Chapter 25: Malice

Thinking of the miraculous healing potion, Jiang Yi felt his anxiety ease significantly. While evolved zombies were rare, they were not non-existent; he still had a chance to recover.

With Kaito's help, after Jiang Yi took care of his personal needs, he took the food handed to him, feeling somewhat stunned. Was this really what Kaito and the others were eating? The large bowl contained a hodgepodge of unrecognizable ingredients; Jiang Yi could vaguely make out bits of instant noodles, regular noodles, and bread. The smell was strange, and even knowing how precious supplies were these days, Jiang Yi truly found it difficult to swallow.

Unable to bear refusing Kaito, who kept glancing at the bowl, Jiang Yi set it aside. "Let it cool for a bit; I'll eat it in a while."

Kaito swallowed hard. There was truly no food here, and no large supermarkets nearby. Even though he had been constantly scavenging, he couldn't help but suffer from feast-or-famine cycles. His bushido spirit forced him to look away from the hodgepodge and focus his full attention on Jiang Yi. Propped up against the wall under a blanket, Jiang Yi asked, "Kaito, where is this place? How many days have I been here?"

Kaito answered without hesitation, "This is the swimming pool on the basement floor of our school's gymnasium! You’re in the lifeguard's duty lounge. I found you in the woods around noon yesterday. It's been a little over a day."

Jiang Yi was stunned; he hadn't expected to end up at the gymnasium after all his wandering. He asked urgently, "Do you know Guo Hanxue? She should have arrived yesterday morning."

Kaito shook his head. "I know Guo Hanxue, but I haven't seen her. To be honest, there are two factions here now. One is us—the Kendo and Taekwondo clubs who were practicing in the gym at the time. We occupy the basement swimming pool because it guarantees a sufficient water source. I really haven't seen Guo Hanxue these past two days, which means she isn't on our side."

Kaito hesitated, but seeing the clear concern on Jiang Yi's face, he added, "If she isn't with us, she must be on the fourth floor! I remember that's where the archery team practices. If she returned, she should have gone there."

Jiang Yi found it strange. "The outside is so dangerous, why are you split into two teams?"

Kaito looked at him with a strange expression. "Don't you know that the Kendo and Taekwondo clubs have always had a terrible relationship with the Archery club?"

Jiang Yi shook his head; he really didn't know.

Kaito scratched his head in embarrassment. "How should I put this... actually, you know that Kendo and Taekwondo are not native Chinese competitive sports. The school gave these clubs a lot of space and provided many resources. Compared to us, ancient Chinese arts like archery had to compete with us for practice space. Over time, the discord between the clubs grew, eventually becoming a tradition. Now, it's reached the point where we can barely stand to see each other."

Jiang Yi nodded; hearing this, he vaguely remembered. The school didn't have any good measures for this situation; the practice schedule system only intensified the conflict. Verbal arguments were common, sometimes even escalating into brawls.

Guo Hanxue must have reached the gym. Since she wasn't here, she had to be on the fourth floor. Unfortunately, he had no way to contact her, and she probably didn't know he was here either. He had considered asking Kaito for help, but dismissed the idea. After the apocalypse, if they were still this divided, Kaito going over there would likely be futile. However, since there was already a group there, Guo Hanxue probably wouldn't leave recklessly to look for him.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yi stopped worrying. After making an excuse for Kaito to leave, he took out a portion of Jade Meat. As he ate the fragrant, delicious meat, he didn't even glance at the cold hodgepodge left to the side. He wasn't about to treat himself poorly when he had the means.

Soon, the pure energy from the Jade Meat washed over Jiang Yi's body. His eyes brightened—it was working! However, the healing effect was frustratingly weak; at best, it would prevent his wounds from becoming infected. He sighed in satisfaction, but felt troubled about how to recover faster. With such severe injuries, relying solely on the meager healing energy in the Jade Meat definitely wouldn't be enough. But could he really hunt an evolved zombie on his own?

Just as Jiang Yi was hesitating, Kaito returned. "Oh right, here is your blade! The craftsmanship is truly exquisite!"

Seeing Kaito stroking the skull-severing blade with such affection, Jiang Yi felt goosebumps erupt all over his body. He snatched the black blade back and, under Kaito's disapproving gaze, tossed it onto the bed. "Thank you. You eat this food; I'm not hungry right now."

Ignoring Kaito's refusal, Jiang Yi finally returned the bowl of hodgepodge under Kaito's grateful gaze. Relieved to be rid of that food, he lay down to rest. The battle with the "Grey One" had made Jiang Yi realize he had too many combat weaknesses. His low strength and constitution left him almost helpless against the creature. He needed to find a way to improve his combat abilities.

Without a clear plan, Jiang Yi drifted into a hazy sleep. He didn't know how long he had been asleep when he was suddenly awakened by noise outside the door. He immediately reached for the black blade by his bedside.

"Why return the blade to him? Giving that weapon to a loser is a waste!" The commotion outside was intense, and the speaker made no effort to lower their voice.

Listening, Jiang Yi quickly understood what was happening. Kaito was standing firmly outside the lounge, preventing the people in front of him from moving forward. "This belongs to Jiang Yi. What is the problem with me returning it to him?"

Li Zhitian's face flushed with anger, his expression looking particularly sinister as he glared at Kaito. "His property? I told you yesterday that I like this blade and was willing to trade five days' worth of food for it..."

Suddenly struck by a thought, Li Zhitian pointed angrily at Kaito. "Damn it, you little runt, don't tell me you're trying to pocket it for yourself!"

Seeing Kaito's face flush with anger, Li Zhitian assumed he had guessed the truth and cursed, "Ji Kaito! I'm warning you, don't go too far. You didn't take this place by yourself! Why should you get all the benefits? Don't think I don't know—that guy brought a backpack full of stuff yesterday. How could there be so little food? You must have hidden some for yourself!"

Li Zhitian's words caused the others around him to waver. Despite fearing Kaito's combat prowess, the thought of him hoarding food was too much. Backed by the crowd, Zhu Caijun stepped forward. "Kaito, is this true? If you really hid food, you should bring it out. Don't forget, we all agreed that no one is allowed to hoard food; everyone eats what we find together."

Unlike the cafeteria, which had large stores of food, places like the gymnasium had almost none. The trapped students had to go out and search for food from the very beginning, which had caused their numbers to drop from dozens to just over a dozen. However, those who survived were not only strong but had also seen blood and killed zombies. With so many energetic and agitated physical education students gathered together, emotions were becoming increasingly difficult to control.

First, the two major clubs had completely fallen out over the distribution of supplies, and now, they were beginning to harbor suspicions about Kaito, who had Japanese heritage.

Kaito was clearly accustomed to this and didn't show much emotion, just standing his ground. "I said the blade is Jiang Yi's, and I have already brought out all of his food. If you don't believe me, you can ask Jiang Yi, but he is resting now—you shouldn't go in and disturb him."

Unfortunately, nobody believed Kaito. Li Zhitian shoved Kaito hard. "Get out of the way! This is China; who gave a little runt like you the right to speak?"

Kaito took a step back, a flash of light appearing in his eyes. He suddenly extended his hand like lightning, a hand-blade striking cleanly toward Li Zhitian's shoulder. To everyone's surprise, Li Zhitian reacted with incredible speed, leaping nimbly to dodge Kaito's strike. Then, a look of cruelty flashed in his eyes as he threw a kick, the speed of which actually surpassed Kaito's attack!

Kaito clearly couldn't keep up with the speed, but his body's reflexive ability moved faster than his mind, bringing his arms up to block his chest. The fierce leg-whip slammed into his arms; Kaito felt his arms go numb and was forced to retreat three steps. Li Zhitian, refusing to let up, lunged at Kaito, his kicks coming faster and faster!

Soon, Kaito couldn't hold on. His already dirty training uniform was covered in Li Zhitian's footprints, and the skin beneath was bruised purple. Yet, Kaito didn't utter a sound, merely protecting his vital points. When he couldn't dodge, he used other parts of his body to absorb the strikes, buying himself a moment to breathe.

As the standoff continued, Li Zhitian's fierce offensive began to slow. Just as he stumbled in his rhythm, Kaito, who had been building up his strength, suddenly erupted with a intense fighting spirit. He grabbed Li Zhitian's ankle and flew into the air, kicking him squarely in the chest!

The powerful strike sent Li Zhitian tumbling away with a scream!

Everyone was stunned. Although they knew Kaito was strong, they never expected Li Zhitian to be defeated by the very Taekwondo he practiced. It was then that they vaguely remembered that Kaito was also highly skilled in Taekwondo, and the power of that kick was no less than that of Li Zhitian, who had been practicing for twenty years.

Helped up by others, Li Zhitian clutched his chest, his expression hideous. Seemingly sensing the pointing fingers of his friends, he let out a roar, shoved his companions aside, snatched a baseball bat from someone, and charged at Kaito's head with terrifying speed...