Chapter 91: The End of Days, Part Six, Combined Edition

The ring had been bought by someone else.

Because the pendant ring and the pair of earrings were a matching set, something Kurendo had specially gone to the shop to have made for himself.

Never mind. In any case, this was only a virtual world; the real one was still in his room.

Thinking that way, she comforted herself.

Her disappointment kept her from noticing the gaze quietly fixed upon her from the shadows.

Looking at Leyi Xian in the distance, Kurendo saw Xia Liang and Lin Jingyu flanking her on either side, and the air around him grew cold.

He turned and walked away, thinking grimly that he only could not stand seeing her wandering around the base alone as though she had no one to rely on. As a man, he could not simply ignore it; if she were bullied, it would be troublesome.

As one of the base’s powerful awakened abilities, he had a duty to protect the defenseless people there.

Still, it seemed he had worried for nothing after all. His lips pressed together.

His fingers unconsciously stroked the ring he had been holding all this time.

Then suddenly, a figure ahead lunged toward Kurendo. “Help!”

Kurendo habitually stepped back. The person rushing at him had not expected him to move like that, and the force of her charge sent her sprawling onto the ground in a cloud of dust.

“Bitch, let’s see where you run now!” Several young men with fierce faces, almost as if the words “I am not a good person” were written all over them, caught up with her. Seeing Kurendo standing in front of her, one of them said, “Kid, I advise you not to meddle. She made a deal with us, and now she wants to run.”

The woman at his feet was rather attractive. After the apocalypse, food was hard to find, so everyone had grown thin; her limbs were skeletal and frighteningly so, yet the sight of her chest was alluring. It seemed likely she had used that to bargain with the young men.

“Save me. I only told them I’d clean for them,” the woman cried, looking up at Kurendo with pleading almond-shaped eyes. “They want to assault me!”

“Bitch, what nonsense are you spouting? We clearly agreed we’d give you crystals, and in return you’d make us comfortable,” the young men snapped, thinking they had run into a woman stupid beyond belief.

With the apocalypse came chaos, and for a beautiful woman with no awakened abilities, surviving was simple in only one way.

There were even entire streets in the base filled with people like that. They had not expected to find one who refused to cooperate.

“Please, save me. If you save me, I’m willing to repay you with myself... ah!”

Still prone on the ground, the woman reached out to grab Kurendo’s trouser leg, but a crackling flash of electricity leaped out, and her hand went numb. She looked at him, a trace of fear in her eyes.

“You?” Kurendo looked down at the woman, his expression full of disgust, then lifted his gaze to the young men. “There are plenty on Spring Street who are prettier than her and more experienced too. You have to go and make trouble for yourselves?”

“Damn it, brother, do you think we wanted to keep chasing her? The problem is she took our crystals!” one of the young men said angrily.

At this, the woman quickly scrambled to her feet and hurled the pouch containing the crystals far toward the young men. “I’m giving them back!”

The young man took the bag, opened it, counted the contents to make sure nothing was missing, then waved to his companions. “Let’s go. We’re heading to Spring Street.”

“What bad luck, running into some idiot who doesn’t know the rules!”

“Exactly!”

Watching the group leave so easily, the wary, nervous woman blinked in surprise. Seeing that they really had no intention of demanding compensation from her, she finally breathed out in relief.

When she turned around, she found that Kurendo had already gone some distance away. She hurried after him. “Big brother, thank you for saving me. I truly did not know what I would have done otherwise!”

Kurendo did not slow his pace, treating the woman as though she were air.

“Thank you so much,” she said again. Kurendo’s strides were long, and she had to break into a trot to keep up. “I don’t have anything valuable or useful right now. If... if you like this body, I’m willing to serve you...”

Kurendo kept walking.

The woman looked at his handsome face, her own expression tinged with shyness. “Big brother, please let me repay you.”

At last, Kurendo stopped at those words. He looked at the woman before him with icy eyes and spat out a single cold word: “Get lost!”

The woman stared at him in disbelief, eyes wide.

When Kurendo returned to the area assigned to his team, he wore an irritated expression. Their group was powerful in the base, so they had been allotted several small villas in the villa district.

Seeing him come back with a dark face, the others exchanged glances, unsure what had happened.

Wang Qiang had always been naturally familiar with people and considered himself close friends with their leader, so he stepped forward. “Boss, what’s wrong?”

Kurendo gave him a cold glance. “Got a problem?”

That look made the hairs on Wang Qiang’s arms stand on end, and he shook his head repeatedly. “No, no.”

Kurendo went upstairs. As the captain, he occupied the third floor of one of the villas alone, and no one else dared go up without his permission.

After returning to his room, he did not even take off his shoes before lying down on the bed.

The sunlight outside was bright. He took out the ring he had bought for three level-one crystals.

His fingertips gently traced its surface.

Then he remembered again how that damned woman had run around the base in a skirt with not a shred of caution.

He knew the apocalypse was a lawless place, full of all kinds of people. If anything happened to her...

At that thought, his expression froze.

What did that hateful woman have to do with him?

He shoved the ring into the pocket nearest his heart and closed his eyes to sleep.

A familiar choking sob sounded in his ear. The voice seemed to have hooks in it, tugging at the heart until it itched unbearably.

Kurendo, striding forward, felt as though his mind were filled with chattering sparrows. He turned with obvious impatience and snapped, “Shut...”

But then he met a pair of eyes veiled in a layer of mist. Their owner sniffled, then parted her red lips. “Thank you for saving me.”

As she spoke, two slender, pale hands lifted and cautiously reached toward the arm that held his hand. Her voice carried a hint of seduction. “I, I don’t know how to do much, but I can help you.”

Kurendo heard his own voice grow a little hoarse. “What can you help me with?”

“You can do whatever you want.” The white dress did not make her skin look sallow; instead, it made her complexion seem like fine white porcelain. The woman in white lowered her head shyly, revealing a graceful, pale neck like a swan’s.

“Whatever I want. That’s what you said!”

Kurendo gripped her slender wrist hard, his voice rough with strain.

Bang bang bang!

Kurendo opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling. Outside the door, Wang Qiang’s voice rang out, “Boss, boss!”

With a creak, the door opened from inside. Kurendo stood there radiating a heavy murderous aura, staring at Wang Qiang with a deathly glare as he asked in a sinister voice, “What, is there a problem?”

He drew out the two words slowly, and Wang Qiang heard all of his leader’s displeasure and murderous intent.

“Um, General Xia just sent someone to ask you to come for a meeting. I called you downstairs for a long time, but you didn’t answer...” Wang Qiang explained, only to realize that his boss’s gaze had shifted from his face to his right leg.

He nearly cried. Was the boss so angry he wanted to cut off his leg?

“Got it.” Kurendo withdrew his gaze and shut the door behind him.

Wang Qiang narrowly escaped being struck in the nose by the door: “...”

“What’s going on? He rested for only half an hour upstairs, and then he came down like he’d swallowed gunpowder,” he muttered, truly unable to make sense of it.

Kurendo sat on the bed, his face grim.

He looked down at his lower body and drew a deep breath.

Then he stood and went into the bathroom for a cold shower.

By the time he appeared on the first floor, he was carrying a chill all around him.

Seeing this, the team members all kept a safe distance from their leader, fearing that if he became displeased, he might cut them into dust.

General Xia had invited all the major powers in the base to discuss matters because intelligence had revealed a weapons depot in the mountains some sixty miles from the base.

He had sent people to investigate, and it was indeed there.

It was said that the depot of firearms had been specially stored there by the authorities in secret as a reserve for emergencies.

Now the unit guarding it had been urgently redeployed elsewhere for rescue operations when the apocalypse came, and had yet to return. Meanwhile, the base had limited combat power; if they could obtain a batch of firearms, their strength would increase dramatically.

This time, he hoped each faction would send selected elites to help transport that stock of weapons back to the base.

Naturally, the rewards would also be generous.

The matter was taken very seriously by all sides, and the meeting ran from afternoon into the night.

By the time it ended, the moon was already high overhead.

Kurendo stepped out of the conference room, the night breeze cool against his skin.

“Captain Kurendo, what are you thinking about? You look distracted,” Li Qing asked as she walked beside him.

Kurendo thought of the dream he had had that afternoon and grew even more irritated. “Nothing.”

“Ah, but escorting the weapons will require many vehicles, and the target will be too large. It will definitely attract a lot of zombies. It’ll be very dangerous,” Li Qing said with a sigh.

“Say it like a human being,” Kurendo replied.

“I want to bring Miss Lovely along with us,” Li Qing said quickly. “Think about it—if she’s there, even severe injuries might be healed before they become fatal.”

Kurendo fell silent. Li Qing continued, “I think I can manage this mission, but my team members may not be so lucky. It’s always better to have a safeguard.”

Kurendo still said nothing, while Li Qing muttered a few more lines to herself.

At last, she slapped her thigh. “All right, I’ll go invite the girl to join my team right now.”

Having said that, she set off for General Xia’s home.

After walking some distance, she stopped and glanced back at the silent man behind her. “What are you following me around for?”

“I think what you said makes sense,” Kurendo replied, without stopping.

Li Qing: “...”

Leyi Xian, already lying in bed asleep, was awakened by Liu Ma.

“Miss, someone is here to see you. Would you like to meet them?”

Anyone who came at this hour had no good reason, so Leyi Xian, half asleep, turned over and refused.

Downstairs, the two waiting guests watched as Liu Ma came down with a troubled expression, saying that her young lady had already gone to rest and that if they had anything to say, they should come again tomorrow.

Li Qing glanced at her watch. It really was very late, so she nodded readily. “All right, I’ll come again tomorrow.”

Kurendo: “...”

After Li Qing had taken a few steps, she noticed that Kurendo was still standing motionless where he was, and called out to him. Only then did he rise and leave.

As they came out, they ran into General Xia and Xia Liang returning home.

General Xia looked at the two of them emerging from his house, a little surprised. “Captain Kurendo, Captain Li, what brings you here?”

“Nothing much. I wanted to have a chat with Miss Lovely, and Captain Kurendo came with me,” Li Qing said with a smile. “But she’s already gone to bed, so we’ll come again tomorrow.”

“I see. Miss Lovely has only just arrived at the base and doesn’t have many friends yet, so I’ll have to trouble Captain Li to look after her more,” General Xia said.

“Miss Lovely and I are good friends, General Xia. There’s no need to be so polite.”

Li Qing exchanged a few more courteous words with him.

Watching the pair gradually blend into the night, General Xia narrowed his eyes slightly. “Send someone to investigate what they discovered on the way back.”

Xia Liang complied, then asked, “Dad, do you mean that thing may be in their hands?”

“If not, then what? Besides her looks and some ability in academic fields, what else does your sister have that could move those two?” General Xia said. “By beauty alone?”

The next day, just after Leyi Xian got up and finished breakfast, a visitor arrived.

“Good morning, Miss Lovely,” the visitor said, bringing several delicate flowers.

The apocalypse had the greatest impact on humans, while the remaining plants and animals slowly altered their way of life because of the changing climate.

For example, the vivid red roses in Lin Jingyu’s hand had evolved the ability to feed on human flesh and blood, and had consumed quite a lot before blooming so splendidly.

Of course, these roses had been uprooted by an awakened squad. Since the flowers bloomed so brilliantly, the team that handled them would cut them and bring them back to the city, making a neat profit.

“Flowers suit beauty. I hope you have a happy day today.” Lin Jingyu held the bouquet out to her.

Leyi Xian’s expression did not change. “Who are you?”

One could hardly blame her for this. In the real world, she was a little nearsighted, and people who are nearsighted are often somewhat face-blind.

Lin Jingyu: “... We met just yesterday.”

Seeing that she still looked blank, he reminded her, “I lent you three level-one crystals yesterday.”

At that, Leyi Xian remembered and nodded.

She took out the three level-one crystals, set them on the table, and pushed them toward him. “You’re here to collect a debt, right? Here, three level-one crystals, returned.”

Lin Jingyu: “...”

Which eye did you use to see that I came to collect a debt??

Was he so poor that he needed three level-one crystals??

“Then what are you here for?” Leyi Xian asked.

“I wanted to invite you to have a meal with me,” Lin Jingyu said.

Rumble!

A tremendous crash of thunder sounded outside.

Lin Jingyu jumped in fright, feeling a chill race down his spine. He turned and met Kurendo’s abyss-deep eyes.