Chapter 095: Apocalypse 10 (Double Chapter)

Xia Linlin had not bothered to lower her voice, and before long, everyone in the base had caught wind of it.

The base needed people to stay behind, but most of the elite awakened squads had been sent out. Life in the apocalypse was painfully dull; aside from killing zombies, there was little else to do but sleep.

When news suddenly spread that one of the base’s strongest awakened fighters, Ke Yuandao, was to be married off to Xia Linlin, everyone immediately began watching his every move with eager, gossip-hungry eyes.

They were all elite awakened fighters, and their watch rotations had already been arranged. Repelling zombies or beating them down was nothing difficult.

Those not on duty all pricked up their ears, listening for every scrap of news. Good heavens, after more than a year of the apocalypse, there was finally something juicy to feast on.

On the first day of the expedition, they stopped to rest for the night.

Xia Linlin came to find Ke Yuandao with a can of meat in her hand.

Everyone went, at last, some drama.

Yuandao, I brought this meat especially for you. You worked hard today, so eat more, Xia Linlin said shyly.

Ke Yuandao glanced at her but did not take it. Thank you, I already have some.

He usually would not eat anything given by outsiders. Sometimes human hearts were more terrifying than zombies. What if someone poisoned him after he ate it?

Oh, Xia Linlin’s smile froze for a moment. Bathed in the faint afterglow of the sunset, she looked at the handsome side of the man’s face and said, Then let’s eat together.

With that, she sat down beside Ke Yuandao.

His brow furrowed slightly. Turning his head, he looked at the woman beside him. Team Xia.

W-what? Xia Linlin thought his voice was wonderfully pleasant. Now that the man she liked was calling her name in that low voice, she felt her body go a little weak.

I’m not familiar with you, Ke Yuandao said. If you want someone to eat with, go back and eat with your own team.

Xia Linlin did not react for a moment.

Also, I’m not used to eating with other people. Stay farther away from me, Ke Yuandao went on.

What if she got that close and took the chance to poison him when he wasn’t paying attention?

Xia Linlin’s face went green, then red. In a very short time, a whole rainbow of expressions flashed across her face, twisting her already pretty features into something rather grim under the rosy light.

When the others heard this, they knew at once that Xia Linlin had thrown herself at him, and that Ke Yuandao felt nothing at all for her.

At that moment, Li Qing and Le Yixian, who had gone off to improve their meal with a bit of hunting in the nearby woods, returned.

Li Qing was carrying a rabbit that had already been cleaned.

Seeing Xia Linlin’s twisted expression, Li Qing felt a private thrill and guessed she had probably hit a wall with Ke Yuandao.

Today’s luck was great. We found a fat rabbit in the woods, she said, holding up the rabbit, while Le Yixian carried a bundle of firewood.

Li Qing beckoned to one of the fire-element awakened fighters in her team. Come on, lend us a flame.

With a whoosh, the firewood piled on the ground burst into flames.

The rabbit was soon roasted, and its fragrance drifted far and wide.

The others, who had just finished eating, unconsciously rubbed their stomachs. Somehow, they were hungry again.

If only they had followed Li Qing out to hunt when they heard she was going earlier.

But now it was dark, and they could not wander about recklessly anymore.

Xia Linlin had already stormed off in anger. The crowd, having enjoyed the gossip, then watched as Li Qing roasted the rabbit and tore off one of the hind legs to hand it to the nearby Xia Meimei.

Watching the two of them eat meat with such obvious relish, the others...

Gulp...

The others...

It didn’t seem like their stomachs had made that sound.

Li Qing was already laughing. Team Ke, still not full? Want a leg?

Ke Yuandao pressed his lips together tightly. No need...

Then his attention was drawn to a steaming rabbit leg that was suddenly held out in front of him.

Want some? Le Yixian asked.

The rabbit had been split in half between her and Li Qing. She had finished one leg, and there was still another.

Having eaten her fill, she was trying to get a little closer to the man she loved.

Ke Yuandao remained silent for a moment, then reached out and took the rabbit leg.

The crowd...

Li Qing...

He ate it???!!

In a few quick bites, Ke Yuandao finished the rabbit leg. Looking up, he said to Le Yixian, It tastes good.

You should praise Xiaoqing for that, Le Yixian said, blinking at him.

Ke Yuandao said nothing.

He turned his face away and stood, walking off into the distance.

Le Yixian stared after him.

What had she done now to make him unhappy?

Watching her beloved’s retreating figure, Le Yixian felt a little helpless. A man’s heart was so hard to guess.

Ke Yuandao’s steps were a bit unsteady, and in the darkness no one noticed that the tips of his ears had gone red.

The way she blinked her eyes was rather adorable, he thought silently, clenching his fist.

The next day, before night fell, their group arrived at a village. Quite a few wandering zombies were roaming there. Because the place was so remote and there were very few humans around, most of these zombies were only level one, so everyone quickly cleared them out.

The houses in the countryside were all small villas, and the group found several connected villas to rest in.

Because the roasted rabbit from the previous evening had left such a deep impression on everyone, the awakened fighters who were not on duty all went off to the woods by the village to hunt and improve their meals.

Their haul was excellent. Perhaps because many livestock had originally been raised in the village, and after the apocalypse no one had cared for them...

Xia Linlin, who had been rebuffed the night before, came over today carrying a cleaned chicken, only to discover that Ke Yuandao had already hunted food and was roasting it over the fire.

Team Ke really is amazing. I caught two chickens, could you roast them for me? Xia Linlin asked shyly.

Ke Yuandao did not even lift his eyelids. He stared intently at the chicken, which was already glistening with oil, and coldly refused, No.

Xia Linlin’s expression darkened.

Her team members, seeing this, all felt that Ke Yuandao was a little heartless. Their captain was strong and good-looking, only a bit fiery in temperament; no matter how they looked at it, she was the kind of person suited to building a life with.

They hurried over, brought their captain back to their own fire, and helped her set up two chickens to roast as well.

Le Yixian wandered around outside for a while, found a lot of vegetables, picked a bundle and brought them back, washed them clean, and then used the kitchen to stir-fry a dish of greens.

At that moment, Lin Jingyu smilingly brought over a grilled fish.

Meimei, do you want some grilled fish? he said, offering the plate to her.

Before Le Yixian could speak, Li Qing had already taken it. Eating it, thanks.

Lin Jingyu did not have time to pull back his hand; the plate was already gone. Watching Li Qing eat happily, his expression grew a little dark. This was the fish I grilled for Meimei.

What do you know? Meimei and I are good friends, Li Qing said with narrowed eyes, taking another bite. The grilled fish is pretty good. If you get on my good side, I can put in a good word for you.

Lin Jingyu looked at Le Yixian, whose expression was calm as ever, then at Li Qing, who was smiling like a fox, and began to feel tempted by her words.

After all, he had been pursuing Xia Meimei for quite some time, and she was still utterly impermeable.

Besides...

Something occurred to him. He glanced at Ke Yuandao, who was focused on roasting chicken nearby. Since Xia Meimei possessed that kind of ability, Commander Xia would not force her if she refused. If she chose Ke Yuandao, then he would lose.

Just then, Ke Yuandao’s chicken was done. He tore off a chicken leg and handed it to Le Yixian, who was mildly surprised.

Not eating? Ke Yuandao asked with a slight frown.

Eating. Le Yixian answered quickly and took the chicken leg from him.

Seeing this, Lin Jingyu nodded. Sure enough, she was interested in Ke Yuandao.

Li Qing’s food was not done yet. Seeing Ke Yuandao give a leg to Le Yixian, she felt certain it had nothing to do with her.

In his eyes, Ke Yuandao was the sort of straight man whose brain never turned a corner, the kind who would not pay attention to anyone’s feelings.

Then she was startled by a chicken leg suddenly being held out in front of her. So startled that she sprang to her feet and stepped back several paces, staring at Ke Yuandao as if facing a great enemy.

His brow knit slightly. Not eating?

No... no, Team Ke, you’re giving it to me? Li Qing asked cautiously.

If you’re not eating it, forget it, Ke Yuandao said, glancing at her and withdrawing his hand.

Li Qing lunged forward at once. I’ll eat it! I’ll eat it!!!

Ke Yuandao had come from the military and had maxed out his wilderness survival skills.

The things he roasted were on par with professional vendors at the night market.

After handing out two chicken legs, Ke Yuandao ignored everyone around him.

Lin Jingyu, who had been standing nearby and thought he might get a share too, was left speechless.

Damn it, it’s just a piece of meat. Did he really have to be this stingy?

He swallowed the words back down, too proud to say them aloud.

Not far away, Xia Linlin watched the whole thing unfold and ground her teeth in fury.

The other awakened fighters found the gossip rather delicious.

Xia Linlin and Xia Meimei were both clearly interested in Ke Yuandao.

And Ke Yuandao’s attitude toward Xia Meimei was a little better than toward her older sister.

What they could not understand was that Xia Meimei was indeed beautiful, and it made sense for Ke Yuandao and Lin Jingyu to hover around her.

But Li Qing and her team also treated Xia Meimei very well. Wasn’t Xia Meimei supposed to have awakened no ability at all?

Were they all just looks-obsessed?

An hour later, their confusion was quickly resolved.

One zombie from the village had slipped through the net: a speed-type zombie. It directly attacked the two awakened fighters on duty. Although the zombie was quickly killed by the others...

The faces of the two bitten fighters had already turned a pale bluish white, a sign that they were about to mutate into zombies.

The water-type awakened fighters tried to purge the zombie virus from them, but to no effect whatsoever.

That was a mutant zombie, said one water-type awakened fighter with considerable experience.

The moment he spoke, everyone’s faces changed slightly.

Ordinarily, within the first three hours after a normal zombie bite, if a water-type awakened fighter was found in time, the zombie virus in the body could be successfully removed.

Mutant zombies were different. They were far more dangerous. A level one mutant zombie could even fight a level three or level four awakened fighter one-on-one. As for the one just now, it had simply been unlucky; a group of elite awakened fighters had blasted it to death with one skill each.

But the two bitten fighters were beyond saving.

Captain, we don’t want to die! The baby-faced fighter who had been bitten was crying as he spoke to Lin Jingyu. Xiaofang is still waiting for me back at the base.

I don’t want to die either. I don’t want to become a zombie either, the other fighter choked out.

Lin Jingyu’s face was extremely grim. Then suddenly something occurred to him, and he said to his team, Tie them up first and bring them back to the villa.

He turned and hurried all the way back to the villa. Seeing Le Yixian still eating meat in the courtyard, his eyes lit up. Meimei, help me.

Le Yixian looked up at him and saw a group following behind him, two of them bound and already turning a sickly blue-green.

Captain Lin, your team members are starting to show symptoms. Don’t just bring them back here! someone shouted when they saw the two men.

I know about your healing skill. Please, save them for me, Lin Jingyu said. Though I’m a spoiled young master, I’ve still fought life and death alongside the others in my team. These men are brothers who have shared life and death with me. His gaze was full of hope. You can save them, can’t you?

Le Yixian’s brow furrowed slightly. I’ve never tried it.

You definitely can, Lin Jingyu said anxiously.

Looking at his expression, Le Yixian sighed. I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything.

All right, thank you. Lin Jingyu nodded in delight and turned to gesture for his men to lay the two fighters on the ground.

Le Yixian stepped forward to examine the situation. One had been bitten on the shoulder, the other on the hand. The wounds had already begun to blacken.

Weren’t they bitten just now? The wounds were severe, looking as though they had been gnawed by zombies for two or three days.

They were bitten by a mutant zombie, Lin Jingyu said with a bitter smile. Otherwise the water-type awakened fighters would have handled it already.

Le Yixian crouched beside one of them and extended her right hand, resting it gently above the wound.

For a long while, there was no movement.

Xia Linlin, who had been paying close attention to the situation nearby, sneered and was just about to make a cutting remark when tiny points of light suddenly appeared around Le Yixian’s body.

The light orbs were especially striking in the darkness. Small as they were, they gave off a warm and comforting feeling.

The original owner’s skin was very fair, and under the glow of those warm little lights, she seemed untouchable, almost sacred, like a fairy who had descended into the mortal world.

The light orbs playfully swirled around Le Yixian before slowly drifting into her palm, gathering into a cluster that gently sank into the wound.

Little by little, the lights faded. When everyone looked at the wound again, they found that the blackened, foul-smelling injury had vanished without a trace.

Le Yixian wiped her face and moved on to treat the other one.

That night, the awakened fighters in the transport convoy felt as though their worldview had been shattered.

Although the apocalypse had already been shattering their worldviews again and again, after this incident the way they looked at Le Yixian was much like a starving dog staring at a meat bun.

They had also heard what Lin Jingyu said earlier: healing skill? Xia Meimei had awakened a healing skill.

A wound inflicted by a mutant zombie that even water-type awakened fighters could not do anything about had been handled by her with complete ease.

At that thought, everyone looked at Le Yixian with burning eyes.

Several younger awakened fighters even silently compared themselves with Lin Jingyu and Ke Yuandao, and, deciding that they were not lacking in looks or ability, quietly joined the ranks of her pursuers.

No one noticed that Ke Yuandao’s handsome face had already gone dark. This woman really was a troublemaker. Too much. Unbearable.