"Ugh… Give him a break…"
Su Duoduo was washing her face when she realized Ye Xin and Song Qiming were at odds. She thought for a moment; it was a bit of a waste to just kill someone with an Awakening in the Electric element. Wasn't that just a pure waste of resources?
But she couldn't disrespect Ye Xin either. Su Duoduo pursed her lips and said, "Give him a lesson, so he'll be more restrained in the future."
"Give me a lesson? Just him? One hand is enough to beat me, what a joke… Haha."
Song Qiming burst out laughing. After getting used to his strength last night, his physical attributes had increased by more than three times. A full-force punch could generate 500 jin of force.
If it were normally, Ye Xin wouldn't waste a word on him and would just slash him with a sword.
This time, he used a swift and ruthless kick. Before Song Qiming could react, he was already lying on the ground, clutching his crotch and wailing in agony.
"You should thank your master, or else you would be a corpse!"
Killing him would just give some experience points, and Su Duoduo would lose a promising lackey. Since she dared to recruit him, she naturally had methods of control.
Su Duoduo, a typical little follower, came to the back kitchen.
"Chou...Chou-ge...They're here again!"
"Aunt Fang, I'm counting on you..."
Everyone else retreated behind Aunt Fang. Ye Xin pursed his lips, these idiots really thought of themselves as ghosts.
"Auntie, I'll make some vegetable and preserved egg porridge, and make a potato pancake, using cornstarch and pure eggs. Could you please help me prepare the ingredients?"
"Okay...I'll go prepare them now, you two sit for a while."
The two sat on the stools, very restrained, and said to Chou Lije: "Don't be so nervous, we're not ghosts."
"..."
"Bad guy, look outside…" Following Su Duoduo's finger, a red Blood Mist spread forward from the cafeteria foyer.
"What is this?" Ye Xin's eyes drifted to the window, his expression panicked, but he pretended to be calm, seeing that Su Duoduo showed no intention of running.
"Blood Mist! But don't be afraid, as long as the indoors are sealed, the Blood Mist won't get in. This thing isn't fatally harmful to Awakened, but Awakened who stay in the Blood Mist for a long time will continuously lose their mental and physical strength until they die."
"Phew~" The glass of the dining window was sealed tightly, and the two back doors had nothing to say about it.
"Right, let me remind you, don't drink tap water." It rained blood all night yesterday, and the water plant was polluted, drinking it would cause mutation.
"What will happen if you drink it?" Chou Lije asked with a calm expression.
"You won't die, you'll become a Zombie, or you might become a superhuman like us."
After hearing this, Chou Lije looked at the much younger man behind him with a strange expression. The young man had his head buried low; he knew he had made a big mistake. Before he got thirsty in the morning, he had a habit of drinking tap water, and when he was thirsty, he would lower his head and gulp down a couple of mouthfuls.
He hadn't expected this to happen. Zhao Ziming walked out of the crowd with a mournful face and asked Su Duoduo, "I drank... I also browsed some news. It's not a virus, right?"
Su Duoduo had said everything she needed to say and turned her face away, not bothering to answer again.
Seeing that she wouldn't respond, Zhao Ziming's heart was filled with even more despair. He first walked to Chou Lije and bowed deeply, "Thank you for taking care of me for the past two years. I, Zhao Ziming, have been without parents since I was a child, and I don't even know where they are, but that's not important. I have made many friends and met you all, Aunt Fang, Big Zhu, Sister Li, Sister Huan, Aunt Mei... Take care of yourselves."
After saying that, he turned around and walked away in a dashing manner.
"Silly child... where are you going..." Chou Lije was in tears, tightly grasping his arm and choking with sobs.
"Uncle... let go of me. I feel something abnormal in my body... hot... I'm going to turn into a Zombie, or else I'll implicate you all." Zhao Ziming's eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his neck were gradually appearing, getting thicker and thicker.
"You must have a way, right? Please... Ziming has suffered since he was a child, his life shouldn't stop here."
Perhaps it touched some chord within Ye Xin; after all, he too had walked through life as an orphan.
"If you've watched zombie movies, you should know there's no cure to turn you back into a normal person."
"...Then is there any hope for me?" Zhao Ziming placed his hope on this young man.
"It depends on you. Hold onto your faith, your obsession, your longing, and perhaps you will have an Awakening!"
"Obsession... faith, longing!" Zhao Ziming mumbled.
"You don't need to go outside. Just go to a corner and constantly remind yourself that you are human, focus. I will protect them, and if you fail, I will collect your body!"
"Alright, I will definitely succeed!" With Ye Xin's promise and his words, he was no longer afraid inside. He slowly walked to the corner and glanced at Ye Xin one last time, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes.
If I can have an Awakening, I will definitely follow you to the death!
"Silly girl, watch him. I'll make food."
"Call me Princess Duoduo... hmph!" Su Duoduo said unhappily. He always gives me the hard tasks and then teases me. But for the sake of food, Su Duoduo didn't correct him.
Soon, the fragrant porridge and pancakes were ready.
Ye Xin glanced at Zhao Ziming's condition and saw that he was motionless. Su Duoduo was close by, seemingly quite professional at watching people.
"Why isn't he moving?" Ye Xin walked over and asked.
"You want to be punished to stand too?" Su Duoduo was speechless. She had been controlling his movements for ten minutes. Whether he turned into a Zombie or had an Awakening inside, if she didn't stop it, it would cause some destruction here.
"Spatial Confinement? No wonder." If he had known Su Duoduo would control him like this, he would have let this person out. After all, there was another door outside, and the Blood Mist couldn't get in.
"Give him another half hour. If he doesn't Awaken, just kill him. The probability of Awakening is less than 1%. Heavens, what am I even hoping for?" She was focused on controlling him, which consumed a lot of mental power and stamina. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, and her fair neck was constantly heaving.
"Does the canteen have any thicker hemp rope?" Ye Xin asked.
Chou Lije and the others shook their heads. They were using vegetable baskets now, and any rope they had was the thin kind that would snap with a tug.
Ye Xin understood that Su Duoduo was really doing this for him this time, so he brought a bowl of porridge and placed it in front of her: "Drink some porridge! Give up if you can't hold on."
"Ah~" Su Duoduo opened her mouth cooperatively, but didn't make any move to take the bowl herself.
Ye Xin's expression was strange. I've got one arm in a bandage, how am I supposed to feed her? Fortunately, Aunt Fang was quick-witted. She held the bowl for Ye Xin and brought a spoon. She didn't even try to take over the rest of the task, acting like a matchmaker.
"Open up, now!"
"Ah~"