Hong Xia brought me and Lisa to the Bar…and as its name implied, it literally was a bar. That was to say, it was a place overflowing with alcohol and women. Flashy lights pranced about giddily across the couches and tables, taking on an almost neon hue. They didn't have the right equipment for this sort of activity in the bunker, but the survivors made the best out of what they had.
Apart from a handful of engineers and technicians in greasy overalls and the bartenders and bargirls themselves, the only people in the Bar were almost exclusively combatants. They were hooting and cheering, lounging about on the couches and drinking heavily. Hong Xia himself ordered a huge mug of beer, but obviously Lisa and I abstained.
He led us to a couch and dropped on it, sipping the beer and looking contented. He then waved one of the girls over.
"You can order one of the girls to serve you too," he told me with a grin. "You can purchase their services with points. The girls get to earn the points you pay them. And of course, there are several types of services. The, uh, more intimate ones obviously cost more points."
"That will be unnecessary," Lisa spoke on my behalf, her voice cold. She deliberately sat between me and the bargirls, almost as if she was shielding me from them.
"Look, lady, you've got to be more open minded," one of the other guys called out from another couch. I recognized him as being from Hong Xia's group – one of the combatants Lisa and I had rescued earlier that day. "Strong men like us, we won't be satisfied with just one woman. We deserve more. In fact, ladies will flock to the stronger guys. It's nature…survival instinct. We need to pass down our genes to as many offspring as possible, to ensure that humanity doesn't go extinct."
"I have no intention of doing that," I declared and held Lisa's hand. "I belong only to her."
At my statement, a bargirl who was making to approach me backed off. Though I didn't know if it was because of my words or because Lisa was shooting a warning glare at her.
The guy shook his head in amusement. "Stick around here long enough and you might change your perspective, kid. It's a harsh world out there…no place for ideals or romance."
"We'll see about that."
"Your loss, kid." The guy shrugged, and then called over another bargirl to serve him. She giggled when he pulled her to his lap, but I suspected her delight stemmed more from the points he transferred to her via a holographic window.
"Now, now." Hong Xia managed to call a bargirl for himself, a petite girl with long, black hair and blue eyes. She snuggled against him as he placed an arm over her shoulders, pressing her ample bosom against his torso. The redhead nodded at me. "You don't have to if you don't want to. We're here to enjoy the concert anyway."
He must have caught sight of Lisa sitting closer to me, doing her best to physically ward off any girls from approaching me, and so adopted a tactful tone. I had to hold my girlfriend's hand to calm her down, otherwise she would literally fly off her seat like a ferocious wildcat and start scratching the other girls.
The normally timid Lisa doing such a thing…usually that would amuse me, but when the danger of it actually happening in reality sank in, I had to do my best to placate her. Fortunately, it didn't take much to assure her. Just holding her hand was enough to calm her down and return her to her usual kind and gentle self.
Hong Xia looked very relieved. He continued to flirt with the bargirl he had invited over, but he also kept an eye out for anything to keep us occupied. Apparently he thought it was his duty as our host to find entertainment for us. Part of the reason was because I didn't drink alcoholic beverages, which made him uncomfortable because it made him feel like he was the only one enjoying himself.
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. When the lights began to flicker, he sat up excitedly, almost shocking the girl he had hired. Ignoring her, he fixed his eyes on the small stage in the back center of the bar.
"It's starting! The concert is starting! Kelsey is here!"
Lisa and I exchanged a glance. Neither of us knew who Kelsey was, even though the name was familiar to us. Lisa had mentioned to me that she had the same feeling.
"I swear I heard the name somewhere before, but…"
So she said, and I told her that I felt the same. Despite the both of us trying our best to rack our brains, we simply couldn't remember where we had heard the name before.
We didn't have to wait long to find out why. The moment she stepped onto stage in that stylish pink and white dress of hers, our jaws dropped in recognition.
That signature twin tails of hers, the long pink hair that were tied in a cute manner with ribbons. Despite the cute fashion style, long legs showed under a short pink skirt, and ending in long black boots that glittered. Her shoulders were bare and the front of her blouse was designed to mischievously reveal her ample bosom. Twinkling ruby eyes on a supposedly innocent face, matching her cherry pink lips.
I definitely saw this girl somewhere before. Then I recalled her name – Kelsey. That was right, I knew I heard of that name before…to be more exact, I saw her name before. Spelled across some magazine in bright letters, a photograph of this girl featured across the front cover.
Kelsey was an idol. No, not before the apocalypse – she certainly wasn't over a hundred years old. And this wasn't Dark Sea Era, so stop confusing that manhua with this reality. She actually performed in one of the outer districts…what was it, District 108? In any event, she was a popular idol who became famous because of a tragedy. While taking the high-speed railway from District 108 to another, the train she was riding on met with an accident, attacked by a mutant and derailed. Most of her passengers were killed or were missing.
And Kelsey was among the missing passengers. As a popular idol, she was singled out by the news and made the headlines, with many fans mourning her loss. I didn't follow idols, which was why I simply pushed the news to the back of my mind and forgot about her. Apparently Lisa was the same.
Turned out that Kelsey was alive after all, somehow rescued by Wang Yang and his gang, and survived by performing for them.
"That's right!" Hong Xia said with a grin. "That's the real Kelsey all right!"
The pink haired idol stepped to the middle of the stage and picked up a microphone. Plastering a big smile across her face, she began singing.
"If it wasn't for that day where starlight lit up the world, before the heavens broke and the earth cracked, you were by my side. How could I possibly easily describe the hurts I suffered in the past? My fears have been transformed into flames."
"What is this? The Fire of Stars ~Awake~?" I grumbled and threw my hands up. "Spare me, Great Lord!"
"What are you talking about now?" Lisa asked, staring at me confusion. At that moment, Kelsey chose to sing the verse, "wake up, wake up!"
No, seriously…I really wanted to wake up too, but this was harsh reality. I tried not to sigh and simply shook my head.
"Never mind. I was just thinking to myself that I heard this song before." As the ending theme for a certain animation adaptation of a manhua slash novel.
Kelsey finished up the song and did a short bow, basking in the applause of the combatants who visited the Bar as customers. Taking a deep breath, she switched to another song.
"The wind blows and turns about, bringing about ripples on the surface of a lake. She, whose heart has been closed off, drifts away just like the clouds following the wind."
"And now it's Interstellar Encirclement? The ending theme for the second season of The Daily Life of the Immortal King?" I buried my face in my palm. "Aren't you guys afraid of being reported for copyright?"
"I don't think anyone cares about copyright in a post-apocalyptic world," Lisa pointed out. She had a point there.
Not that it mattered. Kelsey continued singing, unimpeded and unaffected. Everyone loved her songs and clapped boisterously, whistling and cheering. Kelsey bowed once more and launched to a third song. This time I couldn't help but burst out laughing when I heard it.
"I believed I possessed the whole world…I believed I created all of this…however, reality is so tangled. The merciless lies, the courage that was lost…unable to clearly differentiate between light and dark…until he broke through the darkness. That was a ray of light that brings hope and illuminates the withered horizon…Cupid, Cupid Chocolates…the story's origin starts from here…it's the way he leads you off track and that's why it's so beautiful…"
"Now it's Cupid Chocolates ING that was originally sung by Vivian!"
"Why do you know all these songs?" Lisa asked with a frown. "Is it because they are all theme songs for animation or dong man?"
"Actually…yes."
"What are you, some sort of otaku?" Hong Xia scoffed. Then he stared at my glasses. "Oh."
"Hey! Just because I wear glasses doesn't automatically make me an otaku! I'm a glasses wearing person who just happens to be an otaku!"
"I don't even know what that means…"
"You should pay attention to Kelsey's songs," the bargirl next to Hong Xia advised. He nodded fervently.
"Of course! Sorry!"
Lisa and I fell silent, listening to Kelsey sing the rest of the songs on her list. Time seemed to fly past, and the concert was over before we realized it. Kelsey put the microphone and stepped back to bow deeply, but the audience yelled for an encore.
"Tomorrow," Kelsey said with a mischievous wink and spun away. She glanced over her shoulder and smirked. "I need to save my voice for tomorrow as well."
"Aw…"
The audience let out disappointed groans, but nobody gainsaid her. Kelsey hopped off the stage and disappeared to the back of the bar, probably for staff only. With the concert over, the audience crawled to their feet with moans and mumbling, most of them dead drunk.
"I hope you enjoyed the concert," Hong Xia told us, even as his "date" left him. She parted with a suggestive wink, and Hong Xia shook his smartphone at her. A sign that he would give her more points the next time he visited, I suppose.
"Yes, we did," Lisa gushed. "Kelsey really sings very well!"
"Excellent, excellent." Hong Xia got to his feet and stretched. His face was flushed from the beer he had consumed, but at least he wasn't as drunk as many of the other combatants in the Bar. "Come with me. I'll show you to your room."
As we went down the corridor, I heard the steps of someone running toward us. Turning around, I caught sight of Kelsey.
"Oh, Kelsey." Hong Xia waved at her. "Do you need something?"
"No…I just thought I saw some new faces." She paused and studied me and Lisa. "You're both new around here, aren't you? I thought I should say hi."
"Hello." Lisa bowed, and I also lowered my head. My girlfriend smiled. "I'm Lisa, and this is my boyfriend, Feng Zhi Ming."
"Ah, yes. You did look like a couple." Kelsey nodded. She glanced at Hong Xia. "I assume they are combatants, considering that you could afford to take them to the Bar."
"Yes. Well, Brother Zhi Ming is. Lisa will most likely be a healer." Hong Xia grinned. "They are both evolvers."
"What?!" Kelsey's hands flew to her mouth and her eyes widened. I glared at Hong Xia, but I guess I shouldn't blame him. People would find out sooner or later, and there really wasn't a reason to hide the truth. The idol slowly nodded, and I had a sense that she was thinking of something. Though I couldn't put my finger on what exactly.
Something told me that I couldn't fully trust Kelsey. On the other hand, I knew for sure that I couldn't trust anyone in this bunker, especially that Wang Yang, so that was pretty much a given.
"Yeah, they saved our asses today. If it weren't for these two, my platoon would have been eaten by zombies." Hong Xia laughed affably. "But after that intense combat, I'm sure we all need a rest. I'll be taking them to their room now."
"Okay. Rest well." Kelsey waved, but I could almost see the cogs whirring in her head. I bowed again to bid her farewell before following Lisa and Hong Xia to the room that the refugees had somehow squeezed out for us. It wasn't anything extravagant, given that this was a bunker and the accommodation came on short notice, but there was a bed, table and other essentials. There was even a private bathroom.
We couldn't complain, given the circumstances.
"Thanks." I bowed. Hong Xia shook his hand dismissively.
"What's there to thank me for? You saved our lives today. We owe you. I just wish we could provide something more…comfortable."
"This is good enough."
"I knew you would say that." Hong Xia chuckled. He turned away, his hand resting on the door ledge. "Anyway, get some rest tonight. We'll talk again tomorrow."
Then he was gone. Lisa and I exchanged a glance, and then we shut the door and went to rest.