PSW – Chapter 17

“See? This is the kind of person you find in the Wasteland. They cry and play the victim, thinking it’s everyone else’s responsibility to feed and protect them. They do nothing themselves, they don’t dare to venture out, yet they take it for granted when others go out to find food, even having the audacity to criticize them.” Yu Yinan held Zheng Yi’s hand, her tone gentle. “Would you really want to help someone like that, unconditionally and indefinitely?”

“Jiejie, everyone makes mistakes. I… I would give him a chance.” Zheng Yi lowered her head, appearing obedient and frail. She looked at the hand Yu Yinan was holding and her voice grew softer. “If he were about to die, and I had the ability to help, I wouldn’t just stand by and watch. But I won’t look after him like a nanny forever.”

[If you weren’t bound to me, would you still do that?] Zero One was a little curious about Zheng Yi’s true nature.

‘Of course~ not.’ Zheng Yi’s thoughts conversed with Zero One in a very playful and cute tone. ‘But it would depend on my mood. If I’m in a good mood, I might tease him a little.’

[And if you’re in a bad mood?]

‘Then of course I’d twist his head off before he could even fart and throw it out of this courtyard like a bowling ball~’

Yu Yinan was still trying to make Zheng Yi understand the dangers of the world—that in some situations, with certain types of people, it was completely pointless to waste your effort. Meanwhile, Zheng Yi maintained her obedient facade, spouting Saintly lines while excitedly sharing one hundred and one ways to torture a person to death with Zero One in her mind.

Jiang Jue was still wailing. Besides the middle-aged man who had spoken first, two others seemed to agree with Jiang Jue’s point of view, but they sensed that Yu Yinan was not to be trifled with and didn’t dare to speak up, merely watching from the side.

Jiang Jue’s crying disturbed a baby who was being coaxed to take medicine. The infant’s sharp, piercing cries soon echoed throughout the factory, forming a duet with Jiang Jue’s bawling. The couple was very anxious, fumbling to soothe the child. The mother’s eyes were red with distress.

Wang Youfei probably wanted to smooth things over, but he found Jiang Jue’s words too outrageous, so he hesitated to intervene. And Yan Han? He didn’t know Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi, but he’d long been fed up with Jiang Jue and his ilk. The couple with the baby didn’t go out because of their child, but they were always the first to take on tasks like cleaning and organizing. They had also brought most of the jackets from the beginning and shared them with everyone without a word.

As for the old woman, before the heavy rain, she had insisted she was still hale and hearty and had gone out with them to find supplies. It was only after the downpour that she came down with a persistent high fever and had been seriously ill ever since.

“Jiang Jue, you’re a grown man, aren’t you ashamed of crying like that?” Li Yunhan rolled her eyes dramatically. She then looked at the middle-aged man and the other two who rarely went out. “You want to let this go? Fine. All of you who have never found any supplies outside, as long as you find food and bring it back by tomorrow night, we’ll still be partners who share resources and help each other.”

“By tomorrow night? You’ve already picked this area clean. Where am I supposed to find food? Aren’t you just making things difficult for us on purpose?” The two men who had remained silent and uninvolved could no longer stand by.

The middle-aged man also frowned, adopting a patronizing tone. “Xiao Li, you’ve been enhanced. Your combat abilities are higher, and you’re better able to protect yourselves out there. Compared to us, you’re much more suited for scavenging. Human society is all about division of labor, after all!”

“We can’t just throw away all our humanity and compassion the moment the apocalypse starts, can we? That’s just not right,” another man chimed in, clapping his hands in agreement.

“The apocalypse has only just begun; we don’t know what the future holds. Ability users are a minority, after all. Ordinary people are the majority, and human civilization must continue, right? Ability users should take on more responsibility.” Another person began his performance. “Those with enhanced physiques like you are much more efficient at searching for supplies. And those who can control fire can start fires for warmth when it’s cold, or to boil water and cook. As for water controllers, that goes without saying. It’s clearly a lifeline granted to human civilization by the heavens. With no clean water resources outside, don’t we have to rely on water-type ability users to survive?” After saying all this, he nodded, as if he had made a perfectly reasonable point.

Just as Wang Youfei and the others couldn’t listen anymore and were about to divide the resources, Zheng Yi clapped her hands, drawing their attention.

“We weren’t planning on staying here, you know~”

“We came to Genbin to get some information about the apocalypse from the emergency notice, so… we’re going to head to the military base to check things out. We’ll be going deep inside.” Zheng Yi tilted her head. “If anyone wants to come with us, you’re more than welcome~ After all, there’s strength in numbers.”

“Are you crazy? That place was overrun long ago! Going there now is a suicide mission. Not even ability users can stand against a zombie horde. Really, if you want to die, you might as well stay here and put your abilities to good use…”

“Shut up.” A ball of fire exploded in front of the man. Although it didn’t harm him, it startled him so much that he stumbled back a few steps. Yu Yinan didn’t want to waste any more time on this nonsense. She glanced at Li Yunhan and the others. The problem with this survivor “camp” was glaringly obvious—it was a complete mess with no cohesion.

The burdens and responsibilities were all thrown onto the few enhanced young people, while the rest were either silent, self-righteous due to their age and experience and looking for a free ride, or believed it was the natural duty of the strong to protect the weak. This wasn’t a team at all. As Li Yunhan had said, they were just a bunch of strangers who had happened to meet in the chaos of the apocalypse and were temporarily living together.

Parasites. Vampires. Yu Yinan thought. Have I not been forceful enough, or do I still look like a pushover? Faced with two outside ability users, not only did these people show no fear of the strong, they were even trying to use words to make them stay, protect them, and work for them?

Ha, if she weren’t a woman, but a six-foot-tall, burly man, would this bunch still dare to spout such nonsense?

They were nothing but a group of fools who didn’t even grasp their current situation, were unwilling to change or contribute, and only knew how to indulge in wishful thinking.

“Sorry you had to see that…” Li Yunhan felt extremely embarrassed and couldn’t suppress her annoyance, but facing Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi, she was filled with nothing but apology. They hadn’t actually known these people for very long, having only met them a few days after the apocalypse began. When they discovered their bodies had been enhanced, they felt that everyone was a compatriot trapped in the same predicament and decided to help where they could, gradually taking on more responsibility. They just never expected that, in some people’s eyes, all of it was to be taken for granted.

“Do you plan to stay here forever?” Yu Yinan asked directly.

“Maybe we’ll leave later. I really want to go home, I don’t know how my parents are doing, but rescue…” Li Yunhan sighed, feeling lost. In the current situation, how difficult would it be to cross several cities to get home? “Wang Youfei and I plan to stock up on more food and water, then try to find a vehicle. We’ll figure it out from there. Are you… really going over there to check it out?”

Yu Yinan glanced at Zheng Yi. The young woman looked back at her innocently, and the hand clasped in hers gave a little squeeze, as if she wasn’t the one who had just said all those things. “Yes, we’ll take a look,” Yu Yinan heard herself reply.

“I can help,” Li Yunhan said. “You’re not familiar with that area. Maybe you need a guide?”

“Me too,” Wang Youfei picked up a book from the corner and strode over. “Also, this… a Ling Country Road Atlas. I think it might be helpful to you.”

Jiang Jue’s expression immediately turned strange. He seemed to want to say something, but looking at the scorch mark left on the floor from the fire explosion, he ultimately didn’t dare to say a word.

“We don’t need a guide. You should look after yourselves. But this, thank you.” Yu Yinan took the book with one hand but didn’t open it. Instead, she looked at Zheng Yi. “Shall we go?”

“Okay. Let me fill up your water containers?” Zheng Yi let go of Yu Yinan’s hand and walked over to Li Yunhan. “Where are they?”

“Ah, okay. Really… thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it~ If you really want to thank me, just remember… that I’m a Saint.”

“A Saint… okay.” Li Yunhan was slightly taken aback, then gave a resigned smile. Zheng Yi’s temperament really was good. A girl this kind, what else could she be but a Saint? Since she wanted the title so badly, she might as well grant her wish. “You truly are a kind Saint.”

[Ding! Detected someone who believes from the bottom of their heart that the host is a Saint! Assessing emotional intensity…]

[Assessment complete. Awarding Saint Points +3!]

So few. It felt like a perfunctory reward for a child.

Zheng Yi smiled gently and followed Li Yunhan to fill all their water containers. Just before leaving, she quietly pulled Li Yunhan aside and pressed two chocolate bars into her hand. “Here, this is for you. Be careful of those guys.”

“Goodbye~”

“Huh? What?” Before Li Yunhan could react, she saw Zheng Yi run to Yu Yinan, affectionately link arms with her, and pull her toward the exit.

Chocolate…

“Wait, I’ll get the door for you!” Wang Youfei also hurried after them.

---

“Why didn’t you invite them to come with us?” Yu Yinan glanced at Zheng Yi, who was sitting obediently in the passenger seat as the car sped down the road toward the military base.

“They have their own thoughts and plans,” Zheng Yi said. “And they didn’t want to travel with us, did they?”

“Is that so?” Yu Yinan lowered her gaze slightly, then added, “You seem to be friendly to everyone.”

“Aren’t you, Jiejie? We’re all compatriots, after all,” Zheng Yi said with a blink.

“Do you have a lot of chocolate?”

Zheng Yi’s eyes curved into crescents, the smile in them seeming to deepen. She softened her voice, speaking coaxingly, “Of course not. It’s just that chocolate provides a lot of calories and stamina. If she runs into any trouble, it might help her last a little longer. Is Jiejie unhappy?” As she spoke, Zheng Yi pulled another chocolate bar from her backpack and offered it to Yu Yinan.

“For you, Jiejie?”