Chapter 24: Protecting You

Under Bai Chen Zhu’s persuasion, Jiang Ye finally put the knife down.

“I once told you that there was a special type of ability user in this world that people didn’t notice until much later.” Jiang Ye clutched his forehead and hissed through the pain. As he spoke, he cursed again, “Damn it!”

Bai Chen Zhu silently poured him a glass of water. “Keep talking. Is Bai Tao the same as me?”

“How are they the same!” Jiang Ye was furious and slammed the table. “When she goes crazy, she attacks friends and foes alike. She’s a mutated mental ability user with extremely strong attack power.”

“You mean my attack power isn’t strong?” Bai Chen Zhu translated.

He didn’t care about Bai Tao, nor was he interested in any connection between Jiang Ye and Bai Tao. He only wanted to know things related to himself, especially major matters involving whether he could survive in the future.

Jiang Ye paused, mumbling vaguely, “Isn’t this pretty good?”

The gleaming knife tip pressed against Jiang Ye’s Adam’s apple.

Jiang Ye swallowed. “Hey.”

Compared to Bai Chen Zhu killing him, Jiang Ye was more worried that this person who had never held a knife before might cause some accident. If he didn’t die from it, that would be even more painful.

Bai Chen Zhu said coldly, “Keep talking about ability users. I saw her attacking people. But you say I lack attack power, yet we’re both mental system ability users. So what exactly is my superpower?”

Before Jiang Ye could speak, he pushed the knife forward, leaving less than a centimeter between it and the skin.

Bai Chen Zhu narrowed his eyes, tearing away his usual mild and calm facade to reveal something cold and irritable. “Jiang Ye, the first time I asked, you said I needed to show sincerity and go with you. The second time I asked, you hid a lot and told me there was plenty of time ahead. Things don’t go beyond three times. My patience is limited. If this knife goes down, we won’t have any ‘plenty of time ahead.’”

When there was no danger, Bai Chen Zhu could afford not to care.

But now he had clearly seen the ugly side of human nature and realized the dangers of survival. If he had been the one left in the hotel instead of Zhou Zhuo Hua, waves of lingering fear surged in his heart. No matter what, he had to grasp what he could.

Jiang Ye eyed him with a half-smile.

Bai Chen Zhu frowned and called his name again.

“I thought you knew I was guiding you all along.” Jiang Ye leaned back, propping himself against the headboard. His gaze fixed on Bai Chen Zhu’s face, but his hand pressed against the blade and pushed it outward. There was no wound on his fingertip.

“If you’re going to threaten, do it properly. What was that about secretly turning your wrist halfway and using the flat of the blade on me?” Jiang Ye’s fingers slithered over the blade like a snake, suddenly pinching his wrist. “You’re not ruthless enough.”

Bai Chen Zhu only felt his wrist go numb, and the fruit knife inexplicably fell into Jiang Ye’s hand.

Jiang Ye tossed the fruit knife playfully, catching the handle steadily each time just as Bai Chen Zhu’s heart leaped into his throat. “In terms of skill or strength, you can’t compare to me. But you have one impressive ability.”

He grew tired of playing with the knife and slammed it down on the table instead.

“What is it?” Bai Chen Zhu asked, his eyes half-lidded as he watched him.

Jiang Ye raised his hand and, catching Bai Chen Zhu off guard, cupped half of his face.

Jiang Ye examined him seriously. The man before him was refined and gentle like jade, yet lacked any aggression. He was like a beautiful clear spring—lovely, but easy to overlook the undercurrents beneath.

But Jiang Ye could see it, and he saw it clearly.

His fingertip lightly brushed the small mole under the eye corner, a tiny red speck no bigger than a sesame seed, unremarkable usually. But focusing on it revealed a rare handsomeness and allure.

Especially those eyes…

The behavior was frivolous and offensive. Bai Chen Zhu impatiently clamped his wrist with one hand, stopping the movement. His action was swift, his gaze sharp.

“Right, the eyes.” Jiang Ye’s lip curled up. He slowly withdrew his hand and pointed toward the door. “For example, through the wall, you can completely ‘see’ the situation in Zhou Zhuo Hua’s room.”

He then pointed out the window. “Or, for instance, you can know the structure of this building.”

“Those are the shallower uses. Something more powerful,” Jiang Ye smiled at the man before him, a hint of inexplicable danger in his eyes. His fingertip tapped his own temple. “You can even use mental power to destroy someone’s mind, leaving them insane or idiotic from then on.”

“The difference between you and Bai Tao is that she’s a mutated mental ability user, focused on attack and killing. Your strength lies in reconnaissance.” Jiang Ye tilted his head toward him. “Like that day with the mutated rat, you could clearly point out my position. Even though you don’t know what your superpower is or how to define it, you’ve actually been using it on instinct, haven’t you?”

It was true. Even earlier than Jiang Ye knew, Bai Chen Zhu had been infected after his skin was cut in that chaotic brawl that night. When he woke up, he encountered the man-eating rose.

Bai Chen Zhu understood. There was surprise and joy in his eyes, but also a trace of disappointment. “What’s the use of that? If I encounter that group again, I’m still dead.”

“You idiot. If you had bothered to scout, we wouldn’t have run into them at all.” Jiang Ye chuckled and sat up straight, propping himself with his hand. “As long as you stay by my side, I’ll protect you. I told you, you’re not a burden—you’re a precious ability user.”

It sounded so nice: I’ll protect you. High-sounding words that Bai Chen Zhu never took to heart. His face remained expressionless as he thought: Of course you’d call someone precious if you’re using them as a tool. Who wants to be a tool when they can fight solo?

As if seeing through Bai Chen Zhu’s unspoken words, Jiang Ye tsked lightly. “Then just think of me as your bodyguard. It’s the same thing.”

You use me, I use you—essentially no difference. Both sides seeking what they need.

Bai Chen Zhu propped his chin and thought for a moment. He eyed Jiang Ye suspiciously, feeling that Jiang Ye valued his superpower for more than just basic scouting. But what exactly, he had no clue for now.

Unable to figure it out, he stopped thinking about it and said indifferently, “Not as practical as Bai Tao’s skill.”

“Oh?” Seeing that he hadn’t made Bai Chen Zhu realize the issue after talking so much, Jiang Ye said no more. He lowered his head and drained the water in his cup. “I hope you remember what you just said.”

What did that mean? Bai Chen Zhu frowned at him, but Jiang Ye waved him off to get some food.

The room they were in was one Bai Chen Zhu had forced open. Their original suite still had food stored there.

Bai Chen Zhu saw Jiang Ye raise his arm to block the light, lying silently on the bed. If not for the rise and fall of his breathing, he almost thought Jiang Ye was no longer alive.

Bai Chen Zhu gently closed the door and headed to Zhou Zhuo Hua’s side.

Zhou Zhuo Hua opened the door. She made a shushing gesture, and Bai Chen Zhu nodded. After entering with her, he discovered that Auntie Liang’s body was gone.

Bai Tao lay curled up under the covers, her slender frame hidden from the door like a big bun, with one arm sticking out horizontally. Sometime earlier, her previously bare left wrist now bore an old-style peony flower silver bracelet.

Bai Chen Zhu grabbed two cans of eight treasures porridge. Before leaving, he pointed at Bai Tao. “Has she woken up?”

“Yeah.” To avoid waking her, Zhou Zhuo Hua spoke softly. “I just went with her to bury Auntie Liang.”

Bai Chen Zhu frowned deeply. “That group might still be around. Why didn’t you call me and Jiang Ye?”

Zhou Zhuo Hua pursed her lips and changed the subject. “Bai Tao and Jiang Ye both need rest. We’ll stay here tonight.”

Bai Chen Zhu stared at her for a few seconds, then turned to leave. As Zhou Zhuo Hua was about to close the door, an arm stretched out to hold it open. “Sis,” Bai Chen Zhu returned and said softly, “about Meng Meng…”

Zhou Zhuo Hua’s breath hitched. She clenched her fist, her eyelashes trembling. “Bai Tao already told me.”

Bai Chen Zhu was puzzled. He glanced over her shoulder at the figure in the room.

Hadn’t Bai Tao just lost her mother? She’d passed out after using some unknown ability. Yet upon waking, not only did she have Zhou Zhuo Hua help bury her mother, but she was considerate enough to mention Zhou Meng Meng too?

“Mmm.” Not knowing what to say, Bai Chen Zhu left the heavy atmosphere and soon relayed Zhou Zhuo Hua’s words to Jiang Ye.

For some reason, Jiang Ye wasn’t sleeping anymore. Instead, he took a wet cloth and started wiping his baseball bat.

Bai Chen Zhu had long forgotten where he’d picked up that baseball bat. He only knew that after snatching it from him, Jiang Ye used it with ease and now seemed to love it dearly.

Jiang Ye was diligently scrubbing the brownish stains on the baseball bat. After a while, they lightened a bit. He wasn’t surprised by the news and simply said, “Zhou Zhuo Hua would never be that reckless. Bai Tao must have egged her on.”

His tone turned sour when mentioning Bai Tao.

Bai Chen Zhu found his repeated off-script reactions novel. He set the eight treasures porridge on the table, pulled up a chair, and sat down. Propping his head with one hand, he watched the man across from him and suddenly sighed. “Something’s off, Jiang Ye.”

“What?” Jiang Ye paused, looking up at him in confusion.

With the person involved right there earlier, it would have been too offensive to ask. But now it was just him and Jiang Ye, so Bai Chen Zhu asked freely, “Is this how cold you are toward your future wife?”

Jiang Ye froze. Bai Chen Zhu could clearly see his face go blank and bewildered, even a bit existential.

“Ha?” Jiang Ye tossed the cloth aside and chuckled inexplicably, a mix of novelty and anger. “Who? Who are you saying is my wife?”

His face screamed, ‘Let me see what nonsense you’re spouting.’

Bai Chen Zhu’s fingertips tapped the glass tabletop like playing piano, making faint sounds. “Leaving aside Zhou Zhuo Hua for now—I know she’s your half-sister. But in the future, isn’t Bai Tao the closest person to you? You should be weeping bitter tears of joy at meeting her early.”

Weeping bitter tears? Jiang Ye glared darkly at him and slammed the baseball bat on the table with a ‘bang,’ placing it right between them. Without a word, his expression cursed profusely.

Trouble brewing, Bai Chen Zhu tensed and pushed back with his long legs, sliding the chair half a meter away, ready to bolt. Jiang Ye laughed at his guarded move.

“You really are…” Jiang Ye drew a breath and clutched his forehead. “Wait, this isn’t from that damn book again, is it?”

Bai Chen Zhu tacitly agreed.

“The only women I’ve met so far are these two. You’re not saying every woman I meet in the future is my lover, right?” Jiang Ye’s mind raced, grasping the key point.

“Pretty much.” Bai Chen Zhu rolled up his shirt sleeve, staying vigilant while countering matter-of-factly from his well-read perspective. “Is that weird?”

“That’s not weird?!” Jiang Ye was about to be driven mad by his warped worldview. “Bro, it’s the apocalypse. Survival is hard enough—who has time for romantic flings? Whoever wrote that book must be some perverted, breed-obsessed creep! Ah? So into pairing people off!”

Bai Chen Zhu’s mind involuntarily pictured that shady otaku author’s face. Recalling how he’d ended up here, his expression darkened. He fiddled with his cuff button thoughtfully. “You’ve lived this long without ever having a girlfriend?”

Jiang Ye sucked in a breath.

It was a terrible question to answer. Sometimes, having a partner was a point of pride.

And Jiang Ye had never truly had one. If he had to count, there was only Wang Xin Xin, a vague, ignorant college crush piled into a relationship.

Jiang Ye hadn’t even figured out what a romantic relationship really was before taking responsibility in the early apocalypse to protect Wang Xin Xin seriously. But all she left him with were deep scars—physical and mental—making him never trust such ethereal things as love again.

Like an old scar being prodded, Jiang Ye felt offended.

“Don’t ask so many questions. And I don’t care about your past.” Jiang Ye flashed a sinister smile. “But now, wipe that gloating look off your face.”

He looked at Bai Chen Zhu with pity. “If you die here, you’re really dead.”

If you die here, you’re really dead.

It was like a bucket of ice water dumped over Bai Chen Zhu’s head, sending chills from top to bottom. He clenched his fists, said nothing, but a faint bloody scent drifted into his nose, giving him goosebumps.

In this unfamiliar strangeness with no foothold, only Jiang Ye—who had been prominently present from the start, the living Jiang Ye he interacted with most—served as a solid anchor in the foggy, unclear world, steadying him and keeping him from panicking into losing his way.

Bai Chen Zhu took a deep breath, suppressing the nihilism and shock rising in his heart.

Jiang Ye was lowering his head to continue wiping his own bat. That dark stain stood out glaringly on the light brown wooden surface.

The room was utterly quiet, filled only with the sound of breathing and the faint swish of the cloth gliding over the bat.

Bai Chen Zhu reviewed the recent events in his mind.

Jiang Ye still hadn’t finished, but he had no intention of continuing. He stared at his now-polished, gleaming weapon with great satisfaction, picked it up, and swung it twice through the air. The sharp whoosh snapped Bai Chen Zhu’s attention back.

Jiang Ye said, “Rest early tonight. Tomorrow, come with me to a place.”

The night was deep and heavy. The hotel lobby lay filthy and chaotic, untouched by anyone, the air thick with a suffocating stench of rust and rot.

This kind of danger was, for them, a form of safety.

After all, who would dare venture inside to investigate such a scene?

However… Bai Chen Zhu looked at Jiang Ye, who had already lain down and was patting the spot beside him. With a dark expression, he said, “Do we really have to squeeze onto one bed?”

He had always preferred sleeping alone before, in a spacious spot where he could sprawl out in a big ‘da’-shaped pose without bumping into anyone.

Hm? Jiang Ye froze for a moment as well. His hand had moved faster than his brain, patting the quilt to beckon him over. But now that the hotel was full of empty rooms, there was indeed no need to make do.

“This isn’t a suite. There’s no second bed.” Jiang Ye rubbed his chin indifferently. “If you mind, go find a new room yourself. I’m fine either way. After all, I won’t attract any mutant monsters up here.”

“Who are you mocking?” Bai Chen Zhu walked over with a cold face, grabbed the edge of the quilt, and flung it over him. “Scoot over.”

Jiang Ye watched him with gleeful schadenfreude, his expression screaming ‘I just love seeing you pissed off but unable to do anything about it.’ He was smug beyond measure.

“Wait!” Bai Chen Zhu knelt on one knee on the bed, his expression turning serious. “Did you shower?”

Jiang Ye let out a yawn and started to lie down. “When I passed out, did you help me wash? If not, then no.”

“Help you wash? In your dreams.” Bai Chen Zhu’s brows furrowed deeper, a thin layer of anger rising on his face as he hurled the pillow viciously at him. “Go shower!”