Chapter 19: The Fifth Plotline
At this point, Qi He took a deep breath. “Let me see the script first.”
The system didn’t dare make a sound, and silently threw out the script:
『After you angered Yan Chuanbai last time, he hasn’t paid you any attention since. You know this can’t go on, so you decide to humble yourself and seek forgiveness.
You go to him, knowing seduction won’t work, so you bring up the debt of gratitude from your parents in the past, trying once more to sway him.
You remember every single detail of what happened back then. You take him back to ▇▇▇▇』
“……”
He jerked the steering wheel, and the car screeched to a stop on the forest road!
Meng Yan was jolted violently and turned to him nervously. “What’s wrong?”
Qi He pulled the handbrake. “Let’s get out here.”
Meng Yan looked around. Towering trees blocked out the sky, and mutated plants sprawled in every direction. It was fine to do research here, but… did it have to be so sudden?
Qi He had already opened the door and stepped out: only 3 minutes left.
The surrounding mutant plants immediately lashed toward them—entangling vines, carnivorous plants lined with sharp teeth. But before the nets of foliage could close in, Qi He raised his hand and pressed down. Boom!!!
Everything around them crashed to the ground at once.
He looked at the script that had just dropped from the sky and exhaled. As if I wasn’t annoyed enough already.
Meng Yan was startled by what she saw: Qi He seemed to have gotten even stronger.
She looked around for a clearing. “Qi He, do you think we should—”
Before she could finish, a massive tree was ripped out by the roots. Its root system tore out of the earth, and its crown came crashing down, sweeping across the forest with a whoosh—
Qi He glanced at the panel where “Humble Yourself and Seek Forgiveness” was written, hefted the entire tree onto his shoulder, and said to Meng Yan, “Now there’s a clearing.”
Meng Yan felt as if she were in a dream. “…Alright.”
She went over to set up the experimental equipment.
Qi He checked the time: 2 minutes left.
The system was stunned for a moment by his superficial maneuver, then said:
[Even if you get through the first two lines, it won’t work. Yan Chuanbai isn’t here—how are you going to go find him—?]
The ending pitch suddenly shot upward.
Qi He, still carrying the tree on his shoulder, turned back toward the car door and yanked it open with a loud clang.
Then he pulled out the communicator and dialed Yan Chuanbai.
One ring… two… three…
[Host, please note: only 1 minute remaining.]
Four rings… beep—the call was finally picked up.
Yan Chuanbai’s voice came through: “What is it?”
Clinging to a sliver of wishful thinking, Qi He asked, “Where are you?”
“Where else would I be? The training grounds.”
At the base, Yan Chuanbai was standing on the field.
The training in front of him had been paused. Sunlight poured down from above, dust swirling beneath his feet. He held the communicator in one hand, staring at the ground. Just as he was about to ask Qi He what he wanted, he heard a long sigh:
“Sigh…”
Qi He’s voice carried a trace of genuine feeling. “If only you were by my side right now.”
Yan Chuanbai: “……”
A vein bulged at his temple. He fought to stay calm. “What are you scheming this time?”
“Nothing. I just… simply wanted to call you.”
Yan Chuanbai fell silent.
Qi He glanced at the script on the panel. “Oh right, you know my parents were always really good to you, don’t you?”
“…” Yan Chuanbai: “And then?”
Qi He spoke gently, “When the apocalypse ends, I’ll take you… back to my old home.”
Over the communicator came the sound of a sharp, deep inhale—
Yan Chuanbai pressed down the emotions surging up inside him, patience at its limit.
“Qi He.”
The trainees around him couldn’t hear what was being said inside the communicator. All they knew was that, halfway through training, Colonel Yan suddenly took a call. Judging by his expression, no one could guess who it was.
Then, the moment they heard the name, everyone realized:
So it was Instructor Qi calling.
After Qi He finished the last line, a ding! went off in his head—the signal that the plot had been completed.
He tossed the tree he’d been carrying with a rustling crash to the side, and said to Yan Chuanbai, “Nothing. You can get back to work.”
Then he hung up.
Putting away the communicator, Qi He immediately met Meng Yan’s gaze a few meters away. She was crouched by the instruments, staring at him wide-eyed. “You—”
She swallowed, glancing around. “Is there something here that stirred up old memories for you?”
Qi He: “……”
He raised a hand and shut the car door. “No. Just said whatever line came to mind from the dream.”
—
Meng Yan went back to recording data.
Qi He kept the plants under control so they wouldn’t attack, making it easier for Meng Yan to measure physiological activity indicators and growth parameters.
They planned to stay here for six hours.
The system popped its head out, sighing:
[When the plot suddenly popped up, I really thought we were done for this time.]
“When will you ever get advance access to the episodes?”
The system stiffened its neck and retorted righteously: [A wage sl*ve beast of burden like me has no way of knowing what the higher-ups are thinking!]
“Then why do you even work?” Qi He said as he coiled up the mutant vines. “What has working ever given you? A string of garbled code?”
[……]
[Born to be a system, please apologize. The mission of a system is to guide the host through the plot.]
“You never thought about doing something else?”
[Something else… no, wait.] The system, after spending so long with Qi He, had grown a little sharper: [Are you trying to lead me astray? I’m not listening to you anymore!]
Qi He sighed with regret. “I was just saying casually…”
Whoosh! A sudden commotion cut off their conversation.
From the thick underbrush, a zombie suddenly leapt out. Its feet had already evolved into beast-like shapes, and it charged at them from the forest with frightening speed.
Meng Yan lifted her vine-whip, about to strike—
Qi He suddenly called out, “Wait.”
She froze mid-motion. The zombie lunged right up to them, only to be yanked back by a powerful force. Its mouth gaped open, drooling as it wailed incoherently.
Qi He stood, pulled a vial of portioned nutrient solution from his pouch, and poured it straight into the zombie’s open mouth.
Zombie: “Waaah-laaah-waaah.”
Meng Yan: “……”
She blinked in realization. “Eh? Isn’t that the new sample I developed?”
“Mm. I didn’t drink it.” After saying this, Qi He pulled out another vial and poured it into the mouth of a carnivorous plant nearby. Waaah-laaah-waaah.
Pulling his hand back, he said, “Now your test subjects include vegetables, chicks, Yan Chuanbai, zombies, and man-eating plants.”
Meng Yan: “……”
Qi He looked at her. “How long does the nutrient solution last on vegetables and chicks?”
Meng Yan straightened her expression. “The elements in the nutrient solution are all trace amounts. In them, the effects last about six hours of detectable data fluctuation, with visible changes appearing within five days. The higher the organism, the weaker the effect might be.”
…Vegetables and chicks take five days.
Then Yan Chuanbai’s power losing control and blowing up the water heater—there was a high chance that was because of his influence.
So Qi He took out his communicator and sent an apologetic message:
『I’m the one who dragged you into this. [crying emoji]』
Yan Chuanbai: 『?』
Yan Chuanbai: 『If you send me one more inexplicable message, I’ll block you.』
Qi He, all defiance: 『[crying emoji]』
Yan Chuanbai: 『……』
Qi He waited a moment, then sent another: 『[crying emoji]』
The message went through successfully. He put away the communicator: Oh, so I haven’t been blocked yet.
—
From dawn until dusk.
Meng Yan finished her data collection, also recording the evolution speed of the zombie and the carnivorous plant. “About the same as the vegetables and chicks. The only unknown left is Brother Yan.”
“A hopeless case…” Qi He sighed, giving them a swift end. “Come on, let’s head back.”
The return trip was still Qi Qi racing.
After more than an hour of driving, they arrived just outside City Z.
It happened to be sunset, the sun sinking in the west.
The afterglow fell ahead of them, and the familiar sight stirred a trace of nostalgia in Meng Yan. “Do you remember? When we first came here, it looked just like this. And we even ran into a zombie horde back then…”
Qi He glanced over. This area was much quieter now.
He was just thinking that, when suddenly a car burst out.
On the wide road, that car swerved diagonally across, with several mid-level mutant zombies clinging tightly to its body. The vehicle wobbled uncontrollably, and only a gun barrel stuck out from the crack of the car window.
Bang, bang! A few shots fired—all missed.
Qi He spun the steering wheel and gave chase—
In the instant he pulled up alongside, he raised his gun with one hand and aimed at the zombies on the car. Bang, bang, bang! A few shots rang out, and the zombies all fell.
The car jerked sideways and came to a stop.
Qi He braked two meters away.
The opposite car door opened, and half a figure emerged from behind it. The man’s fringe hung long over his brow, brushing against his eyes. A gas mask covered the lower half of his face, but the eyes that showed were damp and gentle.
He fixed his gaze on Qi He, and in a muffled voice said, “Thank you.”
Qi He, sitting by the open car window, slid his gun back into place with one hand. “Headed to Base I? At normal driving speed you probably won’t make it. Want us to give you a ride? We’ll be there fast—I’ve got Qi Qi Turbo.”
The man looked at Qi He for several seconds before shaking his head. “No need. I’m not going to the base.”
Just before getting back into his car, he suddenly turned and said, “You’d better not go either.”
Meng Yan immediately leaned forward. “Why not?”
The man’s eyes only stayed on Qi He. “Danger.”
With that, he ducked into the car and drove off, away from Z City.
Meng Yan was baffled. “What does he mean, danger at the base? And why was he out here alone? Is he just an ordinary person, or an ability user?”
“Can’t tell.” Qi He was silent for a second, then slammed the accelerator, racing straight toward the base.
“You believe what he said?”
“I’ll take it at face value for now.”
The moment they crossed into Z City, the communicator went beep-beep.
He freed one hand to tap it open, and saw a message from Yan Chuanbai:
『Mutant zombie horde. Return immediately.』
Meng Yan drew a sharp breath.
Qi He’s lashes flickered as he put the communicator away. The car roared up off the ground, shooting toward the base.
…
Thirty minutes later, the gray walls came into view.
The sky had nearly gone completely dark.
In the ashen sky, countless tiny black specks quivered. Closer now, they turned out to be a massive flock of flying zombies circling over the wall, blocked off by the “Sky Net.”
At the same time, mutant zombies on the ground were also besieging the base.
Boom! Boom! Rumble—
Countless ability-users were locked in combat with zombies outside the wall.
Abilities burst out one after another, crashing into the tide of corpses.
As Qi He closed in, the car suddenly fell silent.
Meng Yan, beside him, held her breath. After a pause, she spoke slowly, “Qi He… if I didn’t see wrong, those abilities down there aren’t only coming from our side.”
“The zombies… they’ve evolved abilities too.”
Qi He pressed his lips together, steering the car to a stop at the edge of the battlefield.
The two of them pushed their doors open and stepped out.
A large-scale battle had broken out beyond the wall. On the high gray wall above, a figure in uniform stood tall. The soldiers of the military lined up in formation, Yan Chuanbai gripping his gun.
Aimed high toward the sky above the base, bullets and abilities fired in unison.
One after another, the flying zombies plummeted from the air.
Meng Yan glanced at their overwhelming numbers.
“Can your gravity pull all of them down?”
“It can,” Qi He replied, “but there are still many ability-users down below.”
“Then should we have them retreat into the base first?”
Qi He thought for a moment—too slow.
His gaze swept across the battlefield: ability-users and zombies tangled together, indistinguishable from one another in the dim light.
A few seconds later, he raised his hand and said, “Let me try this.”
His distinct knuckles pointed toward the gray wall—then clenched.
Up ahead, where the fighting raged fiercely—
Ji Yan swung a long jet of flame to scatter the charging zombies, when all of a sudden he felt his tactical harness yanked from behind.
The next instant, he was flung backward, leaving only a streak of flame in midair.
“What the—!”
A sharp smack!—he was plastered against the gray wall.
All around, the other ability-users were also yanked off the ground, one after another, slapping onto the wall with a series of pa-pa-pa sounds, sticking there like ornaments. Within the iron-forged wall and its alloy fixtures, the magnetic vectors had abruptly shifted.
The zombies on the ground froze: ?
The next moment, the flying zombies above came crashing down in droves!
Qi He’s profile was calm and clear as he lowered his hand.
“I used magnetism,” he said. “Formed a temporary magnetic field.”
