She’s Fiercer Than Zombies - Chapter 33

Everyone present stared blankly at Yinxi until another gunshot rang out. The man instinctively dodged, but the other ability users lacked such awareness, still thinking the attack was aimed at him.

“Ugh!” An ability user grunted, looking down at the wound in his chest, his eyes wide with unwillingness.

An ability user, yet fallen to a zombie’s gun.

Under a zombie’s gun.

“Thud!”

His body collapsed heavily, stirring up a cloud of fine dust. The man’s eyes reddened as he roared, “Retreat!”

The other ability users were furious and resentful, but the situation was unfavorable, forcing them to withdraw temporarily.

Qiao Gaogao did not pursue their retreat. Once they had vanished from sight, her legs gave way, and she slumped to the ground.

The reason she had been able to swiftly kill the two ability users under the effect of gravity was that she had frantically mobilized the energy within her body. However, the consequence of overusing her abilities was that her energy was now nearly depleted. Her head throbbed intensely, and her vision blurred with darkness.

Yinxi hurried to her side, retrieved a crystal core from her spatial storage, and placed it in Qiao Gaogao’s mouth, snarling at the other zombies to stay away from the area.

“Grrr!”

Yinxi anxiously checked Qiao Gaogao’s condition. There were no external injuries, but her mental state was severely compromised. Yinxi quickly fed her several more crystal cores.

“Mmm…”

Qiao Gaogao frowned slightly. She wasn’t unconscious, just utterly exhausted, her spirit drained. Fortunately, Yinxi had promptly fed her numerous crystal cores, alleviating much of the discomfort.

“Senior!” Qiao Gaogao opened her eyes, her heart aching at the sight of Yinxi’s tear-filled eyes. She forced a faint smile. “It’s alright. I just need to rest for a while.”

Yinxi held Qiao Gaogao, feeling frustrated and angry, berating herself for her inaccurate first shot. If only she had been more precise, she could have taken down that man right then and there!

After quickly absorbing the energy from the crystal cores, Qiao Gaogao felt significantly better and hurriedly got up to collect blood samples from the fallen ability users. As she worked, she said, “Senior, we need to leave this place as soon as possible.”

Judging by the man’s attitude, he wouldn’t let them go. They hadn’t been pursued before arriving in S City, which meant the issue lay here. Even Yinxi’s home was no longer safe. Qiao Gaogao suspected they had been detected the moment they reached Yinxi’s residence, but the pursuers had been delayed en route.

Yinxi understood her concerns, but she was also contemplating where they should go next. Returning to the base was out of the question, it would blatantly reveal their location and bring trouble to the people there.

After collecting all the ability users’ blood, Qiao Gaogao found a functional vehicle and swiftly left the area with Yinxi.

Their original vehicle had long been rendered unusable under the effects of gravity.

As they departed, she followed the route Li Yuan and the others had taken, hoping to catch up and ask them to relay a message.

Fortunately, they hadn’t been separated for too long. The four of them reunited at the first service area after entering the highway. Qiao Gaogao wanted them to go to the Tianxia Base.

“We’re actually heading to the base right now.” Li Yuan hadn’t expected to run into them again so soon. She had been a little excited at first, but now she felt confused after hearing their words.

Qiao Gaogao let out a sigh of relief and said seriously, “Then please get to the base as quickly as possible and deliver a message to Qiao Muyi, my mother inside the base.”

“Tell her not to trust anyone who claims to be acting on behalf of me or Yinxi. Also, make sure the base strengthens its defenses!”

They couldn’t return to the base just yet. If they went back now, wouldn’t they be walking right into a trap? That’s why they needed someone completely unrelated to deliver the message to their parents.

Hearing this, Li Yuan and the others grew more solemn. They nodded firmly and said, “Alright! We’ll get to the base as soon as possible and deliver your message!”

Since Qiao Gaogao and the others had caught up so quickly to relay this, the urgency of the matter was clear.

“But will they believe us?” Zhou Ling asked hesitantly.

Qiao Gaogao took off the Bodhisattva pendant she wore around her neck, gently stroked it one last time, and solemnly handed it to Li Yuan. “This pendant has been with me since I was born, my mother put it on me. Show this to them, and they’ll know it’s genuine.”

“Okay!” Li Yuan carefully tucked the pendant close to her body for safekeeping, then asked, “Where are you planning to go now? If your mother asks, what should we tell her?”

Qiao Gaogao seemed momentarily lost in thought. She glanced back at Yinxi, and their eyes met. At this point, they only knew they couldn’t stay in S City or return to H City. As for where to go next, they truly had no idea.

After a moment of silence, Qiao Gaogao replied, “Just tell her we’re going to look for government officials.”

Li Yuan and the others were taken aback. Since the zombie outbreak began, aside from that one text message, they hadn’t seen any sign of government presence.

Once everything was clarified, Qiao Gaogao quickly parted ways with them, driving off in the opposite direction.

“Roar?”

Yinxi sat in the passenger seat, looking at Qiao Gaogao as she softly spoke.

“Hmm, let’s give it a try. Maybe it’ll work?” Qiao Gaogao had made a snap decision they would seek out government officials. She wanted to know whether the authorities were completely unaware of how this catastrophe began.

She even wondered if Taian had any ties to the government. If so, where would that leave them?

“Roar, roar?” Yinxi was puzzled. They hadn’t heard any news about government whereabouts. How were they supposed to find them?

Qiao Gaogao turned to her with a bright smile. “It’s okay. If there’s no news, we’ll just search city by city. The government is such a massive organization they can’t have just vanished without a trace.”

Especially the military. Given their numbers, they likely faced enormous challenges. If soldiers turned into zombies, the spread would be swift and devastating. It would take time for them to regroup and restore order.

Hearing this, Yinxi pressed her lips together and smiled, her eyes sparkling.

No matter what, as long as she was with Gaogao, it didn’t matter where they went.

But when she thought back to the man from earlier, Yinxi’s expression darkened again. That uncle had once been so kind to her, always bringing gifts whenever he visited. Yet, one day, he had looked at her with such a fervent, piercing gaze as if she were some satisfactory experiment.

Neither of them brought up the topic of Yinxi’s parents again. Though they didn’t know what stance her parents had taken regarding Yinxi’s situation, it was clear now that, whatever the circumstances, Yinxi’s predicament was somehow connected to them.

Was it because of them that Yinxi had turned into a zombie? Or was it because of them that she had managed to retain her consciousness?

For now, these were just speculations. They had no answers, but given the current situation, finding Yinxi’s parents seemed impossible for the time being.

Qiao Gaogao didn’t stubbornly stick to one route. First, she exited the highway and went to a 4S dealership to switch to a car with better performance. Then, she got back on the highway from another direction. They zigzagged through several places like this, making it impossible for anyone to track their whereabouts.

By evening, Qiao Gaogao parked the car at a guesthouse in an unknown small town. The guesthouse was in relatively good condition. After clearing out the zombies and tossing them outside, Qiao Gaogao picked a clean-looking room and settled in. Comforting Yinxi, she said, “Senior, from now on, we’re on a road trip!”

Yinxi, washed and clean, lay beside her, hands folded over her abdomen. Hearing this, she pursed her lips and smiled faintly. In a way, it was true. In this world without communication, once they had completely left that circle behind, it would be difficult for anyone to find them. Driving around like this, exploring different places, was indeed like a road trip.

“It’s only been a little over a month, and the environment outside has improved so much,” Qiao Gaogao remarked, turning to hug Yinxi with a sigh. Along their journey, they had clearly noticed that the lakes and rivers outside had become much cleaner, with lush vegetation and vibrant scenery.

Although the conditions in the cities were still poor, the countryside had almost become a sanctuary away from the world. It made one realize just how much damage human activity had inflicted on the environment.

“Roar!”

Yinxi had noticed it too, the environment outside was incredibly pristine. Perhaps by spring, the scenery would be even more breathtaking?

But before spring arrived, they would have to endure a winter.

The temperature had been rising steadily lately. Once winter came, no one knew whether it would be the same as before or even harsher.

Qiao Gaogao stroked Yinxi’s smooth skin, feeling a sense of relief. Even though her senior had turned into a zombie, her flesh hadn’t decayed. Especially with the hot weather, it hadn’t accelerated any rotting. Otherwise, she couldn’t imagine how someone as fastidious as her senior would cope with such a state.

“Slap!”

Qiao Gaogao withdrew her stinging hand, pouting pitifully as she complained, “Senior! Why did you hit me?”

“Roar! Roar!”

Yinxi pointed at her hand, then at her own chest, baring her teeth at her.

How dare this person act wronged after touching her like that!

Qiao Gaogao immediately felt a pang of guilt. Her eyes darted away as she muttered under her breath, “It was an accident!”

The patted hand gently rubbed, as if still able to feel the lingering sensation. A sweet delight bubbled in her heart, the senior’s chest felt so nice to touch! If only she could have kept her hand there a little longer.

“Hohoho!”

Yinxi sat up, making a squeezing motion with both hands, proving that Qiaogaogao hadn’t just accidentally brushed against her it was a deliberate, premeditated squeeze!

As Qiaogaogao watched Yinxi sit up and replicate that squeezing gesture, her eyes widened bit by bit, staring in horror at the senior’s serious and stern expression.

How could she reproduce that motion with such a straight face?!

Seeing Qiaogaogao frozen in place, Yinxi glanced at her curiously, only to find her doll-like face completely blank. This made her even angrier, how dare this girl stubbornly refuse to admit it!

“Ho!” Yinxi growled, pointing at her own chest with a clear warning.

Snapping back to reality, Qiaogaogao quickly clasped her hands together in front of her chest, shaking her head repeatedly.

No, absolutely not!

Her nails were so long, what if she got scratched? What if it left a mark and ruined her appearance?

Support She’s Fiercer Than Zombies