Ice Ability User

Qi Xing did not linger in the village for long.

After gathering enough supplies, Qi Xing tossed Jiang Zhaosu's rations, the Square-Faced Man, and his own goods into the back seat, then set off again with Jiang Zhaosu.

His hurried pace made Jiang Zhaosu feel as though ghosts were chasing them from behind.

After learning that Jiang Zhaosu could draw, Qi Xing found her some paper and pens, telling her that if she had any thoughts, she could draw or write them down.

Only then did Jiang Zhaosu realize she could communicate with Qi Xing through writing.

But with the gel pen in hand, Jiang Zhaosu stared at the blank white paper for a long while before ultimately setting it down without writing anything.

If she had thought of this method from the beginning, Jiang Zhaosu might have told Qi Xing without hesitation that she was actually human.

But after everything that had happened over the past two days, Jiang Zhaosu's worldview had rapidly crumbled and been rebuilt.

She now felt that she could no longer be considered human.

She simply could not control a zombie's craving for blood. To stay alive, she had to eat humans.

Because of that, she had already betrayed humanity at its core.

Secondly, Qi Xing was not a good person in the traditional sense.

He killed people cleanly and decisively, without the slightest bit of mercy.

The reason he had spared her was obviously not kindness, but because he found her interesting.

Qi Xing's attitude toward her was nothing like the way one treated an equal companion.

Qi Xing looked at her as if she were a pet. When he was in a good mood, he would coax her and give her meat to eat; when he was in a bad mood, he could slaughter her at any time.

From observing Qi Xing over the past two days, Jiang Zhaosu had noticed that he did not talk much around other people.

The reason Qi Xing chattered so much in front of her was probably partly because, as a zombie, she could only growl and could not repeat everything he said to her everywhere.

While driving, Qi Xing had said many things to her out of boredom. Jiang Zhaosu had mostly treated it as the man talking to himself and paid none of it any mind.

What if some of it was Qi Xing's embarrassing history? If he learned she could write and worried that she might leak it, what if he killed her?

One human and one zombie—they looked close, but they were really only using each other. At most, they were not particularly familiar partners, with no need for excessive communication.

After thinking it over, Jiang Zhaosu ultimately decided to play dumb. She scribbled a few random lines on the paper, then pretended to lose interest and tossed the paper and pen aside.

When Qi Xing caught sight of this, he sighed helplessly. "Oh, my idiotic Fortune. You became this stupid after turning into a zombie—were you illiterate when you were alive?"

"..."

Jiang Zhaosu, once the top student in the entire school, resisted the urge to bare her teeth at Qi Xing. Furiously, she turned her head toward the window to admire the scenery.

In truth, there was not much to see outside.

The sky had yet to clear, dark clouds hanging overhead. The mountains and farmland were corroded by the intermittent Acid Rain, and most of the plants had already withered.

As far as the eye could see, the gray sky met the yellow-brown farmland. The land that had once been full of life was now left with only emptiness and desolation, oppressive enough to make one feel suffocated.

Fortunately, Jiang Zhaosu was a zombie, not a human.

So this bleak scenery had no psychological effect on her.

But as Jiang Zhaosu watched, she realized that the road they were taking seemed a little wrong.

Hadn't Qi Xing said that morning that they were heading south to A District?

Yet Jiang Zhaosu looked at the direction their vehicle was currently traveling.

This was obviously not south!

Jiang Zhaosu turned to look at Qi Xing, who was driving.

Qi Xing held the steering wheel in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other. On it was a map route to A District in Xishui City, which he had asked a survivor from the previous village to draw.

"Why is this map wrong? It says we should turn right here, so why is there no road now?"

Qi Xing slammed on the brakes. He looked up at the mountain blocking the road ahead, then lowered his head and shook the map in his hand, making a puzzled sound. "Have we not reached it yet?"

Jiang Zhaosu leaned over to look at the map in Qi Xing's hand, then turned back and stuck her head out the window to look behind them.

She vaguely remembered that twenty minutes ago, she and Qi Xing had passed a fork in the road. Qi Xing had decisively chosen the left path, which was opposite to what the map indicated, and confidently declared, "The map was drawn this way. It can't be wrong!"

Jiang Zhaosu realized she seemed to have finally grasped one of Qi Xing's weaknesses.

Could Qi Xing be directionally challenged?

No wonder the man was so capable and could clearly survive on his own, yet still risked getting stabbed in the back by joining an Ability User team.

Was it because, without anyone else around, Qi Xing could not even find the entrance to the Survivor Base?

Jiang Zhaosu fell silent, hesitating over whether to tell Qi Xing that they seemed to be going the wrong way.

Before she could say anything, Qi Xing, blessed with an exceptional sense of direction, suddenly came to a realization. He lightly tossed the map between them and declared, "I know! The small road on the left leads up the mountain!"

As he spoke, he stepped on the gas and resolutely drove onto a mountain road to the east.

Jiang Zhaosu: "..."

That mountain road was so narrow and hidden, yet Qi Xing had actually spotted it with those sharp eyes of his.

He was not only directionally challenged, but also stubborn as a mule.

At this rate, who knew what year or month they would reach A District.

But whether he reached A District or not did not matter to Jiang Zhaosu.

The more survivors there were in a place, the more Ability Users there would surely be. That was actually very disadvantageous for Jiang Zhaosu as a zombie.

Who knew whether some Ability User would suddenly jump out from somewhere and smash her to pieces with one slap?

It would be best if Qi Xing never reached it in his life.

Just as that thought surfaced in Jiang Zhaosu's mind, she caught an unfamiliar scent.

It was the scent of a human.

The fragrance coming from Qi Xing and the bloody smell emitted by the Square-Faced Man inside the van were too strong. By the time Jiang Zhaosu caught that scent, the person had already silently followed them.

Whoosh—

A three-meter-long Ice Cone suddenly appeared in front of their vehicle. Qi Xing immediately slammed on the brakes.

Jiang Zhaosu, who had been about to turn and warn Qi Xing, was thrown by the sudden stop, her head hitting the window with a thud.

The fragile window shattered on impact. Several shards pierced Jiang Zhaosu's skull, though fortunately, they did not damage any nerves.

Jiang Zhaosu touched her head and found her hand covered in thick black blood.

Beads of blood slowly streamed down her pale, icy skin. Jiang Zhaosu was so furious that her hands trembled with rage.

Didn't they know a zombie's head was its most important part? What if her head got injured and she died!

Who the hell was it?!

With Qi Xing beside her as a protective shield, Jiang Zhaosu let out a roar and immediately prepared to rush out of the vehicle to settle the score with this unknown Ability User.

She was going to tear this person to pieces and swallow them to replenish her nutrients!

Jiang Zhaosu had just opened the car door when she heard a light, pleasant female voice exclaim in surprise, "A zombie?"

The next second, several Ice Cones glinting with cold light descended from above, shooting straight at Jiang Zhaosu's head with deadly precision.

This was far more formidable than the Fire Ability User they had encountered that morning, who could only throw little fireballs and burn himself.

Oh no!

Frightened out of her wits, Jiang Zhaosu scrambled back into the van.

In that critical moment, several tender shoots burst from the ground and instantly grew into thick vines, firmly wrapping around their van and blocking the Ice Cones outside.

Seeing the familiar green through the window, Jiang Zhaosu let out a sigh of relief and soothingly patted her thin chest.

Luckily, Qi Xing was here.

Qi Xing had easily dealt with even a Fire Ability User whose element countered his. This Ability User should not be a problem either, right?

But when Jiang Zhaosu turned her head after thinking that, she saw Qi Xing still seated in the driver's seat, staring grimly ahead with an expression more serious than ever before.