Chapter 94: Illness

Chapter 94: Illness

The sight of Chen Jin smiling left Xiao Yao and the braided youth dumbfounded and rigid, daring not to make a move.

It wasn't until Chen Jin spoke that the braided youth shuddered: "No, no, no, we're just admiringly looking at you, big bro! You're really awesome! The ice crucifixes in the safety zone could blind me!"

"With a healthy good person like you, big bro, in our safety zone, we're definitely going to make it to the end!"

The braided youth emphasized "a healthy good person," afraid that Chen Jin was currently in a delusional state.

Fortunately, this seemingly terrifying, possibly ill big bro didn't seem to actually be sick. His rationality appeared intact, without the impulse to kill both him and Xiao Yao on the spot.

Chen Jin looked at the braided youth's fearful and timid demeanor and sneered disdainfully.

Though he was in a rather bad mood, he wasn't at the point of wanting to kill everyone he saw.

"Get lost, don't bother me."

"I hope for the next while there's no one within five meters of me to affect my mood."

The braided youth immediately nodded and bowed: "Don't worry, boss! Whatever you wish! I'll make sure everyone knows your wishes and won't disturb your peace!"

Xiao Yao seemed to want to say something but was firmly pulled back by the braided youth.

This guy just doesn't get it! Now is the time for yes, yes, yes and right, right, right!

Then, as they watched Chen Jin continue to walk aimlessly forward, Xiao Yao's voice carried a hint of worry: "Chen Bro seems... he might need some psychological counseling."

The braided youth, his braids shaking like beads on a tambourine, said: "Trust me, he's fine as he is now. Anyone who tries to counsel him will really be out of luck."

"Besides, for a powerhouse of his caliber, if he can't solve his own issues, us mere mortals stand even less of a chance."

In the end, no one disturbed Chen Jin.

But indeed, Chen Jin's current state was quite terrible.

He had been walking in the safety zone for another five minutes, but in just those short five minutes, he had felt the urge to kill more than a dozen times—

Whenever someone walked past him, he found them displeasing to the eye.

Slow-moving elderly made him feel anxious and eager to take action because they walked too slowly.

Kids running past him seemed reckless and impolite, making him want to take action.

Just seeing the worried and sorrowful faces of young and middle-aged adults filled him with irritation. What's the use of all these useless people just frowning and worrying? Why don't they check their surroundings properly? Why can't they control their bodies properly? Why do they have to be ill?

These useless, worthless beings, what right do they have to live?

It would be cleaner if they all just died.

"Ahh! Mom, mom, so scary! Where's mom and dad? Why is dad gone? Why is there so much blood here? Ahhh, mom, I want my dad! I want my dad!"

Chen Jin frowned.

A surge of violence within him made him glare fiercely at the crying little girl.

Just one glance terrified the little girl so much that she hiccuped violently, her body stiffening, too scared to move.

The girl's mother quickly stepped forward, hugging her daughter to her chest, looking at the handsome but sinister-looking young man with fear and caution.

"What use is keeping such a useless little thing alive? Why not just kill her now?"

"Haha! They look at you like you're a monster, monster, monster."

"Isn't it annoying, don't you find all of this extremely irritating?"

"It's all so pointless, just go back, might as well wait for death."

Unable to help himself, Chen Jin pressed his brow.

Various whispers, both slow and rapid, began to sound in his ears.

These voices made him feel more irritable and out of control.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Jin turned around and walked away under the terrified gaze of the mother and daughter.

He realized he wasn't fit to stay outside any longer.

It was time to go back to the sleep capsule to rest.

The little milk dog trotting behind Chen Jin saw his beloved human turn around with a sullen face, giving him a particularly noble and cold glance.

"Awo."

That look was really powerful!

The little puppy happily followed along again.

Then watched as Chen Jinkin locked himself inside the sleeping capsule and lay there like a corpse.

Chen Jinkin was fully aware that his current condition was very wrong, most likely already infected with [the disease].

But he hesitated about whether to verbally remove the disease directly.

Today marks the fourth day since arriving in the city without disease, with six days left until the final ten-day deadline.

Yesterday, he used word magic to restore his condition but also consumed nearly one-tenth of his energy.

Today, his condition is worse than yesterday. To fully recover, the energy consumption would likely double.

As long as he stays in this world for a day, he feels he will unknowingly contract [the disease] again.

And if he continuously uses word magic to eliminate his [disease], by the tenth day, his energy will probably be nearly depleted.

Once the world core's monster finds him and battles him at that time, he fears he won't even be able to fight a prolonged battle.

He might be killed in one strike.

Chen Jinkin thought hard, with various voices of different people continuing to echo in his ears.

He lay on the bed, allowing those voices to gradually drown him, appearing as though he was helplessly waiting.

Not even the puppy Lezi's various fancy rolls on his chest could elicit much of a reaction from him.

Until noon, his sleeping capsule was knocked on again, and the suddenly awoken Chen Jinkin's eyes were clearly bloodshot.

"Brother Chen? Are you sleeping? It's already noon, you didn't have breakfast, at least come out for lunch?"

The voice outside was Xiao Yao's.

Chen Jinkin frowned tightly: "I won’t eat, go away."

The knocking outside paused for a moment but then sounded twice more.

These knocks, like hammers on Chen Jinkin's temples, were unbearable attacks. As Chen Jinkin could no longer control his murderous intent, Xiao Yao's calm voice appeared again:

"…Brother Chen, please hang in there. I've left the food at your door."

Then Chen Jinkin heard the gradually fading footsteps. He should have calmed down by reason, but calmness was shattered, no longer controllable.

Chen Jinkin lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

After a moment, he suddenly laughed.

Since going mad and sick was inevitable, then simply don’t bother treating it.

Just let madness take its course.

He sat up, took out his gold-jeweled phone, said a word, then stuffed the phone into his inner pocket and directly opened the door to go out.

As he opened the door and ate the meal left outside, Xiao Yao and the young man with braids watching from not too far away both showed relieved expressions.

Thankfully, thankfully.

"I always said the boss is the boss, surely he wouldn't just get infected with some disease!" Look at him coming out to eat; with the way he's handling that boxed meal, he's definitely going to make it to the end!

The little braided youth said this, shaking his head, but the next second saw the very boss he was praising suddenly toss his boxed meal into the trash can and, with a suave turn, head straight for the safe zone's entrance.

The little braided youth stood up in shock, while Xiao Yao also showed a face full of surprised doubt.

"He, Brother Chen, is...is..."

They quickly followed, only to see Chen Jin speaking briefly to the guards at the entrance before leaving the safe zone, and shockingly, none of the guards attempted to stop him.

"Good heavens, what are you doing! How can you just let someone leave the safe zone like that!" The little braided youth hadn't even reached the door when he started shouting, but then he met the somewhat numb, cold expressions of several guards.

The little braided youth abruptly stopped in his tracks, "..."

It wasn't that these guards were looking at him with such expressions, was it?

"He voluntarily left the safe zone, saying he was infected."

The little braided youth was stunned.

Xiao Yao next to him let out a deep sigh after a long while.

"...So it's true. What a pity, I thought Brother Chen could make it to the end."

But in the end, he still left the safe zone, becoming one of those endless, afflicted outside safety.

The little braided youth was still somewhat unwilling to accept this because he knew that Chen Jin, like him, was forcibly dragged into this world, a devoured exile.

Among the many numb exiles of Baiyue City who had already given up on themselves, he had found such a fellow resister, determined not to submit to fate. And yet, did he still not manage to escape in the end?

In that moment, the resilience and mental fortitude the little braided youth had brainwashed himself into maintaining for so many days began to waver uncontrollably.

Visibly, he started to become depressed and disheartened.

Xiao Yao, standing by, sighed and patted his shoulder, "Don't give up, we still need to strive to make it to the end."

The little braided youth didn't respond; instead, he turned and gazed through the transparent plastic wall and wire mesh at the figure in the darkness, a youth who, despite being among the infected, seemed completely out of place.

This youth was knocking down the frenzied clowns with a hammer, kicking attackers so hard they couldn't get up, gathering the immobile into a flat position, and incinerating bodies that were decayed and lifeless.

He seemed insane and ill, yet was in the grip of extreme lucidity.

"..." The little braided youth, watching the figure outside, clenched his teeth in determination to keep watching; he refused to believe that the leader was truly sick.

The safe zone conducted another thorough screening within a day to ensure the remaining two thousand people were free from any disease.

Unfortunately, the [illness] of this disease-free world is omnipresent and incurable.

During the fourth night, three deranged, blood-vomiting individuals pried open dozens of sleeping capsules, spreading the virus that drives people to insanity and cannibalism to hundreds.

Although it was quickly contained, the population plummeted from two thousand to thirteen hundred by the fifth day.

On the fifth night, while the closely monitored residents remained unproblematic, the guards themselves became the issue—suddenly, over a dozen of them went mad, using their disinfectant to extinguish the lives of more than four hundred people.

By the sixth day, only nine hundred healthy individuals remained.

Thanks to the extreme efforts of everyone, the night of the sixth day passed without incident.

Nights seven and eight also passed peacefully.

The safety zone, long overshadowed by dark clouds, finally relaxed a bit, as it seemed that the remaining nine hundred people were the last who could survive.

Among these nine hundred were the youth with braids and Xiao Yao; Xiao Yao had been tirelessly assisting the guards, striving to alleviate the tense atmosphere within the safety zone.

The braided youth, however, kept watch over the perimeter of the safety zone, observing as Chen Dalao, growing increasingly insane, nearly eradicated the endless hordes of patients and madmen outside.

Every day, he mercilessly nailed those patients to crosses, his methods growing ever more brutal, his expression ever colder and more deranged.

By the night of the ninth day, screams and laughter were no longer heard outside the safety zone, only some agonized groans and pleas for help slowly reached the ears of the people inside.

No more wandering zombies, no more madmen or clowns who laughingly scattered poison.

Inside and outside the transparent walls, absent the individual safety sleep capsules and the guards in protective gear, there was an eerie sense of similarity.

Yet, after all, it was different.

At this moment, the survivors within the safety zone gathered together, all on edge and vigilantly watching the formidable demon lord standing outside the safety zone.

Merely his presence there made everyone shiver.

"Truly terrifying. Thankfully, he's on the outside."

"With him being so mad, so severely ill, shouldn't we deal with him?"

"It's not about not dealing with him; it's that he can't be dealt with! Look at what he has done all by himself! With such a severe disease, who could cure it?!"

"But if we just hold on a bit longer, I heard that by tonight, the research department will have developed a 'miracle cure' that can heal all the sick, as well as a 'health potion' that will prevent anyone from getting sick."

As they talked, everyone began to cheer up.

"Exactly, just endure through tonight, and everything will start to improve tomorrow!"

On this night, everyone went to sleep with hope and smiles on their faces.

Even the guards, wrapped up tightly, visibly relaxed and excited.

The guards were determined to protect this last stand, but for some reason, as midnight approached, an indescribable drowsiness swept over them.

At this moment, the entire safety zone fell into a silence as deep as death.

Outside the safety zone, the "great demon," who was widely regarded as having gone completely mad, slowly lifted his head.