t manage to bite me at all. I just got a scrape when fighting the spider earlier—it’ll stop bleeding and scab over soon.” Xiao Gao swung his injured arm and showed his palm, indicating he was okay.

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but look at Liang Jing with envy, then at the shining, sharp short dagger in his hand. During the battle with the mutant spider, he’d been almost useless, nothing more than a bystander. Killing the spider had been entirely Liang Jing’s achievement. Xiao Gao couldn’t help but feel both disappointed and envious. Back in university, he’d been on the basketball team and kept up his training after starting work, remaining strong and fit. Yet, compared to Liang Jing, the gap was enormous. Even with Liang Jing absorbing the spider’s attacks, Xiao Gao had barely been able to inflict any damage. The difference in strength was obvious.

Liang Jing also noticed that Xiao Gao’s scraped arm and wounded palm were still bleeding. There was no sign of the white spiritual light that had healed Liang Jing’s injuries after killing monsters. Still, Xiao Gao’s bleeding was nearly stopped—it was only a superficial wound, after all.

He felt a surge of joy in his heart. It seemed that not everyone possessed this special power. Outwardly, he kept a straight face; it would be rude to smile when someone else was hurt.

“Xiao Gao, did you notice anything strange when you killed the mutant mosquito? Did anything unusual happen to your body?” Although he was already fairly certain, Liang Jing wanted to be sure.

“Strange? Unusual? No, not really. But if you want to talk about unusual, everything’s wrong right now. There are monsters everywhere, and even all the appliances in the room are completely fried.” Xiao Gao’s answer didn’t really address the question, at least not for Liang Jing.

“…”

“So, what do you plan to do next? Earlier, when you went out, where were you heading?” Just now, Xiao Gao had attracted the mutant spider by opening the door, inadvertently saving Liang Jing’s life. Although Liang Jing believed he wouldn’t have been in mortal peril, it had certainly been a close call.

“I was going to town. With all these monsters appearing, I’m afraid Xiaofang is in danger.”

“…”

“That’s exactly why I have to go. The more dangerous it gets, the more unsafe Xiaofang will be.”

…

Through their conversation, Liang Jing learned a few things. Even though Xiao Gao was still a bit dazed, having only just woken up, he’d drawn some conclusions based on his situation, though they remained to be proven.

First, Xiao Gao didn’t have the same special ability as Liang Jing. He wasn’t sure if only a few people in the world had it, or if he was the only one.

Second, it seemed that the world’s electromagnetic rules had changed—the current had become violent and destructive, ruining most electrical appliances. Only those disconnected from the current had survived, and even they were unusable. At least, that was the case for the appliances in Xiao Gao’s and his own rooms.

Though, for some reason, his own computer had been destroyed more thoroughly than the others, which puzzled Liang Jing.

Watching Xiao Gao, now dressed even more heavily, walk out the door, Liang Jing couldn’t help but shake his head. Damn love! Xiao Gao was determined to go to the town to find his girlfriend Xiaofang, who worked there. Despite mutated monsters everywhere and the world turned upside down, he was desperate to make sure she was safe.

Clearwater Bay Road Town was several kilometers away. In a world swarming with monsters and danger at every turn, walking there was almost suicidal.

Here in Clearwater Bay, at least, there were buildings, windows, and doors to hide behind if a monster appeared. Outside, anything could happen, and there were no safe havens—just fields, rivers, and roads, all wide open.

Liang Jing wanted to dissuade him but couldn’t overcome Xiao Gao’s obstinacy and had no choice but to let him go. Xiao Gao seemed possessed, caring nothing for his own life for the sake of his girlfriend. Liang Jing couldn’t help but wonder if love truly existed. In the end, he decided he’d never believed in it himself, and trusted money far more.

Though he wanted to help, Liang Jing saw that the path ahead was a dead end. He stopped himself, reasoning that while he and Xiao Gao got along, he couldn’t risk his own life for someone else’s recklessness. He even hinted that if Xiao Gao could wait until he’d killed more monsters and grown stronger, he’d go with him to find Xiaofang, making it safer. But Xiao Gao simply couldn’t wait.

Damn love! Damn it all…

Shaking his head to push away the frustration and discomfort, Liang Jing forced a bitter smile. He didn’t have many friends he got along with here—just a few he could talk to. He felt a bit selfish and unbrotherly, but he couldn’t knowingly follow someone to their death. That would be utter foolishness, an utter waste of his own life. There were plenty of people in the world waiting for him; his feelings simply didn’t go that deep.

Such was the contradiction in his heart.

He picked up the short dagger and prepared to keep fighting. As long as he grew stronger, he’d be able to solve any problem with ease, without so much worry or trouble. Charge forward, young man! With this special ability, he’d make good use of it and one day stand at the top.

On the second floor, only the kitchen-bathroom and Jinghui’s room hadn’t been opened and cleared. For safety, Liang Jing decided to finish off all the mutant monsters in this building; the outside world was far too dangerous. His first target was the kitchen-bathroom: the bathroom was inside, with the kitchen just inside the door.

Inside, Liang Jing found another mutant spider. Armed with experience from his earlier battle, he made more preparations—slowing the spider’s pursuit, luring it out, then jamming the door to trap it. Finally, using his old technique, he drove the short dagger through its two glistening black eyes, into its head and thorax, and shredded its organs, killing it.

Liang Jing felt a bit frustrated—apart from the first mutant mosquito which had dropped the short dagger, the monsters seemed to be getting stingier. Now, not even a copper coin dropped. It seemed the short dagger had been a stroke of luck from the first kill.

He circled the kitchen-bathroom again and found no other mutants. Only some wings and remains of mutant mosquitoes littered the floor—likely leftovers from the spider’s hunting. Nothing else.

Just as Liang Jing was about to break into Jinghui’s room to check for more monsters, he heard shouts for help from downstairs.

“Liang Jing, is that you? Liang Jing, hurry down and save us! There are so many terrifying monsters here!” The familiar voice was unmistakable—it was his landlord, who’d heard the commotion upstairs and the mutant spider’s shrill cries but had kept quiet to avoid attracting more danger.

Now, sensing the monsters upstairs had been dealt with, and that people were still alive, they finally called out.

“Jing, are you alright? If you’re okay, could you come down and help us drive out these monsters?” Liu Zhen’s slightly coquettish voice floated up from below, and Liang Jing could picture her fairly attractive figure.

The first floor had a layout similar to the second: a hall with four rooms, three for residents and one for the kitchen and bathroom. The stairs to the second floor were along the wall of the main hall.

Every day, coming and going from work, he’d pass through the first floor and greet them. Liang Jing was on polite terms with them, nothing particularly deep, but no major conflicts either—they could chat and joke when they met.

The landlord was named Gao Fuyu—an elegant-sounding name. He was a man in his mid-thirties, not much to look at, with a large, hairy mole in the middle of his right cheek. An old bachelor, he spent his days idly playing mahjong and buying lottery tickets, living a carefree and colorful life without working.

Sometimes, Liang Jing rather envied him. Collecting rent and selling land to businessmen from Taiwan for factories had earned him a tidy sum. His days were relaxed and enjoyable—far better than the struggles of people like Liang Jing.

Liu Zhen was a young woman from the countryside, her family from the inland province of Shou’an. She worked at an electronics factory in K City and lived just below Liang Jing—a neighbor. In her twenties, she had fair skin and above-average looks, with long hair. She liked wearing tight jeans and red or purple short-sleeve shirts. Her figure was quite attractive from a distance, with a certain fashionable flair.

Whenever she got close, she always carried a heavy scent of some unknown perfume, which Liang Jing didn’t like much—her style was a bit gaudy and flashy. Lately, she’d seemed rather close to the landlord. Whether she was drawn by his money or had unusual taste, Liang Jing couldn’t say, but perhaps their relationship had already developed.