Apocalyptic Gratitude Duck - Chapter 6

Qiao Yanyu stepped onto the balcony, arms crossed, a shadow of unease flickering across her usually gentle and bright features as she watched the two figures below with cool detachment.

Lin Feng, sharp-eyed, spotted Qiao Yanyu standing on the third-floor balcony. He shouted, “Why won’t you open the door? Aren’t you running a bed and breakfast?”

Qiao Yanyu’s eyes turned frosty. “Three seconds. Get out of here, or I will kill you.”

“Damn it! Do you know I can leave a bad review on Ctrip?” Lin Feng snarled, trying to intimidate her. Shen Xin grabbed his arm, and his expression instantly changed. He wheezed, “Fine, a hundred bucks for a day, then! It’s zombies everywhere now—your place isn’t getting any other tenants anyway.”

Before he could finish, a sudden, searing pain slashed across his scalp. He whipped around to see his hat embedded firmly in the opposite wall. Cold sweat broke out on his back, and he collapsed to the ground in terror.

This woman would actually kill!

“Next time, it won’t be your hat. It’ll be your head,” Qiao Yanyu said icily.

His lips trembled. “I’m calling the police,” he stammered. “I’m calling the police…”

Before Qiao Yanyu could finish speaking, Shen Xin suddenly covered her mouth. She had intended to test Qiao Yanyu’s limits, but now realized she wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Quickly pulling Lin Feng to his feet, she promised, “We’ll leave right now!”

Only after the pair had vanished from sight did Qiao Yanyu lower her bow. Killing someone—a violation of her own moral boundaries—might become easier with practice. Her patience had been completely worn down just now; she’d been prepared to kill Lin Feng but still couldn’t bring herself to do it. That wasn’t a good sign.

The corners of her lips twitched as she looked down at Kexin, whose eyes sparkled with loyalty. Softly, she asked, “Kexin, am I not doing enough?”

Kexin knew there were times when her master didn’t need a verbal response. Obediently, she gently tugged at the hem of Qiao Yanyu’s clothes.

No matter what happens, I will always stand by my master’s side.

Qiao Yanyu stroked Kexin’s small head, falling into deep thought. In the apocalypse, survival wasn’t about hoarding supplies; it was about rapidly increasing her and her teammates’ strength. Those who focused solely on gathering resources would only end up as someone else’s food stockpile, utterly defenseless against danger. What she needed to do was become a powerhouse alongside Kexin, strong enough to never be controlled by anyone again.

Although the crystals from early-stage zombies contain less energy than those from later-stage ones, the zombies themselves are relatively easy to kill. By accumulating small gains, she can quickly level up her ability. Clearing the zombies around her home should be enough to upgrade her ability at least once. There’s a hardware store nearby in the residential area; she can stop by on her way to upgrade her weapons and equipment.

Her home lacks suitable weapons. Kitchen knives have mediocre lethality and wear down quickly with use, plus they’re inconvenient to carry. Fruit knives require close contact with zombies, making it easy to get bitten. Baseball bats are highly lethal but lack fatal effectiveness. For her, the only truly suitable weapon is a bow and arrow, but she only has twenty arrows. She can’t always retrieve the arrows she shoots, so her stockpile will likely diminish over time, but it’s better than nothing.

Qiao Yanyu searched the living room for the baseball bat but couldn’t find it. Just as she entered the bedroom, she saw Kexin slinking toward the corner, her little duck tail swaying suspiciously, the very image of a child caught in mischief.

Arching an eyebrow, Qiao Yanyu approached and, as expected, found a floor littered with shattered porcelain behind Kexin.

“Kexin, you’ve been naughty again!” Qiao Yanyu said, exasperated yet amused. No wonder Kexin had been avoiding her gaze when she woke up and hugged her.

Kexin cast Qiao Yanyu a pitiful glance and whimpered, “Duck!”

Kexin had clearly seen her owner looking unwell and wanted to fan her, accidentally breaking the vase in the process.

Qiao Yanyu heard the duck’s mournful quack. “You think you’re the one who’s wronged here?”

Kexin nodded earnestly, genuinely feeling aggrieved.

Seeing Kexin’s innocent and endearing expression, Qiao Yanyu couldn’t bring herself to be angry. After confirming that Kexin’s webbed feet hadn’t been cut by any broken shards, she resignedly put on gloves and began picking up the pieces of the shattered vase.

“Next time you break something, tell me right away. Don’t hide it.”

Kexin let out a low quack, sounding dejected. “Quack!”

Qiao Yanyu closed the trash bin. She had intended to wash her hands, but only remembered the water was shut off when she reached the faucet. It seemed they’d need to stop by the water shop on their way out. She opened the wardrobe and changed into a set of warm, waterproof athletic gear, covering herself completely. She slung her bow and arrows over her back, grabbed a baseball bat, and tucked a fruit knife into her pocket.

After tying her hair and swiftly switching to running shoes, Qiao Yanyu said, “I need to run out for a bit. Stay home and wait for me to return.”

Kexin, who had been sulking on the floor, playing with a ball of yarn, immediately flapped her small wings and darted in front of Qiao Yanyu, protecting her like a mother hen guarding her chicks. She let out an indignant quack: “Quack!”

It’s too dangerous outside. You absolutely can’t go out alone, Master!

Qiao Yanyu tried to reason with Kexin. “It’s still raining outside. If you go out, you’ll get wet, and getting wet can make you sick. In severe cases, you might even need a shot. Don’t you hate pain the most?”

Kexin used to be afraid of pain because her owner would hold her, soothe her, gently stroke her head, and tell her the pain would fly away. She could cuddle in her owner’s arms. But after her owner died, no one was there to comfort her. Now, when she was hurt, she had to lick her wounds and drive away the bad guys herself.

She was no longer that timid Call Duck. She had grown strong enough to protect her owner.

Kexin shook her head like a rattle drum, her jet-black eyes filled with determination. “Quack!”

At that moment, Kexin was like a stubborn child who would keep fussing until she got her way. Qiao Yanyu rubbed her temples, finally giving in. She retrieved Kexin’s special raincoat from a drawer, slipped it over her neck, and adjusted the hood to cover her head. The pale yellow raincoat draped over her like a little dress, and her sparkling eyes peeked out from the hood, making her look even more like a human child.

Qiao Yanyu couldn’t resist patting her head and teasing, “Be good and listen to your big sister, kiddo.”

Kexin stared at Qiao Yanyu, bewildered. Noticing that her master wasn’t wearing a raincoat like she was, she padded over to the entryway, picked up an umbrella, and brought it to Qiao Yanyu with a clatter.

Qiao Yanyu shook her head slightly, pulled the hood of her jacket over her head, and said softly, “It’s not practical to use an umbrella today. We need to clean up some zombies.”

Kexin nodded and, after a moment, carried the umbrella back to its stand.

The door of the neighboring inn stood open. Qiao Yanyu stepped inside, pulled the arrow from the zombie’s skull, twisted it twice, and quickly extracted the core. The red crystal, about the size of a thumb, glimmered with a faint, shifting light.

Qiao Yanyu pocketed the first crystal, then rummaged through the inn for usable food and tools, which she stored in Kexin’s space. Next, she moved on to the second inn. The door was locked, but she easily snapped the lock with her pliers. As soon as she opened the door, three snarling zombies lunged at her. Qiao Yanyu swung her baseball bat, smashing it repeatedly against one zombie’s head until its brain matter splattered. From behind her, Kexin darted forward like an arrow, her claws slicing through the necks of the remaining two zombies with deadly precision.

After dispatching the zombies, Qiao Yanyu glanced down at Kexin’s claws. They had almost fully regenerated, the newly grown claws even sharper than before. Her combat style was fierce and decisive, nothing like the Kexin she knew before. It seemed that the save-scumming reset had changed more than just her.

If she fought Kexin now, relying solely on her physical ability, she might not win. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future to uncover more of Kexin’s secrets. For now, it was time to continue collecting crystals. Sweeping through the alley, they moved swiftly, like a zombie harvesting machine. Their pockets were nearly full. Qiao Yanyu counted the crystals: 110 in total. To upgrade her ability to level 2 required 100 Red Crystals, and to reach level 3 required 1,000 Red Crystals. She decided not to consider level 3 for now; she’d worry about that when she’d saved up enough Red Crystals.

Zombie Crystals were similar to Mutated Beast Crystals, both divided into seven tiers. From lowest to highest, their tiers could be determined by color: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. Purple crystals were the highest tier, typically found only in Beast Kings and Zombie Emperors.

Zombie Crystals are only effective for humans. If Kexin consumes a Zombie Crystal, upgrading her skills will require far more energy than a human crystal, and the upgraded skills will become low-grade, unable to evolve into higher-level Mutated Beast abilities. Qiao Yanyu only learned this after reaching the Safe Zone, but by then, Kexin had already consumed many Zombie Crystals.

This time, Qiao Yanyu planned to upgrade her own skills first before finding Mutated Beast Crystals for Kexin. As she walked toward the hardware store, she tightly gripped the crystal in her palm, absorbing its energy. Kexin stayed close by her side, keeping watch.

Just as they stepped out of the alley, Kexin suddenly noticed the bushes rustling and heard the sound of flesh being torn. A quick glance revealed a glossy-black Mutated Beast hiding in the bushes, its bright red eyes—like large red lanterns—glaring provocatively at Kexin.

How dare it wreak havoc in her territory!

Kexin’s fighting spirit flared. Sensing the creature’s strength was roughly equal to hers, she charged forward on her short legs with a fierce cry, her duck-like beak snapping down viciously on the Mutated Beast’s neck.

Instead of flesh, her beak met sharp steel spikes, tearing a gaping wound. Kexin let out a pained shriek.

The jet-black animal shook the steel quills covering its body, sending Kexin flying. It rose to its feet, its massive frame looming over her like a small mountain, baring a row of razor-sharp tusks.

This was an enormous mutated hedgehog.

The creature twisted its neck, its enormous head resembling a spinning ball of flesh. Its sharp armor made it fearless as it looked down disdainfully at the diminutive Kexin, treating her like helpless prey.

Enraged, Kexin dove down with murderous intent. Just as her sharp claws were about to reach the hedgehog’s head, it curled into a spiny ball, bristling with quills.

Kexin circled in mid-air, unable to strike.

The mutated hedgehog wasn’t to be trifled with. Charging forward like a spinning giant wheel, it kicked up a howling wind, carrying terrifying force. A single collision with it would mean certain death.

Though small, Kexin’s agility proved her advantage. With powerful wingbeats, she darted nimbly out of the way, evading the hedgehog’s attacks.

No matter how the hedgehog charged and crashed, it struggled to hit the pesky duck above. Kexin soared and dove, seemingly toying with it.

Support Apocalyptic Gratitude Duck