Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

Shen Heng's face turned deathly pale. He looked at Cheng Jingyi and said in a trembling voice, "Brother, you're abandoning me for him?"

Cheng Jingyi looked at Shen Heng silently. He didn't necessarily have to make any choice, but now he had reached the point where he had to state his position.

“Shen Heng, you have many brothers, and I’m not the most essential one. That was true before, and it is true now.” Cheng Jingyi said, moving the gun towards Lu Ran, “That adjutant over there is your brother now, isn’t he?”

Shen Heng paused: "...What?"

Cheng Jingyi gave a cold smile.

The Color Ball system helped Shen Heng attract the attention of countless people; anyone could become his "brother" at any given time, whenever he needed them.

If it weren't for the fact that Shen Yisui was in Cheng Jingyi's hands, given the current antagonistic relationship between the military and the zombies, Shen Heng probably wouldn't have risked contacting Cheng Jingyi.

During the days when Cheng Jingyi was reduced to a low-level zombie, he was in a daze, wandering among the corpse forest, eating rotten flesh and digging for crystal cores. All contact with the outside world was completely cut off from him during that time.

He was confused and disoriented, and only slowly regained some consciousness after countless struggles and bites.

He understood everything then.

Everything the colorful ball created for him was just an illusion, and now that he's awakened from the dream, he's still all alone.

Favor gained through external attraction is fake; only what one earns through one's own efforts is real.

Cheng Jingyi pressed down on Shen Yisui's head, his palm pressing so hard that it made the scalps of those below ache.

Only what he stole was real—like Shen Yisui, who can't live without him now.

Shen Heng blinked, looked at Cheng Jingyi, and suddenly laughed: "Is that so? Is that how it is?"

Cheng Jingyi didn't answer again. He looked coldly ahead and saw Lu Ran standing at the door, as if he were embedded in the door frame, still motionless.

The gun barrel was pointed directly at Shen Yisui, its surface gleaming with a cold light.

Wow, this is really lively.

A male voice suddenly rang out from the side, cracking the tense and cold atmosphere between them, which was then shattered by a sudden bang.

The glass of the window next to them was shattered, and Yi grabbed the window frame with both hands and climbed in from underneath.

He wiped the blood from his hands, his gaze shifting hesitantly between Cheng Jingyi and Lu Ran: "Didn't we agree to go out and catch zombies together? What do you two mean by abandoning me halfway through and coming back?... Are you isolating me?"

Cheng Jingyi: "..."

He ignored Yi Yi and kept his gaze fixed on Lu Ran.

“I won’t cooperate with zombies,” Lu Ran said, looking at Cheng Jingyi. “I don’t trust him either.”

Yi raised an eyebrow: "So now it's time to fight?"

"I……"

"It's alright, adjutant." Shen Heng's voice suddenly rang out. He stood up and spoke to Lu Ran.

“Cheng Jingyi is my brother, he won’t hurt me, and you don’t need to be so wary of him. I was impulsive just now and angered Shen Yi… and angered this zombie.”

Shen Heng walked to Lu Ran's side, glanced at Shen Yisui, and continued, "Since the situation is like this, there's no need for us to cooperate anymore. Lieutenant, let's go."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ran frowned. He turned his gaze to Cheng Jingyi, whose mental pressure, permeating the room, continued to stimulate people's nerves.

Lu Ran stared at Cheng Jingyi for a few seconds, then put away his pistol, turned around, and walked out.

Shen Heng followed behind Lu Ran. He paused as he walked, glancing at Shen Yisui out of the corner of his eye.

Shen Yisui leaned against the corner of the wall, his hands tightly gripping Cheng Jingyi's clothes. His gray pupils were listless and unfocused, inexplicably causing Shen Heng's eyes to ache.

...Shen Cheng.

He quickly left the room.

Yi Yi didn't stay in the room any longer. He muttered something to himself, sighed, and went out.

The room quickly fell silent. Shen Yisui remained tense. He looked up and said, "...Don't use so much force, you're going to crush my skull."

Cheng Jingyi showed no remorse. Upon hearing this, he withdrew his hand and asked in a low voice, "Is this your plan? How is this any different from self-destruction?"

“I need to make him believe it.” Shen Yisui rubbed his head. “It’s no use just talking; he has to see it for himself.”

Cheng Jingyi stared at him coldly for a moment. He was unaware of the past entanglements between Shen Yisui and Shen Heng, and suddenly asked, "Who is Shen Cheng? Your friend?"

When he arrived, he could only hear a few words, and Cheng Jingyi still didn't know what they were talking about.

Shen Yisui froze, then smiled and said, "Want to know? It's complicated."

His tone was full of feigned mystery, and Cheng Jingyi scoffed, saying, "You don't need to tell me, I know who Shen Cheng is."

"?" Shen Yi raised an eyebrow. "Really? How did you know?"

“I visited the orphanage when I was a child and met him there,” Cheng Jingyi said.

Shen Cheng only appeared briefly in Cheng Jingyi's memory before disappearing just as quickly. But because his first appearance caused quite a stir, he was considered a rather peculiar character in Cheng Jingyi's memory.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yisui became somewhat curious: "Then what do you think of... Shen Cheng?"

He asked the question at the same pace as always, as if it were just an ordinary question.

“Him?” Cheng Jingyi paused for a moment. He was not clear about the relationship between Shen Cheng and Shen Yisui. He carefully said, “I feel that he is a bit too ambitious.”

Shen Yisui: "..."

"Why do you say that? I think Shen Cheng is quite well-behaved; he's always been very obedient," Shen Yisui hinted.

“I didn’t see that,” Cheng Jingyi said matter-of-factly. “Anyway, the few times I went to the orphanage, all I saw was him pinning people to the ground and beating them.”

Shen Yisui: "..."

"Are you still in contact with Shen Cheng?" Cheng Jing noticed that Shen Yisui's expression was getting worse and worse, so she brought the topic back. "But people change. Maybe he's still a good person now."

Shen Yisui had given up on hinting at anything more to Cheng Jingyi. He took Cheng Jingyi's left hand, made his palm face inward, and pressed it against the edge of the bloody hole in his chest.

"He's alright, but he's changed a lot. He hasn't taken revenge on society," he said slowly.

Cheng Jingyi's fingertips twitched. Seeing Shen Yisui's calm tone, he immediately guessed something: "You wouldn't..."

Shen Yi's Adam's apple bobbed. He remained silent for a long time before softly saying, "I am Shen Cheng."

Cheng Jingyi froze on the spot. He looked at the features of the person in front of him, whose unfocused eyes were looking at him, revealing a hint of sadness.

“Cheng Jingyi, I’ve seen you when I was a child.” Shen Yisui touched the back of Cheng Jingyi’s hand with the tip of his nose, and he smiled and said, “You are really handsome.”