My name is Levi, and I work in anime.

"Yeah, last time I saw Hiratsuka-nee reject the boy who confessed to her without any mercy, making him cry out and run away."

Setting your standards for a partner too high isn't a good thing, Hiratsuka-nee. Your romantic history is full of rejections, and the guys who got friend-zoned by you are practically seething with resentment.

Moreover, if she continues to be so picky, all the good men of her age will be snatched up by other girls, and then she'll have nowhere to cry.

According to the Buddhist theory of cause and effect, given the emotional debt she owes, Li Wei wouldn't be surprised if she couldn't get married at thirty.

"Speaking of which, Ryougi, what kind of partner do you want to find in the future?" the boy asked his best friend curiously.

Liangyi is handsome, intelligent, precocious, and charming. He has been the object of admiration since elementary school. Every Valentine's Day, his closet is always full of love letters, and there are so many chocolates that he can't fit them all, which Liwei ends up eating.

In addition to the supplies from Hiratsuka-nee's side, the boy needs to exercise for at least three extra hours every February and March to burn off the excess calories and prevent his figure from going out of shape.

However, Ryougi has never had a girlfriend, which is exactly the same as Hiratsuka-nee.

"companion?"

“Yes, you can use that as a criterion for choosing a partner,” the boy nodded and said.

He was very curious about what kind of girlfriend such an outstanding boy as Liangyi would find in the future.

"Standards..." Ryougi pondered for a moment: "First of all, the emotional foundation is of utmost importance. It's best if they are childhood sweethearts who have known each other since they were young, who understand each other well and know each other inside and out. This kind of relationship can go a long way in the future."

Well, that makes sense.

"Secondly, it's about tolerance. You know my problem; you have to be able to accept both me and Zhi at the same time, and we both have to like each other."

Yes, that makes sense.

"Then comes character. Knowledge can be learned, experience can be accumulated, and personality can be changed, but if one's character is flawed, then it's truly unacceptable. Therefore, one must be an honest, upright, and virtuous gentleman."

As expected of my best friend, that makes perfect sense.

"There are no requirements regarding family background or economic strength. Our family has deep roots in our hometown of Guanbuzi City, so supporting ourselves is not a problem. The only issue is the lack of an heir, so the child born will have to take the surname Liangyi."

It's so reasonable it couldn't be more reasonable. In Japan, the woman has to change her surname after marriage, and Ryougi's future wife and children will all have to take Ryougi's surname. This requirement is practically nonexistent.

And why did you suddenly breathe a sigh of relief after you nodded in agreement?

"She is tolerant of me, loving, and worried about my health from the very first day we met, and is willing to take care of me all the time."

Uh... this...

He was highly accomplished in calligraphy and Sinology, and also had excellent medical skills. He was about the same age as me.

These requirements are a bit...

"I'm often short on money, so I can only rent an apartment in Tokyo. After the wedding, I can bring the family back to my hometown."

"Isn't that me?" If Li Wei still couldn't tell that this was a joke, he should go and make an appointment at St. Juliana Hospital.

"Hmph, idiot."

Ryougi Shiki gave her best friend a grand and triumphant tap, as if she had won a victory and was in an exceptionally good mood.

This made Li Wei, who was already somewhat angry, not want to dwell on it any longer.

The two chatted and laughed as they made their way forward. Although the journey wasn't short, they quickly arrived at their destination—Ogawa's apartment.

Because he wasn't very wealthy, Li Wei's home was on the top floor of an apartment building, where the rent was cheaper.

Most of his neighbors were either working stiffs, single mothers with children, or taxi drivers in their seventies or eighties. Everyone was busy on weekdays, and Li Wei rarely saw more than a few people.

But today is different.

When the elevator doors opened, the corridor seemed unusually crowded today. Everyone stood silently, like dolls, motionless in place.

"Your neighbor is so weird," Ryougi couldn't help but remark.

“Yeah, maybe there’s some special event going on in the neighborhood today.” The boy squeezed his best friend’s hand. “Let’s not disturb them. Let’s go downstairs now.”

"Okay...we're not moving anything anymore?"

"No, we don't want anything anymore."

Li Wei spoke to Liangyi in the kindest possible tone, his solemn manner reassuring: "Leave the apartment now. As long as you're safe, everything else is worthless."

The two exchanged a glance, turned and ran into the fire escape, quickly descending the stairs. The moment they turned, a large number of stiff, doll-like "people" suddenly surged out of the corridor and rooms, chasing after them.

Even in the seemingly empty stairwell, four or five "people" emerged, completely disregarding the potential harm they might suffer, and desperately pounced on Li Wei.

For Li Wei, who had been training with Dr. Bian for a long time, he could easily tell that these "people" had long lost their vitality and were only being remotely controlled by some kind of energy to attack him.

All he could do was send them to be reincarnated.

Chapter 41: Fighting, Cool

【Water Rock Crushing Fist】

The Hiratsuka family's prized technique is incredibly lethal against humanoid creatures. Almost instantly, the heads of the several zombies that surrounded them were blown off, their brains splattered, and their deaths were gruesome.

He didn't know why these "people" who had lost their lives continued to act; attacking the head was just a subconscious act.

It turned out that his choice was correct.

"What exactly is this thing?"

Although Ryougi was a very calm and collected person, she was still a ten-year-old child after all. Faced with this situation, her tone inevitably carried these anxieties: "Do you usually live next to these things?"

"I don't know either, but at least as of today, they seem to be doing normally."

Holding Shi's hand tightly, Li Wei comforted him in as reassuring a tone as possible: "Their chance of survival is gone, and I don't know why they were still able to launch an attack. But it's okay, as long as we get out of the apartment, everything will be alright."

"……Um."

The two ran forward in silence. As they passed the fire extinguisher storage box, Li Wei punched and shattered the fire alarm, causing it to emit a sharp blare. He figured it wouldn't be long before someone noticed the anomaly.

He also grabbed a few fire axes and equipped himself and Liangyi.

There is a high wall between unarmed and armed.

The short-handled fire axe wasn't as convenient to use as a long knife or a lance, but it was better than nothing in this situation. At least having the real weapon in their hands gave the two men a significant boost in confidence.

"Who on earth did this? Was it the cult I overthrew seeking revenge? An enemy I inadvertently offended in the past? Or perhaps..."

While pondering, Li Wei charged forward, swinging his double axes, and with a single cleaving motion, he chopped the walking corpse blocking his path in two, shoulder to back.

Frankly speaking, these guys aren't very strong fighters, and they're unlike the highly mobile zombies in movies. They seem to be just ordinary people who aren't afraid of death. Anyone can easily defeat them once they overcome their initial fear.

For some unknown reason, as the two progressed, the number of zombies on the road decreased. Eventually, they even encountered a completely empty area, eerily quiet.

"Stay vigilant."

The two of them slowed down simultaneously and moved forward cautiously.

Not long after walking, I saw a familiar figure.

Araya Sōren, Li Wei's new landlord who had just changed two months ago, had a rosary hanging around his neck and held a strange ritual implement, seemingly praying, or perhaps performing a ritual to deliver the souls of the dead.

Centered on him, at least forty or fifty zombies collapsed to the ground in all directions, each one violently smashed into pieces. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the cause of all this was that they had run into the Hundred-Ton King.

This is what Li Wei and Ryougi Shiki witnessed.

"Mr. Araya, so you're alright."

Upon seeing familiar faces, the boy breathed a sigh of relief.

“These things are not enough to hurt me.” The landlord’s voice was cold and calm, as if the corpses lying haphazardly around him did not exist, and that he was continuing his discussion with Li Wei about religion, philosophy and other topics.

However, the landlord's personality was not suited for academic pursuits. Every time Li Wei was refuted to the point of exhaustion during the discussion, his gloomy face always made Li Wei wonder if he would pick up the thick book on the table and give him a hard blow if the conversation continued.

Let the young understand that the weapon of criticism can never replace the criticism of weapons.

"Follow me, there's a safe passage leading to the outside world here." The stern and serious landlord walked ahead and invited the young boy and girl behind him.

"That's wonderful." The boy nodded, signaling Ryougi to act according to the agreement.

Just as the landlord turned around, Li Wei suddenly leaped up, his body moving like a hurricane, sweeping through everything in his path. The floorboards shattered wherever he went, clearly indicating that the quality was far inferior to the high-end products from Ryudouji Temple. Raising his double axes high, a burst of fiery energy erupted from his body, carrying the force to shatter mountains and rivers, as he slammed down towards Araya Sōren.

[Heroic Leap] + [Slay]

When Mr. Merlin taught him "Merlin Magic," for various reasons, many of the magic tricks that Mr. Merlin was good at were incompatible, and Levi couldn't learn them no matter how hard he tried. However, when it came to physical skills and weapons, the boy could apply what he learned to other situations, and he could learn and master them in no time.

For example, magic that is normally used to kill someone who is already injured and has a fatal flaw can be used by Li Wei as long as he thinks that someone can be killed!

With his years of study of the "Huangdi Neijing" and "Yongtianliu Shoufa Yongxin Ji", the young man could easily see that the energy that was manipulating the group of zombies was consistent with the aura of Araya Sōren, and that what happened today was definitely related to the landlord.

What if I make a mistake and cut the wrong thing?

So what if he made a mistake? At worst, Li Wei can go to the grave and bow to apologize. He'll make sure he doesn't act rudely.

In Japan, there's nothing that a bow and apology can't solve. If there is, then just bow again.

clang--! ! ! !

Araya Sōren, as if possessed by eyes in the back of his head, raised his arms to meet Li Wei's twin axes. Suddenly, silver, knotted circuits appeared, his flesh clashing with the steel blades, producing a metallic clang. A visible shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sweeping in all directions. The floor and walls, unable to withstand the impact, began to collapse, burying Araya Sōren beneath the rubble.

"Uh--"

Li Wei, who was also impacted, felt numbness and tingling in both arms. The two fire axes snapped instantly and flew backward. A rush of blood to his head almost made him faint.

Suppressing his discomfort and having no time to care about the landlord's life or death, the boy grabbed the two instruments and ran for his life.

"Is that guy dead?" Ryougi asked somewhat uneasily.

"I don't know, and it doesn't matter. Let's just get out of here first."

Desperately suppressing the blood that was about to spurt from his mouth, the boy explained as quickly as possible: "Although I don't know what his purpose is, his target is definitely you. As long as you can escape, I will be safe too."

"However, the impact just now shouldn't have caused him any real harm. He'll catch up soon."

"Was the power cut off here in advance? It's already so dark at this hour, it's even hard to find our way."

"..."

Upon hearing Li Wei's explanation, Liangyi's body visibly stiffened for a moment.

He then tried to continue walking ahead, but Li Wei grabbed his hand.

"What happened?" Sensing his best friend's unusual behavior, the boy felt something was wrong: "You can just say whatever it is. There's nothing between us that can't be said."

"...The power supply here is stable, and the lights are on."

Li Wei stared at his bloodshot pupils, paused for a moment, and then replied, "Your eyes seem to be blind."

"It's nothing serious. It's just temporary blindness caused by high blood pressure in the blood vessels inside the skull due to a strong impact, which has led to poor blood flow. You'll be fine after a short rest."

Li Wei quickly diagnosed himself: "Now, Yin and Yang, you are my eyes."

“…Okay, I will always be your eyes from now on.”

For some reason, Liangyi repeated Li Wei's words, but slightly changed one of the words.

"Also, your expression right now..."

Is there something wrong with my expression?

"You are laughing now."

The concept of Yin and Yang provided an answer that Li Wei did not expect.

Touching his cheek with his hand, the boy confirmed one thing through the feedback from his fingers—he was indeed smiling.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that he didn't seem to feel any pain since he was injured, nor did he flinch or feel fear because of the fight. On the contrary, he seemed to enjoy the process, or rather, this bloodthirsty deathmatch brought him a kind of pleasure he had never experienced before.

It was an intense emotion, like a zombie craving live flesh.

Chapter 42 is not even in the same league.

Stumbling and temporarily blind, Li Wei, guided by Liang Yi, proceeded along the route he remembered.

They quickly discovered the anomaly.

"Logically speaking, we should have left the apartment by now."

Leaning against the wall to rest and massaging his head, Li Wei, who had barely regained a little bit of his sense of light, analyzed the current situation: "There's bad news, we're trapped."

In China, this is called "ghost wall," while in Japan it's called "divine disappearance." But whatever it's called, it's essentially a method of using illusions to deceive and confuse others, making it impossible for them to escape.

It sounds very unscientific, but it's definitely magical.

"The phone is useless, I can't make a call at all, the signal is cut off." After several unsuccessful attempts, Liangyi put away her phone and gave up on the pointless operation.