Chapter 3: Evolution

Chapter 3 Evolution

Three minutes later.

The zombie was moved into Yan Chuanbai’s room.

The door closed, and Qi He casually glanced around.

The room was no different from his own, save for the unusually neat bed. During the day, Yan Chuanbai exuded a lazy, relaxed aura, even a devil-may-care attitude that seemed out of place for a military man.

But the almost wrinkle-free bedsheets now convinced Qi He of his military background.

His gaze lingered only for a moment before shifting away.

Yan Chuanbai had already donned gloves and crouched down to examine the unexpected corpse that had arrived in the middle of the night, a sardonic smirk playing on his lips. “So, because you couldn’t sleep, you decided to deliver this to me?”

Qi He explained, “I thought you were quite skilled at keeping things fresh or on ice.”

Yan Chuanbai, “...”

“Besides, I did try to sleep,” Qi He sighed softly. “But I really couldn’t tolerate someone drooling while staring at me with my eyes closed.”

He shook his head. “Shameless, craving me without even holding back.”

Yan Chuanbai’s lips twitched, then pressed together.

He wisely chose not to respond, inspecting the zombie’s physical condition while casually checking for bullet holes. “How did you capture it?”

Qi He replied calmly, “In martial arts, supreme speed triumphs above all.”

“...”

Yan Chuanbai shot him an intense stare.

The system issued a warning: “At least put a little more thought into your evasions.”

Qi He crouched down beside him and added, “Maybe I’ve evolved too—my body has become terrifyingly agile.”

Yan Chuanbai snorted, withdrew his gaze, and continued examining the zombie. While he focused on his research, Qi He heard the system’s query in his mind:

“Host, you’re supposed to be just a game tester.”

“Yeah,” Qi He replied casually, propping his chin as he watched. “Survival games are still games. I’ve participated in quite a few before, and my results were pretty good.”

If it weren’t for his unorthodox moves that often triggered bugs, forcing the developers to change the rules overnight, his scores would have been even higher.

A burst of static sounded.

The system faintly wondered: …Did it bind the wrong person?

“Aside from the wing membranes, this zombie is no different from others,” Yan Chuanbai said, withdrawing his hands after the examination.

Qi He glanced over. “Its claws are longer, too.”

It’s enough to make you furious.

“Most zombies start ‘evolving’ from their nails and teeth,” Yan Chuanbai lowered his eyes, his tone grim. “To become better hunters.”

Qi He went quiet briefly.

His features were softened, lost in thought, unusually quiet.

Yan Chuanbai’s gaze lingered on him: Well, that line of thinking is too brutal for someone accustomed to peace…

“In that case, let’s test its mobility tomorrow,” Qi He said, lifting his head from his thoughts.

“?” Yan Chuanbai.

“We’ll set it loose to fly around to figure out how fast zombie evolution is. As long as humans evolve faster, humans won’t be the ones hunted.”

Yan Chuanbai fixed him with a motionless stare.

“Alright, it’s getting late.”

Qi He timed a small yawn perfectly, stood up, and patted Yan Chuanbai’s shoulder. “I’m heading back to sleep. We can discuss the rest tomorrow. You should get some rest too.”

With that, he made a quick exit, acting like he was exhausted.

Click! The door closed again.

Yan Chuanbai stared at the door for two seconds, a cold smirk forming on his lips: So, he can sleep soundly with a drooling zombie next to him?

A moment later, he snapped his fingers.

He put the zombie on ice and tossed it into a corner of the room.

-

The next day, at the crack of dawn.

Zhou Ziqian and Meng Yan woke up on time, heading downstairs single-file with their backpacks.

Meng Yan led the way:

“Did you hear anything last night?”

“I think I did, but only briefly. Don’t worry, no news is good news…”

Meng Yan pushed the door open and abruptly froze: “Gah!”

Zhou Ziqian startled. “What’s wrong?”

Meng Yan didn’t answer, staring blankly outside. Zhou Ziqian, confused, followed her gaze into the yard…

“Gah!”

In the yard, a mutated zombie was tied up with two long shreds of bedsheet, with Qi He and Yan Chuanbai each holding one end. The zombie was flung out, only to be pulled back, flung out again, and was pulled back again…

Like flying a kite.

Qi He was seriously tallying: “Fifth attempt, 20 meters in three to four seconds; sixth attempt, 20 meters in 3 seconds… The wind’s picking up, think we can get it to go higher?”

“...”

“Its speed is increasing. Of course, it might’ve been on ice for too long last night—it was still thawing earlier.”

Yan Chuanbai said with a dry laugh. “So, I should’ve given it a massage?”

…

At the doorway, Zhou Ziqian and Meng Yan looked stunned.

After a long moment, they snapped out of it. "Hold up... Yan Chuanbai, what are you doing?"

The zombie was just exhausted.

Qi He reeled it back in bit by bit. Meng Yan watched, dazed. "Everyone only cares about how high you can fly, but no one cares if you're tired..."

Qi He turned to her with concern. "You look like you didn't sleep well?"

"..."

Yan Chuanbai froze the zombie again and got back on topic. "You came at the right time. Flying zombies have already appeared, and we can't rule out worse mutations elsewhere."

Their expressions immediately turned serious as they stepped forward to examine it.

Qi He moved aside to give them space.

After staring for a while, Zhou Ziqian tsked in awe. "Yan Chuanbai, where did you catch this zombie?"

He naturally assumed Yan Chuanbai had caught it.

Yan Chuanbai glanced over lazily.

Qi He was tilting his head, looking intently at the melting ice wall outside the courtyard, not seeming to care about taking credit.

"Qi He caught it."

"?"

Zhou Ziqian and Meng Yan froze, then snapped their heads toward him!

"You caught this?"

"Wait, isn't this a mutated zombie? How did you catch it, and alive at that!?"

Qi He pulled his gaze away from the ice wall, almost regretfully, and turned to the stunned pair. "With my hands." After saying this, it gave him the weird thought that it sounded tasty, paused, and added, "I wore gloves. No infection."

"Uh, that's not what I meant..."

Yan Chuanbai cut them off, "Alright, let's get ready to go."

The two in front wandered off in a daze toward the car.

They had always thought Qi He was the weakest, but... he could catch a flying zombie barehanded!

After studying the zombie, Qi He finished it off.

He didn't waste it, took out a small knife to extract the crystal core. A small white shard, faintly covered with a greenish glow, likely a sign of evolution.

Its irregular edges pressed against his fingertips.

Qi He pondered carefully: according to the setting, these cores would later be used as a new energy source and also as the means for Supers to evolve...

He suddenly thought of something and glanced at his wrist.

Only for a moment before looking away, as if nothing had happened.

On the other side, at the courtyard gate.

A lighter flicked, and a spark ignited.

Yan Chuanbai lowered his head to light a cigarette, his outline silhouetted in the hazy dawn, sharp and handsome. He wasn't addicted to smoking; more often, he just needed a release.

Otherwise, before getting infected by zombies, the first thing to collapse would probably be his mental state.

Zhou Ziqian stood nearby. He looked at the calm figure in the courtyard and after a while said, "Yan Chuanbai, now I get it...!"

Yan Chuanbai glanced sideways, ready to hear what crap he was gonna say.

"I knew it! The person you made a detour to pick up had to be special! What did Qi He do before? Where did you meet such a friend?"

Yan Chuanbai only responded to the first part. "You're overthinking it. Just paying back a favor."

Zhou Ziqian was shallow. "I thought you were lov—"

Qi He finished collecting the crystal core and happened to walk over.

Zhou Ziqian's eyes were like spotlights, blazing straight at him. He stopped in his tracks.

"Talking about me?"

Yan Chuanbai put out his cigarette, the mockery at the corner of his mouth particularly provoking. "Full of yourself."

After saying that, he turned and headed back to the car. "Let's go."

...

They hit the road again.

Yan Chuanbai took the passenger seat today, while Meng Yan moved to the back to sit with Qi He.

Once in the car, Yan Chuanbai pointed in a direction.

With limited communication equipment, Zhou Ziqian had to drive toward Base I on gut feeling. Qi He watched the dilapidated streets outside the window and said to the system in his mind:

"It seems my flirting has really gotten to Yan Chuanbai."

The system, still pissed from yesterday, replied coldly, "How can you tell?"

"He just said I'm passionate."

The familiar wording brought back unpleasant memories, and the system beeped and flashed: "Stop twisting my words."

The flashing watch face soon caught Meng Yan's attention. She looked over curiously. "Is that an electronic watch? It's still working? Can it tell time?"

Qi He paused. Then, as if remembering something, he smiled slightly and held it up for her to see. "Of course."

The system, disguised as an electronic watch: "..."

It struggled for a second before reluctantly displaying the time.

Qi He mused aloud, "It's even got a compass."

The system: "........"

Under Meng Yan's amazed gaze, it grudgingly pulled up a compass.

Qi He, "It can do GPS too..."

The system finally burst out, "Are you done yet?!"

Sigh. Qi He regretfully pressed the watch, knowing when to stop. "No network, looks like it can't guide us anymore."

Meng Yan said, "It’s, it’s okay. It already has a lot of features."

-

They were in the western region.

After traveling for most of the day, the car drove into a wooded area. In the distance, they could already see the rolling mountains, with dense, lush treetops.

The sky slowly turned overcast.

Suddenly, Yan Chuanbai spoke from the passenger seat, "Don’t go any farther. Find a place to stay nearby today."

Zhou Ziqian, who was driving, asked, "Yan Ge?"

Yan Chuanbai looked at the sky outside. "It’s going to rain."

At the foot of the mountain was the old ranger station.

It was a sturdy two-story wooden cabin surrounded by a fence, set back from the forest with an open view.

They parked the car outside and got out.

Zhou Ziqian was sorting through the supplies for tonight in the trunk. Qi He stopped outside the courtyard gate and looked up at the gloomy sky. Being new here, he didn’t know much about how things worked here.

"What’s wrong with the rain?"

Meng Yan turned her head. "In the apocalypse, ‘rain’ is a signal."

Qi He looked at her. "A signal?"

Meng Yan nodded. "Yes. Whenever it rains, the vegetation gets watered and grows uncontrollably, with a chance of mutations. So it’s best not to enter the forest during rainy days."

Plants mutate during rain?

Qi He’s thoughts raced. "Is it the same for zombies?"

Meng Yan seemed to pause. "...That, I’m not sure. At least from what I know, no one’s tracked changes in zombies after rainy days. But it’s undeniable that they’re constantly evolving, like that mutated zombie you caught today..."

Her expression turned serious. "That’s a type of evolution, right?"

"It does." A voice came from beside them.

Yan Chuanbai lit a cigarette with a click, his profile silhouetted against the dark forest behind him. His face was briefly shadowed as he spoke calmly,

"Any change that benefits survival is called ‘evolution.’"

"Humans developing superpowers is no exception."

A moment of silence passed around them.

Qi He, deep in thought, felt a sudden insight. "Just like my thick skin—it’s already reached the pinnacle of ‘evolution.’"

Meng Yan: "......"

Yan Chuanbai, for once, didn’t argue. "Yeah, that’s not wrong."

"Yan Ge!" A voice called from behind the car. Zhou Ziqian leaned out and interrupted, "We’re almost out of supplies."

"Oh." Yan Chuanbai glanced at the sky. "There was a town on the way here, not too far from here. You all stay here and hold down the fort. I’ll go look for supplies."

Zhou Ziqian wanted to follow. "Then I’ll—"

Qi He spoke up. "I’ll go."

Since he had the equipment, he couldn’t just do nothing.

Yan Chuanbai gave him a look but didn’t respond.

Zhou Ziqian hesitated. He’d been driving for most of the day and was pretty worn out. Considering Qi He’s abilities, he finally agreed. "Alright, then be careful."

Qi He grabbed a gun and got into the car with Yan Chuanbai.

-

They drove back to the town in twenty minutes.

It was a small county town, its streets covered in yellow dust, with shops and residential buildings on both sides looking run-down and abandoned.

After a while, they finally found a medium-sized supermarket.

Yan Chuanbai parked the car. "You go or I go?"

Qi He said, "I’ll go."

A noncommittal grunt came from beside him.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and was about to open the car door when he suddenly heard a voice from behind: "According to our agreement, I’m taking you to the base. But since you offered to help, don’t expect me to protect you at all times."

He turned and locked eyes with Yan Chuanbai’s intense stare.

Light sliced through the window in a narrow beam, falling exactly on Yan Chuanbai’s profile. He smirked, his eyes icy:

"If you get infected, I won’t take you to the base."

Qi He held his gaze for a moment. "What then, use me as a party favor?"

"......"

"Don’t worry." He pushed the car door open. "We’re all adults. I’ll take responsibility for myself."

Yan Chuanbai let out a dry laugh. "You’d better."

The car door slammed shut!

Outside, a drizzle was starting to come down.

Qi He looked up. The building clouds seemed ready to bring a storm, or perhaps to cleanse the city.

He walked through the light rain into the supermarket.

The front door was already broken. Qi He crunched over the broken glass, finding the inside a total mess—like it’d been ransacked.

No telling if anything was left.

He rummaged around, picking out whatever usable supplies he could find, only managed to half-fill his backpack.

Finally, he took one last look around:

Perfect. Drained dry.

Qi He was just about to leave when he heard some movement.

Three figures entered through the back door of the supermarket.

They came face to face. The three on the other side were geared up and carrying guns—two men and one woman. The leader, a man with a red streak in his hair, immediately zeroed in on Qi He’s backpack.

The backpack wasn’t full.

In the apocalypse, people would take as many supplies as they could. If it wasn’t full, it meant there was only this much left.

A burly man beside him, his expression shifted. "Boss."

Three against one.

Moreover, that "one" looked rather slender. The red-haired man smirked mockingly:

"Taking everything, huh?"

At the same time, the bulky man’s body became encased in rock, poised to attack.

Were they planning to openly rob him?

"Who said I left nothing behind?" Qi He replied seriously. "I left you something to regret, didn’t I?"

The trio: "..."

The system couldn't help but retort: "...Did you really have to make that snarky remark?"

Qi He: "I don’t want to lie awake at night later, regretting that I didn’t come up with a better retort."

Sure enough, they were provoked.

The red-haired man sneered, "Get him."

A blast of fire instantly shot toward Qi He!

Qi He reacted swiftly, dodging to the side. But a whip lashed out right after, studded with mutated spikes that almost sealed off his escape route the moment he moved—

Bang! Qi He shot at the whip.

The whip was deflected, and he spun away, stopping beside a shelf.

He showed incredible reflexes and adaptability.

The trio was clearly stunned.

Just as Qi He was about to move again, his knees suddenly went weak. He staggered and grabbed onto a nearby shelf.

The shelf rattled as his knuckles turned white from the force.

The trio scoffed: "Tch, legs gave out from fear, huh? And I thought you were tough!"

Qi He didn’t respond. His body felt strange.

A wave of heat surged from within, a thin sweat beaded on his temples. His breath became hot.

He steadied himself: "System, I’m so hot... What did you make me drink?"

System: "Are you crazy? What would I give you to drink?"

So it wasn’t the system’s doing.

A few meters away, flames flared up again: "Last chance. Hand over the supplies."

Suddenly, footsteps came from the entrance.

A lazy voice drawled: "Leave what?"

Qi He turned and saw Yan Chuanbai walking in. The latter had one hand in his pocket, shooting a lazy glance their way.

The red-haired man frowned, "Another one?"

No matter. They'd handle both of them.

Qi He was burning up all over. He glanced at the three ready to attack, then at Yan Chuanbai, who was some distance away. After a brief pause, his eyes gleamed:

"Brother Yan, you’re finally here. These people, who you could take down in half a move, were bullying me."

Yan Chuanbai, "?"

The three across from them, "?"

All eyes snapped to Yan Chuanbai—

Yan Chuanbai, "..."

He gave Qi He a deep look.

Just as the opposing superpowers charged toward him, ice spikes shot out like sudden thrusts, clashing with the attackers. The red-haired man’s flames were even split apart, startling him into amplifying his power.

Boom—

Ice spikes collided with raging flames!

Using the shelf as cover, Qi He weakly said to the system: "Look. A firewall, literally."

The system didn’t understand why he was cracking jokes while looking half-dead.

After a fierce exchange, both sides withdrew.

Just as the red-haired man’s teammate was about to charge again, a hand stopped her: "Forget it."

Qi He glanced over, steadied himself, and moved to Yan Chuanbai’s side.

A light, mocking laugh fell: "Taking responsibility for yourself?"

Looking up, Qi He met Yan Chuanbai’s sarcastic gaze. With sincere expression, Qi He whispered, "Thank you. You’re my stalling tactic."

"You’re welcome. You’re my unexpected disaster."

"..."

Burning all over, Qi He swayed and leaned against Yan Chuanbai. Yan Chuanbai frowned and was about to push him away when he noticed the fine sweat on Qi He’s forehead, his eyelashes damp, concealing a hint of flushed red.

After a pause, Yan Chuanbai still supported him:

"Let’s go."

The red-haired man, having watched with his arms crossed, called to his teammates, "Let’s go too." His gaze fell on Qi He, and a flicker of interest surfaced again. He called out:

"By the way, what's your name?"

Qi He turned his head, looked at him for two seconds, and said, "Qi Delongdong Qiang."

The others: "..."

Yan Chuanbai: "..."

The red-haired man smirked, "Hmph, I believe you."

Qi He ignored them and walked out of the supermarket with Yan Chuanbai, returning to the car.

As the car door closed, it shut out the noise from outside.

Qi He collapsed into the seat, feverish and weak. Sweat trickled down his neck and into his collar as he tilted his head back, breathing heavily. A voice came from beside him: "What's wrong with you?"

"Don't know."

Yan Chuanbai, his brow furrowed, stared at him for a moment. "You haven't been scratched by a zombie, have you?"

Qi He said, certain. "No."

The car went quiet, the only sound the rain tapping against the windows.

He opened his damp eyes and looked over.

Yan Chuanbai was still silently watching him, his gaze unreadable, and the earlier warning suddenly resurfaced in his mind:

"If you're infected, I won't take you to the base."

Qi He let out a faint, sudden smile.

He leaned his head against the car window, raindrops streaking down the glass. In one swift motion, he unbuckled his seatbelt and pulled up the hem of his T-shirt:

"If you don't believe me, then check for yourself."

Author's Note:

Qi He (dazed, murmuring): So hot… what did you give me to drink…

The System: Boiled water.

Yan Chuanbai (deadpan): Boiling water.