"You'll understand once you get there. They won’t leave for now—they’ve already settled in the nearby safe base. They’re just out on a mission."
Hearing Si say this, Le Xiaowei frowned.
"So they come out every day?"
Entering the base would definitely require all sorts of tests, maybe even blood checks. There was no way she could get into the safe base.
The male lead could only cause trouble outside the base.
"Of course. How else would they show off if they’re not killing zombies?"
Le Xiaowei found this reasoning utterly convincing.
"Qiaoqiao," she suddenly called out.
Yuan Qiaoqiao, who had been nibbling on a biscuit, looked up with a blink, her face blank with confusion.
"What is it, sis?"
"Later, we’ll head to a place with more zombies first. I’ll get you some energy cores so you can secure a place in the safe base. As for food, I’ll have to find a spot near the base to stay and leave supplies there daily. Once you finish what’s in the storage, I won’t be able to help you anymore."
Le Xiaowei felt she had already gone above and beyond. Yuan Qiaoqiao nodded in response.
"Got it. Thank you for taking care of me all this way, sis."
On the way to the safe base, Le Xiaowei couldn’t help but notice Yuan Qiaoqiao’s subdued mood.
Huh?
What’s up with her?
Le Xiaowei glanced at Yuan Qiaoqiao out of the corner of her eye. Starting today, she’d have to focus on dealing with the male lead—classic villain behavior. And if a villain clashed with the male lead, the first to die would always be the villain’s lackeys.
Not to brag, but Xiao Linfeng could easily turn Qiaoqiao into cannon fodder.
Better get her some extra energy cores later.
It’s not like Le Xiaowei minded finishing off a few zombies along the way.
She didn’t pick a zombie-infested area, instead leading Yuan Qiaoqiao down a street, watching as the girl clutched her bag and trailed behind.
She still didn’t seem happy.
"What’s wrong?" Le Xiaowei couldn’t figure it out.
"Um… I don’t want the energy cores." Yuan Qiaoqiao set her bag down and pulled Le Xiaowei around to face her.
Then she wrapped her arms around her.
Her body felt cold, almost scentless—that was Yuan Qiaoqiao’s impression.
But in her heart, it felt warm.
"I just wanted to hug you," Yuan Qiaoqiao mumbled into her shoulder.
Le Xiaowei patted her back lightly. She had no sense of smell, so she couldn’t detect any scent on Yuan Qiaoqiao—only a faint hunger.
Poor kid.
"Hey, do you think she sees me as her mom?" Le Xiaowei asked.
That’s not a role she could take on.
"Probably not a good idea," Si replied dryly.
If Le Xiaowei actually carried a child for ten months, it’d probably scare people.
The hug lasted only a few minutes before Le Xiaowei, afraid she might suddenly take a bite out of Yuan Qiaoqiao, hurriedly said, "Alright, get up. Let’s go hunt. I need energy cores too, anyway."
No matter what, she had to get Yuan Qiaoqiao to the safe base before nightfall.
"Okay." Yuan Qiaoqiao stood straight, clutching her bag, her eyes red like a rabbit’s.
"Why the tears? There’s nothing to cry about," Le Xiaowei said bluntly.
Yuan Qiaoqiao lowered her head, gripping the bag tightly.
"In my whole life, sis, you’re the only one besides the headmistress who’s been this good to me."
Le Xiaowei: Headmistress…?
"Did you escape from a mental hospital or something?" Le Xiaowei was slightly alarmed.
But that didn’t seem right—Yuan Qiaoqiao seemed like a perfectly normal girl.
"No, the headmistress of the orphanage. She was really kind to me, but she passed away from illness a few years ago."
Yuan Qiaoqiao hung her head, looking utterly pitiful.
Le Xiaowei’s heart softened a little.
"Fine, I’ll get you five extra cores. But that’s it. And cheer up—dying before the apocalypse was a blessing. At least she didn’t have to suffer through all this."
The moment she said it, Le Xiaowei mentally facepalmed. What kind of corpse comforts the living like this?
Feeling slightly better, Yuan Qiaoqiao perked up.
"Thank you, sis. Once I’m in the safe base, I’ll do everything I can to become an ability user."
"That’s the spirit. Just don’t let any shady guys trick you in there—they’ll gut you for your organs." As she spoke, Le Xiaowei casually lopped off the head of a wandering zombie.
Her hands were fast. The energy core she’d absorbed yesterday had made her skin even paler. Aside from her eyes, no one would notice she was a zombie at a glance.
Her strength and speed had skyrocketed, but she was still only mid-tier. Progress would get harder from here.
Yuan Qiaoqiao followed cautiously behind as they moved through the city. Their car had run out of gas, but Le Xiaowei couldn’t be bothered to refuel. The base wasn’t far—just past the city limits.
The safe base was located in the suburbs.
Main streets usually didn’t have dangerous zombies, but Le Xiaowei avoided places like schools and hospitals.
Those were likely crawling with high-level zombies, maybe even special mutants.
She didn’t want trouble—at least, not yet.
One thing she had noticed, though: after absorbing that lightning-type energy core, she could now sense the energy cores inside every zombie.
That made things a lot easier.
When they reached the outskirts, Le Xiaowei scanned the nearby shops, her eyes landing on a long-looted convenience store. The area had already been cleared by the base’s people, so there weren’t many zombies around.
"I’ll stay here," she said, waving a hand at the dust. It wasn’t choking, but it would dirty her clothes fast.
Yuan Qiaoqiao flicked on a flashlight and peered inside. It was a mess, but there was a small back room.
"Sis, let me clean up before I go," Yuan Qiaoqiao insisted, her lips pressed into a stubborn line.
"I’m a zombie—what do I care about living conditions?" Le Xiaowei had barely finished speaking when Yuan Qiaoqiao grabbed a towel from the counter, turned on the faucet, and got to work.
"Oh, and sis, I’ll toss all this junk out. Don’t forget to bring me the bedding later—I’ll make the bed for you."
She was referring to the sets of bedding Le Xiaowei had scavenged from a supermarket earlier.
These were essential in the apocalypse, especially since the worst—frequent snowstorms—hadn’t hit yet.
"Xiaowei." Si suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah?" Le Xiaowei raised a brow. It was rare for Si to call her like this.
"I checked the plot. There’s going to be a blood rain tonight. It’ll boost zombie abilities massively, but don’t go out yet. Let me check how the male lead’s zombies are doing in the fanfics first."
"Got it." Le Xiaowei nodded.
Before long, Yuan Qiaoqiao had finished cleaning. She’d even gotten the generator running. The once-gloomy back room now looked cozy—a basin, a soft double-layered bed with grayish sheets, and a wardrobe stocked with clothes they’d scavenged.
"Sis, it’s all done," Yuan Qiaoqiao said, her eyes curving into happy crescents.
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