QT: The Rescue Of The Miserable Bigshots-Chapter 297 - 9.43

Ling Zhuang quietly exhaled and wrapped his arms around Jiang Jiamian’s waist. "Why didn’t you come back? Do you know how worried I was about you?"

Jiang Jiamian lazily leaned against him. "A picnic, of course. Eating in that tiny room every day is so boring."

"A picnic?"

Ling Zhuang glanced at the horde of zombies standing motionless behind Jiang Jiamian. "You’re having a picnic with these things? You really have free time to spare."

Apparently, he’d rather eat surrounded by zombies than sit down to dinner with him.

"Of course not." Jiang Jiamian chuckled, his lips brushing lightly against Ling Zhuang’s neck as if ready to bite. "I mainly wanted to see what it takes for Professor Ling to actually make a move. You’ve tested me already, but I still don’t know your true strength. What a pity."

"So, do you know now?"

Ling Zhuang shook his head helplessly. "If you really went all out, I might not be your match."

Last time, he had already sensed that Jiang Jiamian possessed a terrifying power, one that not even the strongest ability users in the world could wield.

And naturally, even with his ability-copying talent, he couldn’t replicate that power either.

Seeing Ling Zhuang’s thoughtful and wary expression, Jiang Jiamian laughed softly. "Have you ever heard of the cultivation world?"

That power had come from the cultivation world, refined from his soul during the formation of his spiritual space.

Although most of his cultivation strength had been exhausted when he left that world, and he had to slowly rebuild his soul power here, it was still not something this small world’s superhuman power could compare to.

"The cultivation world?"

Ling Zhuang tilted his head and looked down at him. "Isn’t that something that only exists in novels? Don’t tell me you’re really from the cultivation world."

Jiang Jiamian nodded seriously, then switched fully into storytelling mode. "That’s right! I was once a top powerhouse in the cultivation world. With just a flick of my finger, I could summon wind and call rain, dim the sun and moon..."

Ling Zhuang: "..."

Half an hour later...

"Then that demonic cultivator planted a soul-devouring talisman on my back, and I exploded on the spot! But my soul didn’t die. It wandered through the endless void for countless years before finally dropping into this world. When I opened my eyes, I found myself turned into a strange zombie king! Fortunately, my spiritual space was still intact, and my soul power has slowly begun to recover..."

Ling Zhuang: "..."

Watching him narrate with such passion, Ling Zhuang finally shifted the arm that was already sore from holding Jiang Jiamian. "Finished making it up?"

Jiang Jiamian looked indignant. "Hey! What do you mean by making it up? I’m telling the truth!"

Damn it.

Was his storytelling, no, his world-shattering personal experience, really that unbelievable?

Seeing his self-doubting expression, Ling Zhuang shook his head in amusement. "I believe you."

Jiang Jiamian: "..."

Saying yes while shaking your head, don’t treat him like a fool!

"It’s late. Come back with me."

Ling Zhuang suddenly bent down and lifted him into a princess carry. "Soon, I’ll return to you a world of beautiful mountains and clear waters, with bright sunshine and a calm moon."

"Huh?" Jiang Jiamian froze.

Had this guy figured it out?

Was he planning to become a savior?

What a surprise.

This night was destined to be anything but peaceful.

The Gale Squad’s argument, Chen Ran’s desperation, Jiang Qing being knocked out, Ling Zhuang leaving the base under cover of darkness...

And now, Fang Jing, the leader, was about to encounter a ghost.

Fang Jing had been in an exceptionally good mood. Not only had he solved the huge threat that Jiang Jiamian posed, but he had also watched the Gale Squad fall into internal conflict.

Feeling pleased, he spent the night indulging himself with a beautiful woman, an ordinary person with no supernatural ability who relied on climbing into his bed for protection.

By the time he finished enjoying himself, showered, and prepared to sleep, it was already past midnight.

But the moment he stepped out of the bathroom, before he could even take a satisfied look at the woman sleeping on his bed, the lights went out.

Darkness swallowed the room.

Fang Jing tensed instinctively, but didn’t think much of it. Power outages weren’t uncommon in the apocalypse.

He was about to fumble toward the bedside to call someone to check the electrical system when...

Snap!

The lights turned back on.

The sudden brightness made him squint. This time, he wasn’t as calm as when the lights first went out.

Before his vision fully adjusted, he noticed something strange.

The bed was empty.

The woman, who had been sleeping soundly before he showered, was gone, as though she had vanished into thin air.

Fang Jing frowned.

Was this woman trying to scare him?

How inconsiderate.

"Stop messing around! If you keep this up, I’ll kick you out of the base!"

He straightened his expression and scanned the room coldly, but not a sound responded.

The room wasn’t large, and the silence was suffocating. There was no sign of breathing, no rustling, no movement.

His composure began to crack.

Where did she go? Could she have woken up and left while he was in the shower?

But without saying a word?

How rude.

And with that attitude, she expected his protection?

Hmph. Impossible.

Sleeping with her was already giving her face.

Just as he was convincing himself, the room suddenly went dark again.

This time, the darkness was absolute.

"Who!? Who the hell is it!?"

Fang Jing roared in panic, instinctively reaching out with trembling hands.

"Chief Fang... you’ve really ruined my life..."

A whisper brushed against his ear, cold, bone-chilling, like something crawling up from the depths of hell.

Fang Jing’s knees buckled at once.

"Wh-who are you..."

Even in complete darkness, he didn’t dare turn around. He didn’t have the courage. His voice trembled uncontrollably.

"Chief Fang, you don’t remember me so quickly?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The voice behind him carried a hint of sorrowful grievance. "Didn’t you send me to B City today? But... do you know? Do you know how many second-level zombies were there? They surrounded the car. To let the others escape, they tore my flesh apart. I died horribly."

Fang Jing felt his throat tighten, his breath catching painfully.

"Y-you’re... Jiang Jiamian? I-I didn’t mean to harm you! I didn’t know there were advanced zombies in B City! That was... a failure of information! I regret what happened, but it wasn’t my fault!"

Driven by pure survival instinct, he denied everything.

Behind him, Jiang Jiamian sneered. "I heard you received the report long before sending me. You knew advanced zombies were there. You sent me to die."

The final sentence exploded like thunder directly beside Fang Jing’s ear.

He collapsed instantly, legs giving out, and fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

"I was wrong! I was wrong! I didn’t want to kill you! Please let me go! I’ll have someone pray for you! Please don’t hurt me!"

"Let you go?" Jiang Jiamian laughed softly in the darkness. "No way!"

His voice danced with mocking delight.

"We had no grudge. Yet you killed me without hesitation. If I don’t take revenge, how could my soul rest? I was bitten apart, not even a bone left. So, of course, I must carve your flesh and grind your bones to dust, piece by piece."

As he spoke, he slowly squatted down in front of Fang Jing, knife appearing in his hand.

"I’m just deciding where to start. The leg? Or the arm? Hmm. The leg, then."

"No-no-don’t!" Fang Jing could barely speak.

"Hm? Why so scared?" Jiang Jiamian lifted an eyebrow. "I didn’t plan to let you go anyway."

Then the knife came down.

Stab!

"Aaahhh!"

A blood-curdling scream ripped through the room. The stench of blood instantly filled the air.

Jiang Jiamian wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Just one stab and this man was completely undone.

Pathetic.

He pulled out the knife easily and noticed Fang Jing made no further sound.

Lowering his head, he used his night vision to inspect Fang Jing’s face.

The man had fainted, either from pain or terror, pale as a corpse.

"Tsk. Boring!"

With a snap of his fingers, the lights flickered back on.

Jiang Jiamian didn’t bother looking again. The scene was messy, and he had accomplished what he came for.

He opened the door.

Outside, the woman from before was crouched on the floor, wrapped tightly in a blanket, trembling violently. When she saw him, her eyes widened in terror. She stammered, "I-I don’t even know him well. I just... I just wanted someone to rely on. I have no abilities. To survive... I sold myself..."

She had heard the screams.

She was terrified.

And she had seen Jiang Jiamian pull her out earlier without her even reacting.

"I know." Jiang Jiamian interrupted softly. "I won’t hurt you. Go."

He didn’t judge her. In the apocalypse, everyone made their own choices. No one had the right to stand on moral high ground.

Human nature was bare and brutal. Survival erased the lines of right and wrong.

"Th-thank you!"

She wrapped the blanket tightly around herself and fled, shaking.

Jiang Jiamian lingered for a moment, head lowered.

But in the end, he turned and left.

He had to go back.

The rest was up to Ling Zhuang.

The ladder to godhood was placed before him.

Whether Ling Zhuang would climb it, that was his decision alone.