CHAPTER 118: LIANG ZIXUAN’S KINDNESS & THE ZOMBIE KID I

Sian and his group finally reached the others.

Liang Zixuan, who had been standing alone off to the side, stepped forward.

Sian had been too preoccupied with thoughts of survival and contingency plans to notice the people walking with him—the ones he’d been protecting all along.

Had he been paying attention, he would’ve noticed Song Zijian and the entire Angels team among them.

Miraculously, none of them had died. In addition to them, several contestants had escaped the hall, as well as the five judges Sian had saved earlier.

Liang Zixuan moved toward Sian, who was approaching through the sparse trees.

Concern was etched across his face, and the look in his eyes told Sian this was not good news.

"What is it?" Sian asked, frowning as he let out a quiet sigh.

"There’s something I need to tell you—" Liang Zixuan paused, glancing around Sian, his gaze settling on the two girls beside him.

Sian turned toward Wanwan and said in a calm but firm tone, "Wan Wan, take your friend and treat her wounds. Ask the others if they have any first aid supplies. If not, just wrap her injury tightly with a clean cloth."

Wan Wan wasn’t a clueless girl—she understood immediately. Her friend leaned against her as the two moved away slowly.

"Now speak. What happened?"

"It’s just that..." Liang Zixuan hesitated.

He was known for being sharp and direct, especially in his field. But this was different.

This was a matter—of life and death.

He knew it was wrong to ask this of Sian, but his conscience wouldn’t let him ignore it.

When Sian’s amber eyes met his, he saw everything in an instant.

The man’s emotions were written plainly on his face, and Sian had a vague idea of what was coming.

"Liang Zixuan," Sian said, voice cold and casual, "you’re a smart man. You should know how to prioritize things."

With that, Sian said no more. He simply stood there between two men who looked like his silent bodyguards.

After nearly a minute, Liang Zixuan exhaled heavily and said, "One of the people with us... was bitten by a zombie earlier. But since you told us those infected turn very quickly, and nothing happened to the kid, I didn’t say anything. But I kept watching him..."

He stopped, meeting Sian’s expressionless gaze—those empty, indifferent eyes.

"He’s just a child," Liang Zixuan added quietly.

For the first time, something flickered in Sian’s glowing eyes.

Not shock, not emotion—but understanding...

The deeper meaning behind the words struck a nerve.

"Ha... ha ha ha ha ha..."

Sian’s laughter echoed through the air.

He covered his mouth with a hand, unable to stop the laughter from bubbling out.

After a while, he wiped away the tears clinging to his lashes and said, "So... Mister Liang Zixuan was afraid I’d kill the boy?"

Sian looked at the man before him—cold on the outside, but with a heart warmer than fire.

But that heart... wasn’t always a good thing.

Sian’s eyes suddenly turned to ice.

He took a step closer, until barely a breath of space remained between them.

Staring directly at him, Sian spoke—each word deliberate, sharp:

"Kindness is a virtue, Mister Liang Zixuan. But did you ever think what would happen if things went wrong? If the boy turned and attacked the others? Did you think about the consequences of your foolish compassion? That you could end up costing everyone their lives—including your own?"

He continued more quietly, "Could your shoulders bear the weight of all those lost souls? Could you live with that? Hmm?"

A shiver ran through Liang Zixuan’s body.

He was terrified-no, petrified-of the shorter teenager staring up at him.

But Sian’s stature didn’t diminish his presence at all.

The fire burning in those eyes made him feel as though he were freezing one moment, and standing on the edge of an inferno the next.

"I... I..."

Sian stepped back. In a second, the deadly aura vanished.

He had to make the man understand—this wasn’t noble behavior in times like these.

It was stupidity.

Dangerous, irreversible stupidity.

He didn’t want Liang Zixuan to end up like that one person... the one who lived with nothing but regret, becoming a machine devoid of emotions, desires, or warmth. Only remorse—born of kindness and a soft heart.

He instilled a deep sense of fear within him, forcing him to confront the harsh realities of their world. He made him envision the dire consequences that lay ahead. For often, what masquerades as compassion can merely be a mask for reckless ignorance. Perhaps, just perhaps, Liang Zixuan would come to understand this vital lesson. And if the apocalypse were to truly descend upon them, he hoped that his heart would not cloud his judgment, steering him away from the choices that truly mattered. He instilled a deep sense of fear within him, forcing him to confront the harsh realities of their world. He made him envision the dire consequences that lay ahead. For often, what masquerades as compassion can merely be a mask for reckless ignorance. Perhaps, just perhaps, Liang Zixuan would come to understand this vital lesson. And if the apocalypse were to truly descend upon them, he hoped that his heart would not cloud his judgment, steering him away from the choices that truly mattered.

"It’s fine. I’m just pointing out the possible results of your recklessness. No need to get so worked up," Sian said lazily, shrugging his shoulders before walking off as if he hadn’t looked like a demon from hell mere moments ago.

[Every time he acts like that, I swear he has some split personality.] Lan Qisheng sighed, seriously considering dragging Sian to a psychiatrist once they got off this island.

"Jiao Liangchen, what did you do with the kid?"

Sian turned toward the man beside him—no one had noticed when he’d arrived. He’d been silently watching the exchange between Sian and Liang Zixuan.

When Sian looked at him, the man finally moved, signaling with his eyes toward a spot between the trees.

There, beneath one of them, a small-framed child was tied up. They hadn’t seen him earlier—he had been hidden in the shadows, completely still.

Jiao Liangchen said, "The boy showed signs of turning, but they were extremely slow. It’s like... something is suppressing it. He hasn’t attacked anyone, but his face went pale, his body started shaking, and he lost the ability to speak... So I restrained him and waited for you."

Sian stared toward the child’s location, deep in thought, when a voice called out from the side:

"What are we going to do with the boy?"