Chapter 47: Girlfriend

The next day, they went to take on commissions and tasks like countless others who had come to seek refuge in Luozhou City, exchanging them for supplies.

Some ordinary people needed to go out to sea to fish, so Jiang Ye and Tang Zhao were assigned to escort them. Meanwhile, Bai Chen Zhu accompanied Zhou Zhuo Hua to the Temporary Hospital for her shift.

It was a building specially cleared out, about three structures connected together, totaling five stories. Because the space was small, a large area outside the building had been cordoned off with tarps for patients to wait.

After verifying her medical license, Zhou Zhuo Hua put on her white coat, and her entire demeanor changed instantly. Back in her professional field, she quickly and accurately diagnosed conditions, easing the burden on the other doctors.

Bai Chen Zhu did not know medicine, and the hospital was short-staffed, so he followed Zhou Zhuo Hua as her assistant, doing whatever she needed.

The hospital was crowded, but everything was orderly. Bai Chen Zhu saw hope on their faces.

A cry of alarm came from the crowd. Bai Chen Zhu’s position was near the window, so he leaned out to look. He only saw a commotion stirring below among the people. But soon, someone with a steel fork rushed in and speared the source of the disturbance—a newly mutated zombie—dragging it out.

The zombie had iron-blue skin, bulging eyes filled with red veins, and a mouth that opened and closed, unclear if it was trying to speak or bite. It looked like it had just completely lost its reason.

In no more than a few minutes, the crowd returned to normal.

If nothing else, Bai Guang Zheng handled this aspect very well, Bai Chen Zhu thought. He just wondered what Bai Guang Zheng would do if the anomaly turned out to be Bai Li?

—

When they returned, Jiang Ye and Tang Zhao had not come back yet, and the house was very quiet.

Zhou Zhuo Hua was exhausted and flopped directly onto the sofa like a hopeless salted fish, with only the rise and fall of her chest showing that this salted fish was still alive and could flop around a bit.

Bai Chen Zhu found it amusing and pushed her shoulder twice. “Zhuo Hua-jie, go back to your room to sleep.”

“I don’t want to walk…” Zhou Zhuo Hua sighed long and hard, struggled to wipe her face, and got up. She sleepwalked back to her room but bumped into the wall with a thud after just two steps.

Bai Chen Zhu shook his head with a smile and picked up her jacket, draping it over the back of the sofa.

He headed toward his room.

When he was two steps from the door, he sensed a powerful aura—purer than the one from last night, and remarkably similar to the fragment’s aura!

No, that was the fragment’s mental power!

Bai Chen Zhu pressed his hand to the gun at his waist. In the next second, he shoved the door open fiercely. “Who?!”

A humanoid black shadow leaped up and pounced at him.

Bai Chen Zhu sidestepped, reaching out with a palm strike to grab the shadow. The shadow twisted unnaturally to evade his grasp. As their bodies passed each other, it broke through Bai Chen Zhu’s defenses at extreme speed, striking his chest cavity with the back of its fist.

The force was immense. Bai Chen Zhu was sent flying several steps, crashing into the wall, and the taste of rust instantly filled his mouth.

Seeing the shadow coming at him again, he quickly turned and bolted for the door. The shadow failed to grab him several times and raised a knife, its tip narrowly missing Bai Chen Zhu’s vital points repeatedly.

In a moment of physical exhaustion, the shadow’s knife tip was right before his eyes. Bai Chen Zhu gritted his teeth, and overwhelming mental power poured out from his Mental Sea. The shadow froze in place, the knife tip a hair’s breadth from his forehead.

Bai Chen Zhu rolled away from the knife tip and finally saw that the shadow was a person.

A man.

He wore airtight tight clothing, along with sunglasses, a mask, and a swim cap, hiding himself completely. The instant Bai Chen Zhu made out the shadow, he reached to tear off the mask.

Unexpectedly, the shadow let out a miserable scream and forcibly broke free from the enveloping mental power. Bai Chen Zhu knew things had gone bad and drew the handgun from his waist—

Bang! The gunshot rang out.

The shadow’s shoulder was pierced, revealing half-rotted muscles inside. Ignoring it, the shadow seized Bai Chen Zhu’s gun hand and bit down viciously through the mask. Blood seeped from the wound, the gun fell to the ground, and cold sweat broke out on Bai Chen Zhu’s back.

Locking eyes with the sunglasses, Bai Chen Zhu felt the fear of being stared down by a ferocious beast, as if his throat would be torn out in the next instant. Blood stained the mask, and Bai Chen Zhu vaguely sensed the shadow smiling.

Just as Bai Chen Zhu steeled himself for a desperate counterattack, shouts came from outside.

“Chen Zhu? What’s wrong?” Zhou Zhuo Hua, hearing the noise, yelled, “Jiang Ye, Tang Zhao, hurry! Something’s happened!”

Chaotic footsteps sounded outside.

The black-clad man decisively released his grip and leaped out the window.

Free from the predator’s predicament, Bai Chen Zhu clutched his injured arm, leaning against the wall and gasping for breath. Zhou Zhuo Hua rushed in.

Bai Chen Zhu lifted his eyelids slightly, picked up the handgun, and tucked it laboriously back into his waistband. “Where’s Jiang Ye?”

“Not back yet. I scared that thing off.” Zhou Zhuo Hua quickly found something to bandage him. “Oh my god, the bite wound is so deep!”

Bai Chen Zhu smiled, his pale lips showing he was not in good shape. “At least I know he was really after me. He had a fragment on him, and he’s a man, not some weird mutant. That information is worth it.”

“Besides,” a dark glint flashed in Bai Chen Zhu’s eyes, “I left something on him.”

—

Upon hearing that Bai Chen Zhu was injured, the others who had returned rushed to his room to check.

The room had been ransacked again, as expected—the black shadow had indeed come looking for something, and when it couldn’t find what it wanted, it turned on the homeowner.

So, what exactly was that person after? Bai Chen Zhu pondered distractedly, letting Zhou Zhuo Hua manipulate his arm to treat the wound.

Jiang Ye examined the bandaged arm and confirmed it was just a surface wound before poking the bandage. “A-Zhu, look at the depth of that bite. If it were an ordinary person, they’d be infected by now. So dangerous. I should’ve made you come out to sea with me.”

Bai Chen Zhu swatted his hand away and pulled back his arm. “If he was really targeting me, you think doing commissions would let me escape?”

“I know, but what does it matter? I can protect you.” Jiang Ye crossed his arms, looking at him—part reproach, part complaint, mostly worry. “You’re not unaware of your own physique.”

Bai Chen Zhu held up a finger. “That’s where you’re wrong. That guy was clearly probing us. He had the fragment on him. And I was probing him too—I left a trace of mental power on him, plus that bullet hole in his shoulder.”

“Always showing off.” Jiang Ye’s lips curved. “But he bit you, obviously confirming your identity too. Now that your status as an ability user is exposed, in their eyes, you’re just a tasty little cake.”

Little cake. Jiang Ye’s unique odd nickname for him returned, giving Bai Chen Zhu a sense of temporal dislocation, as if he were back when Jiang Ye first made him train and learn to retract his mental power.

“What did you all run into today?” Bai Chen Zhu turned his head, skipping the topic.

“Bro, you’re really jinxed. Everything went smoothly for us.” Tang Zhao shook his head, his tone gradually lightening. “They hauled in a ton of fish. Big Bro Jiang and I tried our hand too, and we brought back a huge sea fish. When Bai Tao gets here, we’ll eat together!”

—

Bai Tao arrived very late, and Tang Zhao had specially saved her a piece of fish.

Bai Tao had no appetite for meat. She got straight to the point. “Something’s really off with Bai Li. By the timeline of his ‘car accident,’ he should’ve turned into a zombie long ago. But now he’s neither human nor zombie. He’s very dull to external things, but hypersensitive at certain times.”

Bai Chen Zhu realized the key point. “He was infected but retained his self-awareness? How could there be a third type of infection?”

He looked toward Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye lowered his eyes in thought and said nothing.

“Could that black shadow be him? Pretending to be sick to avoid being exposed.” Zhou Zhuo Hua said worriedly. “And the rumors in the manor—maybe he started those too.”

Remembering the mother and son they’d met in the garden earlier, Bai Chen Zhu and Jiang Ye exchanged a glance. Jiang Ye affirmed, “Mrs. Bai definitely knows something. We need to find a chance to contact Bai Li. Bai Tao, can you create an opportunity to lure Mr. Bai and Mrs. Bai away?”

Hearing one “Bai” after another grated on Bai Tao’s ears. She looked reluctant. “Don’t call her Mrs. Bai. She’s not married. Her surname is Li.”

Bai Chen Zhu followed her lead. “Mm, Miss Li. Are Miss Li and Bai Guang Zheng on good terms?”

“They don’t seem that close. She’s very protective of her son.” Bai Tao scratched her cheek. “In two days, I have to accompany the old man to meet someone. She’ll be going too. Be careful when you act. If you’re caught, I can’t protect you right now.”

Bai Chen Zhu nodded.

After Bai Tao left, he looked at Jiang Ye. “Don’t you think Bai Tao has grown up a bit?”

Though Bai Chen Zhu had never seen the Bai Tao from ten years later, the signs had already emerged these past couple of days. Ever since encountering Bai Guang Zheng, Bai Tao must have started scheming in her own mind.

Jiang Ye lounged on the sofa with his legs crossed, propping his cheek as he looked at him. “As it should be.”

Given the current beginning and the future outcome, it wasn’t hard to infer the process.

Their words were always coded. Tang Zhao poked his head over curiously. “Bro, you say Bai Tao’s grown up. What about me? What about me? I’ve grown up too, right!”

He puffed out his chest proudly. “That big sea fish today? I put in a ton of effort. Zhuo Hua-jie, what’d you think of the taste?”

“Delicious, though it lacked some seasoning. Still good steamed.” Zhou Zhuo Hua had just taken a short nap and was woken by Tang Zhao. She rubbed her eyes. “Alright, alright, Little Zhao’s very capable. Next time, still be careful though. Who knows if that guy will come back tomorrow.”

“Let me and Tang Zhao handle the Bai Li matter.” Jiang Ye said.

Tang Zhao’s eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously. “Time for this young master to step up! Guaranteed to catch the thief!”

“No, I need to confirm the mental power and wound on him personally.” Bai Chen Zhu wasn’t at ease. He thought for a moment. “In two days, Jiang Ye and I will go.”

Jiang Ye stretched his arm out, resting it on the sofa back behind Bai Chen Zhu. “Fine. Your injury’s okay?”

“No problem, as long as I don’t strain it.” Bai Chen Zhu said self-mockingly. “It’s not my first injury. Experience counts for something.”

His words drew laughs from the group.

“Head back, all of you. Get a good rest tonight.” Jiang Ye stood, patted Tang Zhao’s shoulder, and by the way pulled Bai Chen Zhu up from the sofa. They headed to their rooms one after the other.

That night passed without incident.

—

The next day, when the sunlight shone in, it fell just on Jiang Ye on the outside. The burning sensation made him instinctively raise his hand to block it.

The room was very quiet. He could see fine dust floating in the light. In the small space, there were only two people. Jiang Ye rolled over onto his side, and beside him was the faint sound of breathing—so soft it could be drowned out by any other noise.

Jiang Ye blinked and belatedly realized who his roommate was.

He half-sat up, propping himself on one arm, leaning over to look at his roommate’s sleeping face.

The man slept on his side facing him, deeply asleep. The Ginkgo Leaf Earring by his ear reflected the sunlight, turning into a dazzling golden gleam.

In comparison, Bai Chen Zhu himself looked quite plain. His black hair was messily scattered on the pillow, long lashes casting shadows under his eyelids. With his edge reined in, he appeared harmless.

Harmless enough that Jiang Ye always wanted to do something to him, to teach this unguarded person a lesson.

But Jiang Ye was reluctant to lose that trust, so he hesitated, extending his hand several times before withdrawing it, finally letting it gently land on the hair ends.

Jiang Ye reached out to brush the stray hairs by his ear, and for no reason, thoughts surfaced that he had never considered before.

If I have a lover in the future, will I wake up to see them like this in the morning? What would I think then? Would I be like in the dramas, waking the sleeping beauty?

He couldn’t imagine it.

The more he tried to picture such a person, the blanker his mind went. Instead, the breathing beside him grew clearer.

The image of Bai Chen Zhu sleeping appeared in his mind.

Jiang Ye’s heart skipped a beat.

This isn’t right, he thought. Even for good brothers, who sleeps together forever? I’m just remembering his face clearly because we’re temporarily roommates.

All sorts of thoughts flitted through Jiang Ye’s mind. His hand tightened unconsciously, accidentally tugging Bai Chen Zhu’s hair.

Bai Chen Zhu felt the pain and opened his eyes to look at Jiang Ye, his pupils still hazy. “What are you doing so early in the morning?”

“Thinking about major life decisions.” Jiang Ye frowned and asked seriously, “A-Zhu, have you ever had a girlfriend before?”