Bonus Bonanza (3/10)

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

As expected, Jiang Xingrui was about to leave with the surviving couple, thinking, “I can’t take this anymore.” But then, the unexpected happened.

“My name is Chen Tian, and my wife is E Yue. When we first arrived at this supermarket, there were five of us. Old Huang… unfortunately died during the fight with the zombies. The four of us took refuge in the hidden compartment behind the warehouse. Very soon—very soon—we heard Old Huang shouting from outside.”

After burying their child and returning home, the surviving couple began recounting their ordeal.

And what Lu Yao and the others were most concerned about—whether the zombies could speak.

The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, but it brought no warmth at all.

Jiang Xingrui asked, “Didn’t you see him die with your own eyes?”

His wife, E Yue, shook her head. Her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, and her face was pale. “We only saw him get grabbed by the zombies; we didn’t see him die. He was shouting from outside, telling me to let him come in, to hurry up, to open the door quickly…”

She shuddered, her shoulders trembling, as if something were stuck in her throat.

Lu Yao said, “But by then he must have already been bitten by a zombie. If we’d let him in, he would have been infected and turned into one, right?”

Chen Tianxiang was trembling: “We didn’t know back then that people could be infected and turn into zombies. Besides, we thought that even if that were the case, we couldn’t just leave him out there to die alone. So… so we broke down the door…” He shuddered.

Qin Ye was so scared his teeth were chattering.

Creak, creak, creak. They even added sound effects.

E Yue finished his story for him: “But Old Huang was already a zombie. He… he kept shouting for me to let him in while lunging toward the door… Old Li died trying to block him, and my son—my son—was scratched by him because of that…”

As she spoke, her voice grew fainter and fainter, until finally all that remained was a tremor in her chest.

Lu Yao drew the curtains shut and turned on the rechargeable desk lamp in the room.

The light cast shadows of varying depths across everyone’s faces.

No one said a word, but a chill crept into everyone’s hearts.

Zombies—they can speak, and they can even lure them right in…

That’s just too terrifying…

“Even though it was just a small scratch, there was nothing we could do. It started with a fever, so I risked going out to find antibiotics, but they didn’t work. Then white spots appeared on his body, and on the fourth day…”

Lu Yao:“……”

Lu Yao: “Wait, are you saying he had a fever, and then white spots appeared?”

E Yue paused for a moment: “Yeah.”

Lu Yao rolled up his sleeve.

There was a white patch on his arm.

……

……

Qin Ye let out a scream: “Ah!!!”

Jiang Xingrui’s gaze darkened; he spun the blade at his wrist and coldly aimed it at Lu Yao. The surviving couple froze for a moment, then instinctively reached for the tools at their side.

Qin Ye let out another loud scream and leaped forward to block Lu Yao’s path: “Don’t—don’t you dare hurt the boss! If you want to hurt him, you’ll have to step over my dead body first!” As he spoke, his words were slurred and spit flew from his mouth, for he was still reeling from the fear he’d just experienced.

Jiang Xingrui said coldly, “Once he turns into a zombie, you’ll be the first one he bites.” Then it dawned on him: “So that’s it—all your behavior is because the zombie virus has fried your brain!”

Lu Yao was clearly displeased: “What are you talking about? Have you forgotten when you were so deeply impressed by me that you were practically bowing down in admiration?!”

Qin Ye: “Exactly! The boss has always been like this—I can vouch for it!” 

Jiang Xingrui: “……”

Jiang Xingrui felt a sharp pain in his brain.

It was as if the zombie virus were attacking his brain.

He had no choice but to drop the subject and switch to a more useful topic: “What exactly happened? Was it that time with the Level IV zombie? I remember you got hurt.”

Lu Yao: “Most likely.”

Jiang Xingrui: “Given the toxicity of a Level IV zombie, you should have turned into one the very next day… Oh, right—you ate a green rice dumpling beforehand to suppress the zombie virus.” He was clearly very skilled at piecing together the fragments of information, deducing the truth in just a few words.

Lu Yao nodded: “Yes, the green rice dumplings suppressed the infection from lower-level zombies, but clearly, a Level IV zombie isn’t a lower-level zombie. So what they did was delay the viral infection…”

This was a conclusion Lu Yao had just reached.

Jiang Xingrui frowned and asked, “Didn’t you notice anything off about yourself?”

Lu Yao: “I did feel a little hot at night, but I thought it was just because I was sleeping next to Qin Ye and felt the heat radiating off him.”

Qin Ye screamed, “Boss! Don’t do that!” He hurriedly ran behind Jiang Xingrui. It was supposed to be a tense moment.

But because of Lu Yao’s interruption, the atmosphere was suddenly filled with a sense of absurdity.

Lu Yao suddenly broke into a drooling grin: “Xingrui…”

Jiang Xingrui shuddered: “What are you doing?”

Lu Yao chuckled and leaned in: “You were injured back then, but you’re okay now—that means you have something that can resist the zombie virus, right?

“…”

The surviving couple’s eyes widened. Was there really such a thing?

Jiang Xingrui took a step back: “I do have it, but it has to be used right after getting injured.”

Lu Yao leaned in closer: “Hehehe, so you must have a way to treat me now, right?”

Jiang Xingrui hesitated for a moment: “Yes.”

Lu Yao rolled down his sleeve: “Then maybe we can negotiate…”

Lu Yao had originally planned to finish the Labor Day event first, and then deal with the Torch Dragon Organization.

His system was incredibly powerful, and he didn’t want to expose its capabilities. The daily prize draws were a must; living alone was fine, but if he joined an organization, explaining where he got the items he’d drawn would be a hassle.

So, in his plan, before joining an organization, he intended to first help Qin Ye awaken his superpowers. But this sudden turn of events had thrown all his plans into disarray.

The method Jiang Xingrui described could only be carried out at the Torch Dragon’s base. So Lu Yao said, “Then take me to the Torch Dragon!”

Jiang Xingrui’s expression grew even more hesitant.

Lu Yao: “You’ve been investigating for so long, and you still haven’t finished?”

E Yue said, “Isn’t it precisely because the investigation has taken so long that you can’t make a decision…”

Jiang Xingrui immediately nodded.

Lu Yao felt embarrassed: “Aren’t I pretty capable? Do you feel insecure being with me?”

The surviving couple exchanged glances.

Lu Yao’s expression turned menacing: “I’m the one who found you!”

Jiang Xingrui couldn’t stand it anymore and pulled Lu Yao aside: “What on earth are you doing? Why do you have to threaten people no matter what? Never mind—let’s just take you to get treated first.”

Clearly, Jiang Xingrui didn’t want to bring Lu Yao—that troublemaker—back to Torch Dragon.

According to the original plan, if Jiang Xingrui couldn’t make a decision after observing him for a while, he would return to Torch Dragon to report the situation. A survivor organization like Torch Dragon required far less vetting to accept ordinary people; after all, even if an ordinary person harbored malicious intentions, the harm they could cause was limited, and Torch Dragon was confident it could keep them under control.

But with an oddball like Lu Yao—who, to make matters worse, possessed unknown, mysterious powers—caution was absolutely necessary. Yet what now stood before Jiang Xingrui was a human life.

Oh, or perhaps two.

He had no idea what kind of spell Lu Yao had cast on Qin Ye, but Lu Yao was as good as dead—Qin Ye would most likely follow suit and do something stupid. At that thought, Jiang Xingrui’s teeth began to ache.

He looked up at Lu Yao, who was smiling sweetly at him.

On the surface, he looked quite presentable—even a little handsome—but on the inside… well…

The distance from here to the Torch Dragon Organization is a two-hour ride on a motorcycle, but on foot, it would probably take a whole day. “Then let’s plan for two days,” Lu Yao said.

Jiang Xingrui: “One day is enough; we’re strong enough. If you’re still worried, I can take you back to Torch Dragon for treatment first.”

Lu Yao had just chatted with the system, which generously displayed his stats.

【Status: Infected with the zombie virus】

【Countdown: 5 days】

The time limit didn’t seem particularly urgent.

“Oh, right. Just in case, I have to ask—how long does it take to cure the zombie virus?” Lu Yao asked.

Jiang Xingrui replied, “About six hours.”

Lu Yao: “Okay, then that’s settled. Let’s pack plenty of food—we’ll still have two days left. I’d like to do some Labor Day activities on the way.”

Jiang Xingrui:“……”

Jiang Xingrui was genuinely stunned: “You really are reckless!”

Lu Yao: “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” Then he looked up, pressed his hand to his forehead, and said solemnly, “There are always some things that matter more than life itself.”

Then Jiang Xingrui smacked him right on the forehead. “Get lost.”

They decided to set out first thing tomorrow morning.

It was already afternoon, and they should have been packing supplies, but Lu Yao insisted on going out to continue his Labor Day mission. Having already completed three acts of kindness, Lu Yao planned to finish the remaining two today.

Jiang Xingrui refused to go out with Lu Yao, so Lu Yao had no choice but to take Qin Ye along. Then Lu Yao cast an expectant glance at the surviving couple.

The surviving couple: …

After a long silence, Chen Tian steeled himself and stepped forward: “I’ll follow you, benefactor.”

Lu Yao slammed the table and burst out laughing: “Where did this classical-style young scholar come from?!”

Jiang Xingrui: “Haha.” Alright, that nickname would’ve been fine otherwise, but now that he’d been made to laugh… E Yue pressed her hand to her forehead and smiled helplessly.

Chen Tian coughed violently: “Um… Boss, I think we should go.”

He felt it wasn’t appropriate for someone of his status to address him by name, so he followed Qin Ye’s lead and called him “Boss”

Lu Yao didn’t object to the title: “Alright, let’s get going.” Time was of the essence, so they hurried off to do their good deed.

Fully equipped, Lu Yao and the others headed outside. As they went downstairs, Lu Yao casually struck up a conversation: “Chen Tian, what do you do for a living?” 

Chen Tian: “I’m a low-level office worker, and my wife is a supermarket cleaner.”

Lu Yao:!

Lu Yao’s eyes lit up, and he bounded up the stairs.

Back at home, E Yue was busily packing supplies. She was a little nervous, so she didn’t dare to sit still.

Although she knew these benefactors… um… these bigwigs seemed like good people, they all acted a bit erratically, so she was still a little nervous.

The pain of losing her son wouldn’t disappear overnight, of course, but now that he was laid to rest, coupled with the baffling behavior of these bigwigs, she felt she didn’t have time to dwell on her son just yet.

She hadn’t studied psychology, but she had a vague sense that this current state—being filled with other emotions—had eased the heavy pain in her heart considerably. It wasn’t that the pain was gone; it was just that she could catch her breath for a moment, so she wouldn’t be completely overwhelmed by grief.

She’ll leave the rest to time.

This was the reason Jiang Xingrui didn’t stop Lu Yao’s outburst.

He found that Lu Yao was actually quite reliable when it came to serious matters. Just then, the door slammed shut.

Lu Yao stood at the doorway, panting. “What’s going on?” Jiang Xingrui asked.

Lu Yao turned to E Yue and asked loudly, “Are you the janitor?” E Yue paused for a moment, then nodded. “Uh, yes.”

Lu Yao called out loudly, “Happy Labor Day! Thanks for all your hard work!”

After saying that, Lu Yao stared into space for a second (actually looking at his quest panel), then turned and ran off.

The security door slammed shut.

E Yue:“……”

First time’s a stranger, second time’s a friend—E Yue expertly put on a bewildered expression. 

Jiang Xingrui: “……”

Is he… reliable… when it comes to serious business?

No… that’s taking it a bit too far, isn’t it…