Chapter 5: Risking One’s Life

Chapter 5: Risking His Own Skin

Shu Hanqing raised his finger to point at Yun Ying, his lips trembling for ages without a single word coming out.

Yun Ying grabbed a tissue and wiped his mouth for him, muttering softly, "Brother Shu, you're way overreacting. Such a waste."

Shu Hanqing snatched the tissue back to wipe his own mouth, then quickly scanned the others sitting or standing nearby—their cups were basically empty.

Only Mu Ye still had more than half a cup left, and he'd barely touched it. Rong Hua's cup hadn't been touched at all, casually set down on a beam.

The rest were laughing and chatting—the same teammates who'd just been raving about the juice—with only a thin layer of purple dregs left in their cups.

Shu Hanqing asked the Plot Guide, "What happens if one person eats both the male and female fruit?"

The Plot Guide searched and replied slowly, "...That's beyond the preset plot. No recorded events. I can't predict the specific effects."

Shu Hanqing changed his question: "Then about how long until the fruit's effects kick in?"

This time the Plot Guide answered quickly: "Initial effects should show up around thirty minutes after eating it, but individual differences and dosage could shift that timing."

Thirty minutes?

When the short break ended, Mu Ye signaled to continue the deeper search.

Shu Hanqing grabbed Yun Ying, who was still chatting and laughing with Sang Mai, and shoved her into Sang Mai's group: "Sang Mai, Yun Ying goes with your team. Keep an eye on her, don't let her wander off."

Before Sang Mai and a bewildered Yun Ying could react, he immediately turned to Mu Ye with the most serious expression he'd ever worn: "Mu Ye, I think you, me, and Rong Hua should team up and head toward the underground lab. There are traces of zombies outside, but not a single one in sight—that's way too weird. They've probably all gone to ground down there. The layout is complex and perfect for hiding."

Shu Hanqing refused to give up—he was dead set on creating an opportunity for this pair of lovebirds.

The Plot Guide told him he didn't have to risk his own skin.

Shu Hanqing: "Heh. Once those two get inside, I'll slam the door shut. Trust me, I've got everything under control."

Rong Hua, completely unaware he'd just been roped into this three-person team, showed no expression on his face, but didn't seem to mind being assigned either.

Mu Ye glanced at Shu Hanqing and didn't object. Shu Hanqing, as deputy captain, rarely gave orders, so this rare occasion deserved some respect: "Fine. Stay alert."

Strength-wise, the three of them were the strongest in the team, so the arrangement made perfect sense.

The entrance to the underground lab was hidden behind a half-collapsed pile of concrete and rebar rubble. The rusted iron door hung ajar, and pushing it open made the hinges screech like nails on a chalkboard.

Mu Ye took the lead, condensing several clumps of orange-red flames in his palm. With a light toss, the fireballs hung in the air, drifting forward as they moved, pushing back the darkness and casting flickering shadows on the dusty, cobwebbed walls.

This place had been abandoned for way too long. A thick, musty smell hung in the air.

The firelight only reached so far, and everything in sight was murky and shadowy.

Shu Hanqing followed behind Mu Ye, checking to see if Rong Hua was keeping up.

The youth lagged a few steps behind, his figure nearly swallowed by the shadows of the corridor, his pace dragging. Shu Hanqing frowned and muttered under his breath, "Hurry up, don't fall behind."

Rong Hua glanced up at him, looking annoyed, but he quickened his pace and caught up.

Just then, their noise stirred something. From behind a half-open, paint-peeling iron door up ahead, a sickening, hair-raising sound of grinding bones came, and a dark figure lunged out at terrifying speed.

It was a zombie clearly modified by the lab—half its face was rotting flesh, the other half covered in a dark silver substance that looked like metal or hardened keratin. Its pupils were a murky white, locked straight on Shu Hanqing, who was closest, and foul, reeking saliva dripped from its gaping mouth.

It was too fast.

Shu Hanqing and Mu Ye reacted half a beat too slow.

The flames in Mu Ye's palm flared bright, ready to be hurled.

"Rrrip—!"

Several vines as thick as an adult's wrist, dark green and bristling with sharp wooden thorns, burst out of the cracks in the concrete floor and through the gaps in the mottled walls on both sides.

A faint green glow rippled across the vines as they coiled around the lunging zombie like snakes, tightening in an instant.

Cracking sounds rang out one after another—neck bones, spines, and limb joints being twisted and crushed by immense force.

The zombie let out guttural wheezes, its body twisting grotesquely. Even with its bones shattered, the metal-covered half of its body kept it struggling and writhing uselessly—a truly horrifying sight.

Shu Hanqing whipped his head around to find the source of the vines. Rong Hua stood there, right hand slightly raised with fingers spread, green light shimmering at his fingertips.

The youth's face was blank, his gaze icy cold.

Shu Hanqing remembered it clearly—not long ago, Rong Hua's superpower level had only been pale yellow, a full rank below his own. But the power that had just erupted, the strength of the vines, and that faint green glow signaling a qualitative change—this was clearly a sign he'd stepped into the green rank.

The book's number one prodigy.

That title popped into Shu Hanqing's mind. This rate of growth was like riding a rocket—no, like straight-up cheating. It made even jealousy feel pointless.

How long had it been since Shu Hanqing picked him up?

Rong Hua seemed seriously annoyed by the still-twitching corpse in front of him. The green light at his fingertips faded, and he stepped forward to pull a dagger from the sheath on his leg. With practiced moves, he pried open the skull, gave a sharp dig and flick, and dug out a crystal core the size of a pigeon egg, stained with dark red and gray brain matter, deep purple and pulsing with intense energy.

The crystal core landed in his palm, still quivering slightly.

Doing this kind of thing definitely took a lot of mental preparation at first—disgusting, nauseating.

But in the apocalypse, especially for team members who spent all year out searching and hunting, repeated practice made the technique smooth, even developing a fast, efficient routine. It became as numbing as cracking open hard coconut shells day after day in a tropical orchard.

Practice makes perfect, after all.

Shu Hanqing stared at the purple crystal core, a little envious. He wanted to stockpile a few more high-quality cores like that too, just in case.

He forced himself to look away from the crystal core, and when he looked up, he met Rong Hua's gaze.

The youth had stood up at some point and was watching him. Those eyes, lit by the dancing flames, were brighter than usual, staring without blinking.

Shu Hanqing thought, *What the hell are you staring at?* Could it be his gaze at the crystal core earlier had been too obvious?

So all the cores in this place were this high quality.

No choice—he had to get these two locked in together fast. This place was practically a goldmine for crystal cores.

Rong Hua made a disgusted face and held the still-grimy crystal core out to Shu Hanqing: "...Give me some water to wash this off. So gross."

What a pain in the ass.

Shu Hanqing condensed a water sphere and tossed it over, landing on Rong Hua's hand holding the crystal core. It burst apart with a splash, washing away most of the sticky gunk.

Rong Hua wiped it off haphazardly with his other sleeve and stuffed the crystal core into a pouch at his waist.

Shu Hanqing looked away and turned his gaze to Mu Ye, a few steps away.

Mu Ye hadn't joined the fight just now. After confirming Shu Hanqing was fine, he'd been scanning the surroundings, left hand hanging at his side while his right hand slowly flicked the beads of the dark brown Buddhist bracelet on his wrist, one by one.

The beads clacked together in a rhythmic tapping, and his lips were faintly moving, opening and closing silently, his expression calm.

Shu Hanqing knew his habits—he was chanting the death sutra for the zombie that Rong Hua had just put down, a creature that had once been human.

Shu Hanqing thought, in this apocalypse, there was no point in such rites.

Mu Ye's hands were stained with no less blood than theirs, yet in certain details, he held on to rituals that felt totally out of place in this world.

He had never dug out a crystal core himself. After every battle, either Shu Hanqing or another teammate would clean up his share and hand him the polished core.

As if that could, in some formal way, keep the killing at a distance.

Shu Hanqing used to think it was pretentious pickiness. Now, he suddenly realized that Rong Hua, that kid, really had something going for him—he'd managed to move someone as deep and guarded as Mu Ye, a man with one foot seemingly on the temple threshold, his faith internalized to the core.

In a way, that made him something even greater than a god.

There was no way there was only one zombie here.

Shu Hanqing pulled himself together and stopped looking at Mu Ye.

He reached back and pulled out the tactical dagger that had been his companion for so long from the outside of his boot. The blade caught a cold glint in the light of the floating fireball.

Time to harvest some crystal cores.

Sure enough, they hadn't walked far before, just past a corner piled with abandoned seats, dragging, chaotic footsteps echoed, broken up by muffled growls.

There was more than one zombie, and they were closing in.

Shu Hanqing charged forward first. Water-blue energy flared in his palm, and several chains condensed from water shot out, carrying binding power, trying to ensnare the first two zombies that lunged at him.

These zombies were even more grotesque—some had arms that had mutated into bone blades, spines jutting out as bone spikes, and remnants of skin still bore lab serial number brands.

You had to admit, humans were the most messed up of all.

Even zombies were studied.

These experimental zombies were way stronger than ordinary ones. Shu Hanqing's water chains, which were already geared toward control and support, didn't hold up long under their frantic thrashing before bursting apart into a spray of water with a pop.

His superpower had limited offensive power; against tough opponents like these, close-quarters combat was more effective.

Shu Hanqing sidestepped a bone blade swung at him by one zombie, drove his dagger hard into its eye socket, twisted the blade, and simultaneously slammed his elbow into another zombie's throat bone. As it staggered, his blade flashed cold and cleanly severed its neck.

He quickly crouched, using the dagger to skillfully pry open the skull, and dug out a purple crystal core—lighter in color but still packing impressive energy.

The core sat in his palm, feeling unsettling.

He caught his breath, clutched the core, and turned around.

The fight behind him was already done.

Four or five zombie corpses lay scattered on the ground, each dead in different ways, but all with clean, decisive kills.

Rong Hua was bent over, digging a core out of one zombie, his movements brisk. Then he straightened up and casually tossed the still-grimy core to Mu Ye, who was standing nearby.

The core arced through the air. Mu Ye raised a hand and caught it cleanly. The motion of his fingers rolling the prayer beads had stopped at some point. He nodded at Rong Hua. "Thanks."

Shu Hanqing flicked the blood off his dagger, condensed another water ball in his palm, and tossed one to each of them to clean up.

Cool water rushed over their hands, washing away the stickiness and the stench.

Shu Hanqing's gaze drifted past them to the far end of the corridor.

There, a relatively well-preserved metal door stood, with faint lettering on it that read "Biological Sample Storage Room."

Mu Ye finished washing his hands and walked over to Shu Hanqing. "Hand it over."

He didn't pocket the core Rong Hua had tossed him. Instead, he placed the purple crystal in Shu Hanqing's palm. "For you."

Like it was no big deal.

Mu Ye had given him cores before.

Shu Hanqing blinked, and for some reason, turned to look at Rong Hua a few steps away. Why did it feel like he'd been caught in the act? The young man was wiping his dagger with the hem of his shirt, and when he noticed Shu Hanqing's gaze, he looked up and met his eyes.

Shu Hanqing's heart skipped a beat. He thought: Rong Hua won't be pissed, will he? After all, Mu Ye killed that zombie, Rong Hua dug out the core, and now Mu Ye just handed it to him—it felt a bit weird.

He really didn't want to get caught in some messy love triangle, but before he could get the refusal out—

Rong Hua stopped wiping his dagger, walked over, reached into the pouch at his waist, fumbled around, and pulled out the deepest purple crystal core he'd just gotten—the best quality one.

He placed that core in Shu Hanqing's palm.

Shu Hanqing was completely stunned. He looked up at Rong Hua. "...Why are you giving me yours too?"

Rong Hua's tone was stiff, almost sulky. "Then why were you staring at me the whole time?"

Shu Hanqing was caught off guard. He shoved Rong Hua's core back. "I don't want it. Take it back and use it yourself."

Rong Hua looked at the core being returned to him, his lips pressed into a tight line. He said nothing, just abruptly turned his head away, refusing to look at Shu Hanqing or the core in his hand. He spun and strode toward the metal door, his back radiating pure "I'm pissed."

When Mu Ye gave him a core, Shu Hanqing accepted it so naturally, without even flinching.

But with him, he was so harsh, so rejecting.

Rong Hua thought: out of everyone, Shu Hanqing was only this harsh with him.

Shu Hanqing watched Rong Hua's retreating, angry figure and held out the core in his left hand as well. "Yours too—take it back. I don't need this many."

Mu Ye didn't take it. He looked at Shu Hanqing, his gaze deep, as if he could see through the turmoil he was trying so hard to hide behind a calm facade. "Hanqing, can you hold onto it for me for now? I don't have anywhere to put it at the moment."

Mu Ye preferred close-quarters combat, so he wore combat gear without much storage design.

Shu Hanqing held his gaze for a few seconds. Mu Ye's reasoning sounded perfectly reasonable—he really didn't carry pouches and bags all over like the others did. He gave in.

Shu Hanqing lowered his head, opened his tactical pack, and tucked Mu Ye's purple core inside. He muttered, "Fine. I'll give it back when we get out."

Meanwhile, Rong Hua had already reached the heavy metal door. Still fuming, he shoved at the rusted hinge area with a bit of vented force.

"Creak!"

The massive metal door, pushed by him, slowly swung inward, opening a gap just wide enough for someone to slip through sideways.

A gust of cold air, thick with an indescribable stench of biological decay, rushed out from the gap, carrying the damp chill of the underground. Rong Hua stepped inside.

Shu Hanqing didn't bother saying more to Mu Ye. The two of them crossed the distance in a few long strides.

He peered through the doorway—inside, he could vaguely make out the silhouettes of tall containers, standing like silent giants.

Shu Hanqing glanced at the watch on his wrist, mentally calculating. It should be about time since Mu Ye and Rong Hua had eaten the fruit.

This is it.

Shu Hanqing turned to Mu Ye: "Mu Ye, we don't know what's in there. You go in first with Rong Hua to scout it out. I'll guard the entrance, just in case."

Mu Ye shot him a look but didn't object: "Then be careful. Call us if anything happens."

With that, the ball of orange-red flame at Mu Ye's fingertips grew noticeably brighter, hovering steadily above his palm.

Shu Hanqing stood outside the door and said to the system, "This is a godsend."

He pressed both hands against the edge of the metal door and pushed it shut, with a dull thud. Shu Hanqing caught his breath. Discarded metal pipes were piled up along one side of the corridor, likely left over from the original construction.

He picked up two pipes of suitable thickness and length, and with effort, wedged them crosswise—one horizontal, one vertical—firmly into the recess beneath the door handle. He then gave them a few hard kicks with his boot to ensure they were securely jammed in place.

Shu Hanqing said, "Done. I'll go grab some rations first. Once the sedative kicks in, I'll come back to get them out."