Chapter 12: The Abduction of Guo Hanxue

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Guo Hanxue stared blankly at the backpack handed to her, then suddenly snapped out of it and shook her head. “No, I can’t eat your food. Food is too precious now. I can find my own; I don’t need to eat yours!”

Clearly, Guo Hanxue was quite different from the survivors who had endured ten days in the apocalypse. Even knowing it was the end of the world, she hadn’t lost her principles.

Jiang Yi felt troubled seeing Guo Hanxue refuse the “wages” he offered. Obviously, she didn’t realize that she was already part of his team.

That was fine—he could keep his abilities hidden—but just because she didn’t know didn’t mean he could comfortably take such a great benefit from her.

After some thought, Jiang Yi didn’t insist. Instead, he piled the food from his bag in front of Guo Hanxue. “Then consider it a loan. You can pay me back once you find food.”

Guo Hanxue paused, then nodded, a little embarrassed as she opened a pack of chocolates. “Well… thank you!”

Seeing her accept his suggestion, Jiang Yi grinned happily. “It’s nothing. We’re teammates now; helping each other is only natural!”

Guo Hanxue’s hand froze mid-motion eating the chocolate. “Teammates?”

“Uh, I mean comrades! Since we fought together yesterday, we’re comrades!” Jiang Yi almost slipped and said too much, hastily offering an excuse. Guo Hanxue thought for a moment and accepted the explanation.

Jiang Yi secretly exhaled in relief. He definitely didn’t want Guo Hanxue to know she had somehow been sold to him. Watching her eat quickly yet gracefully, he handed her a bottle of water. “Guo Hanxue, what are your plans now?”

Swallowing her food and taking a sip, Guo Hanxue’s face showed worry. “I want to return to the capital city, but I haven’t been able to contact my father. I don’t know how they’re doing.”

Jiang Yi’s eyes brightened. “Your family is in the capital?”

The capital was far from Long Province. If that was the case, Guo Hanxue obviously couldn’t leave Long Province anytime soon. Did that mean he might have a chance to keep her around as a worker?

“Yes, my father works in the capital, and my mother is with him. So I need to find a way to get there,” Guo Hanxue said firmly, clearly a decision she had pondered long ago.

Jiang Yi feigned thoughtfulness. “But the capital is so far. Given the current situation, there probably aren’t any means of transportation. How will you get there?”

Guo Hanxue bitterly shook her head, well aware of the difficulty. The capital was nearly a thousand miles from Long Province; even high-speed rail would take hours under normal circumstances, let alone in this chaotic apocalypse.

Seeing her hesitation, Jiang Yi smiled and seized the moment. “Besides, since you’re willing to go to the capital for your uncle and aunt, aren’t you sure they won’t come to Long Province for you?”

Guo Hanxue looked up anxiously, barely able to eat. “No way. The capital is the safest place for my parents. How could they come here?”

Jiang Yi shook his head. “Because you’re here. A child’s parents’ hearts are wherever their child is…”

Thinking about her parents possibly traveling a thousand miles from the capital to Long Province, Guo Hanxue felt a sharp pang in her heart.

The crucial part was that she didn’t know what her parents had decided, nor what she should do. “What should I do?”

Being without anyone to turn to, Guo Hanxue instinctively looked at Jiang Yi. Jiang Yi cleared his throat and continued his persuasive plan. “For now, the priority is to find a way to contact the outside world or get news about the capital from others before deciding whether to go or stay.”

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Guo Hanxue nodded, clearly agreeing with Jiang Yi’s idea.

Seeing her emotions stabilize, Jiang Yi said, “How about this: we settle in at the school first, then find ways to scout for news. Give your uncle and aunt some time. If they really come back, they’ll definitely look for you here first. If not, after some time, I think Long Province will have measures in place. Many might want to head to the capital, and then we can go together!”

Hearing Jiang Yi’s words, Guo Hanxue’s eyes lit up. He was right! Instead of wandering blindly, it was better to stay at the school. That way, if her parents truly came, they could find her quickly. Even if they didn’t, she could plan how to get to the capital later.

With her decision made, Guo Hanxue’s mood calmed rapidly. She gratefully looked at Jiang Yi. “Thank you, Jiang Yi. Without you, I might have panicked and rashly left the school to head to the capital.”

Jiang Yi waved his hand. “No problem. Since you want to stay at the school, why not come with me?”

Guo Hanxue was taken aback and suddenly wary. “What do you mean?”

Jiang Yi didn’t understand her sudden change of tone but answered, “You and I both have abilities. If we hadn’t helped each other yesterday, neither of us would have survived. Alone, no one can guarantee survival. Don’t you want strong comrades by your side?”

Only then did Guo Hanxue realize she had misunderstood Jiang Yi. Embarrassed, she lowered her head. “Yeah… you’re right, but can just the two of us really make it?”

Seeing how easily she agreed to travel with him, Jiang Yi’s eyes gleamed. He thought he had quite the talent for negotiation.

Little did he know, Guo Hanxue agreed so readily because first, Jiang Yi had saved her yesterday, and second, she truly had no other choice. Unless she wanted to go it alone, no sane person would reject a comrade with fighting skills in times like these.

Once Jiang Yi confirmed her thoughts, he relaxed, eager to check if their trust levels had shifted but controlled his excitement. Instead, he began discussing their next moves with Guo Hanxue.

Since she had decided to travel with him temporarily, Guo Hanxue didn’t overthink it. When she learned Jiang Yi intended to clear out the entire dormitory, she readily agreed.

However, it was then Jiang Yi discovered a major flaw in Guo Hanxue’s wind-based ability: her energy was too weak. She could only unleash powerful wind blades three times!

“No way. You’re so strong, how can your ability be so weak?” Jiang Yi felt disheartened. His own ability was already pretty “unfair,” so why was Guo Hanxue’s so disappointing?

Three wind blades—what could that do? Kill three zombies?

Using too much energy left Guo Hanxue weak. Even if she didn’t say it, Jiang Yi had learned this from Chen Jiazi.

“My ability’s not that weak. I still have my bow and arrows!” Guo Hanxue was unwilling to be looked down upon, so she picked up her longbow.

Jiang Yi’s eyes fell on it, recalling the terrifying power of her arrows from yesterday. His eyes brightened. “I almost forgot—why do you have a bow and arrows? And your arrows seem especially powerful!”

He hadn’t forgotten the stunning arrow that shattered the entire window yesterday.

Talking about her specialty, Guo Hanxue’s spirit lifted. Tossing her long hair back, she proudly raised her head. “I’m the captain of our archery club. What’s so strange about being good at archery?”

Jiang Yi’s eyes shone at her confidence. A club captain was definitely a prominent figure at university!

Unfortunately, he hadn’t paid much attention to these things before, so Guo Hanxue hadn’t left much impression.

“You’re really amazing!” He sincerely praised her, which made Guo Hanxue even more excited. “You don’t know, I discovered yesterday that my wind ability can enhance my arrows! It makes them faster and more powerful!”

Jiang Yi smiled. That explained it. He had suspected as much; otherwise, her arrows wouldn’t have been so devastating. This ability gave Guo Hanxue a significant survival edge early on despite her weak powers.

Otherwise, how could a newly awakened power user have survived those long ten days?

Their first mission as a team was to clear out the fifth floor.

By now, Guo Hanxue had completely cleaned the fifth floor, but the hallways were still strewn with corpses, making it unsuitable for humans. So, both of them wore rubber gloves and gathered the stinking bodies into one dorm room, locking the door. That at least eased the atmosphere.

Guo Hanxue looked pale. Though brave enough to fight zombies, she was still a young girl and didn’t want to move corpses.

However, moving the bodies allowed her to retrieve arrows; no matter how skilled she was, without her bow and arrows, her skills were useless. Many arrows were damaged, so Jiang Yi helped her sort and replace them.

Jiang Yi felt as if they hadn’t made any real progress all morning.

With a hint of complaint, Guo Hanxue bossily directed Jiang Yi to search for supplies on the fifth floor.

Since it was a girls’ dorm, there weren’t many useful things for Jiang Yi, but Guo Hanxue found plenty. Had Jiang Yi not firmly refused, she might have taken all the good stuff.

Gathering supplies was enjoyable, and soon they had swept through the fifth and fourth floors with plentiful gains. Jiang Yi then had to drag a somewhat reluctant Guo Hanxue to tackle the third floor.

Jiang Yi carried his decapitating knife, and Guo Hanxue held her longbow, a quiver slung on her back. She wore a black mask, her long hair tied back neatly, her entire demeanor sharp and fierce.

Jiang Yi nodded approvingly. As expected from the teammate he’d chosen, her aura was far from that of the fragile girls who usually needed protection in the apocalypse.

Standing on the third floor, Jiang Yi drew his black blade and whispered to Guo Hanxue, “Remember, try to use your powers sparingly. Your task is to watch my back. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”

No choice—though she was a team member now, Guo Hanxue joining the fight might actually be a disadvantage for him. He desperately needed experience right now…