Ye Ruan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Ye Ruan (叶软) 2
Alias(es)	Little Bunny; Ruanruan; “Dumpling” (Lou Yu’s nickname); “devil captain” (training reputation); “sister-in-law” (First Team’s teasing address) 4 31 51 55
Species/Race	Special Human born to a Special Person; white lop-eared rabbit form 1 11
Gender	Male 85 145
Affiliation	Third Team of the Special Humans Team; temporarily an unofficial member of First Team 3
Occupation/Role	Soldier, Third Team captain, and instructor to his teammates 3 72
Family	Son of Ye Qingman and Nan Han; older brother to five younger siblings 56 72 147
Spouse	Gu Cheng 145
Status	Alive; recovered from zombification and later received the first vaccine dose 126 146
First Appearance	Found trapped in a net in rabbit form 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Childhood combat benchmark	52	Retrospective training footage shows that he could fight Lou Yu to a draw while still a child.
Adult Special Human — second-strongest overall	52	His overall abilities are ranked second only to Gu Cheng’s. His Third Team placement does not reflect his individual combat strength.
Partial zombification	112 115 117	Infection spreads after a scratch and bite. His speech deteriorates, hunger increasingly drives him to bite, and the group restrains him. A possible Level Three transformation is predicted, not confirmed.
Complete zombification — level unspecified	119 120	Breaks his restraints and attacks his teammates. His fully mutated strength makes it difficult for Gu Cheng to restrain him without injury; Lu Yao tranquilizes him.
Recovered Special Human	126 137	Returns to conscious, independent action after treatment and a month-long coma. Recovery leaves him thinner and initially unable to move; no new numerical power rank is given.

Background / History

Ye Ruan was trained from early childhood. At five, being half a second too slow during an exercise resulted in explosion debris cutting his forearm; he later describes having more training injuries than he can count. He grew up knowing Lou Yu, Tang Tang, and He Zhou, and became a top student who helped teach his future teammates 26 72 164.

During a childhood period when he feared going home, Ye Ruan secretly listened to Gu Cheng playing piano through a classroom window. He recorded the music in a rabbit-shaped recorder and repeatedly used it for comfort when injured or unhappy. Although he remembered the musician, he did not initially know that the performer was Gu Cheng 136 155 159.

His mother, Ye Qingman, was a former First Team deputy captain whose retirement did not free her from institutional control. An experimental child born before Ye Ruan died shortly after birth; five later children survived but were taken away to be raised by researchers. Nan Han divorced Ye Qingman because those children were not biologically his, abandoned the family, and tried to have Ye Ruan sent away as well. Ye Qingman fought her superiors to keep Ye Ruan with her 11 55 56.

Ye Ruan eventually became captain of Third Team. Despite his exceptional fighting ability, his poor constitution prevented him from receiving the Second Team captaincy. He also served overseas, where intelligence collected jointly by Second and Third Teams became a potential means of securing his mother’s freedom 9 23 31.

Appearance

Ye Ruan has silvery-white hair, ruby-red eyes, fair skin, and a slender build that often causes strangers to underestimate him 1 46 85.

• Rabbit traits: Soft, pink lop ears and a rabbit tail appear in his partially transformed state; he can conceal them 1 3 4.
• Animal form: A small, fluffy, snow-white lop-eared rabbit, light enough for Gu Cheng to carry inside his coat 1 11 78.
• Build: Slender hands and long legs; his younger brother Ye Ting eventually grows taller than him 1 46 176.
• Scars: An old forearm scar comes from an explosion during training at age five 26.
• Clothing: Frequently wears combat uniforms and military boots; receives a dark-green captain’s uniform for the Siyang Mountain exercise 46 57.
• Infection changes: Black lines spread from his injured arm toward his face, and both eyes turn black as complete zombification occurs 112 119.

Personality

Ye Ruan is shy around strangers and initially frightened of carnivorous Special Humans. He keeps a low profile, dislikes unfamiliar social situations, and often tugs at his ears or hair when nervous. Public affection and First Team’s “sister-in-law” teasing readily make him blush 2 3 6 51.

His gentleness does not prevent ruthless decisions. After overhearing survivors planning to murder the soldiers, he recommends killing them before they can act. He personally kills Ren Bing for abusing women, uses deception to overcome armed enemies, and accepts responsibility when he believes the authorities are unwilling to act 6 18 85 126.

He is generous with food and fiercely loyal to his teammates. He rejects Cai Hao’s dismissal of Third Team as cowardly, refuses to abandon injured companions, and prepares his team for leadership without him when he fears becoming a zombie. The same protective instinct can make him reckless: he ignores retreat orders and burns his hand tearing open a wrecked bus to search for friends 7 26 62 113.

With Gu Cheng, Ye Ruan becomes playful, affectionate, jealous, and deliberately mischievous. He sometimes feigns helplessness or injury to manipulate Gu Cheng, but firmly resists unwanted touching and overprotection. He insists on earning victories himself rather than relying on his boyfriend’s help 3 53 62 132 146.

Abilities & Skills

Transformation and Healing

• Three presentations: Can appear human, retain rabbit ears and a tail, or transform fully into a lop-eared rabbit 1 3 4.
• Small-space access: Uses rabbit form to slip through dense shrubs, leave through a kitchen window, and cross a courtyard wall 60 78 144.
• Recovery: Reverts to rabbit form during serious illness, a state that allows Special Humans to recover more quickly 10.
• Accelerated healing: His wounds improve rapidly overnight after the farmhouse incident 18.
• Limit: Rapid healing does not prevent fever, severe illness, or viral infection 10 112 138.

Strength, Agility, and Close Combat

• Inherited strength: As the child of a Special Person, he possesses greater strength than artificially cultivated members; certain abilities become available in half-beast form 11.
• Heavy lifting: Uproots a tree with a trunk thicker than Yu Jingjing’s waist 11.
• Jumping: Identified as the Special Humans Team’s best jumper; easily vaults a gate over three meters high 7 63.
• Unarmed combat: Defeats Daniel, throws Gu Cheng during their spar, and kills zombies by crushing throats or smashing skulls 52 53 87.
• Combat deception: Wins his spar with Gu Cheng by feigning a need for help, then kicking him away and pinning him 53.
• Limit: His overall ranking does not make him unbeatable; even coordinated attacks struggle against exceptionally fast monsters 110.

Marksmanship, Archery, and Blade Work

• Firearms: His mother taught him to shoot. He maintains steady aim in heavy rain and later kills a Level Three avian monster with a gun 9 132.
• Weapon assembly: Rapidly assembles handguns and defeats Daniel in the competition’s shooting stage 53 126.
• Archery: Claims accuracy at 150 meters and demonstrates a two-arrow shot in which the second arrow splits the first 80.
• Curved Blade: Uses precise melee strikes and thrown attacks against zombies; kills Gorilla in coordination with Gu Cheng 29.
• Explosives: Shoots thrown C4 to detonate it and places a bomb inside a Level Three monster’s mouth before escaping 9 39.
• Limit: Ordinary bullets have no effect on Gorilla, while marking rounds merely anger a Level Three bird monster 29 63.

Hearing and Threat Detection

• Early warning: Detects a creature outside the scrapyard gate before anyone else notices it 7.
• Sound recognition: Identifies Tang Yi by her voice and recognizes the approach of an earthworm monster through familiar rustling 20 63.
• Scent awareness: Recognizes Qiao Wanwan’s perfume as the scent he noticed on Gu Cheng 85.
• Limit: A monster’s piercing scream temporarily blacks out his vision and causes intense pain in his ears and brain 110.

Leadership, Fieldcraft, and First Aid

• Training: Instructed teammates from a young age and developed a fearsome reputation during sparring sessions 4 72.
• Tactics: Chooses routes, directs ambushes, tracks eliminations, and avoids stronger opponents until circumstances favor his team 13 59 60.
• Resource management: Stockpiles enough food that his teammates do not go hungry during their earlier South City mission 7.
• Improvisation: Drives off a Level Three bird using a dead tree and medical alcohol 63.
• First aid: Bandages Gu Cheng’s injuries and treats Ren Fei’er after rescuing her 15 22.
• Medical observation: Notices Li Tuantuan’s developing horns and scales, discreetly gives her medicine, and later identifies her as the dragon child described by Li Luo 36 97.

Skiing

• Won a skiing championship at twelve 131.
• Uses his experience on a snowy slope while deliberately pretending to have difficulty, drawing the amnesiac Gu Cheng into caring for him 131 132.

Physical and Psychological Limits

• Poor constitution: Rabbit Special Humans tolerate neither heat nor cold well; Ye Ruan’s constitution affects his team placement and repeatedly leaves him feverish 9 10 140.
• Severe fever: Reaches a temperature of 39.5°C during the Arctic stay 138.
• Bloodlust: Experiences a surge of violent hatred, but regains control by remembering his mother’s loving words 29.
• Infection: Initially retains attachment to Gu Cheng and some restraint, but ultimately becomes dangerous to the entire group 115 119 120.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Storage Wristband — Rare storage equipment holding food, medicine, toiletries, clothing, bedding, and other supplies. Gu Cheng temporarily confiscates it when making Ye Ruan an unofficial First Team member 3 4 36 60.
• Curved Blade — Carried in a thigh sheath and used for melee attacks, decapitations, and throwing strikes. His mother equips him with a powerful Curved Blade before the mountain exercise 29 57 68.
• Firearms — Carries handguns and uses a suppressed gun when investigating the scrapyard gate 7 53 126.
• Bows and crossbows — Uses improvised ranged weapons during the southward journey 80 81 87.
• Bombs — Keeps explosives available for rescues and close-range attacks against powerful monsters 16 22 39.
• Tracker and Communicator — Uses tracking signals to search for First Team; later receives a compact, rugged Communicator from Xu Chu 29 148.
• Rabbit Recorder — Preserves Gu Cheng’s childhood piano performance, which Ye Ruan repeatedly plays for comfort. Lost during an overseas melee 155 159.
• Gu Cheng’s paycheck card — Entrusted to him by Gu Cheng and used to pay for emergency supplies 50 66.
• Jasmine bouquet — A gift from Gu Cheng symbolizing his wish that Ye Ruan never leave him. Ye Ruan prefers jasmine to roses 26 56.

Relationships

• Gu Cheng — Childhood first love, later boyfriend, fiancé, and husband. Gu Cheng’s piano music comforted him long before their adult meeting; their relationship survives separation, zombification, and Gu Cheng’s scrambled memories 23 126 136 145.
• Ye Qingman — Mother, shooting instructor, and former First Team deputy captain. She fought to keep him from being taken away; securing her freedom is one of his central goals 9 11 31 56.
• Nan Han — Biological father, estranged after abandoning the family. Ye Ruan rejects his attempts to control his marriage and later refuses his supplies, stating that their father-son relationship ended years earlier 56 72 126.
• Ye Ting, Ye Sansan, Ye Liangliang, Ye Dingding, and Ye Dangdang — Five younger siblings formerly raised in a research facility. Ye Ruan welcomes them home, remembers their preferences, and promises Ye Ting that they will never be sent back 140 147.
• Yu Jingjing — Close friend who defends him from bullying; he protects her in return and shares food with her. He later advises her to give Tang Tang space rather than pressure her into romance 6 7 146.
• Fang Ci — Trusted friend and comrade who initially develops romantic feelings for him. Ye Ruan values their friendship and considers him a dependable leader for the group 10 50 113.
• Lou Yu — Childhood acquaintance, fellow captain, and rejected suitor. Their conflict over stolen intelligence gives way to field cooperation, though Ye Ruan remains blunt about his lack of romantic interest 31 59 153 164.
• He Zhou — Longtime friend and Third Team member. Understands the importance of Ye Ruan’s recorder and offers to retrieve it despite the danger 46 155 164.
• Tang Tang — Childhood friend and Third Team member. Ye Ruan is affectionate toward her and protects the privacy of a traumatic childhood experience she has not shared with Yu Jingjing 46 164.
• Yang Xiaomian — Teammate whom Ye Ruan counsels about Fang Ci, emphasizing that guilt and romantic love are different 91 101.
• Chi Yuan — Third Team member who sacrifices himself to protect Ye Ruan from the earthworm monster. Ye Ruan is devastated by his death 63 64.
• Ren Fei’er — Rescued child and prospective trainee. Ye Ruan comforts her, treats her wounds, and agrees to help her become stronger while warning her about brutal training 22 24 26.
• Li Tuantuan — Child under his protection. He notices her unusual physical changes, confronts her kidnapper, and later recognizes her dragon identity 36 37 97.
• Lu Yao — Ally who sedates him during complete zombification and later helps him defy Headquarters to search for Gu Cheng 120 126.
• Cai Hao — Commander whose judgment of Third Team provokes Ye Ruan’s anger. Their relationship later improves when Ye Ruan learns Headquarters was also manipulated by higher authorities 62 137.
• Xu Chu — Doctor involved in his treatment and recovery. Their first encounter is tense, but Xu Chu later remains in contact and gives him a Communicator 43 121 148.

Story Role / Major Arcs

South City Rescue and First Team

• Separated from his own team after falling from a helicopter while evacuating a doctor, Ye Ruan is found by Gu Cheng’s squad in rabbit form 1 3.
• Saves Gu Cheng from a Level Three mutant’s attack, then receives orders to help First Team evacuate survivors 2 3.
• Establishes himself as both a generous supplier and a capable fighter despite his frightened first impression 4 7 9.

Farmhouse and Search for Missing Companions

• Notices the disparity between healthy men and starving women at Ren Bing’s settlement, then kills Ren Bing for his abuse 16 18.
• Rescues Ren Fei’er from a zombie horde and begins caring for her 22 24.
• Reciprocates Gu Cheng’s confession, while warning that he has flaws and may lie 23.
• Searches for missing teammates, injures his hand opening the burned bus, and fights Gorilla alongside Gu Cheng 26 29.

Return to Base and Third Team Recognition

• Confronts Lou Yu over a flash drive containing intelligence that could secure his mother’s freedom 31.
• Drugs Gu Cheng and several teammates, leaves with Li Tuantuan and Ren Fei’er, and completes his return through the defensive line 42 43.
• Defeats Daniel and then Gu Cheng in the training-ground contests. His goal is recognition and better pay for Third Team 50 52 53.
• Third Team remains C-class, but receives benefits and treatment equal to First Team rather than the A designation Ye Ruan sought 56.

Siyang Mountain Exercise and Base Collapse

• Leads Third Team’s joint operation with Second Team and refuses to rely on Gu Cheng to win 57 59 62.
• Challenges Cai Hao’s plan to assess and reorganize the teams, defending members dismissed as timid or unsuitable 62.
• Faces mutated birds and the earthworm monster; Chi Yuan dies protecting him 63 64.
• During the subsequent zombie invasion, protects Ye Qingman by killing two Level Two zombies near the airfield 68.

Southward Journey and Zombification

• Helps secure a temple refuge, contributes to the group’s improvised defenses, and fights through threats encountered during the journey 72 80 87.
• Recognizes Li Tuantuan as the dragon child once called Yuan Yuan 97.
• Suffers spreading infection and requests isolation in the vehicle’s luggage compartment to protect others 112 113.
• Completely transforms, attacks Yang Xiaomian, and bites Nan Han, who amputates his forearm to escape 119.
• Briefly hesitates in response to Gu Cheng’s declarations of love before Lu Yao sedates him. The group reaches an evacuation plane and takes him to W Island for treatment 120 121.

Recovery, Arctic Search, and Memory Crisis

• After recovering, kills Bai En and leaves against orders to search for Gu Cheng with Lu Yao 126.
• Finds Gu Cheng suffering from scrambled memories and attempts to rebuild their intimacy through teasing, reassurance, and reminders of their childhood connection 131 132 136.
• Falls seriously ill during the Arctic stay, then returns home. Headquarters docks him and Lu Yao six months’ pay for breaking regulations 138 140.
• Welcomes the younger children into Ye Qingman’s household after compulsory marriages are ended and Special Person embryo transfers are suspended 140.

Marriage and Family Life

• Marries Gu Cheng and spends their first evening as newlyweds enjoying his cooking while also making him answer for past hurtful behavior in Murmansk 145 146.
• Helps care for his five younger siblings, takes them to a film and amusement park, and celebrates Lunar New Year with family and comrades 147 148 149.
• Receives the first vaccine dose alongside the group; zombie-clearing missions are planned after the booster 146.
• In a later side story, accompanies Ye Ting near active fighting and is surprised to remember that his younger siblings also received childhood training 176.

Notable Quotes

“I won't agree without payment.” 3

“Experience has taught me not to leave people like that alive. Otherwise, something will go wrong sooner or later.” 6

“There's nothing wrong with wearing dresses, and being beautiful wasn't their fault either.” 26

“You don't know us at all! What gives you the right to judge them so easily? They've never been the spineless cowards you make them out to be!” 62

“We never met, but every year, I secretly thought about you.” 136

Trivia

• Wants payment partly so he can afford better rabbit food; expensive cream timothy biscuits are a particular treat 4 55.
• Dislikes roses because they remind him of his mother’s failed marriage, but treasures Gu Cheng’s jasmine 56.
• Enjoys listening to sounds, especially in quiet surroundings 7.
• Frequently occupies himself with a Rubik’s Cube 14 26.
• Once had to dress as a woman for an overseas protection mission after losing rock-paper-scissors to Lou Yu 105.
• As a child, sniffed his mother to check whether she smelled of other children; Gu Cheng says he later performs similar inspections on him 55.