Uesugi Chigenki held a watering can and poured water onto the succulent plants on the balcony.
She smiled tenderly as she looked at the flawless, verdant succulents without a hint of rot.
It seemed Su Ze's gentleness wasn't just for show. Given his status, the fact that he would water the succulents daily with a watering can and care for them so well showed his dedication.
Uesugi Chigenki had been helping Su Ze take care of the succulent babies and the silly pets in the room these past few days.
Just as the gentle stream of water was pouring down, she suddenly widened her beautiful eyes, looking puzzled at the succulent pot.
She noticed that the water she had poured over the past few days, plus today's watering, had overflowed from the pot!
She became confused - she hadn't watered them too much these past days, so why was it overflowing?
She gently touched the soft succulent, her face full of bewilderment.
Could it be that this succulent baby didn't want to drink water?
She poured out some of the excess water, leaving just enough so the little water-shy succulent wouldn't dry out. After making sure everything looked normal, she happily went back to play games with Uesugi Akizuki.
...
In the Land of the Living Dead.
After Xu Ziyin had finished treating his wounds, everyone mounted giant eagles to fly towards the Zombie Suppression Gate.
The eagles' massive bodies, dozens of meters in size, broke through the wind as they soared through the sky.
Apart from the regret of Xu Ziyin not breaking through to the next level, the expedition to the Land of the Living Dead had been relatively successful.
Not far from the Zombie Suppression Gate, the eagles set everyone down before flying away.
The eagles naturally wouldn't follow Su Ze out of the Land of the Living Dead - not that they couldn't leave, but that they shouldn't.
After all, keeping such a mysterious creature in human society would be like raising a tiger - asking for trouble.
No one could guarantee whether these invasive species had truly been tamed.
"This little brat actually broke through!" As soon as they exited the Zombie Suppression Gate, Nightwatch Lu Yusheng jumped down, laughing while patting Su Ze's shoulder. Suddenly noticing something, he grabbed Su Ze's left sleeve, which hung empty and flat.
Lu Yusheng's eyes grew complex - in that instant, he understood what hardships Su Ze must have endured inside.
After bidding farewell to Lu Yusheng, everyone rode their motorcycles to the hospital for examination and treatment.
These were necessary precautions - the Land of the Living Dead was constructed by laws of nature, and if one carelessly got infected by some virus from these strange creatures without timely treatment, they'd better be more careful in their next life.
Watching Su Ze operate the throttle with one hand, Shen Qingsheng questioned skeptically, "Aren't you afraid of losing your license driving one-handed?"
"License? You'd need one first to lose it," Su Ze replied helplessly.
"You... don't have a driver's license?" Shen Qingsheng was incredulous. He remembered Su Ze only had his license revoked twice; with his status as a Forerunner, getting another one shouldn't be difficult.
Su Ze didn't want to discuss this matter. How could he tell others that he hadn't had his license revoked twice, but six times?
Once, he was almost imprisoned for dangerous driving when the Enforcers took him in, and only his superior's intervention got him out.
There was a hospital specifically established for supernatural beings who entered and exited the Land of the Living Dead, less than a kilometer away.
Su Ze underwent a complete examination there, and by the time he came out, it was already dark.
His severed arm, due to lack of treatment for an extended period and prolonged fighting, had severely reduced cellular healing effects. The end had become necrotic and had to be removed. After bandaging, he would need to wait for his body to recover somewhat before undergoing limb reconstruction surgery.
Everyone else was hospitalized. The hospital wanted Su Ze to stay too, as he could probably have surgery the next day, but he chose to go home first and have the surgery at Dust City hospital tomorrow.
The bed at home felt more comfortable after all.
Su Ze walked out of the hospital with a cigarette in his mouth, feeling reborn as he lit it up. Just as he was walking towards his motorcycle, he froze in place.
He watched as a tow truck loaded his motorcycle onto its bed and drove away.
A man in black Enforcer uniform who had been waiting for some time approached Su Ze and said, "You're Su Ze, right?"
"You've violated Traffic Safety Law Section XXXX for dangerous driving, and Section XXXX for driving without a license. Even as a Forerunner, you must obey laws and regulations. Please come with me now."
Su Ze found himself bewildered as he sat in the police car with flashing red lights.
Regular traffic police couldn't handle Forerunners, Ghost Officers, and their ilk, who were equivalent to military personnel.
Only Enforcers had jurisdiction over such people.
"Su... Su... Su Ze got arrested? Did they discover he was harboring an underage girl?" Shen Qingsheng watched this scene unfold from the hospital window, dumbfounded.
Inexplicably, Shen Qingsheng felt somewhat vindicated, even considering becoming Su Ze's lawyer just to try to get him the death penalty.
After being berated by his superior for over ten minutes, Su Ze finally left the station.
By the time he walked out, night had fallen. His motorcycle was impounded and temporarily unretrievable. Declining the Enforcer's offer to drive him home in the police car, Su Ze trudged along the neon-lit streets like a stray dog.
He bought a power bank to charge his phone, which had run out of battery since being left in his bike before entering the Land of the Living Dead.
He bought a bag of oranges, called a ride-share, and squatted on the curb eating oranges while waiting.
A war god returns home, gets his vehicle impounded, visits the station, then sits on a curb eating oranges while waiting for a ride.
Many passersby gave curious glances at Su Ze's pathetic state, but he paid no attention to their strange looks.
Su Ze noticed a Land Rover had been parked nearby for a while, with a pair of eyes in the passenger seat constantly watching him through the rearview mirror.
Su Ze continued eating his oranges nonchalantly, waiting to see what they would do. If they were assassins, he would dispatch them in the shortest time possible.
Suddenly, a passing young woman, after hesitating for a moment, gathered her courage to approach him.
Su Ze looked at her bright, clear eyes, his guard already up. He suspected she was working with the people in the car, but he maintained his composure as he met her gaze with feigned confusion.
Looking at Su Ze's clear eyes, she seemed nervous but gathered her courage to ask, "Um... hello, how much for... one night?"
Su Ze: "..."
Wait... what? Taking him for a street worker? And with that "hello, how much for one night?" Good grief!
Trying to compromise his male virtue!
"Thirty thousand, non-negotiable," Su Ze rolled his eyes.
"Great! I'll transfer it to you now!" The girl's eyes lit up as she unhesitatingly opened her phone to scan his QR code.
Su Ze's back nearly gave out from this turn of events.
"I'm underage, and this involves a large sum of money - do you know what that means?"
The girl became even more excited, "I know, I know! Death penalty is worth it!"