Here is the polished English translation, keeping the character names, genders, terminology, and tense consistent with your glossary.
Before Bai An’an could figure out how to politely express her thoughts, Lu Xi spoke first.
“You can’t go by yourself.”
Fu Shen was even more direct.
“You won’t make it out of this street alone.”
Bai An’an opened her mouth, wanting to say, “I can,” but before she could get the words out, a loud crash came from the warehouse on the other side of the supermarket.
Something had been knocked open.
Everyone’s expression changed instantly.
Fu Shen’s hand closed around the military knife at his waist, his entire body already entering combat mode.
The smile vanished from Shen Hanzhou’s face in an instant, replaced by a cold, sharp expression.
Lu Xi bent down and picked up Paopao, not forgetting to comfort her in a low voice.
“Paopao, close your eyes. It’ll be over soon.”
Before Bai An’an could react, three dark figures staggered out of the warehouse.
Zombies.
And there was more than one.
Bai An’an’s legs began to weaken again.
The zombies had probably been trapped in the warehouse for quite some time. They had clearly been attracted by the commotion caused by the group.
“Back.”
Fu Shen’s voice was low, carrying an unquestionable authority.
Bai An’an immediately obeyed and took several steps backward.
Fu Shen charged forward. Flames gathered in his palm and instantly engulfed the zombie in front.
The intense heat caused the zombie’s skin to blister and char, but it seemed completely incapable of feeling pain. It continued struggling and lunging forward.
Shen Hanzhou moved around from the side. With a wave of his hand, several ice spikes appeared out of nowhere and shot straight through the head of another zombie.
The zombie immediately lost its ability to move and collapsed backward.
As for the last zombie, Fu Shen did not even use his ability.
He drew the military knife from his waist in one swift motion. Bai An’an only saw a flash of cold light.
The next second, the blade had already sunk into the zombie’s temple.
The movement was clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
The zombie did not even manage to touch the edge of his clothes before collapsing.
Fu Shen pulled out the knife, wiped the blood off on the zombie’s clothes, then expressionlessly returned the knife to his waist.
The entire process took less than five seconds.
Bai An’an’s mouth hung slightly open.
She had not seen how Fu Shen had killed the zombie that chased her earlier. Seeing it with her own eyes now made everything feel somewhat unreal.
This combat ability, this lineup…
If these two weren’t the male leads, who would be?
Shen Hanzhou let out a soft laugh, amused by her expression.
Bai An’an immediately felt embarrassed. She could only touch her hair, then her face, pretending to be busy with something.
Lu Xi had already put Paopao down.
The little girl kept her eyes tightly closed, her eyelashes trembling slightly as she diligently followed her brother’s instructions.
Lu Xi crouched down and gently patted her back.
“All right, Paopao. You can open your eyes now.”
Paopao opened her eyes and immediately looked around.
After confirming that there was nothing frightening nearby, she smiled at Lu Xi.
Lu Xi reached out and gently rubbed the top of his sister’s head.
“Good girl.”
Bai An’an noticed that Lu Xi seemed like a completely different person when he was with Paopao.
He had none of the arrogance he displayed toward everyone else. Instead, he was carefully protecting Paopao’s perception of the world around her.
He did not want Paopao to learn too early just how cruel the world had become.
For a child, that burden was simply too heavy.
“We need to leave as soon as possible. The smell of blood will attract more zombies.”
Shen Hanzhou spoke up.
“Let’s go.”
Fu Shen was already heading toward the exit.
“Wait.”
Bai An’an suddenly spoke.
“My… my supplies are over there.”
She pointed toward the backpack in the corner.
There was not much inside, but it was enough to keep her fed for the foreseeable future. If she left it behind, she would have to go hungry.
Lu Xi followed the direction she pointed and glanced at the backpack.
Then he waved his hand above it.
The backpack, along with everything inside, disappeared into thin air.
Bai An’an’s eyes widened.
“Space-type.”
Lu Xi spoke calmly.
Wasn’t the probability of awakening such an ability supposed to be extremely low?
Including the zombies and Bai An’an herself, there were only nine people here so far.
Yet ability users already made up nearly fifty percent of them.
If she had awakened a space-type ability too, she could completely survive on her own.
The most common plot in Doomsday novels was for the protagonist to frantically stockpile supplies, buy everything they could, then find a beautiful and peaceful place to live out their days.
Although envy bubbled up inside Bai An’an, she maintained an expression that said she was not particularly impressed.
She gave a dry response.
“Thank you.”
Lu Xi said nothing else and turned back toward Paopao.
Shen Hanzhou glanced at Bai An’an, amusement flickering in his eyes as if he were pondering something.
His gaze made Bai An’an feel slightly uneasy.
She pretended to straighten her clothes and avoided his eyes.
“Let’s go.”
Fu Shen spoke again.
“We need to leave this area before dark.”
The moment Bai An’an stepped out of the supermarket, she finally saw the world outside clearly.
It was almost dark.
The western sky still held the last trace of a dark red sunset.
The streets were littered with overturned vehicles, shattered glass, and scattered debris. Bloodstains were everywhere, mixed with the bodies of scattered zombies.
It was completely different from the scenes she had seen through the original owner’s memories.
The sight before her struck with such force that it gave her a bizarre sense of unreality.
This was the real Apocalypse.
Not a novel.
Not a movie.
Not a game.
The stench of decay in the air was even stronger than inside the supermarket, mixed with a heavy metallic smell.
Several low growls came from the distance. She could not tell whether they belonged to zombies or something else.
Bai An’an instinctively took a deep breath, trying to encourage herself.
Instead, she almost threw up from the smell.
This stench…
It was overwhelming.
“Where is your home?”
Fu Shen asked without looking back.
Bai An’an quickly pointed toward the residential complex across the street.
“It’s right there. The first building on the left after you enter.”
Fu Shen nodded and quickened his pace, taking the lead.
Looking at the group, Bai An’an’s thoughts began wandering again.
The synopsis had never mentioned a character named Lu Xi, but there was no way someone with an ability like his could merely be a background character.
Could it be that this novel not only had a vicious female supporting character who could never win the protagonist’s love, but also a vicious male supporting character who would force a man to love him?
As Bai An’an followed the group forward, she muttered inwardly.
There shouldn’t be a single living zombie on this street.
Well, if you could even call them living.
If not for the soul-crushing stench of decay in the air reminding her that this was the Apocalypse, she would have suspected that she was on the set of some movie.
“Did you clear this road when you came through?”
she asked quietly.
No one answered her.
Fu Shen walked at the very front, his stride steady. His eyes swept over every window and alleyway on both sides of the street like a leopard ready to pounce.
Shen Hanzhou walked leisurely at the back of the group, looking as relaxed as if he were taking a stroll after dinner.
But Bai An’an noticed that his gaze was constantly shifting in a regular pattern.
Left.
Front.
Right.
Then repeating.
It looked like a habit developed through professional training.
Lu Xi walked in the middle while holding Paopao’s hand.
The girl’s short legs moved quickly as she struggled to keep up with the adults.
Bai An’an walked beside Paopao, occasionally lowering her head to check on her, afraid that the little girl might trip.
“Sister.”
Paopao suddenly tilted her face up and called out to her.
“Can I hold your hand?”
Looking at the little girl’s earnest expression, Bai An’an could not help smiling.
“Of course!”
Paopao released Lu Xi’s hand and took Bai An’an’s instead.
The little girl immediately seemed much happier as she walked. The two little buns on her head bounced with every step.
She was unbelievably cute.
And Bai An’an successfully earned Lu Xi’s death stare.