Ding Yao deftly jumped down from the wall. He walked over and crouched in front of Han Yanyan, examining both of her hands. Her palms were covered with a thin layer of translucent ice, faintly revealing the red flesh and white bone beneath.
Ding Yao nodded. "Nothing serious." With that, he stood up and went to pick up the large machete. As soon as his fingertips touched the blade, it vanished. Han Yanyan remembered that besides having lightning abilities, Ding Yao was also a spatial ability user.
Ding Yao stored the man's backpack, Han Yanyan's backpack, and the storage pouch into his space. When he turned around, Han Yanyan was already swaying as she stood up, leaning against the planter next to the steps. Ding Yao glanced at her. "Let's go."
Han Yanyan nodded. Ding Yao walked in front, but after only a few steps, he heard a thud behind him. Turning his head, he saw Han Yanyan sitting on the ground again. Her legs were weak.
"First time killing someone?" Ding Yao asked. He had seen her fight zombies fiercely without hesitation, and yet this was how she reacted to killing a person.
Han Yanyan nodded, her face as pale as paper.
"You’ll get used to it," Ding Yao said as he extended his hand to her.
Han Yanyan reached out, and Ding Yao gripped her hand. His hand was like a vice, and with a simple tug, he pulled her up. Han Yanyan thought to support herself, but Ding Yao bent over, lifted her legs, and hefted her onto his shoulder.
Caught off guard, Han Yanyan let out a small cry but quickly covered her mouth. Two zombies, drawn by the sound, wobbled toward them, only to be split in half by two streaks of purple lightning, reducing them to charred piles on the ground. Han Yanyan let out a sigh of relief.
With this person around, safety was no longer a concern.
The sun was setting, and it was nearly time to regroup. Ding Yao, carrying Han Yanyan, strode purposefully toward the convoy. Watching the ground speed by beneath her, Han Yanyan soon became dizzy and closed her eyes.
She kept thinking about what Ding Yao had said: "You’ll get used to it." Could one really get used to killing? Had Ding Yao killed many people before?
"Mister Ding." She suddenly opened her eyes and asked, "Why did that person want to kill me?"
"You had bags full of goods and looked like you had hit the jackpot. If I met you, even I'd consider taking a shot at it," Ding Yao said casually.
So that’s how it was, just a simple reason to kill. Han Yanyan smiled bitterly. She had thought she understood the world well, but in the end, in this world, she was just naïve.
Sensing her frustration, Ding Yao suddenly said, "You have good fighting instincts."
It was a comment without context, but it was a genuine compliment. It also made Han Yanyan realize that Ding Yao had watched her entire fight with the man.
He hadn’t intervened, simply watched with a cold detachment.
Perhaps because he was confident he could save her in the most critical moment. Or perhaps because it didn’t matter to him whether she lived or died. But the biggest possibility was that he found it more interesting to tame her like a wild horse rather than forcefully taking her.
Han Yanyan preferred the last explanation. This man watched as she suffered without lending a hand.
Being carried on someone’s shoulder wasn’t comfortable. Not only was she dizzy, but her stomach also felt queasy from the jolts. In this unsettling state, Han Yanyan's fear from her first kill faded, and she regained her composure.
She twisted her head to look upward, only seeing Ding Yao's broad shoulders.
All right. Though there were some bumps, things were unexpectedly moving in a good direction. Ding Yao keeping an eye on her indicated that he indeed had an interest in her. This unexpected hiccup provided the "stubborn girl" a ladder to climb down.
From now on, whether it was about becoming strong or not, she could improvise. She hadn’t come to this world to survive; she was here to win over Ding Yao. She couldn’t lose sight of her purpose.
Only by winning over Ding Yao could the real her survive.
Carrying a living person didn’t slow Ding Yao down at all. His pace was swift, and soon he returned to the convoy. Besides those stationed to guard the convoy, team members sent out to scout and search began trickling back.
"Li Jun, come over and heal her," Ding Yao called out as he carried Han Yanyan directly to his off-road vehicle, opened the rear door, and stuffed her inside.
Sun Lijun jogged over, took one look, and exclaimed, "Oh my, what happened? Who was so blind?"
The wound was clearly caused by a person, not a zombie. Whether it was an attempted assault or a robbery, the person who attacked Ding Yao’s chosen woman was likely already in the next life. Sun Lijun observed a moment of silence for the dead.
Han Yanyan once again witnessed Sun Lijun's remarkable abilities. Deep wounds that exposed bone healed in just a few moments, leaving no scars behind. She looked at her smooth palms and let out a long breath of relief.
Ding Yao sat in the front passenger seat and tossed two outfits back to her. "Put these on."
Han Yanyan's clothes were soaked with blood, and the scent could attract zombies.
Han Yanyan clutched the clothes, looking at Ding Yao.
Sun Lijun, having a sense of tact, walked away and even waved at the two team members by the vehicle to move aside. With no one nearby, Han Yanyan could change in the back seat without being seen.
Except by Ding Yao.
The rearview mirror reflected Ding Yao's eyes, and those eyes were looking right at Han Yanyan.
Han Yanyan met those eyes in silence for a second, then turned slightly, lifting her blood-stained t-shirt.
In the mirror, Ding Yao saw slender shoulders and a delicate waist hidden in the dim light, her skin seeming to glow. The maiden's eyelashes were downcast, her expression restrained, making her particularly pleasing to a man.
She handled the situation with perfect measure, and Ding Yao nodded slightly as he lit a cigarette.
Han Yanyan swiftly changed out of her bloodied clothes, rolling them into a ball. "These…"
With a cigarette between his lips, Ding Yao reached back and stored the blood-stained clothes in his space. He honked the horn, and the driver, hearing it, ran over, opened the door, and got into the vehicle.
Han Yanyan hesitated before speaking. Ding Yao caught sight of this in the mirror, holding the cigarette with his fingers, he turned slightly to her, "You'll ride in this car."
Han Yanyan fell silent.
The sun was setting, and the convoy was ready to depart as planned.
Most of the search team members had returned, while some hadn’t. Whether they were devoured by zombies or killed by companions remained unknown. The convoy waited a short while longer, and after a few stragglers arrived, it set off.
No one else boarded Ding Yao's vehicle. Han Yanyan occupied the back seat alone, lying down to rest. The life-and-death struggle, though brief, had nearly drained her physically. Physically she could recover, but spiritually, she felt an indescribable weariness.
Lying in the back seat, with her head on the driver's side, she had a view of Ding Yao's side profile. The dim light obscured details, showing only a silhouette: a sharply chiseled nose and a strong jawline, occasionally turning to glance at her with deep, penetrating eyes that made her breath catch.
This man… Did she have what it takes to make him fall for her? Han Yanyan felt her resolve waver slightly.
Lying in the back, she listened to Ding Yao talking quietly to the driver about their destination, a certain factory on the outskirts of Yi Hai City, the distance remaining, and the time required... Eventually, fatigue overcame her, and she drifted to sleep.
She awoke with a start as the car stopped. It was dark outside, the convoy's lights the only source of illumination. All the vehicles had halted, the roar of engines gone silent. Sitting up, she saw that the convoy had left the city, surrounded by low-building industrial structures.
This area was indeed an industrial zone. She recalled overhearing Ding Yao and the driver discussing that their goal was machinery in this factory.
"Stay in the car," Ding Yao instructed Han Yanyan before addressing the driver. "Keep an eye on her."
The driver nodded and stayed. Ding Yao stepped out.
Through the window, Han Yanyan watched Thunder Strike Squad assemble, while the search team remained on the cargo trucks, protected by iron cages.
"What are they doing?" Han Yanyan asked.
"Clearing the area," the driver replied, noting her gaze. Trying to reassure her, he added, "Don’t worry, the boss is personally leading. It’ll be fine."
Han Yanyan wasn't sure where the driver got the impression she was worried. Until yesterday, she'd maintained a sense of independence. Today, with Ding Yao carrying her back, he’d declared his dominance. To these people, she might already be considered Ding Yao's woman.
She closed her mouth and continued watching silently.
Ding Yao led the team into the dark factory.
Soon, an array of noises erupted: zombie growls, gunfire, and explosions. Though masked by distance and the factory's walls and structures, the sounds persistently reached their ears.
A particularly intense burst of noise was followed by silence. Eventually, the factory suddenly lit up.
"See, it's fine. They've found the backup power," the driver commented, lighting a cigarette, his mood quite relaxed.
Still, Han Yanyan felt the zombie roars were terrifyingly different from what she had seen during the day. The driver listened for a moment and exclaimed, "Wow, there are at least three mutant zombies... No, four!"
The driver was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man. Han Yanyan looked at his back and thought he must have a story.
Qi Tongtong had a story, Zhao Yuxuan had a story. Sun Lijun and Old Zhang were people with stories too. The person she killed surely had a story. Everyone had stories, intertwined to form this world.
Han Yanyan realized her task in this world was to craft her and Ding Yao's story into one that would satisfy the electronic system guiding her.
The entire clearing process took over two hours. Finally, team members emerged and fully opened the factory gates, signaling to the convoy.
One by one, the vehicles fired up and drove into the factory grounds. The search team members then disembarked. A team member announced, "We're done for today, rest in the dormitory building, find a spot to sleep."
Next to the factory was a four-story building, the dormitory. Led by squad members, the search team flowed into the building to find rooms for the night.
Han Yanyan didn't follow the crowd, standing in place for a moment. Ding Yao's driver, carrying a walkie-talkie, jogged over. "The boss wants you."
Following him into the dormitory and up to the fourth floor, Han Yanyan found it similar to a university dorm, with rooms filled with bunk beds, some large enough to house twenty or thirty people.
She spotted Sun Lijun treating the injured in the hallway. The wounded person, in pain, cursed and yelled, "Damn, these zombies, trapped in the factory, fed on each other, and bred over ten mutant zombies in there, like breeding some demonic creature. What the hell!"
Such a scenario was one Han Yanyan had read about in many apocalyptic zombie novels. Experiencing it firsthand, recalling the earlier roars, sent chills down her spine.
The fourth floor differed from the lower floors, having proper rooms with spring beds and furniture, likely the lodgings for factory management.
Ding Yao had chosen the room at the end of the corridor.
"I've got a meeting. There’s food in the room, eat up," Ding Yao said. "You'll stay here tonight."
With a glance, he left her and went downstairs.
Entering the room alone, Han Yanyan found it simple: a single room with a double bed, covered with a clean sheet, likely brought from Ding Yao’s space. A desk held a meal box. She opened it to find four buns and an opened can of meat.
Aware that tonight she’d share this room with Ding Yao, Han Yanyan picked up a bun and took a big bite.