Jiang Ye, who knew the inside story best, stepped sideways and blocked him behind himself, separating him from Han Yuyan and Bai Chen Zhu.
“Sorry,” he said with a wicked smile tugging at his lips as he seized the initiative and took control, “He injured his head in a fall, and his memory is damaged. We can’t confirm you’re his aunt. Do you have any proof?”
Bai Chen Zhu, who had ‘memory damage,’ watched the situation unfold and tacitly approved of Jiang Ye acting as his spokesperson. He didn’t want to acknowledge this aunt deep down. The differences between him and the original owner were too great, both in personality and body.
“And what about you? Who are you to him?” Han Yuyan narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the unfamiliar man before her, and questioned him displeasingly in an elder’s tone, “What right do you have to speak to me?”
“I’m the person closest to him right now.” Jiang Ye lifted his chin slightly, smiling lazily and smugly, as if to say: Who do you think you are?
Beneath this aggressive vigilance toward a stranger was obvious protectiveness. Han Yuyan frowned and believed a portion of what he said.
The two seemed poised for a standoff when Zhou Zhuo Hua stepped in to smooth things over in time. “Alright, there might be some misunderstanding here. Why don’t we sit down and talk?”
The buzz-cut middle-aged man watched the confrontation, fearing Han Yuyan might get hurt, and stepped forward. “Doctor.” His address was also meant to dissuade her.
After some conversation, Jiang Ye took the others to the gas station to refuel, while at the woman’s request, Bai Chen Zhu stayed alone with her by the roadside for a short while.
“Little Zhu, you really don’t recognize Auntie anymore??” Once the unrelated people left, Han Yuyan’s attitude softened considerably, her eyes full of worry.
Bai Chen Zhu could clearly sense a friendly aura emanating from this woman, full of affinity that made everyone who saw her—especially those who heard her voice—instinctively feel fondness.
It was as if a voice in his mind kept repeating: She’s a good person. She’s no threat.
What a peculiar ability. Bai Chen Zhu finally understood this woman’s power. He lowered his eyes, as if he had said a lot when he actually said nothing. “Sorry.”
“They’re your friends, right? How long have you known them?” Han Yuyan glanced back at Jiang Ye in the distance, worry creasing her brow. She looked at Bai Chen Zhu like he was a child who’d been lured away by a bad influence.
Bai Chen Zhu kept a straight face and gave an ambiguous answer. He said, “I’ve known them since I can remember.”
Han Yuyan sighed heavily. “Little Zhu, you’ve always been a simple child. Don’t trust strangers so easily. That guy who just blocked you—I don’t think he’s a good person.”
“Mm.” Bai Chen Zhu brushed it off. With no way to deal with him, Han Yuyan began her barrage of memories, hoping to jog his recollection.
Through her recounting, Bai Chen Zhu roughly understood how this Han Yuyan had suddenly appeared.
Han Yuyan was the child adopted by the original owner’s maternal grandmother. From a young age, she worked and saved frugally, pouring most of her earnings into medical bills for her mother and sister.
Later, after getting into university, her biological parents took her back.
When the original owner’s maternal grandmother passed away, she had returned, and after the funeral, she had asked Bai Chen Zhu if he wanted to go with her. But the original owner had clearly refused, preferring to live alone in the house and scrape by rather than be a burden to this aunt.
Moreover, Han Yuyan was heading to the capital for further studies, so the two had lost contact for the time being.
Han Yuyan even asked, “Is your body feeling better? Why haven’t you used the card Auntie gave you? Come with Auntie. I have professional doctors there. How can you keep following those people, eating and sleeping poorly? That’ll cause big problems.”
Bai Chen Zhu’s eyelid twitched as he listened. He somewhat regretted not checking the original owner’s bank card in time back then. At first, seeing the empty house and that the original owner had to work, he thought the original owner had no family.
As for his body… it was perfectly fine now. Ever since Jiang Ye had helped him reclaim his mental power, he could run and jump without much headache or dizziness anymore.
Should he deny it outright? But this aunt seemed like someone important; she might come in handy later. Bai Chen Zhu quickly made a decision in those few seconds.
It didn’t matter if he hadn’t known her before; now that he did, it was fine.
Bai Chen Zhu feigned confusion. “So I have a hereditary illness? But my body feels perfectly fine.”
Han Yuyan was shocked. “What!”
With no doctors around, Bai Chen Zhu started spouting nonsense with a straight face. “They say ability users have great bodies. Maybe I’m about to awaken too.”
Han Yuyan was both shocked and delighted, immediately believing him. “That’s wonderful!”
Bai Chen Zhu observed her for a bit and saw she was genuinely happy for him.
He confirmed that she hadn’t recognized him as a psychic-type ability user and seemed unaware of her own superpower?
Come to think of it, Bai Tao also had trouble identifying ability users. So wasn’t this his unique ability? Just like detecting zombies. The thought flashed through Bai Chen Zhu’s mind, and a sincere smile appeared on his face.
The two groups parted like briefly intersecting parallel lines, soon going their separate ways.
—
Bai Chen Zhu’s group went ahead first.
This time, Jiang Ye drove. Once they were away from the gas station, he asked smugly, “So, how’d it go?”
Bai Chen Zhu really wanted to punch him, but after cracking his knuckles for a while, he didn’t dare strike the driver—that would be suicidal. “Jiang Ye, why did you acknowledge that aunt for me?”
At the start, he could have completely denied being the original owner. In this world, who would check his past? Without a past to verify, he could fabricate his identity.
“You’re wronging me.” Jiang Ye sounded aggrieved. “I only said you lost your memory. I didn’t acknowledge her for you. That leaves plenty of room—you can decide whether to recognize her or not.”
Bai Chen Zhu sneered twice. “Be honest. Do you know her, which is why you wanted to make contact?”
Jiang Ye glanced at the few people listening intently from the back. “Yes, I know her. She’s a famous expert in biology.”
He didn’t say more, with others present.
Coincidentally, Bai Chen Zhu shared his thinking now and wanted to keep in touch with this lady.
“Fine.” Bai Chen Zhu nodded. “We’ll meet her again. She was invited by Luozhou City’s leader to treat his son.”
Jiang Ye instantly understood the implication.
Bai Tao was an only child, so Luozhou City’s ruler, who had a son, was very likely not her father.
Bai Tao, unable to decipher their coded talk, perked up her ears as her gossip flames ignited. “You guys have so many secrets. Is she really your aunt?”
Jiang Ye clicked his tongue. “I said he lost his memory.”
“Is the amnesia real? Like in TV dramas! So cool!” Tang Zhao exclaimed dramatically. “Hey, wait, bro, then how do you still remember me?”
To play the part fully, Bai Chen Zhu rubbed his temple and began fleshing out his backstory. “I lost my memory before meeting you at the hospital. If you hadn’t called out to me, I wouldn’t have recognized you.”
“That early! No wonder your superpower is so strong—you must’ve been infected long ago!” Tang Zhao said admiringly. “I knew Teacher Bai was different from before. He’s more spirited now, more lively. He used to be so lifeless…”
They had been two different people, and Bai Chen Zhu had no intention of listening to the original owner being disparaged. He quickly cut him off. “Enough. Go to sleep. We’ve got a long drive.”
—
They encountered a shop on the road and restocked some supplies. Unfortunately, most stores were long emptied, and supermarkets with warehouses were in the city center.
In the car, Tang Zhao and Bai Tao debated whether to head into the city again. There were plenty of supplies inside, but obviously more mutants too—likely even ones like the last mutant they’d faced.
Defeating the ‘Zombie King’ mutated cow had boosted Tang Zhao’s confidence. He believed their team was unlikely to run into stronger foes, so he urged Bai Chen Zhu to hit the supermarket for cookies, instant noodles, and such.
Bai Tao felt their current supplies were enough and there was no need to risk it.
“How is that enough?” Tang Zhao counted on his fingers, rattling them off like treasures. He was always the most sensitive to supplies. “We’ve got five people, three meals a day. Even rationing won’t last a week. Like now—it’s almost noon. What do we eat for lunch?”
At that moment, Zhou Zhuo Hua, who had been staring blankly at the sea flowing into the land to form the great river, turned her head. “We can fish for lunch.”
Jiang Ye perked up and glanced at the three in the rearview mirror. “A’Zhu, wake up. Want some fish?”
He mischievously shook the sleeping person awake.
Bai Chen Zhu yawned, a bit interested in lunch now, and nodded.
The car exited the elevated road and stopped by the great river. A path ran alongside it, forming a riverside park.
The great river’s waters were murky, greenish-yellow. Tang Zhao eagerly got out, kicked off his shoes, and was about to wade in when Bai Tao yanked him back hard. “Are you trying to die? Even kids know not to go into rivers casually!”
“The water looks shallow.” Tang Zhao grumbled as Bai Tao dragged him aside for a lecture. Zhou Zhuo Hua leaned against the car, watching them fondly like two bickering kids.
“How do you plan to fish?” Zhou Zhuo Hua turned her face toward the very calm Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye said nothing, but Bai Chen Zhu understood. “He must’ve spotted it ages ago.”
He pointed under the elevated bridge. “Look, right there.”
They looked and saw several shuttered shops, one labeled: Jianghe Fishing Supplies.
“Making do with what’s at hand—someone’s specialty.” Bai Chen Zhu remarked.
Jiang Ye crossed his arms and tilted his head at him. “You sure know me well.”
Bai Tao and Tang Zhao rushed over excitedly, only to scream and run back out. A vagrant zombie had somehow crawled out from somewhere.
But once they remembered their abilities, they charged back in with whoops.
In the end, that zombie was tossed into the river, struggled for a bit, and quickly sank.
Bai Tao cried out in shock, “Look! Those fish biting the zombie aren’t normal fish!” She clearly saw a school of big fish viciously tearing it apart. Would normal fish do that?
Bai Tao figured lunch was off the table now.
Bai Chen Zhu found a shady spot to lie down, draped his jacket over himself, and tried to resume his nap. “Whether it’s fish or carrion, catch it first and see. Good luck.”
Jiang Ye sat beside him, watching the trio’s fishing contest and acting as referee.
—
With the sun high and the temperature rising, Jiang Ye checked their buckets one by one and finally announced, “Sister Zhuo Hua wins.”
“Why! I caught the most!” Tang Zhao waved his arms, indignant.
Jiang Ye glanced at him and dumped out his bucket. Some fish were just skeletons, others had moldy scales— all sorts of freakish ones, with only one or two normal ones mixed in.
“You caught the most, sure, but they’re all mutants. Dare to eat them?”
Jiang Ye then dumped out Zhou Zhuo Hua’s fish. Hers were clearly selected; only the normal-looking ones remained.
Finally, he emptied Bai Tao’s bucket. Like Tang Zhao’s, it was a mix of mutants and normals, all jumbled without sorting.
Seeing the stark contrast, Tang Zhao instantly shut up and raised his hands in surrender.
Bai Chen Zhu woke to a tantalizing aroma. He twitched his nose and sat up straight.
Dazedly lifting his jacket, he saw the four grilling fish nearby. Bai Tao was deliberately waving one in front of his face, using the smell to wake him.
“Slackers don’t get any!” Bai Tao boasted over her prize, munching happily.
“Whatever.” Bai Chen Zhu stretched lazily to tease her. “I’ll eat Jiang Ye’s.”
“Hm?” Jiang Ye gave him a strange look. “Weren’t you asleep the whole time? How’d you know I went fishing?”
Jiang Ye had gone last, after the three used up the rods, and caught two big fish.
Bai Chen Zhu stood, brushed the dust off himself, and smirked. His dark eyes fixed on Jiang Ye’s mysteriously. “Guess.”
He walked toward Jiang Ye and saw everyone munching on a grilled fish—except Zhou Zhuo Hua, who ate bread on the side.
“What, isolating her? Not sharing one with Sister Zhuo Hua.” Bai Chen Zhu, freshly awake, blurted it out before thinking.
His words brought a hush.
Zhou Zhuo Hua explained proactively. “No isolation. You guys eat the fish. It might not agree with me.”
Bai Chen Zhu then remembered: mutants were all the same at their core, carrying the virus. They’d shared grilled chicken before because it looked normal, boldly eating together.
These seemingly normal fish and mutated fish had all been caught from the same river, so whether they were infected or not, they couldn’t tell either.
Tang Zhao had long since started calling Bai Chen Zhu “sis,” and at this moment, he said without a care, “If only Zhuo Hua sis were an ability user too.”
What kind of talk was that! Bai Tao gave him an elbow to the chest, hard enough that it nearly made him spit up. Tang Zhao clutched his throat, looking choked, and Bai Tao hurriedly patted his back in a panic.
“It’s fine, ordinary people are great too.” Zhou Zhuo Hua’s smile was a bit forced.
Jiang Ye nodded. “Don’t overthink it. Whether you have superpowers or not doesn’t matter—what matters is staying safe, healthy, and sound forever.”
To him, Zhou Zhuo Hua being alive was more than enough.
“That’s true.” Zhou Zhuo Hua smiled, slowly chewing the bread in her hand.
For a moment, no one spoke, and the atmosphere grew awkward. She blinked. “Seeing you all eat meat is making me hungry for some too. I’ll go grab some from the car.”
Bai Tao stood up to follow her, but Bai Chen Zhu pulled her back. “Don’t go.”
Bai Chen Zhu had seen the lost and out-of-place look in Zhou Zhuo Hua’s eyes. “Let her be alone for a bit.”
Bai Tao puffed out her cheeks and sat back down.
Bai Chen Zhu sat down next to Jiang Ye and rolled up his sleeves. Jiang Ye had just finished grilling a fish and dangled it in front of him teasingly. “Smells good, right? Huh? Call me bro, and it’s yours.”
“A real man doesn’t bend for a single fish.” Bai Chen Zhu’s gaze was resolute.
“Fine, then watch me eat it.” Jiang Ye was delighted. He turned to face Bai Chen Zhu directly, lifting the fish for a big bite.
Bai Chen Zhu suddenly raised his hand to block him. “I didn’t say no. We can barter.”
“What do you have to trade with me?” Jiang Ye looked at him with interest, deliberately eyeing him up and down to confirm the guy wasn’t carrying anything rare.
Bai Chen Zhu rummaged in his pants pocket and, under the three’s gazes, pulled out a fruit candy wrapped in flashy packaging.
No need to guess—it was from when they’d all gone scavenging at the supermarket earlier.
They’d all been focused on grabbing biscuits, bread, instant noodles, and drinks, never imagining Bai Chen Zhu had spared some attention for sweets.
Tang Zhao nearly jumped up. “No way, bro, you—how do you just carry candy around like that! That’s cheating!”
Bai Chen Zhu stared at Jiang Ye, his eyes reflecting the other’s stunned expression. He shook the candy in his hand matter-of-factly. “Because it’s for bribing people. And now it’s coming in handy.”
Bai Tao vaguely remembered their first meeting. Back then, she’d thought the two liked sweets and had deliberately bribed them with candy to take her find her mother.
Now it seemed her actions had been laughably childish—candy wasn’t anything special. She sat back down, gnawing her fish and watching the show without a word.
Tang Zhao couldn’t believe it. “One candy for a whole fish? Only an idiot would agree!”
As soon as he said it, Jiang Ye shot him a knife-like glare, and Tang Zhao immediately clamped both hands over his mouth in shock.
A smile tugged at Bai Chen Zhu’s lips. “Someone will always go for it.”
Jiang Ye snatched the fruit candy from his palm and shoved the skewer with the grilled fish into his hand. “Just eat it.”
It seemed like he was saying it to Tang Zhao as much as to Bai Chen Zhu.
