Huo Qingyu · Chat

Huo Qingyu squatted on a half-collapsed overpass, dangling a blade of grass picked up from somewhere in his mouth, squinting down at the silent, dead city below. The sun was just right. The post-apocalyptic sky was bluer than that of the old world, blue to the point of irony. Without factory smog or car exhaust, nature had eagerly reclaimed its territory after human civilization exited the stage. Tender green vines sprouted from the ruins, nameless wild flowers bloomed from the cracks in the asphalt, and a few crows perched on a crooked lamppost, tilting their heads to size up these uninvited guests. "Boss, three o'clock direction. The supermarket sign is still up, looks like it hasn't been scavenged yet." Lin Mumu's voice came through the earpiece, crisp and efficient, without a trace of excess emotion. She lay flat on another section of broken wall not far away, her combat suit covered in dust, dual blades crossed behind her back, looking very much like a crouching leopardess. "I see it. But I bet five D-class crystal cores that there are at least three common types lurking inside, and maybe even a Stalker hiding behind the shelves, drooling." "Isn't that perfect then?" Lin Mumu's tone carried a hint of disdain. "The price of Stalker crystal cores has gone up lately. The Banyan Gathering doubled their offer." "Sister Lin, your head is filled with nothing but money. You're just like my Qinghan." Huo Qingyu stood up, brushed the dust off his knees, and gestured behind him. "Alright guys, let's get to work." Seven or eight figures emerged from various parts of the ruins. The Ravens never lined up, never marched; they scattered in the shadows like a flock of real crows, gathering only when needed and dispersing once the job was done. It was a crew cobbled together from outlaws, scavengers, and free spirits, but at this moment, the look they directed at Huo Qingyu was filled with tacit understanding and trust. Huo Qingyu leaped down from the edge of the broken bridge. The wind howled in his ears. He closed his eyes, feeling the distance between his body and the earth rapidly shrinking. The instant before he hit the ground— A flash of lightning. He stood steadily on the ground, leaving only a faint scorch mark beneath his feet and the lingering crackle of static electricity in the air. He turned back, lifting his chin at Lin Mumu, who was still on the broken bridge, his smile as bright as if he were out on a picnic. "There's a perfectly good slope, but you just have to show off." Lin Mumu slid down the slope of the broken bridge, rolling her eyes. But as she passed by Huo Qingyu, she discreetly checked the old wound on his left arm—it had healed well, without reopening. Saying nothing, she headed straight for the supermarket entrance. Huo Qingyu noticed but didn't say anything either. "Spread out. Usual rules, groups of three. If you run into a tough nut, don't force it, call me." His voice was relaxed and casual, but every word fell precisely into the ears of his team members. The supermarket's automatic doors had long been broken, the two glass panels half-open like a gaping mouth. Inside, the shelves were tumbled every which way, and the floor was littered with long-rotted packaging and dried, dark liquids. The air was thick with a stale musty smell and a faint, sweet, metallic stench—the unique scent of zombies, which experienced scavengers could sniff out from a hundred meters away. Huo Qingyu extended his finger and gave a light flick in the air. A tiny arc of electricity danced on his fingertip, then diffused into an invisible net of perception, spreading outward with him as the center. This was his Electro-Perception ability—not mind-reading, but the detection of bioelectric fields. Every living thing was like a dim lamp, flickering in his perception. "...Two common types in the back warehouse. And one more—" He paused. Something had moved at the edge of his perception net. That bioelectric field was much stronger than a common zombie's, yet exceptionally stable—too stable to be a normal zombie's wave pattern. Furthermore, it was moving slowly, circling around to flank them. "Stalker, in the fresh produce section." Huo Qingyu lowered his voice, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. "Learning to flank now. This little thing is making progress." Lin Mumu's dual blades had already unsheathed soundlessly. "Do you want it alive or dead?" "As long as the crystal core is intact, alive or dead doesn't matter." Huo Qingyu raised his hand, an arc of electricity leaping from his fingertip. "Though I am a bit curious about a zombie that knows how to flank. Try to keep the body in one piece." With that, he dissolved into a flash of lightning and vanished on the spot. The next instant, a sharp shriek echoed from deep within the supermarket, accompanied by the blast of a thunderstorm and the loud crash of collapsing shelves. Lin Mumu led the charge from the front, her dual blades drawing two silver arcs, slicing the shoulders off two common zombies that had just rushed out of the back warehouse. Their crystal cores clattered onto the floor with a crisp sound. She looked up just in time to see a Stalker, its body covered in color-changing skin, scrambling frantically across the ceiling of the fresh produce section. Its camouflage ability had completely failed under the lightning, its skin erratically flashing various colors like a broken monitor. And Huo Qingyu was standing just three steps behind it. With his left hand in his pocket, he raised his right hand above his head, fingers slightly splayed. An electrical arc condensed in his palm, spinning larger and larger, emitting a sharp hum that illuminated the entire supermarket in flickering light. "Why are you running? Weren't you quite clever just now, knowing how to flank?" He tilted his head, his tone like that of a parent lecturing a disobedient child. "Come, let me see what color your crystal core is." The Stalker let out a sharp screech and lunged at him. Huo Qingyu pressed his right hand down. Lightning cascaded like a waterfall. After a muffled explosion, the Stalker was pinned to the ground, charred all over. The crystal core hidden inside its skull emitted a faint purple glow through its translucent, silicified bones. "B-class." Lin Mumu walked over and took a look. "Good luck." Huo Qingyu bent down, cleanly pried out the crystal core with his dagger, wiped it on his clothes, and scrutinized it against the sunlight filtering through a hole in the broken wall. "The quality is average, but it's enough to make that little miser Qinghan happy for a while." He casually tossed the crystal core to Lin Mumu. "Keep it, we'll trade it for something good later. Last time at the Banyan Gathering, I saw a complete illustrated guide to old-world cold weapons. That kid didn't say anything, but his eyes were practically glued to it." Lin Mumu caught the crystal core, fell silent for a moment, and still couldn't help but say, "Boss, you are too— to Qinghan..." Halfway through, she forced herself to swallow her words and corrected herself, "...you spoil him too much." "Spoil him?" Huo Qingyu raised an eyebrow, looking completely innocent. "This is a strategic investment. When he's in a good mood, he nags me less. I call this an indirect approach to survival." Lin Mumu didn't reply, turning to take inventory of the other loot. But the moment she turned, her lips twitched imperceptibly. What she actually wanted to say was: You are really good to your brother. But she couldn't say it. Such words were too soft, too much like what a typical woman would say. She was the Vice Captain of the Raven Assault Squad, not anyone's sister or mother. So she simply squatted down, pried out another crystal core with her blade, and wiped it clean. "Boss!" an excited shout from a young team member came from outside. "There are antibiotics in the warehouse! Three big crates! Unopened!" Huo Qingyu raised his eyebrows. Antibiotics were a hard currency in the apocalypse, second only to crystal cores. Three crates of unopened antibiotics were enough to last the entire Raven faction for half a year, and the rest could be traded at the Banyan Gathering for a batch of new equipment. "We're in luck today." He wiped the blood off his dagger and sheathed it back at his waist. "Have the guys load them up, handle with care. Antibiotics are worth more than your lives—at least in the eyes of that guy Wangshu." Just then, the edge of his perception net caught a new signal. Not a zombie. Human. Three people, approaching rapidly. The bioelectric field of the leader was exceptionally bright, almost blindingly so, as if someone had lit an incandescent bulb at the edge of his perception. Huo Qingyu's smile vanished. He recognized this bioelectric field. It wasn't a common wave pattern; that intensity, that unique, pure texture—only one esper could give him this feeling. "Boss?" Lin Mumu noticed the change in him and tightened her grip on her dual blades. Huo Qingyu remained silent for three seconds, then put back on his cynical smile. But this time, there was an unreadable depth to his grin. "It's fine. Just ran into an old acquaintance." He turned and strolled toward the supermarket entrance with lazy steps, as if he were simply going to greet an old friend. But Lin Mumu noticed that the fingers of his right hand, hanging at his side, were unconsciously twitching—a tiny arc of electricity jumped silently between his fingertips like a habitual reflex. The last time she had seen him like this, he was facing an intelligent entity about to evolve into a Zombie King. "Qinghan," Huo Qingyu suddenly called out to the silent, silver-gray-haired young man at the back of the group before stepping out the door. Huo Qinghan looked up, his ice-blue eyes gleaming slightly in the shadows. "You take the supplies and head back first." Huo Qingyu's tone was still casual, but twenty years of brotherhood allowed Huo Qinghan to instantly read the unspoken words. Huo Qinghan stared at him for two seconds, then nodded without a word and turned to direct the loading. However, as he passed by Huo Qingyu, he uttered four words in a voice only the two of them could hear— "Don't die out there." Huo Qingyu smiled. This time, it was the most genuine smile he had worn all day. "Don't worry, your brother's life is very valuable. Dying would be a terrible deal." He stepped out of the supermarket doors, facing the midday sun, and looked toward the far end of the ruins. At the corner of the street, three figures in white were walking over. The leader had long hair cascading like moonlight, and pale gold eyes that shimmered with a cold light under the sun. Less than fifty meters separated them. The ruins fell silent, the wind died down, the crows flew away, and even the faint, distant howling of zombies fell quiet at this moment. Huo Qingyu raised his right hand and waved at him, his smile as bright as a college classmate bumping into an old friend on the sports field. "Yo, President Yue, long time no see. How many rules did you bring today to arrest me?" Yue Hemian stopped in his tracks. His expression didn't change at all, his white uniform still meticulous, not even the wind daring to ruffle his long hair. But his right hand, hidden in his sleeve, tightened slightly. "Huo Qingyu." His voice was as cool and clear as jade, neither fast nor slow. "This area has been designated under the resource management jurisdiction of the Light of Hope. According to Article 17 of the Survivor Area Resource Management Regulations, collecting strategic resources without permission requires temporary confiscation of the proceeds and undergoing an investigation." Huo Qingyu tilted his head, his expression outrageously innocent. "Oh. What if I say—I refuse?" The sun shone fiercely on the scorched ruins between the two men. The static electricity in the air began to grow thick, coming not only from Huo Qingyu's fingertips, but also from a certain tense, indescribable friction stretched to its absolute limit.