IABI – Chapter 105 Humanity’s Counterattack (6)

The soldier who had narrowly escaped death stared blankly as Chi Xin reached for the cumbersome city-defense cannon. He instinctively opened his mouth. “You need to first—”

Chi Xin didn’t let him finish. With movements even more practiced than his, she swiftly loaded a shell, aimed at the densest cluster of zombies, and fired.

“Boom—!”

Then Chi Xin turned back. “What were you saying?”

The soldier silently swallowed his words.

He desperately wanted to get up and retake his original post—at the very least, to be a competent living person again and kill a few more zombies that had already climbed to the edge of the wall.

But the girl seemed to carry a powerful magnet within her. On the battlefield, she effortlessly drew everyone’s attention.

The soldier watched her continue loading and firing. Every shot hit its mark. Her sequence of movements was calm yet fast, smooth and fluid, as if flowing clouds and running water.

It was as though she were glowing.

He was so absorbed that a climbing zombie grabbed his leg again. Chi Xin spun in place and stomped down hard on the zombie’s hand.

With a sharp crack of breaking bone, the zombie’s wrist was crushed under her foot.

The zombie screeched and fell from the wall. Chi Xin’s sharp gaze landed on the soldier.
“Pick up your gun, soldier!”

“Yes!”

The soldier reflexively scrambled to his feet and stood at attention, responding loudly—only to realize a moment later that the person before him was not his commanding officer.

Chi Xin glanced back at him once more. That look made her feel he seemed vaguely familiar.

The soldier—one of the sentries from the watchtower that morning—looked at Chi Xin as a surge of hot blood rushed through his chest. Gritting his teeth, he threw a fierce punch, knocking a climbing zombie back down.

Chi Xin didn’t know why he suddenly looked as if he’d been injected with chicken blood, but seeing him regain his fighting spirit put her at ease. She casually loaded another shell, just about to give the position back to him, when she saw at a glance that the storage was empty.

She raised her eyes. “No more shells. Where’s the supply?”

Hearing her speak to him again, the soldier’s Adam’s apple bobbed with excitement before he answered, “In this situation, supplies can’t keep up. I—I’ll go get them. Here…”

The spot they were standing on was a breach in the city wall, slightly lower than the surrounding sections, making it especially easy for zombies to climb up. In just the time it took to exchange a few words, another disgusting face had already appeared.

Chi Xin kicked the zombie back down and turned to the soldier. “Don’t worry. I’ll hold this.”

This clearly went against protocol, but looking across the entire battlefield, there was no one free to come and cover this gap. The soldier hesitated for a moment. “Please be extremely careful!”

Chi Xin nodded with a faint smile, as if the sky-darkening tide of corpses did not exist at all.

Just as the soldier turned to leave, a thunderous roar suddenly rang out.

“Yu Xiang?! Why are you here?!”

Chi Xin closed her eyes briefly. She knew this moment was inevitable.

She waved at the soldier to indicate everything was fine, then turned around to see Yu Shizhao striding over and grabbing Yu Xiang by the arm.

Compared to how he looked in the conference room, Yu Shizhao’s suit was now in disarray, splattered with sticky fluid and blood. Clearly, he was not the kind of leader who sat high and watched his subordinates charge forward.

“Brother!” Yu Xiang shouted, his hands never stopping as he fired a shot that took down a zombie.

Yu Shizhao’s ferocious expression paused for a moment, then turned even more savage. “Didn’t you hear a single word I said to you before?! Get back immediately! Yan Wei? Where is Yan Wei?!”

In response, Yu Xiang yanked him backward and stepped in front of him, the machine gun in his hands rattling as it swept across the wall.

“Brother, I’m not that kid who needs you to follow behind cleaning up after me anymore.” Yu Xiang was still smiling, but the look in his eyes was that of a true soldier—brave and resolute. “I know you’re worried about me, but you already have enough on your plate. As for me—just watch.”

Chi Xin watched closely as Yu Xiang shielded Yu Shizhao behind him, the latter’s expression turning subtle. She casually pulled out a heavy machine gun, didn’t even turn her head, and tucked it under her arm with one hand, sweeping fire across the wall.

Only one shell remained for the cannon. Until it could serve a decisive purpose, she didn’t want to use it lightly.

“Bang—!”

“Boom—!”

Continuous artillery fire erupted within the sea of corpses, accompanied by flames and sudden earthen spikes thrusting up from the ground.

The ability users from earlier had joined the fight as well.

While engaging the enemy, Chi Xin continued to keep an eye on Yu Xiang’s side.

“So, brother?” Yu Xiang twisted his head back with a cheeky grin. “Not bad, right, your little brother?”

This time Yu Shizhao didn’t explode in anger. He stared deeply at his younger brother, as if he had never truly known him before.

“Yu Xiang, your brother isn’t underestimating your abilities,” he said hoarsely. “But with you here, I’ll always be worried and distracted. Be good—take your girlfriend back first, okay?”

“My girlfriend?” Yu Xiang was already too lazy to correct the way Yu Shizhao addressed her. He smiled meaningfully and pointed ahead. “She’s way fiercer than I am. Want to take a look?”

Yu Shizhao froze, subconsciously following the direction Yu Xiang pointed. One look, and his expression changed drastically.

“How did she get up there? Who allowed her up there?!” His breathing grew uneven. “Do you have any idea how important the gun tower is? Is that cannon something she can touch? Where’s the soldier who was supposed to be there?!”

“Brother, calm down first,” Yu Xiang hurriedly said. “I’ll say it again—wherever Chi Xin is, we’re steady. Forget a cannon—she could even drive a tank if you gave her one.”

Chi Xin twitched the corner of her mouth.

No. That one she really couldn’t do.

Even though Yu Xiang was advertising her again, from Yu Shizhao’s eyes it was clear he still didn’t believe it.

She watched as Yu Shizhao patted Yu Xiang, then turned and walked down toward the gun tower, his expression as calm as she had expected.

“Chi Xin, Yu Xiang has mentioned many times that you saved him. I’ve never properly thanked you.” That was the first thing Yu Shizhao said when he came up to her.

Chi Xin had expected a storm of furious reproach. Instead, she was met with thanks. She raised an eyebrow and replied gently, “There’s no need.”

Yu Shizhao stared intently into her eyes. Chi Xin met his gaze calmly. After a few seconds, Yu Shizhao let out a soft breath.

“I’ve maneuvered through political circles for so many years—my eyes won’t be wrong,” Yu Shizhao said. As he spoke, he shot a sideways glance at Yu Xiang, who was about to follow, pinning him in place. “I won’t judge whether what Yu Xiang said is true or false, but I trust my own eyes. To be this calm and composed on a battlefield like this—you’re clearly no ordinary person.”

Chi Xin hadn’t expected that once he arrived on the battlefield, Yu Shizhao would seem to suddenly regain his wits. Slightly surprised, she replied, “You flatter me.”

Yu Shizhao acted as though he didn’t notice her look. Even while saying something so warm, his face remained cold and indifferent. “I acknowledge you.”

Chi Xin silently typed out a question mark in her head.

“But this truly isn’t a place you should be,” Yu Shizhao continued without waiting for her response. “I can see that Yu Xiang listens to you. Right now, only you can take him somewhere safe. Take him away.”

“Maybe you’ve misunderstood something.” Under Yu Shizhao’s narrowed gaze, Chi Xin removed the empty magazine. Without missing a beat, she kicked one zombie after another off the wall, sent the ones climbing up tumbling back down, and swiftly replaced the magazine with a fresh one. The entire sequence of movements was crisp and fluid—so refined that handling a gun looked like an art form.

Even while doing all this, she still positioned herself in front of Yu Shizhao, shielding him.

“Brother Yu,” Chi Xin said, seizing a moment to speak, “I call you ‘brother’ not because of your status, but because you’re Yu Xiang’s older brother. Yu Xiang is a person. Just because he’s your brother doesn’t mean he’s a puppet who can only act according to your will. Right now, he wants to go to the battlefield as a soldier. No one has the right to order him to leave under any pretext. This is the respect I give Yu Xiang—and it’s also something I hope you can understand.”

Perhaps it was this display of hers that stunned Yu Shizhao. He fell silent for several seconds before finally saying, “If the one standing here weren’t Yu Xiang, but your parents—your brothers or sisters—would you still say something like this?”

Chi Xin smiled faintly. When she turned back, her gaze was sharp as a blade.

“My parents would be proud of my courage. Likewise, I wouldn’t stop them from doing anything they wanted to do. What I feel for them is love—not a desire to control.”

Yu Shizhao’s breathing stalled.

At that moment, panting came through the earpiece. “Xinxin, we’re here. How do you want us to proceed?”

“Jing Xiubai.” She didn’t bother thinking and directly called out the name of her “dog-head strategist.”

Jing Xiubai wasn’t in sight at the moment—no one knew where he’d gone to look for Lou Chen—but he responded immediately upon being summoned. “Zheng Junzhi is taking people to find Major Yan Wei and will act according to his arrangements. Jiang Congyun is going up onto the city wall.”

“Even if it’s a dead-end situation?” someone asked.

Chi Xin cut off the comm and turned to look at the person who had spoken.

Yu Shizhao showed no fear of the zombies trying to gnaw at his trouser legs. He walked to the edge of the wall, placed a hand on it, and gazed calmly at the endless tide of zombies stretching into the distance.

“Chi Xin, look at this wall,” Yu Shizhao said as he turned to her. His expression was steady, but the faint redness at the corners of his eyes and the slightly trembling hand braced against the wall revealed an inner state completely different from his exterior. “Can you really bear to watch your loved ones be buried here with you?”

Chi Xin’s heart jolted.

Was Yu Shizhao really standing here with the resolve to die?

“Things haven’t reached the final step yet,” Chi Xin said, her hands never stopping. “Brother Yu, it’s far too early for despair.”

Yu Shizhao let out a short laugh.

This was the first time Chi Xin had ever heard him laugh—and it was filled with sarcasm and bleak sorrow.

“It’s already too late,” Yu Shizhao said. “I can deceive the whole city, but I can’t deceive myself. Our weapons stockpile is almost depleted. After surviving several large-scale zombie tides, any new outbreak could spell our total destruction.”

Chi Xin’s movements faltered.

“At this level, perhaps despair still wouldn’t be necessary,” Yu Shizhao said, his gaze falling on the zombies piling higher and higher, too many to kill. “But he’s here.”

As the words “he’s here” fell—soft enough to be almost gentle—the entire horde seemed to receive a collective command. In an instant, it was as if they’d been injected with stimulants: both speed and strength surged dramatically.

The zombies that had been barely struggling at the base of the wall suddenly erupted with one hundred and twenty percent of their strength. One of them clung on and vaulted up, claws reaching straight for Yu Shizhao’s face.

Just as Yu Shizhao was about to retreat, a gun barrel abruptly appeared before his eyes and smashed heavily into the zombie’s face, sending it flipping backward off the wall.

He turned back in shock to look at Chi Xin, who had done it.

Chi Xin knocked the zombie down with the butt of her gun and frowned at the layers upon layers of zombies piling upward.

“Chi Xin, I believe you’ve saved Yu Xiang many times already,” Yu Shizhao murmured. “Just take it as me, as his older brother, begging you—take Yu Xiang away. Protect him well, all right?”

Chi Xin had no time to pay attention to what he was saying. Her gaze landed on the city-defense cannon, her mind spinning rapidly.

There was only one shell left.

Combined with what Yu Shizhao had said, and the fact that the soldier sent for supplies still hadn’t returned after all this time, it was clear that either the supplies could no longer keep up—or the man had already died halfway.

There was no longer anything to rely on.

She had thought before that this last remaining shell should be used at the most critical moment.

Chi Xin glanced again at the mountain of zombies piling up below the wall.

Perhaps that moment had already arrived.

Yu Shizhao watched her looking around without responding to him. His face grew pale. “Chi Xin.”

He had always been proud and aloof, sharp-tongued in speech. But for the sake of his only younger brother, he was willing to lower himself, to beg—just to obtain a single promise.

“I’m here,” Chi Xin replied casually.

Yu Shizhao fell silent for a moment. Watching Chi Xin walk toward the cannon’s firing position, his expression instantly stiffened. She gripped the sight with both hands, forcefully adjusting it, as though calibrating the angle.

“What are you trying to do?”

Chi Xin didn’t answer him. Instead, she focused intently on adjusting the massive cannon in her hands, fine-tuning it until the angle satisfied her.

At this moment, the muzzle was set at an extremely tricky angle, almost vertical, aimed straight at the zombie mountain on the enemy side. Through the scope, she could even see the roaring, contorted faces of the zombies up close.

“Brother Yu,” Chi Xin said. “Step back.”

Yu Shizhao parted his lips, but his instinctive sense of danger made him heed her warning. He retreated to the rear.

Chi Xin took a deep breath and pulled the bolt.

“Boom—”

The deafening blast, fired at such close range to the city wall, sent a violent tremor through the entire structure.

The gun platform at the point of explosion bore the brunt of the shockwave. The instant the shot was fired, Chi Xin spun around and tackled the still-standing Yu Shizhao to the ground.

She shielded him protectively, holding him tightly beneath her. Through the gap between her shoulder and neck, Yu Shizhao’s pupils—shocked to the point of losing focus—were exposed.

To Yu Shizhao, everything seemed to slow down within his vision.

Towering flames from the explosion surged upward. Zombies were blasted sky-high, and shattered limbs rained down, turning the area into a bloody downpour.

Fetid blood splattered onto his face. He felt as though he had never reacted so slowly in his entire life.

When the shaking finally subsided, he cautiously raised a hand and touched Chi Xin’s shoulder, testing his voice. “Chi Xin?”

Chi Xin lifted her upper body and shook her head.

That was playing it a bit too big, she thought. At least at this distance, she hadn’t been shaken into tinnitus.

She stood up and casually pulled Yu Shizhao to his feet. “You okay?”

Yu Shizhao didn’t answer. The look he gave her was extremely complicated.

Chi Xin patted her forehead and glanced back. “The city wall’s fine. I calculated everything—don’t worry.”

She assumed Yu Shizhao was worried about damage to the wall.

In reality, it was only after she said this that Yu Shizhao fully realized just how terrifying her control had to be—to wipe out all the nearest zombies at such close range and still leave the city wall completely unscathed.

“Chi Xin…” He silently rolled her name over his tongue.

“Hm?” Chi Xin was busy inspecting the results of her shot.

Just then, a head popped up above them. “Chi Xin! We’ve found Lou Chen!”

Chi Xin immediately tossed aside whatever she hadn’t finished hearing. “Brother Yu, watch yourself. Don’t worry— as long as I’m here, things haven’t reached the final step yet.”

She didn’t even bother with the stairs. With a crouch and a leap, she grabbed the edge of the wall above. Jing Xiubai reached out and hauled her up, and the two figures vanished over the top.

Yu Shizhao was left standing alone on the now-safe gun platform, staring in that direction for a long time.

Until another head popped up from the other side. “Bro, why haven’t you moved for so long? Can’t you get up?”

“Get lost,” Yu Shizhao said coldly.

He turned and walked up. The first to meet him was his secretary, A-Qing. “Chengji, Young Master Xiao is here too.”

Yu Shizhao nodded. “Transfer command authority to him.”

A-Qing looked troubled. “But Young Master’s condition—”

Yu Shizhao fell silent for a moment. “I’ll go see him.”

Yu Xiang came trotting over as well, but before he could speak, Yu Shizhao walked straight past him.

“Take better care of your own life,” Yu Shizhao said without even turning his head. “If you’re short on weapons, go ask Yan Wei.”

Yu Shizhao’s awakening was something Chi Xin knew nothing about. She followed Jing Xiubai at a brisk pace to the other side of the city wall. He stuffed a pair of military binoculars into her hands. She raised them and looked in the direction he indicated.

In the narrow, magnified field of view, Chi Xin searched carefully. Finally, she spotted a tiny dot atop the crown of a tree deep in the woods.

“Lou Chen is in a tree?” she said in disbelief.

“It’s not close,” Jing Xiubai said. “Getting over there in this situation will take some effort.”

Chi Xin looked again, adjusting the magnification. The tiny figure shrank and expanded in her view, but she could still only make out a vague silhouette.

She lowered the binoculars. “Are you sure it’s him?”

“Ninety percent,” Jing Xiubai replied, also gazing that way. “The military has its own methods of confirmation.”

Chi Xin nodded. After pondering for a few seconds, she turned to him. “Alright. What’s your plan?”

“I can send you over,” Jing Xiubai said quietly, lowering his head to look at her. “But the current Lou Chen is no longer who he used to be. I’m afraid—”

“Then let’s do it,” Chi Xin said without hesitation. “No matter what he’s become, we have to capture him first.”

“He’s extremely dangerous now,” Jing Xiubai sighed. “My guess is that he’s lost his self-awareness and is just a war machine under someone else’s control.”

Chi Xin stretched her limbs, her eyes brighter than the sun. “That’s exactly why we can’t let this continue.”

Understanding her resolve, Jing Xiubai said nothing more. A faint, deep-blue glow began to gather in his hand.

Just then, a furious shout rang out.

“Hey, you over there! I’m talking to you! Do you even know where this is? How dare you come here and mess around!”

The voice sounded familiar.

Chi Xin and Jing Xiubai exchanged a glance and turned at the same time, seeing several people walking toward them.

At the front, strutting arrogantly, was none other than Lian Tianrui.

Behind him, the first person Chi Xin noticed was Yu Shizhao, who was supporting a man in military uniform. Yu Shizhao opened his mouth, then closed it again, looking at Chi Xin with a hint of helplessness.

“This is a violation of discipline—enough to send you to a military court. Do you know that?” Lian Tianrui stood in front, oblivious to the gaze of the real authority behind him. He stared maliciously at Chi Xin and Jing Xiubai, excitement and anticipation flashing in his eyes, as if long-awaited revenge were finally at hand.

“Oh?” Chi Xin folded her arms and responded with a lazy breathy sound.

Seeing her complete lack of concern, Lian Tianrui’s expression darkened. He sneered and jogged straight over to the man in military uniform.

“Young Master, these two—one’s a friend of the Yu family’s youngest son, the other is Professor Jing’s son. With them causing chaos on the battlefield, even Yu Chengji and Professor Jing wouldn’t have grounds to defend them, right?”

As he spoke, he paid no attention to the fact that every word had been clearly heard by Yu Shizhao.

He was genuinely thrilled. In his eyes, the rivalry between his Young Master and Yu Chengji had gone on for far too long, with neither able to best the other. Now he’d caught such a huge handle, openly siding with his Young Master right in front of Yu Chengji—surely the Young Master would be moved by his loyalty.

He’d not only deal a blow to the Yu family, but also avenge the humiliation Chi Xin and the others had dealt him outside the city walls.

The thought alone made Lian Tianrui’s body tremble.

With excitement.

Chi Xin’s gaze settled on the man in uniform.

Broad shoulders, narrow waist. His military cap sat low, obscuring most of his face. Only his jaw was visible—and from it, his pale lips.

He didn’t speak, yet Chi Xin could feel his gaze fixed squarely on her.

Yu Shizhao’s face hardened. “Lian Tianrui, both I and Young Master Xiao are standing right here. Since when did it become your turn to call the shots?”

Lian Tianrui sneered back. “Yu Chengji, at a time like this, you still want to shelter your brother’s friends? That’s not something a base commander should be doing. Unlike Young Master Xiao—who puts the people first, and despite being so badly injured, still insists on personally directing the battle.”

He was about to continue his sarcasm when the man in uniform raised a hand. Lian Tianrui immediately shut his mouth obediently.

A slightly hoarse voice spoke. “What are you doing here?”

Looking at him, Chi Xin answered softly, “Catching the Zombie King.”

Lian Tianrui’s eyes bulged. “Catching the Zombie King? Take a look at what you are! Do you know that so far, only one person has ever been able to stand against the Zombie King—”

Chi Xin ignored him completely, her eyes still on the man in uniform. “You’re seriously injured. We have a healer—let her treat you first. We’ll be back.”

Lian Tianrui said in disbelief, “Did you even hear what I said? You think you can catch the Zombie King—”

Before he could finish, a sharp pain shot through his leg.

Before he even realized what happened, he was flipped onto his back, sprawled flat on the ground.

Lian Tianrui stared blankly. “Young Master…?”

The man in uniform withdrew his leg, as if the sweeping kick just now had nothing to do with him.

Yet that single movement sent him into a violent coughing fit. “Cough—cough! Cough, cough, cough!”

Yu Shizhao immediately moved to support him.

Chi Xin couldn’t help but take a few steps forward as well.

“Sorry to let you see me like this,” the hoarse voice said, tinged with a bitter smile. The man in uniform slowly raised his head, revealing a resolute, handsome face—far more mature than in Chi Xin’s memories.

“I thought that when I saw you again, I’d be able to offer you safe protection. But I never expected…”

“Xiao Li,” Chi Xin smiled, her voice gentle, filled with the joy of seeing an old friend again. “I’m really glad.”