PSW - Chapter 133

Chapter 133

By the time Zhao Haiyue and Zhou Xiyue finally finished their shift change, Zhou Xiyue was just about to invite her to dinner when she saw Yun Lingjian, bundled up in a thick down jacket, hurrying over from a distance.

The wind and snow howled outside, and a layer of white had already covered her hat and clothes. Even the warm air from her breath seemed to freeze into fine ice crystals.

"It's so cold, why did you come over?" Zhao Haiyue quickly ran forward. Before she could even take Yun Lingjian's hand, Yun Lingjian stuffed two still-warm hot water bottles into her arms.

"I just finished work, so I came to pick you up for dinner." Yun Lingjian smiled, snowflakes clinging to her eyelashes. She looked at Zhou Xiyue, who was a little behind them. "Want to join us?"

"Sure, I'll shamelessly tag along for a meal. I'll cook." Zhou Xiyue showed no self-awareness about being a third wheel. She walked closer and, seeing Yun Lingjian's empty hands and no sign of more hot water bottles in her coat, teased, "Seriously, you two weren't like this before you got together. Now that you're a couple, you're isolating me, aren't you? You even brought a hot water bottle for just one person."

"Your gloves are plenty thick. What do you need a hot water bottle for?" Zhao Haiyue wasn't having it. "If you want one, go ask your brother, or find a partner yourself. The weather's freezing. Stop being so sour and let's go. Hurry up and get back to the fire."

Zhou Xiyue didn't argue further with Zhao Haiyue; after all, it really was cold. She hunched her shoulders, pulled her hat down a little lower, and quickened her pace to follow them toward the dorms. As she walked, she asked with concern, "Do you guys still have enough of your coal rations and things? If you're short on contribution points, let me know. I can still lend you some."

"We have enough. Weren't you the ones who set our benefits? Researchers get a fixed supply of coal," Yun Lingjian replied softly. "The enhancement serum is in its initial stages of completion. The first round of testing was very successful, so there shouldn't be any major problems with the formula. Based on the remaining materials… we should be able to produce a relatively stable batch of Type I serum."

"We can set aside a few vials to award to the ability users who make the greatest contributions during the extreme cold period."

"Alright, got it. We'll talk specifics when we're back inside and warm." As Zhou Xiyue spoke, a gust of wind blew a face full of snow at her. She closed her eyes and pushed forward. By the time she finally made it to the base of the residential building, the bone-chilling wind had pierced through her down jacket, leaving her whole body stiff with cold.

"This extreme cold period… the extreme weather is getting more and more ridiculous," Zhou Xiyue grumbled under her breath, then noticed the other two walking up the stairs side by side.

…How nice. There was absolutely no space for her to squeeze in between them.

Seriously, it was supposed to be a friendship of three people, so how did two of them suddenly get together?! Looking back, she'd never even noticed they were interested in each other!

…No, on second thought, hadn't the two of them always taken special care of each other back in school? Later, even though she was in their group chat, she was always busy, so the two of them often went out together openly. Thinking about it now, weren't those just dates? Weren't they cultivating their relationship?!

Yun Lingjian's cooking was terrible, yet whenever she invited Zhao Haiyue to try a new dish, Zhao Haiyue would go without a moment's hesitation. Those scallion pancakes were, at best, edible and tasted normal when she was on her game, but Zhao Haiyue absolutely loved them. Even now, in the apocalypse, Yun Lingjian still made them for her.

Following behind them, the more Zhou Xiyue thought about it, the more unsettled she felt, until a deep question surfaced: when on earth did these two get together? There was no way they had only started dating recently!

Following the "new couple" into the room, Zhou Xiyue took off her gloves and hat and rubbed her hands together vigorously to warm up. Yun Lingjian had already poured her a cup of hot water, handing it to her to sip slowly.

"We have some frozen meat at home. And some potatoes." Yun Lingjian turned and handed Zhao Haiyue a cup of hot water as well, adding, "We can just stew them together and have noodles."

"I'll do it," Zhou Xiyue interjected, heading straight for the kitchen. "Zhao Haiyue said you two got together during the New Year, but I don't believe it for a second. If you were secretly together behind my back before, you could have just told me. I wouldn't have minded."

"Why would we need to be secretive behind your back?" Zhao Haiyue rolled her eyes, exasperated. She took off her glasses to clean the lenses. "Before that… I guess, um, we were in a phase of mutual, unspoken feelings? Anyway, neither of us… well, I didn't dare to be too forward. We'd been friends for so many years, after all. If I confessed rashly… I was just a little scared." Recalling her thoughts at the time, Zhao Haiyue was vague, only giving a general idea.

"Let's get the potato and meat stew started first," Yun Lingjian urged Zhou Xiyue. "We can chat later. I actually have something I need to ask Haiyue."

"Ooh, is it a topic I'm allowed to listen to?" Zhou Xiyue exclaimed dramatically, though her hands moved much more nimbly. She rolled the frozen potatoes in warm water for a moment before peeling and dicing them.

She sliced the meat, seared it briefly, then stewed everything together before seasoning it. Once the ingredients were tender and the sauce had thickened, she started another pot to boil plain noodles. In this weather, Zhou Xiyue couldn't be bothered to rinse the noodles in cold water. She served them directly into bowls, ladled a scoop of the potato and meat stew over the top, gave it a quick stir, and it was ready to eat.

This was basically noodles with gravy, right?

"I can't believe you haven't cooked in so long, but your skills are still top-notch." Zhao Haiyue took the bowl and chopsticks, sat down at the table, and praised her after the first bite. Then she looked at Yun Lingjian. "Was there something you wanted to ask?"

"Yes, but it's nothing major." Yun Lingjian mixed her noodles and, to make it easier to eat, tied her hair up again. "That special zombie… you weren't the one who subdued it, were you?"

"!? Ahem, wh-cough, what?" Zhao Haiyue nearly choked on her noodles, the food almost coming out of her nose. She struggled to steady her breathing, adjusted her glasses, and composed her expression. "Of course I subdued it. Is there a second mental-type ability user besides me?"

"I'm probably the only one who noticed something was off, and I didn't report it. Zhou Xiyue isn't an outsider," Yun Lingjian said, her expression calm. She was even able to continue eating normally. "The dark blue fluid inside that zombie's brain… the main ingredient for the enhancement serum, the amount of that fluid was wrong. A large portion of the fluid in its brain must have been taken by someone."

"If possible, could you ask the person who took it to spare a little more for us?" Yun Lingjian looked at Zhao Haiyue, her tone completely conversational, showing no intention of listening to any further explanations. "They must be a very powerful ability user, right? Stronger than you, stronger than me, and even stronger than most of the ability users in the shelter."

"Chu Yi, just how many things have you been hiding from me!" Zhou Xiyue's eyes widened, and she held her bowl, momentarily losing her appetite. "Our bond has faded!"

"…" Zhao Haiyue opened her mouth but said nothing. She subconsciously pushed up her glasses and touched the tip of her nose, remaining silent.

"Very powerful, and very dangerous? Did they forbid you from revealing their existence?" Yun Lingjian could guess what had happened. Perhaps that person was just a powerful individual passing through, or perhaps… "The people with you at the time were Zhu Lanyuan and Lian Langxi. And then there was… Yu Yinan, and Zheng Yi." She enunciated each name clearly, carefully observing Zhao Haiyue's micro-expressions and small movements.

"Oh, so it was Zheng Yi? Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi, but your reaction to Zheng Yi's name was stronger."

"Those two ability users… I think you've mentioned them before. Last time, when Zhu Lanyuan's squad went missing, you went on a mission with them. And the map was drawn by Yu Yinan." As soon as Yun Lingjian said their names, Zhou Xiyue remembered. She frowned slightly, recalling, "You said you were going to introduce them to me, but they left the base before I could meet them. You never brought it up again after that."

"Grandma Xu Lanjun was on a team with them, but when I asked her, I didn't notice anything unusual about the two of them from our conversation." Yun Lingjian had clearly done her homework and hadn't just decided to ask Zhao Haiyue on a whim. "I asked Lian Langxi about the situation when they captured the zombie, but she was very evasive and refused to tell me anything, eventually using a date as an excuse to leave. However, based on my subsequent observations, she hasn't accepted anyone's advances and is still single."

"Zhu Lanyuan's account matched what you said at the time, but her micro-expressions showed a hint of discomfort. Because I had already made a bold hypothesis, I pressed her about the rescue of all those women at the school. Her expression froze for an instant then, too." Yun Lingjian's emotions were stable as she recounted these things, speaking calmly and unhurriedly, as if telling a story. She looked at Zhao Haiyue. "I remember, Zheng Yi's codename is Saint, isn't it? Coincidentally, the women who were rescued back then pray to 'Lady Saint' every week. They believe in the 'Saint' who saved them."

"And during the New Year, before Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan left Humanity's Light, Zhu Lanyuan invited them, along with all the women who had been rescued, to have New Year's Eve dinner together."

Zhao Haiyue's gaze darted around, her lips turning pale. She didn't want to hide anything from Yun Lingjian, and Zhou Xiyue's stare from the side was making her panic. But… but… this was Zheng Yi! They had no idea how terrifying, how powerful, how untouchable Zheng Yi was!

"Maybe… maybe it's just a coincidence? I'm on good terms with all the captains. Zhu Lanyuan and Lian Langxi are my friends. I was the one who registered Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi when they entered the shelter. Don't you remember? Zheng Yi even gave me a can of beef hot pot. They're all captains, and after getting to know them better, I thought they were great people, so introducing them to each other… that's normal, right?" Zhao Haiyue looked at Yun Lingjian with a hint of helplessness. "Haven't you met Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan too?"

"Mm. Once the extreme cold period is over, they'll probably come back here, right? Since they're your friends… when the time comes, you can help me arrange a meeting with them. I'll take a day off, and we can talk to them face-to-face." Yun Lingjian looked at Zhao Haiyue and smiled. "That should be fine, right?"

"…Of course, why wouldn't it be?" Zhao Haiyue forced a smile. She jabbed at a piece of potato with her chopsticks, mashing it to bits, wishing that Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan would never set foot in Humanity's Light again for the rest of their lives.

Sitting across from them, Zhou Xiyue's brow remained furrowed. Zhao Haiyue's reaction was a clear sign that something was up! Had Yun Lingjian really just let her off the hook for now?

She was listening too, and her reaction was just as strong. She had a stomach full of questions she wanted to ask. But why was it that in this atmosphere, she just couldn't get a word in? Why couldn't she bring herself to speak?

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