Part 3
“True, he looks like he has small guts.” Qin Yinian shrugged. “But you can’t hide it anymore. The Four Directions National Protection Array is weakening. Even schools can have incidents. There will only be more and more events in the future.”
“The Qi is getting more mixed too. With mixed Qi, these ghostly things can hide. We were both at school and didn’t even detect it coming in. If you hadn’t happened to bump into it, maybe a few students would have been polluted before it was discovered.”
Across the country, if you asked where was safest and cleanest, it was strictly the schools.
Students were young, and suppressed by study every day, their minds were pure. Like the rising morning sun, places like schools where students gathered had always been able to suppress all kinds of evil spirits.
But now it seemed schools were no longer safe either.
Qin Yinian suggested, “Tell your friend the truth. Before long, it will be announced nationwide anyway. Rather than being scared out of his wits then, it’s better to hear it from you.”
“Or if you don’t want to say it, I can say it for you.”
Chu Xiao didn’t respond.
He knew Qin Yinian actually had no interest in Luo Shizhen.
Qin Yinian’s ability was fire, his was ice. Water and fire were incompatible, and they found each other eyesores.
It was just that their levels were both high, and as newly awakened, they were too prone to losing control. The higher-ups had specially arranged for them to be together so they could suppress each other. If one lost control, the other could immediately contain the scene.
At the time, it was either Qin Yinian transferring or Chu Xiao transferring. Chu Xiao refused to transfer, so in the end, Qin Yinian transferred to Hongxi.
Because of this, Qin Yinian found Chu Xiao even more annoying.
He guessed that Chu Xiao refused to transfer because of Luo Shizhen. Teasing Luo Shizhen in front of Chu Xiao a few times was just to provoke him and make him unhappy.
Chu Xiao ignored him, and Qin Yinian clicked his tongue, feeling a bit bored.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the crowd ahead. The unconscious Zhang Cai was convulsing all over, her body twisting into a bizarre posture.
The students gathered around screamed. Some associated it with zombies and dared not approach. A teacher who had seen epilepsy attacks rushed over to hold down Zhang Cai’s hands.
“Quick, someone help! Don’t let her bite her tongue!”
Qin Yinian didn’t look over hearing the noise, but the smile on his face faded.
“She’s showing signs of pollution.”
Chu Xiao lowered his eyes. “A pity. She struggled for so long.”
This Zombie was a Flying Jiangshi, not a low level. Humans attacked by a Flying Jiangshi would quickly be polluted and become the lowest level Walking Corpses.
But after being attacked, Zhang Cai had remained human until just now. They thought she had survived it.
Qin Yinian gathered a small flame in his palm. “I’ll send her off.”
Chu Xiao was injured and immobile; the cleanup had to be done by him.
Humans polluted by the Bizarre would either go mad with pain or transform into various monsters. At that point, they could no longer be called themselves and would attack those around them.
Therefore, the first lesson for Awakeners was: whether Awakener or ordinary human, once confirmed to be polluted, kill immediately.
Before, secrecy was required. Now that even high schools had Anomalies, other places would only have more. Secrecy or not, it didn’t matter anymore.
Qin Yinian stepped forward slowly, not rushing to strike directly.
Zhang Cai wasn’t completely polluted yet.
Before being assimilated into a monster, Zhang Cai was still Zhang Cai, an ordinary student of No. 3 High School, a human.
Maybe her willpower was exceptionally firm, or maybe she had Awakener potential and could resist the Flying Jiangshi’s pollution.
The probability was naturally tiny. Humans showing signs of pollution were 100% likely to be assimilated into monsters.
But as long as Zhang Cai was still human, Qin Yinian wouldn’t strike.
He stood silently in the crowd, like a blade waiting to be unsheathed, hiding the firelight that could take a classmate’s life in his palm, ready at any moment.
Qin Yinian saw Luo Shizhen.
Other classmates were frightened by Zhang Cai’s appearance. Not only was she convulsing, but terrible black veins bulged around the bitten area on her neck. These black veins wriggled on her body like living things.
Under the dim streetlight, this scene was like a horror movie.
They dared not approach, screaming and backing away. Even the teacher was pale with fear, only gritting her teeth to hold Zhang Cai down.
But Luo Shizhen went up to help. He pinned Zhang Cai’s legs with his own and reached out to control her twitching jaw to prevent her from biting her tongue.
Qin Yinian thought, This Luo Shizhen is truly the complete opposite of Chu Xiao.
Chu Xiao was cold; before acting, he always weighed the pros and cons, planning and organizing.
Luo Shizhen? Kind, honest, completely oblivious to avoiding harm, silly.
How did these two become friends?
Luo Shizhen actually didn’t know why he wasn’t afraid. He should be, but he just wasn’t.
It was as if a voice in his heart was telling him: There’s nothing to be afraid of.
Also, he was very hungry.
In such a tense atmosphere, Luo Shizhen felt a trace of shame.
His classmate was in this state, yet he only cared about eating.
But he was really hungry.
So hungry, so fragrant. Does a cooked zombie smell this good?
Earnestly holding down Zhang Cai, Luo Shizhen was so hungry he couldn’t stand it. Like a ghost at work, the hand on Zhang Cai’s jaw drifted to the wound.
Several black threads, almost invisible to the naked eye, followed the black veins, surged out of the wound, and drilled into Luo Shizhen’s palm.
—Not so hungry anymore. Like eating a small bok choy.
Just recovering from the daze of slightly filling his stomach, Luo Shizhen’s hand was suddenly grabbed by Qin Yinian, who spread it open to look at the palm.
He looked blankly at Qin Yinian.
Qin Yinian had another famous point at No. 3 High School: he was a germaphobe. Very much a TV drama male lead setting.
Not only did he wear gloves everywhere, but he never made physical contact with anyone.
But now, Qin Yinian was gripping Luo Shizhen’s hand tightly, and he wasn’t even wearing gloves.
Luo Shizhen, however, didn’t care about the surprise. He shook off Qin Yinian’s hand.
“What are you doing? I’m helping!”
Saying this, he quickly used his freed hand to press down on Zhang Cai again.
But Zhang Cai suddenly stopped convulsing. The massive black veins bulging on her face and neck disappeared. Her twisted body gradually relaxed, and her pupils, which had been turning white, returned to deep brown.
“Hurts… hurts…”
Her consciousness cleared. She cried out weakly in pain, opened her eyes in a daze, saw the teacher, and cried again, “Teacher, it hurts.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. We called 120, it’ll be fine soon. Someone went to get the nurse too. Zhang Cai, bear with it first, don’t sleep.”
The teacher was shaking all over. She had seen zombie movies too and really thought Zhang Cai was going to turn just now.
She didn’t know where she got the courage to touch Zhang Cai in that situation.
Thank goodness, thank goodness. Zhang Cai can still cry pain. She shouldn’t be a zombie.
The teacher tried her best to comfort Zhang Cai. Seeing Zhang Cai stop twitching, Luo Shizhen let go and stood up, observing nervously from the side.
If Zhang Cai got sick again, he could immediately pounce to stop her.
Putting his whole heart on Zhang Cai, he completely failed to notice that Qin Yinian was staring straight at him with a very strange expression.
Qin Yinian stared at Luo Shizhen. Seeing him lively and rosy-cheeked, looking like he could kick ten or eight more Flying Jiangshis, he couldn’t help looking him up and down again.
It was impossible for a person to absorb Corpse Qi and still look so natural.
Unless this person was an Awakener, and one with the rarest, most precious ability.
Qin Yinian held his posture staring at Luo Shizhen, as if trying to stare through him, muttering to himself:
“Purification…”
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