Chapter 7

Just as the man and plant were cooperating happily, a familiar ringtone suddenly sounded. Ye Jingyan quickly pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. Seeing “Mom” on the caller display, he immediately slipped into a secluded alley, dispatched several zombies coming toward him as quickly as possible, then stood with his back against the wall facing the alley entrance and answered the call.
“Jingyan! Are you all right?” The instant the call connected, Ye Wanyi’s anxious voice came through amid the static caused by signal interference. “Are you still at school? The streets in B City are full of… full of…”
Ye Jingyan naturally heard the fear and worry in his mother’s voice and hurried to reassure her. “Mom, I’m fine. I’m very safe, so don’t worry. How are you now?”
Ye Wanyi clearly relaxed once she knew her son was safe. Her voice trembled as she said, “I’m fine too. I’m hiding at home and don’t dare go outside. Edison came over early this morning. With him here, I feel much safer… Fortunately, I listened to you last night and bought a lot of food. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t know what to do.”
She paused, then asked hesitantly, “Jingyan, everything outside is in chaos now. A lot of people are… eating people. Is this the new infectious disease you mentioned yesterday? But what happened with the meteor shower last night? Is it also… like this where you are?”
Before Ye Jingyan could answer, a boy of around fifteen or sixteen suddenly ran into the alley in panic. When he saw someone standing inside talking on the phone, he instinctively tried to turn around and leave, but the alley entrance had already been blocked by the zombies following him. With no other choice, the boy looked at the weapon in Ye Jingyan’s hand and the several zombies already lying on the ground, gritted his teeth, and ran toward Ye Jingyan with an apologetic expression.
“Yes, Mom. This disaster is global, so it’s the same here.” Ye Jingyan casually knocked down the two zombies following the boy, did not even look at him, and continued gently reassuring his mother. “Mom, don’t worry. I’m safe right now, and I’ll find a way back to B City as soon as possible. Until then, you must protect yourself. Try not to go outside, and absolutely do not let a zombie scratch you. Understand?”
After thinking for a moment, he added uneasily, “I don’t think the current chaos can be brought under control anytime soon. B City may lose water and electricity in a few days. Do you have enough food and clean water stored?”
Hearing her son’s words, Ye Wanyi quickly said, “Don’t worry. I bought a great deal last night, enough to last several months. And Edison will stay here and take care of me, so you don’t need to worry… Son, you must protect yourself over there. Don’t rush to return to B City. No matter what happens, Mom only wants you to be safe… Your safety is the most important thing, understand?”
After repeatedly promising that he would be careful, Ye Jingyan hesitated before asking, “Mom, do you… know someone named Li Xuemei?”
Ye Wanyi was startled by the question, then shook her head. “No, I don’t. I’ve never heard that name before. What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly asking?”
The unexpected answer made Ye Jingyan frown in confusion. His mother did not sound as though she was lying. She truly did not know Li Xuemei. If that was the case, then the conflict between the two women in his previous life could not have come from an old grudge. Why, then, had that woman brought people to beat his mother so severely that she died? Had his mother offended her unintentionally?
But according to his aunt, his mother had barely left the house after the apocalypse began. In B City, ability users and ordinary people also lived in strictly separated areas. No matter how he looked at it, the two women should never have interacted enough to develop such hatred… Could Feng Zijun have been behind it after all?
But at that time, Feng Zijun should have believed Ye Jingyan was already dead. He should also have been spending every ounce of effort trying to improve his position in Thunder Society. There was no reason for him to use such a method against Ye Jingyan’s mother, an ordinary woman who posed no threat whatsoever…
The strangeness of the matter drove Ye Jingyan’s thoughts into a dead end. After a moment, he shook his head and decided not to dig deeper for now. Since he could find no answer, he might as well set the question aside. In his previous life, Lei Ming and the others had not arrived in B City until a year later. As long as Ye Jingyan returned home before then, it would be enough.
Besides, nothing had happened yet in this life. Worrying excessively about hypothetical disasters would only torment him. No matter what, he would absolutely never allow anyone to hurt his mother this time.
“Jingyan! Jingyan…” When Ye Wanyi heard her son fall silent for so long, she asked worriedly, “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
His mother’s voice pulled Ye Jingyan out of his thoughts. He hurriedly cast aside the questions circling his mind and warned her instead, “It’s nothing, Mom. I was only asking casually. Also, during this period, absolutely do not let anyone know you have a large stockpile of food. Try not to get into conflict with anyone. If someone treats you unfairly, endure it for now. We’ll deal with everything after I get back, understand?”
After receiving his mother’s affirmative answer, Ye Jingyan also told Ye Wanyi that the meteors which had suddenly fallen contained enormous amounts of radiation, and that the radiation could interfere with mobile-phone signals. He told her not to worry and promised that once the situation improved, he would find a way to contact her again. Only then did he reluctantly end the call, still full of concern.
But since his mother had survived the sudden outbreak in his previous life, then in this life—with his warning, the supplies she had stored in advance, and Edison’s protection—she should be able to last until he returned to B City even more easily, right?
After reassuring himself, Ye Jingyan calmed down slightly and began walking out of the alley.
The boy had been standing quietly to one side while Ye Jingyan spoke on the phone. Seeing that he was about to leave without saying a word, the boy immediately called anxiously, “Hey! Please wait!”
Ye Jingyan ignored him and continued forward as though he had not heard. The boy hurried after him. “Hey! Um… sir! Please wait! I want to say a few things to you.”
“Shut up!” Ye Jingyan turned around with an unhappy expression. The surrounding screams and his worry over his mother had left him irritated. Looking coldly at the anxious boy, he said, “These zombies are extremely sensitive to sound and the smell of living people. If you want to die, go ahead and shout even louder!”
The boy immediately covered his mouth with both hands. Then he lowered his head guiltily and said softly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know… And I didn’t deliberately lead those zombies to you just now… By the time I saw you standing in the alley, it was already too late… Thank you for saving me.”
Ye Jingyan knew the boy was telling the truth, because he had clearly seen him try to turn around and change his escape route the instant he entered the alley. That was also why Ye Jingyan had chosen to help him.
But Ye Jingyan did not believe for a moment that the boy had stopped him merely to apologise and thank him. Wanting to avoid unnecessary trouble, he silently nodded to show that he understood, then turned and continued walking.
The boy seemed intimidated by how efficiently Ye Jingyan had killed the zombies earlier, and he had also noticed the impatience in Ye Jingyan’s eyes. Although he clearly had more to say, he did not dare speak again and simply followed behind Ye Jingyan in silence.
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After that, Ye Jingyan’s actions seemed no different from before: move forward—kill zombies—move forward—kill zombies. The only difference was the cautious little tail following behind him.
But no matter who you were, being openly followed by a stranger while clearly feeling that person’s gaze fixed on you was unpleasant, even if you knew they had no malicious intentions.
So after the situation continued for a while, Ye Jingyan finally became annoyed. He chose a relatively safe corner, dispatched the surrounding zombies with several quick strikes, then abruptly turned around. His sharp gaze landed on the boy’s face. “Why are you following me?!”
The boy jumped at Ye Jingyan’s sudden turn and harsh tone, shrinking slightly. But remembering that Ye Jingyan had helped him earlier and had tolerated his following until now, he steadied himself and gathered his courage. “I want to ask you for help…”
As expected…
Ye Jingyan snorted inwardly.
He did not give the boy a chance to continue and rejected him outright. “Not interested. Leave.” Then he turned and continued forward.
The boy stared in disbelief for a moment after being rejected, then hurried around and blocked Ye Jingyan’s path again. Pleading, he said, “Wait, sir. Please help me. I need to go home and save my mother.”
Ye Jingyan glared at him irritably. “Your business has nothing to do with me. Do whatever you want, but stop bothering me!”
“Please, sir.” Even after being rejected, the boy refused to give up. As though clutching his final lifeline, he continued begging Ye Jingyan. “I escaped from school around midnight yesterday. Whenever I encountered those monsters along the way, I hid, so it took most of the night just to get this far… But there are more and more zombies on the streets now. I really can’t do it alone. You’re so strong—please help me and take me home.”
Looking at the boy’s worried face, Ye Jingyan suddenly felt something inside him stir. Had he not once worried about his own mother far away in B City with exactly the same desperation? The only difference was that he had not been as fortunate as the boy in front of him. Back then, he had not even had anyone he could beg for help…
But if he helped this boy, could it create trouble for him? Human hearts were impossible to predict. Who could guarantee the boy would not become another Feng Zijun?
Seeing Ye Jingyan stare at him in silence, the boy realised he seemed to be wavering. He was intelligent by nature and immediately continued pleading. “Please… I just called my mother. She said several servants at home turned into zombies and trapped her inside a room. There are so many zombies on the streets now that I can’t get home alone, and even if I make it back, I can’t rescue her by myself… So please, help me save her.”
He continued urgently, “My name is Wang Xiao. My father is Wang Tao, chief of staff of the S City Military Region. He isn’t home now, but I believe he’ll send people to rescue us very soon… I promise, I only want you to help me get home and save my mother. After that, I absolutely won’t trouble you with anything else… Please…” He lifted his head and looked expectantly at Ye Jingyan.
Wang Tao, chief of staff of the S City Military Region?
Ye Jingyan froze at Wang Xiao’s words. He had not been anyone important in his previous life, but he had heard of Wang Tao. During the later apocalypse, the country had been divided into southern, northern, and central regions along the two great river systems. The south was densely populated, making it far more dangerous after the apocalypse than the central and northern regions. Several years later, in particular, many powerful zombies and mutated creatures appeared there, competing with humanity for land and survival resources.
Compared with the developed and relatively stable north, the south remained in a state of near-anarchy until one day, a powerful organisation called the Ironblood Society stepped forward and led the establishment of the south’s largest safe zone. From then on, the people of the south gradually reversed their disadvantage and regained a foothold on familiar land. The chairman of the Ironblood Society was said to have been Wang Tao, the former chief of staff of the S City Military Region.
But Ye Jingyan did not remember hearing anything in his previous life about Wang Tao’s wife or son…
At that thought, Ye Jingyan studied Wang Xiao from head to toe. He was around fifteen or sixteen, thin, clean-cut and scholarly-looking, with black-framed glasses. Under Ye Jingyan’s gaze, he appeared somewhat uneasy, perfectly matching the image of an obedient, well-behaved student.
Then Ye Jingyan remembered Wang Xiao’s earlier timid and cautious expressions and sighed inwardly. It seemed very likely that in his previous life, Wang Xiao and his mother had failed to survive until reinforcements arrived…
So should he help them now? If the boy’s father really was Wang Tao…