Chapter Twenty-Four: The Bond Between Hearts

A figure strode in, and without a second thought, Qiang raised his club and swung it toward Fang Xia’s head. But Fang Xia had anticipated this; he lashed out with a brutal kick, sending Qiang flying two meters across the room.

The remaining three froze mid-motion, their hands suspended awkwardly. Was this even a human being? What kind of monster had they tried to rob?

A blinding light swept over them, forcing their eyes shut against its intensity. Fang Xia delivered a swift kick to each, and the four were forced to kneel in a row before him.

The fat one wailed like a slaughtered pig. “It hurts!”

Fang Xia had no interest in speaking to these four. He waved for Bai Xing to step forward. “You do it.”

“Me?” Bai Xing’s hand trembled as she gripped the dagger.

Though she loathed these men with every fiber of her being, to actually kill them herself was another matter entirely. Pushing her roommate out to save herself had been instinct; killing these four would mean crossing an irreversible threshold.

In her previous life, Bai Xing had suffered for days under the relentless pursuit of her zombified roommate, enduring torment of body and soul until she finally broke and slew her friend. But this time, under Fang Xia’s relentless pressure, she had killed her transformed roommate, yet without the same emotional journey; she hadn’t fully hardened.

After last night’s intimacy, she was showing signs of reverting to a normal girl.

Today’s events, though brief, had shattered her worldview. The relentless stress, the near breakdowns, had slowly iced over her heart. Now only the final step remained: killing with her own hands.

“Yes, you,” Fang Xia urged.

“Think carefully. Without me, even if you survive today, what about tomorrow? The day after? In the end, you’ll either starve and feed the zombies, or become their plaything. Consider it well.”

Fang Xia was in no hurry; he could afford to wait all night.

But the four before him couldn’t. They struggled desperately to rise.

Another round of kicks, each delivered with impartial fairness.

Now, the four lay sprawled on the floor, unable to move.

“If you kill recklessly, you’ll pay the price,” one croaked, as if resigned to his fate, and the group began cursing Fang Xia with newfound vigor.

“You’re not even good at insults—no mention of mothers, just skin-deep scratches,” Fang Xia mocked.

The room fell into silence. What kind of person was this? Impossible to defeat, immune to curses, ruthless and cold. Was he really a young man of the new era?

“Four wastes, can’t fight, can’t curse, just wasting air alive. Might as well feed you to the zombies,” Fang Xia declared, preparing to finish them off. These wretches weren’t worth his time.

“I’ll do it,” Bai Xing said.

The enhancement of a first-tier fighter had made Bai Xing quicker. As soon as she spoke, she was at the four men’s side, raising her dagger under their terrified gaze.

…

Back in the room, Fang Xia kept his eyes on Bai Xing, holding back for as long as he could before finally speaking.

“You’re using the dagger wrong,” he said. “A dagger needs finesse. If you just stab with brute force, you might as well use a knife.”

He sighed inwardly; the top-ten master of his last life still had a long road ahead.

“I know,” Bai Xing replied. Since returning, she sat silently in a corner of the sofa.

Tonight had shaken her more than her entire life combined. First, she’d witnessed Fang Xia’s bloody slaughter; then, she’d killed four living men herself.

Zombies, no matter how human they looked, were monsters—killing them carried little psychological burden. But four living souls extinguished by her hand—that raw impact left her shaken and confused.

Had she not already vomited in the corridor, she’d still be retching now.

Fang Xia understood her turmoil. He remembered his own first kill, forced by desperation, and how much worse he’d fared.

“Take a shower and get some sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning,” he said.

He believed she’d adapt quickly. In the early days of the apocalypse, time was too precious to allow slow adjustment.

Neither spoke more; they showered as usual, though this time Bai Xing went first, Fang Xia second.

After Fang Xia finished, he witnessed a scene more breathtaking than anything in his twenty-plus years.

Though wrapped in a towel, it covered only what needed covering, and the rest was tantalizingly visible.

He turned away, fetched clothes he’d scavenged from the mall earlier, and tossed them to Bai Xing.

“Put these on; I grabbed them for you from the mall. There are plenty more. You shouldn’t forget there’s a man in this house when you’re dressed like that.”

“We’ve killed so many people,” Bai Xing whispered, curled up, tears streaming down her face.

Fang Xia felt a stir of compassion. So the tough act had been a façade, after all.

“You need to cross that line in your heart. Whether it’s true dislike or genuine guilt, this is the law of the apocalypse: if you don’t kill, others will kill you.”

“Can you hug me?” Bai Xing looked up, her tear-streaked face like a rain-soaked blossom, drops falling onto her robe.

She froze, her heart unexpectedly loosening.

Suddenly, Bai Xing rushed to Fang Xia, clinging tightly to him.

As she moved, her robe slid down her body.

Fang Xia, dressed only in a thin robe himself, fought to repress his rising desire, intending to push Bai Xing away, but she held him fast.

“Don’t do this,” he muttered, his body responding uncontrollably, pressing against her.

Bai Xing sensed his discomfort. She lifted her head from his shoulder, gazing at him, their faces barely two centimeters apart.

“So you do get nervous. I thought nothing could faze you,” she laughed, her earlier tears replaced by laughter.

Fang Xia tried to push her away, but Bai Xing was quicker; she suddenly kissed him.

“Mmm, mmm, mmm…”

…

Everyone has their own way of venting. Fang Xia hadn’t expected Bai Xing’s to be so direct.

The enhanced bodies of first-tier fighters let them experience a new depth of pleasure.

When the first rays of dawn spilled across the sofa, Fang Xia opened his eyes.

He couldn’t recall when he’d fallen asleep; only that Bai Xing had clung to him through the night…

A sweet voice sounded. Bai Xing’s long lashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her beautiful eyes.