The caravan journeying west passed through a city, delving deeper to search for supplies. Han Yanyan noticed that since entering the urban area, Ding Yao had been gazing intently in a particular direction. It was clear he was quite familiar with this city as he directed the convoy to several large shopping malls to gather materials. After that, he commanded them to a residential area.
Han Yanyan followed him into a building and climbed up nineteen flights of stairs. Ding Yao maneuvered skillfully to find a home; the door was locked, and he instinctively patted his pocket before he paused and kicked the door open.
The apartment had two bedrooms and two halls, tastefully decorated and with a hint of masculinity. The place was fairly tidy, indicating that the owner hadn’t left in too much of a hurry.
Ding Yao stood in the living room for a moment before heading to the bedroom. He stood by the bay window and lit a cigarette. Han Yanyan stood at the bedroom door, watching his silhouette, suddenly realizing, “This is...”
“My home,” Ding Yao replied flatly.
So it was.
Han Yanyan didn’t leave or move closer, giving Ding Yao space. He smoked until the cigarette was finished and tossed the butt onto the wooden floor, carelessly extinguishing it with his foot.
“Come over,” he said.
Han Yanyan walked towards him. He pointed into the distance, “That building, the tallest one. Do you see it?”
Han Yanyan squinted at the distant structure. “That one?”
“Yes. It’s in the most prosperous part of the city. Driving there from here wouldn’t take more than half an hour; it’s the finest office building in the city,” Ding Yao explained. “The office is on the 31st floor, in a cubicle. At that time, I had just been promoted to department director…”
Han Yanyan wanted to hear more, but Ding Yao suddenly fell silent. She waited for a moment before glancing at him. Ding Yao’s eyes were fixed on the towering building in the distance, a depth in his gaze that Han Yanyan could not decipher.
Unable to contain herself, she reached out to touch his hand and whispered, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s about my past…” Ding Yao stared off into the distance for a long time before continuing, “It feels like someone else’s life.”
He held Han Yanyan’s hand, asking her, “Have you ever felt like this?”
“Hmm? What kind?” she replied, puzzled.
“Like… being trapped?” Ding Yao said, looking seriously into her eyes as if seeking an answer.
Han Yanyan was taken aback.
Ding Yao noticed the expression on her face, disappointment flashing in his eyes as he released her hand, abandoning the search for an answer. He turned to gaze out at the lifeless city, looking distant, as if lost in thought, murmuring, “It feels like… life is… all wrong.”
After a moment of silence, Ding Yao turned to leave, but Han Yanyan suddenly grasped his hand.
Ding Yao turned back to her, brows slightly furrowed.
Han Yanyan took a deep breath and said, “Trapped by this… world?”
Ding Yao felt as though he was indeed trapped, while Han Yanyan clearly knew she was confined in this world, and if she didn’t complete her mission, death awaited her.
She looked at Ding Yao, unable to suppress her thoughts: What about Ding Yao? Was he truly a native of this world? If he was, why had he become her target? If he wasn’t…
Han Yanyan clearly saw a glimmer in Ding Yao’s eyes.
“Why do you say that?” he stepped closer.
Han Yanyan dared not answer.
Her life hung by a thread; even if Ding Yao was trapped here just like her, and even if the electronic voice might be plotting against him, she couldn’t bring herself to reveal the truth.
She pressed her lips together and said, “I often feel that I don’t belong in this world, as if everything is fake. But if it’s a dream, the details are too vivid, reminding me that this isn’t a dream, this is reality.”
Ding Yao listened carefully to each word she spoke.
He touched her face and leaned down to kiss her lips. “I feel the same.”
Since the day the Corpse King appeared, mutated zombies had constantly hunted their group. They hadn’t made love in many days. In his own home, Ding Yao suddenly felt a desire stirring within him; he grasped Han Yanyan, wanting to lift her up…
Han Yanyan knelt on the windowsill, her hands pressed against the glass. The warmth from their bodies fogged the glass, and when Ding Yao pressed against her, she was pushed forward, her hands sliding across the surface, revealing a clear patch.
Through that patch, Han Yanyan looked down at the city. Zombies moved stiffly, scavengers scurried about like rats. Powerful superhumans confronted the mutated zombies; buildings collapsed or exploded. The weak fled and hid in all directions.
It was an absurd world. This world trapped both her and Ding Yao. Han Yanyan realized that to end this nightmare, they had to complete their mission. She had already figured out how to go about it.
Ding Yao suddenly pulled away from her. Not impregnating a woman was the last mercy a man could offer in this frenzied world. Han Yanyan felt empty, both physically and emotionally.
She didn’t regret her genuine feelings for this world; she only agonized over the unknown that awaited them at the end of it all.
Throughout this journey, as a superhuman, Han Yanyan had rapidly grown stronger. This was all thanks to the relentless pursuit of the Corpse King after Ding Yao. The Corpse King hadn’t shown himself again, instead constantly sending mutated zombies to attack. Such intense battles had continuously stimulated Han Yanyan’s awakened powers.
As the leaves turned yellow, Han Yanyan had replaced the former Zhang Youquan, becoming a powerful ice superhuman in others’ eyes.
Ding Yao had witnessed her transformation firsthand. He alone understood the bitter struggles she faced in daylight, but as long as the camp was safe, she would exhaust her powers, pushing her limits time after time.
He watched her convulse and twitch in pain, her fingers trembling. He witnessed her pallor turn to a sickly shade, her breath becoming weak as she slipped into a deep coma. He held her hand. It was pale, slender, and long, but lost warmth from forming too much ice.
When she was unconscious, Ding Yao held her hand, gazing at her intently.
When Han Yanyan awoke the next day, she found herself in Ding Yao’s embrace, his hand still holding hers. She didn’t move, laying against his shoulder, and closed her eyes again...
The mutated zombies kept getting stronger, seemingly infinite and unyielding. No matter how many they killed, there were always more.
Everyone wondered if they could truly reach Xijing, or if they did, would the Corpse King and the mutated zombies follow them there?
They found drones and related equipment in a computer mall in a city. A drone flew towards the direction they had come from while carrying a camera. Though it was ultimately destroyed, it transmitted images from behind before its demise.
The truth was despairing.
The Corpse King drove the tide of zombies behind them. The masses of ordinary zombies moved stiffly, dragging down the overall speed. With enough zombies as a base, the Corpse King controlled them to devour one another, constantly producing stronger mutated zombies.
From the transmitted images, people saw what appeared to be a second Corpse King had emerged.
The Corpse King was pursuing Ding Yao—this rumor quietly spread through the crowd.
Ordinary people began to break away from the migration, followed by soldiers and superhumans. When those who had left the group returned as zombies, no one dared to flee alone anymore.
No matter how these people thought or acted, Han Yanyan always stayed close to Ding Yao. This girl, with black hair and bright eyes, seemed never to hesitate or waver. She firmly stood by Ding Yao’s side, fighting shoulder to shoulder with him.
Occasionally, when Ding Yao turned around, he would see Han Yanyan gazing longingly at the direction of the Corpse King. Sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking when she looked that way.
From Nanling to Xijing, it was about 1100 kilometers. In the past, people could reach it in two or at most three days of driving. But in this apocalypse, the roads were either blocked or broken. They had to walk while searching for supplies, all while dealing with the ubiquitous zombies. Gasoline was also hard to come by. The migration took a full five months.
From Nanling to this place, Ding Yao’s team had lost about a third of its members. Many had died, and some had turned into zombies.
But regardless, they finally arrived in Xijing, and people saw hope.
Hope was the thing most easily shattered. The westward migrants arrived first, and half a year later, the zombie tide also reached them. The stronghold for survival in Xijing crumbled.
People fell into despair; some suggested not to gather in groups, believing this would reduce the chances of attracting the zombie tide. The survivors began to scatter, like a herd of mice, roaming around in search of hiding spots.
Even Ding Yao and his Thunder Strike Squad couldn’t stay in one place for long. The Corpse King always managed to find them with precision.
This life continued for over a year. Han Yanyan had become a powerful superhuman. Her fighting alongside Ding Yao made a deep impression on others. The two hardly ever separated, as if they were one entity. When Ding Yao was mentioned, Han Yanyan came to mind, and vice versa.
Han Yanyan could feel that in these two years, Ding Yao's gaze towards her gradually changed. Yet, it still wasn’t enough; it wasn’t enough to fulfill her goals. She needed a heavy blow to reach Ding Yao’s heart.
Then the opportunity finally arose.
This fearsome existence of the Corpse King actually cultivated three variants in a manner akin to raising pets. They arrived suddenly from behind with a mutated zombie army that made even superhumans tremble, like a nightmare descending.
Han Yanyan had been waiting for this day.
The electronic voice had thrown her into this world, ordering her to make Ding Yao fall in love with her. Han Yanyan had unintentionally allowed Ding Yao into her heart but was unsure whether she had actually entered his heart. But since that warning from the electronic voice when she distanced herself from Ding Yao, there had been no further communication. Han Yanyan felt that her final mission was yet uncompleted.
Since then, she had been contemplating what to do. Just in time, the Corpse King appeared.
Many rules in this world resembled those in the apocalyptic stories Han Yanyan had read or written before. She boldly speculated that the Corpse King would grow stronger, or that more Corpse Kings might appear. A sentient Corpse King would inevitably seek revenge on Ding Yao. Han Yanyan could imagine that when the Corpse King reappeared, it would be immensely powerful. She didn’t know if it would be strong enough to kill Ding Yao, but it would surely pose a lethal threat to him.
That was enough.
Han Yanyan decided to sacrifice herself for Ding Yao.
Since the electronic voice had appeared, she had repeatedly recalled the assignments, demands, and restrictions it had given her before she entered this world. She found that the electronic voice merely required Ding Yao to “fall in love” with her, aside from that, there were almost no other conditions imposed.
Ding Yao was a man far too powerful and cold-blooded; Han Yanyan lacked confidence that simply spending time together would make him love her. She decided to take a more dramatic approach.
What is the most precious thing a person has? It’s not beauty, not ability, and certainly not virginity.
It’s life.
When a woman loves a man to the extent that she is willing to give up her life for him, that man’s heart, no matter how hardened it may be, surely would feel some shock and warmth.
As long as Ding Yao loves her, even for just a second, it would be enough. Even if right after that, he followed her to death, that would suffice. According to the rules set by the electronic voice, as long as there was that one second, Han Yanyan would have completed her mission.
And Han Yanyan had her own selfish motives.
Having walked this far with Ding Yao, if she couldn’t complete the task, she would be trapped in this world, even facing death. If she succeeded, she didn’t know what kind of situation they would face or if they could meet again. Could they be together?
Given Han Yanyan’s intuition about the electronic voice, she felt… perhaps not.
If that was the case, Han Yanyan wanted Ding Yao to remember her forever.
Forever.
The chance Han Yanyan waited for finally arrived.
Three Corpse Kings surrounded Ding Yao, and each one was stronger than the one Ding Yao had encountered before.
When one of the Corpse Kings broke through Ding Yao’s electric barrier and lunged at him, Han Yanyan released an ice shield to block the mutated zombie attacking her, rushing like an arrow towards Ding Yao, determined to shield him from the strike with her body, willing to sacrifice her life for his love.
But at that moment, a fourth Corpse King appeared! The intelligence of the Corpse King was not much different from that of humans; it was clever and cunning. The fourth Corpse King had hidden among the ordinary zombies, waiting to deliver a fatal blow to Ding Yao, the human warrior.
Han Yanyan’s pupils dilated!
It was all over! Ding Yao would die; this “Han Yanyan” would die; the mission would fail, and the real her… would die too!
In that moment of despair, she felt a change in the surrounding space. In the next instant, she was in front of Ding Yao.
The third Corpse King was injured by the lightning and retreated in panic, while the fourth Corpse King’s claws… pierced Han Yanyan’s chest.
Ding Yao had once dodged a sniper bullet in Nanling City; no one knew how he managed to evade it.
Now, Han Yanyan understood. Ding Yao’s spatial abilities had evolved to manipulate distorted space. He sent the bullet aimed at him elsewhere, just as he had now pulled Han Yanyan from a distance to stand before him.
Han Yanyan felt Ding Yao’s breath; her neck even sensed the warm air he exhaled. This sensation was strangely familiar, as when their bodies intertwined, and he kissed her from behind, that itch and warmth enveloped her.
At that moment, Han Yanyan could not see Ding Yao behind her; all she could see was the Corpse King’s ghastly green face, its rocky arms and claws piercing through her chest and tearing apart her heart.
It was the cold of winter.
Han Yanyan felt cold in her chest, plunging into darkness.