Chapter 8: Attacked
The sense of security from gaining his ability allowed the exhausted Jiang Yi to fall into a deep sleep for the first time since the apocalypse began. It wasn’t until a heavy, painful blow struck his chest that he jolted awake, instinctively reaching to his right side—only to grasp empty air!
In that instant, a cold sweat of terror broke out all over him. *Where’s the sword?* Frantically patting around twice, he was horrified to discover the Skull-Severing Blade he had placed beside him was gone!
“Don’t move!” A sharp, female shout made Jiang Yi shudder. He looked up toward the darkness in front of him. Pale moonlight filtered into the room, and now fully awake, Jiang Yi was horrified to see a dark silhouette standing about four or five meters away. “Don’t be rash, I’m alive!” he hurriedly called out.
But the other party clearly already knew. Her voice was icy cold: “Where are the others with you? Where is he?”
Jiang Yi was stunned: “Another person? There isn’t one, I’m alone?”
The woman in the darkness clearly didn’t believe him at all: “Don’t bother lying. I know exactly what you two did during the day! You despicable scum, utterly devoid of conscience.”
Jiang Yi was completely baffled. *What is she even talking about?* Knowing the other party was a girl, Jiang Yi felt slightly relieved. But without his weapon, he decisively chose to surrender, answering honestly: “Classmate, you’ve got the wrong person. I really don’t know who you’re talking about. I’m the only one here!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a blinding light suddenly flashed from the opposite side. Jiang Yi instinctively shielded his eyes, taking a good while to adjust. “Don’t move, or don’t blame me for being rude!” The other party clearly didn’t trust him, her voice filled with furious anger.
Jiang Yi felt utterly frustrated, wishing he could slap himself. He had been too arrogant! Just because he gained an ability, he had let his guard down! Someone had gotten close enough to take his weapon without him knowing! In these apocalyptic times, that was a fatal mistake!
But finally, with the light, Jiang Yi could see who had invaded his room. What he saw shocked him. A cold glint of metal was dazzlingly bright! A sharp arrowhead was aimed directly at his head…
At this, Jiang Yi’s heart truly panicked. He never expected the threat would be a bow and arrow!
He saw the woman standing opposite him was tall and slender, wearing a pink tracksuit. Her hood completely concealed her hair, and she wore a black face mask!
The bow in her hands was drawn to its limit. The chilling gleam on the titanium-steel arrow left no doubt in Jiang Yi’s mind about its penetrative power! This woman was clearly also a student, but how did she have a bow?
Seeing her practiced archery posture, Jiang Yi absolutely did not doubt her ability to use it. Then, with a pained expression, he noticed the backpack he had packed during the day and the Skull-Severing Blade lying at the woman’s feet.
By the light, the woman also got a clear look at Jiang Yi. A faint killing intent made her brows furrow. “Raise your hands! Kneel on the ground! Don’t think about resisting, unless you want to test whether my arrow can pierce your skull.”
“You!” Jiang Yi’s eyes widened, instinctively wanting to retort, but seeing the woman pull the bowstring tauter, he immediately surrendered! He obediently raised his hands and crouched on the ground. Kneeling was absolutely out of the question; he’d rather fight desperately than do that.
He looked at her plaintively: “Senior, you really have the wrong person! I’m not who you’re looking for!”
The woman held the bow, her eyes locking onto Jiang Yi like a hawk’s: “I’m asking you, did you come to this building with someone else yesterday?”
Jiang Yi was taken aback, then nodded honestly: “Yes, I came with two people, but…”
“Just as I thought! It was you who committed that heinous act yesterday! It’s a pity I couldn’t save JiaoJiao…” The woman didn’t give Jiang Yi a chance to explain, a glint of tears flashing in her eyes, her voice filled with grief.
“But you won’t escape today. I don’t know how you could be so stupid, daring to stay here alone! Then I’ll use your life to pay for JiaoJiao’s!” As she spoke, she drew the bow to its limit again!
Jiang Yi was horrified. Though completely confused, he had no time to analyze the reason. He hurriedly shouted: “Wait! If you want revenge, wouldn’t it be better to wait until the other two come back?”
Jiang Yi realized he couldn’t explain anything now. This woman wasn’t listening to him. He had to find a way to defuse the immediate danger first.
The woman paused, then screamed: “They left this place, why would they come back? Don’t try to trick me!”
Jiang Yi shouted back: “They will come back! At daybreak, they’ll return. Otherwise, why would I stay here? We agreed to meet here at dawn to clear out the entire dormitory! Really…”
Jiang Yi tried to calm the woman’s agitated emotions, explaining the situation at the cafeteria and weaving in some lies, mixing truth and falsehood to portray himself as a lowly lackey left behind to guard the supplies!
If the other party had carefully considered it, she would have found many holes in Jiang Yi’s story. But the woman was emotionally charged, and stimulated by whatever happened yesterday, she found Jiang Yi’s 70% truth, 30% lie somewhat believable. Still, she couldn’t help but sneer: “In that case, I’ll kill you now. Tomorrow, when they come, I’ll deal with them too.”
Jiang Yi hesitated: “Well… we agreed that tomorrow I’d watch for them from the window. If I don’t show up, they probably won’t come in.”
Guo Han Xue’s face immediately frosted over: “You’re lying. If you were really their companion, why wouldn’t they come in looking for you if you didn’t appear?”
Jiang Yi forced a pained smile: “Senior, how can you still believe in that notion? If we were really friends, would they leave me alone in a building full of zombies? To them, I’m just cannon fodder. In the cafeteria, ordinary people like us aren’t fit to be friends with ability users!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Yi himself was startled. A sliver of doubt he had harbored before flickered in his heart.
Guo Han Xue fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then said: “You really had nothing to do with what happened yesterday?”
Jiang Yi smiled bitterly, his hands still behind his head: “Miss, I don’t even know what you’re talking about! You can see, I wasn’t with those two. After we entered the dormitory building, we split up!”
Guo Han Xue frowned deeply, watching Jiang Yi’s expression, which didn’t seem like he was lying. She finally let out a soft sigh, her tense body relaxing slightly. Clearly, killing someone was a significant hurdle for Guo Han Xue too. “If that’s the case, then we’ll wait until daybreak and see if they come! Don’t think about running. I’m sure you’re not faster than my arrow.”
Jiang Yi, playing the coward, nodded hurriedly: “Okay, Senior. I won’t go anywhere, I’ll stay right here.” Even as he said this, his mind was racing, trying to figure out how to escape this dangerous woman!
He knew there were many obvious flaws in his story. If the woman really waited until dawn, those two bastards definitely wouldn’t return, and his lies would be exposed!
So, while appearing utterly compliant, Jiang Yi’s brain was working at top speed! His current Speed was 9, already at the peak of normal human capability. If he launched a surprise attack when the woman was off guard, he had a high chance of success!
But his sword was with her. Without a weapon, he wasn’t sure if he could subdue her instantly.
*Clearly, I need to get my weapon back first!*
Having formed a plan, Jiang Yi quickly simulated a tactic…
He discreetly observed the woman who still held the arrow aimed at him. He noticed she was living alone in this dorm room, yet her complexion and demeanor were no worse than the girls in the cafeteria who were well-protected—in fact, she seemed even better!
He wondered if she had been here from the start or, like him, had arrived here recently. Just as he was observing her, an embarrassing, faint rumble suddenly echoed in the room! Jiang Yi was startled, while Guo Han Xue’s face beneath the mask flushed red. She silently cursed her stomach for growling, and so loudly too!
Jiang Yi reacted quickly, putting on an especially friendly smile: “Senior, are you hungry? There’s plenty of food in my bag. Please, help yourself!”
Guo Hanxue shot him a glare: “Stop the nonsense. You’re my prisoner now. These things are already my spoils of war!”
Jiang Yi was seething inside. *How shameless! These are things I worked hard to gather!* Mentally cursing, he kept a smiling face: “Yes, yes, they all belong to you, Senior. Feel free!”
Clearly, Guo Han Xue was also a bit embarrassed. But having gone without food or water for two days, hearing there was food in the bag made it hard for her to hold out.
She thought for a moment, looking at Jiang Yi, who was as thin as a twig, and decided, *He probably can’t cause any trouble.* She slowly lowered the bow, but kept her eyes on Jiang Yi as she cautiously crouched down to reach for the backpack at her feet.
“Now’s the chance!” Jiang Yi’s eyes gleamed. The moment the girl put away her bow and reached for the backpack’s zipper, he lunged forward like a young leopard! His speed was extreme now; he covered the four-meter distance almost instantly, making a grab for the black blade beside the backpack…
“*Whoosh!*” A gust of wind accompanied Guo Han Xue’s angry shout: “I knew you were up to something!”
“Crap!” Feeling the whoosh of air above his head, Jiang Yi immediately abandoned grabbing the weapon, retracting his left hand lightning-fast. But to his horror, Guo Han Xue’s attack speed exceeded his expectations. Even at his maximum speed, he couldn’t completely avoid her furious strike!
Join the Discussion