Somehow, Bai Zemin was not surprised when he found himself standing in front of the firmly closed iron entrance of the largest gymnasium on campus.
Although the location was different from the one he remembered from his original dimension, the structure was for the most part identical to the one etched in Bai Zemin's memories.
'Liang Peng' approached and banged the metal door roughly in a singular pattern as he demanded to open the doors to those inside.
"Curious about why none of those zombies attacked us?"
The sound of objects being moved out of the way coming from inside the facility was in progress as Bai Zemin, whose temporary fake name was Xun Tian, was called out by someone.
Bai Zemin looked at 'Chen He', who was looking at him with a slightly cocky smile that was very well concealed. He couldn't help but wonder if the Chen He he met in his dimension was the same and hadn't been able to notice it due to a lack of personal ability to read people on the same scale he was now.
"No, not really."
Chen He's face twitched slightly as he met Bai Zemin's indifferent expression and disinterested voice, "Ah, I see..."
'Bai Zemin' joked a little with 'Chen He' while 'Liang Peng' gave a thumbs up to Bai Zemin after hearing his casual and curt reply.
On the other hand, 'Shangguan Bing Xue' walked towards the inside of the gymnasium once the big door was opened from the inside while saying without looking back, "Get inside once and for all. The effect of the spores will wear off soon and those things will start chasing us again."
Not knowing what they were talking about but not having much interest anyway, Bai Zemin followed the group into the gymnasium and behind him, he soon heard the doors slam closed. Furthermore, when he looked back over his shoulder without stopping his steps he saw more than ten students working together to move heavy objects to help with the lockdown.
Bai Zemin noticed several eyes fixed on him but there was one pair in particular that was making him feel a little weird, and clearly, he wasn't the only one to notice.
'Shangguan Bing Xue' first looked at the blonde beauty who was staring slightly open-mouthed at Bai Zemin before looking sideways at him, "Xun Tian, is that right? It seems that you and Sylvia are acquainted."
Sylvia?
Who the hell is Sylvia?
Bai Zemin had no idea but when he looked at the American beauty he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Honestly, he never thought that girl would survive. In fact, when he made a move four days ago to kill that group of zombies he didn't do it to save that girl since he hadn't even given her a glance except at the end.
"No, not really." Bai Zemin shrugged and said calmly, "I saved her before from a group of two or three zombies chasing her, but nothing more than that."
"Ah? But, Sylvia was alone and about to be killed when we found her. If it wasn't for her ability to release spores that zombies hate we wouldn't have arrived in time to rescue her." 'Chen He' noted, perplexed.
Bai Zemin looked at him with a raised eyebrow and couldn't help but chuckle: "Sorry, I didn't know that after saving someone for one time I'd have to keep doing it all the time."
"No, well... I mean, we're all fellow students. Humans at that." Chen He sighed.
" ... I really don't miss this version of you." Bai Zemin couldn't help but say those words aloud, and by the time he realized his slight slip he noticed that some people were looking at him in confusion, "Whatever. Even though I decided to join you guys it would be good if you don't count me out at all. I'm not that strong anyway."
"What do you mean with that?" Liang Peng growled in annoyance, "You mean you'll become a useless leech in the end despite having strength? That makes you even worse than all these cowards who only consume but don't contribute!"
'Bai Zemin' and 'Shangguan Bing Xue' as well as the rest of the students in the surroundings looked at the new arrival with all sorts of emotions, but the particular individual didn't care.
"You don't need to worry about that." Bai Zemin shook his head as he repeatedly tried to remind himself that the Liang Peng in front of him was not the same Liang Peng that he tortured and killed in his dimension, "I won't even drink a drop of your water and I definitely won't take even a single crumb of bread from you."
"You-!"
"Okay, enough."
'Liang Peng' seemed to want to continue the matter but 'Shangguan Bing Xue's' cold voice cut him short.
She stared at Bai Zemin silently and seeing him hold her gaze she couldn't help but frown.
'Bai Zemin' looked at the two of them for a few seconds before asking with some discomfort in his voice, "Sorry to interrupt the moment but, do you two know each other or something?"
Bai Zemin glanced at his counterpart, and after a moment's silence said with a faint smile, "I know her but she doesn't know me at all."
"What do you mean?" Shangguan Bing Xue asked immediately.
Bai Zemin simply shrugged, "You are the Student Council President, as well as the number 1 beauty on our campus, it would be unusual for a student or teacher not to know about you. Then again, you clearly didn't know me when we first met, is that right? There's your answer."
'Chen He, 'Bai Zemin', 'Liang Peng', and the others listening closely felt that the newly arrived's words made sense. Some even nodded with understanding.
Only 'Shangguan Bing Xue' felt that something was not right.
She always felt somehow that this person's words were too vague or hid deeper meanings beyond what he let out on the surface.
"Anyway. I'll be over there. I won't bother anyone so just ignore me for now please." Bai Zemin walked to a corner and sat quietly in the shadows against the wall before closing his eyes, seemingly falling asleep.
"That guy... Who is he?"
"So handsome..."
"There was someone this handsome at our university? I feel like even the vice president might not be comparable to him if you look carefully..."
"Wait, Sylvia seems to have met him before doesn't she?"
"You crazy, insane bitches. The world is the way it is but you think and talk so much shit!"
"Fuck off! You're just jealous because you're as ugly as those zombies aren't you?"
"What did you say!"
...
'Chen He' approached 'Shangguan Bing Xue' after a few hours, and following a slight hesitation he finally couldn't stand it anymore.
"Bing Xue, is something wrong?"
"Other than the world turned into a living hell? No, not much." 'Shangguan Bing Xue' remarked as she chewed on the cereal stick in her hand.
'Chen He' looked at the person who since arriving did not move from the place he sat, and after almost a minute of hesitation finally shook his head, "That's not what I mean..."
"Then what do you mean?" 'Shangguan Bing Xue' asked coldly without looking at him.
"Well..." 'Chen He' took a deep breath before he blurted out, "I was wondering if you know that person named Xun Tian..."
Actually, 'Chen He' had been paying attention to his crush's every move so he naturally noticed all the times she looked in THAT direction with a confused expression on her face.
This made 'Chen He' feel slightly uncomfortable inside, because even though he firmly believed that he was stronger than that person named Xun Tian, he still felt that many things could not be decided based on strength.
"No...?" 'Shangguan Bing Xue' replied unsure at first before shaking her head and saying this time with complete certitude, "No."
"Then-"
"I don't know him, but somehow I feel as if I do."
She interrupted 'Chen He' and as she looked into the shadows with a frown she couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "Strange... Who is this person?"
Xun Tian? She was not a fool.
As the highest authority among all the students and with a position that even the university teachers looked upon with slight appreciation, 'Shangguan Bing Xue' had access to a lot of information.
'Although there actually is, or was, a student named Xun Tian in the freshman Biology class... it was over a decade ago.' Her eyes glittered mysteriously as she finished her cereal bar in silence.
If it were any other case, 'Shangguan Bing Xue' would definitely not allow such a suspicious person to join her group; she would even attack him for answers after discovering the other party's bizarre behavior and lies.
'But, this person is an ally. Definitely.' She could tell that the fake Xun Tian was not an enemy and, although it was very strange, 'Shangguan Bing Xue' felt that he would definitely not hurt her no matter what.
A day later, Bai Zemin was still sitting motionless without a single movement.
During this time, he found something interesting that he had seen in the student logs but subconsciously overlooked.
'It seems that Bing Xue's surname in this dimension is not Shangguan but Xuanyuan... The weird thing is that Xuanyuan Wentian simply gave her his surname but still sent her away with Aunt Xinyue.'
While Bai Zemin was thinking to himself and trying to connect all the dots he had managed to gather so far, a person approached him... and judging by the lightness of the footsteps, it was not difficult to judge the person's gender.
* * * * * * *
A/N: I will post a new chapter before reset time
Really thank you very much to all those who send gifts to the novel and support with valuable Golden Tickets. I hope we can all keep it up <3