WMSR – QT Chapter 112

 

WMSR – QT Chapter 112

By

siofra

Chapter 112: The Senior of the Apocalypse

Qi Yuanyuan's mobile device was remarkably stylish—an expensive, cutting-edge flagship model from a prominent luxury brand. Its protective case featured an intricate, art-piece-like array of rhinestones that had once sparkled with vibrant, girlish charm. In the past, Qi Yuanyuan adored this decorative casing, but months into the apocalypse, several rhinestones had chipped off, leaving an unappealing, jagged texture. For someone like Qi Yuanyuan, who could no longer maintain constant personal upkeep amid a life on the run, the uneven surface had simply become a trap for dirt and grime. Furthermore, weighed down by the heavy, cumbersome brick of a dead phone throughout their exhausting trek, Qi Yuanyuan abruptly decided to pry the case off. From her current perspective, a trinket that had once glittered with superficial beauty possessed zero functional value remaining.

Unprepared as she pried at the stubborn casing, a photograph slipped free from beneath the plastic and drifted silently down to rest against the floorboards.

Qi Yuanyuan stared blankly at the fallen image before abruptly recalling that she had tucked it away long ago, during the initial phase of her relationship with Ling Mengchen. Though she had maintained a cool, unbothered facade at the time, a bubbling undercurrent of excitement had prompted her to snap and store the keepsake.

With the memory of its origin locked in place, Qi Yuanyuan experienced a sudden jolt of panic. She snapped her head upward, casting a nervous glance toward Xiao Yi, only to discover that the man—who moments prior had been sitting with his eyes closed in feigned slumber—was now wide awake, staring intently at the photograph on the floor.

Seeing that Xiao Yi had already laid eyes on the image, Qi Yuanyuan felt a spike of anxious urgency. She wanted to formulate an excuse, yet realized the futility; Xiao Yi was undoubtedly aware of her romantic ties, and offering a clumsy defense would merely expose her as insincere. Qi Yuanyuan bit her lower lip, her chest churning with bitter regret.

In contrast, Xiao Yi spared zero mental energy to register Qi Yuanyuan's shifting expressions. His gaze remained welded immovably to the face captured on the surface of the fallen paper—a visage that had vanished from his life for an agonizingly long duration. Printed across an area half the size of the smartphone casing, the photograph depicted a boy clad in a basketball jersey, clutching a regulation ball against his chest. His features possessed an absolute, breathtaking handsomeness as he beamed openly toward the lens. That bright, sun-kissed grin—brimming with an irresistible, fatal allure—never failed to ignite a violent surge of palpitations deep within his chest, no matter how many times he beheld it.

Xiao Yi stared at the photograph in frozen silence for a long, protracted duration before finally dragging his gaze away with visible effort. When he spoke, his voice carried a raw, darkened husk: "Your boyfriend?"

The exceptionally low register of Xiao Yi's inquiry sent a tremor of tension straight through Qi Yuanyuan's heart. She glanced up cautiously to gauge a face stripped of any readable emotion. On one side stood the powerful benefactor she desperately sought to court; on the other lay a missing, presumed-dead ex-boyfriend. Deciding which path to take required minimal deliberation. Hardening her resolve, Qi Yuanyuan snatched the photograph off the ground and tossed it toward the debris pile in the corner of the room with the careless motion of discarding trash, speaking with theatrical indifference: "What boyfriend? Just an ex-boyfriend. I couldn't even catch a glimpse of his shadow when danger struck. Hmph, I must have been completely blind to ever settle for someone like that."

Hearing her callous dismissal, Xiao Yi looked at her with a strange, inscrutable gleam in his eyes.

For reasons unknown, Qi Yuanyuan felt an instinctive wave of panic under that gaze. Did I misstep? Does this make me look overly vicious and cold-hearted?

Yet arrows fired from a drawn bow offered no retraction; words spoken aloud could not be unsaid. Moreover, the weight of Xiao Yi's stare left her thoroughly unnerved, prompting Qi Yuanyuan to manufacture a hasty excuse and flee the room entirely.

Inside the warehouse, once Xiao Yi confirmed Qi Yuanyuan's departure using the hyper-acute sensory perception granted by his supernatural ability, he shifted his attention toward the corner debris. He stood up, strode across the concrete floor, and knelt to retrieve the photograph that had been casually tossed aside. With infinite tenderness and reverence, he gently brushed away the speck of dust clinging to its surface.

Author's Note:Qi Yuanyuan: I treat you as my romantic target, yet you treat me like your love rival?My teeth ache, there might be typos, I'll fix them when I have the energy o(╥﹏╥)o

Chapter 56: The Senior of the Apocalypse (12)

As the dust was lightly swept away from the image, Xiao Yi felt as though the smile captured within the frame grew measurably brighter. Ultimately, his fingertips brushed softly against the radiant grin.

A long moment passed before Xiao Yi let out a complex, heavy sigh. He had genuinely never anticipated that the coveted title of "official girlfriend"—a status that had once forced every female student on campus, including himself, to keep their distance in reverent awe—would be discarded with such casual disregard.

It left an unclassifiable ripple of sensations churning through his chest.

Yet right now, where in the world are you...

Meanwhile, Bai Yichen—the very person currently occupying Xiao Yi's thoughts—was leading a life of absolute luxury. Shielded by a terrifyingly formidable power-wielding guardian, his standard of living defied all conventional apocalyptic hardships. Furthermore, Bai Yichen's situation diverged starkly from the massive refugee contingent trailing in Xiao Yi's wake; while Xiao Yi carried the burden of protecting a sprawling colony of survivors, Lin Jiawen directed his exclusive protection toward a singular individual: Bai Yichen himself.

Ever since Lin Jiawen unlocked his supernatural ability, Bai Yichen never once experienced a flicker of anxiety regarding dwindling provisions. Every time Lin Jiawen ventured outside, he returned bearing an abundant harvest characterized by an astonishing variety of goods. Devoid of fresh perishable produce or raw meats, Bai Yichen's current daily menu resembled an extravagant vacation stocked with unlimited premium rations and snack delicacies.

As time marched forward, the environmental mutations plaguing the world refused to stall. Both Lin Jiawen's water manipulation and the roaming external zombies continued to scale in sheer power. Bai Yichen ventured out into the field precisely once under Lin Jiawen's protective escort; upon returning, he permanently extinguished any lingering fantasies of resuming outdoor excursions.

The landscape was simply too lethal. This world had evolved far beyond the tolerance threshold of an ordinary human; his wisest course of action was to cling tightly to his overpowered thigh, rake in system points, and abandon any suicidal notions of courting death outside.

Recognizing that this reality was fundamentally incompatible with a non-powered civilian playing hero, Bai Yichen embraced a philosophy of comfortable surrender. He halted all high-intensity physical conditioning, limiting his daily exercise to mild, leisurely stretches designed strictly to maintain baseline physical health.

Regardless of how rigorously he trained, any muscle mass cultivated remained strictly within human biological parameters—leaving him completely defenseless against infected targets endowed with muscular enhancements and blistering velocity. Prolonged suffering over exhausting workouts served zero logical purpose; preserving his energy was far more practical.

Naturally, Lin Jiawen offered zero objections to any choice Bai Yichen made. Observing the youth spend his days alternating effortlessly between dining and resting with an expression of carefree tranquility, Lin Jiawen's gaze filled with deep, boundless adoration.

In truth, Lin Jiawen relished their present dynamic immensely. Back in the past, he had been reduced to an incompetent weakling dependent entirely on the youth's charity, forced to endure agonizing torment while watching the boy brave deadly zombies outdoors while he sat trapped in helpless waiting.

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