Chapter 30: The True Chen Jiazi

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Although, officially, they occupied only the fourth floor, they had actually taken control of the third floor long ago as well.

That was why Jiang Yi did not see Guo Hanxue immediately. Instead, Li Gang led him to the third floor and shouted at a female student who was sorting supplies there, “Han Ya, take these two to a room, lock them up, and let them out tomorrow.”

Without paying any attention to the girl’s expression as she worked, he turned and hurried upstairs.

Jiang Yi frowned and tried to call him back. Quarantine? Would they have to waste another entire day?

At that moment, the girl across from them set down what she was holding, pushed up her thick glasses, and cautiously approached. Her eyes swept over the wounds on the two men before she said softly, “Come with me.”

Jiang Yi did not want to waste any time. “Student Han, our injuries weren’t caused by zombie bites. And we didn’t just arrive at the gymnasium—we spent yesterday resting on the second floor. If we were infected, we would have turned into zombies by now. There shouldn’t be any need to quarantine us, right?”

As he spoke, Jiang Yi gestured for Haruto to show her his wounds.

He could not let her examine his own injuries. Unlike Haruto, every wound on his body had been left by zombies. If he had not awakened an ability, wounds that severe would have turned him into a zombie countless times over.

Han Ya pushed up her glasses awkwardly. “That isn’t up to me. Chairman Ma has decreed that anyone coming in from outside must be quarantined for a day. Even if we go outside and encounter zombies without being injured, we still have to be isolated for half a day.”

As she spoke, Han Ya briskly opened a storage room and gestured for them to go inside.

The two men had no choice but to enter. Han Ya immediately locked the door from the outside and spoke through the crack. “Don’t worry. As long as you haven’t turned into zombies, I’ll ask around and find you an easier job once you’re released. As long as you work here, you won’t starve to death.”

With that, she left them and returned to her work.

Haruto sat cross-legged on an exercise mat, smiling at the helpless-looking Jiang Yi. “This place seems to have pretty good order. It’s far better than the swimming pool.”

Jiang Yi rubbed his aching head. “So what? This place isn’t suitable for staying long-term. There’s no food here; they can only rely on people going out to search for it. With so many people, something is bound to happen sooner or later.”

Haruto nodded. “That’s right. A few days ago, all the food that could be found nearby was looted. If people want to find anything now, they have to go farther away. The day before yesterday, ten of us went out. Only three returned safely, counting me.”

At the thought of it, his mood sank. Some of those people had once been his companions.

Just a few days earlier, they had still been happily practicing their swordsmanship together. Yet only days later, they had been separated forever. Haruto had already suggested to Zhu Caijun and the others that they should leave, but clearly, apart from the few who supported him, most people had refused to go because of their fear of the zombies.

The area around the gymnasium might be short on supplies, but it had its advantages. Few people had gathered there, so there were naturally fewer zombies. More importantly, the gymnasium had been built only a few years earlier and was exceptionally sturdy. As long as they hid there, they had little to fear from the zombies and ferocious beasts outside.

Jiang Yi grew increasingly anxious. Locked inside the cramped, dark room, he became more and more restless. Haruto, however, remained quiet. He knelt calmly on the floor with his sword resting across his thighs, maintaining the appearance of someone cultivating his mind.

If not for the occasional rumbling from his stomach, he might actually have fooled Jiang Yi.

Looking at Haruto’s rather convincing meditation posture, Jiang Yi secretly rolled his eyes. Only after getting to know him did Jiang Yi realize that the legendary figure from the university was not aloof in the slightest. He was no different from an ordinary person. Jiang Yi had once imagined him to be so impossibly distant.

Trapped there, Jiang Yi could think of no solution for the moment. Suppressing his frustration, he sat against the wall as well. Compared with Haruto’s perfectly upright kneeling posture, Jiang Yi looked as lazy as a black cat dozing with narrowed eyes.

He pressed a palm against the wall and glanced at his status. His attributes and level had not changed much.

Level 6!

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Level: 6 (49/64), Speed: 13, Defense: 7, Strength: 5.5, Spirit: 5.5, Constitution: 4

But after being separated from Guo Hanxue for so long, they were still considered to be in a party?

Could party mode work even when its members were not together?

However, his experience had not increased. That meant either she had not fought since they separated, or he could not receive her experience while they were apart.

Jiang Yi scratched his head in frustration. He discovered that there were far too many aspects of his abilities that still needed to be verified. The entire system interface seemed terribly crude.

He glanced at Guo Hanxue’s trust rating and was astonished to see that it had reached an incredible ninety percent. Had he done something that moved her so deeply?

He frowned, then noticed something even stranger. Haruto did not appear in his party menu.

After all, he and Haruto had spent two or three days together. If party mode required a certain level of trust to activate, that did not make sense either. Compared with the way things had begun between him and Guo Hanxue, his relationship with Haruto had clearly started out far more harmoniously.

And yet, party mode had still not activated between him and Haruto.

“Ah! This is driving me crazy!”

Jiang Yi violently scratched his head with his left hand. Under Haruto’s strange stare, his hair became a tangled mess. He abruptly stood up.

His abilities were still too weak. This was the golden period for rapidly increasing his strength. How could he waste time here?

No. He had to see Guo Hanxue as soon as possible.

Jiang Yi had even begun to consider that, if he truly could not find her, he would accept leaving immediately.

After all, there were far too many things he needed to figure out. And there was also the grudge born of betrayal that he had to settle.

With that thought, Jiang Yi strode to the door and pounded on it several times. Soon, Han Ya’s timid voice came from outside.

“W-what is it?”

Jiang Yi pressed close to the door and said quietly, “Student Han, can you open the door? I really have something urgent to deal with. I have to get out immediately.”

Han Ya’s troubled voice drifted through the door. “I can’t. It isn’t up to me. If I let you out, I’ll be punished. I’m sorry…”

Jiang Yi frowned. He would rather deal with a reckless brute like Li Gang than a girl as timid as a little rabbit like Han Ya.

After pleading with her for a long time, Jiang Yi finally ran out of arguments. Han Ya still refused to open the door, so he had to settle for the next best thing.

“Then could I ask you to do me a favor? I can trade you food.”

Han Ya had rejected him every time before, but when she heard the word “food,” she fell silent for a moment.

They might not have lacked food after the apocalypse, but as a girl who did not dare fight, she had clearly never managed to eat her fill.

Unable to resist Jiang Yi’s temptation, she finally asked hesitantly, “What do you want me to do?”

Jiang Yi’s eyes lit up. There was a way in.

He quickly pressed his advantage. “Student Han, do you know Chairman Guo Hanxue? She’s from the archery club.”

Han Ya answered immediately, and her voice became slightly more cheerful. “Of course I know her. I’m in the archery club too!”

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Jiang Yi was delighted. “Then could you go and find her for me? Just tell her that Jiang Yi is here.”

Han Ya was stunned for a moment, apparently unable to understand how Jiang Yi knew her chairwoman. After all, their chairwoman normally paid no attention to men and had little patience for them.

Thinking about Jiang Yi’s request, she looked troubled. “I know the chairwoman came back two days ago, but I can’t see her now. I’m not allowed upstairs.”

Jiang Yi frowned anxiously. “I’ll give you enough food for three meals. All you have to do is go upstairs and call her. This isn’t some feudal age. Even if you aren’t supposed to go up there, the worst that can happen is that you’ll be scolded.”

Han Ya was clearly extremely timid. Even after Jiang Yi increased the payment, she still looked worried.

Only after Jiang Yi promised her two bottles of clean mineral water did Han Ya, who rarely ate her fill, finally grit her teeth.

“All right. You’d better keep your word, or I won’t forgive you!”

Hearing the girl’s utterly unthreatening warning, Jiang Yi did not know whether to laugh or cry. Still, fortunately, she had agreed.

Now all they had to do was wait.

Haruto looked at Jiang Yi strangely. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “You care a lot about Chairman Guo Hanxue, don’t you? Is she your girlfriend?”

Jiang Yi froze. He had no idea how Haruto had concluded that he and Guo Hanxue were a couple.

He hurriedly denied it. “How could that be? Why would I like that fierce woman?”

Haruto seemed to consider his answer, a probing look appearing in his eyes.

“Are you… still together with Chen Jiazi?”

Jiang Yi looked toward Haruto. If he had been asked that question before, he would have proudly declared that their relationship remained deep and strong.

But now, he truly could not bring himself to say it—not even as a way of deceiving himself.

Seeing Jiang Yi’s conflicted expression, Haruto mistakenly assumed that he and Chen Jiazi had already broken up. He could not help but relax.

Jiang Yi narrowed his eyes at him. “What? Is there something you want to say?”

Haruto was clearly not good at controlling his expression. The moment Jiang Yi pressed him, he became flustered.

The more nervous he became, the more curious Jiang Yi grew. In the end, Jiang Yi even threatened to withhold Haruto’s food the next day.

Only then did Haruto say, “Jiang Yi, you know that I used to like her too. I even challenged you to a duel, though I later canceled it.”

Jiang Yi nodded. He would never forget that. At the time, Chen Jiazi had comforted him, saying that at least he would not have to fight someone else and get injured. Jiang Yi had been deeply touched then, believing that she was worried about him and cared for him.

But thinking back now, Chen Jiazi’s expression and tone had clearly meant that she believed he could never defeat Haruto and did not want him to embarrass her.

Haruto frowned. “Actually, before the duel, I went to find her because I wanted to speak with her. But outside her dormitory, I heard what she was saying to some other girls.”

Jiang Yi was stunned. He had never known there was such a story behind everything. Judging from the fact that Haruto had suddenly canceled the duel, whatever he had heard could not have been anything good.

Yet Haruto’s next words made Jiang Yi see the real Chen Jiazi in an entirely different light.

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