“Brother, help me disinfect quickly…”
Jiang Yingxiao felt as if she were being licked by a monster.
Beneath her feet was a quilt soaked with liquid, and above it, soft, sticky creatures wandered incessantly. From her toes to the top of her feet, they quickly climbed up to her calves, lingering stubbornly over the soft flesh.
The tongue was wet and rough, yet it carefully restrained its force, leaving a trail of tingling sensations wherever it went. She bit the quilt to keep from making a sound.
The girl recalled some survival tip she had read somewhere, silently repeating to herself that if she pretended to be dead, the brown bear would leave. She held her breath tightly.
Unfortunately, the monster was no brown bear. Seeing her motionless, it grew even bolder, pushing its head through the gaps in the quilt and slowly tasting her with its swirling tongue.
It devoured her bit by bit, its ravenous appearance resembling a starving vagrant who hadn’t eaten in ages. Its mouth exhaled cold, panting breaths, mingling with the winter chill that seeped through the quilt’s gaps.
The girl had changed into a nightgown before bed. The thin fabric left her trembling from the cold, and she instinctively pulled the quilt down, only to have it pushed away again by the monster’s head. It licked her ankles through the nightgown’s fabric, leaving the hem damp with moisture.
The monster’s mouth was wet, but its hair was dry and coarse, like straw scraping against her delicate, soft skin, causing a painful, itchy sensation.
Its brazen demeanor suggested it wasn’t afraid of her retaliation, as if it could bite through anything with its teeth.
“Go away, go away.”
Jiang Yingxiao was terrified, unable to keep up the pretense of being asleep. She moved her leg to control the mass of straw-like hair, her hand brushing against something resembling human skin, which felt hard and unyielding.
The creature whimpered in grievance, then took the opportunity to lick her warm hand, gripping it with such force it felt as if it might tear it off.
It gnawed at her fingers one by one, a seemingly uncontrollable instinct to feed, yet it seemed hesitant to bite down fully, as if afraid of causing harm. Jiang Yingxiao could only feel a thick tongue licking her fingertips before swallowing them down its throat.
“Go away,” the girl sobbed in discomfort, her voice muffled by the quilt, like a blunt knife grinding and hacking at the monster’s heart. “Don’t bite me anymore, I feel awful.”
Her hands were covered in the monster’s sticky fluid, damp and clammy, and the cold wind made it feel as if they were about to freeze.
Hearing this, the monster paused momentarily, only to be kicked twice in the chest during the brief interval. Though the force wasn’t strong, it reflexively released its grip and knelt by the bedside.
It muttered incomprehensible sounds, and when Jiang Yingxiao didn’t respond, it cautiously crawled back and hugged her through the quilt.
Its arms were stiff like two wooden poles, its posture awkward and clumsy. Its overly long nails were clenched in its fists, their sharp edges carefully tucked away as it patted her back gently, over and over.
Don’t cry, don’t cry.
The monster’s chest was also cold and hard, its tattered clothing in shreds, emitting a foul, rotting odor that permeated the air. Jiang Yingxiao could smell it even through the quilt.
Such foul, hard, and speechless monsters were rare even in this Instance. Despite her fear, the girl’s mind managed to function well enough to think it through.
Ah, so the monster holding her was a Zombie.
Who knew how many days it had been dead? Even on the verge of turning to dust, it still crawled over to lick her a few times. How utterly detestable.
Footsteps echoed from the staircase, and the room door was suddenly kicked open. By the time the flashlight beam swept across the room, the monster had vanished without a trace, leaving only the curtains swaying in the wind.
“How are you?” Chi Yubai placed the flashlight upright on the table as a light source and strode over to the bed with long steps, the sound of his combat boots heavy and loud against the floor.
The girl peeked out from under the blanket. Her face, clean and fresh during the day, was now streaked with tears. Her once smooth black hair clung to the sides of her cheeks, and the exposed skin glowed with a stifling, feverish flush.
Seeing him, Jiang Yingxiao felt even more aggrieved. Her lips tugged downward, and as her nose twitched, tears began to fall, crystalline droplets rolling down and soaking the blanket.
“Someone bit me…”
The tiny voice squeezed out from her throat. Crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, it took her a long while to utter a complete sentence.
Her two thin shoulders trembled as she hung her head low. From the light source, only the round, blunt tip of her nose could be seen, damp and flushed red.
Chi Yubai pulled off his gloves and tossed them aside. Placing both large hands beside her ears, he used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. Sitting on the edge of the bed, his thin lips pressed tightly together.
“Don’t be afraid,” he thought of an appropriate address and slowed his speech. “Tell your brother what bit you and where.”
If she were to marry his younger brother, she would have to call him “brother” as well. This address was quite fitting.
Jiang Yingxiao sobbed, her eyes barely managing to open. Her emerald-green pupils were filled with tears as she opened her mouth to embellish the story: “It was a zombie. He was smelly and dirty, biting my feet, then my hands, and even trying to eat my flesh.”
Chi Yubai choked slightly, lowering his head to look down as if he could see through the thin nightgown to the hidden, flushed seams of wounds beneath.
So fragrant like this, anything would be drawn to lick her a few times. Bitten until she cried and leaked everywhere, the thing below still wagged its tail to catch it.
Tonight’s sudden zombie tide swept through the base. Even though those at the front were slaughtered clean, the ones behind still charged forward fearlessly. The numbers were astonishingly large, making even him slightly strained to handle them.
He had thought they were all eliminated, but it turned out some had slipped through the net and made their way inside.
The girl’s ankle was still sticky. Unconsciously, she rubbed it against the blanket, only to be pinned down by the large hand of the person beside her, unable to move.
“Explain clearly,” the man’s voice lowered darkly. “How exactly were you bitten? The zombie virus spreads easily. Don’t hide anything.”
His tone remained calm and steady, his black combat uniform stern and silent, completely the image of upholding justice, as if no personal motives existed.
“It… licked all the way up from my feet, then bit my leg. It hurt so much.” As Jiang Yingxiao spoke, she began rubbing her leg, feeling as though her calf had been bitten until it bled, unsure whether the wetness was saliva or blood.
The blanket was lifted again.
Her slender, delicate ankle was grasped by a large hand as the man lowered his head to inspect it carefully. “Here, right?”
The girl nodded, and his low voice explained from below, “I received the serum before the mission. Using saliva to disinfect you will suffice.”
Chi Yubai’s gaze trailed along the soft cotton hem of her nightgown, his nose brushing against the damp, flushed wound, leaving a trail of wetness along the bridge of his nose.
The rich, fragrant scent flooded his nostrils. The man closed his eyes, suppressing the indescribable, lively stirring below. Lifting his head, he maintained his aloof demeanor. “Was this licked too?”
Jiang Yingxiao whimpered softly, thoroughly frightened by his words.
Worried she might truly be infected and turned into a zombie devoid of all sensation, she trembled as she reached out, actively pulling the fabric aside and discarding it, sobbing in his direction.
“Brother, help me disinfect quickly.”
……
The winter night was dark and silent. The Zombie Tide had receded, and the distant cries gradually faded away.
A pair of red eyes peered quietly through the second-floor window, two rough hands gripping the wall, pressing so hard it seemed they might tear the concrete away.
Inside, a girl tugged at her skirt, her pale, slender back arching backward as she lifted her long neck. After a moment, she trembled and lay down.
A man emerged from under the skirt, gently wiping the girl’s face, tucking her in, and silently picking up a piece of fabric from the floor to stuff into his Combat Uniform.
Not a trace of that beautiful scene remained. The red-eyed zombie jumped down from the building and left, lost in thought about what it had just witnessed.
That man looked exactly like him, so why did he get to be loved by the girl?
It longed to be caressed by her too, to breathe in that fragrance once more.
As an ordinary person without any special ability at this stage, Jiang Yingxiao was assigned to farm work at the rear of the Base, earning one crystal core every two days.
Wood-type and Water-type Supernatural Ability Users handled most of the tasks. Her only job was to water the crops with the collected water.
The Greenhouse was heated well enough that the girl felt hot and took off her jacket. Her white cotton shirt revealed smooth, bare forearms as she carried buckets of water around.
“So fair… She must have been a young lady from some wealthy family before the Post-apocalyptic world.”
“Chi Yubai is such a dull person. Does he even know how to make someone happy? He’s so rough—just a touch would probably make her cry for ages.”
[Mission Two: Find someone to help with the work.]
[Time Limit: 30 minutes.]
[Mission Reward: 2000 Points.]
Jiang Yingxiao looked around. The few people who had been chatting and laughing moments ago inexplicably fell silent, standing straight and focusing on their work. A dark-skinned, muscular man seemed to be sweating and lifted his shirt to wipe his face, revealing his firm muscles, which happened to be facing her directly.
It seemed everyone was busy.
The girl sighed, crouched down to scoop water, and wondered how to approach others without disturbing them. Just then, a shadow fell over her head.
The ladle was dropped back into the bucket. Jiang Yingxiao looked up, and the other person was also looking down at her. His features were handsome, and a faint, inexplicable smile played on his lips.
“…Are you looking for me?” she asked, her tongue moving wet and red inside her mouth, visible from his angle.
[What kind of luck does my wife have? She’s only been here two days and has already seen both Players from their team…]
[That’s Han Lin, right? I think he’s a Water-type Supernatural Ability User? Why is he staring at my baby like that? Lately, I’ve been feeling like my head is always a bit green…]
[Hmm, you should be glad he has the same eye color as my baby. Don’t get too excited, you cuckold.]
Han Lin leaned down, his gaze sweeping over the expanse of snow-white skin at her neck, and lowered his voice. “Little spy, you’re a Player, aren’t you?”
Jiang Yingxiao’s heart skipped a beat, and she repeated her old trick. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”
Her innocent demeanor was so convincing that even 076 was almost fooled. But the man sneered, crouched down, and wrapped his arms around the girl in a possessive gesture, resting his head in the crook of her neck and shoulder.
“Don’t try to fool me like you did with Xiao Bating, that idiot.”
He deliberately blew air as he spoke, causing the black hair at the girl’s temples to flutter against her face.
Jiang Yingxiao twisted her fingers in the hem of her clothes and shakily sent a message to her teammate in her mind.
[23411: I might be about to die. Goodbye.]
【Song Lingyi: ???】
“Then what do you suggest we do?” She turned her head, closed her eyes, adopting an expression of utter defeat as she mentally urged 076 to buy an item.
【Medusa’s Gaze ×1 purchased. Can immobilize the target for 30 minutes.】
Hearing the electronic prompt, the girl’s heartbeat slowed slightly. She opened one eye to look over, only to find him standing there dumbfounded and silent.
She hadn’t used the item yet, right?
“Say something already, stop pretending.” She poked the man’s shirt, the muscles beneath hard and unyielding to the touch.
Han Lin swallowed, taking a small step back.
Asking him what he wanted to do—of course he wanted to pin this deceitful little spy to the ground and teach her a lesson, so she’d never dare to scam anyone again.
Author’s Note: Licking fingers is perfectly normal; many people lick their fingers clean after eating chips. Zombies biting ankles is also normal—after all, Zombies will bite anywhere. Of course, Zombie mouths are foul and stinky; any normal person would find it disgusting. Don’t lock me up, I really haven’t written anything inappropriate.