Chapter 13 – Save Him? Or Not?
“What floor do you live on?”
“…Sixteenth.” The guy wasn’t dead now, so he’d likely end up taking an empty flat in this building. No need to lie to a future, and stronger, neighbor.
“Dressed like this…” Yan Fei trailed off. He couldn’t even find the right words.
Luo Xun straightened his chest confidently. “The internet says zombie fluids and brain matter might carry infection. Everyone recommends dressing like this!” It wasn’t a lie—people really had said that online! Sure, it had been speculation, but the internet was full of wild rumors.
“The internet? The network still works?!” Yan Fei, who had been too busy fighting mutated chaos to notice, was stunned. For days, every call he’d made—including to the police—had gone unanswered. He’d assumed the base stations were down.
“Of course it works. The base stations aren’t broken.” Luo Xun nodded. “If you can’t get through on the phone, it probably means… something happened to whoever’s supposed to pick up.”
Police hotlines weren’t connecting because there were too many incidents, and many stations had been overrun. Same with other public lines.
Yan Fei’s eyes flickered, but he said nothing.
Luo Xun felt awkward just leaving him here. Then he remembered—this guy had a metal ability! Maybe, just maybe, they could actually benefit each other…
A jolt shot through his heart, and Luo Xun instantly realized just how powerful this man’s ability was!
Although in his previous life he had never heard of any powerful ability user in the base who possessed a metal-type power, he had to admit that this ability would be extremely useful—for himself, and for most people in the future!
He had just been worrying about running low on ammunition. If he could have a metal-type ability user by his side, then his crossbow bolts would become an inexhaustible resource! Not to mention countless other matters. With this man, it might even be possible to produce bullets directly!
The fact that Luo Xun had never heard of such a person in his past life didn’t mean he wasn’t well-known. Luo Xun understood that most of the ability users he’d heard of were deliberately promoted by various factions as publicity tools, while the truly strong ability users in the military were usually unknown to ordinary people.
Some special ability users, once discovered by the army, were placed under protection. Most of them lived inside military compounds rather than among civilians. If this man in front of him was one of those special talents, it made perfect sense that Luo Xun didn’t know him. What’s more, who knew how many unique ability users had died in the chaos of the early apocalypse?
If… if he could have such a helper, build a good relationship with him early on, and later secure a long-term supply of weapons…
His heart suddenly pounded wildly, and when Luo Xun looked at the man half-collapsed on the ground, his eyes subconsciously burned with excitement.
Under that fiery gaze, Yan Fei couldn’t help but lift his hand to touch the mask covering his face—he was still wearing a mask, wasn’t he? Could this boy really see through it and guess at his true appearance?
Yan Fei was very aware of how eye-catching his face was, but that didn’t mean he could still appear charming while wearing a bulky white mask, blood all over his face, hair disheveled, and clothes in tatters. Was this kid just being overly fanciful?
Before Yan Fei could question him, the scattered nails and iron rods floating uncontrollably in the air between them jolted Luo Xun back to reality. This was an ability user—a strong one, with limitless potential. Maybe he could use his rebirth, his foresight, and his farming skills to form a good relationship and even help him out now. But Yan Fei had no obligation to supply him with weapons forever, nor could Luo Xun forcefully tie him to his side.
Still, if he established ties now, he could later trade food he grew for weapons. That was doable.
“Um… there are a few empty apartments upstairs. Do you want to rest there first?” Luo Xun suggested. There were too many things in his own home that needed to be kept secret; of course, he couldn’t let a complete stranger live inside.
Yan Fei let out a breath of relief and nodded slightly. The only reason he had hidden in this building and slowly climbed up to this floor was to find a safe place to rest. He wasn’t ready to face those people yet.
“By the way, could you… clear these away first? Otherwise the stairs are unusable.” Luo Xun pointed at the “weapons” still floating in the air.
The steel bars returned to place, the nails clattered to the ground. At least the staircase looked less dangerous now. But Luo Xun silently decided that unless he had no choice, he’d never touch those dismantled stair railings again. Who knew if they were safe after being pulled apart once?
Yan Fei’s injuries were clearly serious. Luo Xun didn’t know when exactly he had crawled up here, but given how much blood he’d lost, it was a miracle he’d made it this far at all.
Luo Xun went over to help him up, leaving his raincoat, helmet, and nail-studded bat behind for the moment. He just needed to get the man to a safer place first.
“The one at the end is my home. The other three apartments are empty—no owners, no peepholes, not even decorated.” After briefly describing the situation, Yan Fei pointed to the room next to Luo Xun’s and chose that one.
Whether this young man had ill intentions or not, for now he had no choice but to rely on him. Living next door would also make things simpler.
Watching Luo Xun skillfully pull out a set of “tools” and pick the lock of apartment 1603 with practiced ease, Yan Fei raised his eyebrows high. That smooth motion… had this kid been a burglar before?
All three apartments on the 16th floor were bare shells, with rough cement floors and unfinished walls. Even Luo Xun paused when he stepped inside—the place was so crude that sitting on the floor in thin clothes would make you feel scratched.
An empty living room, empty kitchen, empty bedroom, empty hallways. The reserved drainage holes had no filters, and the open vents for future air conditioners whistled with drafts. At this rate, no matter what you stuffed into the gaps, the place would never stay warm.
Yan Fei exhaled slowly. If only he had known earlier, he would have bought and renovated a few houses on the outskirts before the apocalypse began!
He sat on the icy floor and soon heard the sound of a door opening next door, followed by a few barks of a small dog—this kid had a dog?
Remembering the rabid dogs he had encountered while fleeing earlier, Yan Fei’s heart sank, but then he relaxed again. The young man seemed cautious enough. If the dog had mutated, it would have shown by now. No way it would still be normal this late.
As soon as Yan Fei’s guard relaxed, waves of dizziness rushed to his head, and everything before his eyes began to blur. He didn’t know if it was blood loss, or simply the result of days without proper food and rest…
Back in his own apartment, Luo Xun’s little pup was happily bouncing around inside its cage.
He mixed up some milk powder and soaked some puppy kibble. Only after preparing food for the little guy did Luo Xun drag his weary body upstairs to the second floor.
In Building 7, only the top-floor corner apartments on the east and west sides had duplex terraces. So the unit Yan Fei was temporarily staying in was a single level, while Luo Xun’s had an upper floor, and its layout was different from the others—the living room was absurdly large.
Luo Xun stored all his medicine in several organized boxes in the upstairs master bedroom. While gauging Yan Fei’s injuries, he searched through them.
He wasn’t a doctor, but after surviving so many years in his last life, he knew which illnesses or injuries required which medicines. Anti-inflammatories were a must. He wasn’t sure if that man’s ribs were broken—if they were, and a splinter punctured an organ, even immortals wouldn’t be able to save him in these conditions.
With the medicine in hand, Luo Xun went downstairs again, first checking the stairwell—good, no one around, no zombies.
By now lockpicking was second nature, and entering 1603 felt as easy as walking into his own home.
Yan Fei was curled up on the floor, brows furrowed tightly.
Luo Xun froze, then quickly crouched beside him to feel his forehead—damn it, fever!
No need to ask; he must have injured his internal organs or was suffering internal bleeding.
“Really now… if you die, won’t I be the one losing out?!” Luo Xun muttered helplessly. He now suspected that in his previous life, this man must have died early—injuries, fever, zombies, ambushes…
Even as he grumbled, Luo Xun reached to pull down his mask so he could give him the medicine. Suddenly, sounds came from the hallway—someone was there!
Quickly lowering the man, Luo Xun rushed to the stairwell. Sure enough, the noise came from below! Were those families trapped in the building preparing to move out, or had outsiders broken in?
He recalled the man’s injuries—clearly inflicted by people. Luo Xun’s heart sank. He bent down to scoop up the scattered raincoat, helmet, and nails…
By the time he returned to the stairwell, he could hear clearly what those people were doing—closer now, just a few floors below, pounding on someone’s door. They were either here to drag someone out, or looting apartments for food.
The image of the metal-type ability user he had just hidden in 1603 flashed through his mind. If those intruders were his enemies, leaving him there meant certain death. But if he brought him back home, his supplies might be exposed, inviting suspicion… For the sake of a metal ability user—for someone who might become an ally, or might betray him—was that risk worth taking?!
