Chapter 1819: Chapter 1812: The Usual Place
Hearing this from Tang Ye, a group of folks from the Royal Court began to egg him on, with Huang Quanjiu leading the charge. Before the Apocalypse, he was an aimless hotblooded youth who, during regular nights, would ride his motorbike through various streets and alleys with his friends. Such people typically dye their hair different colors just to look cooler.
In the eyes of others, they seem quite odd, much like the "sha ma te" trend in the nineties.
But not only did he dye his hair, he also learned a bit of street dance. Everyone in the Royal Court knew this. As soon as performing acts were mentioned, Ah Fu and Bai Huipeng dragged him onto the stage, ignoring Huang Quanjiu’s protests.
"Go on! Start your performance."
"Miao Ruike!"
At this point, someone began playing a blast of music, and coupled with the crowd’s jeering, Huang Quanjiu reluctantly started to perform. However, his street dancing skills were quite lacking, and most of his moves relied solely on the physique of a Level 8 New Human, lacking any rhythm, making his actions appear awkward and absurd, which drew roars of laughter from the crowd.
Unrestrained laughter made Huang Quanjiu’s face turn red on the spot, and shortly after, he simply stopped.
"Ma De, I’m not dancing anymore. Whoever wants to can go up."
"The music’s not over yet, why are you stopping?"
"You’re the one laughing the loudest, you go up."
"I don’t have any talents."
"Singing a song works too."
"Come on, sing a song!"
"Sing! Sing!"
"Chang Jinlun, hurry up, or I’ll kick your ass!"
"Alright, I’ll sing. Afterward, you’re up next, you bastard."
"Get lost!"
"I agree, after Chang Jinlun’s performance, it’s An Bo’s turn."
"Then Brother Hu?"
"What does this have to do with me?"
"Why not... have everyone perform one by one?"
"When will the boss go up?"
"Get out of here!" As the conversation continued and slowly began implicating him, Tang Ye, who had initially been part of the heckling, realized something was amiss and cursed before running to the back.
There’s no way I’m going up there and embarrassing myself.
Looking out from the floor-to-ceiling window, he checked the sky outside once more. Although it had already darkened, the weather had not turned gloomy as he imagined. There were only a few faint red lights flickering from the "Siphon Tower" in the distance, indicating it hadn’t started working yet, and Tang Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps he was overthinking it; Su Sigui was not an impulsive person. Although the Royal Court was an uncontrollable factor from her standpoint, she wouldn’t make a move right now.
The atmosphere had already been stirred up, and the people in front of him were unfazed. Nobody knew what might happen next, and if something bad were really to occur, instead of tensely waiting, it would be better to consume everything in the banquet hall before that.
So, everyone started to indulge, guzzling all sorts of pre-Apocalypse renowned liquors as if they were free.
In the midst of all the horseplay, the hall, which was originally meticulously arranged, quickly became a mess. Tang Ye thought to himself that it was just as well, if there were any others here, bringing this group of bandits would’ve made it awkward to let loose.
However, Tang Ye had other concerns: if this wasn’t truly a Hongmen Banquet, what if Su Sigui’s party had unfinished business and couldn’t come at the moment, and then the Royal Court folks consumed everything in the hall? That would be awkward.
As for the two Level 8 New Humans who mutated due to forced evolution and that little female attendant, Tang Ye wasn’t very trusting.
The former was likely a nobody in front of Su Sigui, and the latter, even less so.
He had some speculations in his heart but couldn’t understand why Su Sigui, doing this, would equate to inviting a friend over to her house for a party. But when this friend arrived, oh well, everything to eat, drink, and play was ready, but there was only one person, with the host not around at all. According to her, she’s okay with her friend having fun alone at her place?
This was very awkward.
Perhaps he underestimated Su Sigui’s prowess. Before coming, he always thought there would be people from other factions attending, and it would be fun to have some sarcastic, scheming banter then.
Just as he was pondering, Ah Fu and Tu-E had begun slaughtering pigs. They moved quickly, but as the scent of blood began to permeate the air, Tang Ye suddenly felt as if he was being watched. He immediately scanned around, confirming it wasn’t one of his people, so...
He quickly looked out the window and saw someone on the arcade between the Twin Towers not far away. When his gaze met the other person’s, they didn’t try to hide, and their eyes locked.
"Su Sigui..." he whispered the name, and she, on the other side of the arcade, pointed in a particular direction and then left the arcade.
Tang Ye looked in the direction she pointed and instantly understood; it was an old place.
"Everyone, stop for a moment," he commanded, shifting all the zombies’ and people’s attention to himself.
"Boss, what’s going on?"
"I need to meet someone; you guys wait here for now."
"Su Sigui?"
"Yes, if something happens next, I will notify Ah Fu immediately. Then use the fastest way to leave this floor, but do not leave the hotel. Scatter to other floors, remember, try not to gather too densely, ideally in groups of four."
The folks from the Royal Court became serious upon hearing this. Tang Ye, however, then changed his tone and smiled, "No need to be tense. If nothing happens, continue eating and drinking."
"Understood."
"I’m off then."
Cracking his fingers, Tang Ye turned and walked out of the banquet hall, came to a window in the corridor, and jumped down, heading towards the edge of the Sky Continent.
Upon arriving at a certain observation platform, he could see from afar that Su Sigui was already there waiting.
Tang Ye observed her. She wasn’t carrying anything, wearing casual attire, looking just like an ordinary girl next door.
"We meet again," Tang Ye greeted, but the other’s face was expressionless, seemingly daydreaming over the city below. Here, not far from the Cloud Gorge Base’s corpse defense wall, one could distinctly see the scenery outside the wall, though that scenery was oppressively dark, resembling a tide of corpses, but it wasn’t corpses; it was people tides.
Recently, the frenzy over the reports of the Four Great Zombie Kings invading the Chinese Continent simultaneously had many fleeing to the safer, more powerful Sanctuary Cities for survival. Among them, the Cloud Gorge Base, where a Level 9 New Human resided, was particularly attractive.
However, with a population of twenty-seven million, the Cloud Gorge Base was already overwhelmed. How could it accommodate more?
The sole entrance to the corpse defense wall appeared crowded with nearly two hundred thousand refugees. To alleviate the pressure, they could only choose to close the wall, yet the refugees outside didn’t leave, setting up tents directly there instead.
With the Four Great Zombie Kings about to invade China, people needed a sense of security. This security stemmed from the only Level 9 New Human.