Even if he really sneaked in, a person with such good sleep quality wouldn’t notice a thing. Jiang Hua clicked his tongue. He lit the cigarette in his hand, and the semi-transparent smoke was blown away by the wind. He didn’t know how long he had stood on the balcony. Only after the cigarette pack was empty did Jiang Hua return to the bedroom. He rarely smoked before. However, tonight, a certain insatiable thought in his mind kept clamoring for release, and he could only suppress it this way.
Lying on the bed, he raised his hand to look at the finger that had been touched, quietly staring for a long time.
The next morning, Tong Sui got up and finished washing up, then walked downstairs. In the lobby on the first floor, a few team members were scattered around. “Good morning.” “Huh?” Wang Tao looked around, “Is Captain Hua still not down? Wasn’t he always the first one up? Could he have overslept?” “No way.” In everyone’s eyes, Jiang Hua, who was like a programmed robot, actually malfunctioning? He Lan said to Tong Sui, “We’re about to leave, should you go up and check?” “Sure.”
Tong Sui stood up and walked to Jiang Hua’s room on the second floor, raising his hand just as he was about to knock on the door. The door opened from the inside. Both of them were taken aback. Jiang Hua shifted his gaze from his face to his hand. Tong Sui quickly explained, “They saw you taking so long to come down, so they called me to get you.” Jiang Hua looked at him deeply for a few seconds, then said in a slightly hoarse voice, “Mm, let’s go down.”
Tong Sui and Jiang Hua walked down one after the other. It might have been due to lack of rest, but Jiang Hua’s expression was colder than usual. Breakfast was simple, just steamed buns and some side dishes. After finishing the meal, He Lan leaned over and whispered to him, “Hey, Tong Sui, you didn’t get together with Captain Hua last night, did you? He looks like he’s unsatisfied.” Tong Sui glanced at Jiang Hua, who was preparing to leave, and blushed, saying, “We… we just chatted a bit.” “I arranged such a good spot for you,” He Lan clicked her tongue. “Captain Hua is too repressed; don’t be fooled by his indifference, he’s probably bursting with feelings inside.”
Jiang Hua noticed them huddled together and frowned slightly, “Tong Sui, come here.” Tong Sui was startled. He Lan gave him a gesture of encouragement. Only then did Tong Sui muster the courage to walk over, unsure if Jiang Hua would overhear their conversation. Jiang Hua said coolly, “Get in the car.” Tong Sui sighed in relief and quickly got into the back seat of the off-road vehicle.
Once seated, he couldn’t help but think about what He Lan said earlier and glanced at Jiang Hua’s face next to him. He was resting with his eyes closed. His stern features were flawless from any angle, devoid of unnecessary expressions, yet there was a faint bruise under his eyes. Had he really not rested well last night?
The off-road vehicle headed toward the city center. In the driver’s seat, Wang Tao said, “There should be plenty of snacks at the commercial center; I’m about to puke from so many steamed buns.” “Is that all you can manage?” Zhang Binyu turned to Tong Sui and asked, “What do you want, Tong Sui?” Tong Sui thought for a moment. “Are there any bookstores? I’d like some books related to biology.” “Look at this awareness,” Zhang Binyu confidently assured him. “Of course, no problem. I’ll definitely bring them back for you.” Tong Sui thanked him. Zhang Binyu chuckled, “No worries, it’s just a small effort. That place is quite dangerous, so you stay in the car.”
Jiang Hua, sitting next to Tong Sui, quietly opened his eyes. Zhang Binyu hurriedly closed his mouth and turned away. As the off-road vehicle continued forward, the surrounding buildings became denser, and the number of wandering zombies on the road increased. The atmosphere in the vehicle turned serious. The team members began to use their abilities or silenced weapons to take down the zombies, successfully stopping the vehicle in front of a commercial square.
Even though the apocalypse had started two months ago, one could still see how prosperous these commercial buildings were before. “You stay in the car,” Jiang Hua called He Lan over. “Protect him; we’ll be back soon.” He Lan replied, “Understood.” After they left, He Lan and Tong Sui stayed in the car. All the team members received different mission objectives, splitting into several teams to quietly infiltrate the mall.
Even during the day, the inside of the mall was dark and devoid of sunlight, and stepping inside one could feel a bone-chilling cold. Jiang Hua turned on his flashlight and walked up to the second floor via the emergency exit. As he turned a corner, a zombie lunged at him, its stinky mouth open, dressed in a supermarket uniform. He drew his knife and swung down mercilessly. The zombie’s head and body separated, collapsing onto the ground.
Jiang Hua stepped over it and arrived at the flat area on the second floor. Here, there were some food items and some daily necessities, with the shelves ransacked, items scattered on the floor. However, most of the goods remained intact. When exposed to the light, the wandering zombies were stimulated and began rushing towards them. Jiang Hua did not dodge or evade, swinging his long knife straight at them.
Clearing the zombies, Jiang Hua led the way while Wang Tao was responsible for storing the supplies. When Wang Tao teamed up with Jiang Hua for the first mission, he couldn’t comprehend why he brought a long knife—wasn’t that something from the primitive cold weapon era? It wasn’t until he saw Jiang Hua effortlessly dispatch a small zombie with one swing that he understood. He later tried this method himself but found it far from the ease and comfort he saw in Jiang Hua’s actions, and almost got bitten by a zombie. In the end, he could only obediently use a gun.
Before long, Jiang Hua had dealt with all the zombies on that floor; he wiped his long knife clean before sheathing it back.