QT: Against My Will

“What are you doing?”

“Experimenting with my body,” Bing Shi giggled happily, “How do you control your power so precisely?”

Ren Han took the knife back, it was weird seeing Bing Shi slicing her wrist while giggling, “It’s like a third hand, I just know it.”

“You are so strange,” Bing Shi took out her shoe and placed it far away. The barrier from her shoe disappeared and covered her sock, so she took off her sock and put it on her shoe.

Ren Han focused his eyes on the road and tried to ignore her odd behavior.

Opening her eyes in realization, Bing Shi immediately tried to contact Kuro with her phone, after she sent the message of her wellbeing, she placed the phone further away.

Kuro: Host! I don’t know why the line between us disconnected.

Bing Shi: Yup, I’m glad you’re okay. It might be due to my new ability. Can you see the barrier around me?

.....

She turned on the camera.

Kuro: I can’t.

Bing Shi: I’ll find a way how to control it. Kuro, I missed you so much.

Kuro: I missed you too.

“I wonder how I can breathe,” Bing Shi put her sock and shoes back on, “Was there anything like this in your previous world?”

“No, it was like this one before the apocalypse, with more beautiful people.”

Bing Shi thought about her first mission, “Hm, It reminds me of one too. You should have seen it. The more beautiful someone was, the higher his position was. I was in this prestigious high school called Crimson academy and...”

“That’s the school I wanted to nuke,” Ren Han interrupted her in surprise.

“Woah, wait...what?!” Bing Shi looked at him, “Such coincidence...or not? Where were you the whole time that I didn’t notice you?”

“Probably in the boot camp or warfare.”

“Oohh! No wonder you are so good at shooting and killing,” Bing Shi, feeling tired again, spoke in a sleepy voice, “I might faint, let me sleep in the van when we arrive.”

“Your power?”

“Mm, I don’t know how to switch it off.”

· · — · ???· — · ·

At the base, Ren Han stepped inside his tent, “Why are you following me?”

After taking a rest, Bing Shi was full of energy again, “Can’t I?”

Ren Han looked at Bing Shi, his expression blank, “What do you want?”

“Can you teach me how to absorb a nucleus, please?” she asked politely. Wouldn’t she be a laughing stock if she asked soldiers something she should have known?

Ren Han took out a nucleus from his pocket, holding it in his palm, he absorbed its energy, “What do I get in exchange?”

Bing Shi blinked at the disappearing nucleus in fascination, “My beautiful smile?”

“Get lost, before I kick you out,” ordered Ren Han, trying to hold in the poker face, which was about to crumble.

“Don’t you mean... get lost, before I change my mind?” Bing Shi said in a good mood. Seeing him charging at her with laughter, she ran to the corner of the tent, “Noo, I take it back! By the way, did you forget about my miserable truck?” She sniffed her nose in sadness, “No car would be able to replace the attachment I got for it.”

Noticing him slowing down, she ran out of the tent, voicing out her fake grievance, “Poor me, nobody is being nice to me. Everyone only wants to take advantage of me.”

“...” Ren Han stopped. He did forget about her truck because she made him to! He grabbed his clothes and went to take a shower. Inside the shower, he cursed at that girl, who was sucking his brain dry like a leech.

Her last words...

He felt pretty much the same. The guiltiest thing was, towards her... he acted exactly like everyone else.

Those ugly puffy eyes...

That blood...

Ziek, ‘Fuck me.’

· · — · ???· — · ·

Ren Han’s teammates, after hearing his situation, called their families immediately. Another mourning session commenced. People, mainly elderly and those with a weak constitution, succumbed to the trial. A quarter of the city perished – a large burial would be held outside of the town at the end of the day.

Inside a tent, Bing Shi stared intently at the small LVL 1 nuclei on her palm.

‘How do I absorb it? ?’

‘And how do I control this blue barrier around me!?’

‘Everyone made it sounds so easy!’

She closed her eyes and tried to scan her body for any ‘internal energy.’ Except for the static noise in her head, there was nothing unusual. She put all of her attention to her brain and attempted to absorb the nucleus, imagining herself sucking its power.

After half an hour...

*beep-beep-beep*

Hearing the clock alarm, Bing Shi held her grumbling stomach. Picking up her phone, she stood up in frustration. Another meal time? Should she skip it? She just had some chips in the morning. Changing her mind, she decided to feed her tummy. Maybe a nutritional meal would do the magic. Her spiritual insight was too limited. It’s beyond her understanding; she couldn’t grasp the concept of inner energy.

· · — · ???· — · ·

When Bing Shi arrived at the kitchen, a few soldiers were helping with cooking lunch. Fu Lian was wearing an apron over her black jeans and a mossy green tank top,

Bing Shi’s eyes teared up when she saw the little snake flying before her.

[“Kurooooo!”]

[Host, finally!]

[“I can’t hear you!”]

After a meeting with the team leaders, Yi Zen arrived at the kitchen and seated himself opposite of Bing Shi, “There’ll be a meeting in the open area to examine other’s powers.”

Bing Shi placed her phone away for the message to be sent, “Yes. The situation in the city K is bad. Zombies are evolving too fast.”

Fu Lian sat next to Yi Zen with a food tray. She ignored the hand, which crept around her waist. She contemplated if she should reveal that she was from the future too? No, it would bring her no benefits, she didn’t know about zombies as much as Bing Shi.