The Post-Apocalyptic Survival Journey After Becoming a Beautiful Girl Chapter 19

Then I saw a shadow appear before me.

It was a Zombie!

Fortunately, the two of us had kept our voices low, and we were talking outside the Iron Gate, so it seemed the sound hadn't carried into the corridor. That Zombie just wandered around the Iron Gate for a bit before slowly walking away.

This was bad. There was a Zombie in the corridor, and the Emergency Outdoor Iron Staircase I wanted to take required crossing through the corridor to the other side.

After thinking it over, I turned my head to look, but to my surprise, the mother and daughter had already run up to the corner on the upper floor. I figured if anything went wrong on my end, those two women would ditch me and run.

"Come down!"

I was really annoyed! But there was no helping it—I was the one who agreed to this deal.

After I gave a light shout, Bai Xiaoxiao hesitated for a long time, but still set Juan'er down at the corner and came down alone. This woman really had a heart full of tricks—were even her eyelashes hollow? How could she have so many schemes?!

I raised an eyebrow, a bit angry, but this wasn't the time to lose my temper. I forced down my irritation and asked, "Where did you come up from? How did you get up?"

Bai Xiaoxiao thought for a moment. "We came in through the Main Entrance, but there were too many of those things in the yard. There was no choice—my husband drove the car straight into the Hall and brought us up."

'Drove into the Hall... too many Zombies in the hospital yard...' I thought it over and asked again, "Did you notice whether the iron staircase outside the hospital had any Zombies? Which direction is its exit?"

Bai Xiaoxiao thought and shook her head. "We really didn't pay attention to that. The yard was too chaotic."

So that's how it was... The yard was too chaotic, with many Zombies, so many that they had to drive into the Hall. That meant the Main Entrance was no longer an option—there must be plenty of Zombies wandering around there, and it wasn't impossible that a few mutated ones had appeared.

"Seriously... are you stupid? Couldn't you find a way to lure the Zombies away? Charging in like that—did you even think about how to get back?!" I couldn't help complaining about Bai Xiaoxiao, and also about that dead man. Those two adults were dumber than a child!!

"Big sister! Are you talking about that green iron staircase?"

Just as I was still thinking about all this messy stuff, Juan'er, who had somehow come down, spoke up like this.

"Go back! It's dangerous here!"

"You know? Tell big sister quickly!"

Bai Xiaoxiao's voice and mine rang out at the same time. Little Juan'er was stunned, looking left and right, not knowing what to say. In an instant, her big eyes filled with tears, and she looked like she was about to cry out loud!

See, this is why brats are such a pain!!

I gritted my teeth, reached out, and patted little Juan'er on the head, then crouched down until I was about as tall as her. I asked gently again, "Juan'er, tell big sister quickly—what did you see?"

"I... I saw that the green staircase didn't have those things, and, and the exit of that staircase didn't seem to be in the yard..."

"Did you see where the staircase leads?" I asked slowly, trying to make my voice as gentle as possible. But unexpectedly, that gentle tone caught even me off guard.

Was I too gentle? This magnetic voice paired with that soft tone really had a unique charm!

Ah! Pfft!

Wasn't I just teasing myself?

"N-no, I didn't see... those things were too scary, Juan'er didn't dare look."

Little Juan'er sobbed as she tried her best to tell me what she had seen.

Chapter Sixteen: Discovered

"Mm... good, Juan'er is really amazing. Alright, no more crying, be good..." I fished a piece of candy out of my pocket: "Here, this is for you. Juan'er is truly amazing!"

"Really, Big Sister?" Juan'er reached out her small, dirty hand to take the candy, then looked up at me.

"Mm... at least better than those adults with nothing but single-track minds." I glanced sidelong at Bai Xiaoxiao, and Bai Xiaoxiao seemed to catch that eye-roll, letting out an awkward laugh—though no matter how you looked at it, it was nothing but an embarrassed chuckle.

Going downstairs was out of the question. Even though that man had desperately cleared a path, the Hall was probably packed with Zombies by now. Going down meant two words: 'certain death.'

That left only one way. I didn't know where it led, but the iron staircase shouldn't go to the front yard. Best case, it led to the back yard, because the back yard was closer to my home, and I knew that route better.

The city hospital was located south of the city center, while my home was to the southeast, near the eastern side. Even though going through the back yard was a detour, that wasn't what mattered now. What mattered was how to escape this hospital that was like a hell of starving ghosts.

Since that was the case... I had to take some risks.

"Bai Xiaoxiao, take your daughter up to the landing... no! Up to the sixth floor, and be ready to support me at any moment." As I spoke, I pulled out the fruit knife, but the mottled bloodstains and chipped blade forced me to put it back down. Still, I didn't plan to throw it away; I tucked it back into my waist and grabbed the military knife I'd taken from that man.

It was long—the blade was over twenty centimeters, and the handle nearly ten. I could just barely grip it with both hands. Still, I drew the pistol in my right hand, one hand on the gun, the other on the knife.

"What are you doing?!" Bai Xiaoxiao stared at my movements in shock, her voice trembling with fear.

"ROAR!!!"

Maybe Bai Xiaoxiao's voice was a bit too loud. From inside the Iron Gate on the fifth floor, a low growl suddenly rang out.

"Shut up! Stupid woman!" I jumped in fright and shot a glare at Bai Xiaoxiao, then quickly aimed the gun at the Iron Gate. After a long moment, footsteps approached, paused briefly, then moved away in the other direction. Only then did I relax.

Women are such a hassle!

Thinking this, I glanced back at Juan'er, who was already frozen in place, and silently added a weak correction in my mind: 'And brats are just as much of a hassle!'

"Now! Follow my orders without any hesitation. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, I won't take responsibility!" I lowered my voice and barked, then pointed upstairs!

"Upstairs!!"

Bai Xiaoxiao was probably frightened by my low, angry shout—afraid I might abandon her and her daughter? Or maybe... she thought I'd gone mad, pulling out a knife and gun, planning to fight the Zombies head-on?

I couldn't read minds, but Bai Xiaoxiao's gaze was clearly that of someone looking at a 'lunatic'—fear mixed with a hint of disgust.

But this stupid woman would never understand that in this world, which had already become a hell.

If you don't go mad, you don't survive!

In the past, that saying might have been a joke, but at this moment, it seemed to have become the truth.

By coincidence, when I first faced a crisis head-on, I ran into a Green Monster—a creature with strength completely beyond human limits—and I survived. That gave me some confidence. The deaths of those dozen or so Zombies also gave me some confidence.

Add to that my own enhancements, plus the pistol and the sharp military knife, and I was starting to feel a bit cocky.

But I understood that this wasn't a good state of mind. Being a bit reckless was fine, but I absolutely couldn't let my guard down!

With that thought, I took a deep breath. I'd wanted to light a cigarette to relieve the pressure, but since both hands were holding weapons, I gave up on the idea.

"Inhale... Exhale..."

A foul stench abruptly invaded my nostrils, and my body immediately tensed up.

Right behind that Iron Gate, a shadow was standing there. And in that gap, a pair of scarlet pupils were staring dead at me!!

"Hiss!!"

I sucked in a cold breath, startled by that gaze. At the same time, from the other side of the door, a roar suddenly rang out.

"ROAR!!"

With that bellow, the entire fifth floor instantly erupted. Judging by the sound, there were no less than dozens of them!

"Damn! How many of these things are there?"

I couldn't help but curse under my breath, but it was already too late for regrets. The Zombie that had noticed me was already frantically pounding on the Iron Gate, and since the gate hadn't been locked in the first place—

BANG!

—it burst open!