Chapter 3

This was a truly irrefutable reason.

Fang Yuan had nothing to say.

Jiang Heng saw his lack of expression and gradually grew sheepish. “I just wanted to try saying these words. I didn’t mean to hide it from you, don’t be angry.”

Fang Yuan didn’t understand. “What words?”

“Those about…” Jiang Heng cleared his throat, “I just saved the world and prevented the apocalypse.”

“En…” Fang Yuan nodded seriously, “You are right, Mr Hero Jiang Heng. You have done a meritorious deed.”

However, instead of being happy, Jiang Heng grew silent. “It’s just that apart from you, there is no one who will believe me.”

Fang Yuan piled the empty bottles together and stared at the rain outside the window. “Actually, if you want to…”

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“Fang Yuan, give me a month? After a month, I’ll tell you the real reason why there won’t be any other ability users.”

Moreover, he was still haggling with his future landlord, using this sort of information as his bargaining chip.

Indeed, he looked nothing like a hero.

Fang Yuan’s gaze landed on his hand. That tattoo was too eye-catching.

“Why a month?”

“Because they’re still looking for me.” Jiang Heng confessed. “I’m currently a wanted man for stealing corpses. This month’s surveillance will be the tightest so I need to hide somewhere that is absolutely secure. After this month, it should probably be much better.”

Too pitiful.

Fang Yuan began to pity this hero with a complicated heart. He had clearly saved the world but he had been labelled a criminal. If he were to accidentally be caught, it’d definitely leave a criminal record.

“It’s fine even if I discover the truth a month later and no longer allow you to stay?”

When he said this, Fang Yuan didn’t reject this guest in his heart as much as before. In reality, he wasn’t thinking of chasing Jiang Heng away, but rather that if the two of their lives got along well and could continue on, it wasn’t a bad idea to have a companion.

“Probably.” Jiang Heng’s hands didn’t stop moving. He pulled out a potato chip and began to eat. With a glance from Fang Yuan, he took out the entire bag and placed it on the coffee table.

Fang Yuan didn’t understand what he meant. What sort of PTSD only lasted for a month?

Jiang Heng knocked his own head. “Here. Ever since I was reborn, my memory hasn’t been complete. I’ve forgotten many things about my past life but the good news is that every time I have a good sleep, I can recall a little more/”

“So miraculous?” Fang Yuan’s eyes widened. “It’s not like that for me though.”

“You can remember everything? From the start of the apocalypse to the moment before your rebirth?”

“Of course.”

It was just that regardless of whether his memory was complete or not, it was the same as not having any memories to Fang Yuan.

He lowered his head and laughed. “On the contrary, I wished I didn’t remember and could forget everything

“I can… understand.” Jiang Heng showed an apologetic expression and shifted his gaze. “But I also admire you. If only I was like you, without having lost my memory, I probably wouldn’t have insomnia due to such a baseless symptom like this.

“You think that regaining your memory can cure your PTSD?”

“That’s right. This was what the doctor said——although I didn’t mention the part about the apocalypse.”

But ever since he stepped into this fort, Jiang Heng felt much better.

Perhaps, this was truly a trauma as a result of the apocalypse but even after he’d prevented it from occurring, his condition showed no sign of improving. The last and only thing that could save him was by regaining his memory.

Fang Yuan was silent for a moment, seemingly having thought of something due to his words.

He recalled his fear the first time he saw a zombie, how his survival instincts drove him crazy, the days of intense hunger and exhaustion, the frigid cold, the pain, and the nightmarish times.

He took out his phone, forcibly interrupting those useless thoughts. “I agree to your terms. You can stay for a month.”　　

Jiang Heng opened his arms in excitement, his eyes lighting up.

Fang Yuan raised a leg and kicked the coffee table over to block him. “Don’t come over.”

“…” Jiang Heng put his arms down. “How did you know I was going to pounce?”

Fang Yuan only gave him a glance in response.

Not only were there many rooms in the fort, they were also spacious. It was just that most of them were used to store supplies.

But now with Jiang Heng, he quickly found a suitable room that only contained several bedding and winter necessities. They were put into his space and transferred into another room.

The two of them agreed on a set of rules. During his stay, he could use these supplies as he pleased, anything he earned must be shared, his daily activities shouldn’t cause too much noise, he wasn’t allowed to bring others back, he wasn’t allowed to capture any image or footage of the fort.

Jiang Heng agreed to everything and began to take out the single-bed, sofa, closet, games, etc. from his space excitedly. In a second, he had completely moved in.

Fang Yuan pointed at the treadmill, barbells and other exercise equipment. “You can only put them on the first floor.”

Jiang Heng, “Understood!”

Fang Yuan’s bedroom was right across from his, so it was incredibly convenient. Compared to sleeping outdoors in the biting wind during the apocalypse, this sort of lifestyle was already considered comfortable.

Frankly, he didn’t mind having a housemate especially when he woke up the next day and smelt the fragrance of food wafting from downstairs. Then, he saw the table of food that Jiang Heng had prepared.

His breakfast was extremely scrumptious; there were freshly ground soybean, porridge, noodles, eggs, meat, and vegetables.

Fang Yuan came to the table and Jiang Heng quickly helped him pull out a chair.

“No need to be so courteous and no need to curry favour with me.” Fang Yuan wasn’t used to have someone waiting on him. He simply waved a hand to indicate that he’d do it himself. “You specially prepared breakfast, so I should thank you.”

“Then, you needn’t thank me so courteously either.” Jiang Heng copied him. “Since I do like looking at you.”

“I should also thank you for destroying those zombies.” Fang Yuan picked up his soya bean and did not drink it immediately. Jiang Heng passed him the white sugar which he added in and used a scoop to stir it. The hot steam rose. “I will always remember this.”

Jiang Heng grew embarrassed from his words and even wanted to continue thanking him; thank him for being willing to remember this and becoming the only person in the world to believe that he was the person who eliminated the zombies.

He was never one to care about fame, but it wasn’t comfortable to be thought of as a delusional person.

It was all good now. He’d found Fang Yuan and these discomfort had disappeared.

“I slept well last night.” Jiang Heng changed the topic. Chewing on a custard bun, he said, “The rain fell for an entire night so it was particularly comforting. I stared at your railings and electric barrier outside your window for a while and fell asleep quickly until I woke up this morning.”

“I thought that since you’ve even brought a treadmill over, you would have curtains.”

“I don’t like those.” Jiang Heng shook his head. “It’s a good thing to be able to see the sun everyday.

Fang Yuan could only nod his head in agreement with regards to this matter.

Seeing the sun was symbolic of them having survived yet another day. They didn’t die in their nightmare nor meet with a greater danger. After his rebirth, he also began to like the sun.

“Let me tell you, I had a long dream last night.”

As Jiang Heng was eating, he began to ramble, “Previously, my memory only extended to the first few days of the apocalypse where many people still hid in their homes. But last night, I remembered some more. My memories up to the time I awoken my abilities have returned.”

“…Oh.”

Fang Yuan frowned lightly, uninterested in this topic. He also didn’t care to know how much Jiang Heng had remembered.

He hated remembering those times. If Jiang Heng hadn’t found his way here, he might have already forgotten about it. And if more time passed, he may even have been able to gradually convince himself that the apocalypse had all been a part of his delusions.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to interrupt the person in front of him but did not do so in the end.

Fang Yuan could tell that Jiang Heng was very happy to have recovered his memories.

After experiencing life and death, Fang Yuan was naturally not a weak or sensitive person. As long as he has food, water, and shelter, he will be able to live well. An additional person, even if he chattered on about this topic he hated, it wasn’t a bad thing.

Moreover, this person who chattered on was an actual hero.　　

“… Then, I met Li Jie. He awoke his abilities early on and is a fire-ability user, except that he is very rash. We were teammates for half a month and had set out from city A, heading to city B, but got separated due to the zombies.”

Jiang Heng continued to talk excitedly, “It’s a pity my memory ends here. I really hope to be able to recall more things in the next few days, maybe I’ll meet them and see that they’ve already reached City B and are waiting for me in the refuge city.”　　

Fang Yuan ate his last bite of egg and swallowed a mouthful of soya milk. “I’m done.”　　

“So fast?” Jiang Heng was astonished by his eating speed. “Ah, don’t leave. Stay for a while more, let’s chat.”

Fang Yuan swept a glance over, his eyes asking what was there to chat about.

Jiang Heng chose a topic. “When the apocalypse first began, did you have any particularly deep impression or regret about anything?”

“Yes.” Fang Yuan said slowly, his thoughts flying elsewhere. He looked at the empty plate; it looked like the empty food box that he saw when the apocalypse struck.

“Before my city was overtaken by zombies, I had a strawberry bun. But after taking one bite, I didn’t like it and threw it away.”

“You don’t like strawberry filling?”

“That’s right. It was of poor quality.” Fang Yuan said calmly, without any change in expression as if he was telling another person’s story. “Later on when the zombies came, I regretted it. I felt that I shouldn’t have thrown it away at that time. This regret lasted for a long time.”

Jiang Heng shifted his chair over from the opposite end of the table to the seat beside Fang Yuan. He touched Fang Yuan’s shoulders. “Don’t be sad. Now, we have countless breads, we can buy whatever flavours we want.”

Fang Yuan patted his hand without replying. “So, what about you?”

“Me, ah… I don’t really have any regrets… Just some things that I can’t forget.” Jiang Heng sighed. “Last night I remembered that in the first month of the apocalypse, I went crazy from hunger and hunted mice to eat.”

“Mice? I remember they don’t taste bad, except that they have little meat.”

“That’s exactly why.” Jiang Heng thought for a moment as his expression grew complicated. “The point is that I used to really like the lamb skewers from a particular food stall and was addicted to it. But afterwards, I couldn’t taste it ever again.”

“You…”

“The one time I ate roasted mice, I actually remembered that delicious taste.” Jiang Heng covered his face, as if in pain. “I never imagined that after dreaming of that stall’s lamb skewers for over three years, I could actually taste it again in such a situation!”

Fang Yuan’s expression also grew complicated and he patted Jiang Heng’s shoulders with utmost pity to comfort him. But he also felt like laughing. “Don’t be sad.”

Jiang Heng saw him and his expression eased. He no longer agonised over the matter of the lamb skewers. Putting down his hands, he gave a smile.

This was Fang Yuan’s first time seeing his smile from the side; it was a little bad and there was a trace of craftiness in his eyes. The familiar feeling flooded him once again, this time, stronger than before.

Fang Yuan froze. “Jiang Heng, I have definitely seen you before.”