Chapter 16.1

It was a fierce fight, and with her companions elsewhere, there was no one there to help her.

Han Yanyan fought to the point of exhaustion. Physically overdrawn, her powers spent, she finally managed to kill the two mutant zombies before her. More poured into the building. She lay there immobile on the ground, the aftereffects of her overuse of power making her body hurt right down to her fingertips.

She watched the zombie horde pour in. With the last of her strength, she built herself an ice coffin over her body before fainting.

When she woke up, she was in a car with Lin Ling by her side. This particular car was an RV within the motorcade. It had mostly been torn down in order to make room for goods, but it still possessed a bed and chair. Lin Ling had placed her on the bed.

“You’re awake!” she breathed a sigh of relief. “If you were dead, what would I tell Boss Ding?”

Since Han Yanyan had woken, that meant that she was almost recovered. But during this trip, she had once again heard the robotic voice and broken away from the feelings she had been immersed in. When she looked at Lin Ling, she felt somewhat detached from her.

And that included her feelings toward Ding Yao.

Han Yanyan was slightly shocked. Perhaps she had been a little in love with him.

In this world where one might live or die the next day, to not fall in love with such a strong and handsome man was… a bit difficult.

“Sister Ling, if I had died…” she paused, “Would Ding Yao even care?”

Lin Ling froze.

After a moment of silence, she sighed. “He is a hard-hearted man. In our current world, we need men like him. But when you get to my age, you’ll understand that for us women, it isn’t a good thing for a man to be ruthless.”

She was silent for a long time before continuing. “My family and I were one of the first to follow him. I remember when he was still wearing a suit and a white shirt. In the past, a man who looked like a white-collar worker would spend his time sitting in the office, and would never call out to people like us. But at that time, his white shirt was  blood red. ”

“Where did all that blood come from? Zombies don’t bleed,” Lin Ling murmured, lost in memory.

“Now I’ve killed too. Our entire family, from young to old, has killed. We’re all used to having blood on our hands. But at that time… Boss Ding, though he looked young, was truly cruel. He told us that if we didn’t kill first, then we would most certainly be killed when others came to steal our food. He forced us to murder. At that time, we were not yet strong in our own powers. We were nervous and flustered, we had no leader. Boss Ding told us that if we did not dare to work, then he would leave us behind. It would be easier for him to survive alone without us dragging him down.”

Lin Ling didn’t say outright that she was afraid of Ding Yao. But like Qi Tongtong, Han Yanyan recognized her fear of Ding Yao from her words and expressions. This fierce and extraordinary middle-aged woman was afraid of Ding Yao in her bones.

Han Yanyan understood.

Though Ding Yao’s face looked young, and in appearance he seemed about thirty, his eyes looked old; deep and unfathomable.

You looked at him and didn’t understand him, so it was natural that you would be afraid of him, even if he was the man who shared your bed at night.

The car fell silent. Neither Lin Ling nor Han Yanyan wanted to pursue the topic further.

After a while, Han Yanyan asked suddenly, “Sister Ling, do I seem different to you today?”

“Hmm?” Lin Ling didn’t understand.

“It’s just…” Han Yanyan tried to figure out how to word her question. “I feel like something’s different today, or with myself, or with what happened today. Anyway, there is definitely something odd about today, I feel it very strongly, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Can you think of anything?”

Lin Ling nodded, thought carefully, and then suddenly laughed.

“Oh you, Yanyan,” she smiled. “Do you… miss Boss Ding?”

“Huh?” Han Yanyan was dumbfounded.

“It’s the first time you’ve been separated from Boss Ding for so long, isn’t it?” Lin Ling asked.

A light went off in Han Yanyan’s mind.

Although Lin Ling was afraid of him, Ding Yao was now Han Yanyan’s man, and Lin Ling hoped that they would do well together. She began chattering about how to get along well with one’s significant other.

Han Yanyan didn’t hear anything at all. She felt that Lin Ling was probably right on the money.

Han Yanyan had met Ding Yao as soon as she came into this world. This mission was the first time they had been separated for a long period of time.

And the robotic voice, which had been silent for a year, had reappeared today.