Chapter 77: Yangyang
Jiang Jue’s gaze settled on Chu Yang, who remained lying on the bed with his eyes closed, quietly absorbing energy from the crystal cores.
Seeing that the youth’s breathing had evened out and a faint trace of healthy color was returning to his cheeks, Jiang Jue finally felt a sense of true relief.
Just then, Lin Xiao walked over quietly, carrying a few thick slices of bread and a bottle of mineral water.
“Boss, you’re awake!” Lin Xiao handed the provisions to Jiang Jue. “Eat something first to line your stomach and get your energy back.”
Taking the food with a brief nod, Jiang Jue tore open the wrapper and began to eat in silence. Replenishing his reserves was essential; his body had burned through an enormous amount of vitality during the intense battle and his subsequent breakthrough to Tier 3.
Lin Xiao crouched down beside him, his eyes straying toward the bed. Lowering his voice, he asked, “Boss, is Third Brother… really badly hurt this time? He still hasn’t opened his eyes.”
Turning his head, Lin Xiao called out to Su Mubai as the healer approached: “Little Bai, are you absolutely sure he’s going to be okay? He didn’t damage his core foundation, did he?”
Su Mubai didn’t answer immediately. Stepping up to the bedside, he knelt on one knee and gently placed his palm over Chu Yang’s chest.
A soft, warm white radiance rippled from his fingertips, seeping through Chu Yang’s shirt in wisps of light that sank beneath his skin.
A moment later, Su Mubai drew back his hand. As the white glow faded, he checked Chu Yang’s pulse and breathing, then nodded reassuringly. “He should be fine.”
“It’s primarily severe exhaustion from overdrawing his mental strength and spatial ability. His body has simply entered a deep restorative sleep as a natural defense mechanism.”
“The crystal cores are steadily repairing the strain, though the process takes time.” As he spoke, Su Mubai gently pried open Chu Yang’s loosely curled fingers.
He brushed away the dozen or so spent Tier 1 fragments—now turned a dull, lifeless gray—and produced a fresh handful of gleaming cores from his own pouch. Carefully nestling them into Chu Yang’s open palm, he let the young man’s fingers close around the steady flow of energy.
Jiang Jue watched Su Mubai’s gentle movements. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly before he spoke in a low, raspy tone: “Thank you.”
Su Mubai froze for a second, glancing up at Jiang Jue in mild surprise.
Their captain was naturally cold and taciturn, as unyielding and silent as a block of granite. In all the time they had fought side by side, the moments he had offered unsolicited gratitude could be counted on one hand.
And the only two times he had done so recently had both revolved around the young man resting on this bed.
Thoughts flickered through Su Mubai’s mind, but his expression quickly settled back into its usual gentle warmth. He smiled and shook his head. “Boss, why are you being so formal with me? You and Chu Yang gave us the lion’s share of your harvested cores to help us level up in the first place. If anyone owes thanks, it’s us thanking you.”
“Damn straight, Boss!” Lin Xiao chimed in at once. “I haven’t even burned through all the cores Third Brother handed me earlier! What’s a handful of stones between brothers? Compared to everything you two have done for the team, it’s nothing!”
At the mention of crystal cores, Lin Xiao’s eyes lit up with excitement, only to dim into a pained grimace a second later. He clicked his tongue in deep regret. “Man, what a waste… All those zombies we dropped today—there must be well over a hundred lying in heaps on the ground floor alone!”
“Think of how many cores that adds up to! And now they’re just rotting downstairs where we can’t reach them… It breaks my heart just thinking about it!”
The more Lin Xiao dwelt on it, the more he felt like they had been robbed. He slapped his thigh with a groan. “What if some other scavengers wander past and pick the place clean? I’ll lose my mind!”
Little Yu, who had been sitting quietly on the sidelines, listened attentively. After a brief hesitation, he spoke up in a small, tentative voice: “Brother Lin… what if I go downstairs and check?”
The boy clearly hated seeing those precious resources go to waste as well. Pursing his lips, he added, “I… I can turn invisible, and ordinary zombies usually can’t sense me at all. If the cores are still down there, I can harvest every single one without missing a spot.”
Jiang Jue’s dark eyes narrowed slightly at the suggestion. Shifting his gaze from Chu Yang, he looked at Little Yu before sweeping his eyes over Lin Xiao.
Those crystal cores were undeniably vital for their squad’s growth. In this post-apocalyptic wasteland, they were the hard currency of raw strength, and every single stone they secured mattered.
Yet he did not agree blindly. Instead, he closed his eyes, extending his mental perception downward in quiet, expanding ripples.
A few moments later, Jiang Jue opened his eyes. “Most of the horde on the ground floor has dispersed. Only three or four stragglers are wandering near the entrance and the bottom of the stairwell. There are a few more scattered outside, but the swarm has broken up. They don’t pose a coordinated threat.”
Hearing this, Lin Xiao’s eyes flared with renewed enthusiasm, and he sprang to his feet. “They cleared out? What are we waiting for, then! Boss, I’m heading down right now! We’ll salvage every last scrap—no way are we leaving them for anyone else!”
Little Yu raised his small hand eagerly. “I’ll come too! I can help pry them out!”
Lin Xiao looked at Little Yu’s scrawny frame, remembering how nimble and efficient the boy had been at harvesting cores earlier. He gave a firm nod. “All right! Stick close to me and don’t wander off.”
“Let’s go,” Jiang Jue said, rising to his full height.
Lin Xiao blinked in bewilderment. “Huh? Boss, you’re coming too? There’s no need! You stay right here and look after Third Brother. The kid and I will handle it and be back in a flash—I promise we’ll be quick!”
Jiang Jue didn’t bother to argue, merely casting a deep, cautious look toward the lower levels.
Having just crossed the threshold into Tier 3, his sensory perception had sharpened exponentially. Even though the zombie density had thinned, no one could guarantee that another mutant wasn’t lurking in the shadows, or that the lingering stench of blood hadn’t drawn other predators.
He was not about to let the two of them venture down alone.
Turning to Su Mubai, Jiang Jue gave a quiet instruction: “Little Bai, keep an eye on Yangyang.”
The affectionate name—Yangyang—slipped from his lips with utter naturalness, as though he had whispered it in his thoughts countless times before.
Lin Xiao’s eyes went wide, his jaw dropping as a bizarre expression crossed his face. He opened his mouth to make a teasing remark, but a subtle tug on his sleeve from Su Mubai cut him off instantly.
Su Mubai gave Lin Xiao a sharp, warning glance, his eyes clearly conveying: Don’t you dare cause trouble.
Having fought alongside Su Mubai for so long, Lin Xiao understood the silent reprimand immediately.
Deflated, he swallowed his joke, his lips twitching as he grumbled inwardly: Fine, fine, let the Boss call him whatever he wants…
Turning to Jiang Jue with a calm nod, Su Mubai replied, “Understood, Boss. Don’t worry about things up here. Just watch your backs down there and come back quickly.”
Nearby, Wang Qiang and Li Yu noticed the movement and walked over.
Wang Qiang rotated his aching shoulders. After absorbing several Tier 1 cores, his strength had largely returned, and the debilitating numbness in his muscles had faded.
Glancing toward the stairwell and then at Jiang Jue, Wang Qiang offered, “Boss, why don’t Li Yu and I come along as well? More hands make quick work, and we can strip the cores twice as fast. We’ll finish up and get back up here sooner.” Li Yu nodded in ready agreement beside him.
Jiang Jue considered the offer for a brief second before giving a curt nod.
The group wasted no more time. Working together, they shifted the heavy wooden wardrobe and bed frame just enough to open a narrow gap in the barricade. Slipping through one by one, they crept cautiously down into the stairwell.
Outside, the last golden embers of dusk had faded past the horizon. The sprawling, abandoned department store plunged into murky twilight, enveloped in the heavy, suffocating stench of spilled blood and rotting flesh.
