The blade pierced the skin, and blood gushed out in a steady stream.
Bright red liquid slid down the wall of the cup, gradually pooling at the bottom.
As time passed, Chu Muge's face grew paler and paler. At a certain moment, she quickly used a bandage to temporarily stop the bleeding before handing the cup to Gu Yao.
"Here."
Her gaze was filled with a trace of eagerness, looking at Gu Yao like a child seeking praise.
Gu Yao glanced at her but said nothing.
Chu Muge awkwardly laughed, "Don't worry, Senior Sister, I recover quickly."
After a moment of silence, Gu Yao finally accepted the cup.
She glanced at Chu Muge, who had started tending to her wound alone, then brought the cup to her lips. Tilting her head slightly, she let the sweet liquid flow smoothly down her throat.
It was as if her cells had been revitalized, and her previously fatigued and exhausted body gradually grew more energetic.
Gu Yao held the cup with both hands, like a thirsty traveler in a desert. When she finished the last drop of blood, she even stuck out her delicate tongue to lick the edge of the cup.
Chu Muge watched her hunger-filled behavior and pursed her lips. "Senior Sister, do you want more?"
Gu Yao gave her a faint glance and, noticing that she was already unwrapping the bandage, shook her head in pain, signaling her refusal.
They were parked by the roadside. Seeing her so despondent, Chu Muge eventually couldn't bear it and decided to draw a little more blood from herself.
Turning her head to look out the window, Chu Muge spoke softly:
"I won't let you drink blood from anyone else."
Gu Yao listened in silence while continuing to lick the rim of the cup.
Gu Yao: Lick, lick ˙ϖ˙
"If even a small part of someone else's enters you, it'll build up and make you sick over time..."
Her voice was slightly deep. Narrowing her eyes slightly, Chu Muge suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand while Gu Yao was momentarily distracted, speaking with a slightly urgent tone:
"You can drink from me. If you really need it, I could even chop off one of my hands for you."
Gu Yao was stunned.
Girl, that’s a bit much.
Looking at the dark mist swirling in Chu Muge's eyes, Gu Yao shook her head calmly, her gaze eventually returning to the cup in her hand.
Gu Yao: Lick, lick ˙ϖ˙
Chu Muge, seeing her acting oblivious to the world outside the window, pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and pulled a bottle of medicine from the center console storage box. She threw two pills into her mouth.
After a long silence:
"If you really need it, you can eat me. At worst, we'll just die together."
Why are the things she's saying getting scarier?!
Gu Yao glanced at her, noticing her gloomy expression. Her gaze shifted slowly and landed on the dictionary resting on her own lap.
The sound of rustling.
Chu Muge, lost in her thoughts, suddenly saw a sticky note appear in her line of sight.
Expressionless, Gu Yao waved it lightly before sticking it onto the dashboard.
Chu Muge looked over and saw a short sentence written on it:
[I don’t eat humans.]
In truth, even if Chu Muge hadn’t said anything, Gu Yao wouldn’t have considered it.
Her bottom line was simple: she wouldn’t eat humans. Everyone needs a bottom line. Without one, who knows what they might become in the future?
Gu Yao had always remembered that even though she was now a zombie, she used to be a human.
Even if most of her emotions had faded, and even if her thoughts had gradually started to shift, she couldn’t forget that part of her identity.
If she forgot, she wouldn’t be Gu Yao anymore.
Now, she was like a small boat adrift on a vast and boundless ocean. Everywhere she looked was water, and Chu Muge was like a lone lighthouse in the middle of the sea, casting a dazzling light in the darkness and ensuring she didn’t lose herself.
“Senior Sister, do you think I’m being selfish?”
Chu Muge shook her head before Gu Yao could answer, puffing out her cheeks:
“Anyway, if you’re not giving me a bite, then you’re not giving me a bite.”
So unreasonable—like a child throwing a tantrum.
Gu Yao, still expressionless, gave her a sideways glance.
Chu Muge was a paradoxical existence. Sometimes she appeared calm and composed, while at other times she was as stubborn as a little girl, making her hard to figure out.
The car started.
Gu Yao couldn't help but feel that something was off about Chu Muge... more than just off. The difference between Chu Muge and the version of her described in the novel Gu Yao had read was simply too vast.
Madness, loneliness, and even the occasional habit of popping pills, none of these aligned with the heroine image Gu Yao had in her mind.
Was this really the same person from the novel?
In the story, through the perspective of the protagonist, she saw a powerful and mysterious Chu Muge. But now, upon actually interacting with her, Gu Yao realized that impression was one-sided. The real Chu Muge was nothing like that. At least to her, she seemed more like a little kitten who loved to act spoiled.
The car's wheels turned.
The road ahead was long.
Apart from the occasional abandoned car they passed, there were no unexpected incidents along the way.
The vehicle kept moving, and the scenery outside the window gradually slipped past.
At a certain moment, the car began to slow down.
There was a small town nearby. Chu Muge glanced at it and spoke casually:
“Senior Sister, do you want to take a bath?”
Her obsessive cleanliness was kicking in.
The dried purple liquid on her clothes had left parts of the fabric stiff and uncomfortable to wear.
Gu Yao looked at the small town in the distance and nodded.
They got out of the car.
Chu Muge slipped the car keys into her pocket as the zombie dog jumped out of the back seat, panting.
What a strange group- one human, one zombie, and one dead dog.
The car was parked at the entrance of the small town. Gu Yao glanced at a broken sign lying on the ground and silently averted her eyes.
There were zombies.
However, the scattered zombies here didn’t pose much of a threat. Gu Yao didn’t even need Chu Muge to lift a finger. With her abilities, she controlled the zombies, and they followed them, forming a protective circle around them.
This small town was called Yingdian. Its overall size wasn’t very large.
Gu Yao and Chu Muge walked along the street, passing by a dilapidated toy store, a sushi restaurant, and a milk tea shop.
Further ahead, they reached an intersection. Beyond it, there was a large supermarket.
“We should find a place to shower,” Chu Muge suggested.
"How about we stop at the supermarket first, to buy some body wash."
As she spoke, she sniffed her sleeve and grimaced.
“Ugh, smells like nail polish ˃ʍ˂.”
The supermarket was probably the largest building in the area. It had three floors: the first floor was for fresh produce, the second for clothing and accessories, and the third for snacks and daily necessities.
As soon as Chu Muge entered, she encountered three zombies curled up on the ground.
When the zombies saw her, their eyes widened, and they quickly stood up, baring their teeth and claws as they charged toward her.
Gu Yao was already controlling as many zombies as she could, just enough to maintain her limit without feeling overly strained. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t overwhelmingly difficult either, sitting right on the edge of her capacity.
As the three zombies lunged, Chu Muge casually raised her leg and kicked one flying. Meanwhile, several dark figures shot past her, tackling the other two zombies to the ground.
These were zombies under Gu Yao’s control, about a dozen of them, who swarmed the unlucky pair, leaving no chance for resistance.
Zombies tearing into other zombies with ruthless efficiency quickly silenced the two attackers as blood sprayed everywhere. Under the assault, the fallen zombies stopped struggling and lay still.
For the first time, Gu Yao understood the joy of being the Zombie Queen:
Gang fights.