Fortune, Don't Be Afraid, I'm Here

When the girl with the single ponytail saw Jiang Zhaosu riding a bicycle, she first rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Only after confirming it was not a hallucination did she tug at the sleeve of the person beside her in shock. "Qin Feng, look! There's a child over there!"

The person she tugged was named Qin Feng. He was in his early thirties, with an ordinary face and a tall, muscular build. He possessed a Lightning Ability and was the leader of their group.

Before Qin Feng could speak, Cao Yuan, another Water Ability User, spoke first. "Duan Yuanyuan, are your eyes playing tricks on you? How could there be a child in this godforsaken wilderness?"

"Really! That child was even riding a bicycle. She looked like a little girl!"

"Heh, I think you spend all day getting startled over nothing. Something's wrong with your brain."

"What do you mean by that, Cao Yuan?!"

"Shut up, all of you! What are you arguing for?"

Only then did Qin Feng speak.

He had always had a bad temper. With a gloomy expression, he said gruffly, "Whether there's someone there or not, we'll know if we go take a look."

It was getting dark soon.

Once night fell, the zombie hordes would become more active, making it far more dangerous to remain outside.

They had to find somewhere to stay anyway, so they simply headed for the village where Duan Yuanyuan had said the child had gone.

Jiang Zhaosu pedaled faster back to the village. When she reached the door, she did not even dare park the bicycle properly. She jumped off and ran inside, wailing as she went.

"Ah... peo... people..."

Jiang Zhaosu had been scared out of her wits. Her short little legs had nearly pedaled the bicycle to pieces. After finally making it back, she entered the house and saw that Qi Xing was still fast asleep.

What a pig!

He had slept through the entire day and still had not woken up!

Jiang Zhaosu pounced over and pushed Qi Xing's shoulders with both hands, calling anxiously, "Wake... up..."

Qi Xing was a light sleeper. He had already woken up the moment Jiang Zhaosu entered, but he was still groggy and did not want to open his eyes.

He pretended not to hear Jiang Zhaosu calling him.

Jiang Zhaosu pushed him for a long time, but Qi Xing did not react at all.

Her eyes widened in shock. "Dead...?"

When he heard Jiang Zhaosu say that doubtfully, Qi Xing nearly burst out laughing.

Under the blanket, he pinched his thigh hard, forcing himself to hold back his laughter.

Then he felt a pair of cool little hands touching his face all over. Just like when she had checked his breathing in the woods, she placed her fingers beneath his nose.

Qi Xing held his breath.

This time, Jiang Zhaosu's fingers could not feel Qi Xing's warm, steady breath.

She was dumbfounded.

Holy shit!

Qi Xing was really dead?

Hadn't he been alive and kicking that morning? Could the Pickled Radish he had eaten before bed have been poisonous? Had it poisoned Qi Xing to death outright?

Then... should she eat Qi Xing?

Qi Xing was so powerful. His Crystal Core had to be very nourishing.

Looking at the feast that had fallen from the heavens before her, his entire body emitting an enticing fragrance, Jiang Zhaosu could not help swallowing.

Ever since meeting Qi Xing, there had not been a single moment when she had not wanted to eat his flesh.

But now that Qi Xing had really died, a strange, sour ache welled up in her chest.

If Qi Xing died, who would fight for her and find food for her in the future?

She did not even know whether she could beat the people outside!

Hey, couldn't Qi Xing kill that group outside before he died?

"Wake... up..."

Still unwilling to give up, Jiang Zhaosu pushed Qi Xing several more times, but the man lying on the bed remained completely unresponsive.

"If... you don't... wake up... I'll eat... you..."

Jiang Zhaosu struggled to warn him through her unclear speech.

Qi Xing still lay quietly where he was. His cheeks were warm and elastic to the touch, yet there was no breath from his mouth or nose.

After fussing over him for so long and seeing that Qi Xing still would not move, Jiang Zhaosu ran out of options.

She plopped down on the floor, staring blankly at Qi Xing, who had peacefully passed away on the bed.

Qi Xing, a minor villain, had not died at the hands of the Orthodox Sect. Instead, he had died from eating Pickled Radish?

Wasn't that death a little too haphazard?

Jiang Zhaosu tried hard to recall the plot and settings of the novel she had read.

Usually, in novels like that, when someone was bitten by a zombie, as long as they were not torn to pieces, they would be assimilated into a zombie.

If she bit Qi Xing, could she turn him into a zombie?

Could someone still become a zombie after their heart stopped beating?

As she thought of that, Jiang Zhaosu suddenly remembered something and jumped up from the floor.

She climbed onto the bed, yanked off the blanket covering Qi Xing, then roughly tore open the buttons of his shirt.

His shirt fell open to both sides, exposing his bare upper body to the air. His skin was pale and smooth, and his abs were defined and firm.

Jiang Zhaosu had no mind to admire such fine-looking meat. Urgently, she pressed her hand against the man's warm, solid chest.

Damn.

Didn't he have a heartbeat?

Qi Xing could no longer keep up the act. His chest shook dully a few times, and he opened his eyes with a smile. "Fortune, you're a girl. How can you just strip a man's clothes?"

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn.

Sitting on Qi Xing's thighs with her hand still pressed against his bare chest, Jiang Zhaosu looked at his beautiful fox eyes, which gazed at her with a smug, smiling expression. She was so embarrassed that she did not know what to do.

He was already in his twenties. How could he still play such a childish game?

If she could beat Qi Xing, Jiang Zhaosu would have dearly loved to slap him.

Jiang Zhaosu's face turned pale from holding it in. In the end, she could only awkwardly pull back her hand and curse resentfully, "You... bad..."

"Haha."

Qi Xing truly lived up to being a villain. Rather than being upset at being called bad, he laughed even more happily.

Just as the human and zombie were fooling around, voices suddenly sounded outside.

"Look, isn't this a bicycle? There are tire tracks on the ground too!"

A young woman said excitedly, "I told you there was a child riding a bicycle just now!"

A man added, "How strange. In this middle-of-nowhere place, there are living people besides us? Could it be that we aren't the only ones who know..."

"Shut up!"

Another male voice barked at them.

That voice sounded older than the previous two. Though he only said three words, it was deep and powerful, and he was clearly a very burly middle-aged man.

Jiang Zhaosu, who had been frightened by the girl with the single ponytail earlier, immediately stopped fooling around with Qi Xing when she heard their voices. Her little face tightened.

Worried that she spoke like the people outside, Jiang Zhaosu timidly edged closer. Her entire zombie body was nearly sprawled across Qi Xing as she whispered, "People... scared..."

Xiao Chuxi had truly beaten fear into her. Now, Jiang Zhaosu became frightened whenever she encountered an Ability User.

"It's fine." Qi Xing sat up from the bed, pulled her into his arms, and patted her back soothingly with one hand. In a gentle voice, he said, "Fortune, don't be afraid. I'm here."

While their relationship had grown increasingly harmonious, the three people outside were only putting on a show of unity.

Hearing Qin Feng's reprimand, Duan Yuanyuan immediately fell silent.

Cao Yuan, meanwhile, turned his head aside and curled his lips in displeasure. Who the hell is he trying to impress? Acting so high and mighty now, when he used to be nothing more than a worker at an electronics factory.