Chapter 21: A Valuable Life Lesson
As soon as the door closed, Zhou Shun left.
In the quiet little room, Qi He sat in silence for a moment, then shook his head with a soft sigh. “He really was hungry.”
Yan Chuanbai looked toward the culprit, smiling faintly. “And whose fault is that?”
Qi He paused slightly before replying, “Mainly because ‘Yan Juji’ sounds like the name of a superstar—it suits you.”
“Then why are you so painfully ordinary?”
“Don’t be mad. I once went by the name Qi Delongdongqiang.”
“…”
The two stared at each other for a few seconds.
Then Yan Chuanbai suddenly smiled gently. That kind of warmth on his face only made one’s guard shoot up higher. “Forget it. Get some rest, Qi Guoji.”
Qi He: “…”
The temporary quarters assigned to them weren’t large.
Just enough space for two single beds, with an aisle about one person wide between them, and a small door opened to the right of the entrance.
Yan Chuanbai pushed it open and took a look. “It’s a courtyard.”
With one hand braced on the doorframe, he leaned out. Qi He glanced past his shoulder. The yard wasn’t big; dusk had already settled, and in the dim light he could faintly make out some household items piled in the corner, along with a water jar.
Since no one had been using it, the jar was already filled to the brim.
A voice came from above. “I’ll just rinse off quickly. What about you?”
Qi He looked up. Yan Chuanbai was gazing toward the courtyard. Probably a habit from his army days—used to living rough. Qi He figured he was still fairly clean, so he stepped back half a step and shook his head.
“I’ll pass.”
“Alright,” Yan Chuanbai said, walking out and closing the door behind him.
Qi He turned and lay back down on the bed.
The system suddenly popped up: [You’ve got nothing to do right now—why don’t you go outside and spread some wisdom? Convince them to head to the base?]
Qi He was surprised. “So you do care about things outside the main plot.”
The bubbly voice caught for a moment: [I get bored too.]
“Since we just arrived today, if I go out now to persuade them, it’ll look too deliberate and only make people more guarded,” Qi He said. “Better to simply stay the night first—whatever needs doing, we can talk about it tomorrow.”
[…]
After he spoke, Qi He sat up again. “Right, I forgot to tell Yan Chuanbai to save me a ladle of water for washing my face.”
He got up and walked to the side door, rapping on it once. Just as the dull thunk landed, the wooden door creaked open—the latch hadn’t been fastened—and the light from inside spilled into the courtyard.
Yan Chuanbai was sitting on a small stool, shirt off, lower half still clothed. His head was slightly lowered, and he was scooping water over himself with a ladle. The trails of water slid down his broad shoulders and back, winding like a stream over rolling hills, catching the light as they went.
Hearing the sound, he turned his head sharply.
Like a beast whose territory had been trespassed upon, his gaze was sharp and overpowering, locking directly onto Qi He’s eyes.
Qi He’s heartbeat stuttered for an instant under that stare.
When Yan Chuanbai recognized him, his hand paused again. Then the tension in his back eased slightly; he set the ladle down.
“What, you want to wash too?”
Qi He said to the system, “He’s inviting me to bathe together.”
The system glanced at the half-full water jar: [Where exactly is the together in that?]
Qi He said to Yan Chuanbai, “No, I just wanted to ask if you could save me a ladle of water to wash my face.” Yan Chuanbai was about to reply when he added, “Also, the door wasn’t latched. I didn’t open it on purpose to watch you.”
Yan Chuanbai: “…”
He met Qi He’s gaze. “That sentence was unnecessary.”
Qi He said with relief, “Good, as long as you didn’t misunderstand.” Then he closed the door and went back inside.
…
After a while, Yan Chuanbai came in.
Qi He was lying on the bed. When he looked up, the other man had already put on his shirt. He carried a chill with him; shards of unmelted ice clung faintly to his collarbone, catching the light and scattering it into small reflections.
Yan Chuanbai leaned down slightly. “Left you two ladles of water.”
Qi He sat up. “System, is he implying my face is big?”
[…You really do assume the worst of everyone.]
Qi He shook his head, got up, and went out to wash his face.
When he came back, Yan Chuanbai was already sitting on the other bed. The aisle between them was narrow, his long legs taking up most of it. As Qi He passed by, he had to turn sideways—almost brushing against him.
The man across from him shifted slightly, opening up some space. The firm stretch of his long legs pulled the fabric of his pants taut, revealing a kind of coiled strength beneath.
Qi He caught sight of it, and for a brief instant, his fighting spirit surged.
Then he reined it back in, composed himself, and lay down.
Beside him came a faint rustling—Yan Chuanbai lay down as well.
In the small room cut off from outside communication, there was no entertainment, nothing else to do. Yan Chuanbai reached out and switched off the light. With a sharp click, the room fell into darkness. To be safe, he froze the lock on the door.
Silence stretched for a while before Qi He spoke:
“What’s your plan?”
Yan Chuanbai replied, “Tomorrow I’ll find an excuse to stay here and gather some information. See if I can persuade a few people to go to the base. If not, we’ll figure out something else.”
Qi He pointed out, “You sound a little too casual about that first step.”
He asked, “Do you already have an excuse in mind?”
“Not yet.” In the quiet darkness, Yan Chuanbai’s voice was calm, almost unhurried—but carried a subtle implication. “But I trust you. After all, when it comes to staying behind, you’ve always had your own ideas.”
“…” Qi He.
He turned over, closed his eyes, and said, “You’re talking nonsense too. Go to sleep.”
No one spoke again.
The sound of steady breathing filled the quiet room. After a while, Yan Chuanbai turned his head toward the figure across from him.
The white T-shirt faintly outlined a silhouette in the dark, black hair spilling over the pillow. He watched for a long time, then, for reasons unknown, the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly before he turned back and closed his eyes as well.
…
When they woke, morning had arrived.
There was a window beside the door opposite them. Sunlight streamed in, carrying with it the distant stirrings and faint noises of the settlement, rousing them from sleep.
Yan Chuanbai got up and unfroze the door lock.
Qi He followed suit. Using the water left from yesterday, they washed up briefly and stepped outside.
As soon as they left the house, they ran into Zhou Shun coming from the other end of the path.
His expression was not good. “You’re up? Uh… the gatekeeper, Xiao Li, said your car’s tire burst. Also, the fuel tank’s leaking. Do you know what happened?”
Qi He paused slightly.
Then he showed a look of surprise. “How could that be?” He turned to Yan Chuanbai. “What should we do? Are we stuck here now?”
Yan Chuanbai’s face remained calm, silent.
Zhou Shun wasn’t sure who was at fault, so he guessed, “The road outside’s rough. Maybe it got punctured on the way here. I’ll send someone to fix it—once it’s done, you’d better head out fast.”
Qi He exhaled in relief. “Thank you. I’ll pay with crystal cores.”
Zhou Shun nodded and went off to find someone.
When his figure disappeared down the road, the doorway fell silent again.
Qi He looked straight ahead. “You pulled the fuel line, didn’t you?”
The man beside him didn’t answer, only asked, “When did the tire get punctured?”
“When we got out of the car.”
Yan Chuanbai replied, “About the same time.”
The two exchanged a glance, then wordlessly looked away at the same time.
The system was dumbfounded: […So you two were pretending last night? Acting like you were out of options for half the night?]
Qi He sighed. “Ah, that guy’s really full of tricks.”
[%&^#*<@…！]
—
By now, the residents were all up.
The two walked a short distance and reached the edge of a cultivation shed. Seven or eight people were inside tending to vegetables and fruits. A little boy standing by the door spotted them, blinked, and ran over.
Tian Xiaoluo was holding a bowl of steamed potatoes. “Do you want some? Mom said we can share with everyone.”
Qi He took a piece. “Thank you.”
Tian Xiaoluo asked, “You came from outside? Is it chaotic out there? How do you survive?”
Qi He answered gently, “It’s not chaotic in the base. I survive by being quick-witted.”
Tian Xiaoluo: “…”
“You’ve never been outside?” Qi He asked. “You’ve stayed here all along—never thought about going to the base?”
“Why go to the base? It’s nice here.”
As he spoke, Aunt Tian came over. “Xiaoluo!”
She pulled the boy back, giving the two a cautious once-over.
Qi He turned his head and noticed the flowerpots nearby. They had even planted flowers. “They’re beautiful,” he said softly. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any.”
Aunt Tian relaxed a little and invited, “There are more inside. Would you like to come take a look?”
…
Inside the greenhouse, people were chatting.
When they noticed the newcomers, the conversation stopped.
Curious eyes turned toward them. A middle-aged woman in a floral apron asked, “I heard you’re from the military? What brings you here?”
“Just passing through,” Qi He said. “We needed a place to stay for the night.”
The group warmed up again. “Oh, a while back someone else passed through too…”
Qi He listened for a while when someone suddenly asked, “Hey, don’t ability users have to go out every day to kill zombies and earn crystal cores?”
He replied, “There are other types of missions too.”
The person clicked their tongue. “Tch, sounds exhausting. Brother Zhou’s right—if you go to the base, you have to obey orders, or you won’t even get to eat. What about ordinary people who don’t fight zombies—do they have a place to live? How do they survive?”
…No, actually, everyone eats pretty well.
Qi He answered, “The base offers other jobs. Ordinary people can live in dormitories.”
“Dormitories? We each have our own houses here.”
Qi He raised an eyebrow slightly—he was starting to understand their reasoning.
Then Yan Chuanbai spoke up, “But the base has the strongest defenses. Ordinary people are much safer there.”
“We’re safe here too!”
The woman in the floral apron said, “Our residential area’s in the center, there are watchposts outside, and the ability users patrol regularly. Plus, there’s a hundred meters between us and the outer wall. If zombies show up, they’re taken down right away.”
Yan Chuanbai said, “Zombies outside are constantly evolving—they’ve already mutated. If a zombie tide hits, this place…”
He tried to put it gently, “It’ll be very hard to hold.”
His words fell, and the greenhouse went quiet for a few seconds.
Just then, the door was yanked open.
Zhou Shun stormed in, his voice full of anger. “This is pure fearmongering—” Then his eyes fell on the potato in Qi He’s hand, and realization dawned. He turned to Aunt Tian and barked,
“Haimei! If you bring strangers around again, your rations are getting docked!”
Aunt Tian was startled. “But my surname’s Tian, Brother Zhou.”
Qi He: “…”
Yan Chuanbai: “…”
“Fine then—Hai Tian!”
Zhou Shun turned back to glare at the two of them. “You people from the military just want to control everyone, don’t you? We’re living perfectly fine here—stop trying to stir up trouble.”
Yan Chuanbai looked at him. “The first wave of mutated zombies has already besieged the base. Even with its fortress walls and heavy defenses, the losses were severe. Here—you won’t be able to hold out.”
Zhou Shun’s breath caught for a moment.
The others’ faces showed traces of alarm and disbelief.
Then Zhou Shun stubbornly said, “I’ve seen flying zombies before. This shelter was built by me, and I can protect it.”
He waved his hand, driving them away. “That’s enough. Go back to where you’re staying. If you come out again and spread panic, I’ll throw you out myself!”
Qi He and Yan Chuanbai left the greenhouse.
As the curtain fell behind them, Zhou Shun was still preaching inside: “Don’t listen to their nonsense. The military just wants to trick us all into going to the base. Out here, we live free—no one telling us what to do.”
“Brother Zhou, we trust you.”
“Wherever you go, we’ll follow.”
“Yeah, we worked so hard to build this place. Why would we move all the way to some far-off base?”
…
Qi He walked back, thoughtful.
—
Back in the room, once the door was shut, he and Yan Chuanbai sat facing each other on the edge of the bed.
Yan Chuanbai looked at the sunlight streaming through the small window. “It’s worse than I thought.”
Limited understanding, ingrained prejudice—
And with communication cut off, these people had become completely detached from the outside world.
Qi He said, “Every brick and tile here was built by them. Unless they’re facing absolute destruction, no one will want to leave.”
Yan Chuanbai’s tone was cold. “When that happens, it’ll be absolute destruction.”
“…”
Qi He asked, “What will you do?”
Yan Chuanbai lowered his eyes, looking down at his hands.
This hand has held a rifle, sworn oaths, and been awarded medals. But the very first thing it received was the code handed out on the first day at the military headquarters—the first line on the title page—
He kept a face like frosted steel, but spoke calmly, “Everything for the people.”
Qi He’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
There are hundreds of people here; they can’t simply be allowed to fall.
Yan Chuanbai finished speaking and then looked up, resuming that loose, casual posture. “Subjectively they don’t want to leave—using force would only backfire.”
Qi He thought for a while, then said, “Then we’ll get them to go to the base willingly.”
“?”
He stood up. “I’m going out for a bit.”
Yan Chuanbai’s guard went up. “…Where are you going?”
“To prepare a lesson.”
Qi He pushed the door open. “I’ll use one unkillable zombie to give Zhou Shun a valuable life lesson—by tonight he’ll discover that people’s beliefs aren’t fixed.”
——————————————————
Author’s note:
Zhou Shun: Confident. [sunglasses]
Qi He: I’ll make you believe something else.
