Chapter 103: Doomsday 18

As evening approached on the campus, occasional laughter echoed softly. Most of the students had already left the classrooms. In a corner by the window, a girl lay quietly asleep at her desk, bathed in the warm, golden hues of the setting sun.

Someone cautiously approached, hesitating for a moment before whispering, “Senior?”

The girl furrowed her brow, opening her eyes to see the young boy before her. She reached up to rub her forehead. “Xiaodao? What’s wrong?”

“It’s already after school. Aren’t you going home?” the boy asked.

Hearing his words, she glanced around and realized the classroom was empty. “I accidentally overslept,” she replied.

Stretching lazily, she asked, “What are you doing over here in the senior building?”

The school was divided by grade: the seniors occupied the east building, and the freshmen the west—at opposite ends of the campus.

“I... I was just helping the teacher carry some homework,” the boy said quietly, looking down. “On my way past the classroom, I saw you here alone.”

She didn’t think much of it, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “Done helping? Let’s go together.”

“Yeah, finished,” he nodded eagerly.

“Then let’s go.”

The long shadows stretched as the sun dipped lower, the boy quietly trailing behind her. Occasionally, he glanced at her and reached out to touch her shadow, a smile breaking across his face.

After waiting by the school gate for so long, he finally had the chance to leave school with his senior. Luckily, he kept waiting, and when he didn’t see her come out, he went to the senior building to find her.

—

When Ke Yuandao opened his eyes, a trace of confusion lingered—they had fallen asleep unknowingly.

Rubbing his temples, he recalled the dream he had just had.

Though he no longer remembered the appearances of the two main figures, strangely, he clearly knew that the boy quietly waited in a corner by the school gate, watching the girl come out, then quietly followed behind her for quite a while.

Ke Yuandao looked down on the boy’s actions with disdain, thinking him cowardly, timid, and somewhat foolish for not confessing his feelings.

He pitied such a person, guessing he was destined to remain a perpetual backup.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, he seemed even shorter than the girl—undoubtedly a backup!

After some thought, Ke Yuandao nodded firmly.

As for why he had such a strange dream, he attributed it to overhearing several female psychics in the team talking about melancholic youth and campus literature.

—

Li Ziqing, commander of the neighboring team, glanced at the fading light and found a flat spot to settle for the night.

As for the city not far ahead, she had no intention of entering.

After all, entering the city meant facing zombies. If they were as grotesque as those at the training base, they simply couldn’t endure it.

The convoy gradually came to a halt, the quiet outside the vehicles slowly turning lively.

Le Yixian, who had been sleeping, stirred at the noise, awakening groggily.

“Awake?” A deep voice sounded near her ear, warm and gentle.

“Xiaodao?” Le Yixian reached up to rub her neck. Honestly, having leaned on Ke Yuandao while sleeping left her neck a bit sore.

Ke Yuandao blinked, almost thinking he had slipped back into the dream.

“What’s wrong?” Le Yixian rubbed her neck again, noticing the expression on his face.

Ke Yuandao’s gaze was complex and puzzled. “Xia Meimei, did we know each other before the apocalypse?”

Le Yixian stopped rubbing her neck. “No.”

Before the apocalypse, the original owners of this world and Ke Yuandao lived in two different cities. Without the apocalypse, they would never have met.

“Really? I just had a strange dream,” Ke Yuandao nodded, recalling. “It gave me a feeling like we went to the same school once. But we clearly don’t know each other… Why?”

Le Yixian took a deep breath, steadying her expression, trying to keep her voice calm, though a hint of sadness lingered. “My neck really hurts. I think I might have twisted it.”

“Let me see,” Ke Yuandao’s attention shifted immediately.

A faint glimmer flickered in Le Yixian’s eyes—is there hope for awakening?

She didn’t dare be sure or even think about it, fearing that hope might lead to greater disappointment.

“It hurts a lot? Hang on, I’ll massage it for you.” Ke Yuandao noticed her near-tear expression.

“No, it’s fine now,” Le Yixian regained composure, straightened her back, and turned her head. “Better.”

Seeing this, Ke Yuandao exhaled in relief.

Her expression just now had truly flustered him; she was clearly afraid of pain. From now on, he resolved to protect her well.

As night fell, news of the confirmed relationship between Ke Yuandao and Le Yixian spread throughout the team by the afternoon, broadcast by Li Ziqing.

Many psychics in the team owed their lives to Ke Yuandao’s rescue.

They all congratulated him, teasing that they never expected him to be a shy man.

Ke Yuandao: “...”

Since when was he shy?

Faced with their blessings, he fell silent.

Wang Qiang noticed his expression and asked, “Boss, you’re not happy?”

“I’m happy,” the firelight reflected in Ke Yuandao’s eyes, shining brightly. His relationship with Xia Meimei was clear now, so others dropped any thoughts.

However, he added, “I haven’t even gone to formally propose, and Li Ziqing already blurted it out.”

He wanted to boast about it himself.

Without signal during the apocalypse, besides books to pass the time, gossip was the main entertainment.

Once the psychics in the team learned of it, likely everyone in the base would know soon.

It was like a dragon cautiously guarding its treasure, only to have foolish humans reveal it openly, leaving the dragon frustrated, unable to boast.

Wang Qiang beside him was speechless.

Who said their boss didn’t like to show off affection? This was too much—he even wanted to boast personally!

Thank goodness Li Ziqing said it early, or they’d be blinded by all the sparkles.

Elsewhere, Lin Jingyu, upon hearing that Xia Meimei and Ke Yuandao were officially together, wore a thoughtful expression.

Perhaps General Xia’s side could leverage this.

After hearing the news, Xia Linlin stared fiercely at Xia Meimei among the crowd, burning with rage. Seeing her laughing and chatting with Ke Yuandao made her tremble with fury.

“Xia Meimei, just wait. When we get back to the base, I’ll have plenty of chances to deal with you.”

The return journey was uneventful, and the group smoothly arrived at the base.

Seeing the large cache of weapons they brought back, General Xia and several others who had established the base were delighted.

Coincidentally, personnel from other bases came to gather intelligence, so they decided to hold a banquet that night to celebrate and demonstrate the base’s strength, aiming to intimidate other restless bases.