She’s Fiercer Than Zombies - Chapter 40

Song Qingxu’s injuries were gradually improving. Over the past few days, the group had been eating together. Every time they went out to forage along the shore, Tang Jiu would accompany them. Later, as Song Qingxu’s condition improved, she would follow along as well, though Tang Jiu didn’t allow her to step onto the beach, insisting she watch from the side.

Her wound was on her abdomen, and searching for seafood required bending over or squatting. Tang Jiu was worried that the pressure might aggravate her injury, delaying her recovery.

Gradually, however, the group began to notice some peculiar-looking creatures on the beach lobsters several times larger than usual, crabs with bizarre shapes, and fish covered in grotesque tumors, each more repulsive than the last.

This was clearly an ominous sign. Standing by the shore, they gazed at the distant sea, still deep and serene, yet no longer offering a sense of tranquility.

“Has the ocean been polluted too?” Tang Jiu’s voice was strained. If even the sea was contaminated, where on Earth remained untouched?

No one answered her, their hearts heavy with dread. If the ocean was polluted, it meant they could no longer rely on fresh seafood. In a world without productivity, their existing supplies would eventually run out.

That evening, back at their shelter, they examined the clams and crabs they had collected days earlier. They appeared normal, and since they had eaten some without issue, the remaining ones should be safe, right?

With that thought, they cooked a large pot of seafood congee with the remaining catch. In the freezing cold, the warm meal spread comfort through their bodies.

After returning to her room and taking a bath, Qiao Gaogao climbed into bed and hugged Yinxi, gently stroking her slender fingers. Her voice tinged with gravity, she said, “Senior, the living conditions for humanity are becoming even more dire.”

If land-based creatures were infected with the zombie virus, one could hope to eradicate them with enough strength in the future. But what about the ocean? Covering 71% of the Earth’s surface, such a vast expanse, how could anyone possibly exterminate all marine life? And what about the deep sea, where human reach was limited?

In such circumstances, the only hope lay in developing a serum. Yet, creating one was an immensely challenging task.

“It’s okay,” Yinxi replied, her speech still somewhat halting, though she tried her best to articulate. “You’re here!”

No matter how harsh the environment became, as long as the people she cared about were safe, that was all that mattered.

Qiao Gaogao immediately brightened at her words, but seeing her senior’s earnest and serious expression, she found it endearingly adorable. She couldn’t help but add, “But you still need to be careful not to get hurt.”

“If anyone dares to bully you, just bite them!”

“Dirty…”

“Never mind if it’s dirty! The important thing is that you don’t get hurt!” Qiao Gaogao insisted firmly. Compared to her senior getting injured, having her bite someone seemed far more acceptable.

Yinxi listened, somewhat confused. After all, she had never bitten anyone before neither as a human nor as a zombie so she was entirely unfamiliar with the act.

She picked up one of Qiao Gaogao’s arms, pressed her lips against it, and opened her mouth, mimicking the motion of biting. Her teeth lightly grazed Gaogao’s skin as she mumbled, “Like… like this?”

Qiao Gaogao stared blankly, watching Yinxi’s movements in disbelief. Her soft lips pressed against Qiao Gaogao’s arm, and her harmless teeth gently nibbled, creating nothing more than a ticklish sensation. There wasn’t a trace of ferocity in her bite.

Her heart pounded wildly, and Qiao Gaogao’s face flushed slightly as she said, “Senior, maybe you should switch to scratching people from now on?”

“Hmm?” Yinxi looked up at her, puzzled.

Qiao Gaogao stared at Yinxi’s lips, thinking that if she were to bite someone in the future, her lips would inevitably touch that person. Her expression darkened, and a wave of jealousy surged within her. Senior’s lips should only kiss me!

“I don’t want you kissing anyone else!” Qiao Gaogao pouted.

If outsiders heard Qiao Gaogao referring to a zombie’s bite as a kiss, they’d probably want to capture her and burn her at the stake! Was this even human language?

Yinxi suddenly understood. She leaned in, puckered her lips, and planted a kiss on Qiao Gaogao’s mouth. Pulling back, she smiled sweetly, pressing her lips together.

“Only, kissing you!”

Instantly, Qiao Gaogao was overjoyed by Yinxi’s reassurance. Yinxi hadn’t thought she was being petty and had even promised to kiss only her!

Qiao Gaogao grinned foolishly, grabbing Yinxi’s hand and examining her nails. “Besides, these are way more dangerous than teeth.”

Her nails were sharp and pointed, while her teeth were round and smooth, how could they possibly hurt anyone?

“Hmph!” Yinxi snorted discontentedly. This girl was mocking her teeth again!

Qiao Gaogao smacked a few kisses on her lips and began coaxing her softly.

Yinxi listened to her soothing words, maintaining her composure for a few minutes before letting Qiao Gaogao pull her into bed to sleep.

She was appeased, her pride forgotten.

However, in the middle of the night, their door was suddenly pounded loudly. Qiao Gaogao jolted awake, exchanging a glance with Yinxi. Just as they were about to prepare for defense, Song Qingxu’s anxious voice came from outside.

“Gaogao, Xiaoyin! Wake up!”

The two quickly got up, dressed, and opened the door to find Song Qingxu standing outside, her face pale. Her eyes lit up when she saw them, and she said urgently, “Do you have any fever medicine? A-Jiu suddenly developed a high fever and is in a lot of pain.”

Startled, the two hurriedly followed Song Qingxu to check on Tang Jiu.

Entering their room, they saw Tang Jiu lying in bed, her entire body flushed an unnatural red. A towel placed on her forehead by Song Qingxu did little to alleviate her condition.

“Are you sure it’s just a fever?” Qiao Gaogao hesitated, observing Tang Jiu’s state. It looked eerily similar to her own experience, though her own symptoms had also resembled a fever at first.

Song Qingxu shook her head, her expression tense. She only knew she had to do something to dispel the panic rising within her.

She took the fever medicine Yinxi handed her and immediately went to boil water to administer it to Tang Jiu.

Yinxi approached the bed and looked down at Tang Jiu. Her face was flushed with pain, veins bulging on her forehead hardly typical symptoms of a fever.

“She’s infected,” Yinxi suddenly said.

Clatter!

The cup in Song Qingxu’s hand fell to the floor. She stared blankly at Yinxi, as if unable to process what she had just heard.

Qiao Gaogao was also shocked but quickly recalled the seafood congee they had eaten that night. “Could the seafood from tonight have been contaminated?”

Tonight’s seafood was clearly from the same batch they had eaten a few days ago, so how could something go wrong this time?

Yinxi shook her head, “Tonight, fine.”

Their gazes shifted to Song Qingxu. If the seafood tonight wasn’t the issue, then the problem must have occurred during the time they were apart.

Song Qingxu’s face had turned completely pale by now, as if she had thought of something. Her lips trembled slightly as she looked at Qiao Gaogao and the others with panic.

Seeing her expression, the two immediately knew that something must have happened after they left. Qiao Gaogao couldn’t help but grow anxious.

“Speak up! What happened?” Why was she still so tight-lipped at a time like this!

Song Qingxu stared at them blankly and said, “Tonight, while she was cleaning the knives, she cut her palm.”

“What?!” The two exclaimed in unison. Even Yinxi spoke more fluently, staring at Song Qingxu in shock.

They were superhumans, so even if they got cut, they didn’t have to worry too much about infection. But Tang Jiu was different she had no superhuman abilities, which meant she lacked immunity to the virus!

Song Qingxu’s eyes gradually reddened. “But I clearly helped her put on a bandage.”

Yinxi took Tang Jiu’s hands out from under the blanket and, sure enough, found a bandage on her right palm. Carefully, she peeled it back to reveal the wound underneath.

It was just a shallow cut, but by now, the wound had turned black, and the surrounding area of her palm had taken on a bluish-gray hue.

Seeing this, Song Qingxu’s tears instantly fell. Her legs weakened, and she knelt by the bedside, trembling as she asked, “Is there any way to fix this?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she fell silent. What could possibly be done? If there were a solution, so many people outside wouldn’t have turned into flesh-craving zombies.

Yinxi didn’t answer her. Instead, she took out a small knife and deepened the cut on Tang Jiu’s palm. Dark red blood immediately gushed out. She lowered her head and began to suck the blood, while Qiao Gaogao promptly and tacitly brought a basin to catch the blood she spat out, comforting Song Qingxu as she did so: “It’s been so long, and she still hasn’t turned into a zombie.” Maybe there’s a chance for her.”

Normally, when an ordinary person was infected, the transformation into a zombie could take as little as a few minutes or even just seconds. How could Tang Jiu hold on for so long?

Hearing this, Song Qingxu’s hope was instantly rekindled. She watched Yinxi’s actions with anticipation. As Yinxi drew out more and more blood, the bluish-gray color on Tang Jiu’s palm slowly faded, and even her body temperature began to drop.

Seeing this improvement, Song Qingxu grew excited, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on Tang Jiu, hoping she would wake up soon.

However, among those present, only Yinxi noticed a change that others couldn’t see. The more blood she drew out, the more fragrant Tang Jiu became. This infection by the zombie virus seemed to have awakened her latent potential.

Smelling her fragrance, Yinxi believed that even without her help, Tang Jiu could slowly pull through this time.

Most importantly, she smelled incredibly fragrant even more so than Gaogao!

Yinxi turned to look at them and pointed at Tang Jiu on the bed, saying, “She’s superhuman.”

Qiao Gaogao: “?”Song Qingxu immediately widened her eyes in surprise, her voice trembling slightly.”

“R-really?”

Yinxi nodded emphatically!

“Supernaturals smell so good!”

So far, Tang Jiu was the most fragrant supernatural she had ever encountered!

Song Qingxu wiped away her tears and smiled, then turned to anxiously watch Tang Jiu’s condition.

Yin Xi looked at Qiao Gaogao and stammered, “She smells so good!”

Qiao Gaogao: “?”

Didn’t we just talk about this? Why repeat it now?

Yin Xi: “Even more fragrant than you!”

Qiao Gaogao: “!!!”

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