System, are you messing with me? - Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Shu Ning lay exhausted on the dirty ground trying to catch his breath. Infront of him stood Zhao Yang looking down on his resting form. A hand stretched out to help the younger climb onto his feet but he stubbornly ignored it as his body ached from the exertion.
Three months had passed already since the two of them left the chief's office and decided to use the training grounds together. Three months of hellish practice and a destroyed trainig ground. Trees were uprooted all around them, electricity was zapping about on the terrain and over the remains of the fence and here and there crater were littering the earth. The other visitors of this field have long stopped comming as it was too dangerous for them to get caught in the middle. This was learned the hard way when for a time the medical staff were overwhelmed with a constant stream of injured power users.
"Mister Zhao, Mister Shi. The chief has asked me to relay a message."
A young man with rosy cheeks and a disheveled appearance walked through the askew gate in their direction. Not yet running but still with hurried steps. In his haste the boy tripped over some cobbles laying in his path and fell flat onto his face with a loud yelp. There he stayed stunned for a while before coughing embarassedly and clambering up again.
"You alright?"
Shu Ning had sat up when the new arrival announced their presence and was now watching the other brush off non existent dust from his clothes in amusement. The boy looked pretty young, maybe only fifteen or sixteen and there was no sign of the harsh world taking it's toll on his mentality. So either he was emotionally very strong or he had some very caring friends or family.
"I'm fine. My appologies. I am here with a message from the chief."
"Allright. Then sit down and speak."
The youth gratefully took the spot opposit of Shu Ning on the ground and Zhao Yang gracefully sat down where he stood as well. Immediately the other started to talk a mile a minute until it got difficult to follow his words.
"So you see. Just now I was with the chief. Inside oc his office. And then there were some people storming that place, practically tripping over eachother and all talking at the same time. There was complete chaos. But then the chief silenced them and we could finally understand what was going on. It seems that the ability users, those people that barged in, actually saw a horde of zombies gathering their forces. They said that this happened in more then one location. And.... Now that is the crux of the matter.... These zombies are moving closer and closer towards B-City."
At this point the young man took a break from talking to take in some well needed air before continuing. Shu Ning used this time to send Zhao Yang an alarmed look in response of the information they received and saw the other already looking at him grimly. He understood as soon as their eyes locked that the other male would do everything in his power to protect the people and was silently asking if he would do the same.
"The chief has the Base on high alert now and the ability users with sensory ability were already send out to keep watch for the zombies. He also asked me to come get you two because he expects you to fight in the first line of our defense. So you need to prepare yourself."
"What else has been done so far?"
Zhao Yang was already getting up from his sitting position, walking off towards his father's office and expecting the other two to follow behind. The boy speedily jumped up and ran after the man's retreating back while wildly gesturing with his hands. Shu Ning followed in a slower pace behind whilst being deep in thought. Almost missing the next few words of the youth.
"- Mister Xu. Xu Dan. He volunteered to treat the injured and supply water for everyone. He is the best medical person we have at the moment. He is even capable of destroying the zombie virus inside of a humans body as long as it hasn't progressed too far yet. With him in this Base we are undefeatable."
"That does sound promissing. There is still my child though who I'm worried about. Someone would need to take care of him."
They had already walked quite a distance and were now passing through the plaza that would lead to the chief's office. Shu Ning was still walking a few steps behind the other two but at the worry in his tone Zhao Yang purposefully slowed down to tread along beside him. A warm and steady hand was placed at the small of his back and the man carefully steared him through the panicked crowd.
"Shi Yong is fine. He is still with Nian Zhei and will be top priority. But he will only truly be safe if the zombies are taken care of."
"You want me to fight along side of you that badly? Even using a child as pagaining chip?"
"No. That was not my intention. I know that you want to join the fight but the worry for the kid is keeping you back. I was just trying to say that Shi Yong is taken care of and you can safely let go of any restraints you have."
Shu Ning couldn't help but chuckle at that and glance at the other in amusement. The Man was not far off with his estimation. Just that Shu Ning did not really care for any of the other humans inside of the Base and if at all he only wanted to participate in the fight because he had been overly bored with the monotony of things and he wanted the practice.
The child was a different story though. Shi Yong had somehow grown on Shu Ning in the time he was trying to get rid of the infant and now he had completely given up on putting the other in the care of someone else. At the moment Shi Yong was his cub and he was responsible for the safety and happiness of the kid.
The chief was already waiting at the door of the building for them when they arrived. Soldiers, civilians and ability users alike were running about the place, trying to obey the orders given to them by the higher ups. One of them was Nian Zhen who was holding Shi Yong inside of his arms. There was not much more time than to press a light kiss to the child's head as the the two of them hurried past and followed the rest of the non-fighters to safety.
"Father. Where will we be stationed?"
"Ah. Good that you two have finally made it here. The situation is turning pretty dire. Some of the zombies have already been sighted in the east. The same with the north where you will be needed. Do come back alive. Both of you."
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
Shu Ning and Zhao Yang moved on to the north of the Base, followed by a few other people tasked to help out. One of them being Xu Dan who practically glowed with exitement. This was the oportunity he had always been waiting for to get the recognition he deserved.
When all of them at last arrived at the gates the soldiers were already outside of it, fending off the first line of undead. Without preamble Shu Ning plunged into the middle of the fight, already brandishing his knive at the enemy. Five of them dropping dead successively and three more following shortly after. Like this he worked himself through the horde of creatures coming on to him.
At his back Zhao Yang was covered in lightning from head to toe, zapping anyone that came too close to him and cutting down the rest with his blade. A transparent barrier was also dancing around their fighting forms, blocking the abilities of other humans that were slightly of course and protecting their comrads from otherwise deadly attacks.
Shu Ning just stabbed the throat of another undead who was unfortunate enough to cross his path when a pained gasp sounded from somewhere behind him. Under normal circumstances he would not have paid any attention to this noise as injury and death was a normal acurance in this world. But what actually made him look around in the end was the name that was called in response.
'Hu Jin'. That name was somewhat familiar to Shu Ning and after skimming through the plot of the world once more he also remembered why. Hu Jin had been a scientist before the appocalypse started and afterwards entered B-Base with the intention of helping develop an antidote for the zombie virus. He unfortunate died before he got anywhere notabily which was the whole reason humanity perished at the end.
Shu Ning's gaze landed on a young man with long black hair tried in a ponytail and black ragged clothes. An ugly red cut followed the path of his right arm which was continually oozing fresh blood, making all the surrounding zombie's whipp their heads in his direction. The young man staggered backwards and anxiously looked around. The iron staff he had used to defend himself before had clattered to the ground and rolled out of reach.
Shu Ning pressed his lips into a thin line and motioned for Zhao Yang to hold their position. Then he lept in the direction of Hu Jin who was only seconds away from being swarmed by a mass of undead. When one of the zombies gave a deep growl before stalking towards it's pray he knew that he had to act fast.
Without much effort on his part Shu Ning extended the translucent shield to cover every part of his body, next he gathered the wild energy current that was inside of his body and then thrust his hands at the ground and pushed the power inside of the earth. In a stripe of blue light the energy rapidly travelled over the surface of the soil and completely covered the zombie in a thin layer of ice after touching it's heel. The undead froze in the middle of it's movements, it's eyes still gleaming from hunger and the mouth opened wide in a silent snarl.
Shu Ning lifted himself off from the ground again and crossed the last of the distance between him and Hu Jin. He felt a bit light headed from the sudden loss of energy but still thought to include the other in his barrier.
"A zombie injured you?"
"Sir. Thank you very much for your help. I thought I was a goner. I-"
Shu Ning impatiantly cut Hu Jin's words off and pointed at the mentioned injury.
"Zombie claws?"
"Yes. I was not careful enough."
"Let's go to Xu Dan to heal you. Quickly, otherwise it will be too late."
"Yes, sir...... It's great to have a twin ability user at our side."
Ignoring Hu Jin's comment, Shu Ning pushed the other back through the Base's gate and over to the medical staff. Xu Dan was at the moment filling up multiple buckets of water while the rest of the people were just sitting around and talking. There didn't seem to be much to do for them at the moment and what had to be done was all finished by Xu Dan alone. He did not even give the others a chance to help. When Shu Ning approached him with Hu Jin at his side a strange look past over the male's face when he saw the still bleeding cut.
"Xu Dan. He needs treatment ASAP."
"Treatment? That is obviously the work of a zombie. There is nothing that can be done after a human get's inffected."
"He has not ben injured long yet. As I understand you are still very much capable of saving him."
"There you are wrong. Get that guy out of the Base already. Or do you wish to have a zombie running around in here?"
Shu Ning frowned at the other party and stepped closer to question Xu Dan some more. But when Hu Jin made a move to follow, the male paled in fear and almost tripped over his own feet in his haste to widen the distance. For a shortwhile there was silence between the three of them before Xu Dan coughed awkwardly.
"If you do not get rid of that thing right now I will call for security. If I say that I can not heal him then I can not."
"It's alright sir. Let's leave. It's best if I'm not inside of these walls when the transformation starts."
With a heavy heart Shu Ning guided Hu Jin to a more secluded area of the Base. He was rapidly thinking of any other solutions he could come up with because giving up was not an option. Once the scientist dies there was no hope for humanity anymore and then he would fail his missions.
Shu Ning: "Alpha. What should I do?"
Alpha: "I d not know Host. Doesn't seem like there is something that you could do."
Shu Ning: "No. There has to be something. What about the system store?"
Alpha: "Your points would not be enough to purchase anything."
Shu Ning: "I don't care. Just show it to me."
A screen appeared infront of Shu Ning's eyes and he quickly scroled through the listed objects. Hu Jin was curiously watching his rapid hand motions in silence and for a second his mouth quirked up in amusement before yielding a more defeated expression.
Shu Ning: "There. This potion helps develop hidden abilities. This might work on Hu Jin as well. If he awakens an ability then it could fight of the zombie virus itself."
Alpha: "But your points-"
Shu Ning: "I'm only missing 1700 Points. Once I finish this world's mssions I would get them back again. No problem there."
Alpha: "But Host. I can't just do that."
Shu Ning: "Alpha. We do not have time for that. Just this once. Otherwise Hu Jin dies and this world will be doomed. Won't you be in trouble as well if I fail the main tasks?"
Alpha: "Well, yes. But...."
Shu Ning: "Please. Now. DO IT."
Alpha: "Fine. Allright. But you have to succeed in the mission otherwise I will personaly kill you."
Shu Ning secretly smiled at himself when he felt the cool glass of a bottle inside of his hand. The liquit inside was a pale red colour and when the lid of the container was liffted off it started sizzling and bubbling as if in anticipation. He looked up from examining the potion in his grasp to meet the blank stare of Hu Jin.
"Here drink this. This will have to stay our secret do you understand that?"
"What is it?"
"Something that could heal you. It is not unfailable though, so do not get your hopes up."
With a slightly vary glance at the bottle, Hu Jin turned it around in his hand after receiving it and then gulped down it's entire content in one gulp. Shu Ning nodded at the other in approval and then gestured for him to follow the path towards the seclution area. Now only time could tell if the potion was enough to save the man's live. Only after seeing Hu Jin's back dissapear behind a corner did he finally join Zhao Yang at the battlefield again.