Was the Villain a Cauldron All Along? - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I took Gu Zeyan in two years ago.

But we had actually known each other before the apocalypse.

His mother had been our family’s live-in housekeeper.

From the time I was born until I started high school, she took care of my meals and daily life. She was practically part of our family.

I had also met Gu Zeyan a few times. Since he was undeniably good-looking, he had left some impression on me.

Then the apocalypse came.

After all the twists and turns, I ran into Gu Zeyan again.

His mother had passed away, and he had no ability. He nearly died in a zombie’s jaws.

I was the one who saved him and brought him back to the base.

At the time, it was still the early days of the apocalypse, and I was only a Tier-One lightning ability user myself.

But for his mother’s sake, I still offered him the high price of one Tier-One Crystal Core a day to stay by my side.

Otherwise, in the apocalypse, forget sleeping platonically. Even if he slept with someone for real, he would never be worth that price.

In the early days of the apocalypse, a group of people awakened abilities on their own.

As for the ordinary people who hadn’t awakened abilities, they also had a chance of randomly awakening one by absorbing Tier-One Crystal Core.

So I hoped he would awaken an ability sooner and gain the power to protect himself.

I never felt like I was losing out. I could ensure my own sleep and look after Auntie’s child while I was at it. It was the best of both worlds.

Unfortunately, he was useless. After two years of being nourished by Crystal Core, he still failed to awaken an ability.

And my indulgent attitude toward him really did make him develop the illusion that we were equals, which only made him more and more reckless.

It was just an ordinary morning.

Gu Zeyan lay beside me, slowly buttoning his white shirt one button at a time.

“Starting tomorrow, I can’t sleep with you anymore.”

I turned over to face him.

The morning light was a little glaring, and I narrowed my eyes on instinct. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve fallen for a girl. If I sleep with you every day, she’ll misunderstand. We weren’t a couple to begin with, so it’s not appropriate for us to sleep together every day.”

“We really aren’t a couple. We’re in an employer-employee relationship.”

My tone cooled without me realizing it. “You don’t have the right to end our relationship on your own. If I don’t see you tonight, I’ll go tie you up and drag you back.”

“Stop making a fuss. Find someone who’s right for you, okay? Be good.”

He patted my head, then walked out as if it were nothing at all.

That night, when I returned from a mission, the room was empty.

I was furious. I immediately grabbed two bundles of thick hemp rope and stormed out, planning to tie him up and haul him back.

It wasn’t that I was angry he liked someone. I was angry that he actually dared to dismiss me like this.

At present, the highest known human ability level was Tier Seven.

As a Tier-Five ability user, I was considered a pillar of strength no matter which base I went to, and I would be respected anywhere.

An ability user’s level was not only a symbol of power. It was also a badge earned through killing countless zombies and risking one’s life again and again to defend humanity’s side.

Gu Zeyan, however, had never gone on a single mission. He took the Crystal Core I gave him and lived in the Eden I built for him.

And just because I looked less than imposing, and because I had treated him gently and indulgently, he dared to look down on me like this.

But not long after I rushed out, a stream of comments appeared before my eyes.

[Is the Female Supporting Character done yet? There may not be mirrors in the apocalypse, but surely there’s piss. Does that blotchy face of hers deserve the Male Lead?]

[Poor Male Lead. He doesn’t dare speak up even though he’s furious. In reality, every time the Female Supporting Character gets near him, he feels disgusted.]

[Nothing he can do. In the early stage, the Male Lead still has to rely on the Female Supporting Character’s Crystal Core to awaken his ability. After he gets dragged back this time, he’ll have to sleep with the Female Supporting Character for another half a year. Half a year later, once he awakens his ability, he’ll leave with the Female Lead. Then the two of them will keep killing zombies, level up like crazy, and sweetly grind as a duo.]

[Didn’t the Female Supporting Character die in the original plot?]

[That was later, when the Male Lead and Female Lead returned to the base. The Female Lead had always minded the past between those two, and it just so happened that when the Female Supporting Character was leveling up, she showed signs of mutation into a zombie. So the Male Lead directly sacrificed his own for the greater good and burst the Female Supporting Character’s blood vessels to kill her. You could say it was his way of proving his loyalty to the Female Lead.]

[Uh, another story where a woman gets treated like a blood bag while the man builds his success off her. People actually read this stuff…]

[If you don’t like it, leave through the top-left corner.]

The comments started noisily arguing.

I dropped the rope and turned toward the market.

I could do without the man, but I still needed my sleep.

And Wen Yan…

Without realizing it, I touched the side of my neck.

The savage scratch marks that had once been there were gone, leaving only pale pink, newly grown skin.

His appearance might be a pleasant surprise.