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Da Da Da

 

The crisp sound of footsteps echoed through the corridor.

 

Chu Muge hummed a cheerful tune, casually holding Gu Yao’s hand as they strolled along, seemingly unconcerned about alerting any zombies.

 

"Ah," she suddenly stopped and turned to Gu Yao, saying, "Remember, senior, once we get outside, don't make any noise, and keep your footsteps silent, okay?"

 

She paused and added, "Do you know what silent means, senior?"

 

Gu Yao: ...

 

Of course, she knew! She wasn't an idiot!

 

But Chu Muge seemed to assume she didn’t, muttering to herself, "It's okay if you don't know. There aren't many zombies by the back door anyway, and..."

 

Before she could finish her sentence, a growl echoed ahead of them.

 

A zombie in a school uniform staggered into view. Upon seeing Chu Muge, it lunged forward with its jaws wide open.

 

With a casual flick of her wrist, Chu Muge raised her long knife. In one swift motion, the zombie's head flew off, blood splattering everywhere. She twisted her wrist, impaled the mid-air head on her blade, and with a single fluid movement, drove it straight into the ground.

 

"And..."

 

Her voice was leisurely as she finished her sentence:

 

"...there’s no need to be afraid."

 

Indeed, there was no need to be afraid.

 

Gu Yao stared at the impaled head, its eyes wide open, skin loosening, and life gradually fading. She shuddered.

 

It was the zombies who should be afraid.

 

Seeing Gu Yao staring at the impaled head in a daze, Chu Muge smiled and spoke softly:

 

"Don't worry, senior, I won’t let you become like this..."

 

Her gentle tone suddenly turned sinister, with a hint of madness:

 

"You’ll always stay clean, hygienic, and tidy, like a beautiful doll... I'll keep these disgusting, nauseating, foul-smelling, bloodstained rotten flesh far away from you..."

 

The eerie tone made Gu Yao freeze in fear.

 

"Ah," Chu Muge's cheerful demeanor returned as she said, "I just remembered, senior, you once gave me a hairpin."

 

"But you probably don't remember, since you've given so many gifts..." she muttered, taking out a pure white hairpin from her pocket. "Here."

 

She gently tidied Gu Yao's slightly messy hair and clipped the hairpin in place to prevent the hair from covering Gu Yao's eyes.

 

"All done!" she said with a smile, "It looks great."

 

Seeing her so pleased, Gu Yao was at a loss for words.

 

...As long as you're happy.

 

***

 

The cafeteria had a back door that led to a lush, green path.

 

Chu Muge probably took this path to get to the cafeteria. Along the way, a few corpses could still be seen—some half-eaten and rotting, others with their heads pierced by a knife.

 

Gu Yao halted.

 

There was... a scent.

 

Though it was fainter than the one on Chu Muge...

 

Her gaze followed the scent to the half-eaten corpse on the path.

 

Gu Yao: ... Ugh.

 

No, she didn’t want to eat that!

 

Chu Muge was quicker, grabbing her arm and speaking in a calm tone, "You can't eat that."

 

Gu Yao (internally nodding frantically): Yes, yes, you can't eat that.

 

Chu Muge paused, then added, "But if I die, you can eat me."

 

Gu Yao: ? No, that's way too much.

 

***

 

The path was quite long, seemingly leading to the outskirts of the school.

 

The lush environment was much better than the eerily silent corridors. Everywhere you looked, it was green. If there hadn’t been a zombie crisis, this would have been a great place for a leisurely walk.

 

"Senior, did you know?" 

 

Gu Yao suddenly heard Chu Muge's voice.

 

"I used to imagine walking this path with you, serene and leisurely, like the whole world was just the two of us..."

 

Birds flitted through the trees, chirping melodiously.

 

"There wouldn’t be a bunch of annoying people buzzing around you, like sparrows with brains the size of peas..."

 

She mumbled, then suddenly turned to Gu Yao with a smile:

 

"It's all because you're so popular, senior. That's why the apocalypse is so wonderful. No need to wear masks, no need to hide my feelings. If someone calls me disgusting, I just chop their head off..."

 

Girl, your words are dangerous.

 

Gu Yao felt that Chu Muge's state was very unstable, even her hand holding Gu Yao's was slightly trembling, as if gripping very tightly.

 

Well, probably very tightly, since Gu Yao couldn't feel pain, she wasn't sure how much force was being used.

 

It was strange; she still had other sensations, but lacked the sense of pain. She didn't know why.

 

Propably the magic of the zombie virus.

 

Speaking of the zombie virus...

 

Gu Yao’s gaze slowly shifted to Chu Muge's pale arm exposed by her rolled-up sleeve—there was a bite mark from her.

 

Wait a minute,

 

Gu Yao’s gaze paused.

 

It had scabbed over?

 

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Chu Muge, very sensitive, noticed Gu Yao staring and looked at her own scabbed-over arm. She blinked and said, "Hungry?"

 

No.

 

Gu Yao slowly looked away.

 

It was just strange...

 

Could human wounds heal this fast?

 

Oh, it wasn’t impossible.

 

Gu Yao glanced at the long knife Chu Muge held.

 

Maybe Chu Muge was awakening an ability.

 

Ability users weren’t afraid of the zombie virus and had rapid healing speeds, which could explain this phenomenon.

 

Gu Yao racked her brains, recalling the parts she had read:

 

Ability users here were different from those in other novels.

 

No fever, no coma, they started out just like ordinary people. But over time, their physique would slowly change, then they would transform at a certain point and gain supernatural powers.

 

So, every ability user's physical fitness was strong.

 

Chu Muge was probably in the early stages now, not having truly gained her ability yet, just getting stronger.

 

But did the main character awaken abilities this quickly?

 

Gu Yao was deeply puzzled.

 

"Ah, we’re here."

 

Chu Muge’s voice interrupted Gu Yao's thoughts.

 

She pointed to a campus wall that seemed to have been smashed open by great force and smiled at Gu Yao, "Senior, don’t scream."

 

It was overcast, clouds shrouding the sky, with no hint of sunlight.

 

The street was stained with blood, shop windows shattered into shards, revealing empty interiors.

 

Dented cars were randomly parked in the middle of the road, the only sign of life being the flickering traffic lights.

 

Newspapers, stained with black mud and scattered across the ground, bore large headlines in black and white:

 

[Seek refuge in "Xingalo"!]

 

Noticing Gu Yao’s dazed gaze at the newspaper, Chu Muge sneered, clearly disdainful of its content: "Xingalo? Only fools would go there."

 

Indeed, they shouldn't go there.

 

Gu Yao recalled the novel’s plot.

 

That place appeared to be a thriving refuge but was actually conducting brutal human experiments. It didn’t treat people like people and was eventually overrun by a zombie horde.

 

But how did Chu Muge seem so sure? Did she know?

 

Unfortunately, Chu Muge couldn’t answer Gu Yao’s doubts. After speaking, she shrugged, took Gu Yao's hand, and used the vehicles to dodge a few wandering zombies before slipping into a half-open apartment door.

 

"Good."

 

Once inside, Chu Muge crouched down, carefully checking for any signs of intrusion. Finding everything untouched, she breathed a sigh of relief and said:

 

"The number of zombies on the street is decreasing. That big guy sure can eat..."

 

She muttered, then stood up and tilted her head at Gu Yao: "Senior, come here."

 

Gu Yao’s body moved on its own.

 

Chu Muge lowered her sleeve, waving her hand. The loose black sweater made her arms look like fluttering penguin wings, adding a touch of playfulness and cuteness. "Let's take a bath together, okay?"

 

She looked very excited.

 

Huh?

 

Gu Yao stopped dead in her tracks.

 

Together?

 

Before she could back away, Chu Muge's leisurely voice drifted over:

 

"After all, if we don't bathe, we'll end up like these dirty, wandering tramps outside, caught and eaten by a giant fatty.ヾ(`〇｀)ノ"