Chapter 154 - 153: Until We Meet Again

Chapter 154: Chapter 153: Until We Meet Again

"We came from Jishan, escorting Colonel Ye to this city. Right now, the rest of our group is stationed at the gas station on Tianshui Road. Colonel Ye is there too... And you are?"

"Lin Fan..."

"My name is Chu Zhaozhao."

Lin Fan had just stated his name when Chu Zhaozhao peeked out from behind him and introduced herself.

"I saw you guys at the gas station when I was on my way here..."

Lin Fan reached back and poked Chu Zhaozhao precisely in the small of her back, cutting her off and continuing,

"This Major Wang’s condition has stabilized a bit. Whether he makes it or not is up to him. You can wait here until dawn, avoid the zombies on the main road, and circle back to the gas station from behind... As for Ye Qingzhou, I’ll pay her a visit when I have time..."

’When I have time, I’ll pay her a visit.’ Zhang Wenyuan was a little dazed as he listened to Lin Fan, looking at this strangely dressed doctor.

’Did he not understand what I meant?’

"Uh... Doctor Lin, what I mean is, the convoy is at the gas station right now. They could leave for the quarantine zone at any moment," Zhang Wenyuan said earnestly as he looked at Lin Fan.

"For the two of you to get here alone, and to even be able to produce a Crystal Stone from a Mutated Zombie, you must be extraordinary. If you could travel with our convoy, we could watch each other’s backs... Besides, you and Colonel Ye are old acquaintances. She would definitely welcome you with open arms!"

’If Lin Fan and this young girl, two Awakened Ones, could join the convoy,’ Zhang Wenyuan thought, recalling what had happened before they set out, ’Qingzhou’s position would be much stronger.’

’But I don’t know what his relationship with Qingzhou is like. The other two Awakened Ones in the convoy, besides Cyan Bird, were nowhere to be seen during the earlier conflict. It looks like Zhao Cheng has won them over.’

’With ammunition running low, Awakened Ones are shifting from having mere scientific value to possessing ever-increasing combat value...’

Ignoring his plea, Lin Fan suddenly recalled the figure on the rooftop and asked, "By the way, a woman passed by earlier. Who was that?"

Zhang Wenyuan’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t expected the man to completely ignore the script and leave his offer hanging.

But he was a military officer, after all. He quickly adjusted his mindset and went along with the new topic.

"A woman? That was Cyan Bird, Colonel Ye’s younger sister. She’s an Awakened One, just like you. She... oh, right!"

Zhang Wenyuan felt a sense of relief, confident that Wang Zhong would pull through. Now, the mention of Ye Qingniao seemed to make him remember something.

He quickly pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket, flipped it on, and called out, "Cyan Bird, Cyan Bird, this is Zhang Wenyuan..."

Then he turned his head and said to Lin Fan:

"Just now, we were waiting for Cyan Bird to return just outside the edge of the zombie horde, but our tire suddenly blew out. The zombies heard the noise and surrounded us. Regular zombies are one thing, but those frenzied ones are incredibly fast. Wang Zhong was injured covering my retreat..."

Lin Fan figured the "frenzied zombies" he mentioned were probably the ones with 500 HP.

"Luckily, we ran into you. No matter what happens to Wang Zhong, thank you for your help!"

Before Lin Fan could reply, the walkie-talkie suddenly crackled to life.

"Uncle Zhang! I finally reached you! What happened? Where are you?"

Hearing this, Zhang Wenyuan picked up the walkie-talkie and said:

"Where are you? The tire blew out. We’ve hidden in a residential complex. We’re... we’re fine. We’re with a Doctor Lin Fan, an old friend of Qingzhou’s. He’s a local survivor..."

"I got out of the horde and saw the car surrounded by zombies. I thought something had happened to you! I’m so glad you’re okay! I don’t know where you are. I’m heading back to the gas station by myself right now. I’ll come back and get you!"

"No, don’t! Cyan Bird, you don’t know which complex we’re in, and it’s so pitch-black I don’t know where this is either. You head back to the gas station first. We’ll rest for a bit, avoid the zombies, and head back around dawn!"

"...Mmm, okay..." Ye Qingniao’s hesitant voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Lin Fan? My sister’s friend? My sister has friends? Fine, then. You guys stay safe. I’ll go tell my sister the results of my recon, and then I’ll get back in touch with you..."

"Okay! Good. You be careful too!"

Seeing that Ye Qingniao was also safe, Zhang Wenyuan could finally let go of all his worries.

"How old is she?" Lin Fan suddenly asked. Back on the roof, the sonic boom from the flames had been too loud for him to hear her voice clearly. Listening to it now, she sounded young.

"Sixteen? Or maybe seventeen... Anyway, she’s in high school, about to graduate..."

Zhang Wenyuan thought for a moment before saying,

"Qingzhou doesn’t really talk about her family with others, so it’s normal that you wouldn’t know."

He’d come up with his own explanation.

"So young, and so capable..."

Lin Fan recalled the figure that had climbed onto the rooftop, nodded, then turned to glance at Chu Zhaozhao, only to find she had walked into the apartment’s bedroom with the flashlight and was rummaging through a closet...

"Big Brother! This place has men’s clothes. Let me find something for you!"

’Yep, Zhaozhao is capable too.’

"Big Brother! Change into this!"

The moment Chu Zhaozhao’s words fell, she walked out of the bedroom, holding a hanger with a light jacket printed with a cartoon duck pattern.

Lin Fan’s eyelid twitched, but he ultimately decided to change into it. After all, a cartoon pattern was better than sequined, flamboyant purple.

"Lin Fan, that wound on your back..." Zhang Wenyuan asked quizzically, catching a glimpse of the injury.

"It’s nothing, just got a little burned... Well, we should get going. I still have things to do..." Lin Fan said casually.

"I’ll visit Qingzhou at the gas station tomorrow."

"It’s so dark out. Will you be okay?"

The words slipped out of Zhang Wenyuan’s mouth the moment he heard Lin Fan was leaving. But then he remembered that these two had not only appeared here but had also pinpointed his and Wang Zhong’s location. They clearly had a few tricks up their sleeves, so he didn’t try to stop them further. Instead, he said,

"Then please be careful on your way. We’ll meet again!"

"We’ll meet again!"

After bidding Zhang Wenyuan farewell, Lin Fan and Chu Zhaozhao climbed out the window. With a lift of his spear, the two of them flew to the roof of the storefront building and continued running toward home.

Zhang Wenyuan watched their departing figures from the window, unable to recover from his shock even long after they had vanished into the darkness.

"They can fly..."

’No wonder they could show up here. No wonder they were so confident.’

Only then did Zhang Wenyuan realize that their strength had likely reached an unbelievable level.

Those Crystal Stones were a stepping stone for an Awakened One to increase their power. After all, since leaving the Jishan quarantine zone, they hadn’t had a single chance to recover the bodies of Mutated Zombies, which was why Cyan Bird’s abilities had stagnated.

And yet, he had taken out two of them to save a complete stranger.

’That leaves only two possibilities. One is that he and Qingzhou have an excellent relationship, so good that...’

Zhang Wenyuan thought about Ye Qingzhou’s perpetually arctic expression and shook his head.

’Then there’s only one other option: those Crystal Stones are of little value to him. So little, he can afford to just toss them around.’

"Awakened Ones... They’re like supermen..."

’Compared to them, Cyan Bird barely qualifies as an Awakened One. The other two in the convoy are just useless.’

He immediately turned his head to look at Wang Zhong lying on the sofa. Seeing that he had gradually stopped struggling and his breathing had stabilized, it seemed he had pulled through.

Relieved, he sat down on the sofa by Wang Zhong’s feet, leaned back, and patted his leg.

His voice was soft, as if he were talking to himself, or perhaps making a pact with his slumbering comrade.

"Wang, you’ve got to pull through. The rest of us, and those kids Qingzhou and Cyan Bird... we’re counting on you from now on..."

...

Two figures leaped northward along the rooftops, the varying heights of the storefronts and the streets below like flat ground beneath their feet.

"Big Brother, aren’t I smart!"

Chu Zhaozhao said suddenly, landing lightly behind Lin Fan.

"Huh? Smart about what?"

The question made Lin Fan freeze. He stopped in his tracks and asked back instinctively.

"I didn’t even ask you who Ye Qingzhou is! I could tell right away something was up. You even know a military officer, how come you never mentioned it... My brother always says I’m dumb, but I’m not dumb at all."

Chu Zhaozhao huffed twice, pleased with her deduction.

"Haha..."

Lin Fan couldn’t help but laugh when he heard that.

"Smart. Very smart, indeed."

"Then why did you save that guy? When that girl was talking on the walkie-talkie, didn’t you say you didn’t want to make contact with them yet..." Chu Zhaozhao asked Lin Fan as they ran.

Lin Fan landed heavily on the roof of a three-story building and stomped his foot. He felt the sole of his shoe crack, like it was about to fall off.

’My strength has increased so much. All this running and jumping is really tearing up my shoes. I need to figure out a solution.’

"Currying a favor?" he said to Chu Zhaozhao, who was standing beside him, as he knocked a small stone off the sole of his shoe.

"There’s no real reason, really. I just had a good impression of them. It was a small effort, and now we’ve left a good impression on each other... It’s called game theory. I’ll find a book for you to read later..."

"Ew—I’m not reading it! Heh, I’ll just follow you, Big Brother. I’ll go wherever you go..."

Chu Zhaozhao pouted, gave a silly little laugh to herself, and took the lead, brandishing her spear as she ran toward the next rooftop.