“You!”
“You!” Wen Qiao let Xiao Jiu speak first.
“Did you see Ge Li’s recommendations? I love her, she has such great taste!”
“Yes, yes!”
After that, the two of them chatted for a long time in the milk tea shop over their drinks. Not only did they discover they shared many of the same hobbies, but they also found out they even had the same surname.
They both exclaimed that it was fate (though later, when they talked about their first meeting, they both admitted that was just an excuse—they had simply hit it off at first sight and wanted to keep talking). Afterward, they even went to have a meal together before reluctantly parting ways.
She didn’t know what it was exactly. The moment she saw Xiao Jiu, she felt a sense of closeness. Maybe it was their similar style of dressing, maybe it was the faint sadness and guardedness in her eyes, or maybe it was the subtle probing she showed unintentionally.
She didn’t know what Xiao Jiu had gone through before, but she was willing to listen and to accept it—if Xiao Jiu was willing to open up.
Before leaving, they exchanged QQ (a messaging app), often kept in touch, went out together frequently, and eventually became best friends.
“Hello? Baby Qiao Qiao, are you listening?”
Wen Qiao snapped back to her senses. “It’s fine. My superpower offense and defense are both maxed out. Wait for me at home.”
“I have enough food. One of my superpowers can even produce food. When I get there, I’ll cook you a big meal.” It was an outfit called 【Chef Lady】. Its superpower gave her max-level cooking skills. The apron tied around her waist had a pocket that was a static space, filled with countless fresh fruits and vegetables.
“Alright, I’ll wait for you at home.”
“Lock the doors and windows, and draw the curtains. Don’t make any noise.”
“Mhm, don’t worry. I’m very good at listening to advice.”
The conversation mainly consisted of Wen Qiao giving instructions while Wen Jiuya obediently agreed. After chatting for a while, they hung up.
Wen Qiao typed a few words and replied to Xue Qi: “Safe. Don’t worry.”
Finally, she opened the message sent by the government at 7:40 a.m.:
“Dear Sir/Madam,
An unknown virus has broken out. It is highly infectious, turning people into zombies. Their eyes and skin are grayish-white, and their fingernails are very long. They are now sensitive to sound and the scent of uninfected humans.
Please do your best to clear the zombies around you, secure your doors and windows, and wait for rescue.
City District Streets Office: Rebuilding our homeland needs you—G Province.
Attachment: Ability Survey Questionnaire.”
She walked to the window and looked at the gloomy sky. It seemed the apocalypse had truly arrived—a global one. This journey ahead would surely be filled with danger.
The country had already begun establishing bases and had started discovering and valuing ability users. The bases would likely be built in major grain-producing provinces to make food collection easier. With sufficient reserves, they could last for several months, and later there would likely be team missions to transport food.
Ability users wouldn’t live too badly in the apocalypse—but only not too badly. It still depended on the strength of one’s superpower, their level, and how much hardship they could endure.
Xiao Jiu was the family she had chosen herself.
She would definitely protect her. Before the apocalypse, whatever kind of life Xiao Jiu had lived, it would remain the same after. First, Wen Qiao believed she had the strength to do it. Second, without each other, life simply wouldn’t work for either of them.
So after discovering her superpower, the first thing she thought of was going to find Wen Jiuya. She couldn’t even imagine how dull and tasteless her life had been before meeting Xiao Jiu.
Her best friend was so fragile—someone who couldn’t even cook. How could she possibly fight zombies or find food? She might even get tricked and sold off without realizing it.
Before the apocalypse, they had kept each other company, eaten together, and gone out together.
It could be said that Xiao Jiu had filled the gaps in her childhood and her barren inner world. From time to time, she even provided inspiration for her novels.
Without Xiao Jiu, Wen Qiao thought, she might have already lost herself and quietly died on some silent night.
After the apocalypse, she should be the one to protect Xiao Jiu. Xiao Jiu couldn’t live without her, and she herself needed Xiao Jiu even more. Xiao Jiu was her moral bottom line.
Xiao Jiu had always had very low expectations of her—anything was fine as long as it wasn’t illegal.
As for Xue Qi, he was a grown man. He should be capable of protecting himself. How could he be compared to the fragile Xiao Jiu?
Thinking of Xiao Jiu—alone, possibly hungry and cold—she wished she could teleport to her immediately.
She summoned the all-purpose wardrobe and took out a bracelet. It was one of the accessories from a spatial superpower outfit. Compared to the outfit, its storage space was small: it had sixteen beads, each containing 100 cubic meters. The outfit itself had an infinite space, half static and half for storage.
Other spatial ability users: “Wow, thanks a lot. We start with just 1 cubic meter.”
She began packing up everything useful in the house—ingredients, snacks, daily necessities, and furniture. They were all bought with money; she couldn’t let them go to waste. She stored everything into the bracelet.
Then she selected today’s superpower—no, today’s outfit.
She chose a set called camellia dress. It was entirely white, with green embroidery on the collar and cuffs. The skirt was adorned with camellias in various shapes. It looked simple but made her complexion brighter and gave off an elegant aura.
Camellia: a dress with wind ability.
Mental power: max
Defense: max, forming an invisible light shield.
Instructions for use: perhaps it could be materialized into a pair of wings for flight, or into wind blades with maximum attack power…
Wen Qiao activated the outfit change. Her black sportswear transformed into a beautiful green dress. Her casually tied high ponytail became a full princess hairstyle, leaving only soft bangs in the front. On her feet were white stockings and shiny leather shoes decorated with tiny sparkling gems.
On one hand was the camellia bracelet that came with the dress. On the other was the space bracelet holding everything from her home.
The camellia bracelet didn’t look offensive, but it was actually a deadly weapon. Using compressed wind power and pressure differences, a single camellia could unleash an explosion equal to—or even greater than—a bomb. The power depended on the amount of superpower input, and it was inexhaustible.
She took out a full-length mirror and looked at herself.
Perfect!
Then she glanced at the now completely empty house.
Perfect times two.
“Let’s go!”
Wen Qiao opened the door and stepped out. Her little leather shoes made crisp tapping sounds against the floor as she looked up.
As expected, seven or eight zombies were coming straight at her, with more pouring in from the stairways above and below.
After awakening her superpower, all aspects of her physical abilities had improved. Otherwise, with her poor eyesight, she wouldn’t have been able to see clearly in such darkness.
Why were there so many zombies in the building?
Logically, there were four households per floor, and only two were occupied on her floor. At most, there should have been three or four zombies. This was clearly abnormal.
Wen Qiao used her wind ability to increase her speed. As she moved through the zombies, she casually swung her hand, sending out wind blades that sliced through them like cutting watermelons—one strike, one kill, never missing.
She fought her way from the third floor to the first, exiting the building and obtaining two crystal cores.
She looked around and saw numerous zombies hiding densely in the shadows. Then she raised her head and looked at the blood moon.
They were wary… of the blood moon.
Only then did she realize that under the blood moon, faint energy was entering her body. This was an opportunity for humans.
The blood moon could increase and replenish superpower. But whether one could gain this opportunity depended on having sharp observation and the courage to take risks.
She took out her phone and sent this information to Xiao Jiu and Xue Qi. The next second, she received their replies.
From Xiao Jiu: “Received.”
Xue Qi: “OK. Where are you? Want me to come find you?”
QiaoWhatQiao: “I’m going to find Xiao Jiu. No need—I have superpowers.” After replying, she muted the phone, turned it off, put it back in her bag, and ran toward Xiao Jiu’s home.
In a dim room, after sending her message, Wen Jiuya dragged a red leather beanbag sofa behind the window. A breeze lifted the curtains, brushing against her hair and revealing her delicate face.
Her expression, however, was calm and distant, making her seem hard to approach.
She had waist-length chestnut curls, wore a long white dress, and lay barefoot across the sofa. The hem of her dress had slid up slightly, exposing her calves, which looked even more delicate against the red leather.
Wen Jiuya’s features were not striking, but they were pleasing to the eye. Upon closer look, she carried a hint of the refined charm of a scholarly lady from ancient times. However, her work had nothing to do with writing—she ran a small self-service quiet study room for people preparing for exams or reading.
While others were anxious, worried, and restless after learning about the apocalypse, she remained at ease.
She had been anxious before. But when Baby Qiao Qiao said she would come to pick her up, she suddenly calmed down.
Her life had already been worthless. If not for the instinctive human desire to survive, she might not have held on. Then she met Baby Qiao Qiao—her soulmate—like a warm water bottle, slowly bringing warmth to her life.
Perhaps, she could only continue living numbly.