Chapter 31: Turns Out They’re a Couple
Watching the kitten eat so happily, the others suddenly felt hungry as well—especially Zhan Yun and the other three. All four of them were ability users and had expended quite a bit of energy. Now that food was in sight, they were so hungry their stomachs actually ached.
The child noticed the gazes of the older brothers. He tilted his head, then pulled a few tiny pieces of beef jerky from his pocket, holding them out in his small hands. “Big brother… want some?”
There was no way Zhan Yun and the others would eat a child’s rations—especially with Su Ruizhe, a walking warehouse, right there.
“No need. You eat it yourself,” Su Ruizhe said with a smile, gently pushing the child’s hand back and patting his own pocket. “Big brother has food.”
When facing children, Su Ruizhe was especially gentle. This adorable little boy reminded him of Su Chenguang, who had been just as well-behaved and sweet.
The child pouted, slowly pulling his hand back, looking a little aggrieved.
Su Ruizhe sighed, reached into his pocket, and took out a simply wrapped piece of chocolate. “Then how about big brother trades with you?”
The little boy’s eyes lit up instantly. He nodded eagerly and exchanged the beef jerky for the chocolate.
Those few pieces of beef jerky were barely a mouthful for an adult—not nearly enough to fill the stomach. Still, Su Ruizhe didn’t mind. He popped them into his mouth, chewed a couple of times, and found them surprisingly tasty.
Then he took a few chocolate energy bars from his pocket and handed them out to Zhan Yun and the others. His pockets were too small—if he took out much more, it would arouse suspicion, especially with outsiders present.
So Su Ruizhe planned to let them eat a little just to tide them over. Once the zombies outside dispersed, they could leave, and after returning, they could eat whatever they wanted.
Zhan Yun and the others had no objections. They took the energy bars and started eating.
However, when Su Ruizhe offered a bar to the long-haired woman and the burly man, the woman refused.
“No need to waste food on me…” The woman gave a bitter smile as she leaned against the burly man’s chest and shook her head at Su Ruizhe. With her uninjured hand, she rolled up her pant leg slightly. On her pale calf were three horrifying scratch marks—left behind when she’d been hanging in midair and a zombie had grabbed her leg.
“I probably won’t make it. The place I mentioned before—A-Liang knows it too. He’ll take you there,” she said softly, patting the man’s arm behind her. He must be the “A-Liang” she’d mentioned.
Her face was pale as paper, sweat already beading on her forehead. Clearly, the virus had entered her body and was beginning to take effect.
“Little Jing…” Zhang Shuoliang spoke for the first time, his voice low and hoarse, his eyes rimmed with red.
“Live. Promise me—live,” Wu Jing said, reaching up to caress Zhang Shuoliang’s stubbled face, her eyes full of affection.
So the two of them were actually a couple. No wonder the man had risked injuring himself earlier just to save her in such a dangerous situation.
Zhang Shuoliang remained silent, only tightening the arm wrapped around Wu Jing’s waist.
Wu Jing gave a faint, bitter smile and took off the work badge hanging around her neck. On it were the words XXX Auto. “There should be a backup power source at the dealership. This is the access card—just swipe it to open the doors. All the keys are in the drawer of the cabinet in my office. After you get a car, if it’s convenient, I hope you can take A-Liang with you. He’s a fitness trainer and studied taekwondo for a while—he’s fairly capable and should be able to help. Of course, if it’s not convenient, then please leave him a car.”
This was the condition Wu Jing had proposed earlier, when Zhan Yun and the others were planning to part ways with her group. She was a sales manager at a 4S dealership for a well-known foreign car brand—famous for several off-road models built with thick, heavy steel plates and excellent safety.
The dealership where Wu Jing worked wasn’t far from here. There were test-drive vehicles on site and inventory in the warehouse. She had all the keys—once they got there, she could drive off one car, and Zhan Yun could deal with the rest however he liked.
Her proposal had tempted Zhan Yun. That brand’s off-road vehicles really were excellent. If they planned to travel out of the province in the future, having such a vehicle would significantly increase safety. Thanks to Su Ruizhe, Zhan Yun had also become addicted to stockpiling things—having extra vehicles was hardly a bad idea. If they ever had to abandon a car and move on foot, they wouldn’t be left without options. Most importantly, Zhan Yun had a decent impression of her at the time. She seemed rational and sensible, unlikely to cause trouble, which was why he’d agreed to take them along.
“Sir, could I trouble you to use your gun to send me on my way? I don’t want to turn into that kind of ugly monster.” Wu Jing wiped her face hard with her sleeve, smearing away her messy makeup and revealing her delicate features. She wanted to die with dignity.
“No,” Zhan Yun refused without hesitation. “You might not die.”
Hearing his refusal, Wu Jing’s eyes dimmed—but his next words sent waves crashing through her heart.
“What do you mean?!” Even Zhang Shuoliang couldn’t help speaking up this time.
Zhan Yun couldn’t be bothered to explain, so he shot Zheng Jiahe a look.
Zheng Jiahe immediately launched into an enthusiastic account of his own experience, even lifting a solid wood bed with one hand to demonstrate his ability.
Seeing hope rekindled in Wu Jing’s eyes, Su Ruizhe offered her the chocolate energy bar again, telling her to replenish her strength—the fight against the virus wouldn’t be easy.
This time, Wu Jing didn’t refuse. She took the chocolate and swallowed it in just a few bites.
After a while, she began to feel her body heating up, her head growing heavier, and gradually she fell into a deep sleep.
As daylight slowly brightened, the zombies gathered outside the restaurant finally retreated into the shadows under the harsh sunlight. With the sun so strong, the zombies wouldn’t be moving about. Zhan Yun and the others sat down where they were, leaning against the wall and dozing lightly. The little boy hugged the kitten, curled up under the desk, already sleeping soundly.
Only Zhang Shuoliang stayed awake. He found a towel in the bathroom, soaked it with water, and kept wiping Wu Jing’s sweat, trying to help lower her temperature.
Wu Jing’s fever lasted for several hours. During that time, her expression was pained and her body twitched uncontrollably, but Zhang Shuoliang never left her side, caring for her as best he could.
When Wu Jing finally woke up, it was already around afternoon. The moment she sat up, Zhan Yun and the others opened their eyes. Even while resting, they had remained alert—after all, there was still a chance Wu Jing could fail to awaken and turn into a zombie.
Fortunately, she succeeded.
“Quick, try to see what kind of ability it is,” Zheng Jiahe said curiously.
Wu Jing first sensed the new power within her, then tried to control it. To Zheng Jiahe’s amazement, her arm slowly disappeared, leaving behind only a faint wisp of mist.
“Holy crap, that’s awesome! Is that a mist-form ability?” Zheng Jiahe exclaimed excitedly. “You can turn your body into mist—how cool is that!”
Wu Jing herself was still a little dazed. She didn’t understand abilities very well yet. “Turning into mist… what use is that?”
She felt it had no offensive power at all—completely useless.
“Of course it’s useful! When someone attacks you, just turn into mist and they can’t hit you! And if you’re mist, you can move freely through a horde of zombies without worrying about being attacked! You can even use it to gather intel—come and go without a trace. This is a super useful ability!” Zheng Jiahe’s imagination ran wild again.
Wu Jing’s almond-shaped eyes widened. She hadn’t expected her seemingly useless ability to have so many applications.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
