As Yan Lidong finished logging the information into the spreadsheet, he glanced up at the woman who was still typing furiously.
"Pardon if this is a silly question, but wouldn't it be dangerous to get so close to the zombies?" he asked. "Even the mid-levels were overwhelmed."
Not looking up from her phone, she nonchalantly waved her hand, "You're pretty funny, kid. It's the Lord we're talking about—even if every zombie in the world fought against him, he'd win without breaking a sweat. He can handle us deadweights." After a moment, she glanced at him. "So, are you coming with?"
Yan Lidong looked at the clock, which indicated that he had more than an hour left on his shift. He helplessly shook his head. "I'd love to, but it seems I can't clock off quite yet."
She raised an eyebrow. "So responsible? Man, maybe you will keep this job, after all. If it were me, the second I heard the Lord was nearby, I would've been out the door within seconds."
"Would you not have been penalised?"
"Well, practically the whole city shows up to watch the Lord in action. It's weirder that you're not itching to go see him."
He sighed ruefully. "Naturally, I adore the Lord as much as anyone else. Unfortunately, I can't afford to lose this job—I'd be left completely destitute."
"Come on, just a peek wouldn't hurt. Plus, there won't be any zombie reports with him around; he'll wipe out every one in the area."
Yan Lidong smiled, having already started preparing to leave. "If you insist."
Just as the woman said, the zombies were visible as soon as they stepped outside. Faintly, above the grumbling of the zombies, the sound of a flute could be heard. The woman gasped, her face quickly growing paler. "I forgot that Piper's here! Ugh, cover your ears! I think I have spare earplugs here…"
Yan Lidong cooperated, glancing at the zombies as he did. They were truly horrific, with their rotted skin covered in blood, showing the decaying organs and bones beneath—any normal person seeing them for the first time would have vomited, broken down in tears, or at least screamed. Unfortunately, he was a bit tired from working (reading gossip forums) all day, so he didn't have the energy to pretend to be scared.
Luckily, the woman was distracted by her own business, shoving earplugs into her ears. She continued rummaging through her purse. "I'm not sure if I have another pair for you… Usually, Piper can keep his attacks under control, but he gets way too excited when the Lord is around and goes ballistic."
Yan Lidong noticed that as the sounds drew nearer, the woman had gradually gotten paler and her breathing ragged, only alleviating when she put the earplugs in. He raised an eyebrow, faintly feeling that she had forgotten to give him critical information.
She muttered under her breath, "Geez, why did the lunatic have to have sound-based attacks? Any random bystander who hears his instrument is basically just guaranteed collateral damage."
Suddenly, the flute sounds turned shrill. The zombies' groans grew louder, their already slow movements lagging behind even more.
Then, the nearby zombies exploded.
Yan Lidong, who was only half-heartedly covering his ears, glanced over with a frozen smile. Mentally, he hoped that someone would remove the face mask from his dead body—if he even had any remains after imploding, that was.
As he closed his eyes with acceptance, however, the flute stopped. In fact, the entire city seemed to quiet down as a strange chill permeated the air. Yan Lidong's breathing slowed as he felt a sense of foreboding. He opened his eyes.
Just metres away, a man with blonde hair and green eyes slowly lowered the flute in his hands. His expression was filled with ecstasy as he looked across from him, where another figure had just appeared, wearing a plain white mask that covered his entire face. His attire was reminiscent of a military general's, his back straight and stern. Even standing still with his face completely covered, he exerted tremendous amounts of pressure.
"...Piper, was this necessary? You've made a mess."
The voice was the same one Yan Lidong had heard in the alleyway.
Piper smiled brightly, his eyes practically shining as they lit up. "My Lord! You're here!"
"Calm down. The threat hasn't been fully eradicated," he replied.
The man lifted his arm, and in one swift motion, he sliced through the air. All at once, Yan Lidong heard dozens of bodies hit the floor.
Then, there was utter silence. A chill ran down his spine. His gaze was entirely fixed on that figure.
So this is what the Lord is capable of.
Slowly, the Lord began turning to face Yan Lidong's direction. Though, before he could fully face him, Yan Lidong heard rushed footsteps coming from behind. He turned around, his eyes widening after seeing the sheer number of people that had arrived—the entire street was filled with well over a hundred civilians, most of whom were completely out of breath.
"Aww, did we miss the show? But we ran over as soon as we heard the news!"
"Tch, if only the Guild was closer to the residences, then we could've gotten here sooner."
"Ah, but the Lord is here! Look, it's the Lord and Piper!"
Immediately, Yan Lidong snapped out of his trance-like state and went along with the flow of the crowd, pretending he had also just joined in on the action. With his current non-descript appearance, he had no issues blending in. He quickly lost the Lord's gaze, who had turned to look at the remnants of rotten flesh and blood that had splashed across the street.
"My Lord, I did a good job, didn't I? I got rid of at least half of them in one blow!" Piper exclaimed.
"Disregarding the mess, I suppose so. Well done."
"Shouldn't you reward me~?" Piper asked coquettishly. "A kiss, perhaps?"
"Oh my. He really is open about his love," Yan Lidong mused.
Though he was simply thinking aloud, a bystander next to him turned to face him. "Right?! Ah, they look so good together! If someone as handsome as Piper is so smitten, surely the Lord is just as charming! Being pursued so wholeheartedly, even someone like the Lord will fall eventually."
Another person nearby scoffed. "You're kidding. Magonia's the only one the Lord has ever actively sought out. Just imagine the cold, ruthless beauty who melted the heart of the battle-hardened warrior; there's way more tension in their story!"
"You don't understand! Piper has been by the Lord's side for the longest, never once wavering in his loyalty! Does his utter devotion not move you?" she turned to look at Yan Lidong. "It's moving, right?!"
Yan Lidong, who found himself stuck in the middle, was very reluctant to pick sides, lest he get torn to shreds by the other party. "Aren't they both good options? More than anything, I'm rather curious about what the Lord is like to be able to attract their attention."
The other two paused. "Actually… yeah. Now that you mention it, he's never shown his face publicly."
"But he's gotta be a looker if Magonia and Piper are both head-over-heels for him, right?"
"Isn't it too shallow to focus on looks? He's saved millions of lives, and the reason we can all live peacefully is because of him. Plus, he carries himself in such a dignified way. There's just something about him that draws people in. Maybe that's why they both like him."
"Obviously, I know that! Don't think I'm discrediting the Lord—I'm a pretty big fan of him too!"
As the two of them continued bickering, Yan Lidong was mentally taking notes.
Yes, this was it—the gossip he had been longing for. The world's strongest figures, all embroiled in a messy love triangle filled with unrequited love. The tension between the love rivals… he was elated.
"Honestly, you just can't be reasoned with! Piper might be a bit… overly affectionate, but his love is the purest there is!"
"And you can't see how Magonia and the Lord complete each other! Even in battle, they practically only rely on one another!"
"You're acting like the Lord doesn't do all the work…"
"You—!"
"...well regardless, he's bound to end up with one of them eventually, no?" Yan Lidong murmured.
They turned to look at him, incredulous. "Obviously. Nothing is known about the Lord's background, but he gives off the vibe of a loner. Aside from his team, he probably doesn't care for anyone else."
"Yeah, at some point, one of them is going to win him over, no question."
Then, that person he was searching for… was probably a baseless rumour, Yan Lidong concluded. Even if it was true, since the Lord hadn't found him yet, he was probably long dead. And besides, who would hold on to such silly feelings for that long?