NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51—Sparring match lineup
Chapter 51—Sparring match lineup
by Bocchan13
The chores were sparse, so the gang did what Song Yu said and rested up. The house rules were posted on a small bulletin board in the living room, known to all. Lu Jingxiu cocked his head to the side and observed the various rules. Daily tasks were not time consuming if done properly, leaving a day with less than 3 hours of working. The weekly chores involving planting were also manageable since he got a small taste of what that would be.
It was the monthly excursion outside that made him pause. Song Yu was most likely doing this when he met them. Going out on a 1-2 week journey outside just to ensure there weren’t any zombies in the vicinity. But what about the people?
Lu Jingxiu had only seen the Sun Base which was almost a day’s drive. But no stragglers, no campers, nothing…where did they all go?
Song Yu said he had cloaked this space. That made sense if Song Yu was a spatial ability user. But it also didn’t sit well with him. Song Yu was suspicious.
Looking at the next date, he furrowed his brows. They would set out to find them clothing and do a brief sweep of the travel route. But other than that, for the entirety of the year, the only time people could leave was if you were scheduled to go out.
And it was the only time you could leave the base. The base itself had every amenity meant for one person to last a long time. Song Yu didn’t just grab anything he could get his hands on. All of the things in the house and in the yard were things Song Yu liked or specifically used.
Lu Jingxiu was silently thinking when he heard Song Yu and Lan Zhou come back. Listening to their conversation, he had to sigh. Song Yu was a mystery that was unresolved and Lan Zhou didn’t mind it one bit. Lu Jingxiu felt that he had to be cautious, whereas it was like Lan Zhou was under Song Yu’s spell.
The day came to night and Song Yu set up another meal. Not as extravagant as last nights, but to the always hungry crowd, his stir-fry and microwavable stew along with steaming rice was a veritable feast.
…
The next few days went along quite smoothly. As each of them got used to the flow of the day, they realized that Song Yu was very easy-going and informative. Any doubt they had was easily rectified by Song Yu. Teaching them the ins and outs of every day farming was both refreshing and exciting.
Wang Cheng who was an animal whisperer loved Squinty and Derpy, letting them lead him around the base showing him the flora and fauna that graced the beautiful mountains. Wang Cheng looked mightily in his elements as he sported permanent work gloves. He was the one most into working in the vegetable garden and mushroom room. With his height similar to Song Yu, he was delegated these tasks.
Xiao Zi was a biochemist through and through, he took inventory of all of the medical supplies, helped around the house and was deep into learning about the purification elements of the lake. Song Yu was distant at first because he recalled those memories of his time at B Base, but gradually he gave Xiao Zi some samples. You could find Xiao Zi in the mini-hospital room with the solar-powered computer and samples.
Yu Ci was the most antsy. Growing up in the military, there was always something to do. In his previous life he was always on the battlefield and when he too old and retired, he spent his days teaching his subordinates. That is until Song Yu showed him the armory. Like a child on Christmas, Yu Ci tried out various traditional and non-traditional weaponry, finally concluding to master every type.
Lu Jingxiu was a busybody and didn’t have many hobbies before the apocalypse. As a second generation rich CEO, he was always on alert, ready for any situation. In the previous life, he was also on the front lines and nary cared about anything other than Xiao Zi. But maybe that was it, he needed to relax and know he was in a safe space.
He sat on the tree swing and opened a paperback. Paperbacks were rare and hardly anyone read these anymore, preferring tablets and online audiobooks. But the repetition of turning the page as you absorbed yourself in reading was nice and untangled his woes.
Lan Zhou was the most at ease. He followed Song Yu around and made him laugh all day. Either with spoken words or actions, he exuded such puppy dog energy it made Song Yu feel he had another pet. They spent a lot of time together, going around the base and repairing some milder things. Sometimes, they had picnics in the summery breeze and made love under the cover of the trees.
Song Yu was content.
The days blended together until it came to the weekend. The chores were put on hold as everyone came to the gym. They had all changed into working out gear including Song Yu. Yu Ci eagerly brought out the different weapons into the gym while Lu Jingxiu and Wang Cheng put down the mats.
Xiao Zi yawned and wiped his tears, not wanting to do this exercise but disgruntly tagged along. Song Yu was the complete opposite and was very excited. Although the guys had shown their ability level ranks, they had never had hand-to-hand contact.
Song Yu couldn’t help grinning as he set up his spot.
Lan Zhou watched as the very tight vest and spandex pants hugged Song Yu’s lithe and limber figure. Catching his ogling, Song Yu happily strut around. Yu Ci tried his best to avoid looking, but couldn’t help his ears from turning red.
Song Yu clapped his hands together in glee.
“Okay everyone! Let’s do some stretches and warm-ups. When we finish, we will have a draw one-on-one and another draw for which weapons. I took everyone into account and the approved weapons of choice are: batons, blunt wood spears, and hand-to-hand. A point is only for the neck and heart. Get three points to win. No abilities allowed. After the game, we can specialize in our own styles. Are you ready?”
Everyone cheered. Song Yu let each person draw a number. Song Yu was the last one and opened his number to see ‘3’. Turning to the rest, he spotted the number ‘3’ in Lu Jingxiu’s possession.
Lan Zhou pitifully held up his hand to reveal a number ‘1’.
“Noooo!” Song Yu glanced at Wang Cheng and Yu Ci with the number ‘2’
“I haven’t won a fight with you since 12th grade!”
“You haven’t won a fight ever.”
“Goddammit!”
Lan Zhou and Xiao Zi on the other hand shook hands. Xiao Zi squeezed extra hard, his gentle eyes gleaming with passive evilness.
“You were always a crybaby back then. Shall we show everyone how much you got bullied by me?”
“Likewise. Hadn’t we established my fighting power in the past? You’re going down.”
“You got no powers to back you up, and I’ve been dealing with zombies barehanded. Let’s be real, you’ve softened.”
“Hahaha, that’s a joke.”
Song Yu just rolled his eyes as their pissing contest continued and went to Lu Jingxiu.
“Let’s have a good fight.” He reached out his hand to Lu Jingxiu which he took hesitantly.
“Me as well. We never really got to demonstrate our strengths to each other. I’ll take my strength in consideration, since I have a lot more fighting experience than you.”
Song Yu tilted his head, his thoughts revolving. Was he being looked down on? A growing fire lit inside his stomach as those words penetrated his head.
He definitely looks down on you.
Shut up
Just saying. Gotta show them who the boss of this base is. Don’t go easy on him.
Wasn’t going to.
Once the pairs were made, they chose another paper for the weaponry. Sidling next to Lu Jingxiu, he had to close his eyes in happiness.
He now had a chance to show this group what he had been doing these two years in the apocalypse.
