IDMLA 07

A handsome man sits at the wooden table, dressed in a black shirt. The lower part of his body is hidden behind the table, revealing only his torso. His arms rest casually on the table, and at this moment, he is staring coldly ahead.

It was Jiang Zhu.

Tang Tang subconsciously took a breath. She always felt that the air in this room was a bit stale, making it hard to breathe.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and hand over the stuff you bought from the supermarket,” Yan Chen impatiently urged when he saw Tang Tang standing still.

Tang Tang: …

Didn’t they agree before that she didn’t have to do anything and just listen to them?

Despite thinking this, she obediently moved step by step towards Jiang Zhu, who exuded a cold aura. To be honest, she was a bit afraid of him now.

Before thoroughly offending Jiang Zhu today, she had always thought of herself as just a passerby in this world. As long as she emotionlessly followed the script to the end, she believed she could return to her original world.

But what she never could have imagined was—

That damn system!

How dare it…

It made her so mad!!

Tang Tang was screaming internally, but on the surface, she had to maintain her composure.

She walked up to Jiang Zhu, with only a small table between them. She cleared her throat softly and placed two large bags on the table.

Summoning her courage, she awkwardly said, “I heard you haven’t eaten anything all day, so we bought some food for you to try?”

Tang Tang forced a stiff smile, struggling to get the words out smoothly.

She remembered the plot that the damn system had once told her. If she hadn’t asked in advance about going back, it would have been the script she had to follow next.

After the apocalypse arrived, the male lead, Jiang Zhu, awakened a powerful supernatural ability. Meanwhile, she had to hide in a miserable state, and eventually, by some chance, she would encounter Jiang Zhu and signal for help.

At that moment, Jiang Zhu, who had once been deeply betrayed by her, would show a sinister smile and, without hesitation, push her into a horde of zombies.

So, how could that damn system be so irresponsible!

If she hadn’t asked about going back in advance, wouldn’t she be doomed?!

Thinking about this, Tang Tang felt a bit scared looking at Jiang Zhu’s chillingly cold face.

She wondered if it was too late to apologize now…

Jiang Zhu didn’t respond to her words. He didn’t even glance at the two large bags in front of him. His gaze remained fixed on Tang Tang, making her break out in a cold sweat.

This was the tenth floor.

She wouldn’t be pushed down by him before the zombies even arrived, right…

Haha, haha, that shouldn’t happen. He’s such a rational person…

Yes, yes, he definitely wouldn’t do that! Besides, if he wanted to act, he would have done it in the morning. How could he wait until now? He didn’t even know she would come.

But what if the more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and she just happened to show up…

Tang Tang felt that she couldn’t let her imagination run wild anymore.

“Yeah, Jiang Zhu, you should eat something first. You haven’t eaten all day.”

At this moment, one of the other two dorm mates spoke up, trying to persuade him.

That guy seemed simple and honest, someone Tang Tang hadn’t seen before.

Noticing her gaze, he even gave her a friendly smile.

Tang Tang was surprised. Despite her poor reputation at school, someone actually smiled at her like that?

Just then, a noise reached her ears, followed by the sound of a chair moving. Tang Tang shifted her gaze and saw Jiang Zhu, who had been sitting, now standing up, looking even more displeased than before.

…Why did he suddenly stand up? There’s no need to stand up just to eat something.

So, is he going to push her off the building?!

Tang Tang scared herself with her imagination. Her body reacted faster than her mind, and she took a few steps back, putting some distance between herself and the man in front of her.

She watched him warily, keeping a close eye on his every move.

Jiang Zhu walked around the table, initially moving forward, but then paused and went back to his seat.

Tang Tang silently breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he wasn’t coming toward her anymore.

Then, in the next second, she saw Jiang Zhu reach out and open the shopping bag.

After rummaging through it for a bit, he finally pulled out—a knife?

!!!

Could he be planning to use the knife on her?

Tang Tang scared herself with her thoughts again and was just about to apologize sincerely in hopes of staying alive when Yan Chen interrupted her.

“Why did you buy a knife?” Yan Chen asked with a serious expression.

Are you planning to stab someone?

Seeing his expression, Tang Tang realized he misunderstood and quickly waved her hands in explanation. “No, no, nothing like that!”

She then swiftly grabbed the bag on the table and pulled out a few apples.

“I’m just going to peel the apples, peel the apples.”

***

T/N: Lol. Tang Tang scaring herself to death. Being paranoid is not good for your health!

This is the first part of where the translation ends. Please check KOTranslation for part 2.

From here on out is a continuation of my own translation. I just don’t like not finishing it. Enjoy!

***

Cold sweat dripped down Tang Tang’s forehead. She wiped it away and obediently stood still.

Only then did Yan Chen let her off the hook.

“Jiang Zhu, you see, this woman is just a vain and cowardly person. We all heard what she said this morning. You’re so outstanding; there’s no need for you to starve yourself because of her. At least eat something, okay?”

Yan Chen walked past Tang Tang and approached Jiang Zhu.

Tang Tang: …

The apology Tang Tang had planned got stuck in her throat.

Sir[1], this is completely blocking her path, and setting her on fire!

Tang Tang silently ground her teeth in her heart.

Jiang Zhu didn’t respond in any way, still playing with the knife in his hand.

Tang Tang felt she couldn’t stay silent any longer, so she mustered up some courage and said, “Eat something. There’s no water or electricity now. What will you do if you faint from hunger?”

As soon as she spoke, Jiang Zhu raised his head again. His gaze fixed straight ahead. He didn’t say anything, just kept looking, leaving Tang Tang feeling at a loss.

He wasn’t speaking, so how could anyone know what he wanted to do? But knowing she was in the wrong, Tang Tang said again, “I’m sorry, I…”

“Ah-ah-”

At this moment, a sudden scream of terror and despair echoed from outside the dormitory, chilling everyone to the bone in the relatively quiet night, and making their skin crawl. Tang Tang’s whole body stiffened, and she had a bad feeling.

The next second, she saw a figure flash before her eyes. Following the movement, she saw Yan Chen quickly run to the door, reaching for the doorknob to open it.

This action immediately snapped her back to her senses. She didn’t know where the speed came from, but she quickly ran to the door. She reached out to stop him but was too late, so she hurriedly took a few steps and kicked the door.

The sound of her shoe hitting the door was heavy and muffled, much like the suffocating atmosphere hidden beneath the screams. Seeing that she had managed to catch up, Tang Tang let out a long sigh of relief, her heart filled with lingering fear.

The sound was too close to the tenth floor, possibly coming from the ninth floor. At this moment, if they opened the door, no one knew what would be waiting for them.

“What are you doing?” Yan Chen asked, frowning after being stopped.

“Don’t open the door,” Tang Tang said. Her foot was hurting a bit, but since Yan Chen’s hand was still on the doorknob, she didn’t dare move her foot away.

“There’s a message in the group chat, let’s check it first.”

Just as the two were at an impasse, Jiang Zhu, who had been silent and exuding a cold aura, finally spoke up.

Yan Chen hesitated for a moment, then let go of the doorknob.

Seeing him move a bit away, Tang Tang finally took her foot off the door.

Then, she also took out her phone. The message notifications in the list kept flashing continuously, and it wasn’t just one group; all the groups were buzzing with messages.

The messages were coming in so fast that with just a blink, dozens of messages had already been pushed up. All five people in the dormitory were holding their phones, their eyes fixed on the screens. As they read more, their expressions grew increasingly serious.

Finally, Yan Chen broke the silence, “Damn! That person was right!”

Saying this, he vented his frustration by kicking the iron bedpost beside him.

“What person?” Jiang Zhu asked calmly, taking his eyes off the screen.

“A guy we ran into on the way here. He was excitedly talking about how this situation felt like the apocalypse, and I didn’t expect him to be right. Damn, what a jinx!”[2]

“The boy was just speculating, but when things really turned out as he had predicted, and it wasn’t anything good, the anger naturally got directed at him.”

Tang Tang stood aside, head lowered in silence. There was nothing much to say now. The most important thing was to find a way to survive this ordeal.

Fortunately, the internet was still working, allowing them to get news from outside without having to go out.

People in the group chat were also sharing their situations. Most had cautiously opened their doors to take a quick look, only to see several strangely shaped figures wandering around the dormitory hallways.

Some people had tried to see what was going on, but most of them ended up becoming like those ‘people’. As a result, those who witnessed this scene hurriedly retreated to their rooms, shut the doors, and shakily took out their phones to send messages.”

In such a terrifying situation, having a functioning internet connection gave them a great sense of security. Tang Tang pursed her lips.

This wasn’t happening only in their dormitory building; similar screams could be heard from other dormitory buildings as well. Even though there was a considerable distance between the buildings, the piercing and eerie screams still sent chills down their spines.

However, the electricity was out, so why was the internet still working? Tang Tang suddenly noticed this issue.

At the same time, having grasped the general situation, Jiang Zhu also raised the same question.

“If this really is the apocalypse, and the power is out, why is the internet still working?”

The other four all turned to look at him, then saw him fix his gaze once more on Tang Tang. Even in such a situation, his eyes remained extremely calm.

Tang Tang met his gaze without flinching. Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she blurted out, “Unless someone is making a last-ditch effort to keep the internet running!”

“Yes, exactly,” he agreed.

***

After Jiang Zhu listened to her, he naturally continued, ‘Although we don’t know how those people managed to keep the internet running when there’s no electricity, we have to admit that in the current situation, the fact that the internet is still functioning most likely means that someone wants us to at least not be completely hopeless when the apocalypse fully arrives.’

After speaking, the two exchanged a glance. Then Jiang Zhu turned his head away, continuing to exude an air of coldness.

Tang Tang: …

Tang Tang blinked. She had thought Jiang Zhu, who was open-minded and generous, had forgiven her…

“But if that’s the case, why not just send a message to inform us?”

After hearing the analysis, another tall and strong boy in the dormitory asked with a stern face.

“Maybe they were afraid of causing panic,” Yan Chen replied.

At the same time, he turned back to look at Tang Tang with a strange expression. This girl actually had some brains. Given that, why did she publicly ridicule Jiang Zhu in front of the whole school?

Then he turned his head again to look at Jiang Zhu, whose eyes were still cold.

And what’s with Jiang Zhu?

He was just ignoring her a moment ago. How come they’re cooperating so well now?

Could it be that these two are rekindling an old flame?

***

[1]大爷(dà yé) literally translates to “great elder” or “grandfather.” However, the usage can vary significantly based on context and tone. T/N: “Excuse you” ,sarcastic  or “Excuse me”, surprised is what I’m getting on this one.

[2]“乌鸦嘴(wūyā zuǐ) literally meaning: Crow’s mouth, similar to saying to “Don’t jinx it” in english.

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Translation by NightOwll

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That’s it! Thank you for reading! *Bow*