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Tap, tap, tap...
Footsteps echoed through the dimly lit, silent third floor.
Chu Muge looked at Gu Yao behind her and smiled, "Senior, wait for me for a moment.
After speaking, she turned her head, extending her empty left hand to grab the bags in front of the clothing store counter.
There were four bags in total, so she could barely manage to carry them all.
First, her arm lifted, then her fingertips extended, as her brain sent commands to her nerves, which activated her muscles like a machine.
And then the machine stopped.
Her open palm touched something sticky, causing Chu Muge's entire body to freeze.
Her gaze was still blank, but her body reacted first.
She gripped the knife, raising her hand.
Clang!
The sharp tail blade clashed with her knife, producing a clear, crisp sound.
The forceful impact caused her arm to go numb. Chu Muge looked up, gritting her teeth, and tried to pull back her extended left hand.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t.
The sticky substance seemed to form a spider web, trapping her left hand in place, preventing her from breaking free.
It had been too dark earlier, and she hadn’t noticed it immediately.
I have to use the knife.
Just as she thought this, the thing hiding on the ceiling, realizing that its ambush had failed, paused, retracted its tail, and quickly fled towards the door, abandoning Chu Muge.
That makes sense because Chu Muge had planned to forcibly activate her powers during its second attack, hoping to break free and sever its tail in the process. However, the creature sensed something was wrong and fled before she could act!
So cautious!
And the direction it ran...
Chu Muge turned her head, looking outside the door at Gu Yao.
Its eyes gleamed with greed; its target had never been Chu Muge but...
The senior!
Chu Muge's pupils contracted, narrowing like a cat’s slit. She swiftly spun the knife, slicing through the spider web, and dashed towards the fleeing attacker.
Her speed was far beyond human capability, she was like a bolt of lightning, closing the distance between herself and the elongated figure of the attacker.
Meanwhile, Gu Yao stood outside, watching the creature on all fours coming towards her. Instinctively, she locked eyes with Chu Muge behind it.
Thump, thump.
Time seemed to slow down.
Gu Yao could see the creature’s sharp, elongated claws, its skin covered in bony plates, and its gaping maw aiming at her.
She could also see the sharp tail blade waving in the air, the terrifying compound eyes, and the greedy glint within them.
No mutant could resist the chance to devour a Queen who had yet to emerge from her chrysalis.
Thump, thump.
In this slow-moving time, Gu Yao felt like she could hear her own heartbeat.
No, it was Chu Muge's.
In that instant of eye contact, Gu Yao realized there was a connection between herself and Chu Muge.
She could hear the other’s heartbeat, sense her emotions and thoughts, and hear her voice softly yet firmly in her mind:
【Go to the fifth floor.】
Chu Muge’s memories seemed to flood into her mind, forming an invisible map, pointing the way to the fifth floor.
Time resumed its normal flow. Gu Yao felt her body stiffen, then, against her will, she began to run.
She seemed more agile than other zombies, her body less stiff—perhaps because she had consumed a mutant crystal, or maybe it was due to whatever Chu Muge had fed her at the beginning.
Since becoming a zombie, Gu Yao always felt sluggish, her mind foggy like she hadn’t fully woken up. But after this experience, she clearly understood the relationship between herself and Chu Muge.
She was like a remote-controlled car in Chu Muge's hands! Look at how fast she is running now! She had never run this fast before!
???
With a monster chasing her, Gu Yao became like a speeding go-kart, zooming towards the fifth floor.
Why the fifth floor? Gu Yao could guess some reasons.
There were humans on the fifth floor, and monsters liked to eat humans. It was a way to lure the wolf into the house, diverting its attention.
Between the safety of others and Gu Yao, Chu Muge had chosen Gu Yao.
It was undoubtedly a selfish decision, but considering Chu Muge’s antisocial tendencies, it wasn’t all that surprising.
But two legs can’t outrun four, and as time passed, the distance between her and the monster decreased.
It opened its greedy mouth, now only a step away from Gu Yao, and raised its sharp claws.
Without hesitation, it swung down—
The bloody scene of brain matter splattering didn’t happen. Chu Muge had appeared in front of it at some point, holding her long knife horizontally to block the attack.
Crack—
There were cracks.
A searing pain shot through her mind. Chu Muge looked up, meeting its compound eyes. Her once pitch-black eyes gradually turned crimson, as if all the blood in her body had rushed into them. At the same time, her black, round pupils narrowed into a thin line, appearing both bewitching and dangerous.
The side effects of forcibly activating her power were severe. Gritting her teeth, Chu Muge lifted a leg and kicked its bony abdomen.
The force of the kick was incredible.
Dust swirled as the creature was kicked several meters away. It roared, stabilizing itself, its limbs crouched low, claws digging into the ground as it cautiously eyed Chu Muge, its thin tail blade waving.
It resembled a tiger preparing to pounce, gathering strength for a powerful attack.
Chu Muge coughed, blood oozing from the corner of her mouth. Expressionless, she gripped the slightly cracked long knife tightly.
Something on her head itched. Irritated, she reached up to touch the furry object that had appeared atop her head. With her slit-like pupils locked on the creature, she spoke coldly:
"Come on, bastard."
The creature roared and charged at her.
-
Gu Yao pushed open the door to the emergency exit and stood at the stairwell.
A sharp pain pierced her brain. It was Chu Muge's sensation.
They seemed to be connected now, though maybe only in one direction.
Gu Yao felt the pain, and was a bit worried:
...Damn, I hope Chu Muge’s okay.
Her body followed the command, and started to climb the stairs. Gu Yao remained silent, feeling restless.
But what good would worrying do? Would she run back to die?
Her abilities were almost useless against that mutant; otherwise, she would have tried already.
She was just a weakling, she would just be a burden.
At this moment, Gu Yao felt truly powerless.
She couldn't say that she liked Chu Muge very much, but at least she was honest with her.
Tap, tap, tap...
But what could she do?
Tap, tap, tap...
“Squeak, squeak.”
Gu Yao's gray eyes slowly moved, looking at the small creature blocking her path a few steps up the stairs.
It was a mouse.
Its ears were as big as its head. It stood upright, staring at her with its bright green eyes.
Gu Yao locked eyes with it, and suddenly, she instinctively entered a state where she activated her ability.
At that moment, even the dimness seemed to dissipate. In the gray-white world, Gu Yao looked at the mouse and suddenly realized...
It was a zombie mouse.
Zombies really were everywhere.
Gu Yao stared at it, preparing to pull out the thin string within it.
She couldn’t be so weak that she couldn’t even control a mouse, right? If she was, she might as well just kill herself.
One second, two seconds...
Gu Yao remained calm.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds...
Gu Yao started to panic.
A minute, two minutes...
Was she really so weak that she couldn’t even control a mouse?!
Furious, Gu Yao finally managed to yank out the thin string from its brain with sheer determination.
Huh?
She stared blankly at the blood-red string, confused.
What is this?
The next second, the gray-white space shattered like glass with a crack, forcibly pulling Gu Yao out of her ability state.
The mouse paused, then looked at Gu Yao with a curious tilt of its head, as if puzzled yet intrigued.
Gu Yao silently stared back at it, even stopping in her tracks. The zombie and the mouse stood there like two statues of different sizes.
Then, to Gu Yao's surprise (though she couldn’t show it), she seemed to understand what the mouse was expressing.
A bubble seemed to appear above the mouse’s head, with a crimson symbol floating inside:
【?】
Gu Yao: ...?
The mouse tilted its head further, confusion giving way to curiosity:
【?】
【?】
【...】
【ovo】
Buzz—
The world turned gray-white again. Gu Yao watched as the red string in the mouse’s brain suddenly extended, then swiftly shot into her own body.
Nausea, dizziness, and pain...
And the sound of eerie laughter...
**Submit to it, obey it, become it.**
Gu Yao's mind swirled in chaos. She clenched her teeth as if a jolt of electricity pierced her brain. The next moment, she saw the red thread snap and retreat weakly back into the mouse's head.
The world regained its color.
The mouse tilted its head, the bubble above it flickering momentarily before a red, childlike smiley face appeared—a crude, clumsy imitation, like something a child might scribble.
Beside the smiley face, in blood-red letters, was a small string of words:
**【You, woman, the same kind】**
In an instant, the mouse's head exploded, its sticky remains splattering across the stairs.
Gu Yao received the last message from the creature:
**【Go to the basement floor.】**
There’s a gift.