“099? Zombies even have serial numbers?”
Xu Jie always spoke faster than he thought.
Ling Jiujiu froze for three seconds, then reacted with a frown, snorted, and turned her head away, leaving only the back of her head for him.
Lu Chen took a first aid kit out of his storage space, poured some alcohol onto a gauze pad, and pressed it against Xu Jie’s bitten arm.
“You’re almost dead, and you still have the leisure to tease him.”
“Hiss~” Xu Jie sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.
His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his body trembled with pain, but his mouth remained tough:
“If those guys can awaken, how could I be worse than them?
If I awaken a supernatural ability, it’ll definitely be the most badass! Let those bastards be so arrogant!”
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something and asked Lu Chen:
“Boss Lu, what ability did you awaken?”
He had been to the site where Squad 001 met their demise. The area ravaged by the zombie horde was a complete mess.
He had basically found all the members of Squad 001—some had turned entirely into zombies, others were in pieces.
The Squad 001 led by Lu Chen was the most formidable exploration team.
Given the severity of the scene, it was impossible for Lu Chen to have escaped unscathed.
Lu Chen put the first aid kit back into his storage space.
Xu Jie watched as the kit vanished into thin air and was stunned for a moment.
“Is this a Spatial Ability? As expected of Boss Lu! You’ve unlocked the most awesome ability in the apocalypse.”
Even before the apocalypse, he loved reading novels—and he read a lot.
No matter the genre, spatial abilities were always the rarest and most powerful existence.
Lu Chen wasn’t in the mood to discuss his ability right now. He took out a can of beef stew and tossed it to him.
“Eat something, talk less, and conserve your strength.”
Xu Jie chuckled as he opened the beef can: “I haven’t eaten meat in days. Still relies on Brother Lu.”
As he ate, Xu Jie, with a piece of beef in his mouth, suddenly collapsed.
Lu Chen turned him over and touched his forehead—it was burning hot.
It was a wonder he had managed to act as if nothing was wrong all the way here.
Xu Jie’s Infection was progressing faster and was much more severe than his own.
Life or death would be decided in the next two days.
“I’ll keep watch tonight. You go to sleep first.”
The young master was particular about cleanliness and comfort, so Lu Chen simply made a sofa bed for Ling Jiujiu.
Curious, Ling Jiujiu went over and poked Xu Jie’s face—it was also burning hot.
Just like when Lu Chen was unconscious.
He had seen the process of humans turning into zombies after being bitten and had even experienced it firsthand.
Once, someone had tied him up, intending to take him back for research.
Later, that person was bitten and carried him on his back.
He clearly felt that person’s body temperature—starting off warm, gradually turning cold, and finally losing all warmth as they completely transformed into a zombie.
After Lu Chen was bitten, his body was hot, and he didn’t die—instead, he awakened an ability.
The red-haired guy was also hot, so he probably wouldn’t die either.
“He should be fine too.” Ling Jiujiu shared his thoughts with Lu Chen.
“I hope so.”
Although the little guy’s reasoning had no basis, hearing it eased some of the restlessness in Lu Chen’s heart.
At night, Xu Jie tossed and turned in agony. Lu Chen used cloth strips to restrain his body to the sofa, then went to deal with the zombies wandering outside.
Lu Chen didn’t sleep all night.
Xu Jie struggled all night and was now completely unconscious.
In the morning, Ling Jiujiu went over and poked Xu Jie again.
His body wasn’t hot anymore—just warm. He was probably about to wake up.
As expected, Xu Jie woke up in the afternoon.
Accompanying it was the sizzling sound of greenish electric currents.
“Brother Lu, I awakened the lightning supernatural ability, also a high-level one!”
Seeing him come back to life, Lu Chen’s heart finally settled.
“You keep watch tonight, I’m going to sleep for a while.”
Before Xu Jie could finish his excitement, Lu Chen had already laid down in Ling Jiujiu’s little nest and fallen asleep.
Xu Jie’s desire to share was mercilessly cut off. Seeing Ling Jiujiu leaning against the window watching the scenery, he smirked and walked over.
“Little Jiujiu, Brother Xu Jie will perform a magic trick for you.”
At night, Lu Chen woke up—he was woken.
In the darkness, Ling Jiujiu was huddled by the window, pitiful and helpless, softly calling his name.
That guy Xu Jie didn’t know where he’d run off to.
There was no moon tonight, and Ling Jiujiu was completely in the dark.
In an unfamiliar environment, he was a bit scared.
“Lu Chen, are you awake? Lu Chen, answer me, Lu Chen…”
Looking at his pitiful little appearance, it was unclear what kind of life he’d been living in the hut.
How would he survive without him?
“Jiujiu, I’m here.”
Lu Chen walked over to Ling Jiujiu and gently placed his hand on his back to comfort him.
Ling Jiujiu seemed to have grabbed a lifeline, clutching the hem of Lu Chen’s clothes and refusing to let go.
Lu Chen ruffled Ling Jiujiu’s little tuft of hair and asked softly, “Where’s Xu Jie?”
Ling Jiujiu shook his head: “He suddenly went out. I couldn’t see him and didn’t dare call out loudly, afraid of attracting zombies.”
How could he be so well-behaved?
Lu Chen took Ling Jiujiu to a windowless room and lit a candle for him.
The room was illuminated by candlelight, and with his vision restored, Ling Jiujiu felt much more at ease.
“Wait for me here. Don’t open the door for anyone except me.”
After settling Ling Jiujiu, Lu Chen turned and walked out.
Scanning the surroundings, there was no sign of Xu Jie nearby.
Xu Jie wouldn’t have gone far without a word. If he hadn’t returned for so long, he must have run into trouble.
Meanwhile, while dealing with wandering zombies, Xu Jie spotted a few people.
Living people.
Judging by their clothing, they were organized.
Trouble.
If it were just him and Lu Chen, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but they also had Ling Jiujiu.
Ling Jiujiu was a rare little zombie. These guys knew what that meant and definitely wouldn’t pass up the chance to capture him.
He hoped they were just staying here for the night and would leave as soon as it was light.
Lu Chen found him and dragged Xu Jie away from where he was hiding in the shadows, surveilling certain people.
“One of them is a fire-type supernatural ability user. If you get too close, you’ll be discovered,” Lu Chen whispered.
Xu Jie asked curiously, “How do you know?”
Lu Chen pointed to his eyes: “I saw it. Clairvoyant vision.”
Then, Lu Chen told Xu Jie everything about his ability to consume Crystal Cores and convert them into supernatural abilities.
Xu Jie fell silent for a moment before speaking quietly: “Brother Lu, can I reserve a spot as your sidekick in advance?”
Lu Chen didn’t understand his train of thought and didn’t want to.
“Anyway, you just awakened your ability and are still a rookie. I don’t have any strong combat abilities right now. If the two of us face that fire-type ability user, we’ll definitely die.”
Just as the two were preparing to leave quietly, they suddenly heard gunshots not far away.
“Exposed?” Xu Jie immediately went on high alert.
Lu Chen pulled him back and looked toward the group’s location.
After watching for a while, he turned and left.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s infighting.”
In the apocalypse, it is very common for a companion who was just cooperating with you to turn around and stab you in the back.
Human nature is the most fragile thing to test in the end times.