Chapter 61—A familiar face

by Bocchan13

“Someone’s here.”

Yu Ci and Wang Cheng armed themselves, the guns gleaming in the night. They had heard the shuffling of feet sometimes ago, but just thought it was a passing zombie. However, the closer the sound got, the more it confirmed that the deliberate footsteps belonged to an individual person.

Wang Cheng raised the muzzle of his gun to the outside, his hearing sharp.

“Why would a single person be out in the middle of nowhere at night?”

Yu Ci and Wang Cheng heard a twig snap, and under the light of the fire, a lone figure stopped in front of them. The man was tall, his arms and legs incased in what seemed like a uniform. There didn’t seem to be any wounds indicating zombification however there was dried blood on the front of and on the man’s hands.

The man came closer to the fire light, showing deep amber eyes. Raising his hands in the air, he posed no harm to them.

“Stop right there.” Yu Ci hissed. The man stopped, before slumping on the floor. In an instant, the person was knocked out cold. Only a few seconds later, they could hear the man snore.

Wang Cheng: “…”

Yu Ci: “…”

Yu Ci did not slacken his gun. Taking cautious steps, he used his toe to jab the man’s stomach. The man snorted and grumbled before resuming his sleep. Yu Ci hit harder, making the man flip to his back. In the firelight, you could see the man’s strong jawline and roguish features. His size was comparable to Lan Zhou’s with sinewy muscles under his guard uniform.

Wang Cheng kept his aim on the man as Yu Ci went through the man’s pockets. A map filled with red circles, indistinguishable markings, a compass, a small satellite radio, a bottle of almost empty water and what seemed to be the leftovers of a potato.

 “Let’s call Lan Zhou and Song Yu.”

Song Yu was woken up quickly afterwards. Still groggy, he yawned and squinted his eyes. When information processed, his eyes widened into saucers…

T-this man! The ice ability user!

Song Yu remembered this man from the club. In the previous life, the man used to be a guard for B Base and was the key factor in their escape. He never knew what happened to him, and the man never came to Paradise Base, so his fate was unknown till the very end. When Song Yu met him again at the club, he was glad that he could interact with him, but then he was distracted by Lan Zhou…

“He…he…”

Lan Zhou saw the awe and happiness in Song Yu’s expression. Looking disdainly at the sleeping figure, he motioned to him.

“Do you know him?”

“Ah! Yes…um…before, he helped me in a bad situation. I thought he had died before. Looking at him now, I think he was deserted by his team…or something.”

Lan Zhou nodded his head thoughtfully. He too, recognized the man as the bartender of the club where they met. It had been fleeting and two years ago, but Lan Zhou didn’t forget a memorable face. And the man sleeping like the dead was considered classically handsome.

“Wake up Lu Jingxiu and douse him with ice water. We don’t know if he’s here as a scout or just wants to leech off of us.”

Wang Cheng went to go do that, while Yu Ci propped the man up. Lolling his head, the unconscious man leaned forward and pressed his dirty forehead on Yu Ci’s shoulder. Yu Ci paused before gently helping the man, righting his position up, all the while tying ropes on his hands and feet.

Lu Jingxiu didn’t like being woken up, especially when he was in the arms of his beloved. But when he heard that there was an intruder at the camp, he diligently came out to investigate.

Seeing the man, he cocked his head to the side. Unlike Wang Cheng and Lan Zhou who had been abroad before the apocalypse, Lu Jingxiu was an avid club-goer, who went for business to get more info out of drunk people. So, he knew this person personally.

“Hey guys, this guy used to be a bartender at the club. His name’s Wu Ding.”

Lan Zhou didn’t primarily care, but Song Yu and Lu Jingxiu both knew him, so that gave way for less caution. However, it was still the end of the second year of the apocalypse—people could change.

“Wake him up and let us see first.”

Lu Jingxiu took out an ice block and had Yu Ci crush it on top of the sleeping man. The crushed ice instantly melted in the palm of Yu Ci’s hand and dripped cold water on Wu Ding. The ice trickled down his neck into the collar of his shirt, making Wu Ding widen his eyes.

“EEYAAHH! Get away from me! I’m gonna punch you!” Wu Ding wanted to punch whatever was closest to him, but then realized his hands were tied.

“Kyaaaah!! I’m tied up! Shi—“ Wu Ding realized they were outside and had to shut up. His outburst might have gotten the attention of zombies.

Pursing his lips, Wu Ding took in this circle of people. He didn’t remember what had happened. He was completely tired, not sleeping for the past three days trying to find shelter. His confused and disarrayed face was clear to everyone’s eyes.

Lan Zhou waved his hand. “You’re awake. Wonderful. Now tell me…,” Lan Zhou’s smiled turned deadly in an instant.

“…why did you come here?”

Wu Ding gulped. He wanted to feign sleep or fainting, but knew he would be woken up again.

“Ummm…I didn’t know it was your area. I thought this was no-man’s land. I didn’t think there was a base here. I’m sorry.”

Lan Zhou knelt down until they were face to face.

“How’d you get to no-man’s land all by yourself?”

Wu Ding couldn’t really explain.

One minute, he was minding his own business when he had a horrible dream a day before the apocalypse. In the dream, he got ice ability powers. However, he was tipped off that B City was recruiting ability users for experimentation. When he found out, he hid his abilities and worked as a lowly guard in the epicenter of the city.

The best hiding place is one in plain sight.

His secret was soon found out by one of the experiments named Ye Xin. Instead of blackmailing him, Ye Xin told Wu Ding that they were going to escape, and that if Wu Ding helped them, they would take him with them.

Wu Ding knew that he couldn’t let this opportunity pass by. So, on the day of the break-out, Wu Ding left his post and stole the keys to the facility, aiding their escape. As a Level 1 ice ability user, he wasn’t used to using his powers, but for the desperation of freedom, he did what he could.

The plan was going smoothly until he was caught and the other ability-users escaped. This led Wu Ding down the path of pain. As punishment for helping them escape, he was tortured, used as an experiment and was brutally tormented by the main doctors, causing him mental anguish and PTSD.

It wasn’t until six months later that a group of vigilantes set ablaze B City and set Wu Ding free from the nightmare. Wu Ding spent much of his time shivering in fear and hiding away from people in the labs, and didn’t understand that B Base was being evacuated. He didn’t comprehend it as doctors, scientists, nurses, and aid staffs were flittering around, taking equipment and talking furiously. Wu Ding could only stay in his little cubicle and watch, dead-eyed.

 He never left B Base, even when it was on fire. Using his ice ability, he sheltered a few people and endured. Once the embers turned to ash, Wu Ding continued to stay in the burnt city.

Everyone left except for him. Wu Ding was too scared to leave and stayed in the small cubicle of his torture chamber which had surprisingly not been burnt during the catastrophe. Wu Ding stayed there until his death two years later, still unable to leave the cage he endured so much pain from.

When Wu Ding woke up from the dream, he had been crying and curling into a fetal position, as if self-soothing himself. He spent the next 12 hours trying to comfort himself that it was just a dream.

Until, the meteor shower hit and everyone became zombies.

Bocchan13

We got another sad soul that had been deeply impacted because of *aherm* scumbag asshole Ye Xin. But do not be afraid dear readers. He will get his comeuppance.