The Male Leads Who Are Becoming Stranger and Stranger [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Let’s go to the west gate bike shed; I have a car there.”

As they bypassed the sparsely populated small woods, Zhou Yi suddenly spoke up.

“Besides, looking at the world now, transportation like long-distance trains is probably mostly paralyzed. Those are high-density population areas.”

Zhou Yi’s appearance belonged to the sunny and handsome type, which was quite deceptive, but there was no denying that his words made a lot of sense. Jian Yan and She Yi, being orphans with low financial resources, obviously couldn’t own something high-end like a car.

Therefore, Jian Yan nodded.

The apocalypse had arrived a day earlier than in his previous life, so there were more things to consider, such as a means of transport.

Jian Yan was actually quite glad he had brought Zhou Yi along at this moment. Of course, he could have just hijacked any car on the roadside, but the apocalypse had only just begun, and total chaos hadn’t fully set in yet.

So, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

She Yi followed behind the two silently. The discussion of plans wasn’t his place to speak, so he observed the apocalyptic scenes outside the woods with great interest.

Small parks were generally sacred grounds for couples’ dates.

She Yi’s sharp eyes spotted a young couple hidden in the bushes performing a “sacred exchange of saliva.” Their clothes were disheveled, and just as they seemed about to go further, the girl facing She Yi’s direction suddenly became dull-eyed. Her eyeballs eerily slanted toward the neck of the person in front of her, and she abruptly opened her mouth and bit down.

A tragic scream rang out, followed by flesh and blood flying everywhere, a gruesome sight.

The female zombie wobbled away, leaving behind a pile of mangled human bones and meat on the ground.

The scream caught the attention of Jian Yan and Zhou Yi. Their gazes swept over; the former remained unperturbed, while the latter’s expression sharpened, actually observing the pile of shredded meat with a hint of curiosity.

Then, Zhou Yi vomited.

“You’ll get used to it,” Jian Yan said, but the corner of his eye drifted toward She Yi in the back. Seeing the other’s deathly pale face and trembling, fearful appearance, his brow couldn’t help but furrow slightly. A suppressed, low cold snort leaked from his throat.

Turning his head, he glimpsed an unidentified object suddenly lunging from behind a large tree at the corner. Jian Yan almost reflexively prepared to kick it away.

However, a sudden force from behind unexpectedly slammed him to the other side. He staggered for several steps before stabilizing himself. His face darkened, and as he looked back with a sinister gaze, he froze for a moment upon seeing the expression on that person’s face.

Despite his body trembling with fear, he stubbornly endured his inner terror and stood in front of him as a shield.

A hint of complexity, perhaps unnoticed even by himself, entered Jian Yan’s eyes.

Just as the zombie lunged again, seeing She Yi with his eyes tightly shut as if prepared to die together with the monster, Jian Yan out of some unknown impulse grabbed the man and pulled him behind himself. He raised his leg and kicked the zombie far away.

She Yi, who thought he was a goner, felt the world spin for a moment. Opening his eyes in a daze, he saw that he and Jian Yan had swapped positions, while the zombie lay in the distance, unable to crawl back up for a long time.

“…Impressive.”

Zhou Yi, witnessing the whole process while clutching his weak stomach, gave Jian Yan a thumbs up.

“Let’s go.”

Jian Yan glanced at him and took the lead to leave.

She Yi lowered his head, clutching his backpack which had a strap torn off in the panic—to his chest. His long bangs obscured his expression.

[Protagonist’s Current Favorability: -50]

…

When the three of them bypassed the zombies roaming the campus biting anyone they saw and reached the west gate bike shed, they encountered a group of people who clearly had the same goal.

“Young Master Bai?”

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow.

There were about a dozen people on the opposite side. Leading them was a refined and handsome young man—the “Young Master Bai” Zhou Yi had mentioned.

She Yi glanced at him, and his mind automatically extracted the relevant memories:

Bai Mu, the only direct bloodline of the prestigious Bai family of this era, an undeniable noble son.

She Yi did not miss the flash of sinister ruthlessness that instantly crossed the protagonist’s eyes. Rightly so; in the previous life, Bai Mu was his lifelong nemesis, and the original host’s final betrayal naturally wouldn’t have succeeded without his secret assistance.

“Young Master Zhou.”

Bai Mu nodded, gentle and polite. His gaze swept over Jian Yan and She Yi without a trace of abnormality.

“Where are you planning to go?”

Before Zhou Yi could speak, Jian Yan took the lead:

“That is none of Young Master Bai’s business.”

He exuded a fierce aura, like a sharpened precious sword or a ferocious wild wolf.

Bai Mu was momentarily stunned, looking at him properly for the first time, an ambitious figure, a person of the same kind as himself…

“I believe everyone has seen what the world is like now. I plan to head to S City for refuge. Want to come along?”

Even if a wild, untamable, dangerous person couldn’t be recruited, keeping them under one’s eye was always better.

Underneath that noble and elegant smile lay a hidden, cunning fox.

As if thinking of something, Jian Yan’s stern, guarded attitude suddenly vanished, and he offered the other party a friendly smile.

“It is our honor to receive Young Master Bai’s invitation.”

Bai Mu’s gaze swept toward Zhou Yi, who simply spread his hands, indicating he had no objection.

“I have no problem…”

Seeing Bai Mu look at him, She Yi hurriedly waved his hands.

“Then let’s go.”

Four cars drove out of the school, speeding toward the distant S City.

…

“Let’s introduce our abilities first. After all, for a period that won’t be short, we are considered allies.”

Bai Mu, who had deigned to take the wheel himself, suddenly spoke up.

“When the apocalypse descended, I was lucky enough to obtain an ability. I call those who obtained abilities ‘Awakened,’ and I am a Metal-type Awakened.”

Jian Yan, in the passenger seat, glanced sideways at him, and a flame ignited on his outstretched finger.

“Fire-type.”

Space was his secret; he would tell no one.

Zhou Yi: “I’m the Strength-type.”

She Yi: “I… have not awakened an ability…”

Bai Mu was slightly taken aback. Through the rearview mirror on the windshield, he saw the gloomy and timid young man lower his head even further. The shadow cast by his bangs fell over his jade-like skin, obscuring his expression.

However, his pale pink thin lips were tightly pursed, and the fingers gripping his backpack tightened one by one, revealing the young man’s fragile and trembling heart.

Looking at him like this, a sudden, inexplicable desire rose within Bai Mu he wanted to bully him ruthlessly!

His fingers on the steering wheel tightened abruptly, and his eyes darkened.

“You’re She Yi, right? Can I call you Xiao Yi?”

Regarding the unexpectedly gentle question, She Yi was clearly stunned, his expression a bit flustered.

“Yes, y-you can…”

Bai Mu gave a light chuckle, his gentle voice carrying a magic that soothed the heart.

“We actually met once before, though you probably didn’t notice. You looked a bit dazed at the time, and you ran away after bumping into me.”

“Eh?”

She Yi looked up in surprise. He thought back carefully and found that there seemed to indeed be such an occurrence.

“Sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose, I…” He was incoherent.

“No need to be nervous, I didn’t mean to blame you. And you did apologize back then.”

The teasing tone made She Yi’s face flush, but he also breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Young Master Bai…”

“Just call me by my name.”

“…Oh, okay, Bai Mu.”

Beside them, Jian Yan watched this scene with cold eyes. Having lived in the apocalypse for over ten years, he naturally understood the dark look swirling in the depths of Bai Mu’s eyes.

In the apocalypse, because of the cruel environment, those without abilities could only serve as subordinates to the strong, or as sexual tools on a bed.

Since few women survived, fragile and beautiful males could also sell their bodies for food to survive, just like women.

Furthermore, in the rumors of his previous life, Bai Mu, the ruler of the S City base, did not discriminate between genders.

His peripheral vision landed on She Yi in the back seat. Jian Yan had always known he looked good. His skin was fine and snowy white it was just that most of it was covered by black hair. That timid personality that only knew how to silently endure was annoying, making one want to bully him.

Since they were children, She Yi had always been within his circle of protection, which led to everyone’s impression of him being limited to a cowardly and silent character.

And now, having just separated from him, he immediately got into trouble? What an idiot!

Perhaps even Jian Yan himself didn’t know that seeing the desire Bai Mu hid for She Yi actually felt a bit irritating.

And seeing the way She Yi showed a friendly smile to Bai Mu without any guard made him feel a faint, inexplicable discomfort in his heart like the feeling of having a toy snatched away.

[Protagonist’s Current Favorability: -10]