The Beautiful Top Being Pursued Relentlessly [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 22

Mean Xie Cheng.

Stupid Jiang Yi.

Their gazes met softly, like brilliant stars reflected in a still pond, rippling gently under a long-awaited breeze.

Stupid Jiang Yi leaned forward ever so slightly, his cheeks squishing comfortably against Mean Xie Cheng’s fingers, forming two dimples custom-made by Xie Cheng’s own hands. Jiang Yi looked up at him and, as he had many times before, broke into a wide, silly grin.

Still as dorky as ever.

Xie Cheng’s eyes were glued to something soft—not light and airy, but heavy and solid.

“Xie Cheng.”

Jiang Yi mouthed his name. He embraced his “Immortal,” leaning his entire weight into him as if he were setting up home on Xie Cheng’s body. “When we get back, you have to carry me on your back, too.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable request.

“Mm,” Xie Cheng agreed.

Jiang Yi lit up instantly. The fatigue from his earlier running vanished, and he felt full of drive again. He flexed his arm and said, “Xie Cheng, how about we go catch that Level 4 zombie?”

“That zombie’s level might be higher than it appears,” Xie Cheng noted.

“No problem.” Jiang Yi bumped his shoulder against Xie Cheng’s, overflowing with confidence. “With the two of us joined together, we’re the strongest in the apocalypse. There isn’t a zombie we can’t take down.”

Xie Cheng turned away, staring at the closed sensor door of the laboratory, thinking out loud. “Furthermore, that zombie has likely developed self-awareness.”

Jiang Yi was stunned. “Self-awareness?” Does that mean it’s turning back into a human?

“Not in the way you’re thinking.” Xie Cheng shot him a look. “You should view it as an entirely new vessel. Developing self-awareness only makes it more powerful.”

“Still, it’s no match for us.”

“If that zombie didn’t die back then, it means it was deliberately faking death in Lab 2. It’s incredibly cunning.”

Recalling the scene in Lab 2, Jiang Yi felt a pang of lingering fear. He had been busy with other things then, leaving Xie Cheng alone in the corner. Fortunately…

He muttered to himself, “It must have been my rock-hard fists and my overwhelming fire ability that intimidated it.”

Xie Cheng:  Xie Cheng: “It was biding its time.”

Jiang Yi showed off his “rock-hard fists” to Xie Cheng, practically hypnotizing himself. “It must be so.”

Xie Cheng:  Whatever you say.

“So, Xie Cheng, where do you think we can find it?” Jiang Yi’s brows pulled low, his clenched fists bumping together. “We have to drag that monster out and expose these lunatics.”

The disaster had shattered the world’s peace, and humans were already struggling enough just to survive. He would never allow people to continue harming their own kind, even if they slapped a grand, righteous excuse on it.

Xie Cheng patted his shoulder. “We will.”

At the very least, on the surface, no one would dare break the rules they themselves had established to maintain public order.

“As for where to find it” A mocking smile flickered across Xie Cheng’s lips, so brief it was gone in an instant. His fingertip lightly scratched under Jiang Yi’s chin. “Do you know what the first thing an oppressed slave does after escaping his cage?”

Jiang Yi instinctively lowered his head, his chin nuzzling against Xie Cheng’s finger. “What?”

“He kills his master and becomes the master himself.”

“Master” Jiang Yi whispered.

Xie Cheng’s expression turned indifferent as he recalled Dr. Ming mentioning “commands.” “Naive. Foolish. Once a monster regains consciousness, the first thing it does is shred the commands that limit its freedom.”

“So, we just wait here?”

“Exactly.”

Jiang Yi nodded obediently. They would wait for the zombie to come to them.

****

The corridor was empty. Very few people dared to disturb the lab’s rightful owner.

The power facilities were sophisticated and the equipment advanced; as the premiere stronghold in the original plot, Rising Sun Base certainly had the resources.

Xiao Yu, as the darling of the Heavenly Dao, was like a “Mary Sue” protagonist constantly leveling up, receiving high-end gear, and having people throw themselves at him. oh wait, he wasn’t that person anymore.

Xie Cheng sat with his legs crossed, leaning loosely against the cold wall. A few stray strands of silver hair slid off his shoulder, which he idly twisted into a ball with his fingers.

At his feet, Jiang Yi sat on the floor, drawing circles with his finger and muttering, “When we get back, I’m going to find a really comfortable air-cushion brush.”

He spoke loudly enough for Xie Cheng to hear on purpose.

“And a bottle of fragrant shampoo.” “And conditioner. After rinsing with fresh water, I’ll coat all of Xie Cheng’s hair in it.”

Xie Cheng nudged his leg with his toe. “Don’t put that nonsense on me.”

“It comes with a scalp massage,” Jiang Yi tempted.

“Just once. If it doesn’t work, you’re not allowed to use that stuff again.”

“What counts as ‘working’?”

“Guess.”

“Let me guess”

Drip. drop.

A viscous liquid could no longer hang on and fell, leaving a stain on the clean floor.

Xie Cheng’s gaze dropped. His eyes fixed on that sudden splash of red for a moment, his pupils darkening instantly. Yet, his face showed no emotion; not even his brow twitched.

Above them. About a few inches off-center.

The sound of wind rose, and a black shadow flickered past. A sharp, blood-stained long nail lunged straight for his throat.

Close, lock.

Xie Cheng maintained his posture, tilting his head slightly. The blood-scented claw grazed his neck, shearing off a few stray hairs.

“Caught you.”

Xie Cheng raised his right hand and precisely clamped onto the zombie’s wrist. With ruthless force, a series of muffled bone-cracking sounds followed as he slammed the shadow into the wall.

“Zombie!” Jiang Yi shouted.

The Level 4 zombie was gruesome; its flesh was mostly corroded, hanging loosely off its white bones. Its body was incomplete; the left leg ended in only half a calf. Like a gecko dropping its tail to survive, as soon as Xie Cheng’s grip tightened, the creature’s bloodshot eyes bulged, and it forcibly tore off its own left arm.

Splat—!

Foul liquid sprayed out. Jiang Yi jumped, dodging clumsily before scrambling up and throwing a fireball.

“It got away.”

Xie Cheng leaned down and grabbed Jiang Yi’s arm.

“Are we still going in?” Jiang Yi asked, panting.

Beneath long, thick lashes, Xie Cheng’s eyes were like ancient, frozen pools. They didn’t focus on Jiang Yi, but stared silently at the blood on the wall.

No, it was more than that. It was something harder to describe. He was unnervingly calm, devoid of all emotion.

Jiang Yi saw two words in his eyes: Destruction.

*****

High-level zombies have unimaginable healing abilities, but they require a long time. Right now, it was undoubtedly at its weakest. A monster that had just gained self-awareness had learned its first lesson: greed.

While hunting its “master,” it had been lured by the “food” along the way, only to be nearly killed and forced to flee.

A hideous drag mark was left on the floor. Xie Cheng followed the trail unhurriedly. He used an iron rod from his space to smash the sensor equipment of the door and walked in leisurely amidst the blaring alarms.

“Xie Cheng.” Jiang Yi followed with small steps. “Do you feel like it’s a bit too quiet here?”

“It is very quiet.”

“Where are those two guys?”

“Dragged away by the zombie,” Xie Cheng replied casually.

“Huh?” Jiang Yi squeezed a fireball in his hand. “That fast? If the zombie ate them, will it recover immediately? Will it be impossible to kill?”

Amidst the low whispers, Xie Cheng stopped. He heard a dense series of impacts approaching, mingled with the ear-piercing alarms. It wasn’t clear, but it was there.

“Idiot, get back here.”

Xie Cheng’s arm transformed into a powerful root, wrapping around Jiang Yi’s waist and yanking him back. Where Jiang Yi had been standing, several withered hands clawed at the floor, making a spine-chilling, screeching sound.

Outside the sensor door, countless overlapping shadows swarmed in. They wore tattered white lab coats, their skin a deathly grey. Compared to ordinary zombies, their bodies were more distorted, their mutation more complete.

In an instant, the two were completely surrounded.

Jiang Yi’s skin crawled with goosebumps. He leaned against Xie Cheng’s upright back. “So many zombies.”

Xie Cheng didn’t respond. As the cold air, thick with rot, filled his lungs, his face turned a bloodless, translucent white. His five senses seemed isolated by an invisible membrane. His body felt heavy, sinking continuously.

Those distant prayers returned to his ears, repeating over and over. They begged him. They pressured him. Those still struggling spoke of agony, looking toward a deity that could protect them.

But he wasn’t that.

Survival is a desire; survival is an instinct. But when desire is stripped away and instinct is extinguished, they become like the walking dead rotting wood in a dry well, yet they still looked to him.

And so, they made a deal. He would end their pain. They would offer their life force to the World Tree.

But he had lied to them, and to himself. Leading them to a new life didn’t mean an end; nothing in the human world can be completely erased. Including pain.

****

“Xie Cheng…”

The snarling of zombies from moments ago was now a brief memory. The floor was littered with grotesquely shaped corpses. Every single one had been killed in a single strike.

Xie Cheng, who had ended it all, stood in place with his head down. Blood dripped steadily from his fingertips.

Jiang Yi called his name softly again, rushing forward to support Xie Cheng’s body, letting him lean against his shoulder.

“What’s wrong, Xie Cheng?” Jiang Yi’s voice trembled, tinged with a sob as he cautiously took Xie Cheng’s hand.

“The 2,582nd time”

“What?” Jiang Yi brushed a stray hair from Xie Cheng’s forehead, tucking it behind his ear, then cupped his face. “Wake up, it’s okay now. It’s all over.”

Xie Cheng murmured, “Over.”

“Yes, yes, it’s over.”

The crimson tint in Xie Cheng’s pupils slowly faded. He let go, and the iron rod, covered in filth, clattered to the floor. He stared at Jiang Yi.

“It’s over,” Jiang Yi repeated.

“Jiang Yi.”

“I’m here. I’m Jiang Yi.”

Xie Cheng pursed his dry lips, his body swaying before he fell into Jiang Yi’s arms.

“It’s over,” Jiang Yi said, stroking his back.

“Jiang Yi”

“What is it?”

“Is the fruit ripe?”

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