After Bystander A Bound to JJ Literature City – CH6

Chapter 6 – Here Comes the Problem

Yu Zhi and Lu Liming climbed over the hospital fence and, once outside, didn’t dare to stop, running down the small path by the side gate. Behind them, the hospital explosions echoed like thunder, flames lighting up the empty street in eerie waves.

The street was deserted. Several cars were haphazardly abandoned in the middle of the road, doors wide open, as if their owners had fled in panic. The shops on either side were either tightly shuttered or had shattered glass doors, their interiors visibly looted.

Lu Liming kept glancing back as he ran. Seeing nothing pursuing them, he couldn’t contain his curiosity. “Brother Yu, what did you see back there?” he asked. “What could be scarier than those cockroaches?”

Yu Zhi thought for a moment. “The cockroach’s father,” he replied. “You know him too.”

Lu Liming looked confused. “What is it?”

“Not an ‘it’,” Yu Zhi corrected. “It’s the first person to complete the main storyline task.”

The scene of the operating room massacre flashed before Lu Liming’s eyes, and his expression changed. “That madman who killed all those people?”

Yu Zhi nodded, noticing an electric scooter on the roadside with the keys still in the ignition. He couldn’t drive a car, but he could ride a scooter. Lu Liming was in no condition to drive, and even if he were, Yu Zhi wouldn’t want to be his passenger.

He quickly picked up the scooter and turned to Lu Liming. “Get on,” he said.

Lu Liming obediently climbed on.

The scooter was small, and with two grown men on it, it felt cramped. Lu Liming squeezed into the back seat, lost in thought.

With so many cars and motorcycles on the road, Brother Yu chose a scooter… Hmm, he must have his reasons.

Yu Zhi had no idea what strange thoughts were running through Lu Liming’s mind. He twisted the throttle, pushing the speed to the maximum, and swiftly navigated the narrow alleys.

Perhaps because they were on a less-traveled road, they didn’t encounter anyone else, nor any pollutants.

The live stream chat was filled with inane comments:

[User “World’s Cutest Girl” is curious about where you are going.]
[User “Not an Insect Cigar” hopes you will encounter pollutants.]
[User “Loves Peace” is curious about your plans.]
[User “Such a Beautiful Face” hopes you will honestly disclose your destination.]

“I’m planning to go home,” Yu Zhi replied honestly.

“Plans?” He thought for a moment. “Probably… to hide first.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a comment floated by:
[User “Gaze of the Dark Eye” looks down on your plan and angrily exited the live stream.]

Yu Zhi: “…”

With the two of us combined, we couldn’t even muster a single combat ability, he thought. Of course, we’re going to hide and develop in a low-key manner.

“Brother,” Lu Liming suddenly patted his shoulder and leaned closer. “Someone in my live stream said we should take the road to the right,” he whispered. “He’s willing to tip ten universal coins.”

Yu Zhi glanced to the right. That was one of the main roads in the upper city, which could get very congested during rush hour. There were still several hours until the first main storyline task ended, and there would be countless people on the road by then.

The users watching the live stream didn’t care whether they were human or ghost; they just wanted to see the thrilling scenes they anticipated, completely disregarding the host’s life or death. To be precise, a large portion of the users wanted to see the host die tragically after experiencing fear and despair.

“Brother, should we turn?” Lu Liming asked again.

Yu Zhi raised an eyebrow. “Let that big brother pay first,” he said.

Lu Liming was about to repeat his words when a notification popped up in the live stream indicating a tip had been received.

“Brother Yu, he gave it!”

“Oh,” Yu Zhi responded.

Soon, the scooter reached the intersection, and without hesitation, he turned left.

Lu Liming: “???”

The next second, Yu Zhi saw a comment in his live stream: 

[User “Strongest King” questioned why you didn’t follow through.]

Yu Zhi remained unfazed. “You didn’t give me money,” he replied. “I’m the one riding the scooter.”

A moment later, the live stream displayed: 

[User “Strongest King” angrily tipped you 10 universal coins.]
[User “Strongest King” hopes you will act according to the agreement.]

Yu Zhi blinked innocently. “What agreement?” he asked. “I haven’t agreed yet. Tell the system to refund the money.”

Just wait, that scam system won’t refund the money!

[User “Rebirth in a Different Universe” appreciates your actions.]
[User “World’s Cutest Girl” scoffs at user “Strongest King.”]
[User “Loves Peace” praises your money-making scheme.]
[User “Rich Young Master” looked down on user “Strongest King” and tipped you 0.1 universal coins.]
[User “Strongest King” cursed you fiercely and angrily exited the live stream.]

Lu Liming was stunned by his audacious maneuver. Could one really scam money from the viewers like this?

After a while, he cautiously asked, “Brother, is it okay for us to scam and take their money like this…?”

“He’s willing to give, and we’re willing to take,” Yu Zhi replied confidently. “It’s a mutually agreeable matter. If he wants a refund and the system won’t allow it, that’s the system’s problem.”

Lu Liming felt dazed. What a mutually agreeable situation. What a way to shift the blame to the system.

Yu Zhi finished reflecting on others and began to comfort himself.

Fortunately, I was clever, Yu Zhi thought, otherwise, I would have been scammed.

*

An hour later, the scooter arrived in front of an apartment building. It was nestled among a cluster of old, dilapidated buildings. It wasn’t very tall, only six stories, but its exterior had a very modern design, with large floor-to-ceiling windows in each unit and smooth decorative lines between the floors reflecting the moonlight.

The entrance on the first floor had a fingerprint recognition system that could operate automatically without a network. Once inside, the left side was a public lounge area, and the right side was the apartment management office. There was no one on the first floor, nor any traces of blood or fighting.

Yu Zhi led Lu Liming quickly up to the third floor and opened the door to room 305.

The apartment was a small two-bedroom unit. He first checked each room to ensure there were no signs of other beings, then closed the windows, locked them, and drew the curtains.

Returning to the living room, he turned off all the lights, finally relaxing as he explained to Lu Liming, who was slumped on the sofa, “This building is a charity project for universities launched by the government a few years ago, so not many people live here.”

Orphans who were accepted into H City’s 985 universities could live in this apartment building for free for ten years. There was only one 985 university in H City—H University—and even fewer students were orphans.

Yu Zhi had lived here for four years and was about to graduate. He had only encountered a handful of residents.

“It’s safer here with fewer people,” he said, pausing. “If you want to go back home, I won’t stop you.”

“No, no, no!” Lu Liming quickly shook his head; going home alone would be suicide. “Brother, if you don’t kick me out, I won’t leave. If you kick me out, I’ll kneel on the ground and beg you.”

Yu Zhi: “…”

As he spoke, Lu Liming suddenly realized something.

Government project, a discreet building with few people, a mysterious man well-versed in the rules of the apocalypse…

Brother Yu seems to be… a government person?!

Lu Liming’s eyes widened, and he immediately raised his hand to swear loyalty. “Brother Yu, don’t worry, I know my limits; I won’t pry into your privacy unless you say so.”

Yu Zhi was slightly taken aback. His “privacy” was just the fact that he had no parents. From a certain perspective, it wasn’t even really a privacy issue; many people knew.

Lu Liming continued to chatter, “Brother, just think of me as a dog you’ve raised. No, I guarantee I’m more obedient than a dog; I don’t need to be walked, and I have abilities that can help you heal…”

The familiar nonsense made Yu Zhi start to zone out. He picked up a piece of toast from the coffee table, eating while lost in thought.

Lu Liming was talking so much that his mouth was dry. He licked his lips and asked the most concerning question: “Um… will the government take action later? Brother Yu?”

Yu Zhi came back to his senses and shook his head. “I don’t know either.”

Lu Liming sighed deeply.

Well, now that communication is completely cut off, Brother Yu can’t contact anyone for the time being.

After thinking for a moment, he asked again, “Brother, do you know about the system and the Earth Guardian action? What’s going on? How did it suddenly turn into this?” He scratched his dirty braid, recalling the unbelievable events of the past few hours.

Yu Zhi lowered his gaze, chewing on the toast. He wasn’t sure how everything had happened or why. A’Zheng never mentioned the origins of the system or the pollutants.

After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “I have a friend…”

Lu Liming’s eyes lit up, immediately showing an “I understand, I understand” expression.

Yu Zhi looked at him strangely and continued, “He likes to read apocalypse novels, so he’s mentioned similar things to me. In the apocalypse, some people awaken abilities, while others are contaminated and turned into various monsters, referred to as pollutants, just like those cockroaches in the hospital…”

Yu Zhi didn’t know much about pollutants and abilities himself, so he briefly explained a few things. “In short,” he concluded, “if we want to survive now, we need to listen to the system and complete the tasks. The system won’t act against us.”

The protagonists of the novel did this, and they, the bystanders, had to do the same.

“Let’s eat something and rest for a bit,” Yu Zhi said. “The next task might come quickly.”

Lu Liming glanced at the toast and shook his head. “I’m not hungry,” he said. “I’m still a bit scared. The first task had us kill mutants; the second task won’t have us turn on each other, right? And those viewers in the live stream are a bit twisted…”

Yu Zhi’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he could vaguely see Lu Liming’s fearful expression.

Lu Liming was different from the arrogant rich kids he encountered at school. Although he dressed stylishly, he had a good temperament and was easy to get along with. Now, with his head down, he looked a bit like a small, lost puppy.

Yu Zhi knew what Lu Liming was worried about. He handed him a bottle of water. “Don’t think too much,” he comforted. “Maybe we’ll die tomorrow.”

Lu Liming: “…”

Thanks, that was comforting.

After resting for a few minutes, Yu Zhi found scissors and let Lu Liming remove the bothersome bandages and plaster from his foot while he continued to eat the toast.

He felt unusually hungry, ravenous even. He felt no sense of fullness after consuming an entire pack of toast and two bottles of milk.

Seeing that Lu Liming had finished treating his right hand and couldn’t remove the plaster by himself, Yu Zhi put down his food to help. After some effort, he managed to remove the plaster. Then, he took a break and went to shower.

He grabbed a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom. Just as he pulled up the hem of his shirt, a prompt suddenly popped up.

System: [Detected that the following content involves personal privacy. Do you wish to continue the live stream?]

“Turn it off,” Yu Zhi said.

[Closing the live stream for you…]

The word “Live” in the lower right corner of the panel switched to “Not Live.”

Yu Zhi took off his clothes and turned on the shower.

The warm water flowed over his tired and sore body, gradually clearing his mind. He suddenly remembered something.

His useless ability had no bodily functions.

Yu Zhi wiped his face with his hand, opened his eyes, and examined his body.

He really didn’t feel the need to urinate. More accurately, his body had lost the series of sensations that followed eating. He could feel hunger but not fullness. After consuming so much food and water, there wasn’t a single urge to excrete, as if his body contained a black hole.

Yu Zhi lowered his head, and a question arose.

Could he still… ejaculate?

Before Yu Zhi had the chance to experiment, the new task arrived.

At exactly midnight, the first main storyline task ended, and the system issued the second.

[Main Storyline Task Two: Guard the Earth, starting with me.]
[Task Objective: Within the limited time of twenty-four hours, do your utmost to carry out a personal Earth-guarding action. Please be sure to actively complete the task.]
[Completion Reward: 100 universal coins.]
[Failure Penalty: Unknown.]