Several men had unpleasant expressions on their faces. Upon closer observation, a lingering sense of fear could be seen in their solemn expressions, as if they had experienced some terrifying event.
Bai Qingqing showed a puzzled look and asked, “What happened last night?”
The round-faced man stared at her sharply, as if trying to determine if she was lying. Another man said, “Our comrades died.”
Bai Qingqing revealed a mocking expression and coldly said, “Do you think I killed them?”
She scanned the surroundings with a fierce and indifferent demeanour. “I was in the car all night. If you’re deliberately looking for trouble, I’m not someone to be trifled with.”
The round-faced man was the captain of this team of supernatural ability users. Yesterday, he and his companions came over to chat with her, but this morning they discovered that the two companions who were on watch had died unexpectedly.
Moreover, the death scene was extremely gruesome. The corpses were torn apart as if by some wild beast, with organs and brain matter scattered all over the ground, emitting a strong and pungent stench.
Even though they were accustomed to seeing zombies bite and devour humans, they were still disgusted to the point of vomiting by the bloody and horrifying death scene.
Such a scene resembled a high-level zombie attacking them from the shadows, killing them and then venting its anger by mutilating the bodies.
Thinking of this, a chill ran through the men’s bodies and struck their brains. However, when they calmed down, they realized that it was also possible for a person to disguise themselves as a zombie.
After all, how could zombies resist the urge to eat humans? The bodies of their two companions were torn apart, but not a single organ was missing.
Therefore, as the captain, the round-faced man led his teammates to approach Bai Qingqing’s off-road vehicle, intending to question her and test whether she was responsible.
In the service area, there were only their team and this woman, along with her friend hiding in the car. If it wasn’t her, then it must be someone else.
Bai Qingqing’s expression showed no signs of guilt or lies, but the three men’s faces remained grim. They still didn’t easily believe her and pointed their dark guns at her.
“Your friend hasn’t shown up since yesterday. Let him/her come down.”
Bai Qingqing’s eyes slightly darkened. She had instructed Shen Mingxuan to disguise himself, but being this close, there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t discover he was a zombie.
Humans and zombies were mortal enemies. If they saw each other, they would seek to eliminate one another.
In her hesitation, the car door clicked open, and Shen the zombie, with his tall figure, got down from the car, walking to her side with long strides, just like a normal person.
The round-faced man examined Shen Mingxuan, the man who came down from the car. He wore a black military uniform, sunglasses, and a mask. His face was completely hidden, making it impossible to see his appearance, but there was a faint aura of ferocity emanating from him.
The three men became nervous, sensing a sharpness in his combat readiness that made them all feel uncomfortable, as if they were being stared at by a ferocious beast.
The deaths of their two teammates couldn’t be simply overlooked. The round-faced man shifted his gaze away from Shen Mingxuan and looked at Bai Qingqing, asking, “What about him? Was he also in the car all night?”
Bai Qingqing didn’t hesitate and affirmed, “Of course.”
The round-faced man and his teammates didn’t actually want to antagonize her. Such a beautiful woman might be able to establish a closer relationship and temporarily enjoy some pleasant moments.
There was a man next to them who had a predatory gaze. Without saying a word, he exuded a suffocating sense of oppression. The round-faced man and his teammates didn’t ask any further questions. After all, the other party wasn’t crazy, killing someone without any reason.
Lacking evidence, the round-faced man and his teammates returned with frustration, occasionally glancing back at Bai Qingqing and Shen Mingxuan.
Inside the car, Bai Qingqing’s expression immediately darkened. The round-faced man wouldn’t pick a fight without a reason, and someone from his team had indeed died.
She turned her head to look at Shen the zombie beside her. He faced the window with his back towards her.
It was really Shen Mingxuan defying her orders and secretly killing someone last night. Bai Qingqing’s heartbeat became irregular, and she started sweating in her palms.
He couldn’t resist the temptation and resorted to killing and eating humans. He had become a true monster, having nothing to do with humanity anymore.
Bai Qingqing felt both angry and saddened. Even though he was despicable, he was still part of the Thunder Squad. She had kept him around because of the mission, but she couldn’t accept the fact that he ate humans.
Once a zombie tasted fresh human flesh, they would lose control of their rationality, posing an extremely high level of danger.
If one day she couldn’t control him, perhaps he would devour her.
Bai Qingqing clenched her lips tightly. She felt a sense of hatred, similar to the feeling of a pet secretly stealing and eating. She couldn’t hold back her anger any longer and started pounding on him frantically.
“You bastard! Lunatic! Dog zombie! If I had known, I would have abandoned you and let the zombies eat you!”
The girl’s hammer-like strikes on his back were not very painful for Shen the zombie. He felt extremely guilty and fearful, not daring to turn around, letting her vent her anger on him.
She hated this lunatic so much. If he hadn’t come to save her, none of this would have happened. He was the one who despised her the most, arrogantly wanting to kill her. How could he have turned into a monster infected with the virus in order to save her?
Shen the zombie cautiously turned his head like a dog that had made a mistake. His silver-grey pupils flickered as he stared at the infuriated girl, extending his hand to give her something.
Bai Qingqing stopped, panting lightly. When she saw the crystal nucleus in his hand, her anger grew even more. He was indeed honest, even giving her the evidence of his mistake.
Both human ability users and zombies possessed energy crystal nuclei in their brains. Therefore, in the post-apocalyptic world, it was an absolute chaos, and members of the same kind were not necessarily allies.
…
The night was quiet.
Shen the zombie glanced at the sleeping girl, opened the car door, and got out. The service area was engulfed in darkness, but it didn’t affect him as a zombie.
Through the darkness, he saw two men standing guard outside with guns, one of whom was the long-faced man who had been disrespectful to Bai Qingqing. He took firm steps and walked towards them, his eyes brimming with an undisguised savage killing intent.
The two men were on watch, smoking and chatting.
“Hey, how was that woman today?” The man’s eyes flickered with a lewd expression as he asked, “Is she willing or not?”
The long-faced man chuckled with the same lewd smile and said, “Where do you think she’s willing or not?”
The man patted his shoulder and laughed, “I asked about her appearance, and she seems to have a good figure. As long as she doesn’t look like a hag, she’s good to go.”
“She looks like a slutty bitch,” the long-faced man laughed obscenely. “I doubt a few of us would be enough to satisfy her.”
“Should we seize the opportunity to capture her, have our way with her, and then dispose of the body to prevent the news from reaching the base?”
“She has companions,” the long-faced man indulged in his fantasies.
“What’s there to fear? If it’s a man, kill him. If it’s a woman…” The word “better” got stuck in his throat as he suddenly fell to the ground, his head brutally excavated.
The mutation happened in an instant, leaving people unable to react.
The long-faced man’s pupils contracted violently, feeling a chill running down his back. Anxiously, he angrily questioned, “Who? Show yourself!”
A slender figure appeared before his eyes. The man had a delicate and beautiful face, with pale, cold skin. His silver-grey eyes exuded a chilling killing intent, clearly not belonging to a human.
The higher-ranked a zombie was, the closer they resembled humans, with almost no difference in appearance.
The long-faced man raised his gun immediately. However, the man appeared before him like a ghost, his throat seized by an icy hand. He didn’t even have time to struggle or scream. Intense pain surged through his brain, warm blood flowed out, and his consciousness vanished. Before losing consciousness, he felt his body being torn apart like prey by a wild beast.
As there were no zombies around the service area, they had become overly relaxed and less vigilant. Coupled with the zombies’ speed surpassing that of ordinary people, they were instantly killed.
Shen Mingxuan held the crystal nucleus in his well-defined hand, his hand stained with blood, and the pungent smell of blood was the most tempting sensation for a zombie.
His Adam’s apple rolled as he stared at the residual warmth of the bodies on the ground, his pupils filled with desire.
He stood in place, fixating his gaze for dozens of seconds before forcing himself to look away. He walked while looking at the crystal nucleus in his hand. It was bloody and dirty. He took out water from the backseat and cleaned it until it was spotless.
…
Bai Qingqing looked at the deadly object in his hand and pushed it away, saying, “I don’t want it.”
Shen the zombie couldn’t understand. He had cleaned it, so why didn’t she want it? He could tell that she also despised those men. Wasn’t it a good thing that he killed them?
Bai Qingqing ignored him, started the car, and stepped on the accelerator, speeding onto the highway.
Throughout the journey, she didn’t give him a single glance, not even a sidelong glance. Her gaze was fixed on the road ahead, completely disregarding him as if he were invisible.
Shen the zombie tightened his grip on the crystal nucleus and sat quietly in the passenger seat, not even humming a tune.
After driving for three hours, Bai Qingqing parked on the side of the road to take a rest. She took out some things from the compartment to eat.
Shen the zombie got out of the car and handed her the crystal nucleus again. Impatiently, Bai Qingqing opened it, causing the crystal nucleus to slip from his hand and fall to the ground.
His silver-grey pupils tightened as he stared at the crystal nucleus on the ground. It felt as if his heart had been casually discarded by her, and he didn’t understand what emotion that was, but he felt uncomfortable.
So, he let out a dangerous growl towards her.
Bai Qingqing turned her face, coldly reprimanding him, “What are you growling for? Do you still want to kill me and eat me?”
Shen the zombie immediately fell silent, stooping down to pick up the crystal nucleus and rinsing it with water right in front of her. His beautiful silver eyes fixed on her, indicating that it was clean now.
Bai Qingqing remained silent, and he obediently offered her the crystal nucleus again.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly requested, “Open your mouth, let me see.”
Shen the zombie obediently complied, opening his mouth for her to inspect. There was no trace of a bloody smell in his mouth. Even if he had brushed his teeth, there would have been a putrid odour if he had eaten someone.
His oral cavity only had the scent of toothpaste, without any other peculiar smells. It was clean.
Bai Qingqing refused to accept the crystal nucleus he offered, saying, “You eat it yourself.”
These two crystal nuclei—one of third rank and one of fourth rank—hoped that he would eat them to level up faster and become more rational.
Since Bai Qingqing genuinely didn’t want them, Shen the zombie had no choice but to eat them himself, obediently following her and helping with tasks.
After Bai Qingqing finished eating and rested for two hours, they set off again. They encountered zombies on the road, and Shen the zombie handled them all, making Bai Qingqing feel at ease.
They didn’t reach the urban area at night and instead stayed on the outskirts, where darkness prevailed, the wilderness was silent, and a red moon hung high in the sky.
Bai Qingqing remained in the car, holding scissors in her hand, looking at Shen the zombie beside her and said, “Extend your hand.”
Shen the zombie reached out his hand to her, observing her lowered eyebrows and eyes. She took the scissors and, with a snap, cut off his precious nails.
He immediately retracted his hand, staring at her displeased.
Bai Qingqing coldly commanded, word by word, “Extend… your… hand!”
Shen the zombie feared angering her, so he reluctantly handed his hand to her, and she meticulously trimmed all his nails.
In the following days, Bai Qingqing continued driving towards the City of Death. Approaching a small town near the City of Death, she discovered the mark left by the Thunder Squad. She also noticed that those men from the service area were following her with ill intentions.
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