Chapter 51

The Yang City labor crew had become famous like that.
Although it was hard to spread news in the downpour, many people had heard. Those who'd been planning to recruit some of the newcomers from Yang City were baffled. Weren't they supposed to disband the convoy on the spot and wasn't Ye Xiao uninterested in expanding his power? The convoy did disband, and then they set up a labor crew. What were they trying to do?
More people were fixated on the pay: these folks were getting ridiculously high wages from the military.
The Ning City base had millions of people. The base couldn't support so many for free, if you wanted to survive, you had to find a way to earn rations yourself. But the jobs inside the base that paid food were few; relative to the massive population, they were nowhere near enough. Labor far exceeded demand, so wages were naturally driven down to rock bottom.
And now a group of newcomers could, the very next day, find work that paid so well, earning food from the military without joining the army, no wonder people were green with envy.
"Why don't we go too?" somewhere in the base an ability user suggested, tempted. There wasn't much to do in a storm; better to go up on the wall and kill zombies for rations than sit cooped up.
"The rain's so heavy, and some zombies can climb the wall, it's too dangerous," others objected.
"I think we should join the Qingying Association. Their treatment is really good, they provide food and board," another said.
Needless to say, these were ability users who either hadn't joined an organization or didn't want to. For now, organized groups did better; even ability users trying to go it alone would find it hard, especially if they had family to support.
"I heard a few days ago the Qingying Association and the Gale Squad fought over supplies outside and dozens died," someone else said. "After those people died, their families were kicked out of Qingying."
The others fell silent instantly.
The first ability user who had spoken suddenly said, "Anyway, I'm going to try tomorrow. My mother is sick, I need to get her something nutritious to eat."
So many people followed the Yang City labor crew's example, hoping to trade combat ability for supplies with the military. But the military wasn't a charity: first, they wouldn't accept people whose powers weren't strong enough, they wanted folks who could actually kill large numbers of zombies. Second, they weren't going to offer such high pay.
By the end of the day the ability users hadn't gotten what they expected, and tempers flared. In the pushing and shoving, some slipped off the wet wall and fell, only to be torn to pieces by zombies, a horrific tragedy.
When the Yang City labor crew heard about it, they all checked their safety ropes again.
On February 1st, the fourth day of the heavy rain, when the labor crew came back to work, other ability users approached and expressed a desire to join.
Bai Cheng smiled faintly, finally, people had come.
He sized up the few ability users, and only those whose strength passed muster were allowed to stay. He negotiated with the officers posted on the wall for them, and when he’d succeeded he led the newcomers to Ye Xiao. “Ye Xiao, these are the new ones today, look after them,” he said.
Ye Xiao glanced at him, said nothing, and took the group away to assign them positions. Those with similar powers were grouped together: control-type abilities, ice seals, quicksand, wood entanglements, domain restraints, held the zombies in place, and then the attackers, lightning strikes, wind blades, metal blades, ice spikes, water arrows, earth cones, finished them off.
To get the most damage out of a limited number of ability users, the method and rhythm of the attacks were just as important as raw power.
By the fifth day of the downpour more ability users had shown up; on the sixth the ranks grew; by the seventh an impressive force had formed. They occupied a long stretch beneath the base walls and, when they unleashed their powers from the ramparts, the sight was spectacular. They cut through the zombies under that section of wall so thoroughly that for a while there weren’t even enough of zombies left to replenish the numbers. Meanwhile people were kept busy collecting the crystal cores.
Inside the base walls a makeshift registration tent sprang up. Each morning ability users came by in dribs and drabs; after a strength check those who qualified signed their names, received a voucher, and went to work killing zombies. Lunch, dinner and that day’s pay were all claimed with the same voucher.
The soldiers watched with clenched teeth, seeing the grain pour out like that hurt, but there was no denying the result: the pressure of the siege eased significantly.
The rain finally began to let up after ten days, and Bai Cheng, who’d been busy, managed to make a name for himself. He openly set up an agency booth and took a cut as mediation fees. Not only did he introduce ability users to the wall duty, he took on other jobs as well.
For example, where the base had severe waterlogging and channels needed digging, he spoke with the street managers and hired a group of strong young men along with several earth- and water-type ability users to handle it.
When the relentless rain left everyone’s homes damp and clothes never dry, he rounded up some fire-type ability users, who were particularly cramped and restless on rainy days, to do drying work.
When sections of the wall were damaged after days of rain and needed emergency repair, he took on that work too.
He even handled leaky roofs, filthy households in need of cleaning, the inconvenience of grocery runs, and mountains of uncollected garbage. His list of services was long and detailed, more comprehensive than the official job postings.
To run it properly he called over some of the managers who had been with the convoy and hired them to work for him, and Jiang Xiaotian set up an electronic system for the operation.
At first Lin Tantan couldn’t understand why he’d bother with such tedious, exhausting work, but after a few days, looking through the bulky rosters of base personnel and seeing people coming to sign up or be hired day after day, she began to get it.
These people were like flowing water, bringing all kinds of information and, without most of them realizing it, building up a deep and wide network of contacts.
In the end, though they never formed an outright faction of their own, the things they knew, the forces they could mobilize and the influence they wielded were no less considerable than if they had.
Realizing this, she admired Bai Cheng even more, the title “chief steward” had not been handed out for nothing. Ye Xiao must have understood the significance of it too, which was why he cooperated so readily.
Alongside her admiration, she also picked up worrying information: more and more people in the base were falling ill.
What began as ordinary colds from being soaked in the rain developed into an aggressive influenza that produced multiple contagious cases.
Lin Tantan felt conflicted.
She would not turn away anyone who came to her for treatment. She even had Bai Cheng add her to his agency system and run an advertisement so that more patients would know there was a healer available, naturally, only for this particular flu.
Once the ad ran, patients began pouring in. Not wanting to bring germs into the villa, Lin Tantan rented several rooms outside the residential area. She checked with Ming Ze and a few other wood-type healing ability users; they were willing to help. Thus a small clinic was born.
“Miss Lin, your place is far too rudimentary. Come to our base hospital, conditions there are top-notch.” The little clinic’s new fame attracted not just patients but a host of odd characters, including the man now in front of her from the base medical department, who praised the hospital as if entering it would instantly transform her life.
Lin Tantan, who’d been busy all morning, leaned back in her chair and sighed, “If the base hospital is so wonderful, you must have recruited a lot of wood-type healers over there, right?”
“Of course!” He said it with pride.
“Then I won’t go. If you’re not sick, leave.” Lin Tantan had the people outside clear the room.
The man’s face changed, but thinking of the two backers behind Lin Tantan and of Lin Tantan’s own abilities, he could only leave unwillingly.
Lin Tantan told those waiting outside, “Don’t let anyone in who isn’t sick.” To keep the clinic orderly she needed guards, an intake doctor and a cashier, and she didn’t have to worry: Bai Cheng’s agency wasn’t set up for nothing. He sent his best, most reliable people, mostly acquaintances. The security captain was Jiang Zhongyi.
Jiang Zhongyi poked his head in and smiled. “Okay, got it.”
As a result, anyone who arrived late trying to use “coming for treatment” as an excuse to cozy up to Lin Tantan found themselves stopped at the intake desk, ordinary doctors asked for medical histories and took temperatures; if you weren’t sick you couldn’t bluff your way in. Those who were ill but gossiped or tried to get chummy during treatment were likely to be blacklisted, so the clinic grew pleasantly peaceful.
Xu Tianjin belonged to the group who arrived relatively late.
He himself wasn’t sick; he’d taken advantage of the chance to accompany a sick companion simply to get a look at the person who shared a name with Dr. Lin.
Maybe it's just a homophone?
He still couldn't work out which "tan" the woman was, and he didn't dare ask around, so he tried to find a way to at least see her face. But after squatting there for ages he hadn't caught so much as a shadow. Her consultation room was furthest in, heavily secured from the outside; even with the door ajar he couldn't see inside, only the three large characters "Doctor Lin" on the door.
Those three characters made him even more frantic.
After two hours of waiting it was finally his companion's turn. He'd been lucky enough to get an appointment with Lin Tantan. In and out in five minutes, and his friend's face looked much better, his dizziness, nasal congestion and phlegmy cough had all vanished. He grinned foolishly and said, "Come again tomorrow and it'll be fine. Wood-type users are amazing, no medicine, no injections, and it's fixed in minutes."
Xu Tianjin hurriedly asked, "What does she look like?"
"Pretty, just like people said, very young, short hair..."
Xu Tianjin was speechless.
The two of them went to pay. They'd paid a portion when they registered; now they had to pay another quarter, with the remainder due after the patient was fully healed.
Payment could be supplies or crystal cores, depending on the case, anything from ten to several dozen jin of grain, or ten to several dozen crystal cores.
No one could say whether that was expensive or cheap, worth every bit if it cured the flu, but crippling for those without means.
Xu's companion paid in supplies. He handed over flour, twenty jin total; ten jin had been paid earlier, and this time he gave five.
He pulled out a sack of flour, inspected its quality, weighed it, logged it in the ledger and entered it into the computer, and his companion received a receipt. He looked rueful and amazed. "Talent really pays off," he sighed. "You make so much off one patient. How many patients do you think Doctor Lin can see in a day? I've heard powerful groups want to recruit her, can they even afford it? If I could earn this much every day I'd be a fool to work for anyone."
Xu Tianjin was distracted. He found an excuse not to return with his companion and, halfway back, turned around to wait again in the clinic hall.
She'll have to show herself eventually, he thought.
That persistent man peering into Lin Tantan's consultation room caught Jiang Zhongyi's attention.
At first Jiang Zhongyi thought, Another charlatan? But he saw the man the next day, the third and fourth days as well, and began to feel something was wrong. The guy came every day to stake the place out, what was he after?
He didn't tell Lin Tantan, his sister was already working so hard; he wouldn't trouble her with such nonsense. He went straight to Bai Cheng instead.
Bai Cheng, after hearing about it, thought for a moment and without hesitation passed the information to Ye Xiao.
His beloved, he would go protect her himself.
The two of them really hadn't had much contact these days. See? He's such a considerate comrade.
Ye Xiao had indeed been busy: the zombies beyond the city wall were putting intense pressure on them. Lin Tantan had her own tasks, and the two only had chances to meet at night. But Lin Tantan usually ate and stayed in her room, so Ye Xiao had fewer opportunities to speak with her than the shut-in Jiang Xiaotian or a couple of patients did.
Right, apart from Cheng Qinan, who hadn't awakened his ability, Xu Qin came down with a high fever after days of rain, showing promising signs of an awakening.
Ye Xiao was itching to treat them.
After hearing the news and glancing at the zombies beyond the wall, only a light drizzle today, the zombies less frenzied and fewer in number, he decided to finish early.
When he arrived at Lin Tantan's at three in the afternoon, the persistent stakeouter was still there, doggedly squatting, wearing a cap and a coat, trying to make himself less recognizable with a change of clothes.
But in the busy, not-very-large hall, Ye Xiao spotted the sneaky-looking man at a glance.
Ye Xiao's eyes narrowed slightly. Xu Tianjin suddenly felt a chill along his back and hurriedly turned to see a man in a black coat, with an erect, imposing bearing, standing not too far away, watching him coolly with a frosty glint in his eyes.
Xu Tianjin's first instinct was danger; his scalp tingled. Then he recognized him, Ye Xiao!
He swallowed.
He wasn't really a Ye Xiao fan himself, but having been Lin Tantan's patient for more than half a year and in frequent contact with her, he knew her better than most. He knew she was a complete diehard fan of Ye Xiao, so he'd learned a little about Ye Xiao's deeds and felt both admiration and pity for a man who had shone so brightly at a young age.
But now, with their eyes locked and a hunter-like sense of menace sweeping over him, he truly understood that the title "Number One of the Apocalypse" wasn't empty talk, Ye Xiao was genuinely terrifying.
Compared to him, Zhou Yan, that so-called ultimate winner, seemed ordinary to the point of dust.
Even putting the Lin Tantan question aside, he suddenly doubted his choices, had he really done the right thing by throwing in with Zhou Yan?
Ye Xiao walked over and asked casually, "Are you here to see the doctor too?"
Xu Tianjin snapped back to himself. "N-no, I'm accompanying a friend."
"Oh? I keep seeing you around these past few days. Is your friend very sick?" Ye Xiao asked evenly, his gaze like a scanning beam sweeping him inside and out. Xu Tianjin's calves trembled, he'd been sneaking in previously, worried Zhou Yan might notice something, and today he'd finally had time to wait until the clinic closed, thinking he'd at last get a look. Who knew a grim reaper like this would show up.
He was afraid Ye Xiao would press further, and even more afraid he'd be silently bound and taken away, so he grabbed an excuse and ran.
Ye Xiao didn't pursue him, a mere ordinary person, not even an ability user, wasn't worth the trouble.
The only thing that mattered to him was that the man had ties to Zhou Yan.
It was the same Zhou Li that Lin Tantan wanted to beat up. Ye Xiao still hadn't figured out exactly what Zhou Li's relationship to Lin Tantan was, but that didn't stop him from keeping an eye on Zhou Li. He'd known from day one that Zhou Li and Zhou Yan had rendezvoused at the base, and Zhou Yan was a savvy operator, not anonymous there. With Zhou Li and his forces joining, the two brothers were doing very well now.
The reason he hadn't told Lin Tantan that Zhou Yan was also at the base was mainly that he couldn't step away at the time. He worried she'd hear the name and decide to go beat him up or something, and he couldn't accompany her. It was also so they could investigate the man more thoroughly.
Now it seemed he shouldn't keep it from her any longer.
He sat down on a chair near Lin Tantan's consultation room. Waiting for someone to finish work felt oddly novel; he glanced around and took out a wind-type crystal core, absorbing it silently.
His aura was so strong he clearly wasn't an ordinary person; a vacuum seemed to form around him, which stood out in the crowded hall. There were probably people with other motives among the crowd too, and when they saw him they quietly backed away.
Jiang Zhongyi spotted him and came bounding over. "Captain Ye, you're here, I'll tell Sister Lin."
"No need to disturb her. I'll just wait here," Ye Xiao said. "There's no trouble here, is there?"
"No, of course not. Sister Lin said anyone who causes trouble gets blacklisted, who'd dare. It's just that there are so many people; appointments are backed up for over ten days, and Sister Lin is taking more and more cases every day."
Ye Xiao frowned slightly. He watched as people came and went from Lin Tantan's room in quick succession, every few minutes. Those who went in looked pale and ill but hopeful; those who came out wore broad smiles and looked relieved.
Meanwhile, the other ability-users' consultation rooms might go ten, twenty minutes or even half an hour without a single person coming or going.
Ye Xiao waited for more than two hours. In that time, Lin Tantan had seen over twenty patients.
In the end, the other ability-users all finished and left, and Lin Tantan was the very last to emerge.
She was wearing a puffy, dark-pink down jacket, one of those coats that made her torso look like a round ball. She held a thermos to her chest, yawning as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her wrist. When she saw Ye Xiao rising from the chair, she paused, a flicker of surprise and pleasure lighting her eyes.
"What are you doing here? You're back so early today?" Normally she'd long be gone and it would be dark by the time he returned.
Ye Xiao felt a small easing in his chest, gladness, he told himself. He'd worried she'd taken to avoiding him as a habit.
He said, "Just came to see you. Are you heading out?"
"Yeah, I'm leaving." Is he here just to wait for her? Lin Tantan's mood was buoyant; the tiredness of a whole day's work vanished. "Let me wash my hands."
She could summon water herself, but didn't want to reveal her water-type ability, so she tried not to use it. She went to the sink, and a girl who was busy filling a bucket to clean the clinic splashed water over her hands.
Lin Tantan rubbed one hand with the other, not bothering that she couldn't reach the backs of her hands.
Ye Xiao shifted his feet but remained where he was.
Although Lin Tantan kept saying "no, no" with her mouth, her body was clearly practiced at avoidance. Ye Xiao didn't dare act too familiar; he was afraid he'd unknowingly strike a nerve and make her recoil even more.
Lin Tantan finished washing her hands in a sloppy hurry, then carelessly patted her puffy coat, leaving a row of damp handprints. She glanced at the clear water in the bucket and thought of those who couldn't even drink water, using such good water to mop floors felt wrong, but this was a clinic, so it ought to be kept clean.
"You guys heading off too?" she asked Jiang Zhongyi and the others. Usually Jiang Zhongyi and the others would escort Lin Tantan into a car back to the villa, something Lin Tantan found over the top since the villa was close and what could possibly happen. But they refused to leave her be, which made her comings and goings quite a spectacle. Today, finally, she could get rid of them.
Jiang Zhongyi glanced at Ye Xiao; seeing no objection, he smiled, "Once we finish cleaning and lock up, we'll go." There were still supplies that had been brought in that afternoon and not yet moved.
Lin Tantan nodded. "Shall we go, then?" she said to Ye Xiao.
She didn't take a car back to the villa unless it was pouring, no point wasting gasoline. Today's rain was just a drizzle. Lin Tantan lifted her foot to leave when Ye Xiao pointed and said, "Wear your hood."
"Oh." Obediently, Lin Tantan reached up to pull the hood over her head. The hood was so big she had to grab it at her chin with one hand, and she was still holding the big thermos in the crook of her left arm. Ye Xiao couldn't stand it and took the thermos from her.
Lin Tantan smiled. "Thanks."
Ye Xiao thought he ought to bring an umbrella. He watched the little stray strands of hair that kept escaping from the edge of her hood; one tuft stuck to her eye. She reached to brush it away and the hood slipped off. She smoothed her hair, put the hood back on, and the strands fell out again, irritating her face. She pressed the hood down with her left arm and used her free right hand to tuck the stray hairs slowly behind her ear.
He watched her fuss for a long while; several times he raised his hand to help.
"I'll help." In the end he said it with a straight face, but Lin Tantan hurriedly finished in two or three quick motions. "It's fine, it's fine."
Ye Xiao felt a little disappointed.
Then suddenly she looked toward somewhere ahead, astonishment on her face. He followed her gaze and saw the habitual loiterer standing behind a pillar at the roadside, staring at Lin Tantan. His face was a jumble of shock, disbelief, dazedness, ecstatic joy, grief, confusion, hesitation, and unease...
Ye Xiao had strong eyesight and could make out every expression on the man's face: the look you get when someone you thought you'd never see again appears out of nowhere, like a lost child suddenly finding a family member, wanting to recognize them but afraid to.
That wasn't an expression an ordinary person could fake. A chill ran through Ye Xiao. He looked back at Lin Tantan and saw only surprise and puzzlement on her face, she looked like someone viewing a stranger.
Lin Tantan had "forgotten" her past. She'd only confided this to Bai Cheng, because she had deliberately avoided telling Ye Xiao; Bai Cheng felt he should respect her wishes and therefore hadn't told Ye Xiao.
But Ye Xiao wasn't foolish; some things he could read without digging. Once his attention settled on Lin Tantan, between their conversations and his everyday observations, it was impossible for him not to notice the clues.
So now another person has appeared who knows her while she doesn't know him?
Ye Xiao's mind immediately flashed to Chen Zhihao, and the man before them now was clearly even more fervent and earnest than Chen had been.
His face went faintly dark.
Xu Tianjin stared at that face, which matched at least seven or eight out of ten; his earlier doubts and guesses were strongly confirmed. Even with many uncertainties still nagging at him, the tears burst out and, eyes blurred, he rushed toward Lin Tantan, crying, "Doctor Lin..."
Ye Xiao moved in a flash and stepped between Lin Tantan and the man.
Tall and solid, he blocked her completely, leaving only the rounded puff of her jacket visible at one side.
Xu Tianjin came to an abrupt halt, trembling at Ye Xiao's cold, piercing presence; like a small animal stared down by a predator, his whole body bristled.