Chapter 47: The Photo, and That Boss Zhang

The Bian family arrived at the new district on the seventh day of the apocalypse. Naturally, Bian Changxi didn’t want to travel with them, but compared to those annoying relatives with the same surname, staying away from Gu Xu was even more important. Now, she didn’t even dare to enter the farm or take anything out, afraid he’d notice something. When would this ever end?

After chatting for a while, everyone dispersed to their own rooms. Wu Dalang went downstairs alone—he was on duty for the first half of the night. He dragged a chair over and sat boldly near the door, closed his eyes, and with his heightened senses after awakening his ability, he could clearly detect any movement within ten meters.

After more than half an hour, two figures came downstairs: Gu Xu and Qiu Feng. Qiu Feng wore night-vision goggles, but Gu Xu didn’t. Both were dressed in black, their backpacks stuffed with heavy equipment, and their military boots made no sound on the stairs.

Wu Dalang wasn’t surprised at all when he saw them. He opened the door for them, then quietly closed it after they left, watching them go with a mix of worry and anticipation in his eyes.

The next morning, Bian Changxi woke up early. Hygiene wasn’t much of a priority in the apocalypse, but unless things were truly desperate, most people couldn’t stand not brushing their teeth or washing their face. She used a small amount of water to brush her teeth on the balcony, wiped her face with a wet wipe, had some compressed biscuits with milk for breakfast, then cleaned out her backpack and headed downstairs.

Just as she reached the bottom, Lin Rongrong came out of her room. “Morning, Changxi.”

“Morning.”

Yesterday, Lin Rongrong had volunteered to go out with Gu Xu’s group, since her spatial ability meant they wouldn’t have to leave supplies behind if they found too much to carry.

When they got downstairs, they saw a black military Hummer parked out front. Several well-dressed people with bodyguards were talking to Gu Xu and the others. Bian Changxi raised her eyebrows—what was going on?

Gu Pei was standing at the stairwell, watching coldly. When he saw the two girls come down, he explained in a low voice, “These people just arrived. They say that’s Young Master Xiao, the son of the Public Security Bureau chief. He noticed how impressive Gu Xu’s group looked and came over to introduce himself.” He pointed at the young man standing in front of Gu Xu, arms crossed and wearing a fake smile. “That’s Xiao Jing, Young Master Xiao.”

Xiao Jing was saying, “Those construction workers didn’t know any better. They treated Captain Gu’s group like ordinary people. I brought people over today to redo the registration and to prepare for evacuation later. People like Captain Gu are the backbone of society—how could we let them go unnoticed?”

His words sounded nice, but his tone was flippant and dismissive, clearly not taking Gu Xu and the others seriously. When he saw the two girls, his eyes lit up and he immediately left Gu Xu to walk over. “And these two are…?”

The way his eyes roamed over the girls made it obvious to everyone what kind of person he was—a lecher. To be fair, both Bian Changxi and Lin Rongrong were beauties: one exquisitely cold, the other delicate and sweet, both in the prime of youth. After awakening their abilities, they had a unique aura that set them apart from ordinary girls, making them hard to ignore.

Bian Changxi frowned slightly, while Gu Xu’s expression revealed nothing. “Young Master Xiao, please leave. We have no intention of joining you at the train station, and we’re not sure when we’ll be leaving here. There’s no need for you to worry about us.”

Xiao Jing was displeased and was about to retort when a middle-aged man stepped forward, pulling him back and fawning, “Young Master Xiao, don’t we still have another place to visit? If we’re late, it’ll be a wasted trip.” He then smiled at Gu Xu, “We’re just here to take down names for the record. Whether you go to the train station or not is entirely up to you.”

Gu Xu nodded, allowing Qiu Feng to write down everyone’s names and ages in the notebook, but refused to provide any more information.

The middle-aged man, still smiling, dragged Xiao Jing away. Bian Changxi watched them get into their car and drive off, her eyes flickering. “Who was that middle-aged man?”

Gu Xu narrowed his eyes. “He claims to be the owner of a large internet café in the new district, surname Zhang. He implied he only got close to Xiao Jing by sucking up to him.”

Qiu Yun snorted. “I don’t think it’s that simple. That guy smells of blood!” He frowned. “But it’s not the iron-blooded scent of a soldier—it’s something darker. We should be careful around him.” Qiu Yun’s instincts were always sharp.

Gu Xu said nothing. Last night, they had snuck into the B Zone’s tech center, trying to contact the commander in the capital, but as expected, they failed. However, they did manage to hack into the Su City military command’s system, which showed that the military’s communications were still functioning.

There was no reason they shouldn’t be able to reach the commander.

Their communication channels were so highly secured that even in a total collapse, they’d be the last to go down.

He remembered the secret conversation he’d had with the commander when he was assigned his mission—it was clear the commander had anticipated some major upheaval. Gu Xu had a vague sense of foreboding; something must have happened to the commander.

So he had Qiu Feng hack into both the Su City and Jiang City military districts. Although they didn’t find anything valuable, their intrusion was detected, and someone would surely come looking for them in the next day or two.

He’d thrown a stone to test the waters, but instead of attracting the military, he’d drawn the attention of the public security’s privileged offspring. How odd.

Could they be scouts sent to probe them?

Bian Changxi was also deep in thought. She’d noticed that the middle-aged man named Zhang had looked at her twice—once when he came to pull Xiao Jing away, and once before they left. Though he tried to hide it, she still caught it. His gaze was strange, almost targeted.

With these thoughts, she said goodbye to the others and slipped out alone, quickly disappearing into the streets.

At that moment, Boss Zhang was busy flattering Xiao Jing.

“What’s so special about them anyway? Special forces? They looked like ordinary people to me. What a waste of my time,” Xiao Jing complained.

Boss Zhang smiled, “Better safe than sorry. People who came to the train station with them yesterday said they were the real deal. The army will be here in a few days. If we can get in good with some military folks, that’s a good thing for us.”

Xiao Jing waved dismissively. “So what if it’s the army? The armed police under my command aren’t pushovers either. Why should I be afraid?”

Boss Zhang bowed and smiled as Xiao Jing walked away, then straightened up, his face showing a look of disdain. Back in his car, he pulled a photo from his pocket. It was a small student ID photo of a girl with shiny black hair and bright eyes, smiling sweetly at the camera. She looked a bit young, but it was clearly Bian Changxi.

“Bian Changxi… hmm, and the jade bracelet, right?”

At that moment, Bian Changxi was riding her Yamaha-style motorcycle down a tree-lined path outside the new district. Up ahead, a green Chery car was parked by the roadside, already covered in fallen leaves. She glanced at its side mirror and was about to ignore it when she suddenly swerved, gunned the engine, and zipped past the Chery. Just as she passed, a furious roar erupted from inside, and a zombie that had been lying dormant smashed through the car door and lunged out.

Zombies really could show up anywhere—what rotten luck.

Bian Changxi’s eyes narrowed. She turned the bike around, stopped, and got off. Before the zombie could reach her, she grabbed her fire axe, strode forward, and swung it at the zombie. The zombie blocked with its long arms, its huge, foul-smelling head lunging at her, tongue flicking out and drooling everywhere.

Timing her move, Bian Changxi stabbed her straight blade through its throat, then kicked it hard. She kicked with precision, sending the not-so-tall zombie sprawling. She shook the zombie slime off her hand, raised the axe, and chopped off its head.

Don’t think killing a zombie is easy. First, you can’t show even a hint of fear. Second, you need both strength and technique.

When Bian Changxi swung her axe, it wasn’t just a wild chop. She’d timed it for when the zombie raised its arms to grab her, anticipating its attack path and adjusting her angle so the axe blocked both arms at once. If she’d only hit one arm, or just the chest, the next moment those black nails might have gouged out her eyes.

She also made use of her farm ability, instantly summoning her straight blade, saving the time it would take to draw it. The stab to the throat wasn’t just for show—it aimed straight for the cervical vertebrae. Though she couldn’t sever the spine, the heavy blow could temporarily disrupt the zombie’s nervous control, making it much easier to knock it down in the next few seconds.

From the moment the zombie lunged, Bian Changxi was calculating—three moves, using the simplest and fastest way to kill it. All her strength and skill exploded in that instant. If she weren’t so experienced, she’d never be able to pull it off.

Her shoulders relaxed and she finally let out the breath she’d been holding, her face a bit pale. She dug a white crystal core out of the zombie’s skull, wiped it on her clothes, and tossed it into the farm’s warehouse.

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