Chapter 59: Demonstrating Her Value
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Yang Jinxia had never expected to be greeted with the bang of a gun.
Her mind went blank, and her feet gave way. She fell to the ground in a very ungracious heap.
A few seconds later, she realized that she hadn't been shot, and fury erupted within her. Had she almost been killed by a bullet?
Fear lingered on the man's face as he asked, "Are you alright? I thought you were a monster just now. That's why I fired the gun. I'm sorry. I hope I didn't scare you." As he spoke, he offered her his hand.
She suppressed the anger in her heart. Unfortunately, her premeditated entrance had been disrupted by the shot from the gun. Naturally, her engineered conversations could no longer be carried out either.
As her mind whirred, she got to her feet. She stalled for time to think by dusting the dirt off her skirt, and asked, "Where is this place?"
"I don't know."
She asked another question, "Who are you?"
"And who are you?" he asked in reply.
She was taken aback. She could clearly sense a hint of resentment and slight confrontation in his tone.
"Yang Jinxia, have you gotten so used to your comfortable life that you've forgotten how to deal with a crisis?" she asked herself silently.
She calmed herself down immediately, and replied, "My name is Xia Jinse."
She instinctively gave him a fake name. Although she had never given an interview and usually kept a low profile, in ensuring that her name was not public knowledge, she still chose to hide her identity.
Next, she finally knew what the man's name was. It was just as ordinary as his looks—Chen Xu.
She pretended that this was her first time encountering him, and after chatting with him for a while, she was able to make him lower his defenses towards her.
Thereafter, Chen Xu proposed that they form a team. She didn't agree to it immediately but instead said she wanted to think it through.
She calmed herself down and analyzed her current situation. Amidst the ruins, she needed to rely on him to survive. On the other hand, this individual possessed guns and supplies, which meant that he held the upper hand in this alliance.
In other words, she was at an absolute disadvantage. This was by no means what she wanted, and she needed to balance the odds in her favor.
The only thing she could make use of at the moment was her innate female charm.
…
When mealtime approached, as Yang Jinxia chewed on her pilot bread, she suddenly voiced her demand for personal space and privacy. This was a litmus test in itself for her to gauge what his attitude was towards her.
Chen Xu's subsequent reply made her understand that this was a straight man that was also an anti-feminist. This was a tricky situation indeed.
Next, when she found out that Chen Xu had been hiding a very important secret, she was even further taken aback.
Was he really a police officer?
She suddenly began to second-guess her previous judgment.
It was highly unusual for a normal young man to be so guarded against a seemingly harmless, beautiful woman. If he were indeed a policeman, that would have been even more unlikely.
When she pieced that information with the memory of how adept he was with the gun, she suddenly felt a huge sense of crisis.
Throughout their journey to the settlement, she hadn't uttered a word at all. She kept thinking back to Chen Xu's words and actions in an attempt to analyze his personality.
This man was either not interested in women…
Or he was a straight man with an unbreakable sense of self-control.
Her intuition told her that it was the latter. She had noticed that the expression in his eyes when he looked at her was just like other men. The only difference he displayed was his sense of restraint.
The fact that he was able to maintain such a high level of restraint given the apocalyptic environment they were in meant that he either possessed very high moral standards or that he was weird. In any case, he wasn't a normal man.
After walking for more than ten minutes, she started to feel tired. Her feet were beginning to feel like they'd been rubbed raw.
Without a word of protest, she clenched her teeth and soldiered on.
She knew well that this individual was immune to her beauty. That meant that she was completely dispensable to him, and it put her in a very precarious situation.
In any team, if a member wasn't able to demonstrate their usefulness, they could be abandoned at any time. She couldn't allow herself to become a burden to him.
Fortunately, Chen Xu initiated a break a few times along the way, and that helped to make the journey more endurable for her.
Even so, her feet had been rubbed raw and were covered in blisters. Each step she took was accompanied by a stinging pain. Most of the perspiration on her forehead was due to the pain.
At long last, they made it to the settlement, only to find out that it had already been overrun by monsters.
"What shall we do?" she asked.
Chen Xu finally came to a decision, "We'll kill our way in."
At that moment, she spotted a great opportunity and stated, "Give me a gun."
A gun was a symbol of might. With a gun in her hand, the balance of power would be shifted.
"Have you ever fired one before," Chen Xu asked.
Indeed, she hadn't, and could only say, "I don't want to get myself eaten by monsters."
Chen Xu turned her request down, and said, "I won't let you die in front of me."
Her plan had failed.
She was utterly vexed. This man was impenetrable!
She watched as Chen Xu approached the settlement. She summoned up her courage and followed closely behind with a stick in her hand as a weapon. It was better than nothing at all.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
When they were about 20 meters in, Chen Xu suddenly fired his gun. Five green ape-looking monsters at the door each crumbled to the ground.
Yang Jinxia had witnessed the whole scene clearly from behind Chen Xu. All five monsters had been shot in the head. Such outstanding marksmanship had her stunned.
The reality was not a movie. It was impossible for perfect marksmanship to exist in actual combat.
Just what were Chen Xu's origins?
Yang Jinxia suppressed her curiosity and followed closely behind Chen Xu. This wasn't the right time to be wondering about such questions. Besides, the more accurate a shooter he was, the higher her chance of survival! She should have been rejoicing!
They entered the settlement, and Chen Xu pushed the heavy door with his mechanical arm and closed it with a clang.
"Chen Xu, there's a complete map here."
Yang Jinxia hadn't been idle. She had run over to the window of the guardroom beside him and looked inside. When she found something valuable, she called out to him.
Chen Xu walked over when he heard her words. He saw the map on the wall, and commended her, "Good job!"
"Where shall we go now?" she asked.
Chen Xu copied the map as he replied, "The control center."
The overall layout of the settlement wasn't complicated. The control center was situated in the middle and could be reached through a straight road from the entrance.
The duo left immediately. Chen Xu remained in front with Yang Jinxia following behind.
"Actually, you don't have to follow me in," Chen Xu suddenly said.
"We're a team, aren't we?" Yang Jinxia retorted.
All of a sudden, her sixth sense tingled, and she raised her head to look up in time to catch a dark shadow pouncing over. Its target was Chen Xu in front of her.
"Watch out!" she yelled out and quickly pushed Chen Xu out of the way. She felt a gust of wind swish past her head, and before she could dodge, she was caught by something. She could feel a huge force pulling her and lifting her off the ground.
Bang! A gunshot rang out.
A stream of warm liquid spurted onto her face. Then, she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
-- Gift
received