Chapter 22:Mission

"Speak!" Zhang Yi leaned closer, his icy aura seeming to freeze the air around them.

Cold sweat beaded on Su Xiaomu's forehead. "If I'm not Su Xiaomu, then who do you say I am?" he countered. The notion of rebirth was too fantastical; he'd die before revealing it. Besides, the "Young Master Su" identity was too valuable to discard.

Zhang Yi pressed his lips tightly together, his deep, dark eyes locked onto the youth beneath him. He remained silent. They stayed frozen in that position.

Physically and mentally, Su Xiaomu had endured a brutal 24 hours. Now, under Zhang Yi's oppressive presence, his exhausted mind finally gave out, and he slipped into a hazy sleep.

Zhang Yi stared at the delicate face, noticing his eyes weren't moving. Puzzled, he reached out and pinched the youth's cheek. Su Xiaomu made a dissatisfied "Mmm..." sound and slapped Zhang Yi's hand away with a smack.

Zhang Yi hadn't expected the youth to fall asleep with his eyes open. He waved a hand in front of his face. No reaction. Gently, he brushed his fingers over Su Xiaomu's eyelids, closing them.

The man pulled away and sat on the bed. The tension left his body. Su Xiaomu's behavior was both laughable and frustrating, but there was nothing he could say about it now.

Early the next morning, Su Xiaomu woke up feeling refreshed. This body was definitely sturdier than he'd thought. Otherwise, how could he have slept soundly under such pressure...?

"Get up! Mission!" Zhang Yi emerged from the kitchen, his voice hard as he addressed the dazed youth.

Su Xiaomu curled his lip but quickly washed up and gratefully accepted the breakfast Zhang Yi prepared. Internally, he wondered how Zhang Yi could afford such "luxury" with food so scarce.

Only Luo Jiahui and Wang Xin were present besides him and Zhang Yi. Zhao Sheng had clearly been dealt with, and Yan Qing was still under "observation." Su Xiaomu figured Zhang Yi's foul mood was largely due to this.

Luo Jiahui was taciturn. Having gotten "close" to a zombie recently, his face was still pale, his spirit low. Wang Xin merely glanced at Su Xiaomu without comment.

The atmosphere was heavy, thick with an unspoken "keep away" vibe. "Captain, where are we going?" Su Xiaomu's crisp, youthful voice shattered the oppressive silence.

Zhang Yi studied a map. "Scavenging for supplies." They needed to gather as much food as possible before the zombie numbers became unmanageable.

"But..." Su Xiaomu wanted to say wandering aimlessly was dangerous, but then the car pulled into a gas station. He blinked.

"Wang Xin, refuel the car. Take anything portable," Zhang Yi ordered. "As for you two..." His gaze swept over Luo Jiahui and Su Xiaomu. "We hit the convenience store inside the station for food!"

Su Xiaomu scanned the surroundings. This road clearly led out of the city, not within it. He wasn't sure what Zhang Yi was planning, but... he narrowed his eyes. It was too quiet here.

They moved quickly, slipping into the small store. "Careful!" Zhang Yi warned the other two. It was a tiny place, just a single cramped room.

Su Xiaomu hadn't started gathering food yet. The shelves were stacked with crackers. Each of them tensed, muscles coiled. They knew the zombies' danger, but it was summer. Wearing bulletproof vests or helmets would suffocate them before any zombie got close.

Sweat dripped from Su Xiaomu's forehead, some stinging his eyes, but he didn't dare relax his focus. The three didn't separate, standing back-to-back, covering all angles.

"Captain, no zombies in sight, but it feels... oppressive," Luo Jiahui remarked quietly, sweat dripping from his chin onto the floor.

Zhang Yi's lips pressed thin. "Maybe the zombies have mutated..." His slightly raspy voice seemed to freeze the air.

"Look out!" Zhang Yi yelled, shoving Su Xiaomu aside.

Su Xiaomu landed hard on the floor, his elbow scraping painfully. He ignored it. Zhang Yi, having pushed him out of the way, was now pinned by a zombie, its jaws snapping towards his neck...

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Su Xiaomu didn't hesitate. Grabbing his weapon, he smashed it down on the zombie's head. Blood and brain matter splattered across Zhang Yi's face.

Su Xiaomu wouldn't normally have had that kind of strength, but the space water had enhanced him.

Zhang Yi shoved the corpse off him in disgust. His handsome face twisted, eyes blazing with fury.

"Whoops!... My bad, not intentional," Su Xiaomu offered an utterly insincere apology. The zombie was faster, but it shouldn't have posed a real threat to Zhang Yi.

"I didn't need saving..." Zhang Yi gritted out. He'd been about to kick it away when Su Xiaomu intervened...

Su Xiaomu batted his eyes innocently. "But..." he paused, "...Captain, I meant well." He knew perfectly well the man's combat skills far surpassed his own. But still...

"Captain, you should... wash your face. It's... disgusting," Luo Jiahui finally spoke up, unable to look at the gore-smeared face any longer.

Zhang Yi shot them both a venomous glare before stalking off to find a restroom. The tense atmosphere shattered, replaced by a moment of absurdity.

Su Xiaomu didn't relax just because Zhang Yi left. The danger was far from over. That zombie's speed had been alarmingly fast.

"We should stick together," Luo Jiahui suggested after a moment's thought. This small store felt profoundly wrong. They'd scavenged here before; zombies weren't numerous, but...

Su Xiaomu nodded. "No guns?" If possible, he'd love a gun. One bullet per zombie. Before the apocalypse, he'd been interested in shooting and knew the basics.

"Guns?" Luo Jiahui echoed the word flatly.

"You think it's anarchy? The state would never let civilians have those. And..." he paused, then Luo Jiahui's quiet voice continued, "...even soldiers like us, unless on special ops, rarely touched guns."

Guns were banned for civilians. If everyone could buy one, society would collapse! Look at Country M, where private gun ownership was allowed... the result was...

Su Xiaomu nodded. The country's layout felt similar to what he knew, and it was also Country C. He suspected a parallel world, but who knew for sure...?

He hadn't researched this nation's laws deeply. He couldn't rely solely on an apocalyptic novel's premise. His previous explanation was plausible; busy people wouldn't pay attention to such things.

"You're all soldiers?" Su Xiaomu asked, not out of nosiness. That Zhao Sheng hadn't seemed like a soldier at all, more like a student, like himself. Yan Qing hadn't either.

He received no answer. Su Xiaomu understood. He shouldn't pry into others' affairs. They were temporary allies at best. One day they might part ways, or get eaten by zombies...

"The three of us were on a mission in G City," Luo Jiahui offered softly. His voice wasn't as deep as Zhang Yi's; it had a faint, stream-like quality.

Lucky me, Su Xiaomu thought. "So you'll return to B City?" He still hadn't figured out Li Yansheng and Lan Yun. They seemed pleasant enough on the surface, but he trusted no one here.

"Most likely. B City's defenses and facilities are far superior," Luo Jiahui replied. Usually silent, he seemed unusually talkative today.

Su Xiaomu didn't respond, silently calculating. He wasn't a lab rat! And that Li Yansheng was definitely no saint.

Zhang Yi was inscrutable, but Wang Xin and Luo Jiahui seemed decent. Was there a chance...? Su Xiaomu pondered. He was alone here, unfamiliar with everything, ignorant of his predecessor's deeds.

Was his predecessor truly useless? Why would the Su family let him die in G City, yet offer such a huge reward to get the useless heir back? It made no sense.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!... A massive explosion rocked the building. Su Xiaomu and Luo Jiahui jolted, then sprinted towards the sound. They knew—it came from where Zhang Yi had gone.