Chapter 86: The President and Ordinary People Are Not That Different
As Su Ling pointed to the storage warehouse's roof, Sheng Hongye raised an eyebrow.
"You want to go up to the rooftop?"
Su Ling nodded. "Perhaps I can find a way to control the zombies."
Sheng Hongye paused. "Are you sure?"
"I want to give it a try."
"Alright."
Since Su Ling said so, there must have been some caution in her heart.
He swiftly stood up and headed to the room where the man had died.
Upon reaching the doorway, he saw two zombies falling from the top.
Sheng Hongye grabbed one zombie's head, snapping its neck, then swiftly struck its neck with a knife-hand chop.
Su Ling winced at the sound of bones cracking. Fortunately, he was a teammate; if it were an enemy, it would be terrifying.
Momentarily distracted, the defense decreased again. Su Ling consecutively reinforced several times, raising the defense back to one hundred eighty percent. Then, she felt a tightening around her waist as Sheng Hongye lifted her up.
"Hold on to me."
Sheng Hongye grabbed a brick and climbed up to the top of the building with Su Ling.
Sheng Hongye's speed was remarkable as he effortlessly carried Su Ling. Veins bulged on his arms, and his muscular contours were distinct and elegant. Every move he made was fluid and powerful.
Su Ling suddenly understood why Feng Weiwei wanted to have Sheng Hongye. A man like him was truly rare in any era.
Within a few breaths, they reached the building's rooftop.
The top was already damaged, with bricks and tiles scattered unevenly. Zombies were climbing up from the outside. Sheng Hongye punched and knocked down several zombies, instructing Su Ling to step on the gaps between the bricks to stabilize herself.
Once Su Ling stood firmly, she looked into the distance. Sure enough, about five meters away from the building, there stood a ragged zombie. Just like the one they had seen at the base, it was howling at the sky like a wolf.
"That should be the Zombie King. Sheng Hongye, cover me for a moment; I'll try to drive it away."
After saying that, Su Ling closed her eyes and used her mental power to connect with the zombie.
Soon, something resembling a crosshair appeared before her eyes. As Su Ling's gaze shifted, the crosshair began to move among the zombies, ultimately stopping on the zombie leader, and a connection prompt immediately appeared.
Su Ling promptly chose to connect, and a strange sensation washed over her. Then, she heard the notification that the connection was successful.
Su Ling trembled slightly, feeling as if she had entered a dark little box. Everything was pitch black, but soon, she realized she had vision. In her line of sight, there was a wasteland of ruins.
It seemed that she had successfully taken control of the zombie's body.She immediately commanded the zombie to retreat.
Now, Su Ling seemed to be the highest authority within this body, able to issue various commands to the zombie according to her will. Soon, the zombie howled again, its voice sharp and short.
Hearing this cry, the other zombies ceased their howling and began to withdraw from the storage warehouse.
Filled with joy, Su Ling immediately controlled the zombie to move further away. After walking about twenty steps, the system suddenly alerted her:
"Exceeded distance, link disconnected."
The zombie stood in confusion, seemingly unaware of what had just happened.
Just as Su Ling worried it might return, the zombie staggered away.
Sheng Hongye looked at Su Ling in astonishment. "Was that your doing?"
Su Ling was about to respond when a sharp pain struck her temple, and she plummeted from the top of the building.
Swift as lightning, Sheng Hongye caught Su Ling, they landed safely on the ground.
"Woof, woof, woof!" The big golden retriever barked loudly at Sheng Hongye.
Releasing Su Ling, Sheng Hongye watched as the golden retriever immediately sat in front of her, seemingly recognizing Su Ling as its new owner.
Speechless, Sheng Hongye took a few steps back.
The golden retriever ceased barking and turned its gaze toward Su Ling.
Su Ling placed her hand on her temple and gently patted the dog's furry head with the other hand.
"Good boy, Old Jin, this big brother is not a bad person."
Old Jin seemed to know she was referring to Sheng Hongye and gave him a disdainful look before resting its head on Su Ling's lap.
With daylight still present, Sheng Hongye asked Su Ling to keep an eye on Old Jin while he found a naturally formed pit to bury the deceased.
Old Jin remained silent, as if sensing its owner was dead. After Sheng Hongye finished burying them, the dog lay down beside the grave, whimpering softly.
Su Ling noticed a deep wound on its hind leg and tore a piece of cloth from her clothes to bandage it. The dog whimpered and then rested its head on the grave, continuing to whimper softly.
Su Ling patted its head and said to Sheng Hongye, "Let it stay here for a while. Let's go and see if there's anything to eat."
Sheng Hongye glanced at Old Jin and nodded.
After walking a distance, Sheng Hongye couldn't help but ask, "What did you do to the zombies?"
Su Ling didn't intend to hide it, straightforwardly saying, "Mind control."
Sheng Hongye was a little surprised. "Your ability?"
Su Ling didn't want to mention the system, so she shrugged. "You can say that."
Sheng Hongye narrowed his long eyes slightly and probed, "Can you do it to people too?"
"Probably. Do you want to try?" Su Ling asked with a playful smile, tilting her head.
Unable to restrain her imagination, she wondered what it would be like if Sheng Hongye were to perform a seductive dance.
For the first time, Sheng Hongye saw Su Ling in such a delicate manner and was momentarily stunned.
"I thought you couldn't smile."
Su Ling glanced at him and replied leisurely, "I'm not a robot. How could I not smile? It's just that there's nothing particularly joyful in life, so I gradually feel less inclined to smile."
Playfully curious, she then asked, "How about it? Do you want to give it a try?"
"I'd better not."
Seeing Su Ling's smile, he couldn't help but feel that there wouldn't be anything good about it.
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed a partially crushed bottle of mineral water.
Sheng Hongye bent down, picked it up, and checked it. Surprisingly, it was still sealed.
He immediately wiped it with his clothes and handed it to Su Ling.
"Make do with drinking this."
Su Ling was indeed very thirsty. She took it and drank a few sips before passing it back to Sheng Hongye.
"You drink too. You won't mind, right?"
Sheng Hongye looked at her with a half-smile. "Do I mind you, or do I mind this bottle of water?"
Su Ling chuckled. "I just feel like a big president like you wouldn't drink water picked from the trash."
There was a momentary dimness in Sheng Hongye's gaze.
Then he said calmly, "Not everyone is born with a silver spoon. The president and ordinary people are not that much different. Perhaps, they experience even more misfortune than others."
Su Ling looked up at Sheng Hongye and inexplicably felt a trace of loneliness and desolation in his towering figure.
"It seems like I thought you were too shallow."
Su Ling tried to find something to say.
Sheng Hongye stopped, and Su Ling felt puzzled and took a few steps forward.
As if he had seen something, Sheng Hongye's face turned pale, and he ran off towards the distance.