The Days Ahead Were Still Long

Jiang Zhaosu and Qi Xing did not run far.

They even returned to the village the following afternoon.

Jiang Zhaosu had suggested it. Qi Xing had not agreed at first, but when Jiang Zhaosu made an eating gesture at him, he fell silent.

It was not that Jiang Zhaosu lacked food.

He was the one who lacked it.

Qi Xing found the things Pei Chixuan and Cen Jiao had left in the vehicle utterly baffling.

Though the vehicle looked imposing, sturdy, and spacious from the outside, its interior was filled with romantic touches everywhere.

Lavish curtains hung over the windows like bed drapes. There was women's perfume on the table, a man's razor, two toothbrush cups, and even a bulky vinyl record player. On the small table beside it sat half a bottle of opened red wine and two wineglasses.

There were plenty of things for enjoyment, but pitifully few useful supplies.

Qi Xing searched through the entire vehicle and found only a small plate of strawberries and a plate of blueberries to eat. There was not even a leftover piece of bread.

It made his face turn pale with anger, and he did not want to speak for two whole hours.

Later, he figured it out.

Cen Jiao had storage space, and he had heard it even had a preservation function. Naturally, she kept all her food in there and only took it out when she wanted to eat.

The strawberries and blueberries had probably been taken out as snacks after they had eaten their fill.

They drove such an expensive vehicle, yet they could not even get their hands on dried vegetables.

Helpless, Qi Xing could only listen to Jiang Zhaosu and return to the village to gather food.

Jiang Zhaosu had not chosen to return on a whim. She had thought it through carefully.

The plot of the novel she had read was actually simple: the protagonists fell in love while hacking apart zombies and Saving the World on the side.

Cen Jiao and Pei Chixuan both had very distinct personalities.

Cen Jiao was spoiled and willful, with a bit of a temper. Pei Chixuan was domineering and obsessive, doting solely on Cen Jiao.

If Cen Jiao's father had not fallen from power and brought the family to ruin midway through, the two of them would have counted as Childhood Sweethearts with matching social status.

They were both children of wealthy families, lofty and privileged elites.

And one major trait of people like them was arrogance.

Because they considered themselves noble enough, when facing provocations from insignificant ants, they would not even feel anger. They would only find it mocking and amusing.

Qin Feng and Duan Yuanyuan's attack yesterday had been nothing more than a joke to them, a farce to spice up their romance and lives. Neither of them would take it too seriously.

Sure enough, when Jiang Zhaosu and Qi Xing returned that night, the village was empty.

Pei Chixuan and Cen Jiao had already left.

Among a pile of severed limbs, wreckage, and charred corpses at the village entrance, Jiang Zhaosu found Duan Yuanyuan.

She had become a corpse too. Half her body had been burned black, while the other half barely retained a human shape.

The woman's once beautiful, glamorous face was now unrecognizable. Her skin had melted away, and her gums had torn through it, exposing rows of stark white teeth to the air. Her limbs were twisted into grotesquely unnatural positions.

Jiang Zhaosu identified her by the earrings on her ears.

It seemed Duan Yuanyuan really liked butterflies. The crystal hairpin she had given Jiang Zhaosu was shaped like one, and so were the earrings she wore herself.

There was a large hole in Duan Yuanyuan's head. Blood, brain matter, and all kinds of fluids had mixed together and flowed from it onto the ground, where they had dried into a dark brownish-black stain.

Jiang Zhaosu reached into the hole and found Duan Yuanyuan's Crystal Core.

She remembered that both protagonists had mild cleanliness obsessions.

Even though they knew Mutated Species had Crystal Cores in their brains, they disdained doing this sort of thing. They found it too filthy and disgusting.

While Qi Xing gathered food, Jiang Zhaosu found a patch of farmland at the edge of the village. Together with the Mutated Giant Rat, she dug a deep pit and placed Duan Yuanyuan inside.

Before filling it in, Jiang Zhaosu removed the hairpin from her own hair and gently placed it beside Duan Yuanyuan as compensation for taking her Crystal Core.

Although Duan Yuanyuan had given it to her, Jiang Zhaosu had nothing else valuable on her.

Jiang Zhaosu felt that if Duan Yuanyuan knew, she probably would not blame her for doing this.

When she finished everything, Qi Xing had just finished gathering supplies and came to find her.

When Qi Xing saw the little grave mound Jiang Zhaosu had made for Duan Yuanyuan, he was silent for a moment before asking, "Is Duan Yuanyuan in there?"

After burying Duan Yuanyuan, the gloom in Jiang Zhaosu's heart had eased somewhat. She nodded her little head. "Mm..."

"No wonder you insisted on coming back. So you came to collect Duan Yuanyuan's body."

"And you even built her a grave."

Qi Xing rubbed his chin and looked at the little grave with a strange expression. "You only knew each other for a few days, yet you're awfully good to her."

Was he jealous?

But they were friends.

Jiang Zhaosu thought for a moment, then slowly stammered, "You... die... I... collect..."

If Qi Xing died, she would collect his body too.

They were good friends now as well.

"Huh?" Qi Xing turned to look at her. "If I die, will Fortune collect my body and build me a grave too?"

"Mm..."

Jiang Zhaosu looked up at him too and honestly answered.

Meeting her serious gaze, Qi Xing truly laughed this time.

"Haha, no need for that. Digging graves is such a hassle. Fortune, you'd have to use those little paws of yours for ages."

Qi Xing told her with a smile, "If I really die someday, Fortune can just eat me. Anyway, Fortune, you don't excrete anything. If I enter Fortune's stomach, I'll become part of Fortune's body. As long as Fortune doesn't die, I'll count as immortal too. We'll coexist forever."

Jiang Zhaosu: "..."

This was the first time she had heard a human ask a zombie to eat his corpse.

Well, that was certainly eye-opening.

Sure enough, the thoughts of a pervert were beyond the comprehension of a normal zombie like her!

Seeing that Jiang Zhaosu truly cared deeply about Duan Yuanyuan, Qi Xing took a seed from his pocket. He crouched down and buried it in the earth before Duan Yuanyuan's grave, then lightly held his hand over it from a distance.

His wrist shifted slightly, and a lustrous green light shone between his long, fair fingers. Then the earth beneath his palm began to stir.

A tiny green sprout broke through the soil, unfurling tender leaves as it grew vigorously.

Its slender vines crept across the ground, rapidly spreading over Duan Yuanyuan's grave. Green leaves sprouted along the vines, and pale yellow flowers bloomed amid the leaves. Before long, the little flowers covered Duan Yuanyuan's entire grave mound.

Jiang Zhaosu's almond eyes widened round as she watched the magical scene before her in delight.

She had watched Qi Xing use his ability many times already, yet it still always amazed her.

Qi Xing plucked a little flower from one of the vines, then stood and walked to Jiang Zhaosu. He tucked the brightest-blooming flower into her hair, then lightly tapped the spot between Jiang Zhaosu's brows, which had finally relaxed a little.

"That's better. Don't frown."

"A little zombie's most important task every day is eating. What is there to frown about?"

Qi Xing's warm fingertips rubbed over her brows with a little force, as though trying to smooth away her frown. "The days ahead are still long, Fortune."