Chapter 550 – The Trio
....
My name is Xu Shuhan.
Before the Disaster Outbreak, I was a radio host.
“Hey, is this Host Xu? Let me tell you a secret…”
“Do I have the option not to listen?”
“Don’t be so heartless, hey, don’t hang up on me! h.e.l.lo?”
Heh…
“Host Xu, it’s me again. I want to tell you a secret, just between us.”
“…You do realize this is a live radio broadcast, right?”
“Well, it’s just you and me as far as listeners go!”
“…”
“Are you going to let me speak? Ha-ha, awesome! I’m actually a bit nervous… cough cough, I’ll only say it once, okay? I’ve been keeping this to myself for so long, too scared to tell anyone… Actually, actually… I’m a superhero!”
“…May I ask, have you washed the underwear you wear on the outside?”
Dial tone…
Yes, that was my job.
I was a host of a late-night talk show, broadcasting at a time when the only listeners were night owls, s.h.i.+ft workers, or drunk idiots and lunatics.
Superheroes… Psychics…
These terms were, in my mind, exclusively a.s.sociated with lunatics, especially the most nonsensical kind.
But who could have imagined, just a few months later, I’d be introducing myself in the same manner—
h.e.l.lo, I am a Psychic…
This embarra.s.singly cliché line has now become nothing out of the ordinary.
Even when I say it, I can’t help feeling a little smug…
After all, in this world reduced to ruins, the term ‘Psychic’ signifies a greater chance of survival…
But even as a Psychic, there’s no guarantee of coming out unscathed from every battle.
Any seemingly trivial danger could be the end of you.
“Wow, is this your inner world, Shuhan? That guy was clearly expressing his love for you, how can you not hear it?… Uh, h.e.l.lo? Are you listening to me?”
Heh, ignore the strange voice that just popped up.
Where was I?
Ah yes, the glory and hards.h.i.+p of being a Psychic…
The stronger you are, the greater the dangers you face.
When you were just an ordinary survivor, you’d even avoid the regular zombies.
You might spend hours crouched in a corner, just waiting for a chance.
And that chance might be for nothing more than a pack of non-moldy cookies.
But as you grow stronger, would you still choose to do that?
Your confidence pushes you to confront danger, and just when you think you’ve overcome it, you never imagine that a greater threat is already looming behind you…
“Danger! Danger! Hey, there really is danger behind you!”
Ah, that voice again…
Wait a minute!
“I’m dizzy! Mu Chen, why didn’t you warn me!”
On the street, a woman with a look of shock on her face turns around, and right before her eyes, a ferocious zombie appears.
The zombie had leaped from the adjacent three-story building, heading straight for the female survivor.
However, just a second later, the shock in the girl’s eyes vanished.
She swiftly pulled a suppressed submachine gun from behind her and, amid a very faint sound, a stream of bullets flew out.
In fact, her gun was aimed at the zombie’s lower body, and as she fired, the barrel drifted upwards with the recoil.
When the bullets. .h.i.t, they struck the descending zombie in the chest and abdomen, even tearing through its neck.
At the same time, the girl moved quickly backward.
Her movement was odd, as if her feet never moved, yet she completed several shockingly fast retreat steps.
While retreating, her calm gaze stayed locked on the a.s.sailant, the gun seemingly drifting off target, yet every shot hit the zombie.
The ferocious zombie continued to lunge at her after landing, and as it came within less than three meters, the girl stopped shooting.
“Hey!” A reminder came from the side.
“It’s enough,” the girl said.
Two meters… one meter…
“Thud!”
The zombie, riddled with bullet holes, finally collapsed to the ground, weakened.
“Wow… turned into a sieve… but what a waste!”
“I hate that he interrupted me.”
“That’s pure hatred, isn’t it?”
The girl calmly watched the body fall, flipped her hair aside, took off her earphones, and pulled out a small recorder from her pocket.
“Mu Chen, next time I’m recording, please don’t interrupt me,” Xu Shuhan said with a frown.
“I did give you a heads-up just now!” Mu Chen said with an awkward expression.
“Even if you hadn’t, I would have reacted,” Xu Shuhan said.
Mu Chen fell silent, but he didn’t retort.
Retort?
He didn’t want to remember what happened to the last person who doubted Xu Shuhan.
But the way this woman spoke, completely monotone, made even the most deserving remarks come out sounding infuriating.
“But… but I’m really bored!”
After two seconds of silence, Mu Chen suddenly exclaimed, “Don’t just focus on your recording, can’t you also talk to me? It’s a long night; are we going to keep traveling in silence? I’ll go crazy in this silence!”
“You can also choose to perish,” Xu Shuhan said, putting her earphones back in and glancing at Mu Chen’s side, “Besides, isn’t Xia Zhi with us?”
Following her gaze, Mu Chen turned toward his companion.
In the dim light, there was the spear-like straight figure and the expressionless face.
Seeing Mu Chen looking, Xia Zhi slowly turned his head and made eye contact…
“If I talk to him, it would be no different than talking to a tree hole!” Mu Chen complained frantically.
“Isn’t that nice?” Xu Shuhan said expressionlessly.
“Come on, that’s c.r.a.p! I don’t need to vent; I need someone to chat with! How about we talk about the guy who almost wrecked Base Zero? Aren’t you interested in the guy we’re about to find?” Mu Chen even pleaded.
“Heh heh…”
“Hey!”
“Alright, fine, you talk,” Xu Shuhan sighed helplessly.
Mu Chen stroked his chin, walking and talking, “I’m kinda hoping it’s a girl…”
“That would be an enemy, right…” Xu Shuhan reminded mercilessly.
“We don’t have to draw such a clear line between friend and foe!” Mu Chen waved his hand dismissively, “Besides, things aren’t clear yet! A normal girl wouldn’t be fighting and killing all day, right?”
“…” Xu Shuhan silently raised the barrel of the gun she had lowered.
“Uh… I misspoke, let’s talk this out…” Mu Chen said awkwardly, “What I mean is, if the person doesn’t have any ill intentions, how should we deal with such a powerful mental ability user? I’m really curious about this person’s capabilities…”
“Curious, huh? Then…” Xu Shuhan quickly made a suggestion, “Capture and study.”
“…”
“What? I’ve considered it seriously,” Xu Shuhan said earnestly.
“I know…” Mu Chen said weakly.
“I was thinking of adding a condition. If it were a male…” Xu Shuhan continued.
“Why does it being a male make it okay to capture them! You can’t treat males like that either!” Mu Chen exclaimed.
Xu Shuhan looked at him disappointedly, shook her head, and then turned her gaze to Xia Zhi: “We’ve come so far from City F, have we found their whereabouts yet? Since this person is related to Team F, we should be able to find some clues with Team F anyway, right?”
Xia Zhi glanced at her and then indifferently turned his head back.
“I see…” Xu Shuhan mused thoughtfully, “Probably by tomorrow, or the day after at the latest, we’ll know whether that person is male or female.”
“By the way, how do you guys even communicate? And… aren’t you missing the point? We’re on a mission for the secrecy of Niepan, not matchmaking!”
Mu Chen ranted again.
Right now, he was filled with antic.i.p.ation for the person he had yet to meet…
No matter if they’re male or female, friend or foe, hurry up and show yourself!
Mu Chen was internally bleeding; he could hardly stand his two “divine” teammates…
Meanwhile, Xu Shuhan had nonchalantly turned on her recorder again and continued her monologue.
“City F is now far behind us; we’ll soon find our target. However, the presence of the captain makes the search process somewhat unbearable…”
“The captain is listening, you know…”
“That sound is actually just ghost current, folks, don’t mind it…”