“Gu Zhun gave you two even this?”
The girl was quite surprised.
Bai Zhuo clenched her fist and asked her a different question instead. “You’re going to Linzhou too? Do the people here know the situation?”
At the mention of that, a flash of derision crossed the girl’s eyes. “They know, but they couldn’t care less. I told the ordinary populace yesterday. As for whether they leave or stay, that’s their own decision.”
Just like this morning with Bai Zhuo: she’d told Bai Zhuo what might happen, and how she chose was none of her business.
Bai Zhuo and Xue Yanhen exchanged a glance, then decisively reached out and pulled the car door open.
Knocking a few zombies flying, the girl gripped the wheel and drove due west, straight for Linzhou.
Bai Zhuo sat in the passenger seat, fitting the batteries into the radio.
She twisted the dial a few times at random, and static immediately crackled out of the radio, which sent a jolt through all three of them.
Unfortunately, no matter what Bai Zhuo did, there was nothing but static.
The girl’s expression didn’t change much, as if she’d anticipated this outcome.
“If only there were a broadcast station, we might’ve been able to reach Linzhou and ask about the situation.”
Bai Zhuo set the radio down and spread her hands helplessly. “Nothing for it. Let’s try again this afternoon.”
Ning City was a fair distance from Linzhou. Bai Zhuo hadn’t slept well the night before, and mid-conversation with the girl, she trailed off into silence.
The car fell quiet. The girl glanced at the sleeping Bai Zhuo beside her and eased off the gas a little.
In the back, Xue Yanhen looked at the girl and said nothing.
Bai Zhuo woke with a start. Her eyes snapped open and she instinctively pressed a hand to her chest.
“Awake?”
Bai Zhuo looked up at the girl. “How long was I out?”
“Not too long. Two hours.”
“Have some water.”
Taking the water bottle Xue Yanhen handed her, Bai Zhuo, her head still full of the nightmare she’d just had, twisted the cap twice without getting it open.
She pressed her lips together and steadied herself, and this time the cap came off in one go.
The other two noticed her mood and expression, but neither asked about it.
“Forgot to tell you, my codename is Chongming, as in the Chongming bird. [1]a mythical Chinese omen-bird with double pupils in each eye jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2936277_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2936277_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); As for my real name, no one’s called me by it in so long I’ve forgotten it myself.”
Bai Zhuo wet her throat and, hearing the girl, couldn’t help lifting her gaze.
“How much longer to Linzhou?”
“Three hours at least. There’s a gas station up ahead, let’s go check if there’s any resupply there.” Chongming’s voice still carried a smile, as if nothing could stir up much emotion in her.
Gripping the water bottle, Bai Zhuo couldn’t help pinching the bridge of her nose.
Why had she dreamed of a zombie tearing out her heart?
Bai Zhuo chalked the nightmare up to going through too much lately and being too worn out. Once they reached somewhere safe, she needed a good, long rest.
The area outside the gas station was a shambles. Chongming eased the car to a stop by the roadside.
After a quick discussion, Xue Yanhen stayed with the car while Bai Zhuo and Chongming got out and hurried toward the station.
While rummaging around, Bai Zhuo called on the system to open boxes in her mind, then transferred the gasoline she got into the empty fuel drums inside the station.
Only once all that was done did she call out to Chongming.
Chongming gave Bai Zhuo a thumbs-up. “This will absolutely get us safely to Linzhou.”
“Good to hear.”
Seeing that Chongming hadn’t noticed anything amiss, Bai Zhuo let out a small breath of relief inside.
Once Chongming had restarted the car, Bai Zhuo finally had the presence of mind to check the item in the gold box that had popped up together with the gasoline.
【A raincoat? System, don’t play dead, whose gold box comes stuffed with a raincoat?!】
【Please review the raincoat’s detail page carefully, host~】
Hm?
Bai Zhuo skimmed it offhandedly, and once she read it clearly, she instinctively sat up straight.
【Acid-rain resistant…】
To this day Bai Zhuo would never forget how, at the very dawn of the apocalypse, it had once rained acid for four days and three nights straight. After that, humanity could never go back to how things were.
Bai Zhuo slowly clenched her fist. If that was the case, then it truly did deserve to be packed in a gold box.
【System, is there only one?】
【Please note, host, it’s a case.】
Bai Zhuo’s brain glitched a little. A case? How big could that box be?
【Not big, not big, about the size of the cargo space inside an off-road vehicle.】
This was the first time Bai Zhuo had ever heard a note of pride in the system’s staticky voice.
Still, going by this one case, no, this one whole carload of acid-rain-proof raincoats, she’d stop calling it the idiot system from now on.
“Did you two hear something?” Xue Yanhen suddenly spoke up.
Bai Zhuo reflexively looked up. She’d been too absorbed in her conversation with the system to hear anything.
Chongming, at the wheel, had her eyes lowered. “I heard it. Someone’s shouting for help.”
Bai Zhuo and Xue Yanhen exchanged a glance. Xue Yanhen shook her head. “I only caught a bit of sound, couldn’t make out what they were shouting.”
“What do we do?”
In a situation like this, where friend and foe were unclear, rushing in blindly could mean danger.
Bai Zhuo looked at Chongming. She was more interested in this person’s thoughts.
Chongming’s face was grave. This time it wasn’t just her, Bai Zhuo and Xue Yanhen heard the cry for help too, clearer now.
“Creak—”
Chongming pulled the car over to the roadside, unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out clutching her rifle.
“I—”
Before Bai Zhuo could finish, Chongming’s solemn expression stopped her in her tracks. “If I’m not back in ten minutes, drive to Linzhou yourselves. From here to Linzhou there are no forks in the road, just drive straight on and you’ll get there.”
“What nonsense are you talking?” Bai Zhuo’s hand paused for a moment, then quickly moved again, like Chongming, she unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out of the car.
“You—”
Xue Yanhen did the same, nodding at Chongming. “Let’s go.”
Chongming clutched her rifle tight and said in a low voice, “Rescuing people is my duty. You two are just ordinary civilians, there’s no need to come with me.”
“We’re already here, so let’s go see what’s going on.” Bai Zhuo smiled and waved her frying pan. “Worst case, we just fight our way back out.”
The words had barely left her mouth when the system’s voice suddenly sounded.
【Beep, Mission issued. Host, please kill zombies and obtain information related to zombie evolution.】
Bai Zhuo frowned. Hadn’t she already known about zombie evolution ages ago? Why obtain more information on it?
No, that wasn’t it.
Bai Zhuo’s gaze fell on Chongming, who had relented. Of everyone present, only Chongming still didn’t know whether zombies could evolve. This mission the system had issued was aimed at her.
Last time it had had her help Gu Zhun complete a mission, this time it was providing information to Chongming.
Bai Zhuo’s eyes narrowed. She was starting to have her suspicions about this system’s core source.
But now wasn’t the time to dig into that, besides, she still needed the system to issue missions, she needed those supplies.
She’d settle accounts with the system later. For now, she’d just note it down in her little book. [2]keep a running tally of grudges to repay later jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2936277_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2936277_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
“Help! Help!!”
References[+]