Apocalyptic Gratitude Duck - Chapter 4

Kexin’s eyes lit up, her resolve softening. It had been so long since her owner had last wiped her paws. In her memory, Qiao Yanyu’s hands were softer than the cotton candy she’d once tasted, warm and dry; something Kexin absolutely adored.

The last time her paws were wiped was back at the Safe Zone, during a rare blizzard that blanketed the land in snow for miles, leaving no trace of green. The warm water in the room froze over in less than half an hour, turning into a thick layer of ice. Kexin’s paw was broken, and her webbed feet were cracked and bleeding from the cold. Qiao Yanyu’s feet were also covered in frostbite. The base had no frostbite ointment, so they could only relieve the pain by soaking their feet in hot water daily.

The base suffered from severe shortages of food and clothing. Hot water had to be heated manually, and firewood was rationed per person. Since Qiao Yanyu had no teammates and was a woman, she often worked hard only to receive a single, charred mantou, while her allotted portion of firewood was frequently withheld.

After working late every day, Qiao Yanyu had to venture into the forest to gather dry branches. Even after drying for a long time, the snow-covered branches remained damp and difficult to ignite. Their lighter had long run out, so she had to borrow fire from the base cafeteria. The woman in charge of the kitchen was sharp-tongued and cruel, always seizing the opportunity to taunt Qiao Yanyu, hinting that she could trade her body for favors and that the woman could earn a commission from such deals.

Qiao Yanyu remained silent. Fortunately, she possessed an Ability, and the Safe Zone had strict rules against internal conflicts. As long as she refused, the women couldn’t harm her. After borrowing a lighter, she returned to her small hut, lit the firewood, but before the flames could catch, a thick cloud of smoke billowed out instead.

The entire hut filled with the heavy smoke, choking Qiao Yanyu until her face turned pale. She coughed uncontrollably, sometimes violently enough to cough up blood. But they were too poor to afford medicine. Once the water finally boiled, Qiao Yanyu poured a cup and sat by the drafty window, sipping it. The steam from the hot water obscured her face, making her features hazy.

Kexin, her heart aching as she flapped her broken wings, flew into Qiao Yanyu’s arms. Qiao Yanyu’s hands were still icy cold, covered in chilblains, each finger split by the biting wind and oozing fresh blood. Kexin tried to nuzzle her wounds, but Qiao Yanyu stopped her and quietly stuffed half a steamed bun into her beak.

The bun was small and dark, but roasted to a fragrant crispness over the fire. It smelled delicious. Every time Qiao Yanyu received a bun from the distribution line, it looked just like this. Perched by the window, Kexin watched others in line receive much larger buns.

As Kexin nibbled on her steamed bun, Qiao Yanyu wrung out a towel and carefully wiped the deep, cracked wounds on Kexin’s duck feet. When Kexin was happily eating, she would easily forget the pain and remain still.

The winter weather was bitterly cold, and Kexin’s duck feet were too badly injured to walk. During the day, Qiao Yanyu kept Kexin confined to the quilt to rest and recover, forbidding her from running around. But the quilt provided by the Safe Zone was extremely thin, the cotton inside hardened into clumps and completely ineffective for warmth. As soon as Qiao Yanyu left each morning, the quilt quickly turned into an ice cellar, and the fragile recovery of Kexin’s duck feet would be frozen numb.

Only when Qiao Yanyu returned home at night and placed Kexin’s small feet against her chest could Kexin feel a sliver of warmth. Throughout the night, Kexin would lie against her owner’s chest, counting her heartbeat. The heartbeat would sometimes race, sometimes slow, and when it slowed, it would seem to stop altogether. Kexin would worry that her owner might never wake up, terrified, and would bite her owner’s fingers.

Sometimes the master would wake up quickly, gently stroking her head before pressing his forehead against her wings and falling back into a deep sleep. Other times, Kexin would have to nibble on each of his fingers before he would stir. When he finally awoke this way, he would be drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, and take a long time to recover.

During these times, she would fly under the bed, add firewood to the stove, and wait until the snowmelt in the kettle had boiled again, emitting thick steam and a soft gurgling sound. Only then would the master get out of bed and pour himself a cup of hot water to drink.

The master drank slowly, sometimes accidentally spilling his cup like she did. Gradually, she noticed his fingers trembled constantly, and he had to grip things tightly just to hold them.

Now that the master was still here, she could even wash his feet. How wonderful! Her heart swelled with joy, yet her eyes felt hot and prickly, as if something warm were about to spill out.

She blinked, and tears streamed down her cheeks like uncontrollable pearls. Kexin stared blankly at the master, then tasted the salty drops on her tongue. “Quack!”

Seeing Kexin suddenly burst into tears, Qiao Yanyu’s heart clenched, a searing pain shooting through her chest.

Kexin tumbled from the bookshelf, burying her face in Qiao Yanyu’s embrace, desperately clinging to the warmth and refusing to speak.

After a moment, Qiao Yanyu squeezed her hands into fists, gently patting Kexin’s wings. Her face gradually regained its usual gentle and radiant smile as she whispered softly, “It’s alright. Let me see your little duck paw.”

Kexin nuzzled contentedly in the crook of Qiao Yanyu’s neck for a while before emerging. Her soft, little duck paw tapped against Qiao Yanyu’s palm. This time, her owner’s hand wasn’t as cold as it had been in their previous life; it was warm and comforting, and Kexin loved it.

The moment Qiao Yanyu’s slender, pale fingers touched Kexin’s duck paw, Kexin flinched back as if electrocuted.

Qiao Yanyu caught the sweet floral scent on her fingers and said patiently, “Let me take a look. It won’t hurt.”

It’s not that—it’s too ticklish! But since her owner wanted to see, Kexin decided to trust her this once and tentatively extended her paw.

This time, Qiao Yanyu didn’t touch her with her fingers. She tore open the packaging of an alcohol wipe, gently cleaned the bloodstains, checked the wound, applied some anti-inflammatory ointment, and wrapped the bleeding area.

Qiao Yanyu moved quickly, but Kexin only felt a slight sting as her paw wound was bandaged and adorned with a small butterfly bow.

Her little duck foot wiggled, causing the bow to tremble playfully. This delighted Kexin, who sat on Qiao Yanyu’s lap, happily wobbling her duck feet.

Qiao Yanyu put away the first aid kit and picked up a small towel to wipe the fish jerky crumbs from Kexin’s fur and her tender yellow beak. She noticed that Kexin’s beak had also changed, its keratinized tip evolving into sawtooth edges, seemingly as sharp as her claws. The mutated beasts possessed far greater evolutionary advantages than humans, a fact made abundantly clear by Kexin’s transformation.

She placed Kexin on a soft cushion and took the towel to wash. Just as she turned on the faucet, a stream of reddish-brown, foul-smelling liquid flowed out, carrying floating debris. It seemed the water was unusable. She tried pressing the light switch, but the power was out as well. Both water and electricity were now failing, making cooking a problem.

Qiao Yanyu frowned, realizing she needed to quickly gather fuel and water filtration devices. Just as she was pondering where to go next, a blinding flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a thunderous roar. The rain intensified, pounding against the windows.

Suddenly, a piercing scream shattered the tranquility of the Tourist Town.

“Damn it! What’s with that wretched howling in the middle of the day?”

“Can’t you stop watching horror movies and let people sleep?”

Curses and complaints erupted from all around as guests from the inn stuck their heads out, trying to locate the source of the sound.

But the agonizing screams didn’t stop; they grew louder and more desperate. They came not only from the inn rooms, but also from the courtyards and streets—everywhere.

Qiao Yanyu’s brow twitched. She immediately checked the lock on the front door, confirming it was secure. Then she hurried to the balcony, Kexin fluttering after her.

In the courtyard of the neighboring inn, a long-haired woman in a dress was playfully bickering with her boyfriend. Suddenly, he grabbed her, his fingers digging into her neck. His fangs sank into her face, tearing out a large chunk of flesh.

Qiao Yanyu’s face paled, her fingers clenching the railing. Kexin flew into her arms, nuzzling her to offer comfort. This was a perfectly normal reaction for someone experiencing this for the first time. Compared to those who fled in terror at the sight of zombies without even trying to fight back, her mistress was already remarkably brave.

In the courtyard, the man continuously devouring fresh flesh began to rapidly undergo zombie decay. His skin withered and hardened, while the strength in his arms dramatically increased.

This was the primary characteristic of early-stage zombies: their bodies became rigid, their movements sluggish, and their senses of smell and hearing deteriorated, leaving them hypersensitive only to the scent of blood. The head remained the weakest point; only by destroying it could a zombie be stopped.

The more flesh a zombie consumed, the higher the probability of crystal formations appearing in its brain. The same applied to Mutated Beasts. These crystals could aid human evolution, which is why many people later began actively hunting zombies.

Mutated Beasts didn’t taste particularly good, but eating them made Kexin feel warm inside. She remembered the second time her body mutated. Overwhelmed by hunger, she couldn’t control herself and devoured massive amounts of Mutated Beasts, as if her stomach could never be filled.

Now that I’ve calmed down, I realize there’s no difference between me and the zombies. In their early stages, zombies are just like this. They’ll never stop eating fresh flesh once they catch the scent. When they consume enough flesh, they evolve like ability users, gaining intelligence with each upgrade, and eventually becoming the terrifying Zombie Emperors of later stages.

When Kexin came to her senses, she suddenly realized her master had quietly entered the living room and was now retrieving a quiver from beneath the coffee table. She replaced all twenty arrows inside with alloy steel-tipped ones, then picked up the most powerful metal bow.

Kexin’s eyes lit up. In her previous life, her master hadn’t dared to use a bow and arrow against zombies until much later, by which time the zombies had already evolved into Level 1 Zombies. The arrows’ impact was minimal, and despite using up all her arrows, she failed to kill a single one. Her master nearly lost her life in the process, and after that, she almost never used a bow and arrow again. This life’s master was truly brave.

Qiao Yanyu noticed Kexin’s sparkling eyes, and her previously tense jaw softened. She leaned down and patted the little creature’s head. “Did you plant the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard?”

Kexin froze, stunned.

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