Chapter 152 - 151: Do You Know Ye Qingzhou?

Chapter 152: Chapter 151: Do You Know Ye Qingzhou?

Lin Fan felt a bit awkward, unsure how to respond.

Chu Zhaozhao was usually boisterous and carefree, so this sudden display of demureness left him at a loss.

He decided not to say anything. He just held the girl, who was half-curled up on his lap, and gently stroked her hair. He recounted some details of the battle to her as they waited for another half an hour.

When Chu Zhaozhao started to let out soft snores, he gently shook her awake.

"Wake up, it’s morning..."

"Huh—huh?... Big Brother, what time is it?"

Chu Zhaozhao lifted her head and saw the light around them. Thinking it was the morning sun, she yawned groggily and rubbed her eyes as she asked.

But Lin Fan didn’t know the time either. His only watch had been broken when his wrist swelled up from the strength potion he’d taken earlier. It had probably been incinerated by now.

Before Lin Fan could say anything, she suddenly snapped fully awake.

"Ah! Oh no, Sister Qing and the others are still waiting, and we have no way to contact them!"

With that, she struggled to get out of Lin Fan’s arms. But when she focused on the still-burning fire across from them, she suddenly realized Lin Fan was teasing her again.

"Big Brother! You!"

"Hey, hey, hey, alright, alright. I was just trying to wake you up. Didn’t want you to catch a cold... See? You’re much more alert now."

Seeing Chu Zhaozhao about to huff, Lin Fan quickly tried to placate her.

The pillar of fire and smoke that had once connected heaven and earth had been burning for an hour, and its intensity had greatly diminished.

The sky-high flames gradually dimmed, transforming into a thick, churning and twisting plume of black smoke. Only the area at its base still glowed like a red-hot branding iron, radiating orange light and heat.

The explosive roar had long since subsided, replaced by the rumbling of wind whipping through the flames.

As the sound of the fire lessened and the monster vanished, the carpet of health bars—representing several thousand zombies on the street below—was growing increasingly sparse.

They no longer had the same condensed formation as when Lin Fan first arrived. It seemed the monster had been the one attracting and holding them here. Now that the monster was gone, once the fire died out completely and the noise subsided, the zombies would likely disperse and go their separate ways.

The health bars on the outermost edge had already begun to break away from the main horde, starting to wander aimlessly in the surrounding area like headless flies.

The spread of the zombie horde was inevitable.

So, Lin Fan decided it was time to leave, even if they hadn’t seen the final outcome.

Chu Zhaozhao was still wrinkling her nose at him, but her eyes held no anger, only a strange, amused smile.

Lin Fan simply reached out, tapped her on the bridge of her nose, and picked up a backpack from the floor.

"We should get going..."

"Ah, we’re not waiting anymore?"

Hearing Lin Fan, Chu Zhaozhao quickly looked toward the base of the fire, but she couldn’t see anything and asked in confusion.

"We’re not waiting. See? Even the zombies aren’t waiting. We’ll trust their internal judgment."

But all Chu Zhaozhao could see was the massive, dark horde of zombies still surrounding the fiery restricted zone. She couldn’t see the gradually dispersing health bars further out.

But she trusted Lin Fan’s judgment.

"So... Big Brother, should I carry you, or... should you carry me..."

She looked at Lin Fan and suddenly spoke with a bit of shyness.

"Hmm..."

Lin Fan pondered for a moment.

"I’ll just ride on your shoulders."

"It would be easier for me to ride on your shoulders and grab your head to fly..."

Finally relaxing a bit, Chu Zhaozhao began to banter.

Lin Fan chuckled, slung the backpack over his shoulder, walked to the window, and jumped directly onto the roof of the storefront below.

He had kept the 40% synthesized Activation Crystal equipped, and his Life Value had already recovered to [1296/1640]. The wounds on his back had also healed considerably; at least they no longer hurt at the slightest touch.

With a dull THUD, Lin Fan landed on the roof, cracking the already fragile surface.

Seeing Lin Fan jump, Chu Zhaozhao picked up her long spear and followed him down.

Just before reaching the roof, she activated her ability, using the spear to slow her descent and land lightly on the surface.

Lin Fan watched her proficient movements, nodded, and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Nice. You’re getting more and more skilled."

"Hmph, hmph. Big Brother, what’s in your bag? Does your back hurt? I can carry it for you?"

Chu Zhaozhao huffed twice, tilting her head up, but then she noticed the backpack on Lin Fan’s back and asked with curiosity.

"Just a few souvenirs. Sure..."

Hearing her offer, Lin Fan decisively took the backpack from his shoulders and helped her put it on.

There wasn’t much inside, just the handgun and that epaulet.

The epaulet had been in his breast pocket, not his back pocket, so luckily it wasn’t destroyed by the intense flames.

The gun didn’t matter; it was just a chunk of iron, very sturdy.

’Even though it was out of bullets, it was still worth keeping as a memento. Who doesn’t like guns?’

’Besides, the first four shots of my life had been so accurate, the spark so timely, and the plan had been executed so smoothly.’

’Even though I had planned out every step, when it came to the actual execution—whether it was retrieving the weapon or enduring the shockwave—as I sat watching that blaze just now, my eyes couldn’t help but glance over at the armored vehicle.’

’That old man... he was a man of his word. He said he’d watch over me, and he really did.’

Lin Fan felt that even without bullets, just wearing this handgun on his belt would give him +10 Luck and a buff called [Heroic Spirit’s Blessing].

’It has to be at least a purple-tier item. I have to keep it.’

It was just that the belt had been burned by the fire and was almost ruined. Lin Fan had no choice but to take it off and put it in the backpack he’d found in the room, along with the epaulet.

Under the night sky, in the fire’s glow, on the rooftops.

Two figures moved like two big rats—one light and landing without a sound, the other heavy, THUD, THUD.

"Big Brother, if you stomp any harder, you’re going to make this whole row of roofs collapse!"

"Keep complaining, and I’ll make you carry me while you fly..."

Whenever they encountered a tall building or a street, Lin Fan and Chu Zhaozhao would hold onto the long spear together. One provided lift, the other provided momentum, and they would glide right over.

"Hey, wait a sec..."

As the two of them were passing over a residential building, Lin Fan’s eyes caught something, and he suddenly spoke up.

Hearing him, Chu Zhaozhao immediately controlled the spear to descend, landing them on the rooftop.

They had left the source of the fire behind. The glow had weakened, and the farther they went, the darker it became.

Standing on this rooftop, they could still barely make out the shadowy figures of zombies on the street to their right, but the residential complex to their left was completely shrouded in darkness.

"What’s wrong, Big Brother?"

Yet Lin Fan’s gaze was fixed on the complex. Confused, Chu Zhaozhao asked her question.

"There’s someone..."

"Huh? Survivors?"

"Doesn’t seem like it..."

Lin Fan stared at the first-floor window of another building within the complex. Two yellow health bars were visible at the corner of the window.

[83/100], [54/100]...

One was healthy, the other was badly wounded.

Not only was one badly wounded, but even from this distance, the red threads that continuously emerged from one end of the health bar and wrapped around it seemed to glow, making them incredibly conspicuous to Lin Fan.

"Zhaozhao, carry me down from here. Avoid that window..."

...

"Zhang! Aren’t we brothers?! If we are, then do it!"

"Do it, my ass! Colonel Ye said that even if you’re infected, there’s a chance you can become a Superpower User like Cyan Bird! If you succeed, you’ll recover! Just hang on!"

"Do you fucking believe that?! Dozens of people have died along the way! Has a single one of them ever recovered?!"

"You’re just talking shit! Wang Xu, Wei Bo, Shi Yuxuan, Du Qifeng, Pang Xiaofei... you waited until every single one of them had turned before you pulled the trigger! So you ask me if I believe? As long as there’s a sliver of hope, I’ll believe!"

Zhang Wenyuan and Wang Zhong argued in hushed voices inside an unfamiliar room.

Wang Zhong’s hands and feet were bound with rope. As he struggled, his whole body rolled onto the floor in front of the sofa.

Meanwhile, Zhang Wenyuan sat on the television cabinet opposite him, holding a pistol.

There were tears in the corners of his eyes, but he continued to meticulously wipe his gun.

He wiped it slowly and deliberately, as if trying to remove every single speck of dust from its body.

This was the first time he had to bear this responsibility. In the past, it was always Wang Zhong who sent their teammates off.

He knew that every time Wang Zhong pulled the trigger, a part of his heart died. And now, it was finally his turn.

"Fuck! After I turn into a ghost, I’ll haunt your dreams every single day! You won’t get a single good night’s sleep for the rest of your life!"

Wang Zhong wriggled out from the gap between the coffee table and the sofa, poking his head out. He cursed at Zhang Wenyuan with a grin, but then his expression grew calm.

"It’s starting to get hot. I’ve heard the others mention it before... it just gets hotter and hotter..."

He knew Zhang Wenyuan was right. He had been through this scene many times, but each time, he only found the strength to pull the trigger at the very last moment.

But this time...

"If you keep dragging this out, the zombies will disperse soon, and you won’t be able to leave! Just shoot and go, or just leave now! Stop dawdling!"

Wang Zhong frowned, speaking to Zhang Wenyuan in a serious tone.

"Dammit, why the hell did you have to push me out of the way? If I die, I die."

"Colonel Zhou and the others are already dead. If you die too, am I supposed to deal with that traitor Zhao Cheng? Qingzhou is a researcher. Who’s going to lead the rest of the brothers? Cyan Bird?"

Zhang Wenyuan retorted, not to be outdone. But at the mention of Cyan Bird, both of them fell silent.

"I wonder if Cyan Bird made it back."

"She has a Superpower. The zombies can’t catch her. She can make it back..."

"Sigh... a Superpower..."

"It’s so fucking hot. Find a fan and cool me down..."

"Piss off!"

...

A dead silence once again fell over the room, leaving only the sound of Wang Zhong’s increasingly ragged breathing.

Lin Fan stood silently to the left of the window. In the darkness, he couldn’t make out the specific appearances of the two people inside.

But from their conversation, he had managed to piece some things together.

So he unequipped the Stealth Crystal, raised his index finger, and tapped on the glass—not too lightly, not too heavily.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

In the silent night, amidst the almost-congealed despair, these few crisp sounds were like a greeting from another world—and utterly terrifying.

Even Chu Zhaozhao, who was behind him and couldn’t see what he was doing, was startled by the sound.

Inside the room, even the sound of breathing stopped. For a moment, it was as if someone had pressed a pause button.

Lin Fan didn’t peek his head out. He just coughed softly by the window and asked in a low voice:

"Excuse me, I’m looking for someone...

"Ye Qingzhou. Do you know him?"