The lingering pain from being surrounded and bitten by zombies had not yet faded, and Yu Qiu thought she was surely dead. When she opened her eyes again, what came into view was a gigantic beast she had never seen before. Its ferocious jaws gaped wide as it lunged at her.
“What is that?” Fear surged in her heart, but instinct outpaced reason. She forced her broken body to move, fleeing from the beast’s maw.
Perhaps her will to survive was too strong, for in the next instant she realized her ability still remained.
Without hesitation, she gathered what little strength was left, lifted her hand with difficulty, and cried out softly, “Go!” From her slender, pale palm, a gentle light burst forth, shooting straight at the beast’s foul-smelling open mouth.
“Roar—!” At the instant the beast touched the light, it seemed to sense danger. Its huge eyes widened in alarm, and it bellowed while retreating. Yet it could not avoid that seemingly harmless light.
In the blink of an eye, as the glow swept across its body, the beast dissolved into a cloud of blood mist before its roar had even finished. The mist exploded in the air and drifted away on the wind, leaving behind only the heavy stench of blood in the forest.
All of it happened in an instant.
The danger was temporarily gone, and her senses quickly returned.
Before she could breathe in relief, an extreme hunger seized her. Her stomach clenched as though a hand were twisting it. The pain of wounds and broken bones pressed down together, weakening her frail body further.
Cold sweat slid down her sunken cheeks. Her twisted features, contorted by pain, looked almost grotesque.
Yu Qiu, enduring the torment of hunger and injury, lay on the ground and turned her head to look around. Despair spread through her body.
Hunger and pain eroded her reason. Though her eyes saw many things, she could no longer distinguish them or think clearly. Only one thought remained in her mind: hungry. So hungry! She needed food. If she didn’t eat soon, this life she had just clung to would slip away again.
Though she had long since lost the will to live, her instincts drove her.
Or perhaps, she didn’t really want to die after all.
A bitter smile tugged at her lips. She groped blindly for something nearby, not caring to check what it was. The moment it was in her hand, she shoved it desperately into her mouth, swallowing it whole. The burning in her stomach eased slightly.
When hunger reaches its peak, one truly dares to eat anything.
As the food entered her stomach, her lost reason gradually returned, and she felt less powerless. Supporting herself on her uninjured arm, she lifted her body a little. Seeing that more wild fruits still lay beside her, she let out a breath of relief and lay back down carefully.
Fortunately, they were just wild fruits—not anything strange. She grabbed two more.
This time she no longer stuffed them in recklessly. She bit into them slowly. The soft, sweet-and-sour flesh mixed with the metallic scent of blood in the air as she swallowed, sustaining her broken body.
After severe hunger, one cannot eat too much at once, or the stomach and body won’t endure it.
Only after finishing the second fruit did Yu Qiu realize her ability’s energy had recovered by nearly ten percent.
She looked carefully at the fruit in her hand.
The fruits were not large, but their colors were strikingly bright. Normally in the wild, the more vivid the plant, the stronger its poison.
But not these.
“Red fruit!” Her hoarse voice echoed in the forest, startling no living thing.
Her eyes lit up as she gazed at the fruit, still caught in the excitement of her discovery.
In her original world, the red fruit was a mutated wild strawberry—one of the rare few things besides zombie cores that could restore ability energy. Growing only in the wild, they were hard to obtain.
It seemed this world’s original self had no such knowledge.
Her new memories were chaotic, with no time to sort them out.
This was no place to linger. A beast had just died, and her bloodied body might attract more unknown dangers.
After eating a few red fruits, she had recovered enough energy to heal her injuries. At least she could walk.
Her awakened ability was wood-type, with a healing aspect. Of course, it could not compare with a true healing power, but it was enough for wounds and broken bones.
Wood-type abilities had no offensive power, categorized as support. Still, she had devised a single attack technique as a life-saving skill.
The light that destroyed the beast was the result of her experiments.
Unfortunately, during the zombie siege in her last life, her energy had been exhausted and she could not unleash it.
Luckily, in that life she had nothing left to tie her down. Her parents had died at the start of the apocalypse while fleeing. Friends and relatives had fallen one by one during missions to exterminate zombies. So she had flung herself into zombie hordes, wishing only to wipe them out completely.
But her strength had not been enough—she had only delivered herself as food.
She had been one of countless ordinary people. Even with an awakened ability, she had no grand ambitions. She hadn’t dared hope for that broken, despairing world to ever return to normal. Her only wish was to find a safe place to live and survive with her loved ones.
The sour ache in her heart rose again, and a bitter smile curved her lips.
Fate had played a cruel trick.
She had abandoned the will to live and charged into the zombie horde, certain of her death.
Countless thoughts had passed through her mind, the pain of their bites still vivid, when suddenly—she opened her eyes to another life.
She looked down at the body that was not her own and whispered, “Enough.”
Her fate had not ended. Since she had been reborn, she should treat it properly.
At least, she owed this body’s original owner that much.
As she thought, she simultaneously used her power to heal.
Within moments, the deep claw marks faded to pale scars. Her broken ribs and left arm healed to about seventy percent.
The pain lingered when she moved, but at least it no longer hindered walking.
Still, the place was too dangerous. The beast had been obliterated by her strike, and she never even saw clearly what it was.
She stood, surveying her surroundings. The thick, tangled vegetation resembled the mutated plants she knew.
Her expression turned strange, her brow furrowing with doubt.
Had she crossed into another world—or was this simply an unknown region of her old one?
There was no time to explore her host’s memories fully.
The memories were too vast, surfacing only in fragmented flashes of thought, difficult to sort. To avoid accidents, she dared not probe too deeply.
Quickly, Yu Qiu gathered the dozen or so red fruits left. Ignoring the discomfort of her smaller body, she headed toward the mountain’s edge.
This was a vast mountain range. She had only been in the outer edges and already encountered a giant beast.
“Huu~” Her body was so weak. After only a short distance, she was panting.
She wiped the sweat from her brow. This body must have been starved too long; its foundation was ruined.
She would need time and nourishment to restore it.
During a pause to rest, Yu Qiu turned to glance into the forest’s depths. Her brows knit, her expression grave.
The endless mountains and dense vegetation blocked even the blazing sun outside. If the outer edge was this difficult, who knew what dangers lurked within?
Though she had abilities, plants posed no barrier to her here. But venturing deeper was impossible—the risks were too great. She could only move outward, find a spot, and dig a shelter. First, she would sort through her host’s memories, then make plans.
Drawing on her past life’s experience, she ate three more red fruits along the way, restoring stamina and replenishing sugar and water. Her powers also recovered somewhat.
She chose a flat area with dense trees some distance from the entrance. Using her wood ability, she controlled the roots and stems to carve out an underground space large enough for three or four people.
Inside, the roots formed a hollow chamber.
She slipped inside swiftly, hiding within, then commanded the roots to seal the entrance, leaving only tiny gaps for air.
From outside, no entrance could be seen. The roots absorbed her scent, and the covering soil further concealed her presence.
Only then did Yu Qiu finally relax.
Nibbling on red fruits, she began to probe and sort through the memories in her mind.