Chapter 625: Heartbeat Flutter

Chapter 625 – Heartbeat Flutter

Zhang Yi nodded as he took the bottle of milk, sipping the warm liquid.

Drinking this after alcohol really did soothe his stomach and make him feel a lot more comfortable.

“Exactly. Winning a fight is one thing—but this is a war. No one’s going to line up and fight you to the death.”

“They’ll use all kinds of tricks. If they can’t beat you, they’ll just run.”

Suddenly, he thought of an old parable and looked at Liang Yue with a grin.

“Teacher Liang, I’ve got a question for you. If a mouse carrying fire runs into an ammo depot… what should you do?”

Liang Yue blinked, but she quickly caught on.

It was a classic riddle from a decades-old film.

“Then you send a cat with water to chase it down,” she answered with a smile.

“We’re the cat. Moon of Corrosion is the mouse.”

Zhang Yi chuckled. “But in this story—what do you think the water and fire represent?”

Liang Yue furrowed her brow slightly. That part, she wasn’t too sure about.

“The fire probably stands for the chaos and damage they bring. As long as they exist, there won’t be peace within the district, and externally, it’ll make us look weak and incapable.”

“As for the water… I’m not really sure.”

Water was supposed to extinguish fire—but how exactly Jiangnan District planned to deal with these Ronin, she had no idea.

Zhang Yi took a deep breath.

“Maybe the water… is us.”

“Us? I… don’t really get it.”

Liang Yue looked puzzled.

Zhang Yi gave Hua Hua a firm rub on the head.

“We’re moving with the Celestial Squad. They’re the main force. That probably makes us the bait—or the sacrifice.”

“If it comes down to it, I have no doubt the district’s top brass wouldn’t hesitate to trade our lives for the annihilation of Moon of Corrosion. Don’t you think so?”

That thought was the core of Zhang Yi’s concerns.

He didn’t mind danger. He was willing to face Moon of Corrosion head-on.

But he didn’t want to be cannon fodder.

Liang Yue’s gaze wavered—she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Because, honestly… that was just how things usually worked.

“I don’t really blame Jiangnan District if that’s how they operate. Even on a battlefield, it’s common to lure enemies in by sacrificing a unit. Some soldiers are sent in as bait.”

“War has always been like that. To win the big picture, pawns—and even larger pieces—can be sacrificed. Everything’s about taking down the king in the end.”

“But—”

Zhang Yi’s tone grew firmer.

He looked down, stroking Hua Hua’s soft, warm fur—that feeling was still one of his favorites.

“I’m not that noble.”

“Especially when I have you and Hua Hua with me. When we’re together, I have to be even more cautious.”

“No matter what happens, remember one thing: our safety comes first.

If there’s ever real danger—get to safety immediately.”

Liang Yue fell silent after hearing that.

Then suddenly, she looked up and asked seriously,

“Even if escaping causes the mission to fail… you still want us to do that?”

Zhang Yi glanced at her, eyes filled with teasing amusement.

“You think you’re that important?”

“If Jiangnan District really wanted to wipe out Moon of Corrosion, they’d find a way. The only question is—what’s the cost, and is it worth it?”

“In fact, it’s even possible… if the price gets too high, they might negotiate with Moon of Corrosion and let them stay on this land.”

“This is the apocalypse. Everyone’s got their own interests to protect. Even the top brass in Blizzard City aren’t exceptions.”

Liang Yue looked completely shocked. She cried out,

“No way! If they did something like that, the whole world would condemn them!”

But Zhang Yi smiled calmly.

“From the moment Blizzard City summoned all the superhuman organizations in Jiangnan District and founded the Superhuman Federation, it already meant—they couldn’t govern this place anymore.”

That wasn’t just the reality in Jiangnan. It was happening all over the world.

Huaguo was powerful enough to maintain the stability of its six major districts.

But other regions had already crumbled. Superhuman factions large and small sprang up everywhere.

Even the Neon Nation had split into the Pelican faction in Kansai and Izumo in Kanto.

And beneath them, smaller organizations like Moon of Corrosion stirred in the shadows, eyeing opportunities to flip the hierarchy.

Conflict and chaos would only become more frequent as superhumans continued to emerge and grow.

To borrow a classic Three Kingdoms phrase:

When the world is long divided, it must unite. When long united, it must divide.

Zhang Yi had long been mentally prepared for this.

Even though Liang Yue had matured after her past hardships, a person’s true nature was hard to change.

Zhang Yi had to make it clear to her—so she wouldn’t lose her head at a critical moment.

After all, this wasn’t the first time she’d let her passion drive her into danger.

Liang Yue wasn’t as eloquent as Zhang Yi.

She pouted, arms crossed, and after a long silence finally muttered,

“You always think you’re right! Fine, whatever you say, I’ll do it!”

She was a P.E. teacher.

Using a blade came naturally to her—but using her brain? That was asking a bit much.

Zhang Yi gave a satisfied nod.

“That’s more like it.”

He glanced at her, then at Hua Hua—who was curled up in his lap, purring contentedly—and thought to himself,

This is such a great team.

Strong in battle, obedient… just perfect!

Remembering that they had a meeting tomorrow, Zhang Yi said,

“Alright, it’s getting late. Let’s get some rest.”

He stood up, still holding Hua Hua, intending to go wash up and head to bed.

Liang Yue’s face instantly turned bright red.

“R-Rest…”

Zhang Yi blinked—only now did he remember that Baili Changqing had only booked one room for them.

Maybe he drank a bit too much and forgot.

Or maybe Baili Changqing just assumed the two of them were close.

“Crap. It’s already late. The front desk staff probably finished for the day too…”

Zhang Yi scratched his chin, feeling a bit troubled.

Heaven knows he didn’t do this on purpose. His head had been entirely filled with strategies for handling Moon of Corrosion—he hadn’t thought of anything else.

Liang Yue’s face was flushed with embarrassment. She tried to play it cool, grabbing the doorknob to head out.

“I’ll just… go stay somewhere else!”

But Zhang Yi called out flatly from behind her,

“It’s freezing outside. You trying to freeze to death?

Besides, if you don’t rest properly tonight, you’ll embarrass yourself at tomorrow’s important meeting.”

Liang Yue lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper.

“But… there’s only one room. How are we supposed to sleep?”

Zhang Yi glanced over at the bed—it was a pretty large double bed.

“Well… it’s a big bed. We can squeeze in a bit. No big deal.”

Author's Note