IDMLA 20

Tang Tang swung her knife as she left the stationery store, then in the pitch-black night, resolutely ran toward the school gate.

So many days had passed since the cafeteria had been stocked, even if they’d stored plenty of food, it was probably mostly rotten by now. The supermarket was definitely the hardest-hit area, all those people who’d run out over the past few days couldn’t have skipped stopping by there first.

As for the plan she’d discussed with Jiang Zhu and the others, meeting at the gymnasium in six days, given the current situation, it didn’t seem like she needed to go anymore.

The area outside the school was spacious, with plenty of open ground. Maybe she could even find a place with no people and no zombies.

Without any abilities, she’d just hide for as long as she could.

Anyway, she had her hidden space, so she didn’t need to worry about starving anytime soon.

That was Tang Tang’s plan, when—*thud*—she slammed into a ‘wall’.”

It was too dark in the middle of the night. Since both her hands were carrying things, she didn’t have a free hand to hold a flashlight. The impact nearly sent her tumbling to the ground.

Tang Tang thought she’d misremembered the route and veered off course, accidentally running into a wall. But the hard block she’d taken for a ‘wall’ suddenly moved…

Though she couldn’t see in the darkness, the sound of footsteps treading on the ground was crystal clear.

Tang Tang froze instantly.

She didn’t even dare breathe.

“Grrr—”

It was a zombie.

After being bumped into, the zombie seemed dazed for a moment.

It sluggishly looked around, but didn’t smell any human scent, and only then slowly shuffled away.

Tang Tang heard the footsteps gradually fade until they disappeared entirely, and only then did she relax.

She muttered to herself, why was that zombie standing in the middle of the road in the dead of night?

Scared her to death, ugh—

But before she could even fully exhale, from another direction not far away, a fierce gust of wind suddenly swept in.

That wind was exactly like the one that had blown her away before.

!!!

Again?

Tang Tang quickly ran to a big tree by the roadside, wrapping both arms tightly around the trunk. No matter what, she wasn’t getting blown away this time. If she flew again, her body would be done for!

Unexpectedly, seeing that it couldn’t blow her away, the wind gradually softened.

But it still wouldn’t let her let go of the tree.

“It’s her?”

Suddenly, a male voice sounded behind her, carrying a hint of arrogance.

“Yeah.” Another female voice answered, overly concise, impossible to read any emotion from.

Tang Tang was stunned. What’s going on? Was she this busy tonight?

And from the sound of their conversation, it seemed like they’d come specifically looking for her. Had she offended them before?

Well, sure, in the past she’d played the part of being ‘arrogant and looking down on everyone’.

But that wasn’t exactly an unforgivable crime, was it?

Did they really need to chase her down for revenge even in the apocalypse?

Tang Tang quickly thought of ways to escape, figuring out which direction to run for the best chance of success.

Just then, the wind stopped.

Tang Tang felt free again and was about to put her plan into action, but the moment she let go of the tree and hadn’t even taken a single step, the wind picked up again.

At the same time, a blinding light shone in her direction.

The arrogant male voice said impatiently, “Why are you running?”

Tang Tang: …

Then why are you blowing?!

She really wanted to snap back, if not for the fact that there were several people standing across from her.

The light was shining toward her, so the other side was a bit dark. It wasn’t until those people walked closer that Tang Tang could count their exact number.

Six people, besides the one girl, the rest were all guys.

Two people stood at the front of the group. The guy on the left was taller, and even in the darkness, the impatience and arrogance on his face were especially obvious.

So the guy who’d spoken earlier was him.

Tang Tang got a clear look at this guy’s face and mentally cursed again—damn!

At the same time, the guy seemed to recognize her too.

“You? Aren’t you that one? You’re still alive?”

Tang Tang: …

Sorry, I’ll live even longer! Hmph!!

This guy was named Jiang Chi, yes, surname Jiang. He was the newly appointed young master of the Jiang family, the one who had replaced Jiang Zhu’s position.

The Jiang family was a large clan with deep roots, but at the same time, the internal relationships were extremely complicated. This guy wasn’t Jiang Zhu’s biological brother, just the child of some relative. Jiang Zhu’s parents had left him at a very young age, and he’d been raised by his grandfather from childhood.

But not long ago, his grandfather died unexpectedly, and the family, having lost its leader, immediately fell into chaos. Meanwhile, some people who’d been quietly building their power in the shadows took the opportunity to kick Jiang Zhu, who was still studying at school, out of the family.

At the same time, to keep up appearances and avoid tarnishing their reputation with their ugly true faces, they chose someone who was easy to control and more closely related to Jiang Zhu by blood, and propped him up.

That was Jiang Chi.

But in reality, the ones who truly held power in the Jiang family now were the pair of in-laws who’d driven Jiang Zhu out, along with their child.

That was the person standing next to Jiang Chi right now.

The man’s name was Zheng Xue, and he always wore a calculating expression that made people deeply uncomfortable, as if they were constantly being sized up.

Tang Tang had been to the Jiang family before, back when she was still with Jiang Zhu, and had met these two men.

Jiang Chi was the type of arrogant, simple-minded brute, say a few nice words to him and he’d be happy. But Zheng Xue…

The moment her eyes met his, her scalp prickled. When he stared at her, she nearly lost control and smacked her handbag right into his face.

And tonight, of all nights, she’d run into both of them.

“What a coincidence, Miss Tang. We meet again.”

Here it comes, Zheng Xue was speaking.

He said all the polite, courteous things, but his eyes narrowed as they roamed over her, and that look made Tang Tang deeply uneasy.

Zheng Xue’s gaze settled on her raincoat.

“Miss Tang, that outfit of yours is quite enviable in the apocalypse,” he said, shaking out his own soaked clothes. “Look at my hair and clothes, drenched through. But Miss Tang seems so relaxed and at ease. Truly impressive.”

Tang Tang: …

The enemy is strong, and I am weak.

I’ll endure it!

“But what I’m curious about is this, just now, when Miss Tang ran into that zombie, why did it turn and walk away instead of attacking you? The rest of us don’t get such favorable treatment. Would Miss Tang be so kind as to share the secret with us?”

He spoke slowly, every sentence laced with deferential phrasing, yet it grated on the ears.

Tang Tang held back the urge to snap back, her chest aching from the restraint.

Back when Jiang Zhu’s grandfather was still alive, Zheng Xue wouldn’t have dared to speak to her and Jiang Zhu with such blatant sarcasm. Now that he’d gained power, he was practically acting like he owned the world!

“Why isn’t Miss Tang saying anything?” Zheng Xue pressed on relentlessly.

So annoying.

Tang Tang now regretted not buying a helmet that covered everything except her eyes when she’d had the chance. Then they wouldn’t have recognized her at all.

Wait—

What did he just say?

She ran into a zombie, and it didn’t attack her?

Holy shit!

He didn’t see that just now, did he?

Tang Tang instinctively denied it. Impossible, it was pitch dark out there, not a single light anywhere. Did he have night vision or something? How could he have seen that?!

But she didn’t fully understand the situation yet, and if she flat-out denied it, Zheng Xue might retaliate on the spot.

She glanced at the people behind him and decided to play along for now.

“Hm? You called me Miss Tang?”

“Yes,” Zheng Xue said.

“So that means you know who I am?” Tang Tang put on a confused, troubled expression. “But I don’t seem to recall you at all… And you are?”