Chapter 61 — Lieutenant Ding
Although Wang Duo hadn’t known Zhang Su for very long and hadn’t interacted with him much, this man’s appearance had always strongly attracted him. At first, he couldn’t explain it—he just thought Zhang Su looked good. Seeing him didn’t make him jealous or envious; he simply wanted to look a little longer, talk a little more each time they met.
Until that night.
Zhang Su had leaned lazily against the doorway, that trademark half-smile tugging at his lips as he taunted Yan Fei and Luo Xun. That mischievous, bonelessly casual air had made Wang Duo’s heart pound uncontrollably. When he woke up the next morning, Zhang Su was all he could think about.
Even during adolescence, Wang Duo had never felt this kind of attraction—not toward any girl. Maybe Zhang Su’s appearance that night had just been too tempting, maybe he was simply bewitched by his looks. But last night… even though he’d been startled and had sensed Zhang Su wasn’t in the best mental state, his own feelings had been genuine.
But now…
He looked blankly at the closed bedroom door— He told me to leave.
—
“Yo? You’re back?”
“Huh? You look fine! Back okay? Your waist’s fine? No problem walking?”
“Come on, don’t be shy—how was last night? Gonna move in with Brother Zhang now?”
“What’re you doing with the bucket of latex paint?”
“Wang Duo? Wang Duo?!”
Li Tie and the others teased him a bit when he came in, but he didn’t respond at all. Step by step, he walked over to the wall, picked up the paint bucket and roller, and started painting again—his movements dazed, almost manic. The others were startled and quickly crowded around him.
“W-Wang Duo?” Han Li grabbed his shoulder, only to find that this usually thick-skinned, loudmouthed classmate—whose nerves were tougher than city walls—had red-rimmed eyes.
“…What happened?” Wu Xin asked quietly.
“…He told me to leave,” Wang Duo muttered, bowing his head as he turned back to paint the wall in a numb, mechanical rhythm. Tears rolled silently down his cheeks.
He had never truly been in love before. And now, just after realizing he liked a man—after the shock and joy of unexpectedly sleeping with someone he actually cared about—he’d been dumped. What made it even more ridiculous was that the person he liked seemed to have almost forgotten who he’d slept with last night.
Would it have been the same if someone else had been standing at the door then? Would Zhang Su have pulled them in, and thrown them out just the same today?
—
Luo Xun didn’t realize something strange was going on upstairs until noon.
Li Tie and the others all looked grim, radiating an air of sulky frustration. Wang Duo kept his head down, silent, while Zhang Su’s apartment door stayed firmly shut—not like usual, when it was half open whenever everyone was home.
Rubbing his sore lower back, Luo Xun shot a glance at Yan Fei and quickly guessed that something must have happened. Zhang Su’s mental state had seemed off last night, and Wang Duo wasn’t the type to sleep with someone casually and laugh it off afterward.
If it had been someone else, maybe it wouldn’t matter—it could be brushed off as a one-night stand. But these five college students weren’t bad people. They weren’t heartless, and they couldn’t just treat something like this as nothing, even if it involved another man.
After briefly telling Yan Fei that he could come back to help install the underfloor heating pipes once the paint dried, Luo Xun didn’t ask further. The two of them left apartment 1601.
Outside, Luo Xun paused and glanced at the door of 1602. He knew this wasn’t something he should meddle in. Zhang Su had clearly gone through something yesterday that made him lose control. Otherwise, he would never have broken that quiet, peaceful neighborly atmosphere they all shared—he was too much like Luo Xun in that regard.
Yan Fei suddenly walked up to 1602’s door, turned back to Luo Xun, and said, “Wanna go in and check?”
“Huh?” Luo Xun blinked at him in confusion.
Yan Fei smiled faintly, raised a hand—and the metal door melted open, leaving a hole.
—For a metal-type ability user, breaking in was child’s play.
Luo Xun’s mouth twitched, but he still followed Yan Fei inside. Since the door was already open, it would’ve felt strange not to go in and take a look.
Even though they were just neighbors, and even though Luo Xun didn’t want to pry too deeply into others’ business—and even though they hadn’t known each other long—he really valued the sense of camaraderie they’d built. Li Tie and the others were always cheerful, helping out with small things when they could. Zhang Su, with his ability and no-nonsense attitude, drove away troublemakers. Luo Xun and Yan Fei used their skills and powers to help the group in return.
It was a tiny slice of harmony, but one that Luo Xun had never dared dream of in his previous life. Now that he finally had it, he didn’t want to lose it—just like he didn’t want to lose what he had with Yan Fei.
—
Zhang Su was sitting by the living room window, staring blankly at the clear blue sky outside. When he heard footsteps, he turned his head slightly. Seeing Luo Xun and Yan Fei, he didn’t bother to get up. He just let out a faint, mocking laugh. “This seems to be my home.”
“And this is next door to my home,” Yan Fei said casually, hands in his pockets as he strolled into the living room—showing not a trace of guilt for trespassing. He placed a hand on a warped metal sandbag; it rippled twice, then reformed into its original shape.
Zhang Su gave a small laugh and turned back to the window. “What do you want?”
Luo Xun sat down across from him. “Don’t you want a companion?”
Zhang Su said nothing, though his gaze tightened slightly.
“Wang Duo’s a good guy,” Luo Xun said.
At that, Zhang Su finally turned his head. His eyes, stripped of their usual lazy amusement, were calm and serious. “I know. They’re all good people.” His voice was quiet. “But—”
He swept his eyes over the two of them. “You both know what kind of person I am. He and I… we’re not suitable.”
Luo Xun spread his hands. “But you slept with him. Don’t you think you should take responsibility?”
Zhang Su raised an eyebrow, the corners of his lips curling into a strange smile. “Come on—he’s the one who slept with me. I didn’t even charge him an overnight fee, okay?”
Yan Fei chuckled softly and sat down beside Luo Xun. “I didn’t think I had a neighbor who made a living selling his ass.”
Zhang Su shot him a glare. “I didn’t do anything to him. We just slept together. I just… don’t think we’re a good match.”
“You mean you picked someone at random to vent for one night, and then tossed him aside like a used-up tool,” Luo Xun said bluntly, ignoring his excuses.
Zhang Su was silent for a moment, then sighed lightly. “They have no idea what kind of person I really am. You can go tell them—have them ask around about what happened at the base last night. If, after that, they still don’t care, then I won’t mind finding myself a boyfriend.”
He arched an eyebrow again, that same alluring, half-smiling look tugging at his lips, his eyes filled with teasing charm. “If someone’s willing to come over, clean my place, give me massages, cook, and do laundry, I’d be more than happy to have him.”
Luo Xun watched him quietly for a while before standing up and pulling Yan Fei along with him.
This time, they didn’t melt open Zhang Su’s door—they simply walked out and went next door to knock on 1601’s door.
Li Tie opened it, surprised to see them return. “Huh? Forget something?” he asked, stepping aside to let them in.
Luo Xun waited until all five of them were gathered before speaking. “We just talked to Zhang Su. He said he did something at the base last night—you’ll probably hear about it soon if you go ask around.” He then looked at Wang Duo. “He said if you can accept what happened, he’s willing to try being with you.”
Wang Duo froze, eyes wide in shock as he stared at Luo Xun.
The others looked confused. They knew Zhang Su had thrown Wang Duo out after using him, but not that there might be something more behind it.
Wu Xin quickly asked, “What happened last night?”
“Yeah, whatever it was—what’s it got to do with us? You think we’d let something like that mess up our friendship?”
“Exactly! Right, Wang Duo?”
Luo Xun interrupted them, his expression serious. “I didn’t ask for details, but whatever it was—it definitely wasn’t something small.”
His words made the group fall silent. Earlier, they hadn’t pressed Wang Duo for details because they wanted to give him time to recover before asking why Zhang Su had thrown him out.
They could tell Wang Duo was serious about this, so they’d wanted to encourage him not to give up. The two of them had already… well, done it. Maybe there was still a chance. It was the apocalypse, after all—no one cared about same-sex relationships anymore. Just look at Luo Xun and Yan Fei; weren’t they doing fine?
But if what Luo Xun said was true—that something serious had happened last night—then what could it have been? In these times, they’d all heard rumors about bad things happening inside the base. Could it be that Zhang Su was attacked by some pervert, got traumatized, and then… needed someone to release it on afterward?
The thought made them glance anxiously at Wang Duo.
But Wang Duo wasn’t thinking about that at all. He blurted out, “He said he’s willing to be with me?!”
Luo Xun blinked, a little guilty. Well… technically…
Yan Fei stepped forward and said calmly, “He said having a boyfriend who can clean, cook, massage, and do laundry doesn’t sound bad.” Then, with a faint smile, he added, “But I’d suggest you first find out what exactly happened at the base last night. Personally, I think he killed someone.”
“K–killed…” Li Tie’s voice caught in his throat. He couldn’t even get the second word out.
Yan Fei nodded slightly, still smiling. “Probably more than one. Last night, the smell of blood on him was so strong it could make you faint.” His gaze slowly swept over the five shocked faces. “My advice: go ask around if you want—but no matter what you find out, don’t tell anyone it was him. Don’t breathe a word about it.”
The group had all gone pale, standing frozen in place, not knowing what to say.
After that, Yan Fei put his arm around Luo Xun’s shoulders and led him out. This wasn’t something they could fix for the others. All they could do was say their piece—and let the rest figure it out on their own.
After Zhang Su returned last night, Yan Fei immediately noticed the faint smell of blood on him. However, he didn’t think it was necessary to bring it up at the time. When he later heard that Zhang Su had only pulled Wang Duo inside for the purpose of sleeping together, he didn’t try to stop it either.
The base wasn’t as peaceful as it appeared. Not only Luo Xun, but Yan Fei as well could sense the darkness and corruption lurking beneath its calm surface. Sometimes when they drove past certain areas, they could see faint traces of blood in the corners—left behind from the early days of the apocalypse, perhaps? Or something more recent?
They had even caught sight of people doing unspeakable things in the shadows. Of course, since the two of them usually traveled by car and avoided rarely used side paths, they didn’t see as much as they could have.
Li Tie and his group were pure-minded—that was one of the reasons Luo Xun liked associating with them. But purity didn’t mean naïveté. If they couldn’t accept the darker side of this new world, Yan Fei didn’t think any of them were suitable to be with Zhang Su. They were complete opposites—two extremes that could only hurt each other if forced together. Better to be honest from the start: if they couldn’t get along, then it was best to part ways cleanly instead of suffering later.
Before Li Tie and the others could even suggest going out to gather information, Luo Xun and Yan Fei already knew what had happened last night—because Lieutenant Ding had come knocking.
Hearing noises at the gate, the residents of the 16th floor all came out to see what was going on. Li Tie and the others had been planning to go out after lunch, but now someone had arrived first.
“Lieutenant Ding?” Li Tie said in surprise. “But today’s New Year’s Eve! You’re still on duty?”
Lieutenant Ding gave a bitter smile. “I don’t have a choice—something serious happened in the base.”
Li Tie and the others exchanged startled looks. They suddenly recalled what Luo Xun and Yan Fei had said earlier—that if they went out to ask around, they’d find out what happened last night… Could it be—Zhang Su?!
Yan Fei and Luo Xun also came out and opened the gate for Lieutenant Ding. Seeing that he’d come alone, they immediately had a good idea of the situation. Whether or not higher-ups knew what Zhang Su had done last night, the fact that only Lieutenant Ding was sent meant they wanted to keep things quiet for now.
Zhang Su emerged as well, and when he caught Lieutenant Ding’s anxious, uneasy gaze, a wickedly beautiful smile bloomed across his face.
“…Let’s talk inside,” Lieutenant Ding said, his unease growing stronger at that smile. He had known it!
Everyone bustled about for a bit. Since the walls in unit 1601 had just been repainted and still smelled, and Luo Xun’s room was freshly plastered as well, Zhang Su waved a hand. “Come to my place then. No chairs though.” Then he turned and led the way.
Lieutenant Ding had no choice but to follow, and thankfully, Luo Xun and the others went in too. Yan Fei closed and bolted the main door behind them before joining the group.
No one bothered with formalities—they simply sat on the floor of the living room and turned their eyes to Lieutenant Ding.
He cleared his throat, face grim. “Last night, a… particularly brutal murder case occurred in the base.” His gaze met Zhang Su’s crescent-shaped eyes, and he suppressed the unease bubbling in his chest.
Li Tie and the others widened their eyes in shock. Murder—so Zhang Su did kill someone last night?!
Seeing that no one spoke, Lieutenant Ding continued with a deep breath: “Last night, eleven people were found dead at the gate of the newly built District 13. They were… cut to death by a wind-type ability user. When we examined the bodies, we found that they all died from massive blood loss. Not a single inch of skin on them was intact… but none of their major arteries were severed before death.” In other words, they’d been flayed alive.
Everyone who knew about the existence of a powerful, temperamental wind-type ability user in the base immediately guessed who the culprit was. But they also knew that this man’s power was formidable, that his neighbors included a skilled metal-type user and a deadly archer. Even if those two didn’t help him, he himself was a highly skilled surgeon—an invaluable asset in the base’s current state.
Besides, the victims had no powerful backers, there were no eyewitnesses, manpower was scarce, and powerful ability users were in short supply. The higher-ups were also locked in political struggles of their own. Under such conditions, no one wanted to risk sending people to arrest him—who could guarantee subduing such a dangerous wind-type without losses?
And was he even really guilty? Why would he do it? Without proof, they had to proceed cautiously. So the base decided to send Lieutenant Ding—someone familiar with the group and in charge of security in their area—to quietly investigate.
It was a hard-learned lesson: after losing too many men in past attempts to capture ability users who went berserk, the base now knew that fighting one of their own was far harder than dealing with zombies.
Zhang Su still wore his usual lazy, careless smile. His right index finger toyed idly with a lock of hair beside his face, curling it around and around, making Lieutenant Ding’s scalp prickle.
Taking a deep breath, Lieutenant Ding stared straight at him. “Around midnight last night—where were you?”
Zhang Su raised an eyebrow, his pale pink lips parting slightly. But before he could speak—
With a loud “whoosh,” Wang Duo suddenly stood up, face pale. “He—he was with me last night! We—we were… you know! So it definitely wasn’t him!!”
Lieutenant Ding froze, eyes wide in disbelief.
Li Tie and the others gaped at the breathless Wang Duo, while Luo Xun and Yan Fei also turned to stare in shock. Oh, kid… impulsiveness is the devil. Didn’t you hear what Lieutenant Ding just said? Zhang Su flayed eleven people alive—not just killed, but flayed!
As the room fell into stunned silence, Zhang Su suddenly burst out laughing. Wang Duo slumped weakly back against the wall, all strength gone from his legs. He had never been this brave in his life—not even when he’d first faced zombies or swung a weapon for the first time. It had taken every ounce of courage he had to blurt out a false alibi for Zhang Su in front of a soldier.
Did Zhang Su really do it last night? Even without Luo Xun’s earlier hints, they would have suspected him—the powerful wind ability, the blood-soaked scene. Just like the first time they’d met him outside the base: a thin figure standing amidst a horde of zombies, with a storm raging around him, tearing through the mindless creatures—so powerful, yet so fragile.
Wang Duo just wanted to protect him, in his own powerless way.
Zhang Su laughed until his whole body shook. On his stunningly beautiful face, the smile looked almost enchanting—and for once, Luo Xun and Yan Fei felt a bit relieved. At least this time, his laughter didn’t carry that usual edge of madness and menace.
Everyone silently watched him, silently praying that his laughter would be enough to scare Lieutenant Ding away—because no matter how sincere Wang Duo’s false testimony was, it still depended on whether Lieutenant Ding believed it or not.
After laughing heartily, Zhang Su wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes. He slanted a teasing glance at Wang Duo—who was now slumped weakly against the wall, his earlier bravado completely gone—and drawled,
“I finished my last surgery at 11:20 last night. Even if I drove back immediately, I couldn’t have made it here by twelve. Do you take the base’s soldiers for a bunch of idiots?”
Lieutenant Ding—one of those “idiots”—couldn’t help the twitch that pulled twice at the corner of his mouth.
“But…” Wang Duo wanted to say something, but one sharp glare from Zhang Su shut him up instantly. Li Tie and the others averted their eyes in embarrassment. Bronchitis! one of them thought bitterly. Where’s your spine, man? You’re making us classmates look bad!
Zhang Su shook loose the strands of hair he’d twisted into a tangled mess, propped his chin on one hand, and turned to Lieutenant Ding.
“I killed them,” he said lazily. “So what?”
…So what? You killed people and still sound so righteous—do you even know what law is?!
Thinking about how his superiors hadn’t even bothered to send backup—just dumped this mess on him and made him come in on New Year’s Eve—Lieutenant Ding fought the urge to cough up blood. Taking a deep breath, he forced out, “Why?”
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
