That day after going back, Chen Hao, who was in a sorry state all over, clearly changed his attitude toward Bai Chen Zhu, but it merely shifted from mockery to isolation.
Now, with Mr. Zhao and Chen Hao sandwiching him in the middle, the rebellious seeds in Bai Chen Zhu’s heart were almost about to sprout.
He simply disliked dealing with people; that didn’t mean he couldn’t see through both sides’ schemes. As time passed, his impression of the first human base he had encountered grew worse and worse.
He still had to make other plans. Bai Chen Zhu thought.
One week later.
“I disagree. There’s no need to take this risk.” Bai Chen Zhu set down the documents in his hand.
“You punk, what do you know!” Chen Hao said gruffly. He alone occupied an entire long sofa, half-lying half-sitting on it, while a skinny man who looked like a monkey dutifully kneaded his legs.
In the apocalypse, nothing rare seemed unusual anymore.
“The zombies are all gathering on Yellow Ox Mountain. That’s good for us; there’s no need to go investigate specifically.” Bai Chen Zhu said calmly. “Whether they’re about to produce a zombie king or there’s something attracting them, even if we scout it out, it holds no meaning for us.”
“Playing it safe and preparing defenses is the best plan.”
“Where’s it meaningless! If it’s a zombie king, this grandpa will beat it until it’s searching for its teeth on the ground. If there’s some magical thing that can command the zombies, we need to grab it even more!” Chen Hao stood up and smashed the table with one fist, brimming with fighting spirit.
He was at the peak of his invincible streak; the mutants around the shelter couldn’t satisfy him anymore. He had to head out for some real action.
The table cracked and toppled to the ground. Bai Chen Zhu’s eyelids twitched as he watched. “You destroyed another piece of furniture.”
If he didn’t know Chen Hao was an ability user, he would have thought the guy had already turned into a zombie long ago—otherwise, how could he have a brain that only did things harmful to others and useless to himself?
“It’s just a table. Look at how petty you are. Don’t worry; when the time comes, you can just hide behind grandpa. Remember to bring extra pants,” Chen Hao guffawed, “in case you get scared and wet yourself!”
The people in the squad all chimed in agreement, praising Chen Hao’s heroism and scorning Bai Chen Zhu’s cowardice.
They more or less looked down on Bai Chen Zhu.
That was normal. Bai Chen Zhu had been promoted by the current leader, all because of his scouting skills on zombies and his knowledge of superpowers.
Rumor had it that it was a mental ability user.
Mental system? What the hell was that? With so many people in Fuguang City, they had never seen a so-called mental ability user. It obviously wasn’t as straightforward as Chen Hao punching a zombie’s head to bits.
“Bro.” A cup of water was handed to him. The hoodie-wearing youth sat down beside him and nudged his arm. “If the captain wants to go, let him. The captain is wise and mighty; he’ll definitely protect us. Right, Captain?”
“Of course!” Chen Hao’s vanity was satisfied. He thumped his chest and boasted, “With me here, you can rest ten thousand times easier!”
Bai Chen Zhu couldn’t stand watching anymore. He downed the water in one gulp and casually set the cup on the armrest. “Go if you want. Don’t include me in this mission.”
With that, he stood up and headed out.
“Tch! Not much skill, but plenty of pride!” Chen Hao called after him. “Who cares!”
His words faded as the door seam grew smaller.
“Bro!” The youth jogged to catch up. He kept glancing back until they were far away, then whispered, “We’re kinda ‘within the system’ now, right? Don’t we have to listen to the leader?”
What ‘within the system’? Bai Chen Zhu felt annoyed hearing it.
“Tang Zhao, don’t think about weird stuff.” Bai Chen Zhu flicked his forehead.
Tang Zhao scratched his head and looked around before leaning in to whisper, “But bro, if you do this, Mr. Zhao will definitely invite you along.”
This Mr. Zhao was currently the one in power in Fuguang City; the ability user squad was directly under his command.
What Tang Zhao didn’t say was that Mr. Zhao had a timid personality and no superpowers. Though he had temporarily placated Chen Hao with the squad captain position for now, it was only a matter of time before Mr. Zhao was ousted.
And Fuguang City under Chen Hao’s rule? No need to think; everyone knew what it would be like.
Bai Chen Zhu knew exactly what it would be like. Every time he probed Mr. Zhao, the man understood his hints but pretended not to hear, deceiving himself to get by.
He muttered a curse under his breath, contemplating the possibility of packing up and running. He had been wrong; he thought Jiang Ye was a bastard, but he hadn’t expected the outside world to be full of even more infuriating bastards.
But he didn’t regret what he had done. Bai Chen Zhu only thought about his next step.
Tang Zhao was right on the money. Less than ten minutes later, Mr. Zhao sent someone to fetch him.
Tang Zhao couldn’t go in, so he put on his hat, leaned against the wall by the door with arms crossed, and blended into the shadows. Waiting made him drowsy; his head nodded lower and lower, on the verge of falling asleep.
“Good thing you’re not on an IV drip right now, or it’d really make people worry.” The voice arrived before the person.
Tang Zhao shook his head. Somehow, a figure had appeared before him—dressed in plain clothes, with black hair accentuating skin so pale it glowed, and handsome features.
Tang Zhao focused and grinned, straightening up. “Eh? Bro! You’re done chatting with Mr. Zhao?”
He belatedly remembered their hospital encounter. “Oh~ You mean that time at the hospital. Thanks to Bro Bai carrying my IV bag for me.”
Bai Chen Zhu walked slowly ahead, and he followed behind, craning his neck. “So, bro, what happened in the end?”
“What else could happen.” Bai Chen Zhu sighed. “We have to go this time. Mr. Zhao is also very interested in the situation on the mountain.”
Tang Zhao slapped his palm, suddenly enlightened.
Bai Chen Zhu grabbed the guy who was about to head back to pack and pulled him into a corner after confirming no one was paying attention. He whispered, “Little Tang, do you like it here?”
“Huh? Where?” Tang Zhao was stunned by the question, then realized. “Fuguang City? It’s okay, I guess, but I don’t really like the atmosphere here.”
Fuguang City wasn’t his hometown, so he had no strong feelings for it. It was gradually turning into a place where the strong reigned supreme. And with Mr. Zhao turning a blind eye, it bred an air where every ability user acted like a local emperor.
Tang Zhao had also awakened superpowers, which ranked mid-to-high in the squad. But he never saw it as proof of his superiority; he even despised the law of the jungle because he knew that once oppression started, even non-top ability users would suffer—no one would be spared.
“We can’t save everyone, but at least we can save ourselves. You’ve seen Chen Hao’s true colors too,” Bai Chen Zhu gazed at him. “Are you willing to come with me?”
One week was enough time for him to observe the environment and make a decision.
Tang Zhao’s eyes lit up like a puppy’s upon hearing this, thrilled. “Where to?”
He was reluctant to leave the little house he’d traded resources for recently, and even more reluctant to leave the only familiar person he knew, Bai Chen Zhu.
But between the house and Bai Chen Zhu, he preferred to follow Bai Chen Zhu. He struck a grand pose with arms outstretched. “Big bro, are we finally going to save the world?!”
Bai Chen Zhu was stunned by his chuunibyou spirit, amused yet sighing. “Why do you all always dream of saving the world?”
Wasn’t it good just to hunker down and survive?
“Heh heh!” Tang Zhao chattered nonstop, trotting on tiptoes. “So, where to, where to?”
“With my ability to evade zombies and your combat strength, where can’t we go? This place sucks; we’ll just switch to another one. There has to be a base leader who’s decent.” Bai Chen Zhu shared his idea.
Tang Zhao thought about it and found it feasible, eager to try. “Then when do we set off?”
“On this mission.” Bai Chen Zhu lowered his gaze. “Mr. Zhao won’t let us go easily, so no need for reports or goodbyes. This trip to Yellow Ox Mountain—if we really run into a zombie tide, it won’t be fun. We’ll find an opportunity and leave.”
Tang Zhao furtively stretched his neck to look around, confirming no third person heard. “So… does this count as deserting?”
He earned another flick on the forehead from Bai Chen Zhu.
Always saying weird things—’within the system’ one time, ‘deserter’ the next. Bai Chen Zhu was torn between laughter and tears. “You and Bai Tao might actually get along.”
“Who’s Bai Tao?”
Bai Chen Zhu didn’t want to say more. He pushed Tang Zhao to turn around, grumbling, “A white peach(Bai =White ; Tao=Peach). Don’t ask. Go back and pack!”
Tang Zhao turned his head, about to say there were no white peaches in the world, when Bai Chen Zhu kicked him in the butt. “Scram back!”
“Huh? Hey!”
Chen Hao never cared about others’ lives when making decisions. If he said they were going to Yellow Ox Mountain, the whole squad had to go. If he said depart at dawn, even if the team grumbled, they still obediently packed that night.
As for Chen Hao? He never worried about supplies; someone would eagerly prepare everything for him.
Bai Chen Zhu and Tang Zhao had vanished for a day and reappeared at the city gate the next morning, backpacks on as usual.
“Coward.” Chen Hao sneered and led the neat line of people toward Yellow Ox Mountain with his head held high.
Bai Chen Zhu’s superpowers might be useful to others, but Chen Hao always trusted his fists. He never listened to Bai Chen Zhu and sometimes deliberately did the opposite.
Seeing this, Bai Chen Zhu simply stayed silent, arms crossed at the side like an invisible man, enjoying the peace.
The intel was spot on: zombies were converging at the top of Yellow Ox Mountain. There were only scattered ones shambling on the road, all taken out by Chen Hao and the others. This only boosted Chen Hao’s confidence further.
As dusk approached, just as the group reached the mountainside and prepared to camp in the wild, a massive roar echoed from the mountain, shaking the earth.
Even someone as arrogant as Chen Hao grew solemn at the unknown situation. He ordered everyone to gear up, just in case.
Chaotic footsteps grew closer. What appeared before them was over a dozen zombies and mutated cows charging down from the mountain, followed by their noticing the one man and two women fleeing desperately at the forefront.
The man in front, even while fleeing, wore a grin that seemed to stir up chaos. Dressed in bright red clothes, he was practically a living bullfighting target.
Even though Bai Chen Zhu vaguely guessed that the purpose of this trip might align with Jiang Ye’s goal, he never imagined their reunion would look like this.
Beside him, Tang Zhao let out an admiring “Wow,” stars in his eyes. Bai Chen Zhu pressed a hand on his forehead and pushed down hard, suppressing the exclamation. “Bad stuff. Don’t learn from kids.”
Seeing people on the mountainside, the man and two women rushed straight toward Chen Hao’s group.
Jiang Ye shouted loudly, “Brothers, lend a hand! I’ll treat you to roast beef!”
With so many zombies and mutated cows, Chen Hao’s first instinct was to run, second was that he was an ability user and didn’t need to. Furious, he yelled, “Don’t come over here!”
