The main district was flooded, and the suburbs weren’t faring much better.

A thin layer of water, just over the shoe tops, swirled in small eddies across the ground.

Cheng Ye trekked nearly four kilometers north before spotting a bus stopped at a platform.

"Sir, due to the storm damaging the buffer zone’s power infrastructure, we’ve been notified that starting today, buses will end free operations and return to standard fares," the middle-aged driver said, wiping the windows with a rag as he saw Cheng Ye approach.

"Also, the bus needs at least five passengers to depart. If it’s fewer than five and you want to go, you’ll need to pay five times the fare."

During the flood season, the hydroelectric plant’s abundant power could be used freely.

But with the relentless storm threatening the plant, they had to open the floodgates to relieve pressure.

As a result, the free bus service, which had lasted only a month and a half, abruptly ended, reverting to normal paid operations.

"How much for one person?"

"Two coins."

"Let’s go. I’ll pay for five."

Cheng Ye glanced at the empty street behind him and slipped a 10-denomination Happiness Coin into the fare slot.

If it were a shorter distance, he’d have walked, but the North and South Stations were in the outer suburbs, at least 15 kilometers from the main district.

"Alright, let’s head out."

The driver, following Works Department regulations, noted Cheng Ye’s decisiveness and sensed he wasn’t ordinary.

He quickly stowed the rag, slid into the driver’s seat, and after a brief motor warm-up, the bus shot forward like an arrow.

Along the way, Cheng Ye saw several buses coming from the opposite direction and long lines of a dozen or more workers heading to the city.

When the wheels hit puddles, they kicked up waves half a person high, splashing onto pedestrians’ raincoats, sparking a chorus of curses.

Even so, not one person chose to board a bus to the main district.

"Was it always like this?" Cheng Ye, sitting in the front row, couldn’t help but ask the driver.

"Before? It was way worse," the driver said, pausing his grip on the wheel with a grin. "Now, these folks can at least scrape by in the city. Back then, any major disaster in the buffer zone would leave bodies strewn across the streets. A thousand people could vanish just like that."

As he spoke, the driver swerved sharply, the wheels drifting to avoid a puddle. The overhead light flickered twice with the bus’s jolt.

Cheng Ye’s gaze swept outside, and that simple maneuver earned thumbs-up from the refugees on the roadside.

"Back then, even corpse collectors had to queue by district. Things are so much better now, right?"

Better?

Cheng Ye fell silent, his mind inexplicably drifting to Edmond Rack’s dying wails.

Happiness, it’s fake…

When all the beautiful fantasies in his head were shattered, how much pain must he have felt in that moment?

The bus rumbled over uneven roads, pressing forward as the Fertilizer Plant Workers’ Compound blurred into a gray shadow in the rain.

Suddenly, Cheng Ye’s eyes sharpened.

"Sir, need to stop here?" the driver asked, catching Cheng Ye’s reaction in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah, stop here."

The Fertilizer Plant Compound was about two kilometers from the North Station checkpoint, but through the window, Cheng Ye spotted a familiar figure standing in the rain, craning their neck in anticipation.

As he got off, the figure hurried toward him, heedless of the mud and rain splattering their pant legs.

It was none other than Luo Xiaoxue.

"Sister Luo, what are you doing out here so early in this downpour? Yiyi must be scared alone at home."

"Cut the nonsense. You’re heading to the North Station. How could I sleep?"

Luo Xiaoxue’s voice was hoarse, as if she’d stayed up all night.

"The North Station isn’t some man-eating pit. Didn’t Brother B work there plenty of times?"

A warmth spread through Cheng Ye’s heart. In his past life, he’d been a rootless weed, growing up in an orphanage.

Though he’d never lacked friends to talk to, he always quietly envied those who spoke of family bonds.

Now, it seemed, this must be what family felt like, someone genuinely caring, worrying for you from the bottom of their heart.

"He’s him, and you’re you."

Last night on the phone, Luo Xiaoxue had been hesitant, still uncertain even when they hung up.

But today, Cheng Ye saw only a razor-sharp resolve in her expression.

She was no longer just a stay-at-home mom but had reverted to the warrior from eight years ago who fought infected entities.

"Every person has their own fate, set by the heavens and shaped by their own choices!"

"Everything you told me last night, I’m treating it like nonsense. I didn’t want to hear it then, and I don’t want to now."

"But today, I’m standing here waiting for you, and I want you to look me in the eyes and answer me!"

Luo Xiaoxue spoke deliberately, her expression solemn, "Following fate is easy; defying it is hard. The path you’ve chosen is tough. It’s not just a mountain pressing down on you, it’s a thousand-ton boulder that can crush you to dust in an instant."

"Step forward today, and you face endless peril. Step back even half a pace, and life becomes worse than death!"

"To survive, you have to fight with everything you’ve got."

"Cheng Ye, are you ready to go all out, to fight to the death?"

Fight to the death?

Luo Xiaoxue’s barrage of questions left Cheng Ye momentarily stunned.

But soon, a grin spread across his face, his lips curling into a slight arc.

For over two months, he’d stood on rooftops countless times, never lacking the courage to die but always searching for a reason to give up.

Now, not only had he failed to find a reason to quit, he’d found one to keep fighting to live.

So why fear a life-or-death struggle?

Besides, he was alone now. The people at the checkpoint all had families, concerns, and interests tying them down. Who would dare step up and fight him to the death?

"Sister Luo, trust me!"

"Aside from infected entities, no one at the checkpoint can touch me."

Patting the standard-issue pistol at his waist, Cheng Ye’s grin grew bolder.

The inspector role wasn’t high-ranking, but in the buffer zone, few could threaten his life so easily.

In contrast, taking someone else’s life required only a lift of his hand and a gentle pull of the trigger.

No hesitations, no restraints.

At worst, he’d flee to the wasteland, living among infected entities, roaming the ruins and wilds.

"Good, I trust you!"

Luo Xiaoxue nodded firmly, reaching into her bag.

To his surprise, she pulled out a Bison combat pistol, the one Cheng Ye had considered buying. Its condition suggested it was fresh from the factory.

Clearly, Luo Xiaoxue had braved the dark early morning to get it from the Resource Exchange Station for him.

"That gun of yours is too weak. It’s fine for scaring people, but it’s lacking against infected entities."

"Use this. It’s got more power. If someone comes for your life, let them taste a bullet first!"

"Got it!"

Cheng Ye carefully took the pistol and slid it into the empty holster on his right.

"I’m off, then?"

"Go. Remember, I’ll be here waiting for you to come home after work."

"Yeah."

No more words were needed. That single promise weighed heavily on Cheng Ye’s heart.

Turning around, he saw the bus still waiting where it had stopped.

Seeing Cheng Ye’s glance, the driver waved with a smile. "You paid five times the fare, so I should get you to your destination."

"Thanks."

As Cheng Ye boarded, the driver, lost in thought, shook his head with a sigh. "Sir, you’ve got a heavy killing aura. It’d scare the faint-hearted to death."

"And if someone’s not scared?"

"Then they probably want to die," the driver said with a shrug. "Back when I was scraping by outside before joining Happiness City, I’d steer clear of people like you."

"Oh? What did you do?"

"No laughing, but I was a third-rate assassin," the middle-aged driver said, chuckling and scratching the back of his head. "But after I got a wife and kid, the ties in my heart became shackles. I couldn’t keep up that line of work."

"So now, I’m even more wary of people like you."

"Scared I’ll snap and spill blood in a fit of rage?"

"Not quite. We’re all just scraping by, not like those inner city lords. No need to fight to the death."

"Then what?"

"Some things are better left unsaid."

Cheng Ye’s smile faded, and he gave the driver a curious look.

The wasteland was vast and full of wonders.

If even a bus driver was this sharp, surely no one at the massive North Station would be foolish enough to cross him?