When Xiao Yang woke up, the setting sun outside the car window looked like blood. He sat up abruptly and looked at Liang Zhiyu, who was driving beside him.
He turned his head to look at the back of the SUV. Li Jin was still unconscious. The car was traveling on a desolate highway, far away from the City of Death infested with zombies.
There were only the three of them in the SUV. Bai Qingqing, Fu Chen, and Bai Tiantian were not there.
“Stop the car!” Xiao Yang’s voice was hoarse.
Liang Zhiyu kept his gaze forward, stepping on the accelerator as if he hadn’t heard him.
The scenery outside quickly receded, and the setting sun in the sky seemed to paint half of the horizon with a blood-red hue, everything appearing desolate.
“I said, stop the car!” Xiao Yang almost shouted.
He was injured in the City of Death, feeling weak and sore all over. Overusing his abilities would lead to physical exhaustion, and he needed at least a day and a night of rest to recover.
Liang Zhiyu still ignored him, driving the car faster away from the City of Death, as if trying to escape that terrifying nightmare of a place.
Xiao Yang’s face turned red, and he suddenly leaned forward to grab the steering wheel.
The SUV swerved wildly on the highway, screeching as it abruptly braked. The SUV was forced to stop in the middle of the road, with two pairs of hands on the steering wheel.
Liang Zhiyu’s voice was cold, “Let go.”
Xiao Yang gritted his teeth, his eyes red, and questioned with a trembling voice, “What about Qingqing and Brother Fu? Are they still in the City of Death? Take me back there now!”
Liang Zhiyu grabbed Xiao Yang’s hand, applying so much force that it felt like he could break his wrist. His face, usually gentle as jade, now wore a terrifyingly fierce expression. “They’re dead. They’re both dead.”
Xiao Yang felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His face instantly turned pale. He grabbed Liang Zhiyu’s collar like an enraged leopard and shouted, “It’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
Liang Zhiyu shook off his hand, his profile cold as ice, and said, “I have no reason to lie to you. They… are dead.”
Xiao Yang’s heart felt like it had been shot, stabbed fiercely with a knife, and ruthlessly stirred. The excruciating pain consumed his every organ. He clenched his teeth, his veins popping on his forehead.
How could it be? How could Qingqing and Brother Fu be dead?
Liang Zhiyu never lied. Xiao Yang muttered like a madman, holding his head in his hands, “I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it…”
Tears kept flowing from Xiao Yang’s eyes. Regret, hatred, self-blame gnawed at his heart like a monster. He couldn’t bring himself to believe the fact that Qingqing and Fu Chen were already dead.
Liang Zhiyu restarted the car, his expression devoid of emotion, driving further away from the City of Death.
…
When Bai Qingqing woke up, she felt surrounded by pitch darkness. She couldn’t see where she was at all.
Something heavy was pressing on her, immobilizing her. She felt a subtle pain in her body, and all she could hear was the sound of dripping water and a faint breeze.
Her last memory before passing out was the falling stone beam. After that, she had no recollection.
Where was Fu Chen? Was he okay?
“Brother? Fu Chen?” she called for a while but received no response.
The dark and narrow space was suffocating. Bai Qingqing took out an intelligent lamp from the space, illuminating the surrounding area. Everywhere was in ruins and rubble, with no living creatures except for herself.
Bai Qingqing slowed her breathing. Without the restrictions of the Zombie Emperor, she could freely enter the space.
Returning to the space, she smelled the fresh air. She lay weakly on the grass, feeling truly alive. Xiao Zicao ran over, whimpering and expressing its grievances by her side.
Bai Qingqing didn’t have the energy to comfort it. She closed her eyes and lay there for a while, then went to the lake to take a bath and change into clean clothes. After that, she tended to her injuries.
Having lived in the apocalypse for over a year, she had learned many skills. If it were in the past, she wouldn’t have known how to treat her wounds.
Bai Qingqing was still worried about Fu Chen. After tending to her injuries, she hurriedly ran out of the space.
This time, she arrived outside the ruins. The air in the City of Death was filled with the smell of gunpowder, mixed with the stench of blood and rotting flesh, making it pungent and unpleasant.
The ruins were still burning, and there were many zombie corpses around. She couldn’t find Fu Chen alone, so she released the remaining plant people from the space to help search.
The small mutated plant people busily moved rocks, communicating with each other in a language she couldn’t understand. They knew she was anxious, so they worked quickly.
Bit by bit, the stones in the ruins were moved, but there was still no sign of Fu Chen. Strange sounds came from not far away—it was the giant monster that had appeared at the virus research facility.
Bai Qingqing’s expression changed, and she quickly hid back into the space.
The giant monster smelled the scent of humans and ran over. It was about to rush forward to bite and devour, but the mutated plants and humans suddenly disappeared before its eyes. It let out an angry roar and kept searching its surroundings.
The monster crawled on the buildings like an insect, climbing and scanning with its eyes the size of bronze gongs, making harsh noises from its mouth.
Bai Qingqing could only stay in the space. She was physically and mentally exhausted, so she lay down for a while and fell unconscious once again.
The giant insect-like monster outside couldn’t find any humans, so it angrily destroyed several buildings and chased after the appearing zombies to devour its own kind. This kind of monster could level up by eating, even the disgusting zombies were its food.
The zombies were attacked by the monster and scattered in all directions.
…
Bai Qingqing woke up again, unaware of how much time had passed. She sensed the situation outside—the terrifying monster was nowhere to be seen, and there were no zombies outside. She could go out.
She was worried about Fu Chen, so she immediately exited the space and released the plant people to continue digging through the ruins.
The sky was gloomy, with dark clouds looming as if it was going to rain. She furrowed her brows, put on protective clothing, and started working with the plant people.
After several hours, the ruins were completely dug out, but there was still no sign of Fu Chen. Exhausted, she sat down on the ground, her eyes sore and slightly red.
Her brother couldn’t possibly be dead.
If he had died, she would have found his body.
The eerie red rain grew heavier, and the atmosphere in the City of Death became oppressive. Apart from her, there were no living beings left. She couldn’t stay in this place any longer. If she encountered the Zombie Emperor, she would surely be caught by him.
Bai Qingqing returned to the space in a daze, feeling her burning forehead and took some medicine before lying down to rest.
…
“Wuwuwu…” The girl crouched in the corner, crying out of fear. She hugged her legs, her eyes red as she looked at the man sitting against the wall not far away.
The Zombie Emperor had regained his human form. His pale face leaned against the wall. He had numerous wounds on his body. Fu Chen’s attack had seriously injured him, and on top of that, he had been heavily injured in both arms by Liang Zhiyu. He had no fighting ability at the moment.
After abducting Bai Tiantian, the Zombie Emperor didn’t immediately return to his lair. Instead, he found a place to hide first.
There were still a few of his zombie subordinates in the lair. In his weakened state, he was susceptible to attacks, and ambitious zombies of his kind would surely try to kill him and devour his crystal core to level up.
With such serious injuries, he needed to devour the crystal cores of at least two or three fifth-tier or higher zombies and rest for a while to recover.
The girl’s crying voice buzzed in his ears like annoying mosquitoes. If she didn’t have any use, he would have smashed her head open with a single palm long ago.
“Shut up!” The Zombie Emperor roared angrily, his blue pupils glaring ominously at the girl by the wall.
Bai Tiantian covered her mouth in fear, looking at the man covered in bloodstains. He was seriously injured, but he still had the ability to easily kill her.
During the Zombie Emperor’s battle, he had left Bai Tiantian in an inescapable place. She didn’t know what had happened to her teammates. Could it be that they had really abandoned her and left her to this man-eating monster?
Bai Tiantian felt overwhelmed with sadness and grievances, feeling so miserable that it seemed like she was going to die. Her eyes were swollen from crying.
She didn’t know where this monster was taking her. He was a terrifying zombie who would definitely eat her. She didn’t want to be bitten to death. She really wished someone would come and save her.
Having not eaten anything for a day and night, her stomach growled hungrily. Luckily, there was food in the space. She quietly took out some food and nibbled on it.
The Zombie Emperor, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes. He looked at the girl secretly eating, knowing that she had spatial abilities.
Spatial abilities were one of the rarest abilities in the apocalypse. Humans with spatial abilities could stockpile resources or go on missions to search for weapons and supplies to deal with zombies.
Bai Tiantian felt his gaze on her and didn’t dare to move.
Zhong Xi, in a hoarse voice, said, “Eat.”
As a zombie, he didn’t need to eat, but humans would starve to death if they didn’t eat. He kept her around because she was still very useful to him, and he couldn’t let her die right now.
Bai Tiantian ate the food in small bites, occasionally glancing at him with her teary eyes.
…
The City of Death, after the rain, was as gloomy as a purgatory on Earth. Shen, who had been rushing on the road for days without rest, entered this city full of the scent of his kind.
Shen, the zombie, sensed the presence of high-level zombies in this City of Death. Zombie counterparts were not friends; he searched for high-level zombies to quickly level up.
In the aftermath of the rain-washed City of Death, there lingered a faint scent of blood. Shen keenly caught a familiar scent. His silver-grey pupils flickered with joy, and he immediately dashed towards the source like a dog finding its owner.
Upon learning that Zhong Xi had no intention of killing her, Bai Tiantian felt somewhat relieved. Seeing his injuries, she took out some items from the space to treat his wounds.
Zhong Xi didn’t stay in one place for too long. Just as he was about to leave while holding onto Bai Tiantian, he sensed the presence of a high-level zombie.
It was an unfamiliar presence, not one of his subordinates, which immediately put him on high alert.
Shen, the zombie, didn’t take the usual route. He broke through the glass and entered the building, catching sight of a girl in a white dress whose back resembled that of Qingqing.
Half a month felt like a century to him. He was like an abandoned dog, spending half of his lifetime walking on the path back home. Finally, exhausted, he found his owner.
He would never let her go again. He wanted to hold her tightly, tell her how long he had searched for her, and how much he missed her.
“Qing… Qing.” He called out.
Zhong Xi and Bai Tiantian turned to look at the slender figure standing not far away.
The man wore a tattered shirt and black pants. A black cat squatted on his shoulder, and his left hand was wrapped in dirty bandages, tied with an oddly shaped bow.
His messy black hair partially covered his soft and handsome eyebrows and eyes. A pair of beautiful silver-grey pupils shimmered with surprise.
When Zhong Xi and Bai Tiantian heard the words “Qingqing,” they immediately understood that the zombie was looking for a girl named Qingqing.
Shen, the zombie, saw Bai Tiantian’s face and furrowed his brow, carefully examining her to confirm.
“She resembles Qingqing, but she’s not Qingqing.”
Bai Tiantian, too flustered to notice his unusual eye colour, excitedly shouted, “Mingxuan!”
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