2: Underneath A Thousand Skies

216 Vixen Above, Mensao Below (30)

But, Song Jia's drastic situation didn't allow her to entertain any other distracting thoughts except for fighting the zombies and avoid getting bitten.

Long Aotian calmly watched her struggle with the cool, dispassionate gaze of a stranger. His uniform hung loose on his thin body, his bones almost pushing through his skin.

"Goodbye, Ye Jia."

As soon these cold words came out his lips, Long Aotian left. Song Jia helplessly watched as his figure turned the corner and vanished.

In fact, from the beginning, she had guarded herself against him. But because he had not done anything malicious yet, Song Jia couldn't find any reason to target him. Aside from not letting him get close to Ye Minzhe, she could only stay passive and continue observing him from afar.

In the future prediction, it only warned them that the vengeful reincarnator might cause Ye Minzhe to get infected. As for the rest of them, he didn't seem to harbor any evil intentions.

So why is it that this time, he deliberately targeted Ye Jia?

Song Jia used her quarterstaff to whack away one of the zombies, and before they could overwhelm her again, she reached into her storage space ring and pulled out everything she thought would be useful against them. Now that Long Aotian had revealed his true colors, she no longer had to hide her true ability.

Sōu sōu sōu. [1]

She threw out five multi-colored balls, not knowing if the gas that they released would be useful. While she was doing this, she took out a small knife as well.

A small knife couldn't be used to decapitate a head, but she could use it to slash wounds against the zombies' open skin. Blood splashed in the air, soaking her clothes. Song Jia didn't intentionally avoid it. She was certain that she didn't have any open wounds, so she wouldn't get infected. She wanted to disguise her scent with zombie blood.

She knew that her storage space ring was devoid of weapons. Even if she wanted to buy some, she couldn't afford it. The laser gun she once bought had cost her nearly a year's worth of living expenses. So Song Jia could only buy first generation weapons that were barely useful.

As soon as the zombies stopped attacking her, Song Jia passed through them and went down the stairs towards Deck 11. The ship began to tremble, signalling that it was about to capsize.

Song Jia had no time to think about Long Aotian. When she stepped onto Deck 11, the water came up to her ankles. Rats swam freely about, some of them clinging to the zombies that crowded within the narrow corridor.

A multitude of beady eyes stared unblinkingly at her, their black oily fur wet and clinging to their bodies. Song Jia shuddered.

She remembered the story about Cinderella and Transmigrator 555 [2]. No wonder she had resigned. Not even a person with a heart of steel could undergo such a traumatic event and not be scarred forever. Even her code name sounded as if she was crying.

Song Jia cautiously moved towards the cabin where Teacher Gu and the rest of her classmates had stayed. She couldn't move too quickly, afraid that the zombies would become suspicious. There were so many of them, she wouldn't even manage to shout "Aiya!" before they tore her to pieces.

Song Jia softly knocked on the door.

"Teacher Gu?" Her voice was only above a whisper. "Are you there?"

Fortunately, the door was quickly opened and a pale face peered at her. Gu Yuan's eyes widened with shock when he saw her bloody state.

"Miss Ye?" Gu Yuan's relief was evident from his tone. "You came back? Where are the others?"

Song Jia felt a bit helpless. She knew that Teacher Gu was a scaredy-cat and wouldn't take the initiative to escape even if the deck he was staying on was already flooding with water. If she hadn't come back, wouldn't he and the rest of her classmates simply drown themselves to death?

"I'm alone, the rest of them called for rescue," Song Jia said.

As she said this, she was conscious of another problem that came up. She had reached them only because she had disguised herself with zombie blood. Even if she tried her best, she wouldn't be able to fight enough zombies to pave a path for all of them to escape.

At first the water only came up to her ankles, but now it steadily rose up until the water swirled around her knees. Even the floor under her feet was tilting slightly.

Song Jia was exhausted, and the bloody stench coming from her clothes filled her with disgust. If she didn't get a bonus for this difficult mission, Song Jia decided that she would go on a temporary resignation.

Let's see if that stingy boss of hers still doesn't raise her salary!

In this cruel world, employees were expected to eat less than cats, sleep later than dogs, and wake earlier than roosters [3]. But in the transmigration department, not only were they expected to hand over their souls, they also had to work harder than an ox!

Song Jia wanted to file a complaint!

Whoever thinks that money isn't happiness, transfer it to my account, ah! This grandma will be eternally grateful~

"Ye Jia!"

Song Jia lifted her tired eyelids. When she looked up, her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Ye Minzhe?!"

Song Jia didn't expect to see him so soon. He had already killed several zombies that were blocking his way. He looked disheveled, almost crazed. The way he ruthlessly hacked zombies left and right showed his anxiety. He was sweating, and his curly hair was stuck to his forehead.

At last, Ye Minzhe had destroyed every obstacle that prevented him from reaching her. He started to walk forward in her direction, his pace rapid, with long and fast strides. He stopped right in front of her, his tall height towering over her small figure. Song Jia was completely enveloped in his shadow.

"Ye Jia," he said hoarsely.

Song Jia's eyelashes, looking as a frail as a cicada's wing, trembled slightly as she blinked. She looked up at him.

"What is it?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ye Minzhe bent down. One of his hands held her waist, while his other hand cupped the back of her head. His lips pressed against hers in a fierce kiss.

This was what he wanted to do a long time ago.

He had thought about doing this every time she teased him, when he pressed her against the wall, when he hugged her, when she had brushed her fingers across his tattoo...

Ye Minzhe pulled her close, his strong athletic body against her soft and yielding form. The emotions that had been held back, at this moment, poured over like a raging tsunami through his kiss, nearly drowning Song Jia.

[1] Ch. onomatopoeia for a soft swishing sound.
[2] Ch. slang for tearful crying. The digit "5" is "wu," so 555 is "wuwuwu."
[2] A reference or a Ch. proverb