Tang Tang was bound by Zheng Xue’s unknown ability, restricting her movements.
But she wasn’t willing to give up struggling just yet. She tried to scare him off with the same trick as before, but the moment she raised her large blade, she heard Zheng Xue’s mocking voice again.
“It’s useless, Miss Tang. You might as well give up. But since you’ve awakened a wisdom-type ability, why not let me see just how smart you really are?”
At the same time, Tang Tang felt her blade freeze in place.
Her heart tightened. She looked up and saw that the blade was now wrapped in countless ultra-fine threads, glowing with a faint red light in the darkness.
What kind of ability was this?
It had come out with no warning at all, silent and invisible as it wrapped around her. How terrifying was that?
Tang Tang thought to herself that this ability suited Zheng Xue perfectly. Both were strange, bizarre, and the kind that clung to you and annoyed you to no end.
The situation was dire. The five others had already walked a good distance ahead, leaving only the two of them here now.
It was pitch black all around. She had just offended Zheng Xue, and judging by the current circumstances, he probably wouldn’t let her off easily, he might even take this opportunity to attack her right now in retaliation.
And the gap between them was far too wide. This person’s strength was completely different from what she’d seen at the stationery store. Even with her large blade, Zheng Xue could easily render her unable to swing it at all.
Tang Tang clenched her fists.
So frustrating.
But for now, it was better to hold back. At least she shouldn’t say anything to offend him while they were alone together.
Tang Tang thought through the key points and calmed herself down.
“Do I really have to go with you all?”
“Of course. I’m only looking out for Miss Tang’s safety.”
“They’re already getting far ahead. Shouldn’t we catch up quickly?”
Being alone here with just the two of them gave her no sense of security. Better to be around more people. If Tang Tang’s guess was correct, Zheng Xue was probably still hiding these abilities from the other five.
“Miss Tang really is quite clever.” His gaze as he stared at her made her skin crawl, especially the way he praised her. Tang Tang didn’t want to listen to him for even a second longer, she just wanted to find a chance to get away quickly.
The two gradually caught up with the group.
Sure enough, Zheng Xue withdrew those fine threads midway.
Tang Tang ignored the warning look he shot her and quickly walked over to Jiang Chi’s side. Since Zheng Xue intended to hide his strength, she would stick close to the five of them and never give him another chance to use his ability on her.
Jiang Chi had no opinion about the extra person. He just wanted to find a place to sleep.
He had used a lot of abilities over the past two days and was exhausted now.
The seven of them found an empty classroom in the teaching building and made do with resting there for the night. Tang Tang had originally been wary of Zheng Xue and hadn’t planned on actually falling asleep. But she was too tired from the past few days, and gradually her eyelids drooped closed.
She slept lightly, though, any sound would wake her immediately. But this time, unlike at the stationery store, she wasn’t disturbed.
They slept all the way until noon the next day before slowly waking up on their own.
Next, they needed to decide where to go.
As a newly ‘joined’ member, Tang Tang wasn’t part of the discussion yet. She sat quietly to the side, listening to them talk while secretly sizing up the other four.
The girl in the group spoke very little, almost not at all. She only nodded in agreement when others said something, indicating acceptance. The other three boys were fairly ordinary, participating in the discussion without any distinctive traits. Tang Tang couldn’t find anything memorable about them at the moment.
Jiang Chi basically didn’t talk much either. He sat with his legs crossed like some kind of lord. But ultimately, it was Zheng Xue who decided where they would go.
After observing, Tang Tang realized that while these people appeared to follow Jiang Chi’s lead, in reality, including Jiang Chi himself, they all listened to Zheng Xue’s arrangements. This served as a warning to her. This situation was very unfavorable.
“In that case, let’s head to the supermarket next.”
Zheng Xue enjoyed this feeling. Even if he didn’t have the surname Jiang, so what? Wasn’t the young master of the Jiang family still obediently listening to him?
“The supermarket won’t work.” Tang Tang shook her head.
All eyes turned toward her at once. Zheng Xue’s expression shifted the moment he saw it was her, his face turned very ugly. Was this woman deliberately trying to oppose him? He regretted not having dealt with her on the road last night instead of bringing her back.
Tang Tang ignored his glare.
“Why not?” Jiang Chi asked.
“It’s already the fifth day of the apocalypse. The supermarket would have been looted by others long ago. What could possibly be left? And don’t mention the warehouse, the lock on it was replaced with a smart one, and without electricity, it can’t be opened.” Tang Tang began analyzing in a serious tone.
But in reality, she just didn’t want to take the risk.
These six all had abilities and could face other people or zombies without fear, but she was truly just an ordinary person. And her hidden space couldn’t be exposed yet.
As for the supermarket, no matter what, if anyone managed to escape, they’d definitely think to go check it out and grab some supplies. That way, they’d likely run into other people, even ability users.
If a fight broke out over food or something, or if it attracted a horde of zombies, she’d be in deep trouble. Those six hadn’t said they’d protect her, so why would she willingly walk herself into danger first?
“Miss Tang is just too cautious. What’s a smart lock to be afraid of? We obviously have ways to pry it open,” said Zheng Xue.
Tang Tang was angry, really angry.
When she got angry, she didn’t want him to be happy: “I still don’t know your name. I’m Tang Tang, what’s yours?”
Sure enough, bringing up that topic made Zheng Xue turn gloomy again.
“Miss Tang, my name is Zheng Xue. I hope you remember it this time.”
“Oh,” Tang Tang said coldly.
“Alright, alright, shouldn’t we be heading out soon? I’m starving!” Jiang Chi spoke up again.
Tang Tang had nothing to say. This guy really was as simple-minded as Jiang Zhu had said!
Did he only care about eating and sleeping? This was the apocalypse now. Could he have a little sense of urgency? Even if his ability was powerful, he still had moments of weakness, right? With someone as dangerous as Zheng Xue around, could he really sleep well?
But no matter how much Tang Tang screamed internally, it was useless.
The six of them had already stood up, clearly ready to leave.
Tang Tang stayed seated, not moving an inch. She just hoped they wouldn’t notice her, and then she could find a chance to slip away.
But while she was still thinking about that, Zheng Xue wasn’t about to let her off. After walking a short distance, he noticed she hadn’t followed, stopped, turned around, and ‘invited’ her.
“Why isn’t Miss Tang coming?”
Tang Tang glanced at the faint red thread wrapped around his hand, knowing he was threatening her, but she could only resign herself and stand up.
After that, along the way, Tang Tang truly came to understand the power of abilities.
The fog outside was so thick that even in daylight, you couldn’t see a meter ahead. But for ability users who had developed their vision, it posed no trouble at all.
The girl in the group who spoke very little was now walking at the front leading the way, with the others following behind. They moved smoothly, not even encountering a single zombie.
Tang Tang guessed that this girl had deliberately avoided areas with zombies.
Incredible, this vision ability.
She admired it inwardly, but couldn’t help thinking about herself, wondering how long her own ‘wisdom ability’ could last.
Jiang Chi was a bit bored, tilting his head left and right, then spotting Tang Tang walking beside him. He remembered the question he’d half-asked last night and brought it up again.
“Hey, what did you use to keep those zombies from attacking you?”
Tang Tang heard the voice, turned around, and saw Jiang Chi’s face, which was arrogant even when asking questions.
“Zombies can smell human scent. All you have to do is cover up the smell on your body. It’s such a simple thing, didn’t you all know that?”
Tang Tang wasn’t about to give up her former persona, and since she was now ‘full of wisdom,’ a little arrogance was fine, maybe it would make her act more convincing. After all, Zheng Xue wasn’t simple. If she changed too much and he caught on, that would be bad.
But if she overdid it, she might also make enemies.
Tang Tang noticed the other four guys glancing her way, looking somewhat displeased with her words, and began to wonder if she was overacting.
Jiang Chi, on the other hand, didn’t react much to her words and continued asking, “What did you use to cover it?”
Tang Tang: “Perfume. Do you want some?”
“No.”
And with that, the conversation ended.
A little while later, before they reached the supermarket, Tang Tang remembered the wind that had blown her away earlier.
She turned to Jiang Chi and asked quietly, “Did you ever use your wind ability in the dorm building before, a really big one that could blow someone flying? And it blew them in the direction of the library?”
Jiang Chi was surprised: “You know about that?”
Tang Tang: …
Of course she knew, that wind had blown her away.
How could she not know?
But she wasn’t about to miss this chance to put on airs. She quickly nodded with a look of deep mystery, acting like she had everything under control.
“Of course. What I awakened is the wisdom ability.”
Jiang Chi saw her mysterious expression, leaned in, and lowered his voice too: “So, this ability can know the past and predict the future?”
“Mm, to a certain extent.”
“Amazing!”
Tang Tang: …
This silly kid, so easy to fool.
“But why did you blow such a big wind in the dorm building? Were you trying to sweep all the zombies away?” Tang Tang asked curiously.
“No, Zheng Xue told me to.”
Tang Tang almost couldn’t hold back a curse.
“What did he want to do?” Hold it in, don’t get angry. This was the time to gather intel, she had to hold it in.
“Don’t know, didn’t ask,” Jiang Chi said carelessly.
Tang Tang: …
This silly child, asking such an important question without even thinking about it?
Wasn’t he acting all arrogant? Why is he doing whatever others tell him to do?
Tang Tang wanted to pry for more information, but just then, they arrived at the supermarket.
The girl walking ahead stopped and turned around, saying, “There are people inside the supermarket, about ten of them, and a lot of zombies. They’re fighting.”
It was noon, and the rain that had been falling for days was gradually easing up. The wind had also calmed considerably, but the fog hadn’t dispersed. Tang Tang couldn’t see what was happening inside the supermarket, but standing there, she could faintly make out some sounds, likely the sounds of fighting the girl had mentioned.
So, should they go in now?
Tang Tang felt a bit like backing off.
She hadn’t been the one to suggest coming here in the first place. Although her perfume had just been replenished, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire. What if she accidentally got scratched by a zombie?
That was too risky.
But unexpectedly, before they could even decide whether to go in or not, the people inside came rushing out.
Charging out with them were countless zombies. The seven of them were standing right by the entrance, and almost instantly, they were caught in the chaos.
“Run!”
Tang Tang was about to flee when she heard Zheng Xue suddenly shout. She was just thinking about how surprising it was that he actually bothered to warn others instead of just saving himself, when she realized she couldn’t move her feet.
She instinctively glanced toward Zheng Xue and saw him flash her a sinister smile.
Fuck, she’d been set up!
She’d heard from Jiang Zhu earlier that Zheng Xue held grudges fiercely, and unreasonably at that. Tang Tang hadn’t quite understood before, but now she got it deeply.
Hadn’t he been the one to come at her with all that sarcasm first? She’d just fired back a few words in return, was that her fault? Fine, call it her bad luck.
Tang Tang was frustrated, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on it. She raised her knife and slashed at the thin thread wrapped around her legs.
But the thread wouldn’t cut!
Tang Tang refused to believe it. She crouched down and sawed at it with all her strength, but still couldn’t break it.
Luckily, though, since her scent was masked, aside from getting bumped by zombies at the start, she was safe afterward. Still, having her legs bound wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.
Zheng Xue.
Tang Tang repeated his name in her mind, feeling that between the two of them, it had come down to either his death or hers.
About ten minutes passed before things gradually calmed down again.
Because of the fog, Tang Tang couldn’t tell what had happened even a meter away. All she knew was that aside from a few eerie zombie screeches, she heard no more sounds of fighting.
Those people must have all escaped.
After all, in that brief moment when they’d been close, she’d seen sparks of fire on them, and even the crackle of thunder.
That was yet another new ability she’d witnessed, a crackling, sizzling sound carrying a more terrifying force than fire. When that person had run past her, the sheer intimidation made her worry they might accidentally misfire their ability and electrocute her on the spot.
But thankfully, they were too busy fleeing to even notice her pitiful state.
Once everything was quiet, the six who had run off came back, led by the girl.
Jiang Chi noticed Tang Tang, who had stayed behind instead of running, and asked outright, “Why didn’t you run?”
Tang Tang was annoyed.
I wish I could have.
Just as Jiang Chi spoke, the thin thread that her knife couldn’t cut was retracted.
Tang Tang’s legs were free, and she stood up. She thought for a moment about how to phrase it, then said, “Look, I’m fully capable of protecting myself. How about we just go our separate ways?”
Jiang Chi: “Suit yourself.”
Can it really be up to me?
Tang Tang sighed and turned her gaze to Zheng Xue. “Zheng Xue, what do you think?”
Zheng Xue said with false sincerity, “It’s safer to stay by our side, Miss Tang. Perhaps you should reconsider.”
Tang Tang thought to herself, I’m afraid if I stay here any longer, I won’t even know how I died.
Zheng Xue didn’t give her a chance to speak and continued, “Since the people and zombies in the supermarket have all run off, why don’t we go in and take a look?” He added at the end, “Miss Tang, you should come too. You haven’t eaten anything since morning, aren’t you hungry?”
Tang Tang’s internal alarm bells rang loudly. She felt he was scheming against her again and forced a smile. “Of course I’m hungry, but I’d rather go on my own.”
Jiang Chi had no interest in listening to the two of them talk and had already followed the girl into the supermarket, leaving just the two of them outside again.
Zheng Xue twitched his fingers and stepped closer to Tang Tang. “After you, Miss Tang?”
Tang Tang looked at the thin thread that had bound her again before she could even react, and she was so angry she could barely breathe.
“You’re really targeting me, aren’t you? Why?” she asked directly.
Zheng Xue glanced sideways at the hazy fog on the other side, then turned back to look at her. His tone was respectful, but his expression carried a hint of mockery.
“You may be the ex-girlfriend of the former Young Master Jiang, and if he hadn’t been kicked out, I would have had to address you as Madam in the future. Even so, I still remember our ‘old ties,’ so it’s only right that I show you some ‘special consideration.'”
Tang Tang: …
This sounded less like consideration and more like he was taking out his grudge against Jiang Zhu on her too, wasn’t it?
Wait, no—what girlfriend? They’d broken up days ago, hadn’t they?
“I think your sources are a bit out of date. Jiang Zhu and I broke up days ago.”
Tang Tang sighed and remarked, “I think there’s a misunderstanding here. Even if you hate Jiang Zhu, you can’t take it out on his ex-girlfriend, right? Treating me like this, I feel wronged.”
Zheng Xue, to her surprise, smiled at her, even softening his tone: “Why did Miss Tang break up with him? Weren’t you two deeply in love before?”
“What else could it be? He’s no longer the Young Master of the Jiang family, so of course I don’t want to like him anymore. People all care about benefits.”
Tang Tang flashed him a greedy, petty expression, giving the performance of a lifetime. She just hoped that, given how hard she was trying, he’d at least stop tying her up and let her go, okay?
“Miss Tang is right, people all care about benefits. So some people, without the support of their family, are just trash, right?” Zheng Xue asked.
Tang Tang: …
So this guy really was bitter about Jiang Zhu’s status, feeling inferior because he wasn’t a native of the Jiang family, and that had twisted his personality over time. He could only find joy by belittling others or scheming against them to elevate himself, right?
Tang Tang mentally apologized to Jiang Zhu countless times, she was truly sorry, but she might have to badmouth him again.
But she deliberately avoided the word ‘trash.’
She said, “If I hadn’t known he was part of the Jiang family back then, I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to be with him.”
Tang Tang paused, then added, “But it’s the apocalypse now, who knows how the Jiang family is doing?”
The Jiang family had a massive foundation and spanned many industries, but that was all pride from before the apocalypse. Now that the world had ended, even if the Jiang family had vast wealth, it probably wouldn’t matter, right?
At that, Zheng Xue’s face darkened for a split second, brief, but Tang Tang, who was watching him closely, caught it.
He was afraid of this question.
That was Tang Tang’s conclusion.
Why would he be afraid? Probably because he also thought the Jiang family was in a bad spot now.
After all, abilities were truly selective. Some people awakened them, even incredibly powerful ones. But others, no matter how much they prayed, could never gain one. That was something even the most powerful family couldn’t control, it really came down to fate.
Tang Tang felt her own fate was bad.
Why else was she in such a miserable situation?
Zheng Xue and his family had gone to great lengths to drive Jiang Zhu out, finally seizing the position of actual power in the Jiang family, only to be hit with the apocalypse. He must be feeling incredibly resentful, right?
And if he found out that Jiang Zhu had not only awakened a ridiculously strong ability but was thriving in the apocalypse, even destined to become the most powerful man, he’d probably lose his mind on the spot.
Tang Tang thought about it and actually started to feel a bit of sympathy for him.
He thought he’d finally succeeded, but reality kept dealing him blow after blow. There couldn’t be anything more despairing than that, right?
But the sympathy lasted only a moment. Tang Tang hadn’t forgotten how this man had treated her just now and before. It was either him or her, that wasn’t just empty talk.
“Why should Miss Tang worry about such things?” Zheng Xue said, pausing, then added, “How about we talk about Young Master Jiang Zhu instead?”
Tang Tang really wanted to beg this man to let her go.
How much trash-talking about Jiang Zhu did he need to hear before he was satisfied?
“Why? I don’t want to talk about this.” Tang Tang refused.
“Don’t say that, Miss Tang. Young Master Jiang Zhu was so good to you before, he’d be heartbroken to hear you speak this way. It’s just that since the apocalypse began, we haven’t seen him again. Who knows how he’s doing, whether he’s even still alive?”
Alive, and doing incredibly well!
Tang Tang took a deep breath: “Do you think I’d know? Besides, what’s the use of him being good to me before? What I want is good forever, not just for a while. Brief kindness fades eventually. Stop bringing this up in front of me, it really annoys me.”
The male lead obviously belonged to the female lead, what did that have to do with her, a cannon fodder character?
So, hurry up and let her go, let her go, okay!
Zheng Xue, once again acting out of character, smiled at her and said, “Miss Tang truly deserves your awakened wisdom ability. I believe that with you joining our six-person team, we’ll be unstoppable, and all difficulties will be easily resolved.”
Huh?
Tang Tang wondered if her ears were playing tricks on her.
“I said I want to…” Before she could even get the word ‘leave’ out, she was suddenly cut off by Zheng Xue.
“Miss Tang, although I know you dislike Young Master Jiang Zhu, I have to inform you that he is right beside us, listening to our conversation.”
What?!
Tang Tang froze.
Dumbfounded, stupefied, damn!
Tang Tang quickly turned her head to look, but there was still just fog a meter away, she couldn’t see anything at all. It had to be fake, this guy was definitely trying to scare her on purpose. So annoying, ahhh!
But the next second, from a spot where there had clearly been nothing just a meter away, several people suddenly walked out.
At the very front was the very person they’d been talking about, Jiang Zhu.
Jiang Zhu wore a black shirt that looked like it was still the same one from before the apocalypse. The originally smooth fabric had become creased and wrinkled, not at all like his former neat appearance.
His complexion didn’t look very good, and his expression was cold. She couldn’t tell whether he was angry from what she had just said, or whether he had already followed the plot’s footsteps and completed his personality transformation.
For some reason, she just had a premonition in her heart that it was because he was angry at her.
Tang Tang’s heart skipped a beat, then another.
She was about to cry.
No, no, what she said just now wasn’t what she truly meant, wu wu wu!
Tang Tang was crying like a dog inside, but on the surface she was steady as could be.
She even very calmly searched the crowd opposite for Yan Chen’s figure, but after looking for a long time, she didn’t see him??
Her brows furrowed. What was going on? How was Yan Chen gone? Could it be that after she was blown away, Yan Chen couldn’t hold them off and was taken by the zombies…
Impossible. Tang Tang shook her head. No matter what, Yan Chen was part of Jiang Zhu’s male lead group. How could he be gone that quickly? Then where did he go? Why couldn’t she see him…
While Tang Tang was pondering Yan Chen’s situation, the five people on the other side who had entered the supermarket early had been waiting for the two of them for so long without success, and finally came out again.
The first thing that came was Jiang Chi’s impatient voice: “Zheng Xue, what are you guys doing? Why haven’t you gone in yet?”
Then very quickly, those five people also arrived here.
The two groups, tentatively called teams, stood facing each other. On this side, including Tang Tang, there were seven people. On the other side, counting Jiang Zhu, there were six.
Among those six, Tang Tang recognized Jiang Zhu, Qin Zhang, and Qi Mu. There were also three other guys. Tang Tang had some impression of them, they were among the group she had encountered at the school gate after buying supplies outside, the same group that included Yan Chen.
Yan Chen was not among them.
As Tang Tang thought about this, her gaze found it hard to focus on any one point for a moment. Jiang Zhu just stared at the woman standing opposite him, covered in gear, yet looking somewhat distracted.
“Why are you here?” Jiang Chi was the first to break the silence. He looked at Jiang Zhu’s group opposite him and tilted his head up arrogantly. “Still alive, huh. I thought you’d all been dead long ago.”
Jiang Zhu completely ignored him, his gaze not leaving Tang Tang for even a moment.
Jiang Chi waited impatiently and was about to speak again, but Jiang Zhu moved.
He lifted his foot and walked toward Tang Tang, finally stopping in front of her. Tang Tang noticed a shadow suddenly fall before her and came back to her senses, slightly tilting her head up to look.
It was Jiang Zhu.
!
When had he gotten so close to her?!
Wait, why was he getting so close to her? Could it be that what she’d just said had dredged up bad memories, and now he wanted revenge, to grab her and throw her into a horde of zombies?
She wanted to cry. No, please! She was so innocent in all this! She’d risked her life guarding him for so many days!
Tang Tang instinctively took a step back.
“Come here.” Jiang Zhu saw that she seemed to be very afraid of him, and his eyes darkened again. He spoke in a low voice.
“…Wh-what for?” Tang Tang was frightened by his cold expression and took another step back, though she forced herself to stay calm on the surface.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhu reached out to grab her arm, but the movement startled Tang Tang again, and she immediately hugged both arms to her chest.
“Let’s talk this out properly. Don’t touch me first.”
Jiang Zhu repeated, “Come over to our side.”
Tang Tang still didn’t quite understand what he meant. Zheng Xue, who had been standing nearby for a while, spoke up.
“Young Master Jiang Zhu, Miss Tang is on our side now. Going over to your side would probably be very inconvenient.”
Hearing his voice, Tang Tang ground her teeth in her heart.
Zheng Xue must have known long ago that Jiang Zhu had arrived nearby, so he’d deliberately led her into saying those things for Jiang Zhu to hear.
As for how he’d known Jiang Zhu was nearby, Tang Tang guessed it probably had to do with his ability. After all, Zheng Xue had always been hiding his strength. She still didn’t know whether his ability, besides binding people, had many other uses.
In the end, she blamed herself. She hadn’t noticed anything and had fallen for it.
Tang Tang thought this to herself, opened her mouth, but in the end still didn’t explain.
Hearing this, Jiang Zhu turned his head and looked at him coldly. “Move.”
“Young Master Jiang Zhu…”
Jiang Zhu couldn’t be bothered to listen to his nonsense. He flipped his palm, and suddenly a surge of ability power shot toward him. It was so fast that by the time Zheng Xue was hit and sent flying a great distance, Tang Tang, standing off to the side, only just reacted.
Tang Tang was stunned.
She quickly turned to look, but within a meter of visible range, Zheng Xue’s figure was nowhere to be seen. That meant he’d been knocked beyond a meter?
Jiang Zhu’s ability had just awakened, and he was already this powerful? Or was Zheng Xue still hiding his strength and had deliberately let himself be hit…
Tang Tang didn’t know, but her legs were already starting to shake.
She’d just cursed him again. The next one to be sent flying wouldn’t be her, would it?
Suddenly, the arm she was hugging was grabbed.
!
Tang Tang shuddered and stiffly turned her head, meeting Jiang Zhu’s gaze. He was still repeating that sentence, and he was using force in his grip, trying to pull her toward the opposite side.
On the surface she was very calm, she even dared to look him in the eye, but in reality, she wanted to run.
“Jiang Zhu, having a woman like this make you act is too degrading for you. Leave her to us, we’ll teach her a lesson, guarantee she’ll regret saying those things!” From the male lead’s group on the opposite side, a guy shouted toward them.
Tang Tang looked in that direction and saw what he was showing in his hand: several knives.
The knives floated above his palm, handles facing handles, arranged in a circle. Because they were spinning, though not very fast, it was still a bit hard to tell at a glance exactly how many there were.
Could this also be an ability?
What kind of ability would this be, an ability to control objects? Surely these knives couldn’t also be something he’d conjured…
Tang Tang admired herself for still having the presence of mind to think about such things. She was sometimes just too brilliant, and before she knew it, she’d show off right into a trap.
Jiang Zhu felt the arm under his palm instantly stiffen and looked up, casting a cold glare at the guy who had spoken. But that guy didn’t seem to understand his meaning at all, still excitedly spinning the knives. It was Qin Zhang and Qi Mu beside him who understood, when Jiang Zhu made that expression at his own people, it basically meant he was angry.
They quickly reached out and grabbed the arm of the guy who was excited on his own.. “Don’t talk nonsense.”
They had woken up just before dawn, and the moment they realized Tang Tang was missing, they rushed out after her. On the way, they ran into the other three who were also fleeing. Since they knew each other from before, and the three trusted Jiang Zhu, they followed without a word.
And because they were so familiar with one another, and the three hadn’t asked what they were in such a hurry to find, just silently tagging along, they hadn’t bothered to explain. So those three had no idea that Tang Tang was on their side. The eight of them were the ones who were actually in the same group.
Qin Zhang regretted that he should have said more just now, at least introduced the situation first.
Now look what happened, it was probably even more awkward.
“What are you two doing?” Jiang Chi had been watching for a while and was long past impatient. He stepped forward, pointing at Tang Tang and Jiang Zhu.
“Didn’t you two break up? Why are you insisting on dragging her over?”
Jiang Chi simply couldn’t understand what these two were doing, especially Jiang Zhu. The video of this woman dumping him had spread like wildfire, she’d cursed him out that badly, and now he still wanted to pull her over. So he really liked her that much?
He glanced at Tang Tang and didn’t see what was so attractive about this woman wrapped head to toe in gear.
But those words, when they reached Jiang Zhu’s ears, meant something entirely different.
Jiang Zhu turned back to look at Tang Tang, his hand on her arm tightening.
Tang Tang noticed that cold gaze and felt completely innocent.
Look, why was he looking at her? She was being very quiet, she hadn’t said anything at all…
Tang Tang glanced again at the boy who had just spoken on the other side. The knife he was twirling still hadn’t been put away. Qin Zhang seemed to be grabbing his shoulder, trying to say something to him, but he didn’t look like he wanted to listen, instead, he was staring at her with an excited expression, spinning the knife even faster.
This guy was definitely thinking about how to slowly slice her apart with that knife.
Qin Zhang, annoyed by his behavior, smacked him on the back of the head and shouted, “Listen to me!”
Over here, Jiang Chi was being ignored again, and he wasn’t happy about it. He reached out to grab Tang Tang too, but before his hand could even touch her, a dark flash suddenly shot before his eyes, and the next moment, his hand was struck.
“Jiang Zhu, what the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?” He clutched his hand, injured by the ability, and cursed at Jiang Zhu.
Jiang Zhu didn’t respond. Tang Tang glanced at him and felt like his expression had turned even colder.
She thought to herself, Jiang Zhu today really seemed to be in a terrible mood. It looked like her cursing him today meant her life was in danger. She just didn’t know whether Jiang Zhu planned to deal with her himself or hand her over to that knife-spinning guy across the way. Either way, she was deeply saddened.
She, Tang Tang, was just that kind of tragic woman.
Zheng Xue, who had been sent flying earlier, walked back over.
Abilities…
So enviable.
If she had abilities, she wouldn’t have been so constrained by others before.
Tang Tang looked at Zheng Xue’s miserable state and felt no sympathy, only a stronger desire to have abilities of her own.
“Jiang Zhu, the ability you’ve awakened is very powerful, but I’m sorry, Miss Tang is on our side. You just heard her, Miss Tang really dislikes you. Please stop pestering her.”
Tang Tang didn’t understand why this guy just wouldn’t learn his lesson.
Fine, if he wouldn’t learn, that was his problem. But if he wanted to court death, why did he have to drag her into it?
Was he worried her situation wasn’t pitiful enough? She really thanked him for that. Sure enough, it was either him or her, there was no way this would end peacefully.
By now, Jiang Zhu had already pulled Tang Tang quite a distance, and they were almost at the male lead’s group.
But precisely because they’d gotten closer, she suddenly noticed that behind Qi Mu on the opposite side, it looked like someone was being carried on his back? Earlier, because of where she’d been standing, the distance between the two sides had been over a meter, so she couldn’t see clearly. Now, as she got closer, the clearer it became.
The person being carried… was it Yan Chen?
He wasn’t dead.
Phew—
Tang Tang let out a sigh of relief, her heart settling.
After all, this guy had been her teammate for so many days. They’d made it through all that time together, there was no way he wouldn’t survive the last day. Tang Tang was happy he was still alive, but then she quickly realized something.
Wait, looking at his current state, his whole body was tied up with rope, and even his head had been secured with rope. Was this… he’d awakened an ability too?
Ugh, where did this sudden sinking feeling come from?
They’d agreed to be ordinary people without abilities together, but Yan Chen had secretly leveled up.
Tang Tang was so heartbroken she could barely function, her heart truly ached, ached deeply. In the small space where she now stood, aside from herself, the seven people in the male lead’s group and the six on Jiang Chi’s side were all ability users. She really was the only ordinary person here.
Actually, she wasn’t ordinary, she had her hidden space. She just didn’t dare mention it right now…
Tang Tang comforted herself, but then another thought struck her.
Because she’d been blown away by the wind, Jiang Zhu and the others definitely hadn’t seen her when they woke up. If they hadn’t seen her, and if Yan Chen had already entered his awakened state by then, then without a doubt, he’d been unconscious. Being unconscious meant he couldn’t have explained to Jiang Zhu and the others that she hadn’t run away, she’d been blown away.
If that was the case, then in Jiang Zhu’s eyes, she was now the bad teammate who’d abandoned them and fled.
And if that wasn’t the case, then why would Jiang Zhu bring her to their group? Was he trying to thank her for staying by their side all these days?
Tang Tang didn’t know. Of course, if it was the latter, she’d be very happy.
But now, she glanced at Jiang Zhu’s cold, expressionless.
She caught a glimpse of his expression and the urge to ask directly faded.
Forget it, he’s in a bad mood right now, better not say anything.
Tang Tang’s mind wandered as she fully stepped into the male lead’s team. But clearly, aside from Qin Zhang and Qi Mu, the other three didn’t have much goodwill toward her.
The one who had been playing with the knife didn’t seem to have fully listened to Qin Zhang’s words, but the excitement on his face had dimmed considerably. Seeing her pulled over by Jiang Zhu, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but after a glance at Jiang Zhu and a tug from Qin Zhang, he ultimately said nothing and turned his head away.
From the expressions of Qin Zhang and Qi Mu, Tang Tang could basically tell that she was safe for now.
This meant that Yan Chen had only awakened his ability after telling them about her being blown away. But that didn’t lessen Tang Tang’s awkwardness at the moment, because she had indeed said bad things about Jiang Zhu, even if it was Zheng Xue’s deliberate setup, she had still said them.
And all six people here, including Jiang Zhu, had probably heard it.
Sigh, even if they wanted to thank her for guarding them all these days, they didn’t have to bring her into their team. She could really just hide outside on her own.
Maybe one day, in the dead of night, she would suddenly awaken her ability.
Tang Tang was lost in her daydream.
But suddenly, her mind flickered, followed by a wave of dizziness. Her steps faltered, and her body began to tilt to the side.
At that moment, a hand grabbed her and pulled her back, and immediately, a pair of strong arms steadied her.
She could even sense the gazes of everyone around her turning toward her because of her sudden condition.
But it was awkward, super awkward, because that dizzy, dazed feeling lasted only three short seconds. The moment those three seconds passed, her mind suddenly cleared again.
Yet now, she was lying in someone’s arms…
***
Translated by NightOwll
***