Another Evolution

Fortunately, Qi Xing had a habit of carrying important items with him.

Jiang Zhaosu watched him gather some dead branches and fallen leaves into a pile, skewer the fish on a long, thin branch, and set it over the pile. Then he somehow pulled a lighter from one of his pockets and set the branches and leaves alight, building a simple grill and happily roasting the fish.

You really know how to eat.

Set fire to the mountains, and prison awaits.

Jiang Zhaosu could not help grumbling inwardly.

The longer she spent with Qi Xing, the more Jiang Zhaosu doubted his identity.

At the very least, judging from how expertly he picked car locks and cleaned fish guts, Qi Xing was definitely not the pampered young master who could not even touch spring water that she had initially imagined.

Jiang Zhaosu only regretted not studying that novel more carefully back then.

She always read novels at night, and forgot them after reading. She could no longer remember much of the plot.

The only information she currently knew was that she and Qi Xing were the vicious villains in this novel, and cannon fodder who existed to give the Protagonist Group experience points. They did not even count as minor bosses.

Who the hell wanted to know such garbage news?!

Jiang Zhaosu screamed furiously in her heart, though she could only be furious inwardly.

After becoming a zombie, her facial muscles had become extremely stiff. Complex expressions like being beside herself with rage were difficult for her to make. She could only open and close her mouth a few times, silently cursing.

Because of her Thunderous Rage, a string of bubbles rose from the water with a gurgle.

Water had buoyancy. Jiang Zhaosu discovered that soaking in it greatly eased the discomfort in her neck.

Since she was not afraid of the cold now anyway, Jiang Zhaosu simply submerged half her head in the stream, leaving only her large, dark round eyes exposed as she watched Qi Xing on the bank.

Hearing the gurgling bubbles from her direction, Qi Xing, who was roasting fish, thought she was drowning and looked over, meeting Jiang Zhaosu's furtive gaze as she secretly observed him.

Seeing that Jiang Zhaosu remained in the water without coming out, Qi Xing asked with interest, "Is it fun in there, Fortune?"

After the apocalypse, many water sources had been contaminated by Acid Rain, and water resources had become extremely scarce.

This water was unusually clear, and Qi Xing became interested too.

He walked to the edge of the stream, scooped up some water with his hand, and splashed it at Jiang Zhaosu.

"Awoo!"

The stream water splashed into Jiang Zhaosu's eyes. She howled in displeasure and kicked her little short legs, fleeing farther away from Qi Xing.

Qi Xing smiled, took off his coat and shirt, and entered the water as well.

He was much more agile than Jiang Zhaosu. He quickly caught many more fish, tossing a few onto the bank to be roasted and feeding all the rest to Jiang Zhaosu.

Jiang Zhaosu did not need to care whether food was raw or cooked, nor did she need to prepare it like a human. She swallowed each fish in just a few bites.

After wolfing down all that flesh, Jiang Zhaosu finally felt the hunger in her stomach lessen somewhat. Her body began to heat up, and the injuries on her head and neck faintly showed signs of healing.

However, to a zombie, fish was far less nutritious than humans.

Jiang Zhaosu's wounds healed slowly. They only repaired the most serious wound on her neck, keeping her little head from swaying precariously like a rock hanging over a cliff.

After filling her stomach, Jiang Zhaosu had nothing to do, so she continued soaking in the water and watched Qi Xing return to the bank to roast fish and finish his dinner.

Besides catching fish, Qi Xing had also removed the bandages from his body and briefly washed himself in the stream.

The forest was dim, but Qi Xing's skin was fair. Under the firelight, his beautiful bare upper body looked like a piece of delicate, lustrous jade, making even the slightest blemish especially conspicuous.

Thus, Jiang Zhaosu clearly saw that in just two days, the gunshot wound on Qi Xing's shoulder had almost healed. The spot that had bled incessantly before now only bore a flesh-colored scar the size of a fingernail.

Before long, even that flesh-colored scar would probably disappear.

As expected, an Ability User's body was far stronger than that of an ordinary person who had not evolved.

Envious! Jealous!

Jiang Zhaosu wanted such absurdly powerful healing abilities too.

Even though she had just eaten, Jiang Zhaosu still drooled hungrily at the sight of such fine meat laid out before her.

Qi Xing was sitting on the ground on the bank, facing Jiang Zhaosu.

Seeing that Jiang Zhaosu was still tilting her head and staring at him like a little crooked-necked tree, Qi Xing thought for a moment and beckoned to her.

"Fortune, come here."

What for?

Jiang Zhaosu's eyes shifted, and she was not very willing to go over.

She was afraid that once she did, she would not be able to stop herself from baring her fangs and taking a bite out of Qi Xing.

"I have something good for you."

Seeing that she was unwilling to come over, Qi Xing turned and rummaged through his coat pocket. Before long, he pulled something out and opened his palm toward Jiang Zhaosu.

"Look what this is."

More than a dozen tiny stones, each the size of a grain of rice, lay in Qi Xing's broad, fair palm.

The stones were crystal-clear, their surfaces emitting a faint yellow glow.

Crystal Cores!

After the experience of devouring that Mutated Species's Crystal Core and having her calf restored, Jiang Zhaosu had truly realized how precious these things were.

A miser like Qi Xing, who would pluck every feather from a passing goose, was actually willing to give her Crystal Cores?

Jiang Zhaosu's eyes widened in delighted surprise. She immediately climbed ashore and ran toward Qi Xing.

Qi Xing was quite trustworthy after all.

Once Jiang Zhaosu came over, Qi Xing took her hand and had her sit beside him, then poured all the Crystal Cores in his hand into the hands she held out toward him.

"Eat these. The wounds on your body should heal."

Although each of these Crystal Cores was tiny, there were many of them. Together, they were even slightly larger than the Crystal Core Jiang Zhaosu had eaten from that Mutated Species.

Suddenly possessing such a great fortune, Jiang Zhaosu carefully cradled the Crystal Cores in both hands. She could not help smiling at Qi Xing, practically wearing the words "milk is mother" across her face.

Qi Xing happened to enjoy seeing her stupid, mercenary look. It was innocent and cruel, and he found it amusing.

How many people in this world were not mercenary?

He did not mind Jiang Zhaosu being both stupid and bad at all.

As long as he could always give her what she wanted, Jiang Zhaosu would always remain the way he liked.

Was that not good enough?

Watching Jiang Zhaosu's gloom vanish as she looked at him with sparkling eyes, Qi Xing felt that if this little zombie had a tail, it would probably be wagging like a propeller right now.

To gain enjoyment, it was inevitable that he would have to give something in return.

With laughter in his voice, Qi Xing said to Jiang Zhaosu, "Eat."

Having received permission, Jiang Zhaosu immediately pinched a Crystal Core from her hand and tossed it into her mouth.

The Crystal Core slid down her throat and turned into a warm current of energy that circulated through her body.

After Jiang Zhaosu ate four or five of them, the injuries on her head and neck had completely healed.

Crystal Cores worked quickly, but they also had side effects.

When she ate the fifth one, Jiang Zhaosu felt her stomach cramp as a burning sensation surged upward.

Jiang Zhaosu had experienced the same symptoms in her stomach after eating that Mutated Species's Crystal Core last time.

Perhaps because the Crystal Cores she had swallowed this time were smaller, Jiang Zhaosu quickly endured the burning pain. But what followed was an even more unbearable hunger.

The seven or eight fish she had just eaten seemed to vanish from her stomach into thin air. Jiang Zhaosu only felt so hungry that her chest was pressed to her back, and when she looked at Qi Xing before her, he resembled a plump, delicious goose.

"Hungry..."

Jiang Zhaosu pressed a hand to her shriveled stomach. Blood-red light lit up in her eyes as she stared fixedly at Qi Xing and rasped out her request with difficulty, "Want... to eat..."