Evolution

Qi Xing was very smart.

And smart people sometimes unconsciously made things more complicated when they thought things through.

So when he saw Jiang Zhaosu swaying toward the door to open it, Qi Xing had genuinely believed that Jiang Zhaosu had a way to deal with the Mutated Species outside.

After all, he could be considered Jiang Zhaosu's protector now, and Jiang Zhaosu had acted far too human around him to have failed to understand that.

As smart as Qi Xing was, he could never have imagined that a zombie like Jiang Zhaosu—one who was conscious, knew fear, and was as timid as a mouse—would not know that Mutated Species evolved by devouring the Crystal Cores of zombies and humans.

To Mutated Species, some zombie Crystal Cores were even more alluring than human ones.

So he concluded that Jiang Zhaosu was risking herself on purpose, deliberately luring the Mutated Species away to buy him time to observe and defeat it.

Only then did he truly begin to trust Jiang Zhaosu a little.

After wiping Jiang Zhaosu's little face clean with a handkerchief, Qi Xing gave her a friendly smile and patted her shoulder. "Fortune, you did well this time. Later, big brother will definitely find you something good to nourish you."

Jiang Zhaosu, whose favor with Qi Xing had inexplicably risen: "???"

Only after hearing Qi Xing's words did Jiang Zhaosu learn that killing one's own kind was not unique to humans. Zombies devoured one another too.

Because of her reckless ignorance, she had lost her right leg.

Even without any sense of pain, the experience had been enough to leave Jiang Zhaosu trembling with fear.

Only then did Jiang Zhaosu deeply experience the peril and cruelty of the apocalypse.

She had already become a zombie, yet she still faced so many dangers and could lose her life at any moment!

The only fortunate thing was that Qi Xing, who was usually so petty, unexpectedly did not seem to mind that she had opened the door. Jiang Zhaosu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Urrgh..."

Her throat could not form complete words, so she could only point anxiously at her severed lower leg and ask Qi Xing for help.

What was she supposed to do about her leg?

She was already this weak. She couldn't become a disabled zombie too!

Indeed, Jiang Zhaosu's condition would make their journey ahead extremely inconvenient.

Qi Xing rubbed his chin, stared at her leg for several seconds in thought, then suddenly clapped his hands as an idea came to him.

Jiang Zhaosu widened her eyes as she watched Qi Xing turn around and use his beautiful, fair hand to rummage through the Mutated Species baby's skull on the ground, which had already been trampled into pulp, its brains mixed with pus.

Jiang Zhaosu could even hear Qi Xing's long, strong fingers stirring through it with sticky, squelching sounds.

Her stomach churned, and Jiang Zhaosu nearly threw up again.

Before long, Qi Xing found what he wanted. Two long, well-defined fingers pulled out a shit-yellow stone the size of a one-yuan coin.

Qi Xing wiped his hand and the stone clean with a handkerchief, held it to Jiang Zhaosu's lips, and said, "Eat it."

Jiang Zhaosu: "..."

How was this any different from eating shit?

Seeing Jiang Zhaosu purse her lips, seemingly reluctant, Qi Xing patiently explained, "This is a Mutated Species Crystal Core. There's a chance you'll evolve if you eat it. Maybe your leg will even grow back."

At his words, Jiang Zhaosu's gaze shifted slightly as she hesitantly looked at the faintly gleaming crystal between Qi Xing's fingers.

Evolve?

If she evolved, would she become stronger? Would she stop being as weak and useless as she had been just now?

If Qi Xing had not acted in time, she might have vanished as easily as she had in her previous life, like a withered blade of grass that snapped at the slightest touch.

Thinking of that, Jiang Zhaosu made up her mind. She leaned forward, parted her lips, lowered her head, and took the Crystal Core from Qi Xing's hand with her teeth. After chewing it a few times, she tipped back her head and swallowed it.

When Jiang Zhaosu took the Crystal Core, her lips and fangs inevitably brushed against Qi Xing's fingertips.

The cold, damp sensation of zombie lips made Qi Xing's pupils contract slightly, and a complicated emotion flashed through his eyes.

As Jiang Zhaosu crunched noisily on the Crystal Core, Qi Xing wiped his hands with the handkerchief again.

The skin where Jiang Zhaosu's fangs had touched was fair and flawless, without a wound.

Even if he put his hand in Jiang Zhaosu's mouth, she had shown no inclination to attack him.

Perhaps he really could live with this little zombie.

As long as this little zombie could survive the fever of mutation.

Under the dim night sky, Qi Xing looked at Jiang Zhaosu with an unreadable expression.

He had not told her everything.

After Jiang Zhaosu swallowed the Mutated Species Crystal Core, she might evolve—but she might also be unable to withstand the energy it contained and explode to death.

As the Crystal Core rolled down her throat, Jiang Zhaosu immediately felt warmth welling up in her stomach.

It was very much like the warmth she felt when swallowing flesh and blood.

But unlike the comfortable satisfaction brought by eating meat, that warmth gradually turned hot, hotter and hotter, like a ball of flame burning inside her belly.

The heat scorched her entire body, and Jiang Zhaosu felt as though her blood were boiling like magma.

For a zombie accustomed to low temperatures, this heat was far more agonizing than losing a limb.

"Urrgh..."

Jiang Zhaosu felt pain again. The nameless blaze burned her senseless, her black pupils rolling upward until only the whites showed. She rolled across the ground, letting out distressed roars from her throat.

If Qi Xing understood zombie language, he would have known that every one of Jiang Zhaosu's roars was cursing him.

Damn it, Qi Xing!

Why hadn't he told her beforehand that evolution would hurt this much?! At least give her some mental preparation!

Aaaahhh!

Hot sweat from the fever in Jiang Zhaosu's forehead mixed with cold sweat from the pain, streaming down her face in large drops.

She trembled all over from the agony, her teeth grinding together.

At that moment, a vine reached in and bound her mouth shut to keep her from biting off her own tongue.

Amid the overwhelming pain, Jiang Zhaosu heard Qi Xing cheer her on. "Fortune, hang in there! You'll get through it soon!"

Damn, damn, damn!!!

Jiang Zhaosu was holding on entirely through her hatred of Qi Xing.

Once she became stronger, she wouldn't have to fear Qi Xing anymore. She could beat the hell out of that bastard.

As invisible waves of heat seared her, the rotten parts of Jiang Zhaosu's body began to heal. Her bluish-white, stiff skin took on a rosy hue, and fresh flesh even grew from where her lower leg had been severed.

Qi Xing reached out and pressed Jiang Zhaosu's severed lower leg back into place.

The bright red flesh seemed to come alive, immediately attaching itself to the stiff lower leg. Heat spread through it, and Jiang Zhaosu's purple-black lower leg turned scorching hot and red, gradually returning to a normal, soft limb.

"Urrgh, urrgh..."

Jiang Zhaosu let out hoarse cries.

At first, Qi Xing thought she was moaning in pain and kept comforting her to hold on a little longer. Only when he saw Jiang Zhaosu rubbing her stomach did he realize something and ask, "Hungry?"

"Hungry... hungry..."

Jiang Zhaosu was so hungry that even her howls had become weak and feeble.

Qi Xing raised an arm, and a vine swiftly climbed up the window at his command, hooking the backpack of meat out of the room.

The moment he unzipped the backpack, Jiang Zhaosu snatched it away with reddened eyes.

Jiang Zhaosu was starving. She no longer cared about appearances, grabbing meat with both hands and stuffing it into her mouth. In the blink of an eye, she wolfed down every last piece in the bag.

Yet the unbearable hunger in her stomach still burned and tormented her like raging fire.

Blood, flesh...

She needed more food...

In the dim night, Jiang Zhaosu's eyes flashed red as she looked with intense hunger at Qi Xing, whose entire body gave off a sweet, fragrant scent.