Wang Zhi turned and exchanged glances with the others.
"Ahem, well, you guys wait for me outside first." To ease the awkward atmosphere, Wang Zhi intended to have the others leave first.
The group understood and turned to leave the room one after another; having ten people crammed into this small sickroom was indeed inappropriate.
After everyone left, Wang Zhi sat by the bed, rubbing his hands back and forth on his knees. He suddenly realized he had come empty-handed.
"Uh... a lot has happened recently; I came in a bit hastily," Wang Zhi spoke again.
"It doesn't matter."
"Although you are strong and the City Lord, don't do this again next time, okay?" Wang Zhi looked at the weak Jie Xi with heartache.
"Someone has to face it," Jie Xi said the same words Wang Zhi had spoken.
"But it doesn't necessarily have to be you; you are the City Lord, they cannot do without you," Wang Zhi countered.
"If not me, then you? Or those cowards hiding in the corners?" Jie Xi turned her head and stared at Wang Zhi.
Indeed, no one dared to face it; even most of the guards lacked the courage to rush to the very front, let alone them, the Citizens.
"Then, doing this for them, is it worth it?" Wang Zhi asked.
"It's not worth it, but for you, it is," Jie Xi moved her gaze away from Wang Zhi's face and said.
"I'm not worth it either!" Wang Zhi suddenly clenched his fist and said.
Looking at the suddenly emotional Wang Zhi, Jie Xi was slightly taken aback.
"By then, we had already proposed the escape plan. We had already reached the city gates. When I saw you fighting alone over there, I actually hesitated-ridiculous, right? For someone who wholeheartedly wanted me to live, I hesitated whether or not to go help her? Someone like me truly isn't worth it!" Wang Zhi kept his head down, his eyes already beginning to water.
"When I saw you place the sword against your throat, when I saw that look of despair mixed with unwillingness in your eyes, I realized that coward, that bastard, was me." Wang Zhi buried his head into the bed.
Jie Xi looked at Wang Zhi weeping beside her and gently placed a hand on his dirty hair. Her usually cold gaze softened. "You loved crying when you were little; you still cry just as much now."
"The Apocalypse is just this cruel. Someone you were just speaking with might become a corpse the next moment. Everyone has grown indifferent to separations and partings. To survive, people resort to any means necessary. Even hesitating for just a moment, you don't need to blame yourself too much. This World is simply like this," Jie Xi said softly.
"If that thing inside my body hadn't been there, would you still have done that?" Wang Zhi composed himself, raised his head, and asked.
"Heh, no, are you satisfied with that answer?" Jie Xi laughed lightly and asked.
"Satisfied. At least there's still something of value on me. Speaking of which, is your body really alright?" Wang Zhi inquired.
"I need about a month to recuperate. It's nothing serious. You guys should go back and handle your own business. I still have a bunch of things waiting for me to deal with too."
"Good! Then I'll visit another day." Wang Zhi stood up and left the sickroom.
Jie Xi watched Wang Zhi's departing back, sighed, and murmured to herself, "If only there were no Apocalypse..."
--
"Huh? Captain Wang, what's wrong with your eyes? They're so red." Fatty, waiting outside, asked when he saw Wang Zhi emerge.
"How long has it been since I rested? I'm just tired," Wang Zhi replied plainly.
"yeah! How long has it been since we rested? I wonder if our house has been invaded by Zombies yet," Fatty remarked.
"So, what should we do now?" You Luo asked.
"Let's go eat first," Wang Zhi suggested.
"Then what about our gear..." Qin Sheng asked, lifting his rifle.
"We'll just take the gear back with us for now. Things aren't completely stable yet; what if we have to fight again?"
"Speaking of which, now that the battle is over, will food be a bit cheaper/ Can we get some perks?" Fatty asked, rubbing his hands together.
"Perks? It's merciful enough that the prices haven't gone up. You still want perks? The performance of the people this time has left Dawn City disheartened," Duan Qingtian said with a sneer.
"Then... then we didn't fight this battle for nothing, did we?" Fatty said unhappily.
"Defending the homeland is the duty of every Citizen. As for those hiding in the corners... that is also their freedom. Trying to defend the homeland with the expectation of reward is essentially no different from those people hiding in the corners," Wang Zhi replied.
"What I mean is, aren't those who rushed forward to fight, even those who sacrificed, getting a raw deal?" Fatty asked doubtfully.
"Isn't living also a form of torment? When all the brave people die, the remaining group, scrambling for their lives, won't meet a better end," Old He said.
"Old He is right. Everything has its cause and effect. All we can do is strive to improve ourselves and learn to rely on ourselves at critical moments," Wang Zhi said, patting Fatty's shoulder.
The ten of them arrived at the dining hall. It wasn't sparsely populated; perhaps because they hadn't had a proper meal in so long, they brought their team members over to eat regardless of the cost.
Wang Zhi looked at the food prices; they hadn't changed, still reflecting the post-rain prices.
Since they hadn't eaten all day, Wang Zhi ordered fifty percent more food than usual.
When it came to eating, Wang Zhi was never stingy; the energy the body needed must be replenished.
Just as Wang Zhi and the others were eating, he saw Tang Qilin walking into the dining hall with Fu Ling.
Wang Zhi looked at the limping Fu Ling, who was not Infected, and realized that Tang Qilin had injected all these women with the Crystal Core Gene treatment.
But if Fu Ling hadn't stepped in for Tang Qilin at that critical moment, he might have been the one bitten.
Tang Qilin and Fu Ling found a secluded spot and sat down, both silently eating their meals.
Wang Zhi considered for a moment in his seat, then picked up his tray and walked over toward where Tang Qilin was sitting.
-*Clang*. Wang Zhi set his tray down on the table and sat beside Tang Qilin.
Tang Qilin didn't turn his head toward Wang Zhi, still focused on his food.
"Feeling better physically?" Wang Zhi initiated the conversation.
"En," Tang Qilin replied without looking up.
Wang Zhi glanced around, then said to Tang Qilin, "Why don't you come join our team?"
Hearing Wang Zhi's words, Fu Ling, who was eating, paused.
"Our goals are too divergent for us to work together." Tang Qilin refused outright.
Wang Zhi looked somewhat helpless at Tang Qilin's refusal but pressed on, "Even if our paths differ, we ultimately need to survive together. There's strength in numbers; we can certainly support each other, can't we?"
"Cooperation is possible, but joining you is out. You seem to be managing quite well on your own right now," Tang Qilin said, looking at Wang Zhi.
"Very well! Then I wish you luck finding new members soon!" With that, Wang Zhi picked up his tray and returned to his original seat.
Wang Zhi looked at Tang Qilin in the distance. This was one of the people he admired in Dawn City; even having reached this stage, he still clung to his original principles, surviving alone in this Apocalypse. Being able to know such a person was his own good fortune.
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