Chapter 16.1: Rainy Night in Hua City (8)

◎My person, I’ll take care of it◎“Brother Jiang, someone is approaching,” Zhang Hao said, his eyes fixed on the window as he promptly relayed the message to Jiang Rui.

Jiang Rui had just finished counting the quantity of medicines when he heard this and looked up to the rain outside. Despite the continuing severe weather with thunder and rain, two figures emerged from the misty boundary between sky and earth. A slender girl held a massive iron umbrella, steady against the wind and rain, while using one hand to push a wheelchair with a young man leaning against it.

As everyone squinted, trying to discern the identity of the newcomers, Jiang Rui had already opened the warehouse doors and dashed into the rain.

“You’re back?” He ran a few steps to reach Song Ke, his gaze fixed solely on her figure. “You’re not injured, right?”

“No.”

“That’s good. Come in first. The rain outside is too heavy.”

Despite only having been outside for a short while, his hair and clothes were thoroughly wet. However, Jiang Rui seemed not to mind at all; in fact, he looked rather happy.

And, of course, he was happy. This time, Song Ke hadn’t disappeared; she had come back.

Acknowledging him with a response, Song Ke closed the large umbrella and entered the warehouse with him.

“We’ve already found the fever-reducing medicine. As a precaution, we’ve also prepared some other prescription medicines to bring back,” Jiang Rui explained the current situation to her. His attention shifted to the man sitting in the wheelchair, whom he had belatedly noticed. “And this gentleman is…”

“Um, he…” Song Ke hesitated, mainly because she wasn’t very articulate, and the situation with Zhuang Qingyan was quite complicated. For a moment, she didn’t know where to start.

After Song Ke’s brief trip outside, bringing back an unfamiliar man, her unusual behavior had already attracted attention. The others huddled nearby, secretly sizing up the situation. However, they had interacted with Song Ke several times before, so their curiosity was more innocent than malicious.

Facing the crowd’s gaze, Zhuang Qingyan coughed a couple of times. “Hello, everyone. I’m a pharmaceutical researcher at the neighboring Qingsong Biotech. Before the apocalypse, I was conducting closed-door experiments at the company. Unexpectedly… I’ve been trapped in the research building for several days now. Fortunately, this fellow Student Song rescued me while passing by.”

He let out a sigh with a lingering fear, giving the impression of someone who had narrowly escaped a disaster. “I’m really grateful. If it weren’t for Student Song, I’m afraid I might not have made it out.”

Song Ke: “…”

Well, she didn’t need to explain; this person had already concocted a complete story. And he said it so earnestly, shifting focus away from the real issues. Not a single truthful word. What pharmaceutical researcher? What closed-door experiments? At his place, experiments meant poking people’s eyes with pens or splashing sulfuric acid on their faces, right?

Song Ke grumbled inwardly, but outwardly, she maintained her composure and didn’t expose him.

Jiang Rui noticed the slight twitching of her expression and whispered, “Song Ke, come over here for a moment.”

Song Ke followed him a few steps away from the crowd.

“Is this person truly someone you rescued from Qingsong Biotech?”

“Yes.”

Though there were some discrepancies in the details, the outcome was indeed as such, without a doubt.

“You intend to take him back to the safe zone?”

“Yes.”

Jiang Rui’s brows gradually furrowed.

“Is that… not okay?” Song Ke asked in response.

“It’s not that it’s not possible, but…” Jiang Rui disliked discussing others behind their backs, so he had to hint subtly, “Inside the safe zone, Teacher Xu ensures fairness by distributing resources based on everyone’s contributions. In a situation like his, where he relies solely on a wheelchair and has no physical strength, he might not receive any supplies or food.”

Indeed, a physically frail researcher who relied on a wheelchair and had no strength to contribute, and lacked any unique abilities to shine, what value could he bring to Xu Liren?

Both of them fell silent. Unable to resist, Song Ke turned her head to glance over. There, Zhuang Qingyan, pretending to be a researcher, had become the center of attention. Holding a pile of drug boxes with long and complex names, he explained to everyone while noticing Song Ke’s gaze. He turned his head slightly, smiling at her with his eyes curved.

“If he can’t get any… then, he can’t get any,” Song Ke was momentarily blinded by his affected smile. She quickly averted her gaze. She wasn’t surprised by the situation Jiang Rui described. When she decided to bring him back, she had anticipated this outcome.

For Song Ke, the matter of whether she could stay in the safe zone wasn’t as crucial as Jiang Rui had assumed. It wasn’t even as significant as the information Zhuang Qingyan himself could offer her. She had the mentality that if this place didn’t accommodate her, she could find her own way out. Ultimately, if need be, she would just leave.

“The, the person I saved, I, I will take care of it.”

Jiang Rui’s breathing suddenly became uneven.

With some time left before the agreed return time, the group tidied up and planned to search the nearby areas again. The outskirts of Hua City were vast and sparsely populated, making the search for supplies extremely challenging. They had explored several places in a row, but the gains were meager.

As the days of the apocalypse passed, fewer and fewer people were seen outside. The local residents had either fled to higher-level cities or hoarded supplies in their homes. With limited resources and no basic productive capacity, consumption continued unabated. Sooner or later, everything would run out.

Kongzi Qi walked and muttered in puzzlement, “Why do I feel like there are fewer zombies recently? Is it just me?”

Zhang Hao replied, “It’s not your imagination. The frequency of zombie appearances is indeed decreasing.” Sᴇaʀᴄh the N0vᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“No way? Zombies are afraid of rain too?”

“I don’t know, logically they shouldn’t be.”

“Damn! Where did the zombies go?”

The boys conversed up front, while Song Ke held the umbrella for Zhuang Qingyan and trailed behind them. The group was large, and it wasn’t convenient for the two of them to communicate privately. They didn’t have time for whispered conversations along the way.

Finally finding a canned food factory, when the group dispersed to load supplies, Song Ke seized the opportunity. She wheeled Zhuang Qingyan to a corner of the wall, and asked, “Can you, can you answer my questions now?”

Leaning his chin on his hand, Zhuang Qingyan, completely helpless, was pushed by the stammering girl. After a moment’s thought, he nodded, “Well, I can answer, but let’s make one thing clear first—only three questions per day.”

“Why!” Song Ke was shocked. He never mentioned this condition when negotiating with her!

Zhuang Qingyan pointed to the wheelchair and smiled leisurely, “How should I put it? Tsk, I’m disabled now, I should still keep some tricks up my sleeve, right? What if you’ve asked all the questions you wanted and you feel I’m not valuable anymore? Then you just… don’t need me.”

Song Ke: “…” This person was really shameless.

Her cheeks puffed with anger, but luckily she had the foresight to confirm with him, “How can I be, be sure, what you’re saying is, true?”

Zhuang Qingyan looked hurt by her suspicion. “We’re complete strangers. What benefit would I gain from lying to you?”

A bit of twisted reasoning there? Well, she did save him, so whatever, she’d trust him for now.

Song Ke posed her first question sullenly, “Then, I want, want to ask, who were those two people just now? Why did they want, want to kill you?”

Zhuang Qingyan replied, “You’re talking about Wu Yarou and Yang Bo, right? I had a research finding that they cared deeply about. Hey, don’t look at me with that kind of expression. I didn’t steal it, and it’s not theirs either. Well… strictly speaking, it belongs to Qinglan. But they’ve coveted this research finding for a long time. As for me, I wasn’t willing to just hand it over. So, they got angry and came after me.”

“What… research finding?” Song Ke pressed further. She couldn’t completely trust Zhuang Qingyan. His background and appearance were too suspicious, and what kind of research finding could prompt two ability users to resort to killing, even going so far as to silence someone?

Zhuang Qingyan raised his gaze and smiled playfully in response, “Are you sure you want to ask? Explaining this finding will take more than a few days, and this would already count as your second question.”

“No, it… shouldn’t!” Song Ke’s frustration grew. Shameless, this person was just shameless!

Not getting the upper hand in the conversation and unable to outmaneuver him in wits, Song Ke was close to losing it. She swiftly wheeled the wheelchair in circles a few times and then, coincidentally, aimed it towards the direction of the main gate. She lifted her feet off the ground, releasing her hands on the handles.

“Student Song, let’s talk peacefully. Don’t resort to violence!” The front wheels of the wheelchair lifted slightly. If Zhuang Qingyan dared to play tricks on her again, Song Ke was ready to send him rolling headfirst into the pouring rain.

After gaining the upper hand, Song Ke released a sigh of frustration. She assertively posed her second question, “What exactly is my, my ability?”

Zhuang Qingyan had figured it out. The young girl didn’t trust him, and she was truly determined. She wanted him to give up some information first before she would reciprocate. Otherwise, she might just abandon him along the way. He pondered for a moment, then asked, “Can you manipulate the form of objects?”

Song Ke didn’t say a word. She casually picked up an empty pineapple can nearby. In an instant, the can transformed into a shiny dagger as she waved it forward, a glint of deep blue light passing through it.

Zhuang Qingyan nodded, “For the time being, known abilities can be roughly divided into three categories: mental abilities, physical enhancements, and mystical. Mental abilities mainly involve controlling elements and telekinesis. For instance, the gold element is widely recognized as a strong offensive ability. From the surface, you possess a commendable gold element ability. But being able to transform weapons already signifies your command over materialization. Compared to other superhumans of the same level, you would be more powerful.”

He pointed at the dagger in Song Ke’s hand, “Just like this…”

“Spiritual weapon,” Song Ke interjected.

“Spiritual weapon. Although it looks like a knife and feels like a knife, it isn’t an actual knife. It’s the external manifestation of your gold element ability. If I’m not mistaken, you should be able to manipulate it with ease.”

Turning her palm, the dagger disappeared into thin air, leaving no trace.

Zhuang Qingyan paused. Song Ke’s control over her ability was incredibly precise. Her ability to switch weapons in battle was seemingly unrestricted. Forget just being in the gold element, she was likely among the most powerful and dominant of all awakeners.

He continued, “Physical enhancement superpowers are more common. They involve enhancing basic attributes, physical transformations, and accelerated healing. As for mystical abilities, they encompass a wide range of abilities, including precognition, healing, external object manipulation, and temporal manipulation, among others. These abilities are elusive and unpredictable. When encountering them for the first time, it’s easy to be taken off guard.”