Novel [BL] His Treasured Person - LH Arc 2 Batch Update (Chapters 3~6)

I couldn't wait for Lu Hao and Hong Sheng to meet, then comes Hong Sheng sacrifice and Lu Hao's thought afterwards until his rebirth T-T

 

I was just rereading this for the nth time and saw Chapter 2.0 and 2.1 out on wattpad! Thank you for the update!

 

I'm breaking my 500 message count to say this:
You're a liar. I totally cried when I read chapter 2.
I still luv ya tho.

 

Ehehe, thank you for reading!!

I-I betrayed you... forgive me!!!

When I wrote that message, the scene initially didn't have any emotional impact at all since I kinda just skipped over it... But then I rewrote it to properly give some depth to the arc introduction, and it ended up like that...

For fun, here is an excerpt of the scrapped first draft of Part 2! You can see how different it is In the first draft, the parents' deaths weren't mentioned explicitly at all. In fact, the entire Ch2.0 was actually summarized in those very first three lines. At first, I did it that way so that when HS and LH reunited, LH could (shockingly!) reveal what had happened to his parents, and then in Part 3 we could find out that LH had killed his girlfriend in the apocalypse. But then I felt it was too terrible to condense LH's loss of his girlfriend and parents into a single line ("He had lost many things during that time"), so I rewrote it all.

On one hand, the first draft was much more expedient (and possibly more relaxing to read, since there's not a single mention of the rival female characters ). But on the other hand, the female characters are integral parts of how the plot progresses, so they really needed a proper introduction!

Spoiler

When Lu Hao was eighteen and just starting university, the apocalypse came.

He had lost many things during that time, but he had also gained unbelievable powers. With that strength he vowed to rescue as many survivors as he could and journeyed to his parents’ villa, where he set up a stronghold.

Two years into the apocalypse, after Lu Hao had established a reputation as the leader of the SG, or Survivor Guard, a military convoy rolled into the premises. The trucks bore supplies, weapons, and refugees from the cities.

Lu Hao greeted the military commander with a familiar handshake and watched the refugees shakily exit the trucks. Having been trapped in the hell of the cities for so long, they looked amazed at the bright open sky and the trees along the horizon.

And one of the refugees…

He was a slender young man with a small face and eyes that could have been expressive if they weren’t so empty. The refugee looked up, but where everyone around him had faces of wonder, he looked as impassive and unaffected as a pristine surface of water.

Lu Hao stared with wide eyes. When the refugees began to move forward, urged by the soldiers, he rushed toward the crowd.

“Hong Sheng!”

The young man looked up, and the surface of his face rippled with shock and a trace of awe. His mouth parted, lips beginning to shape the sound of a word, but before he could say anything Lu Hao had caught him in a tight embrace.

Part of Lu Hao had remembered belatedly that Hong Sheng had always been weird with physical contact—if someone he wasn’t familiar with touched him, he would look vaguely ill like he’d been violated. Lu Hao had a flash of panic and loosened his grip around Hong Sheng. It had been so long that, maybe, to Hong Sheng, Lu Hao was no better than a stranger…

But when Lu Hao looked down, Hong Sheng gazed up at him with red cheeks and wide, glittering eyes.

“Lu Hao,” Hong Sheng whispered, and as he stood in between Lu Hao’s arms, his expression suddenly wobbled as tears fell.



Now that his best friend from childhood at finally returned to him, Lu Hao naturally wouldn’t let him suffer. Knowing that he liked his privacy, Lu Hao arranged a private room for Hong Sheng and personally asked what he would like to do to contribute to the base.

“Everyone has to put in effort to keep the SG running, but it’s alright if you’d like to take it easy for now,” Lu Hao gently told him. Hong Sheng’s overly thin appearance worried him. It looked like Hong Sheng might blow away with the breeze.

Hong Sheng blinked his large, dark eyes at Lu Hao, then shifted his gaze away. “I’ll see what I can do,” he muttered.

Though Hong Sheng’s words were vague, Lu Hao had faith that Hong Sheng would keep his word, so he left his childhood friend to do what he wanted. As the leader of the SG, Lu Hao had far too many tasks that required his time. Between overseeing the expansion of the stronghold, managing conflicts with other settlements, and leading raids and battles against the zombies, he had little time to think about what Hong Sheng did with his time. But, unfortunately, the others in the camp weren’t the same.

 

Wow yea, it's a good first draft, but the re-write really fleshed out the characters and created a better impact. Amazing job. I'm more in luv with you hahaha.

 

I LEFT NUF FOR AWHILE AND I COME BACK TO THIS MASTERPIECE my eyes have sand in them i can't wait for this to continue. thanks for the hard work

 

Really good the story just keeps me wanting to know more! Keep up the good work!!

 

I'm really so happy to see people enjoy this silly story hahaha Thank you guys for reading!!

I wanted to share the cover art that I'm making for At the End and To the Beginning. It's not complete yet but I thought it'd be nice to show a sneak peek

The cover art for At the End of the World:

Spoiler

And the (WIP) full art:

Spoiler

(HS's missing limbs because I was too lazy to draw them )

Anyway, I don't really know what a good hairstyle for Lu Hao should be. So if you guys have ideas for what a straight protagonist gong in a modern danmei novel should look like, please do share

 

Hmm, I do like this better than the bowl cut that HS originally had.

 

hahahahaha but the bowl cut is so iconic!!!

 

The System is My King!

Chapter 1

Spoiler

In the late evening, the city of Fukuoka was restless. Young people went out to clubs and karaoke, while the older adults gathered at bars or bid farewell to coworkers as they headed home toward the train stations.

On this night, hidden away from the rest of the bustling world, a young man sat alone in his bedroom. He gently strummed a guitar, the dim lamp on his desk casting a yellow glow over him. Contrasting that hazy yellow glow, the stark bright light of the computer screen illuminated the young man's pale face.

Hundreds of comments scrolled past on the computer screen in front of him. The comments came from the users of the site Nico Nico Douga, where the young man had been hosting a livestream. The livestream had over 16,000 current viewers, and now that he had finished playing a song, all of them posted at once.

[888888888888], most of them read, clapping and applauding for the end of a good song.

Several comments praised his singing, but a few sparse ones cursed him out. [the hell, you're japanese so why're you singing a chinese song? Disgusting]

Another string of comments flooded the screen, pushing out the negative comment.

[this is Kouhi-sama's community namahousou! If you hate it then don't join, dumbass!]
[kouhi-sama, I love youuuu!]
[lol, coffee is as ama~zing(...) as always lol]
[kouhi-sama, don't cry... eh? You're not crying? Then who's making this ugly sobbing sound in my room?! (T~T)]
[previous poster, check behind you lol]
[they dead lol]
[kouhi-sama, please upload a full cover of this song!!]

Tsujiki Shiro, the young man sitting in front of the screen, cleared his throat.

"Ahem, everyone... thank you for listening." He paused. Then, in a mutter, "Also, I'd just like to remind you that my name is Kouhii(coffee), not Kouhi(Queen)..."

Seeing his fans calling him Queen was just as embarrassing as being called his idol's married wife. In any case, that situation was just something he fantasized about—he wouldn't dare to actually call himself his idol's wife... in front of other people.

"And for coming to join me tonight, thank you very much. Today is a very important day for me. It's the seventh anniversary since I first joined Nico Nico Douga as an utaite, and I'm grateful for all of the support everyone has given me since then. Well, even though I only sang weird and unpopular songs, it's because all of you encouraged me that I was able to get where I am today. So, everyone in the Coffee Community... thank you very much!"

[the heck, why are you so polite lol]
[I will always support Coffee-kun!]
[mhm mhm, you're welcome]
[somehow getting a bad feeling...]
[yeah, what flag is this]

Shiro smiled dimly at the screen, and for a moment, a veil of sadness fell over his eyes.

He had been a singer in the online community for seven years. He started singing because he wanted to cover his idol's songs, but now, he had done them all. His idol had stopped making songs by the time Shiro was fifteen. Now, at twenty-three years old, Shiro had given up hope that his idol would ever make something again.

No matter how much Shiro loved his idol, even he couldn't delude himself that much.

"Some of you might know that this is also... the eighth year since the King's accident. My idol has been in a coma for eight years now... when I think about that, it's really amazing in a way. Time keeps moving, and the world keeps turning, but for that person only, everything has come to a complete stop. The world has left him behind. Bit by bit, people are forgetting about him. Eight years ago, the he was the King of the entertainment world. Everyone knew his name, even grannies on the street or little kids like me. But now..."

[well, everyone here still knows him]
[yeah, I remember too. When I visited america, his face was everywhere]
[this is japan so it can't be helped that he's being forgotten]
[stay strong, kouhi-sama]

"I know that most of you weren't his fans, but because of me, you came to know a lot about him. Haha, I don't know if I should apologize or thank you for putting up with me. In any case... Tonight, I have something to say to you guys. To tell the truth, after today..."

He took a brief pause to collect himself.

"I'm leaving the online community."

The chat was completely empty. Shiro took a breath. He continued, "And for that reason, I—"

His next words choked in his throat.

A torrential flood of comments burst over the screen, not a single trace of the background visible behind the comments. [NOOOOOOO!!!] several of them read in huge, colored letters. [It's a lie, right?!!?!] [what kind of joke is this] [no no no no I don't hear anything], and many other similar comments scrolled past.

Shiro's grip tightened on his guitar, his gaze growing misty. "... Yeah. I'm sorry, everyone. I love singing, I really love singing, but... without my idol, I..." His voice wavered. Shiro raised a hand to wipe at his damp eyes, then cleared his throat. "Sorry. I just can't do it anymore. That's why, this song will be my last one. This is my goodbye. Thank you so much for these past seven years. Here is my cover of my idol, Jun Zifeng's, song. I translated the words to Japanese so that everyone can understand it."

After speaking those last words, Shiro switched on his singing settings. The reverb on his mic, background silence, and then... He drew closer to the mic. "Please listen closely," he whispered, his voice echoing with reverb. "My Love is Neverending."

His hand plucked the guitar strings, launching a flowing melody into the air. A vibrant and wistful song streamed from Shou's fingers, forming an intimate and gentle rendition of what had originally been a blood-pumping hard rock song. Shou leaned his mouth into his mic's pop filter. When the intro drew to a close, the clear sounds of the guitar strings hung in the air, reverberating at the pause of Shou's fingers. In the next moment, just as his fingers struck the guitar, a powerful voice sounded.

The singing voice that mixed with the guitar's melody had a light and normal quality. On its own, it was average and run-of-the-mill, something any handful of men passing by outside could have. But it wasn't the nature of Shiro's voice that drew people in—it was his technique.

Most listeners smiled and hummed along to the familiar song, while others found their eyes turning red. A few began to weep, tears streaming and shoulders shaking. Longing, sadness, grief, and hope... Every emotion that Shiro felt reached through his voice, each shape of his mouth and rasp of his words clutching at people's hearts. His song made people think about their own painful goodbyes, their past regrets, the missed chances and bittersweet feelings in full color, playing in their minds like a bright HD video.

My Love is Neverending. It was originally a powerful rock song about the persistence of love despite being betrayed and abandoned, but in Shiro's hands, it became a mellow and gentle acoustic song about the regret of saying goodbye.

By the end of the song, Shiro was crying. Not only him, but the viewers as well.

Thousands of people sat in front of their computers or with their phones, staring blankly at the screen.

Was this really goodbye? He would never upload another song again...? With that song drifting through their ears, the entire audience was unable to keep the tears from slipping out from their eyes.

Like that, Shiro's final song as an utaite came to a close.





Shiro leaned back in his chair, head facing the ceiling, arms hanging loosely by his side. The guitar sat on the floor next to him; his headphones were hooked to their usual stand next to his mic.

The ceiling of his room was covered in enormous posters of a single man from all different angles. The man looked playful in some, devilish in others, and was stunningly beautiful in all of them. The man looked out from the posters, his piercing gaze seemingly meeting Shiro's.

These posters lined not only the ceiling, but the walls as well. Each of the four walls had several posters splashed over them. If there were no posters, it was because there was furniture. If there was furniture, that furniture held fan merchandise inside of it. Magazines, albums, tapestries, photo books, keychains, figurines...

Shiro's entire room was a shrine to his idol. An ordinary person would definitely label it as a textbook example of an otaku's room.

After staring up at the ceiling for a while, Shiro heaved himself out of the chair and ambled toward his bed.

"Jun-sama..."

Collapsing onto his bed, Shiro dragged a body-length pillow into his arms. The dakimakura cover showed a devastatingly handsome man laid out on a bed, his hand seductively crooked toward the camera. Shiro pressed the illustrated face of that pillow cover to his cheek and sighed once more.

... Initially, when the utaite 'Coffee' first broke out in the online singing community, everyone imagined him to be a cool and suave man. Despite being young, his singing reached a professional level—smooth and controlled yet full of emotion at the perfect moments. Soft and sweet in ballads, and growling in hard rock songs. 'A secret pro has emerged?!' were some of the tags added to his videos in the beginning. But once Coffee linked his twitter on his videos...

Jun Zifeng!

Retweets of Jun Zifeng!

Photos of Jun Zifeng!

10-sequence tweets full of kaomojis gushing about how beautiful/cool/awesome/sugoi Jun Zifeng was!

Cool image? Ha, what cool image? This was obviously an absolutely obsessed-to-the-point-of-idiocy idol otaku, wasn't it...?

And so, public perception of Coffee experienced a divisive split. Half of the utaite fanbase thought it was hilarious and nicknamed him as the 'Queen' to Jun Zifeng's title of 'King'. The other half felt absolutely betrayed and disgusted—the handsome and suave man they imagined was actually an idiot obsessed with another man, and a Chinese idol at that?! Where was your Japanese pride?!

The shock only kept growing the more Shiro posted.

For example, tweeting about his battles to purchase limited edition merchandise, to the point of staying up for 24 hours watching the price...

For example, motivating himself to keep learning Chinese so that he could watch TV shows and read *cough* self-insert fanfiction involving Jun Zifeng...

For example, taking pictures of the dakimakura he now held in his arms...

There are things you can't show to the public, you know!! People wanted to scream at him.

But now, this eccentric utaite with the voice of a god but the personality of idol trash had left the community forever.

No matter who they were, the people in the online singing community felt some sense of loss. Even if he was a weirdo who loved singing strange foreign songs, he was still a senpai who had been in the community since the very beginning.

At this moment, however, Shiro didn't pay a single thought to those people.

Instead, he laid forlornly in the darkness of his room, his eyes staring into empty space.

He heaved a big sigh.

"Tomorrow I have to start looking for a part-time job..."



At twenty-three years old, Tsujiki Shiro, idol otaku and popular internet singer, was a NEET still living in his parents' house.

Despite his talent, he had been fated to be an utterly unremarkable, utterly forgettable person with no importance to the world whatsoever.

Yet as sixteen thousand people cried all at once knowing he would no longer sing, and as several thousand more regretfully pondered the loss of this giant in their community, somewhere, in a distant and unknowable place, a computer screen flickered.

"New candidate detected."

Chapter 2

Spoiler

Shiro had been dreaming about being in his idol's loving embrace when a harsh pounding, almost like a monsoon knocking down a house, sounded at his door.

"Oi! Breakfast!"

Shiro jolted out of bed, everything in front of his eyes blurring horizontally. His body met the floor with a thump, and he stared blearily up, the dakimakura still held safely between his arms.

"Big bro! You awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake!" Shiro's throat hurt after shouting. Coughing lightly, he disentangled himself from his bed covers and got to his feet.

Before the knocking started up again, Shiro swung open his door. A fist nearly smashed into his face.

"..." Shiro's heart pounded at the sudden near encounter with death.

"Oh, sorry." Withdrawing her hand, Yuina scrunched her nose. She flicked her perfectly manicured hand a few times. "Yuck, nearly got otaku germs all over myself."

...Crying tears on the inside, Shiro wanted to say, otaku-ness isn't contagious!

Shiro's little sister, Yuina, kept her face turned slightly to the side so that she wouldn't have to see the hellhole past the doorway. If Shiro was the textbook definition of an idol otaku, then Yuina was the textbook definition of a fashionable high schooler. Her black hair was perfectly styled to frame her face while also keeping within school regulation; her makeup gave her sharp, heart-stopping eyes and smooth pink lips; her school uniform was tweaked and folded just so to emphasize her slender figure. The entire effect was one of complete trendiness and social superiority.

Contrast this to the dumpy-looking older brother who had disheveled hair, wore an old jersey and sweatpants riddled with holes, and whose skin was pasty pale from not leaving his room. These two couldn't look more different if they tried.

Naturally, for such a fashionable and popular high schooler, having a useless NEET otaku brother was the biggest stain of her life. When they were younger, Yuina had been an adorable little sister, always toddling after Shiro, shouting out 'Onii-chan!', and clinging to him. She used to think he was the coolest person in the world, but now look at her.

"Breakfast is ready, so hurry the hell up."

"...Yes, got it."

Shiro obediently went to wash up. By the time he arrived downstairs, Yuina and their father were already seated around the table. Mother was still in the kitchen, plating up the last dishes of breakfast.

"Good morning," Shiro greeted. "Mom, I'll help you carry these."

Shiro's mother beamed at him with all of the enthusiasm of a doting mother. "Good morning, Shiro-chan! Your singing yesterday was really good! I heard you from the other room!"

"..." Shiro coughed delicately to mask the dying he was doing inside. "Thanks, mom."

Yuina snorted while playing with her phone.

Shiro and Mom brought the dishes to the table. Dad had been watching the news channel on the TV, but when the dishes started appearing around him, he looked around and said, "Oh! Yuina, what are you doing, gluing your eyes to the screen? Put that away, it's time to eat!"

"Uh-huh, got it." Yuina slid her phone beneath the table.

Dad then turned to Shiro as he and Mom took their seats at the table. "Shiro!" he said. He picked up his chopsticks and started scooping up food while still speaking, "Yesterday, you were singing again?"

"Um, yes." Shiro picked up his chopsticks, but before he could do anything, Mom had already scooped a ton of vegetables and tamagoyaki into his bowl.

"What songs did you sing?"

"Well, the same as usual. Some Vocaloid songs, and... some of my... favorites..."

"Hmmmmm." Dad squinted his eyes at Shiro while chewing. Shiro evasively turned his head away and nibbled at the food in his bowl, which had, at some point, multiplied into a mountain.

"Shiro!" Dad pointed his natto-covered chopsticks at Shiro's face. Shiro froze and looked back at him. "You know, Shiro. You could be very popular! I don't know about those Bokaroido things, but! If you tried Enka, then you could really make it big! That's what I think. What do you think?" Without waiting for a response, Dad turned his head to look at Yuina. "What about you, Yuina, what do you think?"

"Singers need a good face to succeed these days. Big brother already lost from day one," she answered without even moving her eyes from the phone she hid on her lap.

"What are you saying, Yuina? Your brother's a handsome fella! Looks just like your mother did at that age!"

Shiro's father reached out to clap a hand on his shoulder. Shiro smiled awkwardly at his beaming father. When he broke eye contact and looked down, he discovered that even more food had piled up in his bowl.

"..." Faced with such overwhelming love, Shiro ate every bite.



Once everyone finished eating, it was time for Dad and Yuina to head out. Dad hummed while picking up his briefcase and suit jacket, and after giving a hug to Mom and waving goodbye to his children, raced out of the house.

Yuina took her time. Once she picked up her bag, she paused. She looked back to where Shiro was cleaning up the dishes with Mom.

"Oi, y—big brother." Mom was right there, so Yuina spoke a little more respectfully.

"Hm? What is it?"

When Shiro looked back, something nearly smacked him in the face.

"It's a present." Yuina dropped the hand she used to throw it and hoisted her bag up. "Alright, bye. I'm off!"

"Be safe!" Mom called out.

Blinking, Shiro looked down at the box in his hand. He turned it over and saw a note stuck to one of the box faces. 'Happy seventh year of being a loser. -Yuina', it read. The corner of his lip hooking up in a smile, Shiro lifted the note. His eyes widened.

This!!

This was an ultra-rare, super adorable, one in fifty limited edition Jun Zifeng nendoroids!! Shiro had searched for years to find one of these miniature and adorable figurines! And now, it was finally in his hands... Shiro's hands and shoulders began to shake as he ducked his head, nearly about to sob his eyes out from happiness.

"Oh my, oh my." Mom's distressed voice pulled Shiro back to reality a bit. He looked up to see her holding a bento in her hands, a worried expression on her face. "Shiro-chan! Yuina-chan forgot her lunch!"

"I'll bring it to her!" Right now, Shiro's affection for his bratty little sister was through the roof. Tucking the box against his body with one arm and holding the bento with the other hand, Shiro ran out of the house and followed the path toward Yuina's high school.

Yuina's high school was about a 15-minute walk away. Yuina usually walked a bit slowly, so Shiro caught up with her before long. As he rounded a corner, he saw her about to cross an intersection. Her eyes were glued to her phone, as usual.

When the light changed, Yuina walked forward without looking up. Shiro ran after her.

"Hey, Yuina!" When he raised his voice, Yuina looked up and turned around. She looked startled to see her older brother chasing after her, but that startled expression soon morphed into one of horror.

Shiro saw it at nearly the exact same time.

What went through his head at that moment were thousands of cascading thoughts, among them 'Seriously? This can't actually happen in real life, can it?' and 'The hell, this isn't a light novel, come on'. But more pressing than all of those was the thought that he was about to see his little sister die before his very eyes—so all Shiro could do was keep running as fast as he could.

And when the truck was about to collide with Yuina, he shoved her out of the way.

The last thing he saw was Yuina's horrified face. But she wasn't even looking at him; she was staring at something else.

What the hell, at least let me smile at you before I die...

And after that thought, everything went dark.



Consciousness returned to Shiro gradually.

He found himself floating. It was an endless abyss, or perhaps it was an infinite space. Either way, he was pretty sure he was dead.

As he floated in this nameless place, Shiro saw the adorable miniature face of Jun Zifeng's nendoroid drift in front of him. At least this came with me in the afterlife... he thought, and with red-rimmed eyes, he reached out to press his fingers against those lovely little cheeks. They were softer to the touch than expected, actually; the plastic was warm and even moved a bit like it wasn't plastic but...

"...What are you doing."

The little figurine lowered its eyebrows in an oppressive and threatening expression as it spoke.

Shiro's fingers froze in the middle of groping the figurine's face.

This, um...

In the afterlife, do figurines gain sentience?

Is this the world of T◯y Story or something? Why is the nendoroid that Yuina gave him suddenly speaking...?

The expression on the adorable miniature Jun Zifeng chilled until it was positively freezing. "Hands. Off."

Shiro released it immediately.

Shiro's blank face hid the flurry of question marks popping up inside of his head. The nendoroid of Jun Zifeng stared back with an absolutely emotionless expression.

"Um... I'm sorry. I didn't know you were..." Was alive the right word to use here? Shiro hesitated.

Unfortunately, the nendoroid didn't react at all to Shiro's words. An air of oppressive silence surrounded them. As the miniature figurine of Jun Zifeng continued to stare at him, it couldn't be helped that Shiro peeked at it from the corner of his eyes. This figurine, it really was seriously way too cute...

"Are you..." Shiro tried to think of a way to ask this figurine about itself. It talked, and it seemed to have some sort of personality, so it should be fine to ask about its identity, right? He won't give it an existential crisis or anything? "Are you Jun Zifeng?" he eventually asked. It was a logical question, he felt, since this was a (miniaturized) figure of his idol.

But the miniature narrowed its eyes at him in displeasure. "No," it said. "My identity is not Jun Zifeng."

"Ah, is that so," Shiro said reflexively. Under that miniature's continued weighty stare, he fidgeted. "Er, then, your identity is...? Is it okay for you to tell me...?"

Rather than respond, the figurine continued to stare him down for quite a while longer. It was only when Shiro was on the brink of laying back down in the nothingness and pretending to fall asleep to escape this situation that it opened its mouth again.

"Tsujiki Shiro."

"Eh?" Hearing his name, Shiro turned his eyes back to the figurine in surprise.

"Age 23. Born on 02-03-1995 to Tsujiki Masato and Kousaka Ayame. Blood type B. Academic level: poor. Physical level: poor. Charisma level: poor/exceptional on condition. Special skills: singing, guitar-playing, piano-playing. Overall evaluation: worthless. Unsuited for the task." With that, the figurine's eyebrows drew together in a stormy expression. "However... fame is... and the emotional correspondence..." The figurine's eyebrows sunk lower.

Hearing this string of info and nonsensical remarks, Shiro was flabbergasted and couldn't even find a place to start speaking.

After a moment, the figurine pursed its lips. It seemed to be wrestling with a decision inside of itself, and when it finally came to a solution, its expression evened out to a neutral, but somewhat disdainful, look.

The miniature turned its small head toward Shiro, and though it looked quite adorable, it exuded a lofty and untouchable air. The strangeness of it frightened Shiro, making his hands clutch at his own clothes.

"Tsujiki Shiro," the miniature addressed, looking down at him with cold eyes. "You have been chosen by Fate to become the new Protagonist of this world. It is your goal to become a superstar unsurpassed in both acting and singing, an international idol who reigns the silver screen for decades to come. You are to complete the task of a [Meteoric Rise to Fame], inspiring billions of people and ushering in a new age of entertainment. This is the task given to you by fate, and I, System 303, have been assigned to assist you."

At those world-shattering words, Shiro could only look blankly at the floating figurine in front of him.

Spoiler: Additional Information - Utaite and Nico Nico Douga

The story explains a bit about the setting, but if you're unfamiliar with Japanese internet culture (for example, if you're primarily a CN reader) then here's a short primer about the Japanese online singing community.

Nico Nico Douga (NND) is a video hosting website. Like youtube, anyone can upload videos. It's primarily used casually by random internet users, and you won't find official or professional videos posted there.

One of the biggest draws to NND was the emergence of Vocaloids, the robotic singing programs. When Vocaloids came out, all kinds of amateur songwriters could finally get their works out to the world without having to search for and needle real life singers. And with this boom of original songs exploding over the internet came also a rise in people wanting to sing those songs with a human voice.

Utaite is a term specifically for internet singers who cover songs and post them online. The word comes from the term utattemita 'I tried to sing', which is commonly used in the title of every cover video. Most utaite are completely anonymous - they take on a pseudonym while posting and reveal very little, if any, personal information. Some utaites don't even provide a name for themselves, and are referred to by their account names.

Although utaite existed before Vocaloids, the popularity of utaite rose along with those of the Vocaloids. Just like with Youtubers in western media, Utaite gained enormous fan followings, some of which propelled them into professional work.

However, in the end, most utaite are simply hobbyists. Without showing their faces, they simply upload covers to songs they like and sometimes hold livestreams called namahousous, usually only accessible to people who have joined their 'communities' (fan groups).

The site of Nico Nico Douga has a lot of restrictions. In previous years, you weren't allowed to view any videos unless you had signed in; signup was also only available in Japanese. However, recently the site has begun opening up to foreign audiences (possibly, again, due to the rising popularity of Vocaloids/Utaite), and an English version of the site is now available.

On NND, when you comment on a video, the comment will scroll across the screen at the moment when you posted the comment. Meaning, if something hilarious happens at the 1 minute mark, you might see a ton of laughing comments. At the end of a video, you might see a wave of 88888888 (clapping sounds) wipe the screen. This format applies to the livestream videos as well. The same format is used on the Chinese video site bilibili.

----

Author's Note

I'm writing the full version of that silly showbiz teaser I posted! This story is basically just self-indulgence. I'm not taking it too seriously.

It's a Chinese System novel set in Japan. The protagonist is a popular but faceless internet singer who gets thrust into the world of acting and singing, and despite having been a NEET for the past 7 years, he has to somehow become a world-famous international superstar. I'm looking forward to writing about all sorts of work scenarios like the process of shooting a movie, recording VO for anime/video games/drama CDs, singing and songwriting... I'm a nerd about the process of making things, so I hope to make this story full of interesting detail. Drama? Faceslapping? What's that? We're gonna read about the MC sleeplessly studying and rehearsing a script for three weeks only to be told he's still getting the performance wrong!!

Also, I'm still updating my other stories when I can.

 

I cried. I freaking cried from reading ch 1. Thank you for another amazing story!

 

*pats*
I'd say that there won't be anything to cry over in the next chapters, but my track record on that is pretty bad...

 

Yes. I agree on that track record of yours.

 

Ahahah there is a user on Smule named Coffee something (I forgot) who also sings Japanese songs. I was reminded of him.

I love it so far.

 

The System is My King!

Chapter 3

Spoiler

Protagonist... System... Fate... Task...

Normally, these four words together wouldn't really stir up anything within a Japanese person's mind. Shiro, however, was a rare eccentric who was obsessed with modern Chinese pop culture. As such, he knew quite a lot about trends in Chinese web novels—specifically, about System novels.

"You're... a System?"

Yet even with all that knowledge, nothing could have prepared Shiro for this. As he stared at the System in front of him, which had taken on the form of the Jun Zifeng chibi figurine, he thought...

Is it really okay for a System to be this cute?!

The System novels he had read almost never described what the 'Systems' were supposed to look like. Sometimes they took on the forms of useful objects like a watch or a mirror, but most times the author simply never mentioned what they looked like—if they had physical forms at all.

Much like in games, these Systems gave missions to their 'hosts', and if the host cleared the mission, the System rewarded them with items or points. Most of the System novels Shiro read involved the host needing to fulfill certain character roles, such as 'the villainous cannon fodder' or 'the supporting character'. In this case, the System wanted him to become a protagonist. But...

"Um..."

A bit of sweat grew on Shiro's brow.

The thing about System novels was that if the host didn't fulfill the tasks, the System always threatened them with punishment of death. The host had no choice but to comply, or else in the next moment... game over.

However.

"System...-sama, I... er, am I really the right person to do this?"

As a Japanese man—no, as a person, Shiro was very aware that he was nothing like the Chinese protagonists who usually starred in System novels.

What was the type of person who could survive a System novel?

It could only be A), a Mary Sue type with world-breaking powers which allowed them to defy the System, B) a vengeful and vicious type who could cleverly step over their obstacles and face-slap all of their enemies, or C) a shameless comedic type who gets pushed down and XXX'd by their golden thigh, a main character in the story and the person who protects them...

...No matter where you look at it, the only category Shiro could fit in was the last one, right?!

No way!!! No way!!! No way!!! The only one allowed to push Shiro down was Jun Zifeng! And his idol was in a damn coma, so that wasn't going to be happening, was it?!

Shiro was ready to dogeza and beg for his life, but System 303 unexpectedly let out a harsh sigh and said, "You'll have to do."

"..."

The System continued, "No matter how I look at you, I don't see it. Where's your charisma? Where's your charm? Where's your hidden ability? You're absolutely lacking. An internet singer who didn't even have the guts to show his own face? What a joke. Trash like you... and I'm supposed to raise you up to be a protagonist? Tch..." The System turned its face and clicked its tongue.

Shiro, whose heart had been absolutely riddled with holes by the end of the System's words, could only slump to the floor in despair.

That's right, he was only a small utaite... How can you expect someone like him to become a world-famous superstar? Someone who could rule the film and the music industries, just like his idol?

His idol...

Wait.

Shiro's eyes snapped wide.

"System-sama!" Shiro's shout made the System turn its glare on him, but Shiro pressed on, scrambling forward with a desperate expression, "Please wait, System-sama. Just earlier, you said that I was supposed to become the 'new' Protagonist? Then, there was a previous Protagonist before, right? That person, that person's name, was it—"

"Jun Zifeng."

Shiro's heart stopped for just a second, but he recovered, his head racing. He had been placid when the System first approached him, but now, this information had turned his entire world upside down. If this were a System novel and all things had gone to plan, then Jun Zifeng, the original and true protagonist, should have become the peak superstar of the world. His name should have been known in every household, and he should have still been active today as the world's leading entertainer. But instead, Jun Zifeng's rise had been cut short eight years ago, and he'd been left in a coma to waste away and die.

Eight years ago, something must have happened that made Jun Zifeng lose his status as the Protagonist of the world.

"What happened to him?" Shiro begged for answers. "Why is Jun Zifeng no longer the Protagonist? Why is he in a coma? Why—"

"Shut up. You don't have the right to know that information." Without any mercy, the System cut him off. It stared Shiro down with freezing eyes. "All information regarding this world is restricted."

"Then what can I do to lift that restriction?" Shiro was on his knees in front of the System, looking up at it with pleading eyes, about to cry.

System 303 stared into the face of its host. This boy didn't care that he had died, didn't care that he had been thrown into this situation—but the minute Jun Zifeng was mentioned, he flew into a panic, losing all composure. He was even on the edge of tears, all for this man he had never even met.

For some reason, something stirred within the System's chest. It looked down at itself in surprise, but a moment later, the feeling was gone.

Shrugging it off, the System returned to the question.

"Throughout the course of your assignments, I, the System, will assign you tasks. If you complete those tasks to satisfaction, you will receive points as a reward. These points are distributed from the workings of Fate itself, so anything will be possible with enough of them."

"How many do I need to find out what happened to Jun Zifeng?" Shiro pressed.

The System fell silent, calculating the costs. Eventually, he said, "In total, 132,000 points."

"...How many points will I get per task?"

"For you? Around 300, if you're lucky."

"........."

Shiro's head fell to his chest, obscuring his face from the System. His shoulders began to shake, and his hands clenched.

The System looked on coldly. Indeed, prying into the affairs of Fate was no easy task. Even for a skilled Protagonist, this wasn't easy. One could rule the world with that many points. The System sighed, about to chastise its host, when Shiro's hands suddenly came up and slapped at his own face. The System looked blankly as Shiro raised his head, his eyes shining with a fierce determination.

"System-sama!" Shiro's bright eyes met the System's startled ones. "From now on, I'll work hard and definitely won't disappoint you. I'll accomplish any task you can give me. Please take care of me!"

"...Hm." System 303 considered Shiro, and after a moment, it said, "I'll initialize the transfer. You'll find yourself back in the world in three, two..."





When Shiro next opened his eyes, he found himself laying in a soft bed.

Just a one second was enough to tell that this wasn't his room. The walls were bare and white, and the sunlight drifting from the window cast a bright and pure glow over the scenery.

Laying on the white bed was a youth who looked to be about seventeen years old. His soft white skin invited one to touch, his lips had a pale pink sheen that made you want to nibble on them, and his hair was a fluffy chestnut brown that was begging to be patted.

In other words, this was completely not Shiro's body.

"System-sama?"

A refreshing voice sounded in the room.

Hearing this stranger's voice, Shiro began to panic. He looked down at his hands, twisted his legs on the bed to look at them, and even raised his shirt to reveal a completely flat and perfectly fit torso.

...Who the hell is this?!

System 303 appeared beside him with an unimpressed expression. "Host. For the purpose of your mission, you now have the body of Tsubaki Shiro. He was a member of the idol group SEVEN, though he had no particular skills other than having a pretty face."

"I'm an idol?!" Shiro pressed his hands to his abs(!).

The System snorted coldly. "No. Tsubaki Shiro's generation of members 'graduated' yesterday to make room for the new members, so now you're no longer involved with the idol business. The contract ends today."

"...I'm jobless, is what you're saying?" Shiro looked down at himself again. "...If that's the case, can I just go back to my old body?"

System 303 looked at him as if he were an absolute idiot. It spoke slowly, "You think a twenty-three year old shut-in can succeed over a seventeen year old former idol?"

"But if I don't have a job, then either way..."

The disdainful expression on System 303's face deepened. "You tell the group's former agent that you want to go solo and have them connect you to a new agent—that's how you move in this industry."

Shiro wanted to cry, but he couldn't. System-sama, he was just a NEET in his former life, so please don't act as if he should know all of this insider knowledge!

A knock sounded at the door. "Hey, Shiro, you ready yet? The interview's in an hour, we have to leave now!"

"Eh?" Shiro looked at the door, then looked at the System in a panic. "Who is that? What did he mean, an interview? In an hour?!"

"That was another one of the members of SEVEN. The interview is with the other members of the group about everyone's plans for the future—on the surface, at least. In reality it's just a promotion for the two lead members who are going solo. The interview is the last thing you have to do before Tsubaki Shiro's contract is officially over, so..." The System paused. "En, I'll make it a task. Shiro, go to the interview and say that you intend to move into the acting world. You don't have enough status to make it as a singer, but your face is enough for the dregs of daytime TV, at least."

"..." System, you have so much confidence in your host. (;'□｀)

The knocks sounded at the door again. "Heeey, Shiro?"

"I'm up! Please give me a moment!" Shiro slid out of bed, nearly tripping over his own legs. Looking around, he went over to the closet and opened it up. A mountain of colorful and garish cloth spilled out, covering Shiro's legs like an avalanche.

Shiro picked out one of the pieces of clothing, which turned out to be a bright red fishnet top which was so short it would expose someone's stomach.

Shiro was afraid. He was very afraid of what kind of person the previous Shiro had been. He gingerly waded through the pile until he found a decent black sweatshirt and light jeans to wear, and by the time he was finished getting dressed, seven minutes had passed.

"I'm done!" Shiro rushed to open the door, but when he stepped out into the hallway, it was empty.

System 303 floated out behind him. It took one look around, then said, "Seems like your group left without you."

"Huh? Then I have to go by myself?!" Shiro raised his hands to his head. "Not good! Train... or maybe taxi? Do I even have any money?!"

"Call your agent," System said.

...Agents really do everything! Shiro, enlightened with this (false) realization, took out Tsubaki Shiro's phone and tapped the screen.

A lock screen came up.

Turning to the System, Shiro asked, "What's the password?"

"Do you think I know every nobody's phone PIN?" The disdain in the System's voice was enough to melt a glacier.

"..." System, is it just me or are you not being very helpful at all!

-----

Author's Note

I'm going to discipline myself. I must finish the next chapter of LH today! Must finish it today! I have half of it written, but every minute without HS on screen makes me miserable. Give me back my son. Why am I doing this to myself.

 

To the Start of a New World

Arc 2, Chapters 1 and 2

Spoiler: 2.1

The trucks rolled in from the distance. Lu Hao peered at them from his vantage point atop the wall while behind him, the other members of the Survivor Guard squinted, their hands blocking the sun from their eyes.

The military convoy had five trucks. That was three more than the last time.

Lu Hao's gaze tracked the approaching trucks, watching the dust from the dirt roads kick up from their wheels. It could be that the military trusted the SG more, now that this was their third cooperation. More likely, however, something had happened in the city which caused the military to tighten their resources — and as such, extradite any 'refugees' that the military didn't want to spend resources on protecting.

Now, in the third year of the apocalypse, it was impossible to survive alone. All surviving humans found refuge in bases—military bases founded by the government, or mafia bases backed by criminals and arms dealers.

At first, the government bases tried to take in any and all civilians who needed protection. As casualties rose and infection spread, however, it became impossible to support everyone. Anyone who wished to stay within the safety of the base had to prove their value by working and contributing, and those who failed to contribute sufficiently would be forced out of the base and left to fend for themselves.

Most of these people died, if not from the zombies then from exhaustion or starvation.

It was only in the area of F City that the 'leftovers' were not sent to die, but instead sent to another safehaven — the Survivor Guard.

That was a group headed by a mysterious young man whose powers were rumored to be strong enough to kill any zombie, even the advanced mutations. In terms of strength, he would be considered "S-class". An anomaly far more powerful than anyone, including all members of the military and of the mafia, had ever seen before.

Yet the Survivor Guard he led was exclusively a defensive group. The SG performed rescue missions in the cities, fought back zombies to free resources, and cooperated to restore stability to the region of F city. Over time, the SG's influence expanded until it was almost as powerful as the military force in F city. In light of this, the official government—or what was left of it, anyway—decided to officially recognize the SG as an independent group, and requested to cooperate with the SG for the sake of protecting the country's citizens.

The government would send refugees and resources to the SG. The SG, in return, would perform high-risk specialist missions for the government.

When the military caravan came to a stop at the tall barricade, Lu Hao jumped from the 4-meter wall, landing lightly on his feet. The military officer who had exited the truck paused for a split second, but when Lu Hao approached, the man masked his astonishment and walked forward with a neutral expression.

The two men shook hands cordially, the officer nodding respectfully at Lu Hao. "Greetings, Mr Lu."

"Good to see you, Officer Tang."

After separating, Lu Hao smiled sharply at the officer and directed his gaze to the convoy. The military man stood stock-still, as if not daring to turn away.

"This is more than I was expecting," Lu Hao said, and though he had a smile on his face, the officer felt a cold breeze pass through him.

The officer cleared his throat and reached for the bag slung across his shoulder. He pulled a dossier from it, which he held out to Lu Hao. Lu Hao's gaze alighted on the stack of papers, but he didn't immediately move to grab it.

"This is a list of new arrivals," the officer explained. "Resources we have provided. Most crucial is the intelligence report, which contains all we know of the most recent mutations." The officer's face twitched into a grimace, and a flicker of understanding passed through Lu Hao's eyes.

"I understand. Thanks." To the officer's relief, Lu Hao took the dossier and flipped it open. There on the first page was a report detailing the newest breed of evolved zombie. More powerful than current known limitations, it said. Beyond S-class. King-class.

"Interesting," Lu Hao said.

"The General requests..." the officer began, but Lu Hao cut him off.

"I know. We'll set off after I get these people settled." Lu Hao didn't look up as he replied, still reading through the report on the King-class zombie which had decimated F city and rampaged through part of the military base before eventually being worn down by a series of explosive blasts.

It had retreated temporarily to heal.

Just that act alone showed it to be unprecedentedly dangerous.

After finishing the report, Lu Hao flipped to the next page, which listed a number of resources provided by the military. He took a brief look, then pulled the paper from the dossier and held it out beside him.

A slim hand took the paper. Officer Tang jumped. The girl standing next to Lu Hao hadn't been there a second before, had she? The young woman smiled, the peach-blossom eyes on her beautiful face sparkling. Enraptured, the officer stared at her, but in the next moment, his eyes grew dull once again, and the young woman walked away without anyone noticing.

While Ji Ling went to go covertly check over the resources, Lu Hao continued on to the next page in the dossier. This one was a profile of a person. The name was at the top left, and listed on the rest of the page were age, physical body information, previous career, abilities, skills, and some small miscellaneous notes regarding personality and character. The profiles didn't have any pictures, so Lu Hao flipped disinterestedly through these while listening to the metal bustle of trucks opening and dispensing their cargo.

The crowd of refugees hesitantly exited the trucks. Their number amounted to over 60 people. Though it didn't sound like much, most post-apocalyptic settlements would hesitate to take in one unplanned person, let alone sixty of them all at once. Furthermore, the military hadn't provided any warning to Lu Hao's group, so now they would have to scramble to provide accommodation for these people tonight. Thankfully, the military had also provided tents and sleeping bags to use as temporary lodging.

Lu Hao stopped skimming through the profiles after landing on a certain one. His eyes narrowed in interest. "Officer Tang, this person..." he began.

The dazed Officer Tang snapped back to his senses and leaned forward to peer at the name on the paper. "Ah, yes. This person is one of the most valuable people at our base. Highly intelligent and protected by the higher-ups. Her laboratory had been destroyed in the attack, and she herself had nearly been killed. It was decided that until we can secure the base, it would be best to entrust her to the SG."

The female scientist named Lisa Xi had studied overseas under the leading researcher for genetic mutations and diseases in humans. She was one of the bright stars in the current era. The government at F City hoped she could find a cure to end the apocalypse, though no one held their breath; the scientists at B City's base were better funded and more numerous.

Lu Hao, however, was intrigued. He looked up toward the large cluster of refugees, which the other members of the SG herded forward. The military had provided the SG with the names of the refugees, so the SG did a headcount by calling up each person's name. Each refugee was checked for weapons and infection before being allowed inside. When the name "Xi, Lisa" rang out, Lu Hao's eyes alighted on the beautiful and proud-looking woman who walked out, her hair tied back in a utilitarian style with thick-framed red glasses hanging in front of her eyes. Putting a smile on his face, Lu Hao walked forward to personally greet her.

"Scientist Xi?"

The woman looked over. She had a mature face and body, looking somewhere around twenty-eight years old. Though she had an apathetic expression, a flicker of interest passed through her eyes when she took in the sight of Lu Hao. She tilted her head in consideration, and the corners of her mouth hooked up. "Who's asking?"

Lu Hao could see instantly that she was a woman who knew how to get what she wanted, so he allowed his smile to let out a hint of seductiveness. He made eye contact with the SG member who had been about to check her over, indicating that he would take it from here, and the SG member nodded before calling out the next name, "Fu Xiao!"

Seeing that Lu Hao was in charge around here, Lisa Xi amenably stepped to the side of the crowd with him. Lu Hao introduced himself. "I'm the leader of the SG. I'm interested in supporting your research, so I wanted to discuss what supplies and materials you might need." When he said those words, Lisa Xi's eyes glinted with consideration. Lu Hao held out his hand to shake, and she took it without hesitating. Though her hand was soft and small, she shook his hand firmly.

"Gao Yu!" The SG member kept calling out names.

Lisa Xi withdrew her hand promptly, making Lu Hao feel a bit regretful. "Excellent. After my lab was destroyed, I barely managed to salvage some of my research. I'm looking forward to keep progressing with your assistance." Lisa Xi looked at Lu Hao, the corner of her mouth rising even more. If her expression weren't so calculating, it could almost be a laugh. "And your name?" she pointed out mockingly.

The SG member shouted out another name, "Li Chengpeng!"

Lu Hao smirked. "You can call me Lu Hao," he said, and a moment after those words left his mouth, he heard someone to the side suck in a breath of surprise. But he didn't put much thought into it as he continued chatting with Lisa Xi, turning away to lead her toward the gate. "Come, I'll accompany you to the base. We can find an area to set up your laboratory."

"Alright," Lisa Xi agreed. The two of them began walking forward, and Lu Hao was already thinking about the angle of her smile, the shape of her legs, how her hair would look when fanned out on the bed, and—

"Hong Sheng!" the SG member called out.

—Lu Hao's steps faltered.

Lisa Xi looked at him with a curious expression, and when Lu Hao turned around, she turned to look as well.

Right behind them was a young man who immediately ducked his head and tried to shuffle forward inconspicuously.

Before he could do so, however, Lisa Xi's eyes flashed brightly. She stomped over, her hand shooting out to grab his arm. "It's you!" she said.

Lu Hao could only stare, dumbfounded, at the top of the young man's head. When Lisa Xi grabbed his arm, the young man shuddered in distaste yet didn't say a single word, only silently bearing with it. The flag slowly rose in Lu Hao's mind.

Lisa Xi was an intelligent woman with good social skills, and immediately saw that the man in front of her hated to be touched. She wasn't a polite person, so although she let go of him out of respect, she also walked closer so that he couldn't try to sneak off and escape. With her eyes narrowed, she accused, "You're the one who blew up my lab!"

The SG member, seeing that yet another little drama was about to take place, sighed in his heart and continued down the list to the next name.

Lisa Xi and the young man were now standing extremely close, almost on top of one another. The young man tried to lean back, but that only made Lisa Xi lean forward as she imperiously scrutinized the young man with a glaring expression. The sight of the man nearly being pushed down by such a slender and beautiful woman made some people snicker, but to Lu Hao, for some reason this scene made a strange discomfort churn in his gut.

Still, he didn't act rashly. Putting a smile on his face, Lu Hao walked forward to join them and asked, "Blew up your lab?" Now that he was close, he wanted took the opportunity to take a good look at the young man... but since the other party kept his face turned down, Lu Hao couldn't see anything.

Left with no choice, Lu Hao said pointedly, "Hong Sheng?"

The young man's shoulders hunched defensively, and Lisa Xi cut in instead, "Yes! He saved the base. His quick thinking drove off the King-class zombie. We'd be dead if it weren't for him," she spat, and though her words were all praises, she sounded furious. She glared up at the young man. "He rigged up the explosives according to the zombie's trajectory, and set them off in places that would minimize all human casualties. My lab was one of them. You're only a civilian, aren't you? Hmph," she let out a sound of disdain, "You have more balls than every one of those military men at that base! Those useless wretches. But you, you're good quality. If you're here, then it's fate. From now on, be my assistant!" she ordered.

"..." Lu Hao was speechless.

"..." The young man was also speechless.

Lisa Xi was about to kidnap and run away with him, so to stop that, Lu Hao had to jump in. "I'm afraid we can't decide that so quickly," he told her, and when she directed her glare on him, Lu Hao brightly smiled as he clasped a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Actually, I'm curious. If fate is involved... Don't we also know each other, Hong Sheng?"

When Lu Hao's hand fell on his shoulder, and when he heard those words, Hong Sheng's shoulders trembled. Unable to hide any longer, he finally meekly raised his head.

In the six years since the last they had seen each other, Hong Sheng's dark eyes were the one thing that remained unchanged. Lu Hao's heart strangely skipped a beat when Hong Sheng's face came into view. He was pale and thin, his eyelashes casting shadows over his cheeks, and his small and delicate mouth parted slightly, the wet shine of his tongue barely visible to Lu Hao's advanced eyesight.

His face as a young man was sharper and more matured. He had a mysterious and distant air around him, but under Lu Hao's eyes, Hong Sheng looked clearly nervous and skittish, like a deer. After taking a brief look at Lu Hao, Hong Sheng's gaze quickly diverted to the ground, his head leaning down to reveal the long and pale expanse of his slender neck.

The sight of Hong Sheng as an adult stirred up a whirlwind of unidentifiable emotions in Lu Hao, but the foremost thought in his mind was how Hong Sheng had abandoned him when they were fifteen, and now Lu Hao could finally figure out why.

And so, Lu Hao tightened his grip on Hong Sheng's shoulder and smiled ever more brightly. "Hong Sheng, you remember me, don't you?"

Trembling, Hong Sheng nodded. He peeked up again, then dropped his gaze like he couldn't stand to look at Lu Hao for too long. Lu Hao couldn't figure out why. It wasn't like he was hideous, right?

Lisa Xi now looked at the two of them with a considering air. After feeling that the two had some history to resolve, she snorted. Spinning around, she told Lu Hao, "I'll be going in first! I'll tell you where I want my lab." And with that, she left Lu Hao and Hong Sheng to sort out their problems.

Hong Sheng looked after her with an unreadable expression. Lu Hao's heart pricked. He stepped forward to block Hong Sheng's sight of her—he had become unexpectedly possessive of this woman, or perhaps he simply didn't like his childhood best friend's straying to someone other than Lu Hao.

"So," Lu Hao said to Hong Sheng, who kept hunching up as if he wanted to curl inside himself and disappear. Stopping his words, Lu Hao took another good look at him. Hong Sheng quietly waited for Lu Hao to confront him, defensively waiting to be scolded, almost like a guilty dog in front of his master. And... he looked exhausted.

Life after the apocalypse was a nightmare. You lived every day in fear of being eaten alive, or being turned into a monster, or being killed by your own fellow humans. For someone like Hong Sheng, who barely spoke to others, and who almost never relied on his fellow people—for Hong Sheng, who never fit in and who had never known how, just how much had he struggled to survive in such a dog-eat-dog world? How many terrible things had he suffered, and just how hard must he have worked to survive alone in these past three years?

If you find Little Sheng, please protect him.

Lu Hao had wanted to interrogate Hong Sheng. He wanted to know why Hong Sheng had abandoned him without a word, and he wanted to know where he had gone and what he had been doing for the past six years. But when he saw that thin and delicate frame that looked like it might be blown away by the smallest breeze, all Lu Hao could do was raise his arms and lock Hong Sheng tightly against him, holding him closely.

Hong Sheng froze up in Lu Hao's embrace, and for a second, fear flashed through Lu Hao's heart. Physical contact with people revolted Hong Sheng, unless it was with Lu Hao or Lu Hao's family, but now that they had been separated for so long... was Lu Hao no longer welcome?

In the next second, Hong Sheng began to shake, and Lu Hao nearly pulled away. But Hong Sheng's hands rose up to clutch at him, and when Lu Hao looked down, he saw tears glinting from Hong Sheng's eyelashes. He was crying.

"Lu Hao... I..." Hong Sheng tipped forward, his head coming to rest against Lu Hao's chest.

Hearing his voice—quiet and delicate, yet overwrought with emotion—Lu Hao couldn't help but feel overwhelmed, and without meaning to, he tightened his arms around Hong Sheng.

Lu Hao let go of the anger he had been kindling in his heart.

"I missed you," he said softly. "I'm glad you came home."

Spoiler: 2.2

An armored jeep rumbled across the rough roads. Empty fields and hills gradually transitioned to the broken wrecks of cars and trucks. Finally, the cityscape of F City loomed in the horizon.

“I see them,” the driver said, his deep and slow voice like gravel. The man’s deep-set eyes gazed into the far distance, even further than Lu Hao’s eyes could see.

“Look safe?” Lu Hao asked. The man driving beside him nodded. “Good. Let’s meet them.”

In front of the military checkpoint which blocked the entrance to the city, a group of soldiers stood in wait. Lu Hao and his team exited the car, and after verifying their identity, were allowed to pass through.

“Be careful,” a military captain told them, his hat casting a shadow over the grave expression on his face. “That thing… it’s not like the others.”

“We’ll try,” Lu Hao said.

After going through the checkpoint, Lu Hao and his team properly entered F City. This was one of the few remaining residential areas where common citizens were allowed to reside.

Gaunt and suspicious faces peered out from the dark windows. A few children played on the quiet streets—they chased after each other, small feet pattering on worn concrete and asphalt.

Lu Hao’s group entered a sealed area, a building with two gates, to leave the safe zone. One gate opened to let them in, and after that gate closed, the gate at the other side opened to let them out.

And once they were out, they were in the wild zone of F City.

Soldiers covered the top of the gate, providing backup cover and making sure no zombies loitered at the wall. A series of traps lined the area as well. Lu Hao took a cursory glance around. It was all clear; this area usually didn’t have many zombies, anyway—not since Lu Hao had cleared them out. He raised his hand to his ear and tapped the radio com. “F City Command, this is Lu Hao. Do you copy?”

A slightly staticky voice responded. “Copy, this is F City Command.”

“My team is ready to move out from Checkpoint E. Location of the target?”

“Please hold. Our Locator has indicated that the target may be on the move.”

Lu Hao turned his head to Wu Dong. The large and stoic man nodded, and along with another member of the SG, he entered a nearby apartment to climb up to get a vantage point over the city. “Just give me a rough estimate.”

The analyst at the other side hesitated. “Previous location was in Area D-C, but… it’s…”

Wu Dong reached the top of the apartment building. He scanned F city, head turning in a slow and constant speed. And when his head angled in the direction of F City’s main base, he stopped.

Wu Dong raised a hand, moving it in a few quick signals. A flash of understanding passed through Lu Hao’s eyes.

Lu Hao signaled to his team. They spread out in formation, and at his go, everyone moved out. “Moving fast, I bet,” Lu Hao said into his com, speaking seamlessly even while running and leaping across the city streets. “Sound an alarm and move to a secure location. It’s coming back for seconds.”

A tense silence came from the other end. “Shit,” the analyst muttered. Then, a clatter as the analyst rushed to sound the alarm.

Lu Hao turned off his com. He signaled the team to speed up, and then looked to his right.

A young woman with gentle beauty, like an ephemeral breeze or a wave of water, ran beside him. Seeing his look, Ji Ling smiled and nodded. She jumped ahead, and as she moved, her presence faded and dissolved until even Lu Hao could barely remember she was there.

By the time Lu Hao’s team reached F City’s main base, a horde of zombies had stormed the gate. A giant hole had been torn through the checkpoint, and the corpses writhed as they walked past it.

The highest level of these zombies was only level 4. The SG’s assault unit dived in on the mass of zombies, blowing them and tearing them apart with their powers. Lu Hao and the rest of the unit advanced through the whirlwind of blood and limbs, the goggles and lower face masks protecting them from being tainted.

After passing the checkpoint, a course of energy like static rushed through Lu Hao. The other members of the SG directly hissed in pain, falling to their knees.

Lu Hao looked up.

There, standing in front of the base, energy pouring off of it in physical waves, was the King-class zombie.

It groaned, its ghastly mouth propping open. An unbelievable pressure emanated from this zombie, crushing every weaker existence within its presence.

The corner of Lu Hao’s mouth curled up. He extended his arm and flicked a hand. A bolt of lightning shrieked into life, like a raging storm swirling around his fingertips.

The wave of energy rippled from his hand. This time, it was the King-class zombie that shuddered.

Lu Hao raised the other hand to his com.

“Lu Hao to F City Command. I’m taking care of it.”




In the ruins of the entrance to F City’s main base, a team of men picked their way across the rubble.

Dust floated in the air, illuminated by the vague rays of sunlight which peeked through the white smog. The men wore masks to protect themselves from the air and from the stench of the decomposing zombie corpses scattered across the area.

When they reached the edge of a crater in the ground, they stopped. The man at the lead turned around.

Trailing behind this team of fighters were another two men. Despite this being the apocalypse, one wore a pressed and fitted suit. He was a tall man, his imposing and cutting presence heightened by his sleek appearance. He had a dangerous aura of someone who dealed regularly in death, and his face could not be seen behind the mask. By comparison, the man beside him seemed to fade into the background even though he wore an authoritative military uniform.

The man in the suit gave a nod. The team leader saluted in confirmation, and the team of men jumped down the ledge into the crater. They carefully walked toward the center toward a charred and unrecognizable heap.

“This is all that’s left?” The suited man’s voice was cold.

“Yes, sir,” the military officer answered.

“Were any injuries sustained by the SG?”

“No, sir. As far as we could tell.”

The two men watched the team of soldiers carefully excavate the half-melted, half-burned remains of he first King-level zombie.

The suited man let out a slow breath.

He said, “Tell the girl to continue monitoring the SG. Your payment will be available at the usual area.”

The officer standing behind him, Officer Tang, the man the government had appointed to liaise with the SG, bowed in salute. “Yes, Boss.”




Lu Hao rested in the back seat of the jeep on the way back. The fight had drained him; he couldn’t even light up a spark now, but all things considered, it wasn’t so bad. The fight could’ve gone much worse.

“Captain…”

The young woman beside him gently took his hand. Lu Hao looked over, and upon seeing the worry on her face, he put on a smile. “Don’t worry, Ji Ling. I’m fine.”

Biting her lip, Ji Ling lowered her head, her face looking bashful and delicate. “But still… I’m sorry that I couldn’t be of more help.”

Ji Ling was one of the first refugees sent over from F City. She had a rare and useful ability of being able to blend into the background, unnoticed by both zombies and people. It allowed her to scout a situation safely, but she was otherwise vulnerable in combat and had to be protected—which Lu Hao was, of course, happy to do.

“It’s my job to deal with the fighting. Don’t worry about it.”

These words of reassurance only made Ji Ling look more downtrodden. But in the next moment, she brightened up. “Then when we get back, Captain, please rest. You can leave settling in the refugees to me.”

Lu Hao’s forced smile softened into one that was more sincere. He looked fondly at the girl, and flipped his hand around to squeeze her small palm in his. “It’s fine. I’ll be alright. Besides, there are people there I want to settle in personally, though I won’t turn down your help with the others.”

Ji Ling smiled, happily clasping Lu Hao’s hand. “Oh? Did we get some promising people?”

“Mm. There was a scientist, Lisa Xi. She was a student of one of the leading scientists studying human genetics and disease. With any luck, she’ll be able to research the cause of this and maybe even find a cure. Though at the moment, any kind of knowledge is would help.”

Ji Ling nodded along to Lu Hao’s words, and unseen to him, a trace of thoughtfulness flashed through her eyes.

“The other…” Lu Hao paused. Without him realizing it, his lips had curved up into a small smile. “He was a childhood friend of mine. Hong Sheng. I’d thought… I hadn’t heard from him in years, even before all of this had happened. When I saw him again… I couldn’t help myself. My mind was just blown. Finding someone again after you thought you’d lost them is—it’s such an incredible feeling. Seeing him made me realize just how glad I am that we’re here, doing this. Saving people, helping people. And if we keep at it, then one day…” Lu Hao’s hand clenched. “…there’ll come a time where there won’t be any families who are torn apart by the world as it is now.”

Ji Ling fell silent. At the front of the car, one of the SG members chimed in, “You said it, Captain.”

A helpless smile crossed Lu Hao’s face, and he sighed. “But we still have a long way to go. For now, all we can do is focus on what we can.”

“I’ll be with you every step of the way, Captain,” Ji Ling said. Under the light of the sun filtering from the car window, she looked exceptionally beautiful, as if the world had cast a halo over her back.




By the time Lu Hao’s squad made it back to the SG base, Lisa Xi had already set up camp and was ordering people to move around her supplies. Lu Hao looked at the stack of crates, papers, and miscellaneous machinery scattered over what had once been a storage room, and asked, “I take it you’re settling in well?”

Lisa Xi spun around. For a moment, she looked at him blankly, but then she made a face of realization and said, “Ah, it’s you. Mm, it’ll do for now—but ideally, I would construct a more secure and controlled environment to minimize any contamination and outside interference.” She looked around the room and snapped at someone struggling with a box, “Careful! Those are delicate instruments worth more than ten of you!”

“Alright. Let me know what you need, and I’ll see what I can do,” Lu Hao said. When Lisa Xi looked back at him, Lu Hao leaned forward until they were intimately positioned, and he murmured seductively, “Really, anything.” The sight of his handsome face was enough to make any woman blush.

But Lisa Xi wasn’t just any woman. She narrowed her eyes and smirked. “Well, Captain Lu Hao,” she said slowly, in a sultry voice, “I’ll be sure to let you know. But how about we start with an assistant? Specifically, that friend of yours.”

Lu Hao pulled away. “That’s not a good idea. He—he doesn’t take well to others. But I’m sure we’ll be able to find someone else who’s suitable for you,” he said with a smile on his face. “Feel free to ask Ji Ling, my aide, if you need anything. Thank you for joining us, Miss Xi. I’ll see you around.”




After visiting Lisa Xi, Lu Hao searched for Hong Sheng.

He asked around first with the people in charge of providing accommodations to the refugees, but he found out that Hong Sheng hadn’t been assigned a room. Or rather, that he’d refused to share a room with others.

“He seemed a bit…” the SG member hesitated to say more.

“I understand,” Lu Hao said, and the SG member sighed in relief.

The entire SG base bustled with people, and moving on instinct, Lu Hao sought out the quietest, least populated area.

Lu Hao’s family villa had been built in a slightly mountainous and forested area. The villa was surrounded by trees, and there was only road which led down the small mountain to rejoin the main road. The SG had plans to build terrace farms along the mountainside, but the process of clearing the forest was slow.

Lu Hao stepped into the trees, feet crunching on the leaves, branches, and debris of the ground, and walked toward the sole heartbeat along a sheer cliff of the mountain.

The trees parted when he neared the mountain cliff, and there in the clearing which faced the open sunset sky, the vast landscape of the forests, and the abandoned farms of the countryside, Lu Hao saw the silhouette of a tent, and a young man sitting on the edge of the cliff.

“Hong Sheng,” Lu Hao said. The young man didn’t respond, and Lu Hao walked over. He sat beside Hong Sheng at the edge of the mountain. Below was another layer of forest, and the spires of the trees poked up beneath his feet.

In front of them, the sun was setting over the horizon. The sky was clad with bright oranges and reds, with pale blues, purples, and pinks dyeing the top of the sky. Yellow light flooded the ground, casting long and dark shadows against the silhouettes of the mountains, trees, and abandoned houses.

Hong Sheng was watching this scenery, his dark eyes colored with the bright and beautiful reflection of this view.

For the next few minutes, Hong Sheng and Lu Hao watched in silence as the sun sank lower and lower on the horizon. Eventually, the light dimmed, and color faded from the world until all was dark.

And then the two of them were sitting in the darkness, only the faint light of the distant moon and stars illuminating the scenery before them. The thick cover of the trees had left them in shadow.

“It’s dangerous to stay here by yourself,” Lu Hao said, still sitting next to the quiet Hong Sheng. “You might fall off from here, you know.”

Hong Sheng shifted a bit. After a moment, he muttered, “I’ll be fine.”

“Have you even gone camping before?” Lu Hao asked.

Hong Sheng raised his head. He was looking at the stars. Lu Hao looked up, as well—they were beautiful, a vibrant galaxy visible in this place so far from the city.

In the quiet of this place, every sound was loud to Lu Hao’s senses. He could hear every whisper of grass, every patter of an animal, every chirp of an insect. He heard Hong Sheng’s breathing beside him, and could even hear the pulsing of his heart. And so, he listened as Hong Sheng’s heartbeat increased in speed as he stared up at that sky with Lu Hao.

“You’ve never seen something like this before, right?” Hong Sheng’s heart skipped a beat at Lu Hao’s words. “This sky.”

“…I haven’t.”

“You’ve been staying in the city all these years. Coming out here for the first time… it’s a lot different from what you’re used to.” Lu Hao turned to Hong Sheng. “It’s cold out. That tent won’t protect you. There are bugs and critters crawling around, and if it snows or rains, you’ll be in trouble. It’s better if you stay somewhere closer to the base.”

Hong Sheng was silent as he considered this, but in the end, he said, “It’s quiet.”

All Hong Sheng wanted was to carve out a space of solitude in this chaotic world, and here, away from everyone, away from the city that was full of zombies and from the SG full of people scrambling to survive, he wanted to find peace.

Here there was only Hong Sheng and Lu Hao, sitting together beneath the stars.

Lu Hao looked at Hong Sheng and asked, “Is this really what you want?”

And Hong Sheng said, “Yes.”

---


Author's Note

I've renamed the previous posted chapters of this story to match how I'm organizing things in wattpad. This way I can post updates as written over here on NUF too! Hope this chapter isn't too confusing. Thanks for reading~

 

For those who don't read on wattpad. There was an update on May 7. Here's the link.

https://www.wattpad.com/571376744-to-the-start-of-a-new-world-2-3/page/2

 

To the Start of a New World, Arc 2 Chapters 3 ~ 6

Arc 2 Chapter 3

Spoiler

Lu Hao frowned down at some reports. He sat at his desk, the sun shining through the window behind him. Though it was a beautiful day outside, he didn't have the luxury of appreciating it.

The human population continued to dwindle, yet the number of zombies continued to rise. Not only that, but the zombies were becoming stronger. Up until the third year of the zombie apocalypse, most zombies were only about level 2 or 3. The most dangerous zones might have up to level 5 or 6 zombies, and any zombies stronger than that were singular appearances.

But now, ever since that level 10 zombie had appeared a year ago, the average strength of the zombies had jumped to level 5, and it was even common to see stronger zombies than those milling in the area.

Over the past four years, Lu Hao had worked to keep the borders of his territory and the road to F City clear and safe. But now, the base suffered weekly attacks.

Something had happened that had made the zombies stronger.

Reading this report, Lu Hao's brows furrowed, and he tapped a finger on his desk. He needed more information. More importantly, humanity needed to find a way to defend themselves from the ever more powerful zombies.

F City's government base was on the verge of collapse. At first, Lu Hao had tried to support it, but when the zombies started attacking the SG, he had to return to defend his own group. And when Lu Hao had left, the ones who stepped in were the triad group led by a mysterious man who Lu Hao only knew as "Kai".

The triad group had brought stability to F City, but the local government had folded under its power. Now, the connection between F City's government and the SG was just holding on by a thread.

Lu Hao had no interest in the politics of groups or territorial warfare. The SG was self-sufficient, and the last thing he wanted was to fight other humans. But the triad wasn't the same. To the triad, the SG, which didn't bow down to its tyrannical requests, was simply a thorn in its side. As such, it seemed that future conflict would be inevitable.

Lu Hao sighed. He wished that he could discuss this in depth, have someone to bounce his thoughts off of. But Ji Ling had been gone for the past four days to scope out F City and to find out more about the triad's influence, and no one other than her knew better about the current situation.

Still, staying cooped up here would do him no good. Lu Hao got up, leaving the reports on his desk.





Outside of the villa, which lay at the heart of the base, the territory of the SG had undergone enormous change. Watchtowers rose up over the many walls and gates dividing and protecting the camp. On-duty SG members stood on guard at various entrances and vantage points, looking over the roads that led to the residential areas and toward the entrance to the base.

Lu Hao walked out of the heavily-guarded section of the villa and into the forest at the back of the camp. The forest was used as a training ground, sometimes, and even now several recruits ran their laps between the trees, panting as they jumped over logs and hustled over the uneven forest floor. They saluted Lu Hao upon spotting him, and Lu Hao waved a hand with an encouraging smile.

He continued walking further into the forest until the tree coverage grew so thick that the few spots of sunlight glowed bright white against the shadows. And there, at the edge of the cliff, was a sturdy tree.

Lu Hao reached the base of that tree and looked up. A small treehouse was nestled between the branches. Without much effort, Lu Hao leaped up along the tree's branches until he reached a small footstep in front of the house's door. A mechanical pulley sat on that footstep. Lu Hao knocked on the door with short, sharp raps, then opened it. Beyond that door, sitting at a table beside the small treehouse's window, was Hong Sheng.

Hong Sheng didn't look up when Lu Hao entered. His gaze was locked on the piece of machinery laid out over the table. Various pieces of paper depicting schematics had been pinned to the walls with gridlike precision. The loft bed which stood above several neatly-stacked boxes and crates was perfectly tucked in, the sheets having not a single wrinkle. Everything about this place was in order, aligned and controlled.

The window had been covered by a metal pane, and the only sources of light in this room were the lightbulb hanging above Hong Sheng's workstation and the open door behind Lu Hao. Lu Hao closed the door and sat quietly on a large crate across from the table. He watched Hong Sheng carefully pinch a wire with a pair of tweezers to pull it into a piece of machinery, setting it into a small space only a milimeter wide. After several more wires had been attached, Hong Sheng finally set down the metal and looked up. He squinted and squeezed his eyes a bit, adjusting to the change of focus, and then he reached to the side and pulled open the window cover. The metal pane folded and slid open, and sunlight spilled into the treehouse.

"Lu Hao," Hong Sheng greeted. The corners of his lips pulled up a bit in a small smile, and his dim eyes shone a bit from the reflected sunlight.

"Do you have time? Want to go for a walk?" Lu Hao stood up, already anticipating Hong Sheng to follow.

Sure enough, Hong Sheng replied, "Sure." He picked up a bag and followed Lu Hao to the doorway, and after Lu Hao had leaped down, Hong Sheng reached in his pocket and clicked a switch. The mechanical pulley on the doorstep activated, and it released a rope ladder which Hong Sheng climbed down. Once his feet hit the ground, Hong Sheng clicked the switch again, and the rope ladder retracted back into the pulley.

Lu Hao and Hong Sheng walked together through the forest, enjoying the clear and crisp air of the morning. There did not seem to be a single person around them, only squirrels and birds in the trees.

"How is the latest test going?" Lu Hao asked.

"Alright. I don't know how long it will last. The aim was thirty minutes, but the outer shell won't last long if it's found."

"That's fine. We just need something that can distract the zombies, even better if it leads them away. Can that device really mimic human temperature for that long?"

"We'll see. It needs field testing."

Lu Hao and Hong Sheng reached an overlook in the forested mountain which gave them a view of the road toward F City. The distant hills obscured the winding path which lead to the small and foggy silhouette of the distant city. A series of walls and barricades extended around the mountain, and beyond, in the mist, tiny shadowy figures lumbered and staggered aimlessly.

Hong Sheng frowned when he saw them, and Lu Hao also grew more solemn.

"I received a report this morning," Lu Hao said. "It confirmed that it's not just us. It's everywhere. Zombies keep growing in numbers and getting stronger, but there's no clear reason why."

Hong Sheng's mouth pressed into a flat line.

It was no secret that the majority of the human population had died in one fell swoop in that first year of the apocalypse. The population continued to dwindle over the next few years, but not all of the dead turned into zombies. Some died from their wounds; some died of starvation or thirst; some died by the hands of other people. Only a fraction of people turned into zombies. Theoretically, the rate of the zombie population was estimated to have reached its maximum peak in the middle of the third year. After that, the zombie population should have reached a standstill simply because the remaining people were wise enough to not leave themselves vulnerable to zombies. Without people dying to the infection, the number of zombies shouldn't increase.

And yet, now, a sudden surge of zombies had appeared. Even without the human population changing, more zombies had come out of nowhere. Just how was that possible?

Something wasn't adding up.

"The report... who wrote it?" Hong Sheng lowered his gaze as he quietly asked this question.

Lu Hao continued looking out at the grim scenery, toward that distant haze of a city, "Ji Ling. They were her latest findings from F City." As he looked at those skyscrapers, he thought about how Ji Ling must be walking between those buildings now as she continued to investigate, alone and unseen.

For an instant, Hong Sheng's lips tightened again. A shadow flickered over his face, and after a moment, he turned around to face Lu Hao and opened his mouth. Before he could say anything, however, his gaze tracked to the side and he seemed to see something that shocked him.

The unusual expression set Lu Hao's instincts off, and he immediately whirled around to see what Hong Sheng was looking at.

What he saw was—

The tall and sturdy trees, standing as stably as ever, and the vast forest floor which was covered in old leaves and branches. The sunlight poured beads of light onto the ground, and the leaves and grass swayed in the breeze. Birds chirped, plants rustled, and insects buzzed all around.

"Was something there?" Lu Hao asked Hong Sheng. Hong Sheng's gaze didn't move from that empty spot, and after a moment, Hong Sheng unclenched his fists and pointed toward one of the trees.

"Squirrel," he said.

Lu Hao blinked. He looked up, and sure enough, a squirrel was sitting in the nook of a tree branch. If Lu Hao concentrated, he could hear the fast pattering of its heartbeat and the soft brush of its fur on the bark.

"Just a squirrel? You had me startled." Lu Hao cracked a smile and patted a hand to Hong Sheng's shoulder. "Can't believe you."

Hong Sheng diverted his gaze. Lu Hao continued on his walk, leaving the small clearing overlooking F City, and Hong Sheng followed after him. Lu Hao continued chatting as the two of them left, and eventually, their voices grew quieter and quieter the further they went from this clearing.

The squirrel in the tree jumped around the branch, and then climbed down the tree in search for more food. Its little feet pawed at the bark, but when that bark turned into sturdy cloth, it didn't even notice. After reaching the forest floor, it twitched its nose and went in search of nuts.

Standing behind that tree, pressed up against the bark, stood a girl. She had held her breath, heart beating loudly with adrenaline, and when Lu Hao's voice could finally no longer be heard, she released her breath and relaxed her body.

And then the girl frowned. She had been startled for no reason. It was impossible for anyone to notice her—even Lu Hao, the Unknown-ranked anomaly, wasn't aware of her existence. It must have only been her paranoia that made it seem as if that other man beside him had locked eyes with her. After reassuring herself this way, Ji Ling detached herself from the tree and made her way into the forest, toward a treehouse at the edge of a cliff.

Arc 2 Chapter 4

Spoiler

"Is everyone here?"

Scientist Lisa Xi looked around the crowded room and adjusted her glasses. She glanced down once at the stack of papers in her hands before handing them off to a nervous assistant.

"Alright. Then I'll get started. The zombie strain is getting stronger, and the symptoms are becoming harder to properly identify. To mitigate any misinformation, I'll be sharing what I know about the infection."

Lu Hao stood at the back of the lobby, near the entrance of the room. He watched the members of the SG, taking note of anyone who didn't seem like they were paying attention.

"By now, everyone should know that there are different kinds of zombies. Not just in their strength rankings, but in their physical abilities as well. A level one zombie is always the slow-moving and stupid kind that blindly follows its instincts, while a level seven zombie has a wider range of possible behaviors and abilities. You may find an enraged zombie that charges at its prey, or you may find a stealthy zombie that tracks and waits for an opportunity to strike. Early theories assumed that these differences in zombie behavior stemmed from the manner in which they evolved, but after some study, I've found that these differences are correlated to who the host was and what they could do, as well as to the symptoms they showed throughout the infection. In other words, specific kinds of zombies are associated with specific kinds of people and symptoms."

While Lisa Xi was in the middle of speaking, Hong Sheng came in quietly through the doors. He normally avoided the main SG camp and only ever came when Lu Hao asked him to. A trace of nervousness was on his face when he saw the crowd of people in the room, but once he caught sight of Lu Hao to the side, he relaxed incrementally. Lu Hao nodded and smiled at him, and Hong Sheng nodded back, coming over to stand by the wall beside him. Once they had silently greeted each other, Hong Sheng and Lu Hao both turned their attentions back toward Lisa Xi.

"Like with any disease," she said, "some of these symptoms don't mean anything unless they come with others, so I'll first be going over what are some fairly universal signs of an infection.

"The basic process of becoming a zombie involves the mutation of the cell. The zombie virus infects the DNA and begins to remake the body from its building blocks—meaning that first the virus breaks down the body from its human state, and then begins to rebuild it to a zombie state. The most common signs of infection involve the breakdown of the body. For example, 'black blood', where the eyes and other soft organs start to disintegrate into a viscous black matter. Though the eyes are the most noticeable target of black blood, an infected person may also find themselves experiencing abdominal discomfort and expelling black matter. Many of you may have known people who claimed to have been suffering from food poisoning or diarrhea before transforming into zombies. I'll tell you this: if someone's shitting black fleshy goop, it's not from eating an expired can of food.

"The loss of nails, hair, and teeth are also signs. During an infection, the nails and teeth loosen and may either fall out on their own or be pushed out by the new growth of strengthened claws and fangs. It's common for the nailbeds to become bloody and raw as the human nails and teeth loosen from the body. This is why the nailbeds on zombies are black—it's because of the dried blood caked underneath. So pay attention to the mouths and hands. Some zombies keep the human teeth and only have claws, while others have fangs but keep the human nails, but rarely will a zombie retain both human teeth and nails.

"Finally, the most misunderstood and hardest-to-identify common symptom is muscle degradation. When a person becomes a zombie, their muscles will first weaken and atrophy as the virus breaks down those cells. This is why new zombies shuffle as they walk and can only just barely raise their arms—their muscles are too weak to fully support their body. Later on, however, the muscles are rebuilt to become stronger than an average humans, which is what grants level 3 zombies and higher their inhuman speed and strength. Contrary to popular belief, a person will not start to rot and decay after becoming a zombie. A common myth is that zombies are dead, and that their bodies are rotten corpses. This is the fault of the term 'zombie', which has been used in pop culture to mean those reanimated corpses rising from the dead. But in our reality, a zombie is not actually a corpse. They are capable of healing, they are capable of bleeding, and they will die when the brain is destroyed. A dead person will not transform into a zombie—they need to be alive, or in a state capable of living, for the infection to take root. Someone who is already dying won't last long enough to become a zombie. The only cases of 'the walking dead' are when victims of severe injuries become zombies, in which case, any loose flesh may rot and any open wounds may fester.

"Those three signs are the most common symptoms of infection. Other symptoms may arise, especially in ability users, who tend tend to exhibit less visible symptoms of infection since their bodies are already partially... changed."

Though Lisa Xi kept a cool expression on her face, her hesitation on those last words was clear. It could have been that she hadn't wanted to imply anything that would insult or cast suspicions on ability users, but Lu Hao wondered if, maybe, she was holding something back.





Once the lecture was over, Lu Hao went over to thank Lisa Xi for her help. The corner of her lip pulled up when he approached, seductive without even trying to be, but when she glanced behind him, the amusement in her face dimmed. Taking a step back, she said, "It's no trouble. I've got to get back to the lab—if you need to discuss research, you know where to find me."

Lu Hao blinked at her hasty departure. He turned around but only saw Hong Sheng there, still standing by the wall, face turned down and body stiff with anxiety. Lu Hao frowned, and after throwing one last look toward where Lisa Xi had gone, he went back toward Hong Sheng.

"Hey," Lu Hao said. He had asked Hong Sheng to attend the lecture, but he knew that Hong Sheng would normally steer clear of a place so packed with people and had wondered if Hong Sheng would really come. "I'm glad you made it."

Hong Sheng shrugged a shoulder. "Needed to find you," he said. He then lifted his head and looked around as if searching for someone, and when he didn't find anyone, he turned to Lu Hao and continued, "Tomorrow... do you have time?"

"Tomorrow? Sure. I'll be in camp, but I'll be heading out the next day for a patrol."

Hong Sheng bit his lip and nodded, his hands continuously fidgeting with his sleeves. He was hesitating, waffling as he usually did when he needed something but was unsure if he should ask for it.

"What do you need me for?" Lu Hao leaned a shoulder against the wall with his arms crossed and, in a playful tone, asked, "Asking me out on a date?"

Hong Sheng immediately spluttered, face turning bright red and eyes going wide. He looked like he might trip and fall over in embarrassment. "N—n—my—I'm—"

"Calm down, it was a joke."

"I know," Hong Sheng muttered, and he covered his face with his hands for a few seconds. After calming down, he lowered his hands and looked at Lu Hao with a conflicted expression. "Today... this morning, I finished my prototype. I need to test it."

"Great," Lu Hao said. "There's a patrol group heading out in the morning. We can hand it to them."

Hong Sheng shook his head. "No, I need to test it."

It was then, seeing the way Hong Sheng's gaze was carefully angled to the corner, that Lu Hao understood what he meant. He frowned. "No. It's dangerous—the nearest zombies are all level 4 at the very least. They would tear you apart."

Hong Sheng crossed his arms, his eyebrows furrowing. "We need a normal human as a baseline."

"We can get someone from a patrol group to do it. Not all of them have abilities."

"If something unexpected happens, they might not be able to deal with it."

"And you can?"

"Yes." Hong Sheng paused. "...By running behind your legs."

Lu Hao's lip twitched. "And you've already sussed out that I'm available for you to hide behind. I see. Fine." Lu Hao sighed. After weighing the pros and cons of agreeing and going with him, or rejecting him only to find out that Hong Sheng found his way out anyway and most likely ended up mauled and bitten to death, he said, "Tomorrow, be ready. We're just going to do a quick test with the weakest zombies we can find. And you have to stay in the car."

Hong Sheng blinked. That single blink was enough to tell Lu Hao that Hong Sheng wasn't going to listen to a single word he said.

"I swear," Lu Hao said, "if something goes wrong, and you get yourself in trouble, I'm going to throw you, through the air, all the way back to the base."

Hong Sheng nodded. "That's what I'm bringing you for."

Arc 2 Chapter 5

Spoiler

The next morning, Lu Hao and Hong Sheng packed into a jeep. One of the SG members drove so that Lu Hao could keep his attention on the area while Hong Sheng sat in the back, holding on to a case of his devices.

The immediate area of the SG was clear of zombies—barricades, various traps, and the natural geography of the mountain and forest kept it that way—so they drove down the mountain toward the roads and small towns. After about 40 minutes of driving, they finally found some roaming zombies. Lu Hao motioned the driver, and they rolled to a stop along the outskirts of a small town between the SG and F city.

Inside the car, Hong Sheng opened up the case and handed Lu Hao two of the three devices inside. They looked like steel canisters and were heavy and dense with metal. Lu Hao slid the one labeled '002' into his pack and held '001' in his hand.

They'd already discussed the plan beforehand, so the two of them didn't have anything more to say. Lu Hao met Hong Sheng's eyes and nodded, and Hong Sheng nodded back.

Lu Hao got out of the car first. After casing the nearby houses, he gave the OK signal. Hong Sheng then exited the car and climbed up to position on a nearby rooftop, binoculars in hand.

Prep over, Lu Hao made his way toward the zombie, hiding his presence. It was a level 5 zombie, stronger than average but not yet advanced enough to have intelligence. Lu Hao placed the device 001 around the corner a few houses down; the distance was about 20 meters, near the edge of how far a level 5 zombie could sense. He then activated the device, which kicked to life with a hum, and waited.

For a moment, the zombie only stood there, not reacting. But then, it slowly raised its head and turned around.

The zombie walked toward Lu Hao's position, gradually gaining speed until finally it ran around the corner, hissing with its jaws wide open. Lu Hao watched it with satisfaction; the first test was a success. And now on to test two.

Once the zombie rounded the corner, Lu Hao released his presence and picked up the canister. He then turned and ran from the zombie, leading it along a chase. When he was just about to outrun it, he turned along another side street and threw the canister into some house's yard. He continued running, checking back to see if the zombie was still following him.

It wasn't.

A smile curled up one side of Lu Hao's mouth. The zombie had run into the yard of the house, searching for the other 'human' presence.

Now it was a test to see how long the device could keep its attention. Lu Hao masked his presence again and hopped up onto a rooftop so that he could see Hong Sheng across the other side of the neighborhood. He took out the radio and waved in the air, and after seeing Hong Sheng's distant figure wave back, he said, "Looks like the new toy for the zombies is a success."

Lu Hao faintly heard his own staticky voice come out of the radio sitting next to Hong Sheng, who continued gazing through the binoculars toward the zombie. Hong Sheng didn't bother picking up the radio to reply; he just said into the air, "You didn't follow the plan."

"It was more efficient this way. We didn't need to use one lure to test whether it'll work, and another to test whether it'll chase me or go after the device. And now you get to keep one of your lures."

"Mm," Hong Sheng replied, which meant that he didn't quite agree but wasn't bothered enough to keep fighting for it.

They waited, watching the zombie for when the lure would stop working. The zombie prowled around the house, searching for the human heat, but after fifteen minutes it finally smashed the canister. Once the heat signature was destroyed, the zombie froze as if in shock over where the human presence had gone.

"Looking good. It lasted for a while. Should work better when properly hidden," Lu Hao said. He jumped down to dispose of the zombie.

"Now to test number three," Hong Sheng said.

Lu Hao pressed his lips together and silently returned to the car. Hong Sheng had already made his way down; he stood beside the car, waiting for Lu Hao.

"We're going to have to find a weaker zombie," Lu Hao said. As he spoke, he and Hong Sheng both got in the car, and Lu Hao directed the SG driver to go back on the road.

"Weaker than a five?" Hong Sheng asked.

Lu Hao dug out the device 002 and reached his hand around to the backseat to hand it to Hong Sheng, who took it back with an indifferent expression. "If we can find one."

"Level five is the average. That's what we should look for."

"The average level five zombie could kill a hundred people. We're going to find something weaker."

"You could kill a thousand zombies," Hong Sheng said quietly. "A lone level five should be afraid, not you."

The two of them stared straight forward in the car.

"I don't want to risk you getting hurt," Lu Hao said. "I'm the leader. I should be protecting you."

"You are." Hong Sheng looked out the window. As he watched the passing trees, he said, "I trust you."

Lu Hao considered this quietly. Hong Sheng trusted Lu Hao to keep him safe, no matter how strong the zombie was; now it was just a matter of whether Lu Hao trusted himself to keep Hong Sheng safe.

They drove on for a while. When they neared a branching road, Lu Hao signaled the driver to make a turn. The jeep curved onto a road that dived into a tall forest. The tree cover was thick, and later the road dipped down as went lead into a valley, tall mountains rising on either side. Within this valley was a mid-sized residential town. In the past, it was a town full of families who worked in F City. The commute to F City from this town was about forty minutes via bus and car, and a good number of people had come to reside here. Yet because this town was so isolated within the valley, when the zombie apocalypse happened, it became a death trap.

Now, at present day, the town was mostly clear of all zombies. The SG had swept it clean a couple of years back, but as zombies began to encroach further over SG territory, a few sometimes made it back into the town to wander the streets.

Though it was already late morning, a dense fog had settled in the air. Lu Hao squinted. Even his advanced eyesight couldn't see past the fog, but his other senses remained clear, so he wasn't worried. Hong Sheng, however, pursed his lips.

Seeing that, Lu Hao frowned and told the SG driver to stop.

"With all the fog, it might be dangerous," Lu Hao said. "Let's turn around."

"Agreed," Hong Sheng said quietly.

"Alright, boss," the SG member said, and began turning the car around.

But before he could turn it fully, a piercing scream sounded somewhere in the valley.

The scream was that of a young girl, and it echoed through the haze and the forest. Lu Hao snapped to attention, trying to pinpoint where it had come from, but the echo of the valley made it difficult.

Hong Sheng and the driver hadn't heard anything, but when they saw Lu Hao's reaction, they kept silent and watched him for direction.

"I heard a scream," Lu Hao told them. "The zombies are down the road, in the town—this might be a human." He looked at Hong Sheng. "I need to go check it out. Drive out of here, and wait for me at the crossroads."

Hong Sheng nodded with understanding. Lu Hao left the car and dashed away, and the second the car door was closed, the SG driver finished his turn and drove along the road.

Hong Sheng frowned to himself. The moment he noticed that fog, a bad feeling had settled in his stomach. He tightly clutched his bag and looked out the window. The shadowy trees continued to pass by, but no matter how far they drove, the fog didn't seem to let up.

Minutes passed. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl. They had only driven a few minutes toward this town, but the time it took to get out seemed to be longer.

Suddenly, Hong Sheng asked, "Do you have any abilities?'

The SG driver was startled. "Uh—yes. I can create barriers for protection."

"For how long?"

"About thirty minutes, or so."

While the SG member answered, Hong Sheng dug around his pack and pulled out the radio. He turned up the volume, and the sound of static white noise gradually filled the car. A metallic squeal arched and died in the noise.

The SG driver winced. "What's wrong with the radio?"

Hong Sheng pulled the radio close to his mouth. "Lu Hao, if you can hear me—we need you. Find us, right now."

The entire time, Hong Sheng's gaze hadn't left the outside of the window.

There, in between the vague silhouettes of the trees, hidden by the white fog and the blur of the car's speed, were dozens of humanoid figures stalking after them.

Arc 2 Chapter 6

Spoiler

Lu Hao had run deep into the forest, searching out the source of whatever had made that scream. Yet after half a minute, instinct made him stop his steps.

Though he was now in the forest, he couldn't sense the presence of another human being. Even the SG car seemed to have faded from existence.

It was then that Lu Hao realized something was wrong. He turned around in a circle, looking at his surroundings, but all he saw was the outline of trees in the white haze.

Alarms rang in his head. He didn't know of anything that could cause something like this - unless it was a zombie or an ability user with similar strength to his. Either way, it wasn't a great situation.

Lu Hao turned to run back toward the road, but even after a minute of running, he remained in the forest. The ability had trapped him here. Cursing, Lu Hao came to a stop. Running blindly wouldn't get him anywhere, so he closed his eyes and tried to focus his senses.

After some concentration, flicker of a presence made itself known. Though he had the creeping sensation of being led into a trap, Lu Hao steeled himself and walked toward it. With any luck, he would find the source of this fog and get a chance to destroy it.

Lu Hao stepped into a clearing. It was there that he found something that made him stop in his tracks.

"...Who are you?" Lu Hao spoke.

The man standing in the clearing slowly turned around.





"Keep driving," Hong Sheng said.

"What the hell is going on?" the SG driver shouted, hands desperately gripping the wheel. He looked behind at the horde of zombies chasing after the car. "I've been driving for thirty minutes! Why aren't we out yet? The hell's with this fog? Shit, the boss said there were only two zombies, what're all these behind us then?!"

Hong Sheng opened his bag. Everything was sorted into its own compartment, so without even needing to look, he reached in and took out a palm-sized object.

He then rolled down the car window, leaned out, and threw it behind the car. He sat back down and rolled up the window just in time for a loud boom to rock the car.

"Oh shit!" the driver yelled. "You have bombs?!" He looked at the rear-view mirror. "Hell! They're still not dead yet!"

Hong Sheng tightly gripped his bag and pursed his lips, mentally itemizing all of the supplies available to him. It was enough to survive a few level 5 and maybe level 6 zombies, but not enough to take down a horde of them.

"Shit, how are we getting out of here? The car'll be out of gas eventually - can't fill it back up while I'm driving either!"

"How many cans are in the back?" Hong Sheng asked, turning in his seat to look into the trunk.

"One!" the driver shouted.

That was unfortunate. Hong Sheng looked out the window again, noting that the number of zombies was lower than before.

They drove for approximately seven more minutes, the SG driver continuing to curse the entire time. After seven minutes, Hong Sheng interrupted him and said, "Be prepared to use your ability."

"What?"

"We're going in a loop."

"What the hell does that-"

The driver cut off suddenly with a shout. He raised one hand to activate his ability, forming a barrier in front of the car just in time to plow the zombies in front of them out of the way. The car jolted up and down as it ran over the corpses of the other zombies which were dead on the ground.

"The hell?!" The driver looked into the side mirror and saw the explosion marks on the ground behind them, as well as the burned remains of the zombies they had just run over. "Is that-"

"A sixteen-kilometer loop," Hong Sheng said. He pulled out another grenade to throw behind the car. The resulting explosion made the car rattle again.

The driver winced. "How many of those do you have?"

"Three," Hong Sheng said. He looked behind and threw another grenade.

The remaining zombies were of a stronger variety, and weren't as easily damaged by normal explosives. Higher-level zombies had tough skin which even bullets could barely penetrate, and the lower-level zombies had armor mutations that helped them resist the explosions. The total number of zombies had dwindled by more than half, but even just one of these zombies could easily kill them.

"Your barrier," Hong Sheng said. "Does it work like a pot?"

"What?"

"Can it be used to contain the zombies?"

"Uh," the SG member said. "I-I think so?"

"Will it trap heat?"

"Um, yeah - yeah, it does. I used it in the winter, around a fire-"

"Okay," Hong Sheng said. He pulled out a variety of devices from his bag, a mish-mash of round, long, shiny, and matte objects.

"What - what are those?" The driver didn't dare take his eyes away from the road or from the rear-view mirrors, but he could see Hong Sheng emptying the bag from the corner of his eye.

"Parts." Hong Sheng then took out his toolkit and began jerry-rigging the pieces together.

"Oh shit," the driver yelled, seeing the wires and obvious charges and fuses of what must have been bombs. "In the car? You're doing that-"

"Please calm down," Hong Sheng said. "I need your help for this to work."

"Damn it." The SG member grit his teeth and swerved the car to avoid one of the faster zombies. After slamming the accelerator, he said, "Alright, okay. What's the plan?"





"Now," Hong Sheng said.

The jeep rolled to a stop. The zombies surged forward, but before they could surround the car, a barrier jumped into place around them. The zombies clawed and smashed their fists against the barrier, but they couldn't escape.

Hong Sheng got out of the jeep, the stack of explosives cradled in his arms. He walked to the edge of the barrier and set the bomb on the ground. He then got back into the car.

The SG driver looked back at the zombies. He expanded his barrier by half a meter, bringing the bomb into its space.

"We're good," the SG member said.

"In three," Hong Sheng said. The detonator was held in his hand. The SG driver stepped on the pedal, and the car pulled forward. "Two." Now a few meters further from the blast zone, the car came to a stop. "One."

A muted explosion sounded, and a bright light flashed from behind them.

The SG driver grinned and turned to look out the back window. "It wor-"

The smile dropped from his face, his expression turning gaunt with shock. He seized Hong Sheng by the arm and pulled him closer, erecting a small barrier around them. Before Hong Sheng could ask what was going on, his ears registered the sound of a bellowing screech. From the corner of his eye, he saw a mass of fire. Something with a burning face like charcoal was ripping into the back of the car, and then came the sound of gasoline igniting into flames.





Hong Sheng's senses came back in waves.

His eyes had been open, but he only just realized that he could see. Everything was blurry and swimming in front of him. Blades of grass stuck out from the ground in front of him. In the distance was a large and flickering red mass - it was the car, on fire.

There was a person on the ground in front of him. Could barely see the person through the grass, but Hong Sheng saw the SG symbol on the jacket shoulder. It was the driver. He wasn't moving.

Hong Sheng blinked and grew dizzy afterward. He felt that he needed to make his body move so that he could leave, but he couldn't quite remember how.

His ears registered the sound of footsteps walking on the grass behind him. The footsteps came closer and closer until they were nearly upon him.

A shadow fell over Hong Sheng. He watched as a small pale hand reached out toward the pack he held in his arms. Hong Sheng tightened his grip, and the small hand jolted away.

The footsteps quickly receded as if the owner of the hand had jumped back, but after a few moments, they returned.

The hand softly gripped Hong Sheng's shoulder and pulled, partially flipping him around. Hong Sheng gazed blearily up into the face of a young woman - no, a young girl. She looked at him, fear and worry warring in her eyes, but after a moment, her gaze steeled.

The girl pulled Hong Sheng's arm over her shoulder, using all of her strength to drag him away from the open road and deeper into the forest.

 

@Ars how'd you know that mass updates is my 2nd most favorite thing in this world...?

Author-sama god bless youuuuuuuuuuuuu