Chapter 68

Chapter 68

"..."

Taking the offered hand, Cheng Jing let go of his irritation.

"Roar—"

"Whoosh—"

Suddenly, a roaring sound rushed past their vehicle.

It was a tricked-out, silver-gray heavy motorcycle, its rider clad in matching biker gear.

"Whoa!"

Jiang Nian's eyes lit up:

"Holy shit! That’s badass!"

Back before the apocalypse, he hadn’t planned well—had he known, he would've gotten one of these instead of that electric scooter. Now this—this suits him!

They weren’t driving slowly, yet the motorcycle overtook them effortlessly. Who wouldn’t love that?

"That thing’s gotta cost a fortune!"

"Bet that guy’s having a blast!"

"..."

Liao Yu and Zhao Lei couldn’t help but marvel too. Guys just couldn’t resist this kind of thing.

"Screech—"

Suddenly, right as they were discussing, the biker up front pulled a slick brake-and-drift, sending dust flying before stopping a good distance away right in front of them.

Liao Yu scoffed:

"Oh? Showing off in front of me? Think I won’t plow right into him?"

Cool’s one thing, but flexing on me? Nah.

"You gonna do it?"

Zhao Lei retorted from beside him.

Jiang Nian leaned forward and cut in:

"Crash into him, and we take the bike. Then we get to ride in style!"

"AHAHA!"

Liao Yu cracked up:

"Damn, only my godfather’s got balls like that!"

Zhao Lei also raised a thumbs-up over his shoulder:

"Brother Nian, you’re insane!"

Cheng Jing fell silent.

If these guys hung out longer, who knows what kind of chaos they’d cause!

They’d clearly been cut off on purpose, so Liao Yu had to hit the brakes.

When the dust cleared, the rider on the motorcycle took off his helmet and waved at them with a smile.

The group stifled their laughter and took a closer look, realizing the rider looked kinda familiar.

"Hey, that..."

Zhao Lei barely got a word out when Jiang Nian exclaimed excitedly:

"Yang Kai!"

Whoa! The fake rival’s here!

Liao Yu and Zhao Lei chimed in:

"Oh right, Yang Kai."

"That’s Yang Kai, I knew he looked familiar."

"..."

Cheng Jing pulled Jiang Nian closer to himself:

"Why the excitement?"

"Well, I just ran into an acquaintance..."

Jiang Nian replied, eyeing the bike’s sharp curves ahead while already plotting.

Cheng Jing scowled:

"Since when do you know him?"

Did Yang Kai seek him out?

"..."

Jiang Nian stalled, then quickly changed the subject:

"One meeting’s enough, right? Haha... Jing-ge, if you asked Yang Kai for his bike, do you think he’d hand it over?"

Cheng Jing: "..." This guy’s got no filter!

As they spoke, Yang Kai had already strode over, nodded at Liao Yu and Zhao Lei, then turned to them:

"Cheng, Jiang Nian."

"Hey!"

Jiang Nian waved, trying to tug his other hand back from Cheng Jing’s grip, only for it to be held tighter.

Yang Kai gave a knowing smirk but said nothing.

Cheng Jing caught his look and finally let go of Jiang Nian’s hand, asking:

"Yang Kai, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at S Base?"

Jiang Nian’s thoughts stirred: S Base?

Then again, it made sense. Yang Kai had status and connections in North City, so being at the S Base was normal.

There were two major bases in North City—one was the North City Base, under military jurisdiction like the South City Base, and the other was the legendary S Base from his previous life.

Yang Kai smiled and replied:

"C’mon, Cheng, you kidding me? You can choose your base. I arrived at the South City Base last night and was just about to look for you all this morning when I heard you'd left. So I hauled ass to catch up. Things are different now—we’re teammates. Bro, take me with you, yeah?"

Cheng Jing didn’t agree immediately and asked instead:

"Did you come alone?"

Yang Kai shook his head:

"Of course not. I’ll fill you in after the mission."

Then he turned to Jiang Nian and asked:

"Jiang Nian, you cool with me tagging along?"

Jiang Nian’s eyes lit up:

"Of course not! Need a lift?"

Since they couldn’t get rid of him anyway, why not go with the flow? He wasn’t that petty—as long as Brother Jing’s vibe was cool, he was good.

Yang Kai chuckled and pointed ahead:

"Thanks, but I have my own car."

He wasn’t that clueless.

Jiang Nian leaned against the car window, resting his hand on it:

"I mean, wanna hop in and catch up? I’ll trade spots with you."

"Pfft—hah!"

This time, Liao Yu couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.

Zhao Lei outright exposed him:

"Bro Nian, your scheming’s so obvious it’s slapping me in the face, lol…"

"..."

Yang Kai’s face went stiff, unsure what they meant.

Sneaking a look at Cheng Jing, he saw Cheng had already looked away, like he couldn’t even look.

"Uh… yeah."

After an awkward beat, Yang Kai seemed to realize something and hesitantly asked:

"You into my car?"

So it was just his misunderstanding—they didn’t even consider him a "fake love rival" worth worrying about. Guess that’s the main squeeze’s confidence for you.

Not wanting to be the only one left embarrassed, Jiang Nian declared decisively:

"Who here would say no to that?"

The others fell silent.

"Haha..."

Yang Kai finally got it and laughed:

"That getup of yours isn’t cut out for riding. I’ve got another tricked-out Black Knight of the same model, brand new. I’ll give it to you later."

"..."

The car went quiet for two seconds before Jiang Nian practically yelled in excitement:

"Really?"

This "rival" dude’s actually cool!

Cheng Jing, worried he might leap out of the car, pulled him back and held him down:

"Sit still!"

But the excited man was harder to pin down than a greased pig.

Zhao Lei and Liao Yu threw him envious looks.

Yang Kai met Jiang Nian’s bright, eager eyes and nodded seriously:

"Really. I’ll give it to you once we’re back."

Then, seeing Cheng Jing’s frown, he quickly added:

"Let’s go. Focus on the mission. Where are you headed?"

"Here."

Jiang Nian eagerly handed him the map:

"The industrial park. Our primary target is a chemical plant inside."

"Got it."

Yang Kai took the map, checked the route quickly, then returned it. He walked to the back to greet Huang Qian and the others before putting his helmet back on and mounting his bike.

With a rev, the bike took off.

Liao Yu and Zhao Lei sensed the tense atmosphere in the car and wisely kept their mouths shut.

Jiang Nian was still riding the high of soon owning a Black Knight when a killjoy voice cut in from beside him:

"Nothing’s ever free—ever heard that one? He offers, you just take it, no questions? What if it’s a trap?"

Jiang Nian spread his hands:

"What’s he gonna scam me for? You’re the only thing I’ve got worth anything, and you’re not going anywhere. No sweat—free is free! Yang Kai’s playing straight with us, so we should play fair too. Better straight-up than underhanded."

Liao Yu cautiously interjected,

"I support my foster dad. Kai doesn’t seem like the backstabbing type."

Zhao Lei also agreed, "I think so too."

Cheng Jing snorted coldly,

"Seem like? If you’re so good at judging, why not set up shop as a fortune teller by the bridge?"

After reprimanding Liao Yu, he turned to Zhao Lei,

"And what do you think? Yang Kai used to be undercover. Can’t you be a bit sharper? He left the perfectly fine S Base to come here, and you think that’s normal?"

"..."

Liao Yu and Zhao Lei exchanged glances and immediately said together in unison,

"Cheng, I was wrong."

"..."

Jiang Nian sat rigidly, nervously picking at his neatly trimmed nails, not daring to make a sound. Even a passing zombie’s growl would probably earn a scolding right now.

Cheng Jing glanced at the little bastard beside him pretending to be well-behaved, frustration burning in his chest—

Was this guy not the least bit worried that Yang Kai might steal his boyfriend? Was a piece-of-crap bike really worth getting so excited over? Wasn't their car good enough for him?

It made him absolutely furious!