WMSR – QT Chapter 107

 

WMSR – QT Chapter 107

By

siofra

Chapter 107: The Senior of the Apocalypse

After pondering these thoughts inwardly, Bai Yichen raised his head to discover that the slender man was gazing at him with an expression full of distress and deep worry, even venturing to offer advice: "The zombies are far too strong now; going outside is simply too dangerous. You shouldn't go out anymore either."

Bai Yichen froze for a moment before bursting into a soft chuckle: "Even though the zombies have grown stronger, I can still handle them."

Hearing Bai Yichen's reply, Lin Jiawen instantly recalled how effortlessly the youth had dispatched that terrifying zombie which had nearly claimed his life earlier that day, causing a rush of hot crimson to flood his cheeks.

Naturally, Bai Yichen was not someone prone to unbridled arrogance; possessing solid self-awareness, he reassured him: "You don't need to fret over me. The moment I feel incapable of dealing with the zombies, you wouldn't be able to drag me outside even if you tried."

Observing the youth's confident and resolute demeanor, Lin Jiawen found himself momentarily dazzled and spellbound.

In the days that followed, their dynamic shifted into a routine where Bai Yichen adhered to his schedule of venturing out daily to spar with zombies and forage for rations, while Lin Jiawen remained strictly indoors. Finding himself unable to venture out or acquire provisions, Lin Jiawen spontaneously began rationing his own intake, consuming only minuscule portions each day—until Bai Yichen discovered the habit and forcefully put a stop to it.

Failing in his attempts to starve himself to preserve food, Lin Jiawen channeled his restless energy into keeping every inch of the apartment impeccably spotless. Bai Yichen raised no objections to this arrangement; through days of shared living, he had already recognized that this slender man possessed an unblemished character and lacked the shameless audacity to freeload off others. For a person of such temperament, having someone help them without allowing them to contribute in return only bred inner restlessness.

Time slipped away day by day. As Bai Yichen maintained his routine of hunting zombies, he keenly perceived that the infected were growing stronger with each passing day, forcing him to expend considerably more effort to manage them. As the timeline progressed, his expression turned increasingly heavy, driven by the frustrating reality that even now, he showed zero signs of awakening supernatural abilities.

Could it be... that I am fundamentally incapable of awakening an ability?

The unsettling thought surfaced in Bai Yichen's mind, though he rapidly batted it away. Regardless of whether an ability manifested, until every variable settled into its final outcome, abandoning hope was out of the question. At the very least, he owed it to himself to persist with every action that potentially elevated his odds of awakening.

Thus, Bai Yichen continued his daily excursions to train against zombies while escalating the intensity of his physical conditioning regimen. Yet no matter how rigorously he pushed his physique, the growth rate of his physical limits consistently lagged behind the acceleration of zombie mutations. Finally, after another month elapsed, Bai Yichen began experiencing a distinct sense of overwhelming strain when confronting the infected.

Recognizing the shift, Bai Yichen decisively terminated his outdoor training expeditions. He possessed absolute clarity regarding his priorities: while sparring with zombies and pursuing anything that might boost his awakening odds served as valid objectives under safe conditions, those methods were strictly probabilistic. The moment a critical risk threatened absolute termination, discerning the correct choice required no hesitation. The current environment was undeniably too hazardous for him to step outside.

Following the cessation of Bai Yichen's outdoor trips, the atmosphere between the two occupants inside the apartment grew noticeably heavier, signaling a stark reality: they possessed zero alternative sources of provisions, leaving them entirely dependent on consuming their depleting stockpile with no replenishment in sight.

Confronted with this grim reality, Lin Jiawen was consumed by a crushing wave of self-blame. Within his heart, he viewed himself as a fully grown adult in the workforce, whereas the youth he adored was still a university student significantly junior to him in age. Logic dictated that he should be the one providing protection and care; instead, he had spent this entire period living as a useless dependent, sequestered indoors without ever stepping outside.

Initially, he managed to swallow his guilt and accept the youth's provisions, but the escalating crisis stripped away any room for cowardice or self-preservation. With food supplies dwindling to a point where every meal subtracted from their remaining lifespan, every extra bite he consumed meant shortening the youth's survival window by a day. He had never contributed anything meaningful to the boy he cherished; would he truly permit himself to become a parasitic creature sucking the lifeblood straight from the youth's body right at the final hour?

That realization cemented an unyielding resolve within Lin Jiawen's chest. Perhaps he remained powerless to alter their fate, but under zero circumstances would he ever consent to becoming a deadweight dragging the youth down.

Consequently, the very next day, Bai Yichen caught the slender man red-handed attempting to sneak out to court death. To prevent the guy from seizing another opportunity to slip out while he wasn't looking, Bai Yichen retrieved his keys and securely double-locked the main entrance from the inside.

Faced with the distraught man who threw a miniature hunger strike after being dragged back inside, Bai Yichen felt a mix of exasperation and amusement, ultimately forcing him to swallow a meal by hand. Yet this comical interruption successfully smoothed out his previously oppressive mood. Gazing at the slender man's tear-rimmed eyes, a complex web of emotions stirred within Bai Yichen. Though his internal anxiety had run deep over the past weeks, despair had never truly taken root because an underlying sliver of hope—the prospect of a sudden ability awakening—kept him anchored. Therefore, difficult as the trial proved, a guiding light remained.

Yet viewing the exact same crisis through the man's eyes represented a literal dead end. Whether evaluating the risks the man previously took to scavenge provisions or his current willingness to starve himself or court death just to spare rations, Bai Yichen's estimation of the man underwent a profound, fundamental reassessment.

In a world where they were mere passing acquaintances, how many individuals possessed the nobility to voluntarily step aside and surrender an opportunity at survival? Compared to the man's unselfish actions, plotting behind someone's back to hijack remaining provisions was undoubtedly the default path chosen by the vast majority of humanity.

He couldn't shake the sensation that because of these noble actions, the slender man had quietly transitioned from someone who could be casually cast aside into an irreplaceable presence.

Fueled by this renewed perspective, Bai Yichen's tone softened considerably whenever he addressed the man. As he soothed his worries and coaxed him through finishing the meal, Bai Yichen weighed the man's obstinate disposition before letting his gaze drift past the living room toward a specific landmark: a door that remained permanently locked.

Ever since the man moved into the residence, that particular door had never once been unlatched. While the daily rations consumed thus far had been sourced from smaller caches stored in his private room, the true bulk of his hoarded inventory remained securely sealed behind that barrier, keeping the man entirely in the dark regarding their actual financial standing and triggering his chronic anxieties over impending starvation.

---