“Captain, it’s handled,” Yang Yueying’s voice came from behind them.
“Perfect timing. Arrange rooms for these three, I have some matters to attend to,” Liu Chuang said, turning to organize the night patrols.
“Follow me.” Yang Yueying, who looked to be in her early twenties, had a rather lively personality. She arranged separate rooms for the three of them and specifically cautioned them to go out as little as possible at night, and to avoid any floors above the fourteenth.
Lu Zhi exchanged a look with Luo Shiyu, both sensing a hidden indifference beneath Liu Chuang and Yang Yueying’s seemingly warm welcome.
The simple-minded Lan Yushan, however, felt nothing of the sort. Calling Yang Yueying “Sister Yang” repeatedly, he hadn’t stopped talking since they entered the elevator. “Sister Yang, how old are you? Are you married? How many siblings do you have? Are they all police officers like you, protecting the country?”
Yang Yueying had never met someone so forward. “Twenty-three, not married, and I’m the only one in the force,” she replied.
As the elevator ascended slowly, Lu Zhi interrupted Lan Yushan’s curiosity to ask the important question, “Officer Yang, roughly how many civilians are still in this area? And how many have died or haven’t reached a safe haven yet?”
Yang Yueying glanced at him and smiled. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that, leave it to us. You’ve all had a tough day, so rest for a few days. We’re here. Here are your room cards. If you need anything, just call me. I have other things to do, so I won’t chat with you any further.”
With that, she smiled, waved goodbye, and closed the elevator doors.
“What’s going on? Did I do something wrong? Why do I feel like Sister Yang isn’t very welcoming towards us?” Even the slow-witted Lan Yu Shan could sense Yang Yueying’s coldness now.
“Something’s not right,” Lu Zhi mused, turning to Luo Shiyu. “Do you know something?”
Luo Shiyu nodded. “I’ve heard some rumors, but I don’t know if they’re true.” He glanced at the empty corridor. “It’s not too late. Someone will likely come to my room to discuss it later?”
Lu Zhi had no objections, and Lan Yushan was eager to return to his room to rest.
The three rooms were connected, all single rooms.
Lu Zhi entered his room, closed the door, and walked to the window. He lifted a corner of the curtain to peer out into the inky blackness. Endless darkness and white mist enveloped the surroundings. Corpses, reanimated as shambling zombies, aimlessly wandered around the "Yi Fang Jie" (a protective barrier), their numbers enough to make one’s scalp tingle. A rough estimate suggested hundreds of them.
The Yi Fang Jie could not only defend but also mask their presence. In the eyes of these low-level anomalies, this building was invisible. As long as they stayed within the protective range of the Yi Fang Jie, they could ensure temporary safety.
Lu Zhi lowered his gaze to the guards patrolling below within the Yi Fang Jie, then drew the curtains. “I’ll take a shower first.”
After a day of constant tension and being chased by living corpses, Lu Zhi was drenched in sweat and could no longer bear it.
He first placed the small Shen Qi from his pocket on the cabinet next to the television. Turning around, he bent down, took off his shirt, and tossed it onto the floor. On the cabinet, the small Shen Qi’s pair of silver-gray eyes slowly blinked.
The room’s lights illuminated Lu Zhi’s fair back. His movements revealed firm, yet not exaggerated muscles, with smooth, aesthetically pleasing lines.
He expertly unbuckled his belt and tossed it onto the bed. As he turned, the television screen reflected his hazy, four-pack abs, and his pants, freed from the belt and unbuttoned, hung loosely at his hips, the line of his groin revealing a glimpse of black underwear. He slowly walked towards the bathroom, tossing his pants and underwear onto the floor.
*Bang*. The bathroom door closed, and the rushing sound of water drowned out any noise in the bedroom.
Little Shen Qi, sitting quietly on the cabinet, had unusually large silver-gray eyes for a child. Unlike the sharp, almond-shaped eyes of the adult Shen Qi, they held a touch of childlike cuteness.
Little Shen Qi slowly stood up from the cabinet, his movements devoid of the stiffness of a puppet. His eyes first fell on his shirt on the floor, then he turned his head to look at the pants and underwear on the floor outside the bathroom door.
*Creak…*
Suddenly, the piercing sound of sharp objects scratching against glass echoed from outside the window. Lu Zhi, showering in the bathroom, was completely unaware, the sound of water masking everything.
Little Shen Qi lightly stomped his foot, and a pair of semi-transparent wings, resembling those of an anime elf, unfurled. He flew to the window and pulled open the curtains. On the glass pane, a bloody handprint had appeared at some point.
*Click*.
The bathroom door suddenly opened. Lu Zhi, with a towel wrapped around his waist, one hand drying his hair, turned and froze as he saw the small Shen Qi floating in mid-air, his expression unreadable.
Shen Qi, or rather, Shen Qi who had injected one-third of his mental power into the spirit puppet, could communicate with Lu Zhi at any time outside the cage through the puppet’s special abilities and could serve as a life-saving artifact in critical moments.
“Dry your hair,” Little Shen Qi’s small mouth opened and closed, his voice that of a cute young boy, instantly dispelling Lu Zhi’s tension.
Lu Zhi stiffly continued to dry his hair, realizing he was still shirtless. He quickly grabbed a bathrobe from the wardrobe and put it on, then swiftly bent down to stuff the clothes on the floor into the washing machine. Only then did he turn to look at Little Shen Qi, who was sitting on the cabinet with his legs crossed. After a pause, he asked, “Are you… Shen Qi?”
Little Shen Qi’s expression was blank. “What do you think? Does my hair feel soft?”
Lu Zhi: …
He wished time could rewind so he could chop off his own hands!
“What’s going on here?” Lu Zhi very stiffly changed the subject. “I thought the spirit puppet you gave me was just a protective charm…” If he had known it was you, he wouldn’t have dared to stroke your hair like cat fur, even if given a hundred times the courage!
Shen Qi’s eyes were fixed on him, making him feel utterly uncomfortable. Finally, Shen Qi, with a look of benevolence, raised his delicate chin slightly. “Sit down, I’ll teach you how to use mental power.”
Lu Zhi said, “Oh,” and quickly sat on the edge of the bed. Then he realized and asked, “I can use mental power? No, is there anywhere I can use mental power?”
“Why can’t you?” Shen Qi tilted his head slightly. Though he looked adorable, his little face was stern, and his voice was crisp and cool. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Lu Zhi: … Isn’t this just using me for an experiment?
Shen Qi’s expression was blank as he directly commanded, “Close your eyes and sense the artifact.”
Lu Zhi subconsciously closed his eyes. Three seconds later, he opened them and asked slowly, “What artifact?”
Shen Qi’s blank gaze fell upon the emerald ring on his index finger.
“You’re saying this is an artifact?” Lu Zhi wasn’t being overly dramatic. He had never thought of the ring as an artifact. After all, any artifact, even the lowest-tier one, was a treasure fought over by many outside.
Shen Qi confirmed the genuine surprise on his face and, with a sigh, explained the types of extraordinary beings: natural and possessor.
Natural-types, like Luo Shiyu and Lan Yushan, stored their mental power within their bodies. Possessor-types, like Lu Zhi, only gained mental power upon activating an artifact. The former needed rest and recovery after exhausting their physical mental power, while the latter’s mental power was continuous as long as the artifact’s owner was alive. They were mutually complementary.
Lu Zhi looked at the vibrantly green ring dazedly, murmuring, “Am I somehow playing the male lead’s role?”
Shen Qi flew in front of him and said, “You must learn to use the artifact, otherwise…”
Lu Zhi asked uneasily, “Otherwise what?”
Shen Qi smiled. “You’ll die.”
Lu Zhi: …