Chapter – 09
“We’re Together”
At the corner of the dormitory corridor, a tall figure stood in the shadows.
His grey-blue eyes flickered in and out of the light and darkness. Jiang Zhiye lazily tapped his fingers against his pant leg as he looked toward the rooftop stairwell, where zombies were densely packed.
He even wondered if the people inside were still figuring out how to get out.
But then his mind flashed back to the moment someone had thrown down the rope earlier. The corners of his lips lifted slightly.
That person’s way of thinking and behavior were… unusual.
In fact, he had noticed that person at the shopping mall the day he and Jiang Yu had ambushed Lian Yi.
Even though that person had been standing in a corner wearing a baseball cap and trying to stay inconspicuous, he had noticed them immediately.
It was a strange, novel attraction—something familiar yet completely unknown. In his twenty years of life, Jiang Zhiye had never felt anything like it. He was certain he had never met that person before; with his perfect memory, there was no trace of them anywhere.
So he naturally thought back to the person he had never seen clearly in the basement that day—the one who had taken his energy crystal core.
The energy crystal core—the only thing that could suppress the violent instability inside him.
It had been embedded in his body since he was seven years old, and he had carried it for thirteen years without ever losing control. Yet he had not expected it to be lost when the apocalypse arrived.
He hated losing control, and he had no way of knowing what consequences it might bring. To avoid disrupting his plans, he had been searching for the crystal core ever since.
Thinking back to the night he almost lost control due to a special drug—and how even the crystal core failed to suppress it—darkness flickered deep in his eyes.
Even though his consciousness had been blurred at the time, he still remembered fragments of that night.
The person who had taken his crystal core… and almost had something happen with him.
A faint, eerie smile curved on his lips, while his once-gentle peach-blossom eyes slowly darkened.
He would find that person.
Jiang Zhiye lifted his gaze toward the rooftop door, which was already shaking under the impact of zombies. His fingers paused.
So when he saw Wen Huai, that strange sense of neither dislike nor rejection—but rather familiarity and closeness—made him suspect that Wen Huai might have come into contact with his crystal core… or even taken it.
That night at the “catching fish” incident, he had deliberately approached him to test this possibility.
The only regret was that he didn’t sense even a trace of the crystal core’s aura on Wen Huai.
Not even a hint.
Yet that strange sense of closeness still didn’t make sense.
Looking at the rooftop door, now on the verge of collapsing under the zombies’ impact, Jiang Zhiye’s lips curled slightly in a careless arc.
Glancing at the time, he decided to test it once more.
He turned around.
The dagger in his hand accurately pierced the head of a nearby zombie. With a sharp pull, blood mist splattered. The movement was clean and decisive. Before the zombie could even react, it collapsed.
He glanced at it coldly and walked in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, still standing on the rooftop, feeling melancholic, Wen Huai had no idea what was happening outside.
He looked at Lin Xingguang’s body on the ground, then at the photo album beside it, and let out a long sigh.
The album was flipped open by the wind, turning several pages.
These photos recorded Lin Xingguang’s happy life from childhood to adulthood. Wen Huai learned that his family included a father with a strong sense of justice who looked stern but cooked very well, a gentle mother who loved raising cats and dogs, and Lin Xingguang himself—a boy who loved solving all kinds of Rubik’s cubes.
This album was a miniature reflection of a happy family.
Wen Huai bent down and picked up the photo album. After closing it, he gently placed it beside Lin Xingguang. Only then did he notice the badge that had fallen to the ground during the struggle. He picked it up and placed it together with the album.
He withdrew his gaze and looked into the distance.
The sky was still so blue, yet everything had already changed.
Outside the door, the zombies were still violently banging against it, showing no intention of leaving unless they broke it down. The iron chains rattled loudly—clank, clank, clank.
There were clearly no human scents here. Yet those brainless zombies still kept pressing forward like they only knew how to feed.
Thinking of food, Wen Huai suddenly felt hungry as well. He even found himself missing the fish Jiang Zhiye had caught for him that night—it was the most delicious thing he had eaten in the apocalypse.
If only he had asked him how to catch fish.
Wen Huai rubbed his stomach in distress. This was not good. Once hunger set in, it would quickly take over him.
He pushed aside his thoughts and walked to the edge of the rooftop to take a look. Outside were scattered groups of zombies, and the main group had already disappeared. The “main characters” were nowhere to be seen.
They should have all left by now, he thought.
So he took out the key from his bag and inserted it into the lock.
Just as he was about to turn it—
Suddenly, a female voice came through the school broadcast. The volume grew louder and clearer, the tone vivid and expressive. It drifted into Wen Huai’s ears, and his face instantly darkened.
The broadcast was reciting classical poetry.
And the content was his high school nightmare: “Xiaoyao You” (“Free and Easy Wandering”).
Wen Huai: “……”
Outside the door, the zombies clearly heard it as well. The sound came from the opposite direction of the rooftop, and they all rushed toward it in a frenzy. Gradually, the noise outside the door faded away completely.
Wen Huai pulled the door open slightly. The stairwell was indeed empty.
He removed the lock and chain and stored them in his spatial storage.
He didn’t know who had turned on the broadcast, but the only people he had encountered so far were the main characters. To be safe, he decided to wait a bit longer.
If things went wrong, he still had a frozen chicken leg in his space. Worst case, he could take a few bites.
But right now… he was already hungry.
The frozen chicken leg had a faint smell and barely any taste, but at least it reduced his hunger a little. It seemed that aside from eating humans, eating fresh animal meat was the best way to relieve hunger.
As he ate, he wondered: where in this apocalypse was he supposed to find so many living creatures? And could his spatial storage even hold live animals?
At that moment—
BOOM.
The rooftop door was suddenly pushed open. The nearly broken cloth strip finally snapped completely.
And so an awkward scene unfolded.
Wen Huai was biting into a chicken leg, staring blankly at Jiang Zhiye, who stood at the door with concern on his face—but also a flicker of unnatural surprise.
Clearly, Jiang Zhiye was also startled by what he was seeing.
In Wen Huai’s mind, a curse immediately exploded.
Damn it—why is Jiang Zhiye here?!
He tightened his grip on the chicken leg, nearly snapping it in half.
If only he had finished eating first before opening the chain. Then at least he would’ve had a chance to finish it properly.
Life was truly too difficult.
Why was it that every time, he couldn’t detect Jiang Zhiye’s approach? Zombies were supposed to have the best hearing—was this guy a cat or something?
Now the chicken leg was awkwardly stuck—eating it didn’t feel right, and throwing it away felt worse.
Then Jiang Zhiye spoke.
“You really like eating raw meat?”
That sentence snapped Wen Huai back to reality. A chill ran through him.
He quickly put the chicken leg down and tried to explain, but his calm tone betrayed no urgency.
Wen Huai quickly spun his thoughts and came up with a barely convincing excuse.
“There was only raw food left.”
That pitiful tone made Jiang Zhiye pause for a moment. Soon after, his eyes curved slightly with amusement.
“Eating raw food too often isn’t good for you. I have some cooked food, just not with me. I’ll bring it to you later.”
Wen Huai froze.
He was offering to share food?
Although he couldn’t eat cooked food anyway, Jiang Zhiye was surprisingly… kind. In a time of scarce resources, he was actually willing to share supplies.
However, if possible, Wen Huai still didn’t want too much interaction with him—especially not when Jiang Yu and Jiang Nanyi were around. He was afraid he’d be torn apart.
After all, in the original story, Jiang Yu would punish anyone who got too close to Jiang Zhiye.
And Jiang Nanyi—despite being gentle and affectionate—would turn into a completely irrational “mad dog” when it came to Jiang Zhiye.
So, for the sake of his life, Wen Huai stiffly changed the topic.
“You heard the broadcast?”
“I was the one who played it.”
That answer caught Wen Huai off guard.
Seeing his surprise, Jiang Zhiye explained:
“I noticed a lot of zombies gathering here, so I figured there must be someone on the rooftop. The broadcast room was nearby, so I used it to draw them away. That way, whoever was on the rooftop might survive.”
He smiled slightly.
“I didn’t expect it to be you. What a coincidence.”
So… Jiang Zhiye had been trying to save someone, and just happened to save him?
Wen Huai frowned slightly.
“You’re alone?”
Jiang Zhiye hesitated for a moment, then replied a little sheepishly, “I got separated from a friend.”
As he spoke, a faint blush appeared on his pale cheeks.
Seeing him up close in daylight, Wen Huai realized just how striking his features were—refined, but not feminine. Those grey-blue eyes looked like they held light inside them, clear and mesmerizing like precious gemstones.
Honestly, his appearance was exactly Wen Huai’s type.
If this were his original world, Jiang Zhiye would definitely be someone he could fall for.
But not here.
Absolutely not.
Not only did they have incompatible dynamics in this world, but getting involved with any of the main cast was basically courting death.
In the end, only one thought remained in Wen Huai’s mind:
Survival comes first.
And just like that, he snapped fully back to reality.
Of course, he already knew exactly who Jiang Zhiye meant by that “friend.”
He was hesitating about what to say so he could slip away when Jiang Zhiye continued.
“Should we go down together?”
“There are still scattered zombies in the corridor…”
Jiang Zhiye didn’t finish his sentence, but Wen Huai immediately understood what he meant. Especially with the careful, almost tentative expression on his face—it clearly looked like he was afraid of those zombies and wanted to stay with him.
Wen Huai originally thought that in this apocalypse, he already counted as pretty useless. How come everyone else seemed to need protection more than he did?
In the end, when he met Jiang Zhiye’s expectant gaze, he hesitated for a moment and still agreed somewhat muddle-headedly.
He sighed inwardly.
Forget it. He had already helped one person—helping one more didn’t matter. He would just escort him to a relatively safe place downstairs.
Besides, Jiang Zhiye really did seem weak. At least Wen Huai had just killed a zombie himself, whereas in the novel, Jiang Zhiye had never even managed to cut off a zombie’s arm. The only time he killed one was the original host—and even then, it was Jiang Yu who held his hand and pulled the trigger.
Wen Huai carefully put his half-eaten chicken leg back into the sealed bag and returned it to his cloth bag, planning to finish it later when no one was around.
On the side, Jiang Zhiye observed all of Wen Huai’s movements, his brows carrying a faint smile.
The smell of zombies still lingered in the stairwell. Along the way, severed body parts were still visible. Wen Huai withdrew his gaze and swallowed hard. He consciously walked in front, leading the way, gripping his crowbar tightly.
However, when he reached the third floor, he was stunned by the sight of several dead zombies lying in the corridor.
Their deaths were extremely brutal—most of their heads had been split cleanly in half. Flesh and blood were scattered everywhere. The scene was so gory that he couldn’t even bring himself to step forward.
This looked like something a killing god had done while rampaging through here.
Such terrifying, ruthless methods… Wen Huai could only think of one person in this building: Jiang Yu.
After all, the only one here with that level of insane strength was Jiang Yu. He knew Jiang Yu was strong—but he didn’t expect him to be this strong. It was like he had stormed a zombie nest. Just how unhappy did someone have to be to kill so brutally and directly?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Wen Huai’s mind.
Could Jiang Yu be here to find Jiang Zhiye?
If so, wouldn’t they meet very soon? Then—
But his thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a soft voice.
“These zombies… their deaths are really terrifying.”
Wen Huai slightly turned his head and saw Jiang Zhiye’s face pale, eyes full of shock. Even his hand had unconsciously grabbed Wen Huai’s sleeve, trembling slightly.
Wen Huai immediately understood—he was scared.
After thinking for a moment, he quickly handed over his cloth bag, intending to let him block the view as a form of psychological comfort. At least holding something might make him feel safer.
Anyway, he didn’t hear any nearby zombie sounds—this route had probably been cleared by Jiang Yu. It should be temporarily safe.
“If you’re scared, use this to block your view,” Wen Huai suggested tentatively.
But then he realized that covering his eyes would make it hard to walk, so he added thoughtfully, “If you can’t see the way, you can hold onto my shoulder.”
“Thank you.”
Jiang Zhiye accepted the bag with great gratitude. In a place where Wen Huai couldn’t see, his lips curved slightly.
He looked down at Wen Huai’s slightly thin shoulder but did not reach out.
Instead, he asked, “What about you?”
Wen Huai immediately understood what he meant and replied decisively, “I’m not scared.”
But unexpectedly, he heard a soft laugh.
Thinking the other didn’t believe him, Wen Huai quickly tried to explain, “I even escorted Jiang Nan—”
Before he could finish, Jiang Zhiye interrupted him.
A slender hand gently rested on his shoulder, and a light voice brushed past his ear.
“I’m Jiang Zhiye. What’s your name?”
An exchange of names?
Wen Huai answered honestly, “Wen Huai.”
“Wen Huai.”
Hearing Jiang Zhiye softly repeat his name, Wen Huai suddenly panicked.
He could guarantee Jiang Zhiye didn’t know his face—but he couldn’t guarantee Jiang Zhiye didn’t know his name. What if, because of the basement incident, he had investigated him? If he only knew his name but not his appearance, wasn’t this basically self-exposure?
Wen Huai stiffened instantly.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhiye only repeated his name once and showed no further reaction.
It seemed… he didn’t know.
That realization made Wen Huai quietly breathe a huge sigh of relief.
He refocused on walking. The journey down was slow. He tried his best not to look at the grotesque corpses on the ground. Even though he wasn’t sensitive to blood, the scene was still hard to handle.
Hunger and fear intertwined, and he forced himself not to gag, just hoping to finish this path quickly.
Finally reaching the first floor, Wen Huai felt completely relieved.
He was just about to say they had arrived when he turned the corner—
And directly ran into Jiang Yu and Jiang Nanyi walking toward them.
Wen Huai: “……”
Both of their gazes landed sharply on the hand resting on his shoulder.
Wen Huai felt their expressions darken instantly.
Jiang Nanyi looked furious. Jiang Yu, usually wearing a polite smile, now looked so cold and dark it seemed like he could kill someone the next second.
Wen Huai: “……”
Can he still run now?
