TPAE chapter 5.5

The Lin siblings’ team being able to eventually reach the Z City base in the original story was enough to prove their strength. However, since it was still the early days of the apocalypse, they were just starting to adapt to the new environment. It was inevitable for them to feel flustered and nervous when faced with a dangerous situation they had never encountered before.

Lin Lei gripped the steering wheel tightly and decided to turn around, as there were fewer zombies behind them. It was the best option for breaking through. The car absolutely couldn’t afford to be damaged—all the supplies they had painstakingly gathered over the past few days were on board. Losing them would lead to unimaginable consequences.

As time passed, the distance between the off-road vehicle and the zombies grew smaller and smaller. Lin Lei’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. Forcing his voice to remain steady, he said, “Get ready for battle at any moment. Protect the supplies… If it comes to it… let’s hope at least one of us survives.”

The zombies’ encirclement grew tighter and tighter. If the car were destroyed, everyone would be forced to get out and fight the zombies hand-to-hand. But the strength of the virus’s transmission was the reason it was so dangerous and limiting for them.

Everyone pinned their hopes on the zombies not yet having evolved enough to tear apart an off-road vehicle.

“Hold tight—what the hell are you doing?!” Lin Lei cursed as he abruptly stopped his foot from slamming the accelerator. Everyone in the car turned their eyes to the figure who had gotten out of the car.

Just as Lin Lei was about to step on the gas and speed through, Yu Beiyan opened the car door and jumped out. With a strong motion, he slammed the door shut. Lin Lei was anxious but didn’t know what to do for a moment.

“Step on the gas!” Yu Sheng shouted, while Da Lei pulled out a pistol from under the seat cushion that Meizi had been covering. It was one of their spoils from previous scavenging. As Da Lei loaded the gun, he cursed, “Screw this, I’ll kill as many as I can!”

Yu Beiyan seemed to hear the commotion behind him. Seeing Da Lei roll down the car window halfway and aim the gun out, his expression darkened. Without paying attention to the zombies drawing closer, he glanced through the open window at Wei Xicheng sitting inside and said coldly, “Close it.”

Da Lei froze, caught off guard, and was pulled back by Yu Sheng and Meizi together. The window slowly rolled back up, isolating them from the outside world. Only one person remained standing outside.

For some reason, seeing Yu Beiyan facing the zombies alone stirred a pang of heartache in Wei Xicheng. A sudden urge rose in him to get out and accompany him.

Wei Xicheng reached for the car door, but Lin Lei immediately noticed his intentions and locked the door first. “He’s crazy—are you going crazy too?”

Yu Beiyan seemed to sense something, tilting his head slightly, but he didn’t look back. The first zombie had already closed in on him. Without any elaborate moves, the man outside raised his foot and kicked the charging zombie all the way to the back of the horde.

“So cool!” Meizi exclaimed. After seeing the impressive kick, her earlier tension seemed to dissipate. She pressed her face against the car window, watching Yu Beiyan deal with the crisis barehanded.

“Lin Lei, be ready to leave at any moment,” Lin Jianbai, who was usually quiet, finally spoke up. He looked at the person outside and the zombies swarming toward him, then tapped on the car window and pointed toward the road leading out of the city.

He continued to analyze calmly, “He’s standing in the direction we came from, so all the zombies are focused on him. While this side is weak, we can use this opportunity to escape instead of taking a detour.”

Hearing this, Wei Xicheng and the Lin siblings frowned deeply. Before Lin Lei could say anything, Lin Huan had already retorted sharply to Lin Jianbai, “What about him?” she asked, pointing to the person outside.

“He’s so strong, he’ll definitely turn danger into safety. We don’t need to worry about him,” Lin Jianbai replied with a calm expression, unhurriedly adding, “Besides, no one asked him to get out in the first place, did they?”

Although those words were shameless, they weren’t entirely without reason. In times of danger, people naturally think about what’s best for themselves. Moreover, the one who had just jumped out of the car was a stranger they had met less than half an hour ago.

No matter how strong he was, someone who acted on their own without consulting the group would always be difficult to control in a team. In the future, he could even bring about trouble because of this.

Lin Lei watched Yu Beiyan fighting outside, lost in thought. Lin Huan anxiously patted his shoulder. “Brother, we can’t do this. If he runs out of strength and we leave, he’ll die.”

“He seems to be a strength-type ability user,” Meizi commented while shaking her head repeatedly. “What a pity. I heard strength-types don’t have much growth potential compared to elemental-types. But I’ve never seen one, so I don’t know if it’s true.”

Wei Xicheng remained silent as the others discussed.

Outside, the zombies surrounded Yu Beiyan alone. He gradually led the zombie horde away from the off-road vehicle. His movements were steady, unhurried, and elegant, as if completely in control.

The only sign of the fight was a bit of dirt and blood on his shoes and pants—his upper body was completely clean and composed.

The zombies kept a one-arm distance from him, forming a circle. If any got closer, they were mercilessly kicked away.

Lin Lei kept an eye on Yu Beiyan’s movements outside. After kicking away one zombie, Yu Beiyan gestured at him to leave, pointing toward the path Lin Jianbai had suggested.

Lin Lei gritted his teeth and slammed on the gas pedal. After plowing through a few zombies, the path ahead opened up, clear and unobstructed.

Wei Xicheng also saw Yu Beiyan’s gesture but said nothing. From tonight’s events alone, Yu Beiyan didn’t seem like someone who would sacrifice himself to save others. His decision to stay behind likely had its own reasons. Wei Xicheng didn’t believe Yu Beiyan had jumped out of the car to fight zombies for his sake.

When the off-road vehicle disappeared from sight, Yu Beiyan stopped attacking. Strangely, even as he stood in the middle of the zombie horde, the zombies didn’t get closer to him. Instead, they retreated a step, giving him more space.

Yu Beiyan took a transparent crystal nucleus from a zombie’s hand, which instantly crumbled to dust in his palm. He narrowed his eyes, a flash of light passing through them.

This tastes way better than those biscuits.

Ever since Yu Beiyan had jumped out of the car, Wei Xicheng had remained silent. The atmosphere inside the car was tense. Breaking the silence, Lin Huan hesitated before speaking. “Don’t be too upset. He must know what he’s doing.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Meizi chimed in, her words carrying a teasing tone. “Your friend looks strong. He’ll be fine. You know him best—how long have you two known each other?”

“One day.”

Wei Xicheng’s gaze lingered outside the window. The virus’s spread not only affected humans but was also deteriorating the quality of water sources. People didn’t realize it yet, but later they would understand just how precious water was.

“Only a day?” Meizi sounded disappointed and stopped talking to Wei Xicheng. Sitting in the back seat, she stared out the window until something made her exclaim, “Look! Look behind us!”

Everyone turned their heads at her words and saw someone chasing after the car at an astonishing speed.

Wei Xicheng looked at the figure behind them, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Lin Huan nudged Lin Lei’s sleeve and nodded. Lin Lei pulled the car over to the roadside.

Meizi was the first to get out of the car and greeted the approaching figure with a grin. “Not hurt, are you, big hero?”

Lin Jianbai and Yu Sheng also studied Yu Beiyan from head to toe, uncertain whether ability users could turn into more dangerous zombies if injured.

Da Lei, however, let out a hearty laugh. “Good to have you back!”

Yu Beiyan swept his gaze over everyone before finally fixing his eyes on Wei Xicheng—the one person he had met yesterday and didn’t find annoying. Taking two steps forward, he stopped in front of Wei Xicheng, looked down at his own clothes, and seemed a bit dejected. His voice was raspy as he said, “I’m back. My clothes are a little dirty.”

Wei Xicheng, amused, thought this man was like a big fool. “Mm, we’ll find another shelter soon, and you can change.”

Yu Beiyan didn’t have a single wound on his body, and he wasn’t even that dirty except for his slightly disheveled hair from running. Wei Xicheng recalled how neat and slicked-back Yu Beiyan’s hair had been when they first met yesterday. He couldn’t help but want to laugh.

Everyone else was fleeing for their lives, but this guy acted like he was on vacation or attending a business meeting.

“You’re amazing,” Meizi finally managed to chime in before getting back into the car. Somehow, she felt awkward around Yu Beiyan, unable to relax completely. Still, she couldn’t help but admire him.

In such a perilous environment, she wanted to rely on someone strong. This man fit the bill perfectly—he was handsome and had a great physique.

Yu Beiyan glanced at her, then grabbed Wei Xicheng’s hand and led him into the car. Wei Xicheng glanced at their clasped hands, his first thought being how cold Yu Beiyan’s hands were.

No one paid much attention to this minor episode; after all, it was only the beginning of their journey. But within the small team, everyone’s attitude toward Yu Beiyan shifted subtly.

Initially, the group was resentful but didn’t dare complain about the addition of Yu Beiyan and Wei Xicheng. However, after surviving the zombie horde, they realized the importance of having a skilled fighter on their side. Even the way supplies were distributed became more generous toward Yu Beiyan.

Wei Xicheng noticed these changes but was more puzzled by one thing. Others might not have noticed, but as someone who was almost always with Yu Beiyan, he realized he had never seen Yu Beiyan eat.

All the food and most of the water allocated to Yu Beiyan were still with him. Wei Xicheng couldn’t understand how this man sustained his physical condition.

After two days of this, Wei Xicheng finally couldn’t hold back anymore. People needed food to survive—how could Yu Beiyan go two days without eating, all while fighting zombies repeatedly? Wild zombies were far more numerous than they had expected, attacking in waves. Wei Xicheng even checked himself for any changes, wondering if the peculiarities of his own blood had disappeared.

“Yu Beiyan,” Wei Xicheng called during a break, walking over and offering a few precious sausages. “Here, eat.”

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Author’s Note:

Wow, you people! How dare you call our (majestic, dashing, extraordinary…) Beiyan a fool!

Don’t you feel guilty? Our “fool” is so pitiful!