Wen Qianshu held the cigarette case, unable to resist observing what was so special about it that Captain Shang would specifically toss it to her. But Lou Jiu glanced over and said, “These cigarettes are expensive.”
He was afraid of losing it in his pants pocket.
Wen Qianshu: “…”
Wen Qianshu stuffed the cigarette case into her pocket and ran after them.
This hospital was newly built in recent years. It was designed to be earthquake-resistant, so it managed to stay standing after the D District earthquake and housed many people.
The hospital was equipped with a small generator, but the elevators were still shut down to prevent anyone from getting trapped inside.
Wen Qianshu was out of breath after just a few steps up the stairs. She gritted her teeth, the taste of blood filling her mouth. Just as she was about to lift her leg to continue the chase, she saw Lou Jiu stop, turn sideways, and reach out. One arm went around her shoulder, the other hooked under her knees, and she was lifted into a princess carry.
Lou Jiu: “Hold on tight, and watch our surroundings.”
Wen Qianshu understood her meaning. She raised her arms to wrap them around Lou Jiu’s neck, her eyes scanning the surroundings, on high alert for any ambushes.
Gao Bai: “Do you need me to take over?”
Lou Jiu shifted Wen Qianshu’s weight, finding her not heavy. “No need.”
Wen Qianshu was startled by her for a rare moment and tightened her grip around her neck.
Then she heard Lou Jiu say, “Don’t be afraid.”
Wen Qianshu: “I’m not afraid.”
“Mm,” Lou Jiu said. “I won’t let you fall.”
As she spoke, her eyes were fixed on Gao Bai. She watched him enter the stairwell, scan the area with his flashlight for a moment, and then wave his hand.
Lou Jiu followed.
They ran up the stairs, quickly crossed the corridor, and reached the place where the survivors were being housed. Just as Gao Bai was about to open the door, Wen Qianshu said, “Wait.”
She got down from Lou Jiu’s arms and moved closer to take a look.
If there was an intelligent zombie mixed in there, how could Jiang Yao possibly hold it off on her own?
If she could hold it off, then the intelligent zombie was probably not outside right now.
So where was it now?
Lou Jiu glanced down, then looked at Wen Qianshu.
Wen Qianshu nodded, pointed outside, and then gestured towards the door.
Gao Bai didn’t understand, but Lou Jiu said, “Mm.”
She pulled the door open and led the two of them inside.
Inside the room, more than ten people were sitting or standing around. When they saw them, they all looked up in terror, pushing and shoving as they came over to ask, “What’s wrong?”
Gao Bai and Lou Jiu were busy calming and settling them down. Wen Qianshu followed behind Lou Jiu, her eyes sweeping over the people in front of her again and again. A woman standing in the corner also came over, seemingly to hear what was going on. Her daughter was pressed against the corner of the wall, trembling, her eyes darting around. Somehow, her gaze met Wen Qianshu’s.
Wen Qianshu stared at her for a moment, then her eyes curved into a smile.
The little girl shivered and pressed herself even tighter against the wall, as if trying to bury herself in it.
2333: “…”
Had another person discovered Wen Qianshu’s true nature?
Jiang Yao and Shang Ci moved quickly. Shang Ci went to shut the main gate tightly and lock it. Then he went to find Jiang Yao, and together they lured most of the zombies into a basement room and sealed it, before clearing out the few scattered ones outside.
When they returned, both of them were in a sorry state. Jiang Yao’s face was especially pale, and she was being supported by Shang Ci, who had a hand on her shoulder.
Shang Ci helped Jiang Yao down and had her sit, while Gao Bai went to close the door properly.
Shang Ci frowned and said in a low voice, “Something’s not right here. We can’t delay any longer.”
He instructed Gao Bai and Lou Jiu to divide the people into groups so they could leave as soon as possible.
Shang Ci turned his head and saw Jiang Yao half-propped up on the floor. He turned, rummaged through the food pouch on Gao Bai’s waist, unwrapped a piece of chocolate, and placed it in Jiang Yao’s hand. He himself prepared to go check on the zombie situation again.
The woman in the crowd lowered her eyes, then suddenly heard a child scream!
Her whole body tensed, and she was directed to run forward—but before she could even start, she was struck hard on the back of the head and knocked to the ground.
Wen Qianshu held the weapon that had knocked the woman down in one hand—the restraint device she had just removed—and in the other, she held a small glass vial she had just pulled from the woman’s pocket, examining it with great interest. The vial contained a scarlet liquid and was sealed so well that not a single whiff of its scent escaped.
The little girl’s face twisted with ferocity as she charged forward.
But Wen Qianshu didn’t even turn her head. Lou Jiu had already grabbed the back of the girl’s collar, pushed her down, and with her other hand, seized her flailing wrists and twisted them together.
Everything happened very quickly, almost in an instant.
The woman wasn’t knocked unconscious and tried to raise her head, but Wen Qianshu used her leg to trip her and sat on her back. Wen Qianshu pressed down on her shoulders and back, her legs pinning the woman’s arms, her gaze never leaving the glass vial.
The crowd panicked, gasping in low voices.
The light was pale and tinged with coldness.
The night lurked outside the window, restless and eager.
And so Wen Qianshu sat, just outside the night, in her line of sight, under the light, gently shaking the glass vial in her hand.
She seemed indifferent to the long night, indifferent to the light, and even more indifferent to the gazes of others.
Lou Jiu always felt there was a detached quality about her, like a wind from the edge of the sky that passes through the mortal world, takes a look, pauses for a moment, blows on the mortal flowers, and then is ready to leave.
It was especially obvious that day during the confrontation with Jiang Yao.
For a fleeting moment, perhaps the moment her hand was on the car door, Lou Jiu thought, I have to keep her, keep her in Team 5, or she’ll leave.
She will leave—
It was as if, without Lou Jiu knowing, she had already left many times.
But who can hold back the wind?
The little zombie struggled violently, and only then did Lou Jiu snap back to reality, realizing her grip was too tight, almost digging into the girl’s wrist.
The woman struggled frantically, her teeth chattering, her head slamming against the ground, but she couldn’t get up.
Wen Qianshu smiled. One hand holding the vial hung at her side, while the little finger of her other hand hooked the strap of the restraint device, her index finger resting on her chin. She asked, “Two conscious zombies, aren’t you going to come take a look?”
As soon as she said this, the watching survivors hurriedly pushed back.
Only Shang Ci asked, “What?”
Wen Qianshu raised an eyebrow, unfastened the woman’s restraint device with a click, and let it fall to the ground. Holding her own restraint device, she extended the inside of her arm in front of the woman’s face. The arm, without an anti-bite strap, was fair and delicate, carrying the unique scent of human flesh. The woman’s eyes immediately fixed on it, and she opened her mouth to bite. But Wen Qianshu flipped the restraint device over, and the woman bit down on the metal, chipping several teeth.
Sharp canines, meant for tearing, fell to the ground. They didn’t look like human teeth, but more like those of a hyena. Everyone saw her fallen teeth. Her mouth was propped open by the restraint device, wide and unable to close—yet there was no blood.
Zombies have blood, but they are already dead. All their blood has coagulated inside their bodies and will no longer flow out as a liquid.
Wen Qianshu’s expression didn’t change. She pulled the restraint device out, snapped it back onto the woman’s face, and then, with another click, fastened the buckle.
Everyone was looking at the zombie, except for Jiang Yao, who was frozen stiff, staring straight at Wen Qianshu’s face.
It was as if she had suddenly discovered something, and the last trace of color drained from her cheeks.
But everyone else’s attention was on the woman; no one noticed her.
Shang Ci and Gao Bai also stared wide-eyed, speechless.
Shang Ci reacted quickly. He swiftly found a full set of restraints in the hospital and tied them up securely from head to toe. The little zombie whimpered and cursed, so Shang Ci tore a strip from a bedsheet, stuffed it in her mouth, and then put the restraint device on her.
The woman, however, said nothing, her face remaining blank.
Lou Jiu: “Ordinary zombies can’t breathe, their vocal cords can’t vibrate, so they can’t speak.”
Lou Jiu looked at the little zombie and added, “That little girl seems to be able to control her.”
Shang Ci frowned, then raised his eyes and scanned the survivors in front of him.
“Stop looking.” Wen Qianshu knew what he was thinking. She clapped her hands, stood up, and handed the glass vial to Lou Jiu. “It’s just these two. There are no others.”
Shang Ci: “But—”
Wen Qianshu: “There are no others.”
She smiled and said, “If there were any others, the little girl wouldn’t have sold herself out.”
Hearing this, the little zombie’s eyes turned crimson. She let out a whimper and struggled forward, trying to bite Wen Qianshu, but her hands were tied, and she couldn’t move.
Shang Ci hadn’t even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief when Wen Qianshu suddenly exclaimed, “Ah, right!”
Shang Ci thought she had discovered something and immediately tensed up. “What is it?”
Wen Qianshu tilted her head, craning her neck to look at her side. She slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette case. “Yours.”
Shang Ci: “…”
2333 gloated.
Shang Ci didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He called his team members to go divide up the vehicles, organize the supplies, and prepare to leave.
Jiang Yao sat on the floor, her face still deathly white. She clutched the piece of chocolate in her hand, silently watching Wen Qianshu.
Wen Qianshu winked at her and was about to open her mouth when a piece of chocolate was stuffed into it.
Wen Qianshu: “?”
The first half of the chocolate was in her mouth, while the other half, still in its wrapper, was being peeled open by Lou Jiu in that very position.
In her other hand, Lou Jiu held a newly unwrapped restraint device. “Finish eating, then go scout by the window.”
Wen Qianshu obediently chewed the chocolate and bit the rest of it into her mouth.
Milk-flavored, so sweet.
She raised her hand to put on the restraint device and then followed Lou Jiu outside.
2333 couldn’t believe it. “Why are you being so well-behaved? Weren’t you posturing like you were about to cause trouble?”
“I was,” Wen Qianshu said. “I was just going to snatch the chocolate from her hand for fun. She was about to melt it in her grip—don’t you think it smells delicious?”
Anyway, Shang Ci might seem nonchalant on the surface, but he’s actually quite considerate and has been keeping an eye on things here. If Wen Qianshu had really snatched it, he would definitely have given Jiang Yao a few more.
Don’t ask. If you ask, the answer is that I’m diligently repairing the world line and creating opportunities for them to interact.
Diligent and dedicated to my job.
But the reality is, Lou Jiu is flying ahead, and the plan is chasing from behind.
Can’t keep up with the business, might as well quit the job.
Wen Qianshu: “Sigh.”
2333: “…”
Jiang Yao hadn’t wanted to involve too many people, but with Wen Qianshu making a scene in front of everyone, now everyone present knew that this type of zombie existed. Shang Ci couldn’t care less whether the base was involved or not; he had no choice but to report everything.
They took several supply trucks that had been parked at the hospital, which could accommodate more people. As Shang Ci and Gao Bai inspected the vehicles, many people were so scared they trembled and could barely walk.
Wen Qianshu, on the other hand, sat perched high up on the upper floor, smiling, her legs dangling through the railing.
Jiang Yao took two steps and sat down beside her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Wen Qianshu didn’t turn her head. She let the wind blow through her hair and swung her legs, looking for all the world like she was on vacation.
Jiang Yao didn’t look at her either, but she spoke first. “How did you find out?”
Wen Qianshu had expected her to come over—after all, Wen Qianshu had revealed Qin Shu’s face, and Jiang Yao had a photo of Qin Shu.
But she hadn’t expected Jiang Yao to ask about this.
Wen Qianshu smiled. “Because she pretended to be very afraid of me.”
Lou Jiu: “Pretended?”
“Pretended,” Wen Qianshu said. “At a time like this, besides an intelligent zombie, who would be afraid of a ‘search team member,’ and to such an extent?”
“But since she’s intelligent, she should have known not to be so obvious.”
“My guess is—she controlled the zombies to come in. She could have escaped on her own, but her mother was left in the crowd, so she snuck back, wanting to take her mother with her, only to run into us.” Wen Qianshu smiled. “She realized I knew something was wrong because I was constantly searching for someone.”
“She was afraid I’d discover her mother, so she gritted her teeth and drew my attention to herself, hoping her mother could escape.” Wen Qianshu opened her hand and looked at her five fingers. “So I went along with her plan, walked towards her, and as I passed her mother.”
Wen Qianshu cracked her knuckles. “I did this.”
“I didn’t know what the situation was, but she was clearly the only, hmm, how should I put it, high-level zombie? So if there were any other zombies inside, she would definitely have pushed them out to protect her mother.” Wen Qianshu smiled. “But there were none in the crowd, so she decided to stay behind and get caught, to provide cover for her mother, so she could control her mother to escape later.”
“Her mother had long lost her consciousness, and she could have completely controlled her, but she chose to expose herself instead.”
“Fatal humanity.” Wen Qianshu pulled her legs back and stood up. “Don’t you agree?”
Jiang Yao’s throat moved. She said, “Believers.”
Her voice was so low and hoarse that Wen Qianshu almost didn’t hear her. “They call this kind of intelligent zombie a Believer.”
She thought of that dark, sunless road. She thought of her team members who had lost their minds, their eyes red, drool dripping from their mouths. She thought of the couple who had pulled her in and saved her, bringing her into their house—their surname was Qin.
Later, she was held down, forced to watch as Mrs. Qin was injected with the “Divine Light” and completely turned into a zombie. Mrs. Qin had eyes like a deer, but after turning, they were like a dried-up lake, devoid of any light.
The sky was too dark, too dark—
The dim yellow sunset glow was like vast splashes of blood that had faded, leaving stains behind.
Jiang Yao stood on the ruins, hearing painful screams and the sorrowful curses of survivors. She retreated step by step. Someone said in a soft, polite voice, “Captain Jiang, come, accept the Believer’s embrace, and you will no longer suffer.”
She saw Mrs. Qin staggering towards her, opening her mouth to reveal sharp fangs.
She closed her eyes, but was suddenly embraced by the other person and jumped out.
A zombie’s cold embrace, jagged rubble and broken planks.
Mrs. Qin protected her as they rolled all the way down. A broken plank pierced her body—pierced the body of this “talented” and “intelligent” new “Believer,” finally mangling her flesh.
A Believer exists between human and zombie. A fall like that was not survivable—
“Xiao Shu.”
Mrs. Qin, holding on with her last breath, raised her hand. Her fingertips held a small photograph. She said to Jiang Yao, “Xiao Shu.”
She opened her deer-like eyes and looked at Jiang Yao imploringly.
Looking at Jiang Yao.
Jiang Yao snatched the photo and ran.
“Catch her!”
Jiang Yao gritted her teeth and ran forward like a madwoman, scrambling out on all fours. Then, at a corner, she ran into Mr. Qin.
Mr. Qin, who hadn’t been caught and should have escaped.
The tall man stood motionless by the roadside, silently watching his wife who had turned into a zombie.
He had many bite marks on his body. His clothes were torn, revealing blackened wounds. He glanced at Jiang Yao, his gaze fixed on her clenched fist, on the corner of the photograph, and a pale smile appeared on his face.
Before Jiang Yao could react, he had already brushed past her and strode towards what was behind her.
His steps were steady, his bearing magnificent. He was the most handsome man in this world.
He just looked at his wife in the distance, with a gentle and considerate smile. It didn’t look like he was going to his death, but rather to an appointment, an ordinary date between a husband and wife.
The road under his feet was no longer the blood-stained path to the underworld, but a red carpet covered in roses.
At the end of the red carpet lay his beloved.
The low-level zombies didn’t have much intelligence, nor were they smart, driven entirely by instinct. Once they were too far from the Believer, they were immediately attracted by fresh flesh and blood, quickly broke free from control, and pounced on Mr. Qin, temporarily stopping their pursuit of Jiang Yao.
This bought her precious time.
Jiang Yao opened her mouth but couldn’t make a sound; she stared wide-eyed but could only see the color of fresh blood. At that moment, she trembled, even suspecting that she was the zombie.
Jiang Yao pinched herself hard and charged out without looking back.
She kept going out, further and further out, clutching the photograph in her hand, wishing she could press it to her heart. But the voice behind her followed like a shadow, saying softly, “Captain Jiang, please consider it carefully.”
Suddenly, headlights flashed before her, the brilliant light blinding her. She threw up her arm, but felt something bite her shoulder—they had caught up, they had caught up—
After that, she lost consciousness.
She heard herself say hoarsely, “No—”
Don’t—
She didn’t want to become a “Believer.”
They wanted the intelligence and happiness of humans, yet also the numbness and obedience of zombies.
They hoped to find a balance, but that balance itself did not exist.
Jiang Yao turned her head and looked up at the young woman before her—she also had deer-like eyes. When she took off the restraint device today, she looked exactly like the photograph hidden in Jiang Yao’s chest.
Qin Shu.
Mrs. Qin had said it meant ‘love letter’.
She was their love, a love letter sent to them by the mortal world.
Jiang Yao felt a buzzing in her head.
The sealed-away pain was like a glacier, occasionally melting into a stream that flowed through her body, drowning her heart and leaving her breathless.
Jiang Yao closed her eyes. “Yes.”
“Humanity can be fatal.”
Author’s Notes:
After all, this is the apocalypse, so Jiang Yao will be a bit heavier than the protagonists of the first two worlds.
Also, because the Believers are my own creation, their specific details and the conditions for their formation will be explained later.
Why the little zombie snuck in will also be explained later~
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