Chapter 170: Rib
Shi Zijin was slightly taken aback. He couldn’t help but activate his “Eye of Insight” to examine her, but he saw no signs of awakening.
So, he simply nodded and said, “I’ll be careful.”
Su Tao ran upstairs quickly but suddenly stopped, turned around, and ran back. She shouted at him, “I still prefer heroes who stay alive. Please take good care of yourself.”
*
A Sleepless Night
Su Tao was woken up by a call from Teacher Sheng Yulan.
“Boss Su, is Lin Fangzhi taking a leave of absence today? It’s almost eleven, and he still hasn’t shown up for class.”
Su Tao snapped awake, sat up, and called Lin Fangzhi’s name in the living room.
Jiang Yu appeared silently and said in a cold tone,
“He hasn’t been in this house since yesterday afternoon.”
Su Tao was shocked. She quickly called Qi Yunlan, asking her to check Lin Fangzhi’s whereabouts.
But in the end, they found out he had never even left home.
Su Tao frowned, hung up the phone, and called out into the air,
“Fangzhi? I know you’re in your space, and you can hear me. Come out, don’t make me worry.”
No response.
She searched the entire house again and noticed that his little blanket was missing. Instantly, she realized—something must have upset the sensitive child.
After all, in the beginning, he clung to that tattered blanket for security. But as time passed, he relied on it less and less. Sometimes, he even left it lying around, no longer treating it as something precious.
“Fangzhi, please come out, okay? If something is bothering you, we can talk about it. I’m really worried about you. I can’t even focus on work. How about this? If you come out, I’ll let you skip class for the next three days, and you can follow me wherever I go. How does that sound?”
After coaxing him for about ten minutes, Lin Fangzhi finally emerged, hugging his blanket tightly.
Su Tao let out a sigh of relief, rushed over, and gently touched his face and back.
“What happened? Did someone upset you? Or did I do something wrong?”
Seeing the concern in her eyes and the softness in her voice, Lin Fangzhi felt his emotions settle. The pain in his heart wasn’t as unbearable anymore.
Suddenly, he felt like Su Tao was a rib in his body—something that held up his entire life, irreplaceable and immensely important.
He struggled to find the right words but eventually asked the question that had been weighing on his mind the most:
“Am I… important?”
“Of course.”
To Su Tao, Fangzhi was family. Of course, he was important.
Lin Fangzhi felt like he had come back to life, at least halfway. He then asked, “What about Jiang?”
“Jiang? You mean Jiang Yu?”
As soon as he was mentioned, Jiang Yu immediately melted into the shadows, trying to minimize his presence.
“Mhm.” The little fawn-like eyes looked up at Su Tao expectantly.
Su Tao instantly understood and sighed, rubbing her forehead.
“Fangzhi, Brother Jiang Yu is our good friend. He’s very important too. He just arrived in a new and unfamiliar environment, just like you did when you first came here. He needs someone to help him adapt quickly. You’re a kind and understanding child—you can understand that, right?”
Lin Fangzhi was torn.
He felt that Tao was right, but he still felt uncomfortable and uneasy.
Su Tao patted his head.
“Brother Jiang Yu is just staying temporarily. In a few days, he’ll move next door. So during this time, you need to help him quickly get familiar with everything here, okay?”
Hearing that they wouldn’t be living together, Lin Fangzhi’s last bit of gloom vanished. He nodded enthusiastically.
“Okay! No class today, I’m following you!”
Su Tao sighed in relief and let him have his way.
Still, she took Lin Fangzhi to see Sheng Yulan in person so he could apologize to the teacher and formally request leave for the next two days.
Lin Fangzhi realized he was in the wrong and obediently apologized.
Sheng Yulan quickly waved her hands. “No need, no need. I was just worried if something had happened to him.”
Su Tao replied, “Rules are rules. Not asking for leave and making the teacher and guardian worry—that was his mistake.”
Lin Fangzhi lowered his head and traced circles on the floor with his toes.
Just then, Sheng Yuqing suddenly ran over, directly stopping in front of Su Tao. With a bit of stubbornness, she asked:
“Boss Su, why didn’t you choose me? I’m not afraid of hardship or death.”
Jiang Yu, the subject of discussion, instantly disappeared again.
Su Tao sighed, pressed Sheng Yuqing down onto a chair, and asked:
“Do you think your family is doing well now?”
Sheng Yuqing was momentarily stunned, then nodded.
They were doing very well. Though they only had a small one-bedroom apartment, it kept them safe from the wind and rain. They had food, security, and most importantly, no dangerous people around.
Su Tao continued, “And who do you think gave you this good life?”
Sheng Yuqing was stumped. “You, of course.”
Su Tao shook her head. “You’re wrong. It’s Dongyang. It’s the pioneers and city defenders on the front lines. Have you ever thought about what would happen to Taoyang if Dongyang were breached?”
“The tenants in Taoyang would all lose their jobs. They would be separated from their loved ones in Dongyang, unable to even say goodbye. Taoyang would lose its financial support, making it impossible to maintain normal operations. Its downfall would just be a matter of time.”
Thinking about it carefully, it was terrifying.
If Taoyang’s tenants lost their jobs, they wouldn’t be able to pay rent or spend money locally.
Without income, Su Tao wouldn’t be able to continue developing the place or paying employees.
Even if zombies never breached the city, Taoyang would eventually run out of resources and wither away.
Sheng Yuqing was stunned. She had never considered this before.
Su Tao softened her tone.
“Yu Qing, not only does Dongyang need you, but Taoyang needs you too. With you here, there’s one more layer of protection against its collapse.”
Sheng Yuqing was struck with sudden realization.
She had never stayed in Taoyang for the sake of comfort. To her, Taoyang was her family’s salvation. She had thought that protecting Su Tao meant protecting her family’s hard-earned happiness.
But in the end, she had been thinking too simply.
“I understand now. Thank you, Boss Su.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she ran off in a hurry.
Sheng Yulan, seeing how rash her sister was, apologized to Su Tao.
“She’s always been like this since she was a child—impulsive and stubborn.”
Su Tao smiled. “She’ll grow into an exceptional person.”
Anyone who chooses to protect their homeland is already remarkable.
*
Shi Zijin didn’t end up leaving that day.
The old commander had spent the night thinking and decided that the Pioneer Corps needed to expand in preparation for any emergency. So, he asked Shi Zijin and his team to stay a couple more days to help with recruitment.
Xing Hongwen leaned on his cane, coughing several times.
Xing Shuyu, Shi Zijin, and the others were worried. The old commander’s health was deteriorating.
Xing Hongwen waved his hand dismissively. “It’s nothing serious. I just didn’t sleep well after receiving last night’s news. Changjing really caused a lot of trouble this time. Cough, cough, cough— Go, go pick out people. Most of them are from Dongyang, with a few recent survivors. There are some talented ability users among them.”
Cen Tianjiao flipped through the recruitment list with them. When he came across a photo of a beautiful woman, he grinned and held it up for Shi Zijin to see.
“Boss, check this out—a beauty, and she’s an ability user! Oh? She’s even from the old station.”
The name on the file read: Lian Sha.
