Chapter Thirty: The Old Snake and Zhen Qianting

Boom.

She stared at the corpse before her, still able to speak, still able to calmly observe everything unfolding. In a daze, these successive deaths pulled Zhen Qianting back to the war-torn battlefields of her past. Death was like a shadow that never left her side.

Tao Yunchuan’s face had turned completely ashen. Mizuno Takeshi had been walking just in front of him. He had been trying to subtly sound out why Mizuno had not transferred to Yomikita North Middle School. Before Tao could even finish his sentence, Mizuno, who was walking ahead, had died.

Struck down by a bolt of lightning.

It was like a sick joke—how could someone die like that?

He couldn't believe it. Tao felt his legs turn to jelly. By the time he regained his senses, he was already sitting on the ground, soaked through by the torrential rain and the puddles beneath him, looking like a drowned rat.

Old Snake stood behind them, watching everything with a smile on his face. He enjoyed the expressions of the reincarnators as they fell into panic—or perhaps "enjoyed" was the wrong word; it was more like envy.

Dead men have no feelings, and Old Snake himself was a dead man—someone who had died and been resurrected. His gaze, like a serpent, lingered slowly over the reincarnators before him, drifting from the long legs of the war correspondent Zhen Qianting to the collapsed, cowering hacker, Tao Yunchuan.

The targets for his cooperation had been selected.

Old Snake smiled faintly, opened his umbrella, and stepped into the rain. The raindrops dripped off the edge of the umbrella, pattering against the ground like the sound of weeping at a funeral.

"It’s alright."

Old Snake’s voice suddenly echoed in Tao’s ears. He looked up to find the rainy sky hidden, replaced by a black umbrella held over his head.

"It... it's alright." Tao Yunchuan offered an awkward smile, looking at Old Snake, who stood in the rain shielding him. "Teacher Zhang, thank you."

"What is there to thank me for?" Old Snake chuckled, deep laugh lines carving into his face. "Aren't we teammates? We have to survive this horror movie together."

Tao nodded, his pale face regaining a hint of color. Ignoring his soaked trousers, he reached up to loosen his collar. "It’s so stifling," he wheezed, breathing heavily. He felt incredibly fortunate that the veteran wasn't here, and that his fellow newcomer, Zhang Han, was by his side. If the veteran had seen his weakness, he likely would have been abandoned without a second thought.

Tao had read *Infinite Terror*. In his view, unless one were as lucky as the protagonist, the only path was to struggle in the mud and fight for one's miserable life.

To survive, anyone could be discarded. It was the most absolute truth.

Old Snake stood still, watching the expression on Tao’s face. The sight of him putting on a brave front made Old Snake want to moan with excitement. It seemed his first bargaining chip was well-prepared.

"Can you walk?" Old Snake asked, his face full of concern as he reached out with his free hand to steady Tao’s shoulder. "Let's get to a safe place. It’s raining hard; there might be more lightning. If that happens..."

If that happened...

Old Snake didn't finish, but two faces flashed through Tao’s mind: the gamer Zhao Weijie, who hadn't even had time to scream, and the charred remains of Mizuno Takeshi.

"Go, let's go! Let's go now!"

Without waiting for Old Snake, who was still supporting him, Tao scrambled to his feet and bolted toward the school building.

"A hacker?"

A voice filled with disdain suddenly rang out beside Old Snake. It was a raspy female voice. Old Snake turned to see the war correspondent, Zhen Qianting, standing next to him.

"Not a hacker," Old Snake smiled at the woman, tilting the umbrella toward her. "At best, he’s just a gamer with decent technical skills."

"And what about you?" Zhen Qianting leaned in, her lush red lips brushing against Old Snake’s ear as she whispered, her scent wafting over him. "You, who can watch a living person die right in front of you without batting an eye."

"Oh, without batting an eye?" Old Snake widened his eyes dramatically. "Wasn't that mercenary, Long Xiang, the same?" He gestured subtly toward the mercenary standing not far away.

"No, he isn't. He’s paralyzed with fear." Zhen Qianting laughed, pulling a red hairband from her pocket to tie up her hair. "When I walked past him, his eyes didn't even flicker. He didn't move at all."

"Perhaps it’s because you aren't pretty enough." Old Snake tilted his head, the sun-kissed, wheat-colored skin of her neck now inches from his lips. A slight shift, and he could taste her.

"What if it were like this?"

Zhen Qianting didn't answer his question. Instead, she looped her arm through the one Old Snake was using to hold the umbrella, pressing her ample chest firmly against his arm. "Does this get a reaction out of you?"

Her voice was raspy but filled with temptation, matching her actions.

"What is it you want?" Old Snake narrowed his eyes, enjoying the sensation.

"Information. We exchange information."

"About whom?"

"About who the expendable ones are, and..." Zhen Qianting extended her tongue to lightly lick his earlobe before continuing slowly, "about the veteran, Liu Mengchen."

"Oh?" Old Snake laughed, nudging his elbow slightly until he heard Zhen Qianting’s sharp intake of breath. "Are you planning to seduce Liu Mengchen?"

"No, I intend to seduce you..." Zhen Qianting giggled, "along with those other idiots."