Not long after Axin and Xiaojiao left, every member of Fang Cheng's squad found out.
Without Axin around, they decided to go looking for Song Tiantian. Word was she hadn't left with the two of them. They all figured she must have lost her mind—did she really think she could survive the apocalypse on a space ability alone?
They asked around the base, expecting to find her trying to squeeze into some other squad. With her space ability and her looks, plenty of teams would take her in. Not that they were asking out of any goodwill—they just wanted to watch how badly things went for her once she was on her own. This included the women Fang Cheng's squad had once rescued.
Those women had decided Song Tiantian was ungrateful and selfish. Fang Cheng's squad was one of the best out there—since joining, none of them had been mistreated. The men they'd paired off with treated them well, and they were content. Song Tiantian was beautiful, sure—but out there on her own? Who knew what kind of state she'd end up in. They thought about it privately and concluded it served her right. She'd brought it on herself by being so reckless.
They searched. They asked around. They checked with every squad they knew.
Song Tiantian was nowhere to be found.
"Maybe she got scared we'd come after her once Ning Xin left," Lei Zhe muttered, puzzled, "so she just cleared out of the base entirely? I never thought Song Tiantian was that kind of person. I misjudged her. And she took all our supplies when she left—that's just too much."
Pei Wenqing's eyes narrowed slightly. His voice was cool and measured. "She only had the space ability and no combat power. Leaving the base would've been a death sentence. If she's not outside, where is she?"
"Captain, what do we do now?"
Fang Cheng shook his head. "We collect the supplies again. She's gone and she's not giving them back—there's nothing we can do."
"So we just let it go?"
Fang Cheng thought about Song Tiantian's parting words, and something restless stirred in him. But he didn't think he'd been wrong. In this squad, Gu Dongling mattered more than Song Tiantian—that was simply the truth. Even if he had feelings for her, feelings couldn't keep people alive. The stronger the squad, the better their odds of survival. Song Tiantian had hurt Dongling, said what she said, used Ning Xin's presence to make fools of them all, and walked out with their supplies. He was genuinely disappointed. He'd misjudged her—thought she was sweet and easy-going, not someone capable of being this ruthless.
"What else can we do?" Lei Zhe sighed. "Chalk it up to bad luck. From now on, we don't let space ability users hold all the supplies. One bad mood and they just walk off with everything, and we can't do a thing about it."
Half a month later, Fang Cheng ran into Song Tiantian in the high-end residential district of the base.
She was standing with the base commander, the two of them talking and laughing easily together. Word had just spread that someone at the base had reached Level Five—an ability level no one had seen yet. Every ability user at the base was buzzing with excitement, eager to meet this mysterious new arrival.
Fang Cheng had come for the same reason. From his angle, the easy familiarity between Song Tiantian and the commander looked almost intimate. If he'd looked more carefully, he might have noticed it was the commander who was being deferential to her.
"Tiantian, you—" The anger rose in him before he could stop it. He liked Song Tiantian; that wasn't something he could switch off. Seeing her standing next to this unremarkable man who had to be in his forties made something hot and ugly surge up in his chest. "No wonder we couldn't find you. So you just found yourself a new patron."
Song Tiantian looked up at him, expression calm. "Captain Fang, I don't quite follow."
"You've really let me down, Tiantian."
Song Tiantian studied the man in front of her—furious over nothing, convinced he'd figured out the whole story—and found it genuinely funny. "Captain Fang, the more you talk, the more confused I get. Would you mind explaining exactly what I've done to offend you?"
Fang Cheng didn't want to talk to Song Tiantian. He turned to the commander instead. "Commander, Song Tiantian was originally a member of my squad. She injured a teammate and fled with our supplies. I didn't expect to find her here with you. Now that we've run into each other, I'd appreciate if you'd allow us to settle this privately—and at the very least, have our supplies returned."
Song Tiantian stood her ground without a flicker of anxiety. The base commander looked genuinely surprised. He glanced at her sideways and asked quietly, "Miss Song, what exactly is going on here?"
"Since the commander is right here, I might as well explain the whole thing."
This wasn't going the way Fang Cheng had expected. He was a Level Four ability user—the commander should have given him some professional courtesy at minimum. Unless Song Tiantian had somehow charmed the man into taking her side.
"I was, indeed, once a member of Captain Fang's squad," Song Tiantian began. "I have a space ability. I helped collect supplies for the squad. At that time, my space wasn't very large, so the volume I could store was limited."
"Limited in size, but excellent in quality," Pei Wenqing said, appearing from somewhere nearby. His face wore an easy smile, but his voice had an edge to it. "Tiantian, this isn't very nice of you—misleading the commander like this."
"I also handled a great deal of the squad's day-to-day tasks," Song Tiantian continued, unfazed. "Cooking, cleaning, medical supplies—anything within my ability, I did without complaint and without asking for special treatment in return. I wanted to earn my place through my own contribution."
"Then one day, while the rest of the squad was out on a mission, one of the members—a man named Gu Dongling—decided to take advantage of the empty house and assault me."
The commander's eyebrows went up. That kind of thing wasn't uncommon in the apocalypse—too messy to police. But someone trying to assault a woman as capable as Miss Song? The man must have had his brain eaten out.
"I fought back. I injured him—more badly than I intended. And then the entire squad turned on me for it. They said I should have endured it. They said even if I had to fight back, why did I have to go that far. Why couldn't I have just talked it out."
Song Tiantian smiled pleasantly at the commander. "Commander, do you find that funny? I wonder—when a zombie is about to tear into someone's skull, do you think these people would try to talk to it? Ask it politely not to eat them? I'm guessing the zombie wouldn't listen. It would simply reach into their chest. A rapist and a mindless zombie have about the same level of comprehension—neither understands words, neither understands manners, neither is going to respond to a reasonable conversation. Trying to reason with an animal suggests a serious problem with one's judgment."
The color drained steadily from Fang Cheng's face. Song Tiantian had, in a few sentences, called every one of them an idiot and an animal simultaneously.
Pei Wenqing lost his composure entirely. The look he directed at Song Tiantian turned dangerous.
"As for the supplies they'd stored in my space—I'll consider those reasonable compensation for emotional damages. Commander, I trust you have no objections?"
The commander nodded, smiling broadly. "Miss Song has laid this out very clearly. I don't see any problem at all." He raised a hand to forestall Fang Cheng, who had opened his mouth to respond. "Let's consider this matter closed. You all came today because of our new Level Five ability user—I believe you wanted to discuss methods of advancing your own abilities, yes?"
Fang Cheng fell silent. The others nodded. Level Four users were rare at this base; most of those present were Level Three. The news that a Level Five had appeared here was significant—it meant the base's overall strength had taken a meaningful step forward, and everyone was eager to learn what they could.
"Since you're all here," the commander continued, "I'd recommend directing your questions to Miss Song. She's been remarkably generous—when I first approached her, she was very willing to share her experience and methods with us." He looked at Fang Cheng's stunned expression with something like quiet amusement. "I also want to make it clear that I hope nothing like what Miss Song experienced will happen again at this base. If she were to feel unwelcome and choose to leave—I trust everyone here understands what that would cost us."
He paused.
"Allow me to properly introduce Miss Song's abilities. She is a dual-type ability user: Level Five space, and Level Five strength."
Fang Cheng's face went completely red. It was almost identical to the moment Song Tiantian had walked back into that villa—only this time, the slap was being delivered in front of an audience.
Pei Wenqing came very close to losing his face entirely. When had Song Tiantian awakened a strength ability, and how was it already Level Five? The two men exchanged a glance, still trying to make sense of it—but by then Song Tiantian was already surrounded by people, completely hidden from view.
"If she's Level Five strength, the commander wouldn't lie about it," Pei Wenqing said. "He's not a man who's easy to fool."
"So," Fang Cheng said, "what do we do?"
"...Invite her back?"
A pause.
"Do you think she'd say yes?"
Pei Wenqing went quiet. Of course she wouldn't.
It didn't take long for every member of Fang Cheng's squad to hear about Song Tiantian. All of them were shocked. None of them believed it.
Then they ran into her on a mission, and watched her punch straight through a zombie's skull with one fist.
They took three very large steps backward and swallowed hard.
It was real. The current Song Tiantian was not someone they could afford to mess with.
Gu Dongling—having had a certain part of his anatomy permanently destroyed by Song Tiantian—hated her with a consuming, obsessive fury. He kept looking for trouble with her. The result was always the same: Song Tiantian beat him into the ground. That small, pale fist of hers, when it connected with Gu Dongling's body, put him in bed for days at a time with internal bleeding.
Fang Cheng eventually sought her out and proposed that she come back to the squad, promising it would never happen again. Song Tiantian smiled. Then she slapped him across the face and told him, very pleasantly, "Song Tiantian does not associate with animals."
After that, Fang Cheng and Song Tiantian had a proper fight. Fang Cheng ended up with a black eye and a split lip and spent several days in bed. Anyone from that squad who picked a fight with her and actually raised a hand against her got the same treatment, without exception.
Fang Cheng's squad was struggling. Song Tiantian was thriving.
Using the base as her foundation, she gathered around her a group of women who shared her convictions—women with the same fire, the same stubborn refusal to bend.
Word spread through City C's base: there was a group of terrifying women who settled disputes with their fists first and asked questions never. Beautiful and absolutely merciless. Nobody wanted to cross them.
Their existence became a haven for women across the base—the ones who had never awakened abilities, who refused to trade their bodies and their dignity for survival. Song Tiantian welcomed all of them. On one mission she got lucky and found a long-lost physical cultivation manual; from that point on, the women who hadn't awakened abilities began training with it, and gradually they were no longer helpless.
These women had one faith, and its name was Song Tiantian.
No one could give them orders. But for Song Tiantian, they would walk through fire without being asked twice.
It was Song Tiantian who had given them back their dignity, who had let them hold their heads up in the apocalypse without owing anyone anything. As long as Song Tiantian was alive, that faith endured. With her here, they believed they would make it to the other side—to the day when the world was bright again.
It took Axin and Xiaojiao two months to reach City B.
City B had become the largest base. The Han family had always had significant resources, and when the apocalypse hit, they moved decisively—consolidating what they had and securing a prominent position in the city. Compared to smaller bases scattered elsewhere, City B was remarkably intact: buildings and infrastructure still largely functional, and a proper military presence keeping it safe. Zombie incursions were handled swiftly and completely. In the early days of the apocalypse, City B had rapidly relocated talented individuals from surrounding areas into the protected zone, and research into a virus cure was underway.
Axin pulled up to the entrance checkpoint and stopped the car.
Every person entering had to be thoroughly screened. No trace of infection could be allowed in—the risk to the entire base was too great.
Xiaojiao had been in a good mood up until she saw the sign posted at the gate, stating that all entrants were subject to mandatory isolation and inspection. Her mood dipped sharply. Every time something like this came up, it reminded her of what she was now. She had changed. She was different.
Even if she still had her memories—even if she found her brother, her parents, the people who had loved her all her life—they couldn't simply live together the way they used to.
Axin felt the shift in her and reached over to take her hand. "Do you want to go in?" she asked quietly.
Xiaojiao understood the unspoken offer. If she wanted to go in, Axin would find a way to take her—whatever it took, polite or otherwise. She had no doubt about that. She shook her head anyway.
"Liar."
Xiaojiao looked at Axin with wide, slightly wounded eyes. She couldn't go in—and she shouldn't. The people of City B were living well. She was a zombie, something apart from the human world, and walking in would only cause problems. The people she cared about most were inside those walls—her presence would create conflict, and might even become a vulnerability that the Han family's rivals could exploit.
So there was genuinely no reason to go in. Not now. It wasn't the time to test what people were made of.
She just needed to know that her family was safe, alive, and doing alright.
That was enough. She was a zombie. Forcing herself to integrate with the human world wasn't good for anyone.
"Then what do you want to do?" Axin asked. If Xiaojiao didn't want to go in, she wouldn't take her in. This soul had a particular way of seeing things, and Axin respected it.
Xiaojiao thought about it. She wanted to see her parents and her brother—just a meeting, outside the walls, and then she'd leave. She looked at Axin with anxious eyes, turning something over in her mind. Was she being selfish, keeping Axin here with her?
Axin was human. She should really be living among humans.
"Stop overthinking. I don't enjoy living among humans. They're boring."
Xiaojiao blinked. So Axin was saying that one zombie was more interesting than the entire human population?
"Exactly. You're much more interesting than any of them."
Whatever low feeling had been settling in Xiaojiao dissolved in an instant. She grabbed Axin's arm and communicated her request: just one visit with family, and then they'd go.
"Alright. Wait here—I'll go in and find them."
Axin moved the car to the side and got out. Xiaojiao and Big Circle stayed behind. It took Axin several hours to make it through the base's various checkpoints, but the ability she demonstrated along the way opened every door. She was eventually brought to the Han family.
The Han family member who came to meet her was Han Wu—Xiaojiao's older brother.
He'd been told that an extraordinarily powerful ability user, potentially above Level Five, had specifically requested to meet with the Han family. He dropped everything and came immediately.
When he saw Axin, he paused for just a moment. He'd assumed someone with that level of power would be a man. Instead, she was a young woman—beautiful, early twenties at most—about the same age as his little sister Xiaojiao.
The thought of Xiaojiao made something dim in his eyes. When they'd sent people to her university to look for her, the campus had already been overrun. After clearing out the zombies, they'd found no trace of her. Months had passed now with no news—no way of knowing whether she was alive or dead. He'd regretted, more than once, not fighting harder against her decision to attend a school so far from home.
"How should I address you, miss?"
"Ning Xin."
"Welcome to City B, Miss Ning." Han Wu collected himself. "You asked specifically for the Han family—are you perhaps interested in joining our organization? You'd be very welcome."
"No."
A small flicker of disappointment. "Then how can we help you?"
An ability user potentially above Level Five was someone every faction needed to treat with the utmost courtesy, regardless of affiliation. Even if she didn't join, building a relationship was worth doing.
"I'm here because of Xiaojiao."
Axin kept it simple. "Xiaojiao has been thinking about her family. She hasn't been able to let go of you. So I came."
The moment Han Wu heard the name Xiaojiao, every carefully maintained professional expression he'd been wearing collapsed. He was on his feet and two steps closer to Axin before he'd consciously decided to move. If he hadn't held himself back, he would have grabbed her by the arms.
"Miss Ning—the Xiaojiao you're talking about—is that my sister? Han Xiaojiao? Where is she right now? Has she been alright these past months? Has anyone hurt her? Why didn't she come in herself—is she injured? Is something wrong?"
Han Wu had completely lost his composure. The questions came out faster and faster, his sharp eyes fixed on Axin's face, watching for every micro-expression. That handsome face held nothing but urgency and barely contained hope.
"If it's convenient, could you and your parents come outside the base with me to see her?"
"Of course. Absolutely." No hesitation.
Han Wu didn't believe for a second that this woman called Ning Xin posed any threat to the Han family—no one capable of walking into this base alone and demonstrating that level of power would bother with something so petty. And she knew where Xiaojiao was. Whether this was a trap or the real thing, they were going. Nothing would stop them.
"Miss Ning, wait here one moment. I'll get my father right now."
Xiaojiao had been waiting outside for the better part of a day.
She sat in the car staring at the base entrance with an expression of pitiful longing. Big Circle sat beside her, watching with growing anguish as she crinkled yet another pack of instant noodles into powder with her hands.
Owner, he thought, do you have any idea how precious food is in the apocalypse?
He looked at the growing pile of crinkled, demolished noodle packets scattered around her and pressed one paw to his forehead. Then he reached over and tapped her.
Xiaojiao looked at him. Big Circle made direct eye contact and attempted to communicate via consciousness.
Those noodles are a valuable resource.
I'm not throwing them away.
You've crushed them all into dust. Human servant number two won't eat noodle powder. Neither will you.
I wouldn't eat them anyway. How can Axin eat something with no nutritional value? We have plenty of canned meat. Axin should eat canned meat.
The noodles have feelings, owner.
Big Circle, you're being ridiculous. The seat your fat bottom is sitting on has feelings too—you've been squashing the cushioning flat for months.
Big Circle covered his face with both paws. Personal attacks. Calling him fat. Insufferable. He squinted at the box of canned goods under the seat, weighed his options, and decided to endure.
He curled up on the seat and went to sleep to the sound of Xiaojiao pulverizing noodle packets.
Some time later, Big Circle felt Xiaojiao move. He opened his eyes immediately. She was pushing open the car door and climbing out.
He looked toward the base entrance. A small group of people was approaching. One of them was Axin. The others—he had a feeling those were the owner's family.
Xiaojiao had been drinking the spring water long enough that her body had softened considerably. Walking at a normal pace, she looked almost unremarkable. Her eyes still needed contacts—the gray-white irises were unmistakably wrong—and her skin still needed makeup to look alive.
Running was a different matter. Running made the strangeness impossible to miss.
But when she saw her father, her mother, and her older brother Han Wu coming toward her, she stopped caring about any of that. She ran—with that slightly wrong gait, arms reaching forward—straight toward them.
The moment the three of them saw her, the carefully maintained composure on every face fractured at once. Xiaojiao's mother's broke first, tears streaming before she'd taken a single step.
None of them missed the strangeness in how she moved. None of them said a word about it. They ran toward her and folded her in, and held on.
Han Wu, arms wrapped around his little sister, felt the cold of her skin against his. He pressed a hand to the back of her head and said nothing. It didn't matter what she'd become. She still remembered them. And even if she hadn't—even if she'd forgotten everything—she was still his little sister, and she would live. He would chain her to the earth himself if that's what it took.
Ten minutes passed. Nobody spoke.
Xiaojiao couldn't—she had no voice. And looking at her family, who loved her so much—how could she bear to cause them more pain by making them confront what she was?
Han Wu had realized. He held her and said nothing, pretending not to know.
Their father had realized too. He kept one arm around Xiaojiao and one around his wife, and stayed quiet.
Their mother was the last to understand. She pulled back just enough to cup Xiaojiao's face in both hands. Her eyes were red. She said only one thing, her voice soft and broken and full of love:
"You remember us. That's all that matters. You still remember us."
Big Circle's wish: to be a content and pampered cat who eats well, sleeps plenty, and always has a human to clean up after her.