The next morning, they spent half an hour setting up a scene of slaughtering a pig. They released half a basin of blood from Golden Buttocks and covered themselves with it.
Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t stand the disgusting feeling of the black blood on her skin, so she specially cut the curtain from a dismantled wall into strips and wrapped them around her body. She used a large piece of cloth to make a mask covering her mouth and nose, leaving only her eyes exposed.
Lu Qiming applied blood on her, and stepped back to take a look, “Tsk tsk, what a waste not to make you look like a mummy.”
“Enough, it’s already noon. Are we going?”
Lu Qiming put down the blood-soaked cloth in his hands and nodded as he walked out.
Golden Buttocks lay on the ground, barely alive, its feet cut to a horrifying sight, with blood splattering all around.
Tsk tsk, it was even more brutal than the zombies.
Jiang Miaomiao shook her head and closed the door.
As they were about to leave the villa, Jiang Miaomiao specifically warned, “Don’t drive as fast as last time. I’m worried about accidents.”
To be killed by zombies would be tragic, but to die in a car crash would be even more unfair.
However, Lu Qiming said, “We’re not taking the car.”
“Why not?”
“Since we’re going to pretend to be zombies, let’s go all the way. Have you ever seen a zombie driving a car?”
The logic was sound, but if they didn’t drive, how would they get there?
Walk? Along the way, there were thousands of zombies, enough to overwhelm them.
Jiang Miaomiao felt a chill in her neck, hesitating and unable to move forward.
Lu Qiming noticed her fear and comforted her, “Don’t worry. Going to the supermarket was my idea. If anything unexpected happens on the way, I will do everything to protect you and bring you back.”
“Come on, how many lives do you have to spare?”
Jiang Miaomiao rolled her eyes and pulled the mask a little higher, “We are already risking our lives. Take the knife with you. If the zombies really come at us, just give me a clean cut.”
Lu Qiming couldn’t help but smile, and he sheathed the knife at his waist.
As he opened the door, he said, “Remember, zombies don’t have X-ray vision. They can’t tell at first glance whether we are humans or zombies. The smell has already covered us, as long as our behavior isn’t too abrupt, they won’t detect us.”
A few seconds later, two strange-looking “zombies” appeared in the yard.
Little Star stood less than four meters away from them, staring at them with lifeless fish eyes.
Jiang Miaomiao felt stiff all over and couldn’t lift her feet, but ended up looking more like a zombie.
Little Star made a sound from its rotten mouth and then looked away, continuing to wander aimlessly.
Lu Qiming gave her a thumbs-up.
She breathed a sigh of relief, gaining some confidence. With Lu Qiming leading the way, she followed him, limping along.
The two of them safely left the residential area and finally arrived at the long-forgotten streets. Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t help but take a deep breath of fresh air. However, the streets were now littered with garbage and fallen leaves, as there had been no one to manage them for a month or two.
The shop doors were casually left open, and the goods inside were scattered all over the place, showing how panicked the staff were when they left.
There were no more customers strolling on the streets; instead, they were replaced by zombies roaming like lost souls.
She noticed a slim female zombie wearing a new and beautiful dress with high heels. Her long wavy hair was styled neatly. The bluish-gray skin faintly revealed traces of delicate makeup. Before she was bitten, she must have been a stunning beauty, maybe even on a date with her boyfriend.
Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t help but sigh; she felt really lucky to have survived till now.
A pleasant fragrance wafted into her nose, and she looked up to see peach trees blooming by the roadside. The pink flowers were arranged in clusters, creating a romantic pink haze.
The sunlight filtered through the gaps between the flowers, casting a pink hue on the zombies under the tree.
Lu Qiming noticed her fond expression and asked, “Shall we pick some to take back?”
She quickly shook her head, “No need, let’s go to the supermarket.”
Walking like zombies was too slow, and driving only took a few minutes, but they ended up walking for over an hour to reach their destination.
The supermarket was just by the roadside, and there was a small square of over a hundred square meters in front of it.
Usually, the square would be filled with stalls, people dancing, and sellers offering sugar figurines and balloons, but now there were only two zombies standing there, fighting over something.
Jiang Miaomiao approached to take a closer look and found that they were struggling over half of a rotting human thigh, which almost made her nauseous.
Lu Qiming covered her mouth and nose, urging her to hurry.
The supermarket’s entrance was open, making it easy for them to get in. Inside, it was just as dark as the villa, and strange noises could be heard from all directions.
Lu Qiming held her hand and whispered, “We don’t need to go too deep inside, just take things nearby. Stay close to me and don’t wander too far. Also, be fast; if we haven’t returned before dark, we’re done for.”
Jiang Miaomiao wished she could stick to him entirely, let alone leave him. She nodded, took the shopping basket he handed her, and started picking up items.
The checkout counter was divided into three areas. One was the beverage area, stacked with discounted colas, milk, juices, and more.
The next was the daily necessities area, with toothpaste, shampoo, shower gel, and the like.
The last area was the discounted bread section, with many bags of bread.
Jiang Miaomiao really wanted to drink yogurt, but it was too heavy to carry. She decisively gave up on it, picked up some toothpaste and small bottles of shampoo and shower gel from the daily necessities area, and then focused on the bread.
The fresh bread with a short shelf life had already gone moldy, but the soft bread from brands like Daliyuan was still edible.
She picked them out and put them into the basket. She softly called for Lu Qiming to help as well.
Lu Qiming didn’t respond, and when she turned around to look, she was stunned.
Where was he? He was just here!
“Lu Qiming…”
Jiang Miaomiao whispered his name and took two steps forward. She seemed to step on something.
She lowered her head and met a pair of blood-red eyes that seemed about to pop out. She was so frightened that she almost screamed.
The zombie’s leg was cut off just above the knee, making it look like a dwarf. Despite its broken body, it had great strength. With one raise of its hand, it tore off her mask.
Exposing Jiang Miaomiao’s scent, it pounced on her like a hungry wolf smelling blood, and its blood-soaked thigh kicked hard against the ground, surprisingly higher than Jiang Miaomiao. It directly knocked her down.
She hit the back of her head on the floor, and the pain made her vision go black.
The zombie’s hands pressed against her shoulders, and its foul-smelling mouth opened wide to bite down.
I’m done for… She shouldn’t have taken this risk. She was only good at being a lazy couch potato hiding in the house.
Jiang Miaomiao closed her eyes in despair, but she didn’t feel the expected pain. Instead, she heard the sound of a sharp blade piercing bone and felt cold, sticky blood splashing on her face.
The zombie on top of her stopped moving, becoming a lifeless body.
She opened her eyes and saw the person standing behind the zombie, leaving her stunned.
“It’s you…”
How did he have such skill?!
Lu Qiming kicked the zombie away, wiped the blood from her mouth and nose, helped her put the mask back on, and then collapsed into her arms.
“You scared me to death. Luckily, I hit the mark accurately.”
Jiang Miaomiao: …It seems like a blind cat found a dead mouse.
Gratefully, she touched his head and looked at the now motionless zombie.
“Is it dead?”
“Probably.”
As per the setting in the original text, zombies would die if they were shot in the head. The male and female protagonists had been using this method to kill zombies. However, one was a special forces soldier, and the other had practiced martial arts, so even if they knew this secret, it was useless since they couldn’t win in direct combat.
Belatedly, she started to feel afraid.
“Let’s go back. The bread we got should be enough for a few days.”
“I found a good spot.”
“Where?”
Lu Qiming gestured with his chin towards the area on the left.
“I’ve checked that area already. There are no zombies there. Let’s go.”
He told her not to wander off, but he was the one doing it. What a character.
Jiang Miaomiao was led by him, her heart full of complaints. However, when she saw the shelves in that area clearly, she felt that even if she died there, it would be worth it.
Cured meat!
Ham!
Salted fish!
All meat!
On another shelf, there were dried kelp, dried black fungus, dried shiitake mushrooms, and dried bamboo shoots, all of which she loved to eat!
Jiang Miaomiao felt the joy of Alibaba discovering the treasure trove of thieves. She immediately grabbed a new basket and began stuffing it with food.
Lu Qiming said, “You pack the food, I’ll go to the side and get some clothes.”
But she couldn’t hear him at all; her mind was filled with thoughts of food, and her hands couldn’t stop.
Lu Qiming picked up some underwear and clothes and found a warm cotton blanket for himself. When he returned, he saw that her basket was already full. He reminded her, “We don’t have a car, so we can’t take too much. This should be enough.”
Jiang Miaomiao came back to her senses, reluctantly.
“Or, let’s not leave and just stay here.”
With food, drinks, and a place to sleep, it was undoubtedly a fairy tale life.
If only she had known earlier, she wouldn’t have rented a villa. She would have waited for the zombie outbreak and then hidden in a small supermarket. She would have lived a much happier life.
Lu Qiming raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure? There are several entrances to the supermarket, all of them wide open. We don’t know how many zombies have sneaked in during this time. During the day, they don’t come out, but at night, they will definitely go out to forage. If we stay here, won’t we be like lambs to the slaughter?”
After giving it some thought, she realized that he was right and shuddered with regret.
“Do we have to waste all these things? They were made for people to eat.”
Unconsumed cured meat wasn’t good cured meat.
“Let’s come back tomorrow. I still have a lot of things to take.”
Both of them filled four baskets, and they had no way to carry them all. Lu Qiming found a shopping cart and transferred everything into it, filling two carts.
Before leaving, he made sure to drain the dead zombie of blood and smear some on both of them again to enhance the stench, ensuring that they were safe. Only then did they leave.
Outside, the sun was still shining brightly. They walked like zombies, slowly pushing the carts, leisurely strolling as if they were in a park.
As they passed under a peach tree, Lu Qiming suddenly leaped up and picked a branch of peach blossoms.
Jiang Miaomiao was startled and quietly scolded him, “Are you crazy? What if they find us? I told you not to pick them.”
“Who said I picked them for you? I like them.”
He inserted the peach blossoms in front of the shopping cart, like a victorious little flag.
After walking for another hour, the two of them managed to return home just before the sun set.
Once inside, Jiang Miaomiao collapsed on the ground, too tired to move.
But her whole body was filled with the stench of zombie blood, making her feel like she was going to die.
Lu Qiming was probably feeling the same, as he immediately started boiling water once they entered the house.
The pot was small, and the water boiled quickly. In just a few minutes, it was ready. He poured it into a bucket and started boiling a second pot.
By the time he reached the fourth pot, he checked the amount of water and placed the bucket in front of Jiang Miaomiao.
“Go take a shower.”
Jiang Miaomiao was surprised, “You boiled water for me? Aren’t you going to shower too?”
“I am, but since we are staying at someone else’s place, we should show some courtesy. Otherwise, people might accuse us of being ungrateful guests.”
Lu Qiming teased, and she blushed, carrying the bucket upstairs.
He continued to boil water and noticed the peach blossoms on the shopping cart. He found an empty mineral water bottle, filled it halfway with water, and placed the peach blossoms inside. He then put the bottle in the center of the dining table.
The pink petals twirled and fell gracefully, filling the air with a delightful sweet fragrance.
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