Little Pink Starfish

Meng Qiao was a water-type ability user, so of course he quickly went to fill out the form. After completing it, the guard gave him a tag, and from then on, he was a registered person in this S City survivor base!

The guard ability user then saw the people behind Gu Bai, and following the rule of giving full respect, he diligently asked: “Then these people……”
Gu Bai’s paralyzed face: “Has nothing to do with me.”
After saying that, he directly led Meng Qiao toward the city gate.

The survivors behind: “……”
Full of regret! Full of regret! Full of regret!
Important things said three times!

And Meng Qiao, who entered with Gu Bai, didn’t hesitate at all.
Among those people, the ones he was familiar with were only nodding acquaintances, and later they even ridiculed him for saving someone. If it weren’t for the sake of gathering strength, he would’ve long stopped hanging with them.
Now going separate ways was perfect—anyway, they still had their lives, and as long as they queued, they could enter the city too. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to clash with Zhang Youqing over them.
Besides, Zhang Youqing was grateful and repaid kindness—even if he didn’t talk much, he was far more reliable than those people okay!

So, the two of them smoothly entered the city.
The environment inside… was beyond expectations.

Maybe it was because S City originally had good reserves of food and resources, everything was more or less like before the apocalypse. Gu Bai had only read the book and didn’t know the details, so now he observed everything carefully, aiming to find a landmark and locate Zhang Youqing’s base.
As for Meng Qiao?
He could stay at his side for now—the protagonist shou had good fortune, and later on, he could even set him up with his old gong and play matchmaker. With that kind of favor, surely he wouldn’t come back to kill him, right? Sigh, being a villain BOSS these days wasn’t easy. Trying to reform as a villain BOSS was even harder.

After walking a bit…
Gu Bai silently gave himself a slap in the face.
Nima, what was the point of looking for it himself when there were so many cars available! Even if he didn’t remember the way, did he forget the address? Zhang Youqing’s base was clearly the entire Nanhua Street!

Yes, that’s right—three big ability users, each with their own street.
This was S City’s recruitment system! Full-scale talent scouting! None of that rejection between ordinary people and ability users like in other apocalypse stories!

Of course, because it was the apocalypse, fuel-powered cars were very few in the city, and only ability users could afford to ride them—others didn’t even think about it.
Gu Bai’s shell, as one of the three big ability users, had his face printed in little tabloids stuck in every driver’s house okay, absolutely must not offend him in the slightest!

So, the moment Gu Bai waved his hand—
“Swoosh!”
A small car stopped right in front of him, the handsome driver’s face full of charming expressions.

Zhang Youqing, gender male, hobby… beauties.
Mm, men, women, cross-dressers.
He didn’t pick.

Gu Bai internally broke down for a moment.
Damn it, Zhang Youqing liked beauties, but I didn’t like three-dimensional ones! Yeah! Don’t flirt with me! As a straight man, have some integrity okay! Don’t think I couldn’t see the forced flattery in those deep eyes of yours, handsome guy! Seriously! I’m not a gay dude! Goosebumps falling everywhere, please let me go, handsome guy!

The handsome driver saw that Gu Bai had no reaction and could only retract his expression with some disappointment.
Couldn’t latch on…
But thinking about this one’s reputation, he figured forget it if he couldn’t—driving was still profitable! No problem!

The car sped off.
Soon, it stopped in front of a tall building.
This was the office building of Zhang Youqing’s Frost Mercenary Group—his subordinates and all those affiliated with him lived here.

When Gu Bai and Meng Qiao got off, the car sped away again.
Looking at the majestic building, Meng Qiao’s pupils contracted, then quickly snorted awkwardly: “Tch, pretty capable, huh!”

Gu Bai: “Mn.”
Meng Qiao: “So narcissistic, thank you.”
Gu Bai: “Mn.”
Meng Qiao (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻: As expected, it’s impossible to have a normal conversation with this guy!

Gu Bai gathered his aura and strode into the building: “Follow.”
Meng Qiao took a deep breath: Young master can’t offend this guy now, young master must endure. Damn, I truly pity this guy’s future partner—they’ll definitely be suffocated to death!
But he still followed.

Once inside, a few rugged men sitting scattered in the lobby immediately jumped to their feet upon seeing Gu Bai, their faces changed.

“C-c-c-captain!”
“You’re back!”
“Reporting, Captain! We just finished a mission and are doing the report!”
“Welcome back, Captain!”

Gu Bai: “Mn.”
Then turned and walked straight toward the elevator.
Meng Qiao watched this scene in greater surprise—these people were clearly this guy’s subordinates, so why did they seem so afraid of him? Especially after he walked away—they all visibly let out a breath! But he didn’t think this guy had a bad temper… for a moment, he felt a bit uneasy.

The elevator rose quickly.
The people who came to greet them now…
knelt down uniformly in greeting.

Meng Qiao: ……
Woc, this is even more exaggerated than before the apocalypse.
What kind of guy was this!

Gu Bai looked at the familiar scene and let out a small breath.
Then paused.
Wait a minute—he had only transmigrated for less than ten years and been city lord for less than ten years, and he already had this kind of feudal leftover mindset? Being used to seeing people kneel, what was with that!
I’m really a good person, okay!

Forget it, better to play the part well.

Gu Bai coldly snorted, kicked open the office door, and walked in.
As for kicking over the nearest maid or manservant or whatever… too much trouble, he wasn’t doing it.
Meng Qiao wiped his face and, holding a mindset of being stuck on a pirate ship, followed him in again.

Once in the office, Gu Bai quickly scanned all the items in the room, then decisively got into work mode.
Even if he didn’t know the people under him, he knew their names! And since it was still early in the apocalypse, Zhang Youqing had status, enjoyment, and loyal followers, but still not many. These could all be promoted!

Gu Bai always did things straightforwardly.
The last world was one where strength was everything, and in this world, even during the apocalypse, they could go by the same rule!
For example, this protagonist shou Meng Qiao—he could totally be turned into an important subordinate!

So, with his incredibly strong and newly improved strength, Gu Bai successfully claimed his territory and raised a batch of underlings.
As for lifestyle habits, they didn’t need changing—anyway, Zhang Youqing was a zombie, and in the original story he only admired beauties and tormented them, never actually had sex with them!
No pressure! No pressure……

Wait.
There was something… that seemed… ignored.

Gu Bai directly handed protagonist shou over to the current number-one ability user under him, told him to assign him as a restaurant manager, and then turned to dash into the bathroom.
Immediately, he tore off his outer clothes and stood in front of the full-wall mirror.

Yes, Zhang Youqing was also a narcissist—every day he had to look in the mirror and see how human he still looked.
——No, that wasn’t the point.
The point was… was the symbol of his male pride still there?
Now that his body was a zombie, that part was fragile—was it really okay!

Gu Bai held his breath and, risking pinkeye, checked the shell.
Is it there, is it there, is it there…
Mm.
Great, still there!
Really didn’t rot, thank goodness (^^*)

As for whether it still worked…
Gu Bai decided not to think about that question.
Heartbeat was faint at best, and in the original he was all kinds of twisted—it’d definitely be a sad answer okay!
Let me dream of being a healthy beautiful man!

As a hardcore otaku, Gu Bai carefully pondered his future.
Real-world girls and such… honestly kinda aggressive, not a lot of relaxed types around!

After that, Gu Bai casually grabbed clothes from the wardrobe, put them on, and started seclusion training.
Strength! Strength! Strength!
He had to have the strength to not be killed by the protagonist shou and his old gong!

---

In a blink, a few days passed.
Meng Qiao, now the parachuted manager of Youqing Restaurant—S City’s top restaurant under Ice Lord Zhang Youqing, one of the three great ability users—hadn’t been troubled at all.
Logically, a guy like him coming in out of nowhere should’ve been unable to win over the old hands under him, but with him being an ability user himself, plus Zhang Youqing’s dictatorship—
No one dared give him trouble.

Every day, aside from cultivating his powers in a special room in the restaurant, Meng Qiao just patrolled the place. He had almost no other tasks.
Occasionally, he’d think of his long-lost friend Su Qingyan, not knowing how that gentle, kind guy was doing after the apocalypse hit.

Note: Su Qingyan, reborn, a fake kind-hearted lotus, was Meng Qiao’s childhood friend who had deceived him for years.

One day, Meng Qiao’s water ability was restless—it felt like it was about to break through to level two but was stuck in a bottleneck. Feeling annoyed, he decided to go patrol.
But just as he walked to the entrance, he found there was no one there?

Wait where was everyone? What were they doing!

Meng Qiao frowned, deciding not to betray Zhang Youqing’s trust.
He wiped his face and decided to temporarily fill in as the doorman.

Just then, a man strode in, and Meng Qiao stepped up, ready to force a smile and say some welcoming words.
However…
This particularly cool-looking man suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace: “Baby, I’m back.”

Meng Qiao’s face turned black.
Back your sister!
Where’d this old pervert come from!

Note: Yin Jiu, level-five lightning ability user, cold and passionate, fell for Meng Qiao at first sight.
Further note: In the original story, Meng Qiao’s old gong.

·

This world had already changed.
Countless zombies had appeared on Earth—plants, animals, and humans were all evolving under the influence of viruses and climate.

Human evolution was the slowest. Their numbers had plummeted, and they had already become the vulnerable ones.

But for now, they were still immersed in the peace of thinking they only had zombies to deal with.
No one knew, not even Gu Bai, that more changes were still unfolding——

In the depths of the towering mountains,
In the endless shadows,
A massive black figure crouched.
It looked incomparably mighty, but its whole body was covered in torn, massive wounds.

Countless beasts rushed over madly.
“Meat……”
“That flesh…… evolve……”
“Eat……”

Suddenly, that giant shadow
Opened its blood-red, twisted pupils.