Chapter 21

Cheng Zhiyu paused, then realized Little Black meant the noise wasn't from zombies, but from humans.

Not zombies—this thought brought a wave of relief, and even joy, to Cheng Zhiyu. Since the apocalypse began, he hadn't encountered a single person, so finally meeting others felt like a small victory.

Seeing Cheng Zhiyu's happiness, Little Black, for some reason, felt a pang of discomfort. He said, "You're so happy—you're not thinking of going to them, are you?"

He tried to sow doubt: "I don't think those two humans seem like good people."

Cheng Zhiyu chuckled. "You can tell just by looking?"

Little Black glared at him.

Cheng Zhiyu ruffled the dog's head and murmured, "Relax, I'm not that foolish."

He was simply glad to see fellow humans in the apocalypse—after all, they were his own kind. But he was also keenly aware that, just like before the apocalypse, not everyone was good, let alone in a struggle for survival like this.

So, while he felt joy, he had no intention of going out to greet them. Those two were clearly here for supplies, and since he couldn't take everything with him anyway, it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.

From a distance, Cheng Zhiyu could see two burly men. One had a red birthmark on his face that looked somewhat intimidating, while the other had a scar cutting through his eyebrow, giving him a fierce appearance.

The scarred man called the one with the red birthmark "Red Face," who in turn referred to him as "Old Scar."

"There aren't many zombies here—they've probably been cleared out," Red Face said, holding a knife and surveying the surroundings.

Old Scar looked greedily at the items on the shelves. "Even better! More for us!"

With that, he eagerly tore open a bag of chips within reach and began wolfing them down.

Red Face shot him a look of disgust but, feeling hungry himself, his mouth watered and he started eating too.

The two ate whatever they could find, sometimes abandoning half-eaten food the moment they spotted something tastier. In no time, the area around them was a complete mess.

Little Black's claws twitched with irritation—these were all his favorite snacks, and these two annoying guys were just…

Cheng Zhiyu also frowned. To him, it was simple: supplies were limited now, and every bite of food was precious. How could they waste it like this?

Even if he couldn't take it all with him, wouldn't it be better to leave it for others who might come later? With the way Red Face and Old Scar were trampling and discarding things, the food on the ground was clearly inedible now.

Fortunately, the two finally seemed to have eaten their fill, stretching out comfortably on the ground as if they'd found paradise among the remaining supermarket supplies.

Old Scar said, "I half want to stay here and not leave."

Red Face, however, replied, "Haven't you heard what the boss said? We're supposed to go to Bread Base."

Old Scar scoffed, "Why go to a base? Would a base have this much food and drink?"

Red Face, clearly more pragmatic, said, "At least the base is safe. Besides, we're both Superhumans—we won't have to worry about food and drink there. Also, sure, this supermarket has a lot, but can you guarantee no one else will find it? Could we even defend it? We might end up losing our lives."

Hearing this, Old Scar abandoned the thought of staying and instead suggested, "Then should we go back and tell the boss about this place? He'd definitely count it as a major achievement!"

Red Face, more cunning and with his own agenda, immediately said, "No! If the boss finds out, do you think we'll still be able to eat as freely as we just did?"

Old Scar thought about it and agreed, feeling conflicted. "Then what should we do?"

"Let's take a little back with us and say we barely scraped it together. Didn't the boss say we're laying over here for a few days? We can come back every day and eat our fill." Red Face had more reasons, but he didn't feel the need to explain them all to Old Scar.

Old Scar was just plain nasty and not the sharpest. Hearing this, he thought it was a great idea. "You're so smart! Let's do that!"

He then started complaining, "I don't know why the boss brought so many ordinary people. They're just slowing us down. Without them, we'd have reached Bread Base long ago."

Red Face, who clearly knew more, said vaguely, "The boss has his uses for them. Don't overthink it."

Not far away, Cheng Zhiyu listened for a while and picked up quite a bit of useful information. At the very least, he now knew there were safe bases, and this group was likely heading to this ‘Bread Base’.

According to them, Bread Base treated Superhumans very well.

Currently, survivors were divided into Superhumans and ordinary people. Superhumans probably had various abilities, like the zombies, while ordinary people were just like before the apocalypse.

Cheng Zhiyu knew he probably didn't qualify as a Superhuman, so he figured he should steer clear of them as much as possible to avoid raising suspicion. Even if he had to interact, he'd need to keep his abilities hidden.

His plants were just too unique.

By the time Red Face and Old Scar left, it was almost dark. Cheng Zhiyu and Little Black also left the supermarket, found the motorcycle he'd hidden, and headed out to find Tian Qiao.

The motorcycle was much faster. Since Cheng Zhiyu's goal wasn't to kill zombies right now, and he was already relatively close to Tian Qiao's district, he expected to arrive soon.

The small motorcycle he chose was fairly quiet—its design was more like an electric scooter, so it didn't roar like a gas guzzler.

If it had, Cheng Zhiyu wouldn't have ridden it. After all, zombies were attracted not only by scent but also by sound, and he wasn't about to draw every nearby zombie to them.

He rode the motorcycle, while for Little Black, Cheng Zhiyu had made a little nest in the front storage area. Though the space wasn't large, it was plenty spacious for Little Black, who was currently only slightly bigger than a human palm, allowing him to lie down comfortably.

However, Little Black refused to stay in the nest and instead nestled inside Cheng Zhiyu's clothes, only his head poking out.

Cheng Zhiyu smiled. "Little Black, not lying down—you want to keep me company, right?"

Little Black turned his head away awkwardly: *As if.*

Since he didn't retort, Cheng Zhiyu took it as a yes and piled on the compliments: "Little Black is so thoughtful," "How could there be such a wonderful little dog like Little Black?" and similar words flowed effortlessly. Eventually, Little Black tucked his head back into Cheng Zhiyu's clothes and refused to come out.

Cheng Zhiyu: "Hahaha."

Little Black: *So gross!*

—

Riding the motorcycle was undoubtedly much faster than walking. If they encountered any zombies, Cheng Zhiyu didn't have to lift a finger—Little Black would casually toss out a water sphere, and the zombie would be torn apart.

Sometimes, if Little Black couldn't be bothered, he'd let Xiao Er handle it. He had somehow learned to command Xiao Er all on his own, and surprisingly, Xiao Er listened to him quite well. The dog and the plant worked together perfectly.

If there were obstacles on the road, Little Black would clear them with water spheres too.

In short, Cheng Zhiyu only needed to focus on riding without worrying about anything else.

With such a smooth journey, they soon reached Tian Qiao's district. However, they were still some distance from Tian Qiao's residence.

Cheng Zhiyu hesitated, wrestling with the thought of whether he should continue the next morning. Based on his understanding of Tian Qiao, if Tian Qiao was safe, he would definitely come looking for him.

He was afraid that traveling at night might cause him to miss Tian Qiao.

In the apocalypse, with no means of communication, if they missed each other, it would be very difficult to reconnect.

Just as Cheng Zhiyu was agonizing, Little Black patted him with a paw. "There's a horde of zombies ahead."

Cheng Zhiyu jerked back to attention and stopped the motorcycle. Sure enough, he saw a group of zombies up ahead, and it didn't look like a coincidental gathering—there was probably a Level One Zombie among them.

Judging by the way those zombies were gathered, someone must be trapped inside.

Cheng Zhiyu didn't hesitate. Since he had encountered the situation, he decided to help. He summoned Little Iron, and instantly, a crossbow appeared in his hand.

Meanwhile, inside the zombie horde, Tian Qiao was nearly exhausted.

The apocalypse had arrived too suddenly. Fortunately, he had been at home and managed to avoid the initial outbreak. After that, he developed a high fever, and when he woke up again, he had awakened an ability.

Tian Qiao was an ice-wielder. When he first discovered his power, he was shocked. It took him some time to accept it before he gradually began practicing using his power.

After two months of practice, he finally felt ready and decided to leave his rented apartment to search for Cheng Zhiyu.

Unexpectedly, due to the zombies along the way, what should have been a short journey took him a full month. Recently, the days had been getting hotter and hotter. Although he was an ice-wielder, the heat was still unbearable, so he decided to travel at night.

Who would have thought that tonight would bring such misfortune? In Tian Qiao's understanding, zombies were slow-moving and clumsy creatures.

He had been quite lucky up to this point—he hadn't encountered a single Level One Zombie during his journey. And since he hadn't interacted much with others, he had no idea Level One Zombies existed before tonight.

Perhaps his luck had finally run out. Shortly after setting out, he encountered a zombie. He killed one, only for more to appear. Gradually, the number of zombies around him grew, and Tian Qiao began to sense that something was wrong.

There was nothing he could do but keep fighting. But the zombies seemed endless. He was completely worn out, yet the horde remained terrifyingly large. He was surrounded, and the circle was tightening.

Tian Qiao had a dreadful realization that he might not make it out alive today. He thought of his parents—he was their only child. He couldn't imagine how devastated they would be if they found out.

And then there was Cheng Zhiyu—that guy might not say much, but he had a soft heart. He'd probably be heartbroken.

With these thoughts, Tian Qiao glared at the zombie horde and yelled, "Damn it! If you have any guts, fight me one-on-one!"

Obviously, zombies don't fight by any rules. Gritting his teeth, Tian Qiao stared at the grotesque creatures. If he got bitten, he might become one of them. Rather than that, he'd rather go out on his own terms!

Just then, an arrow streaked through the air. It pierced straight through the head of one zombie in the horde. The zombie seemed to have sensed the attack and shot a fireball at the arrow. Unfortunately, Little Iron's arrow was completely fireproof—it remained completely unaffected as it flew toward the fire-type zombie, killing it instantly.

The zombie horde surrounding Tian Qiao immediately loosened. Tian Qiao gasped!

No dying today! Who would choose death if they could live?

He had to keep his life—to repay Cheng Zhiyu!