Lu Chen and Xu Jie returned to the wooden cabin.
As soon as they opened the door, Ling Jiujiu was nowhere to be seen in the room.
“Jiujiu?” Lu Chen’s expression changed abruptly.
He had clearly told the little one to wait for him here. How could he disappear after just a short while outside?
At night, Ling Jiujiu couldn’t see anything, so it was impossible for him to wander around.
Unless… he had been captured!
Just then, a dark lump in the corner shifted slightly.
Lu Chen noticed it keenly, his hawk-like eyes fixed intently on that shadow.
Seeing this, Xu Jie also tightened his grip on the knife in his hand.
The shadow wriggled a few times, then silently lifted, revealing a pair of reddened eyes and messy, unruly hair.
Ling Jiujiu was clutching a candle, wrapped in a curtain, pitifully curled up in the corner.
“Lu Chen?”
The candle in Ling Jiujiu’s hand had long gone out. Only upon hearing Lu Chen’s voice did he dare to peek out.
Lu Chen had forgotten to leave him matches, so once the candle went out, he couldn’t relight it.
Xu Jie waved his hand in front of Ling Jiujiu’s eyes: “You have night blindness?”
Ling Jiujiu looked confused: “Night blindness?”
Xu Jie: “It means you can’t see at night. It’s a kind of illness.”
Ling Jiujiu widened his eyes: “I’m not sick.”
Lu Chen relit the candle, and Ling Jiujiu’s eyes instantly regained their light.
“His body is different from ours, and his mind is different too,” Lu Chen said to Xu Jie.
Xu Jie had already noticed. Although the little zombie could communicate like a human, his thinking was like that of a newborn baby with no knowledge of humans.
Perhaps it was precisely this that made Lu Chen, who never easily trusted anyone, let down his guard around him.
“You two sleep. I’ll keep watch tonight.”
Lu Chen had already slept and was now full of energy.
Xu Jie took a blanket and moved close to Ling Jiujiu, very naturally lifting the blanket and beckoning to him:
“Little Jiujiu, come sleep with your brother here.”
Ling Jiujiu looked at him, then at Lu Chen, who was sitting on a stool with a cold expression.
In the end, he silently walked over to Lu Chen’s side, wrapped himself in the blanket, and lay down on the floor.
Ling Jiujiu slept very soundly. Once he lay down, he fell asleep and was generally hard to wake.
In the middle of the night, Lu Chen saw the little one kick off the blanket, revealing a pale, white belly that was almost blinding.
He pulled the blanket up to cover the little one’s exposed belly.
When he looked up, he found Xu Jie watching him with an amused expression.
After tucking in the blanket, Lu Chen said to Xu Jie, “Don’t tease him.”
Xu Jie seemed to understand something and let out a meaningful “Oh~.”
Lu Chen glanced at him: “Don’t get the wrong idea. He’s just a little brother.”
Xu Jie still smiled, a somewhat mischievous grin: “There are plenty of little brothers, but I’ve never seen you be so attentive to any of them.”
Lu Chen turned away and said nothing more.
Lu Chen and Xu Jie were close not only because they had faced life and death together but also because they both had a preference for men.
This wasn’t a secret in the base.
Both of them had looks and strength. Even knowing they liked men, people were generally tolerant.
Or rather, everyone relied on them, so even if they didn’t approve, they wouldn’t say much.
The two of them often hung out together, and others assumed they were a couple.
Only they knew that they absolutely, absolutely, absolutely could not be.
They were both tops. Even if the sky fell, that would never change.
And Xu Jie was only interested in soft, cute young boys. Someone as aloof and bulky as Lu Chen was not within his consideration.
As for Lu Chen, his preferences were unclear.
Xu Jie had suspected several times that Lu Chen’s claim of liking men was just an excuse to avoid attracting romantic attention.
Lu Chen might not like people at all.
Whether it was men or women, he remained unmoved by both soft and hard approaches. Xu Jie thought he might end up alone for life.
Perhaps due to the change in environment, Ling Jiujiu slept restlessly and kicked the blanket off again.
Lu Chen could clearly feel Xu Jie’s gaze behind him but silently averted his eyes, pretending not to notice.
After a moment, he couldn’t help but pull the blanket back over the little one.
A soft chuckle came from behind: “Just a little brother.”
Lu Chen: “…”
Early the next morning, the two humans and one zombie set off to leave this troublesome place behind.
On the road, Xu Jie gazed at the devastated landscape on both sides of the highway and asked Lu Chen:
“Where do we go next?”
Lu Chen already had a few answers in mind.
The first choice was an island—as long as it wasn’t man-made, zombies were unlikely to infiltrate.
Next were sparsely populated plateaus—the fewer people, the fewer zombies.
In extremely cold or scorching environments, zombies’ mobility would decrease, making them less threatening.
“Or should we build another base of our own?” Xu Jie asked.
Lu Chen neither nodded nor shook his head: “Let’s go with the flow.”
Of the people who had banded together for survival at the beginning of the apocalypse, only the two of them remained now.
Those who survived to this point fell into two categories.
One category was like them—people who gathered with others who hadn’t lost their humanity, helping each other along the way.
The other category consisted of those who had completely lost their humanity, surviving through plunder and oppression.
Human nature was too complex—both good and evil could be disguised.
Lu Chen wasn’t particularly keen on taking risks either.
Ling Jiujiu, who had been enjoying the scenery, suddenly shook his head and said, “I think I hear someone talking, mumbling and grumbling.”
Xu Jie asked, “What are they saying?”
Ling Jiujiu listened carefully: “Can’t make it out, it’s broken and intermittent. You’re driving too fast.”
Lu Chen covered Ling Jiujiu’s ears: “That’s the wind. Your window isn’t closed properly.”
Xu Jie burst out laughing.
Passing by a zombie-infested factory, Xu Jie stopped the car.
“This place has high walls and iron gates, and plenty of zombies. Let’s level up here.”
The two humans and one zombie got out of the car and circled the factory to inspect it.
The main gate was locked from the outside, and the walls were intact and sturdy.
As long as they didn’t foolishly open the gate, the zombies’ combat abilities generally wouldn’t allow them to escape.
Staring at the high walls, Ling Jiujiu was about to ask how to get inside.
When he turned around, he saw Lu Chen leap into the air, kick off the middle of the wall, and effortlessly jump to the top.
Xu Jie followed closely behind, also jumping up with ease.
Ling Jiujiu tried to imitate them, running, jumping, and kicking, only to land hard on his backside.
Xu Jie couldn’t hold back and chuckled: “Little Jiujiu, you’re just too adorable.”
Ling Jiujiu’s face flushed red.
“……”
Lu Chen took out a rope and lowered it down: “Climb up.”
Ling Jiujiu grabbed the rope and climbed a short distance before slipping back down with a “whoosh.”
He continued huffing and puffing as he climbed, only to slip down again with another “whoosh” three seconds later.
After several attempts, his palms were red, and the ground seemed tantalizingly close.
Xu Jie’s shoulders trembled as he tried to stifle his laughter.
Lu Chen was both amused and exasperated: “Tie the rope around your waist, and I’ll pull you up.”
Hearing this, Ling Jiujiu wrapped the rope around his waist and tied it into a bow.
Lu Chen pulled him up in just a few tugs.
Inside, the zombies saw them and surged toward the wall where they stood, like fish waiting to be fed.
Lu Chen pointed at one zombie in the horde and said, “That one has a Crystal Core in its head.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Jie immediately focused intently. Soon after, a cyan-colored electric arc appeared in his hand.
He aimed his hand at the zombie, and the arc, as if conscious, swiftly coiled around it. With a sizzling sound of electric current, it instantly enveloped the zombie’s entire body.
The zombie’s originally vacant expression twisted, and it let out a piercing shriek.
Under the effect of the electric arc, its movements slowed, its body began to tremble, and finally, it collapsed weakly to the ground, motionless.