Chapter 100 You'll Support Me
Bai Chenzhu's expression was hard to describe; it was the first time he had ever heard of being able to share equally.
He knocked down two people, ducked to avoid an attack from a researcher, turned and slipped behind Jiang Ye. Jiang Ye swept his long leg and kicked the researcher who was chasing Bai Chenzhu to the ground.
The two stood back to back, with shards of glass scattered all over the ground.
One, two, three, four... Bai Chenzhu roughly counted the number of people in the laboratory besides them and the director.
"Are you sure you can do it?" Bai Chenzhu asked.
“Of course.” Jiang Ye punched down one of the attackers, his eyes gleaming. “You shouldn’t have asked that question.”
But he was deliberately teasing Jiang Ye. Bai Chenzhu's phoenix eyes curved into crescents as he glanced at the dark corner of the shelf. He whispered something, and Jiang Ye was slightly stunned after hearing it.
The two men knocked down thirteen people and walked up to the director, who looked utterly devastated and incredulous as he went from being on the verge of victory to being caught red-handed.
He looked left and right but couldn't find a place to escape, so he simply took out a pistol from his pocket, raised it and aimed it at the two of them. The muzzle shifted from Jiang Ye to Bai Chenzhu, and then back to Jiang Ye's head.
"Let's see if your fist is faster or my gun is faster!"
The answer is that Jiang Ye has fast legs.
The gun was kicked into the air and landed on the ground. The station chief, caught in a pincer attack, was steadily losing ground. He staggered and grabbed the control panel behind him, crying, "Wait, stop! Stop! I surrender! I want to see Xie Quan!"
It seemed like things were about to end.
"You..." Jiang Ye was about to speak when the melodious sound of a harmonica suddenly rang out from behind him.
Long, ethereal, carrying the scent of a summer seaside, like a sea breeze, bringing immense comfort.
The director looked at the two people in front of him, especially Jiang Ye, whom he hated so much, who was now clutching his head and collapsing. He felt extremely pleased! He was no longer the coward he had been just moments before. He stood up, his legs trembling, and said with great dissatisfaction, "Why did you come out so late!"
"Isn't this just waiting for them to lower their guard?" Xie Mengyao put down her harmonica and emerged from behind the shelf with a complicated expression.
He pointed to Bai Chenzhu, who was lying on the ground with his eyes closed and unconscious, and said, "You have to be careful of this person. I fought with him yesterday. He can control people."
If he hadn't taken Li Guangzong's medicine today and his mental strength had indeed improved, he wouldn't have dared to take such a risk as to hypnotize the two people who had once defeated him.
But now it seems that this experiment is indeed worth continuing.
"Enough with the nonsense, tie them up now!" the station chief ordered imperiously.
"You want me to tie him up?" Xie Mengyao's eyes widened, and she pointed at herself with a 'you dare order me around?' look on her face. "You want me to tie him up?"
"If it wasn't you, then it was me?" The director looked at the people lying on the ground groaning incessantly.
Xie Mengyao gritted her teeth, "I'm not your subordinate, Li Guangzong. We're partners. We're bound together."
The director was unwilling, but Xie Mengyao was like an ox, a stubborn ox that insisted on its own way no matter what.
The director had no choice but to compromise and headed towards Jiang Ye.
Xie Mengyao grabbed Bai Chenzhu's arm, just as she was about to pull him up, but unexpectedly her wrist tightened, and the unconscious man rolled over and pressed her arm back. Xie Mengyao reacted a second too slow and was about to struggle when her other arm was also pulled.
"Got it." Bai Chenzhu gripped her tightly, staring at the struggling Xie Mengyao, and sighed, "You've gone down the wrong path."
Xie Mengyao was incredulous. Bai Chenzhu took a harmonica from his arms and carefully tossed it away.
Jiang Ye's situation was not so smooth. The director reacted quickly, but he was no match for someone who was no weaker than himself who launched a sneak attack. After two or three moves, he was stepped on from behind, his arm was pulled, and he was pinned to the ground.
"Why are you all awake?" Unlike the cursing director, Xie Mengyao asked incredulously.
Jiang Ye glanced at Bai Chenzhu, "Because he said there are fourteen people here."
Xie Mengyao kicked back desperately, but Bai Chenzhu let go and his fist came straight at him. He deflected Xie Mengyao's attack with ease and then used his elbow to lock Xie Mengyao's neck.
As the director was about to be taken away, he became increasingly reckless, struggling desperately with bloodshot eyes. When his shirt was torn, he lost his last shred of reason and roared as he charged toward Jiang Ye.
He was not afraid of pain or death. Even after being knocked down and having his arm dislocated several times, he persevered and got up. He bit Jiang Ye's arm, and Jiang Ye gasped and punched him in the temple.
In Bai Chenzhu's mental feedback, the point representing the director had completely turned into a gray mark. Xie Mengyao whistled, but before she could even finish a note, Bai Chenzhu knocked her unconscious with a hand chop.
Bai Chenzhu released his grip, and Xie Mengyao collapsed to the ground. He stepped over Xie Mengyao, bent down, picked up the pistol, and examined it.
Images of pistols flashed through his mind, and he easily figured out how to use them, as if he were born with the natural ability to use them, having lived in a time of peace.
Bai Chenzhu pulled the trigger as if possessed.
In an instant, as the bullet flew out, a flood of images rushed into his mind, the sheer volume of information almost overwhelming him.
The bullet pierced the director's head precisely, splattering Jiang Ye with blood.
As the corpse before him slowly fell, Jiang Ye gasped in astonishment, only to see Bai Chenzhu, who had fired the shot, looking on with a look of sudden realization.
“He’s not human, don’t be afraid.” Jiang Ye assumed that Bai Chenzhu, who had lost his memory, was experiencing killing for the first time. He stepped forward and held the hand holding the gun to comfort him. The hand was so cold that it didn’t feel human.
Bai Chenzhu looked at the gun in his hand, then at the corpse lying on the ground, lowered his hands, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm fine."
He was just... a little dazed, unable to distinguish between the past and the present.
They took the director and Xie Mengyao upstairs and found that Xie Quan and the others had already dealt with the others.
Jiang Ye glanced at Zhou Xuan and Xie Quan, who were unharmed, and then at Bai Chenzhu.
Bai Chenzhu was staring blankly in one direction, as if only his body remained, his soul nowhere to be found. Jiang Ye called him several times, but there was no response.
"I'm fine." Bai Chenzhu's face was as white as snow, making his words completely unbelievable.
"Let's go back and rest."
Jiang Ye confidently dumped everything on Xie Quan and the others, then used his injury as an excuse to slip away, like an eel that Xie Quan couldn't catch.
——
Bai Chenzhu followed Jiang Ye in a daze for half a day. When the wind blew, he woke up and his soul returned.
He stood still on the side of the street.
Kangcheng is a large city, and they were located in the center of Kangcheng. They were surrounded by villas spaced apart, and guards passed by from time to time, strictly preventing outsiders from entering.
Hearing the noise behind him, Jiang Ye turned around and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
The streets were deserted, save for dwellings and pedestrians. Bai Chenzhu, still remembering the day she was bought and sold, suddenly asked, "Isn't there a market?"
“Yes, but not here, it’s on the outskirts.” Jiang Ye shook his head. “A small wave of zombies just passed through, and it’s all messed up and hasn’t been cleaned up yet.”
Bai Chenzhu nodded and casually asked, "Besides training, do you guys do anything else on weekdays?"
Jiang Ye said, "We regularly patrol the surrounding area to clear out alien races and zombies. If we find anything usable in the base, like food, we bring it back. Actually, there are mercenaries in the base, and that's what they mainly do. But they're pretty useless. I've been posting missing person notices for so long, and not a single regiment has been able to find you."
Bai Chenzhu, who was deliberately hiding, touched the tip of his nose. "Does that mean I'm a cut above the rest?"
Jiang Ye chuckled and raised his chin, "You're right! A-Zhu is the best!"
Bai Chenzhu was amused by his exaggerated words.
The two returned to the small house, but unexpectedly Liang Haoran was squatting there. Jiang Ye then said that Bai Chenzhu was not needed for the time being and sent him back to his room to rest.
When Bai Chenzhu saw Liang Haoran carrying documents, as if he had something to say, he turned around, went into the room, took off his shoes, and got into bed.
The moment I lay down, exhaustion washed over me, spreading throughout my limbs and bones.
He raised his arm to cover his eyes, intending to rest for a while before getting up to help organize the documents, but he ended up sleeping until evening.
The moment he opened his eyes, he had a subtle sense of unreality.
Where am I?
After a while, he came to his senses, got out of bed, opened the door, drank a glass of water to calm himself down, and went to the study.
The simple study contained only a table and two chairs, appearing extremely empty. Liang Haoran had left sometime earlier, leaving only him and Jiang Ye in the room.
"Awake?" Jiang Ye sat behind his desk, propping his chin up with one hand and asked him, "I have some fruit here, do you want some?"
Jiang Ye had a pear next to him, about the size of a fist, yellowish-brown, and very round.
"Don't want it?" Jiang Ye looked up at him.
Bai Chenzhu shook his head.
Jiang Ye didn't stand on ceremony with him and started eating. He then pointed to a thick stack of handwritten reports next to him and said, "These are all reports from the patrol teams that went out of the city this week. Can you take a look and see if there are any points worth noting?"
He took big, crunchy bites of the pear, the crisp sound seemingly ringing in my ears.
Bai Chenzhu walked over, shifting his gaze from the report to Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye stretched out on the chair with his legs crossed like an old man, looking very relaxed and comfortable.
Bai Chenzhu paused for a moment, and amidst Jiang Ye's stiff limbs and surprised gaze, she bent down and quickly took a bite of the pear.
He chewed, straightened up, and frowned. "Not very sweet."
Jiang Ye was both amused and exasperated. "You just said you weren't going to eat it."
Bai Chenzhu said solemnly, "Other people's food always tastes the best."
Jiang Ye was filled with helplessness. After finishing the pear, he looked at Bai Chenzhu, who was organizing the documents, and suddenly realized: Bai Chenzhu, who had lost her memory, was always like an invisible wall between him and Bai Chenzhu. There was no way they could be so close.
He sat up abruptly, exclaiming in surprise, "Ah Zhu! Have you regained your memories?"
Bai Chenzhu paused for a moment, unsure, "Maybe?"
Jiang Ye was extremely anxious. She stood up and circled around him, saying, "What do you mean by 'maybe'? It's either yes or no! I'm asking you, where did we first meet?"
Bai Chenzhu pondered for a moment, "Where do you mean?"
Jiang Ye said, "That was on a beautiful, sunny day when you were helpless and selling yourself by the roadside—I mean, selling yourself for food—and I, being kind, happened to pass by and took you back with me..."
Bai Chenzhu held back for a long time, but couldn't hold back any longer. "Nonsense!"
Jiang Ye smiled.
Bai Chenzhu confronted him, saying, "It was clearly at a nightclub, and you kicked me right in front of me..." His words were abruptly cut off by Jiang Ye's gentle gaze.
He did recall their absurd first meeting, recognized his former companion whom he had spent day and night with, and remembered Jiang Ye's words, "I would like you even if you were a man"...
However, Bai Chenzhu rubbed the bridge of his nose and admitted, "Jiang Ye, some of my memories are still very blurry."
"It's okay." Jiang Ye looked at him, his eyes seemingly filled with stars. "You just need to remember me. I'll help you find the rest slowly."
Bai Chenzhu lowered her hand, looked at his expectant eyes, and her heart softened a little. "Okay."
In the ambiguous atmosphere, Bai Chenzhu changed the subject, "But Jiang Ye..."
Jiang Ye had a bad feeling. "What's wrong?"
Bai Chenzhu asked with a hint of unease, "When you said you'd help me find my memories, did you mean I fell in love with you at first sight, relentlessly pursued you, and eventually, you, a fierce man, gave in to my persistence?"
Jiang Ye, whose previous nonsense had now been brought up, felt a chill run down his spine. He glanced absently out the window and said, "Hey, Ah Zhu, look, the night is so beautiful tonight."
"Where is the beauty?" Bai Chenzhu squinted.
"Huh? Especially dark?" Jiang Ye was intimidated.
Bai Chenzhu stared at him for a while, then glanced up and down at him. "Change out of that garish floral jacket of yours."
Jiang Ye breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly replied, "Okay!"
“Also,” Bai Chenzhu’s eyes softened, “bring some medicine over, I’ll apply it for you.”
Jiang Ye looked down at himself, not seeing anywhere he needed to apply medicine. Bai Chenzhu pressed him down into a chair, rolled up his left sleeve, and underneath was a deep, bone-revealing bite mark—bitten by the zombie-like director.
Jiang Ye obediently brought over the medicine, and Bai Chenzhu bent down to apply it to him. Recalling the series of events that had indeed happened today, especially the director's targeting, he opened his mouth, half stating and half advising, "Your flamboyant behavior will make many people unhappy."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Jiang Ye said, hands in his pockets, seemingly fearless. "They need me now, they need the intelligence I provide, they need me to train new recruits... so I can tolerate whatever outrageous things I do. The day they don't need me anymore, I'll run away faster than anyone else."
“Of course.” Jiang Ye walked closer to him, put his arm around his shoulder, and winked at him. “I’ll definitely give you a ride.”
"Don't you plan to stay here long-term?" Bai Chenzhu was somewhat surprised by the implication in Jiang Ye's words, as if some major issue was about to be resolved, and at that time he would decisively leave.
Jiang Ye nodded, "I won't stay in Kangcheng."
"Where to?"
Jiang Ye didn't answer, but stared intently into his eyes and asked solemnly, "Where do you want to go?"
This gave Bai Chenzhu the illusion that Jiang Ye would follow him wherever he went. So he teased, "What if I said I wanted to stay in Kangcheng and be a freeloader? Would you support me?"
Jiang Ye frowned in embarrassment. "Well... I'll try to turn the temporary commander-in-chief position into a permanent one."
Bai Chenzhu couldn't help but laugh out loud, patting his hand that had just applied the medicine, "Just kidding, I haven't decided yet, just do what you want."
“Then you have to promise me,” Jiang Ye persisted, “that when you’ve made up your mind, you’ll be the first one to tell me.”
"A-Zhu, you can't leave me."
This unfamiliar world is vast, and he has yet to find a place where he can feel at peace. But now, there is someone who is determined to walk with him.
Looking at his arrogant brows and eyes, now appearing as if afraid of being abandoned, Bai Chenzhu's heart skipped a beat. "Yes, I will."
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