The rain drizzled down softly.
Underneath the dim and overcast sky, Chu Muge walked down an empty road, holding a pitch-black umbrella big enough for two.
The wind, mixed with raindrops, swept away the dust from all around, cleansing the silent, desolate world enveloped in mist.
A drop of rain landed on their intertwined hands.
The hand of the zombie was cold, as cold as the rain. Chu Muge felt the dampness and glanced at Gu Yao beside her, asking, "Senior, are you cold?"
Gu Yao laughed softly, "You're so funny."
Chu Muge had only asked out of politeness. After saying it, she turned her head back and looked ahead, adding, "Don’t worry, we're almost there."
Following Chu Muge's gaze, Gu Yao saw a large bridge stretching over the surging river. The gloomy, wet sky was shrouded in mist, blurring the outlines of the tall buildings on the other side of the river.
The city they were in was divided in two by the river. The two of them were now at the entrance of the bridge, preparing to cross to the other side.
Chu Muge had a habit of talking to herself. Ever since she discovered that Gu Yao had regained her consciousness, she talked even more.
They had been walking from the commercial district for over forty minutes, and Chu Muge hadn't stopped talking the entire time.
Since there was nothing else to do, Gu Yao listened to her chatter, occasionally nodding to show that she was paying attention.
“That’s why we can't follow the military...” Chu Muge led her onto the bridge, looking at the crowded, abandoned vehicles and exhaling, “Because they'll definitely set up quarantine nets on that side, with soldiers standing guard to check if any survivors are infected.”
The soldiers would definitely notice something was off with her senior.
Chu Muge held her hand, guiding her carefully through the gaps between the vehicles.
“We need to take a risk and go around to the other side of the city.”
The city was divided into Zone A and Zone B, Chu Muge and Gu Yao were currently in Zone A, walking across the bridge to Zone B.
There was a green belt on the outskirts of Zone B. After passing through it, they could bypass the quarantine net and head directly to Xinjialuo by taking other roads. Although the detour would make the journey much longer, it was the only option they had.
“Ugh… bleh…”
Chu Muge stepped over a corpse that had been half-devoured, grimacing in disgust. She carefully held Gu Yao’s hand, helping her step over it as well.
The body had nearly decomposed into a skeleton, with only bits of skin and flesh clinging to it. The rain beat down on it, leaving it twisted and contorted on the ground.
"I've always wondered why zombies don't decompose completely," Chu Muge mused as they walked. She glanced at Gu Yao and blinked, "With all the wind, rain, and sunlight, even a living person would start to rot."
But zombies didn’t.
The virus seemed to have evolved their skin, creating a special substance that, while gross, still allowed them to move and hunt.
"Maybe that’s why they eventually evolve," Chu Muge sighed.
Gu Yao looked at her silently.
The bridge was littered with stationary vehicles, many with their doors wide open, their occupants nowhere to be found.
Compared to Zone A, Zone B was actually more dangerous.
With the zombie crisis spreading worldwide, transportation had collapsed, the economy had crumbled, shops were abandoned, and the military had suffered intentional attacks. The government, caught off guard, had managed to organize the surviving soldiers for rescue operations within a month, a remarkable feat. But with so many cities nationwide, it was impossible to conduct a thorough search and rescue in every one.
Clearly, they had chosen to focus on Zone A.
The rain continued to fall with a soft rustling sound.
The bridge stretched out before them, finally reaching its end.
The tall buildings, once shrouded in mist, gradually came into focus. Chu Muge squinted and took a deep breath.
They had arrived in Zone B.
A place that would later become one of the initial infection sites.
---
The sound of soft footsteps echoed.
Chu Muge needed to find a car, only then could they proceed with the next phase of their plan.
There were noticeably more zombies in Zone B. Through the misty rain, their blurred figures swayed as they walked, occasionally revealing themselves through the fog.
Gu Yao squinted, observing those figures, wondering if she could pull the threads from their minds.
She probably could. She stared at one zombie for a while, and just as the faint threads began to emerge, the zombie wobbled back into the fog, and the threads disappeared.
Gu Yao sighed internally.
So, she had to keep her eyes on them?
Maybe she wouldn’t have to after she evolved. Right now, she was still quite weak.
Very weak, indeed. The other zombie queens had already consumed at least seven or eight mutated zombie cores in battle. She had only eaten one, a classic case of malnutrition.
Luo Yanan’s mutated core had also been fed to the flesh mat, courtesy of Gu Yao’s maternal instincts, in preparation for raising young.
Sometimes, Gu Yao felt like a mother hen, diligently incubating eggs.
Maybe it was just one of the instincts of a queen.
Chu Muge carefully avoided getting soaked as she led Gu Yao through winding paths, eventually arriving at the entrance of a high-end residential complex.
She asked with a hint of a smile, “Senior, do you remember this place?”
Gu Yao shook her head.
“This is your neighborhood,” Chu Muge said. “...And it’s also Lu Boyuan’s neighborhood.”
As Chu Muge spoke, the zombie in the security booth was disturbed but could only pound on the glass in frustration because the door was closed.
Chu Muge paused, “Do you know who Lu Boyuan is?”
Gu Yao was silent for a moment before shaking her head.
She actually did know, but she couldn’t say.
Even a conscious zombie couldn’t regain the memories of their former life, because they were a new species reborn in a dead body.
“He was your childhood friend,” Chu Muge said, with a hint of jealousy in her voice, but the next moment, her tone shifted to a cheerful one, “But so what? I’m your girlfriend now.”
Gu Yao: ? (゜Q。) How come I didn't know that?
Chu Muge took advantage of her distraction to steal a quick kiss, her tone light and teasing, “He had a modified off-road vehicle. Let’s go find it.”
As she spoke, Chu Muge frowned, recalling a future conversation with Lu Boyuan.
Lu Boyuan once sighed at the base, boasting about how much his military father loved him, how great the car he bought was, how powerful the engine was, and how he had modified it himself.
It was just as well that the apocalypse had come suddenly, leaving him with no chance to go home and fetch his precious car.
Chu Muge was grateful for that now.
“A16, Unit 101...” Chu Muge murmured, “I think that’s it?”
She wasn’t entirely sure.
She only remembered the exact location of her senior’s home. Once they found the off-road vehicle, they could go to her senior’s house to rest for a few days.
Chu Muge: (?▽｀).
She sobered up and spoke softly, “But first, we need to break this gate—”
Creak.
The iron gate of the complex swung open.
Chu Muge froze and turned her head to see a zombie in a tattered security uniform emerging from the booth and silently opening the gate from the inside.
Chu Muge instinctively glanced at Gu Yao out of the corner of her eye.
Gu Yao lifted her chin slightly, looking quite proud.
What are you looking at? Let’s go!
“S-Senior, your ability is really convenient…” Chu Muge stammered, not knowing what else to say. Her voice gradually trailed off. As she led Gu Yao through the gate, she quickly glanced at the security zombie standing nearby.
Its skin was wrinkled, a deathly gray under the rain.
It stood dutifully, opening the gate for them, and then silently followed behind them.
Chu Muge held the umbrella, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
Luckily, the discomfort only lasted a few minutes before completely disappearing. She stopped feeling awkward and even began to exude an air of bold confidence, fully embracing her newfound power.
Rightfully so. She walked with a swagger, without a trace of fear.
On the way to their destination, they encountered a few scattered zombies. Each time, before Chu Muge could tense up, the snarling creatures would suddenly fall silent, then quietly join the security zombie’s ranks, becoming little chicks following behind them.
Gu Yao, my superhero.