Chapter 47

The Red-Haired Youth

“Xiaolu’s right. Jumping down might just let you live!” With a cheerful grin, Ped pointed down at the abyss below, addressing the group.

Xiaolu and the group: That wasn’t me/Xiaolu who said that!

Yet—

They all looked at Juan, who had taken a zombie bite in place of the doctor without flinching, and then at Ped, who could still smile in this moment. Their gazes finally fell on the circle below, where the doctor had disappeared.

“You really aren’t ordinary people. Thank you!” Chen Shan was the first to make a choice. Grabbing his younger brother, he decisively let go of the vine in his hand and jumped into the circle below.

Then Big Bear, Damon, the younger boys, the old man and his chickens… Until finally, Xiaolu jumped.

As he let go and leapt down, he glanced back at Juan and Ped, asking softly, “Will you two be coming?”

He received only silence from Juan and a wave from Ped in response.

He wanted to take one last look at them, but, already falling into the circle, he lost awareness.

Under Juan and Ped’s watch, the circle vanished.

“The magic that only lasts thirty-two seconds is gone,” Ped said to Juan, clutching a vine with one hand.

“The diameter’s expanded a lot since last time. You’ve improved,” Juan acknowledged his progress.

Ped gave a broad smile.

“So, what should we do now?” he asked Juan.

Juan’s answer was a leap, landing on the vine beside Ped.

He gestured for Ped to climb onto his back, then began to carry him up the sprawling mandrake vines.

As Juan climbed with focus, Ped assisted by batting away zombies that threatened to fall near them, using the vines to ward them off and casting new ones to replace those set ablaze. Ped guided Juan’s path with the vines.

These tasks came easily to him, so much so that he eventually rested his head gently against Juan’s back, even closing his eyes.

With a nostalgic smile, he murmured, “It was just like this that day—you carried me, step by step, out of that place.”

“In that moment, I was so happy.”

“Even now, I’m happy…”

The last sentence was barely audible, almost a sigh.

Ignoring the sentiments of the person behind him, Juan simply kept climbing.

What seemed like an impossible climb was executed by him as if walking on level ground. He ascended one vine after another, even leaping skillfully between them—moves that would be beyond the reach of even the best climbers.

Finally, he reached up with his left hand to grasp the bridge pillar, his right hand following. With a push and a jump, he was once again standing on solid ground.

All around, flames blazed, with many burning zombies wandering. They took no notice of Juan’s sudden presence.

Which was to be expected.

But surprisingly, they also ignored Ped.

In the midst of the flames, Juan glanced back at Ped—

Ped shrugged, and a breeze swirled at his right index finger. Seeing the questioning look in Juan’s eyes, he smiled, flicked his finger, and the small whirlwind joined the others spinning around his body, forming a wind barrier over his skin.

The spinning was so fast it was barely visible.

Seeing Juan’s intent gaze, Ped smiled slightly. “This seems to be the correct way to use this wind magic.”

“Hm… It’s cooling things down and seems to block the smell too. It’s so hot here, I just got the idea to build a wind wall around me. And look, I discovered another use for this magic!” Ped’s smile carried a hint of rare embarrassment.

Juan nodded approvingly, saying, “It’s because you’ve gotten so skilled with this magic. A wind wall so precise it can block scent—most people wouldn’t even notice.”

“Oh, stop praising me like that, teacher! You’re making me blush!” Ped held his face in his hands, flushed either from the heat or genuine shyness.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed—you’re genuinely talented. Many spells are created in specific contexts; the original magic users may not have even known all possible uses. Later students, with different skills and life experiences, discover new ways to use them. You’ve only just started learning magic, yet you’ve already uncovered a new application. In time, I’m sure you’ll create magic of your own.” As they walked forward, Juan continued to praise him.

“It was only fitting that the magic book ended up with him, wasn’t it?”

Even from such a distance, the magic book could sense his talent—truly, this magic book was impressive.

And magic was truly a marvelous existence.

Juan thought silently.

His genuine praise left Ped feeling a bit bashful, but—

Chasing after Juan with a flushed face, Ped, half-embarrassed and half-proud, said, “Actually, I did come up with something, though I’m not sure it counts as a new spell…”

With that, he tapped his finger lightly in the air. Murmuring softly, a twisted plant emerged from his palm, growing from small to tall.

The plant was lush green, with red tips, and every branch spiraled. At the end of each spiral branch was a tiny box.

On closer inspection, each box was decorated with a “ribbon” twisted from the branches, tied into a bow—making it look like a plant filled with gift boxes!

Juan was stunned—

Then he heard Ped say in a small voice, “I’ve been studying magic script with you lately, so I wanted to try writing a spell myself. I wanted a tree full of gift boxes, where each box opens to reveal a different gift…”

“I was actually planning to surprise you on your birthday. By the way, when is your birthday?”

Lifting his head, Ped’s light amber eyes glowed against the firelight.

Juan, looking at him, was momentarily at a loss.

“Month 13, Day 32,” he muttered, giving away his birthday.

“Huh?” Ped froze, as though he got the answer he wanted, but also as though he hadn’t understood it.

But Juan paid no mind to his confusion. Looking into Ped’s eyes with his dark gaze, he spoke in a serious and certain tone, “You’ll definitely become a great wizard someday.”

“Huh? Really?” Ped, still pondering what date the 13th month, 32nd day might be, was taken aback.

Juan, however, had already turned and was striding forward, noticing an aircraft stopped in the middle of the road. He asked, “You said you know how to fly one of these?”

“Um… I think I can…” Ped replied.

“Then let’s go fly it.” With that, Juan leapt onto the aircraft, pushed out the zombified pilot, and took the co-pilot seat, strapping in.

Ped also climbed into the pilot’s seat, starting up the aircraft. Looking at the well-functioning controls, he wondered aloud, “This aircraft is in perfect condition. Why wasn’t anyone flying it?”

“Because the pilot turned into a zombie,” Juan replied.

“Oh… well, that’s just unlucky for them,” Ped said, taking off.

The aircraft took off, and though Juan hadn’t said where they were headed, Ped didn’t ask.

With an unspoken understanding, Ped turned the aircraft back toward where they’d come from.

He even cast a wind spell on the aircraft, and sure enough, their speed increased.

“I always thought losing my abilities was fine, and I’ve gotten used to life without them. But now, I suddenly feel that maybe having powers wouldn’t be so bad.” Staring ahead, Ped spoke softly. “Before, my powers were only good for killing and destruction, but they’d actually come in handy right now.”

As he spoke, he quickly calculated his current magic repertoire, eliminating spells like “everything will be okay” that could only be used once every few days.

Then he heard Juan say, “Don’t worry—I have a method suited for times like this.”

“In a way, you could call it magic too.”

“A magic only I can use.”

The first sentence was clearly Juan’s voice, but by the second, his voice was becoming indistinct, and by the third, it had turned into a childlike tone.

Startled, Ped turned to see Juan looking at him with his usual expression, slightly raising his arm to reveal the tiny zombie still clinging to it.

It was the same one that had nearly bitten the doctor earlier.

For some reason, Ped felt that the little zombie’s expression oddly resembled Juan’s.

Feeling suspicious, he kept his eyes on the tiny zombie.

Then, he saw Juan smile.

The smile was small, a bit childish, even mischievous—a look Ped had never seen on him.

And then he heard the little zombie speak: “I just discovered this.”

“Doesn’t it seem a little like magic?”

It was Juan’s tone, but the words came from the small zombie.

Realizing what Juan planned to do, Ped whistled, then cast another wind spell on the aircraft, making it speed up even more—

Soon, before the fuel ran out, they finally landed.

The sight was enough to make anyone’s skin crawl, even from the air.

In the sky, an uncountable swarm of black moths circled like dark clouds. Below them were even more zombies, surrounding the Sunshine Base in layers.

The zombies were silent, the only sounds being gnashing teeth and bodies pounding against the walls.

Most of the zombies had already arrived, while a few stragglers approached from three other directions.

Without looking, they could guess these were zombies from the other bases: Garden Base, Happiness Base, and West Mountain Base.

Those bases had completely fallen.

Now, all the zombies from there were here, ready to bring down Sunshine Base as well.

Gunfire, explosions, the sounds of various abilities, and people’s cries filled the air as Sunshine Base fought desperately to resist. If no help arrived, its fall was only a matter of time.

Juan and Ped arrived at that very moment.

As they descended, they saw many familiar faces within Sunshine Base. Then, outside the base walls, amid the horde of zombies, they spotted a face that was clean, alive, and unfamiliar.

A head of red hair, freckles, and a baby face that widened its eyes in surprise upon seeing them, before those thin, crimson lips curved into a cold smile.