162 - Cinderella’s Dream: Together Forever

"Those people are murderers, Qi Jing, you're an esper, you can't just ignore this," said the Curly-haired Aunt, joining in. "My dear grandson is still so young, he can't be scared by those people," she added. Inside the warehouse, the noise started to rise again, all aiming for Qi Jing to step outside and deal with the strangers. Qi Jing glanced over the crowd, her pale face remaining devoid of any color. She turned and walked towards the warehouse door, pulling it open with force and addressing the people inside, "The door is open, whether you want to go out to fight zombies or capture people, feel free. I won't be participating." The crowd fell silent for a moment before a middle-aged man angrily marched over to shut the door, muttering, "If we had powers, would we need you?" "Exactly, esper folks are so arrogant, they don’t even care about us regular people’s lives." "I think we should find some sticks or something for self-defense. Better to rely on ourselves than others." Earlier, Qi Jing had used her powers to protect these people. Her slightly curled black hair hung behind her, her porcelain-like face appeared even paler and frighteningly white. Her thin lips were bloodless as she stood quietly listening to their complaints, despite having just used her powers to ward off zombies inside the building. Now, her companions only mocked her coldly. Her health wasn't great, with sweat beading on her forehead, and standing too long made her dizzy. Eventually, she had to lean against a box beside her to sit and rest. Among the crowd, even if some noticed Qi Jing's poor condition, no one spoke up for her. Everyone trapped in the mall was already on edge, quick to anger, and no one wanted to invite trouble for themselves. Qi Jing didn't have the strength to concern herself with them anymore. She closed her eyes slightly, ignoring the noisy crowd. On the fifth floor, the smell of smoke mingled with the stench of rotting corpses permeated the entire mall. Chen Wan and her group, even by the windows, were sickened by the odor. However, it was the best way to prevent the spread of disease by burning the bodies. Under Chen Wan's control, the zombies worked diligently and with clear roles: some were responsible for transporting bodies, others for adding coal to the furnace, and some for discarding body remnants. Although the process was orderly, Chen Wan was sweating profusely by now. An hour had passed, with still many bodies unburned, and Chen Wan was reaching her limit. Jiang Yan Xin, frowning at Chen Wan's state, suggested, "Should I materialize Zeus? Burning the bodies one by one is too slow. We've only burned less than twenty." Chen Wan paused, realizing they had almost forgotten about using Zeus's lightning attacks. Whether human or zombie, all turned to ash. Nodding, she agreed, "Right, I nearly forgot. Let Zeus handle it. I'm canceling my power." "Alright, I’ll bring Zeus out." Jiang Yan Xin took out her well-worn sketchbook, flipping to the page with Zeus. Once again, the tall, blonde, blue-eyed man appeared out of thin air. Recently, Jiang Yan Xin's frequent summons left Zeus uneasy, wondering what odd tasks awaited him this time. Jiang Yan Xin glanced at Zeus, giving him a command, “Turn those zombies and the bodies across into ashes.” Zeus's body stiffened in disbelief. Fighting zombies was understandable, but why was he handling body cremations now? Was this a task befitting the king of gods? Nevertheless, he'd grown accustomed to being Jiang Yan Xin's battery source. With resignation, Zeus swung his spear slightly across, releasing a blue glow. It drifted towards the zombies that were now free from Chen Wan's control. The second-level zombies instinctively sensed danger, scattering in chaos, yet when touched by the blue sparkles, they convulsively shook as though electrocuted before crumbling into ash. Across, zombies and their corpses turned into black dust, carried away by the snowstorm outside the window. With all zombies cleared, Chen Wan and her group finally breathed a sigh of relief, heading downstairs. Elsewhere, the acrid smell from the burnt flesh quickly reached the warehouse below, prompting concern among those inside. "Hey, do you smell something odd?" "Smells like spoiled meat being roasted. It's awful." "What's going on outside? Could those women have set fire to burn us?" "Probably not, right? The snow is so heavy, burning this place would mean they'd perish too." "Then how do you explain the smell outside? Could they be roasting human meat out of desperation?" The more they speculated, the more anxious they became, disturbing everyone’s nerves. They wanted to check outside but were afraid, knowing seven able-bodied Alphas went and didn't return. What could they do? The little five-year-old boy, overwhelmed by the foul stench, began to cry loudly. The elderly woman in her sixties frowned at Qi Jing, who was resting with closed eyes, and snidely remarked, "There’s an esper here, yet she hides instead of helping us see what's happening. Some people are truly selfish, caring only for their own lives." "Exactly, if I had powers, I would have checked long ago instead of leaving everyone frightened." "Unlike Omega, we need an Alpha esper." The chaotic voices in the warehouse reached Qi Jing's ears, making her already weak body feel it more. Once, they maintained decency when snow-trapped initially, showing gratitude when she saved them. Now, in just half a day, how did it come to this? Despite giving her all, she was still the one blamed for not doing enough. Qi Jing felt a cold spread through her body, unsure if it was from the dropping temperatures or the chill in her heart. "Some people just pretend to be deaf and mute, ignoring everything they hear," sneered the Curly-haired Aunt, her remarks growing harsher. Her little grandson cried, wanting to leave, complaining about the suffocating warehouse smell. "You can't say that; I think she looks unwell," a female Omega softly defended Qi Jing, infuriating the Curly-haired Aunt even more. "What? Want to fawn over the esper? Then go ahead, see if they appreciate it." The aunt shot a deliberate eye-roll, silencing the Omega, who simply sat back down, refusing to engage further. The Bald Man opened the warehouse door, sniffing the stronger stench of burnt flesh. He glanced at the remaining thirty-odd people in the warehouse, and said, "We should be wary of those women taking our supplies. The snow has trapped the building; who knows what will happen next. Food and clothes in the mall are limited. We can't let them take what's ours. Qi Jing, if you won’t catch people, at least help us with the supplies? You're an esper after all. Your presence would give people some confidence." "Yeah, if you won’t deal with the people outside, at least watch over us," grumbled the Curly-haired Aunt. Qi Jing mustered all her strength to open her eyes, leaning on the boxes beside her for support. Her pale face looked at everyone, and after a while, she managed to whisper, "Fine." Amidst the rush for supplies, a couple of female Omegas tried to assist Qi Jing, but the rest pretended not to notice her pale complexion. When Qi Jing reached the supermarket, she was practically supported by two people, shivering, her forehead glistening with sweat, as she watched her companions move supplies. Chen Wan and her group, on reaching the second floor, were alerted by Yi Yi's warning. "There are people in the basement supermarket, over thirty. Be careful," Yi Yi cautioned. "Alright, let's head back to the motorhome." Having been outside for a while, Chen Wan felt inadequately dressed. The mall temperature should be around freezing now. Returning to the underground garage meant passing through the supermarket. Avoidance wasn't an option; they had to go back to the motorhome. As they descended, the thirty-some people below readied themselves for confrontation. The grandmother who was holding her grandson shouted at Chen Wan and her group, "You murderers, everything in this mall belongs to us. You can't take anything. Back off! There are only six of you, but we have dozens." Among the crowd, some held knives and others wooden planks, clearly intending to confront Chen Wan and her group. Chen Wan glanced at them while Yi Yi, behind her, whispered, "The woman leaning against the shelf over there is an esper. The rest are ordinary people." Nodding, Chen Wan said, "First, we didn't kill anyone. The Alphas you sent tried something dubious with us and ended up being bitten by zombies. Secondly, in the apocalypse, resources like those in this mall are shared. There's no name tag here. Lastly, we've cleared all the zombies here, and to prevent disease, we've already taken care of the bodies. You should be thanking us, not pointing weapons at us." "You killed all the zombies? Do you think we're fools? Who would believe that?" The grandmother sneered, with others echoing her skepticism. Chen Wan shook her head with a smile, "Believe what you want. We’ve met plenty of ingrates on our journey. We're just heading back to our vehicle now, not looking for trouble. Make way." "Wait a minute, you think you can just leave? We haven’t agreed to it. Let me tell you, we have an esper here too. Qi Jing, say something!" The Bald Man directly pointed out Qi Jing. From the vantage point of the broken escalator, Chen Wan's group watched as Qi Jing, looking pale, approached and spoke: "We don't want conflict either. You're right, if the supplies are in this building, they're shared. You can go." Seeing her reasonableness, Chen Wan, noticing her poor complexion, said, "Miss Qi, you seem unwell. Take care of yourself. We've met many who like to morally blackmail others. I advise you to think more about yourself and not let your efforts be wasted." Qi Jing replied, her face still pale, "Thank you for the advice." "What are you implying? Calling us dogs? Qi Jing, what do you mean by this?" the grandmother's sharp voice echoed in the empty supermarket, sending shivers through those present. Just then, a faint rustling sound came from the ground. Since there was a power system in the building, with two people managing it in the warehouse, lights remained on in the basement supermarket. "It seems something's coming," Yi Yi scanned the surroundings and warned. "What is it? Everyone stand behind Qi Jing, let her handle it. Qi Jing, you can't let us die, we don't want to die," the grandmother's voice rang again, this time with a hint of feigned sobbing, leading to chaos around. "Anyone who doesn't want to die, shut up," Qi Jing said through clenched teeth, her clothes soaked with cold sweat. Facing an unknown threat, the people relied on Qi Jing and immediately hushed, fearing she would refuse to protect them if upset. As the entities neared within a hundred meters of Chen Wan and her group, Yi Yi honed in on their nature, exclaiming, "It's rats, everyone get on the shelves quickly!"