Chapter 32: New Members
Zhan Yun and the others gained a new level of appreciation for Zheng Jiahe’s wild imagination. This kid was really strange—he looked like a top-student-type pretty boy, yet he was an overactive-brained nerd. Skinny and frail like a boiled chicken, and yet he’d awakened a strength-type ability… You could say he was smart, but sometimes he also seemed a bit dumb. It was honestly hard to figure out how to judge him.
“Hiss…” Wu Jing got a little too excited and accidentally bumped her injured wrist, letting out a cry of pain.
Song Chengshu’s instincts as a doctor kicked in, and he immediately stepped forward. “I’m a doctor. Let me take a look at your hand.”
Wu Jing obediently held out her hand. Song Chengshu carefully rolled up her sleeve, quickly revealing a bruised, purplish wrist beneath it. Zhang Shuoliang was a fitness trainer and had studied taekwondo for some time, so he had a decent understanding of the human skeletal structure. After pulling Wu Jing up earlier, he had checked her injury right away and judged it to be a dislocation, so he had directly helped her reset the joint.
Supporting her wrist, Song Chengshu pressed lightly a few times and nodded slightly. “It shouldn’t be anything serious. The dislocation has already been put back in place, but the soft tissue contusion is fairly severe. You’ll need some time to recover.”
“Thank you,” Wu Jing said quickly.
Song Chengshu waved it off, then turned to Zhang Shuoliang. “And you? Let me take a look at your injuries too.”
“I’m fine, thank you,” Zhang Shuoliang shook his head gently.
“In times like these, if injuries aren’t treated promptly, the consequences can be very serious,” Song Chengshu said sternly. He clearly remembered how forceful Zhang Shuoliang had been when he lunged to grab Wu Jing—he was sure the man must have been hurt.
Wu Jing immediately tugged at Zhang Shuoliang and snapped fiercely, “If they tell you to get checked, then hurry up and do it! Stop talking nonsense!”
Zhang Shuoliang was a big, burly man, but in front of his beloved girlfriend, he was as obedient as a large dog. With a blank expression, he rolled up his shirt. His abdomen was covered in bruises, and around the ribs in particular, there were visible uneven contours—likely fractures.
“And you still say you’re fine?!” Wu Jing had seen no sign of pain from him before and never imagined he was hurt this badly. “Doctor, please… please help him…”
Song Chengshu wanted to help, but it was a classic case of even the cleverest housewife being unable to cook without rice. As a doctor without proper medical tools or medicine, even knowing it was a rib fracture, there was nothing he could do.
Su Ruizhe did have medicine in his spatial storage—but how was he supposed to take it out?
Song Chengshu subconsciously turned to look at Zhan Yun. Zhan Yun frowned. He understood what Song Chengshu meant, but he hadn’t planned on expanding the team so quickly. Still, given the situation, it was indeed difficult. Wu Jing and Zhang Shuoliang were one thing—their character seemed decent enough. Picking them up wasn’t a big issue; even though they were both injured, once healed they’d be solid combat strength.
The real issue was that child…
Such a young kid—there was no way they could just leave him here and walk away! But Zhan Yun had never dealt with a child this young before. He had no idea how to take care of one!
Su Ruizhe, however, saw Zhan Yun’s hesitation. He walked over and squeezed his hand, silently expressing his support.
Zheng Jiahe looked over as well, clearly of the same mind.
Zhan Yun sighed and finally asked, “What are your plans from here on out?”
“We’re both from out of town. We don’t have any relatives or friends in S City. We were planning to go back home at the end of the year to get married… but now…” Wu Jing gave a bitter smile and looked at Zhan Yun and the others with sincere eyes. “We just want to survive. I’m an ability user now, and A-Liang is honest and hardworking. Would it be possible for us to join you?”
Zhan Yun glanced at the little boy curled up beneath the desk, hugging the kitten and still sleeping soundly, then said calmly, “What if we plan to take him along too?”
In the post-apocalyptic world, children were a highly unstable factor. Many things were beyond a child’s understanding, and they were difficult to control, which could easily lead to dangerous situations.
“That’s really wonderful. This child is truly pitiful,” Wu Jing said with a relieved smile. She had actually been worried about the child as well, and had been wondering how to ask them to take him in. This outcome was truly the best possible one.
Zhan Yun nodded and continued, “Then welcome to the team. My name is Zhan Yun. I’m a police officer—or at least, I was—and an ability user. I can manipulate gravity.”
The others followed with their introductions one by one.
“Hello, my name is Song Chengshu. I’m a doctor, and a water-type ability user.”
“Zheng Jiahe! Third-year college student, strength-type ability user!”
“My name is Su Ruizhe. I’m a senior in high school. My ability is… space.”
Wu Jing and Zhang Shuoliang were completely stunned. From the moment everyone started introducing themselves, they had already been shocked beyond words. This four-person team was composed entirely of ability users! Especially that last young man—he was actually a space-type ability user.
With a flick of his hand, a white medical kit appeared out of thin air in front of them.
Song Chengshu immediately opened it, took out an elastic chest band, and secured Zhang Shuoliang’s torso to prevent further displacement of his ribs.
As for Wu Jing’s injuries, Song Chengshu also treated them with bandages.
“All right. From now on, you just need to avoid heavy physical activity,” Song Chengshu said. After that, he found some medication to promote blood circulation and reduce bruising, and had the two of them take it.
“Thank you, Doctor Song,” Wu Jing said gratefully.
“You’re welcome.” Song Chengshu tidied up the medical kit and handed it back to Su Ruizhe to store away.
Since he had already been open about his spatial ability, Su Ruizhe no longer bothered to hide it. He directly took out a large iron pot from his space, tore open ten packs of instant noodles, tossed them in, had Song Chengshu add hot water, then covered the lid and let the noodles steep.
Five minutes later, the aroma of instant noodles filled the entire room, even waking the little boy who had been fast asleep.
Su Ruizhe opened the lid, took out bowls and chopsticks, and served everyone a heaping bowl of noodles, along with sausage and braised eggs. Of course, he didn’t forget the little boy’s portion—and he even prepared a can of fish for the kitten.
Everyone was starving, especially Wu Jing and Zhang Shuoliang. They had been trapped in the internet café for two full days, surviving only on water, and were already so hungry their stomachs felt glued to their backs. Eating a steaming hot bowl of instant noodles at that moment made them so happy they almost wanted to cry.
The child hugged his bowl and ate without even lifting his head, nearly burying his little face in it.
“There’s more if it’s not enough. Everyone, eat more,” Su Ruizhe said with a smile.
“Thank you…”
Everyone enjoyed a hearty meal together, even finishing every last drop of the noodle broth.
Zhang Shuoliang volunteered to wash the bowls and the pot. Song Chengshu originally wanted to object, but Zhang Shuoliang insisted that washing dishes didn’t count as heavy labor. He had injured ribs, not his hands.
“Doctor Song, just let him do it,” Wu Jing said, knowing her lover’s temperament.
With no other choice, Song Chengshu let him go.
Meanwhile, Su Ruizhe chatted with the well-fed little boy. From the child’s halting explanations, Su Ruizhe learned that his name was Yu Dongdong, he was three years old, and the kitten had been brought over from the neighbor’s home next door. Its name was Xiao Hei.
“Dongdong, in a little while the big brothers are going to leave. Would you like to come with us?” Su Ruizhe asked gently.
Dongdong blinked his bright black eyes and asked softly, “Then… what about Daddy and Mommy?”
The child’s words made Su Ruizhe’s heart ache. He sighed and said, “Daddy and Mommy still have things to do, so they can’t leave.”
The child pouted and glanced toward the door. He remembered that when Daddy went out, he had said that if someone came to take him away, he must behave and listen, and not cause trouble for others.
“Okay. Dongdong will go with big brother… Dongdong will be very obedient.”
“Okay.” Su Ruizhe reached out and rubbed the child’s head. The little one was just too well-behaved—so well-behaved it made one’s heart hurt.
After Zhang Shuoliang finished washing the pots and bowls and came back, Su Ruizhe began packing things up. He collected Yu Dongdong’s clothes and shoes from the wardrobe, and didn’t forget the family photo of the three of them from the bedside table either.
They waited until the blazing sun outside gradually set before heading to the balcony to climb down. But with Zheng Jiahe’s injured leg, Wu Jing’s injured hand, Zhang Shuoliang’s injured ribs, and little Yu Dongdong, they truly looked like a mixed group of women, children, the sick, and the disabled…
Left with no choice, Su Ruizhe used his ultimate move and took out an iron ladder, propping it against the balcony so everyone could climb down one by one. Although Wu Jing and the others were injured, with the ladder and careful movements, it wasn’t too difficult. Yu Dongdong was carried down by Zhan Yun. It was his first time holding such a soft, tiny child, and in those one or two minutes, he was probably even more nervous than Dongdong himself.
Zombies in the vicinity were gradually drawn over by the commotion, but before they could get close, everyone had already safely reached the ground and gotten into the jeep Su Ruizhe had prepared in advance. Seven people squeezing into one jeep was admittedly cramped, but fortunately, no one was enforcing overloading rules anymore.
Under Wu Jing’s guidance, Zhan Yun drove smoothly to the entrance of the 4S dealership.
Just as Wu Jing had said, the dealership had a backup power supply, and the access control system was still stubbornly working. Zhan Yun used Wu Jing’s work ID to open the door.
The showroom was filled with the latest high-end off-road display vehicles, each worth over a million. Wu Jing went straight into her office, took out the spare car keys, and had Su Ruizhe store all the vehicles away one by one.
Fortunately, Su Ruizhe’s spatial valley had plenty of open land and could hold a large number of vehicles. Including the stock cars in the back warehouse, the display vehicles in the showroom, and the test-drive cars in the parking lot, they collected a total of forty-two off-road vehicles—all top-of-the-line luxury models.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
