She’s Fiercer Than Zombies - Chapter 6

“Roar!”

Yinxi suddenly let out an angry roar, turning her back to Qiao Gaogao. Even from behind, the intensity of her anger was palpable.

“Huh?” Qiao Gaogao was puzzled by her reaction and cautiously moved closer to Yinxi. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to go back?”

It was no surprise that Qiao Gaogao would guess this. Ever since she had met her senior, Yinxi rarely went home during holidays, winter breaks, or summer vacations, preferring to stay at school most of the time.

“Roar!” The sound was somewhat softer this time.

Seeing her senior like this, Qiao Gaogao furrowed her delicate brows. Perhaps Yinxi’s family situation was indeed complicated, but Qiao Gaogao didn’t know any other biologists. To figure out what was going on with her senior, she needed to find Yinxi’s parents.

Especially now, with the zombie outbreak, she had no idea how they were doing. At the very least, she had to try to find them.

With that thought, she took out Yinxi’s phone and, while there was still internet access, sent a message to Yinxi’s parents to check on their situation.

Yinxi watched her actions without showing approval, but she didn’t refuse or stop her either, seeming somewhat conflicted.

The message was sent, but there was no reply. Qiao Gaogao could only wait patiently, taking the opportunity to eat and fill her stomach.

The earlier series of activities had really taken a lot out of her.

“Senior, are you full?” Qiao Gaogao asked between bites, worried that Yinxi might have skipped eating out of anger.

“Roar!”

“Alright then, wait for me. I’ll eat quickly!” Qiao Gaogao mumbled with her mouth full.

Yinxi secretly glanced at Qiao Gaogao. Even though she was eating quickly, she didn’t appear messy or crude. Her soft cheeks puffed out slightly, making her look as adorable as a little hamster.

After finishing her meal quickly, Qiao Gaogao took off her gloves and tossed them into a nearby trash can. She then turned her back to Yinxi and crouched down.

“Senior, climb on.”

Yinxi obediently leaned onto Qiao Gaogao’s back, and the two were securely tied together again with a cloth.

Qiao Gaogao loaded another shopping cart full of water and then pushed both carts toward a plastic curtain marked “Staff Only.” Behind it was an office that also served as a small storage area, with a freight elevator leading directly to the underground parking garage.

Initially, Qiao Gaogao hadn’t chosen to take the freight elevator because the door to the elevator from the parking garage required a key to open from the outside, and she didn’t have one.

She knew all this because one of her former roommates had worked part-time as a food sampler at this supermarket. One day, when her roommate was unavailable, Qiao Gaogao had filled in for her.

Pushing the shopping carts through the curtain, she found the area just as eerily quiet. As she pressed the button for the freight elevator, Qiao Gaogao watched the changing numbers on the screen and tightened her grip on the watermelon knife in her hand. If there were zombies inside the elevator, she would be ready to decapitate them immediately!

With a ding, the elevator doors slowly opened in front of her. Qiao Gaogao breathed a sigh of relief. The inside of the elevator was relatively clean, suggesting there probably weren’t many zombies downstairs.

“H-hello…”

A deliberately hushed voice spoke up.

The two of them turned their heads in unison and saw a woman peeking out from behind a door ahead, her timid eyes fixed on them.

“What’s wrong?” Qiao Gaogao tilted her head and asked.

Seeing that they didn’t seem aggressive, the young woman gradually grew bolder, pulling the door open a bit wider and stepping out. However, upon clearly seeing Yinxi’s appearance, she was still startled and instinctively took two steps back.

“She, she’s a zombie.” the young woman trembled, pointing at Yinxi, who was being carried on Qiaogao’s back.

Qiaogao was a bit displeased. “She’s my senior!”

Hearing the displeasure in her voice and noticing that the zombie showed no intention of harming anyone, the young woman gradually calmed down. Still, she remained wary of Yinxi and didn’t dare get too close to either of them.

“Did you come from outside? What’s the situation out there?”

“We came from outside. It’s chaos out there, zombies everywhere.” Qiaogao glanced at the employee badge hanging on the woman’s clothes, deducing that she was likely a supermarket employee who had taken refuge in the office as soon as the zombie outbreak began.

The woman clearly looked disappointed but forced herself to stay composed. “My name is Zhao Dan. May I ask what your names are?”

“Qiaogao.”

“Groo!” Yinxi’s face went blank mid-roar, then she realized she could only produce meaningless growls.

“Groo!” Frustrated, Yinxi buried her face in Qiaogao’s hair, grinding her teeth in silent annoyance.

Qiaogao immediately broke into a bright, eye-crinkling smile. Her senior was just too adorable.

But while she was happy, she also felt sorry for her senior. She comfortingly patted Yinxi’s head and introduced her to Zhao Dan, “This is my senior, Yinxi.”

Zhao Dan had already been intrigued by the earlier commotion. She looked at Yinxi curiously and asked softly, “Why doesn’t she bite people?”

She also seemed much cleaner than other zombies.

Qiaogao instantly swelled with pride. “My senior still has her own consciousness! She’s nothing like other zombies!”

The earlier events had already convinced Zhao Dan of this. Considering how many zombies were originally in the supermarket and how the two of them could roam around so freely, she figured they must have impressive combat skills.

“Miss Qiao, I’m a supermarket employee. After the zombie outbreak, I brought some people here to hide, and we haven’t dared to leave. Could I ask you to take us to a safe place?”

The thought of having lived under the same roof as those zombies terrified them.

“Huh?” Qiaogao hadn’t expected such a request. She followed Zhao Dan to the room she had emerged from earlier and saw several men and women huddled inside, along with a mother holding a little girl. All of them looked at her with hopeful eyes.

To be honest, Qiaogao wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs, but with so many eyes fixed on her, she couldn’t help feeling a pang of guilt.

“But I don’t know where is safe right now either,” Qiaogao said, somewhat troubled.

It was still the early stages of the zombie outbreak, and she doubted the government had established safe bases so quickly.

Hearing this, everyone looked disappointed.

“Most of the zombies on the second floor have been lured to the third floor by us. Here, you have supplies and shelter, you’re already better off than most people,” Qiaogao said, scratching her head.

The supplies outside alone should be enough for these people to survive for a long time, not to mention that this employee probably knew where the supermarket warehouse was.

“But do you think we can actually protect these supplies?” Zhao Dan smiled wryly. The zombie outbreak had just begun, yet people like Qiao Gaogao were already coming to scavenge for resources. In the future, she feared, more and more would follow.

Her words left Qiao Gaogao speechless. Although this was the harsh reality, the group before her numbered seven in total, young and old, how could she possibly manage them all?

In an apocalyptic world, everyone fends for themselves. But if she took them with her, where could they go?

Bring them back to the martial arts school? Then what about their food and shelter?

Thinking about the chain of troubles that would follow, Qiao Gaogao’s petite face scrunched up like a steamed bun.

“Wait a moment,” Qiao Gaogao sighed softly, pulling out her phone to message her parents. She explained the situation and asked for their opinion.

Her parents replied: If they’re still alive, bring them back. We can’t let these damn zombies drive humanity to extinction, can we?

Reading this, Qiao Gaogao pursed her lips. Were her parents really trying to shoulder the hope of humanity now?

She turned to Zhao Dan. “There are two options. One, you stay here. Two, you come with us. But if you choose to come, you won’t just be sitting around under our protection. My family runs a martial arts school you’ll need to train and eventually take on missions to scavenge for supplies.”

In that moment, an idea suddenly sparked in Qiao Gaogao’s mind. Didn’t apocalypse novels always feature survival bases? Why wait for others to build one? Why couldn’t they establish their own?

Hearing her words, Zhao Dan hesitated and went to discuss it with the others.

Soon, everyone stood before Qiao Gaogao, expressing their desire to follow her back.

Their reasoning was simple: someone who could move freely among hordes of zombies offered far greater safety than staying on their own.

Seeing their decision, Qiao Gaogao responded straightforwardly, “Do you have vehicles?”

“I have an off-road vehicle,” a young man raised his hand.

“There’s a Wuling Hongguang delivery van in the supermarket,” Zhao Dan added.

“Alright then. Later, you’ll follow me in your vehicles. But before that, load up as many supplies as you can. Five people can squeeze into the off-roader, the rest take the Wuling. Fill both to the brim.”

“Got it!”

At her words, everyone sprang into action even the little girl pitched in.

“Try to stay away from the stairwell and be careful,” Qiao Gaogao reminded them.

“Understood!”

As they busied themselves, Qiao Gaogao turned to Yinxi, seeking reassurance. “Senior, did I make the right decision?”

Bringing them back meant taking on responsibility carrying their hopes. Truthfully, it felt like a heavy burden for someone who had just turned 19.

Yinxi tightened her arm around Qiao Gaogao, nuzzling her cheek in silent comfort.

Feeling her senior’s approval, Qiao Gaogao instantly relaxed. Why overthink things?

Later, when the group returned pushing carts laden with supplies, Qiao Gaogao took the freight elevator down to the basement level first to ensure it was safe before signaling the others to follow.

The Wuling Honggu from the supermarket was parked closest, so Zhao Dan went to drive it over. Everyone worked together to load the supplies into the vehicle. Seeing there was still plenty of space left, Zhao Dan took a few people back to the warehouse to grab some high-calorie items, stuffing the car until it was completely full.

Meanwhile, Qiao Gaogao had already taken out her car keys and started trying to unlock the nearby vehicles. She went from car to car, eventually making her way back to the elevator entrance where they had parked their electric scooter. There, she happened to witness the man in the adjacent car throwing a fit of rage and frustration. Clearly, the apocalypse had left him feeling insecure and desperate for an outlet, yet he didn’t dare drive off on his own.

Seeing his state, Qiao Gaogao swallowed the words she had been about to say asking if he wanted to come along and simply rolled her eyes as she passed him by.

A man like that was clearly unsafe. No need to invite trouble.

As Qiao Gaogao pressed the unlock button once more, she heard the sound of a car responding not far away and spotted the utterly ordinary-looking sedan.

“What a shame,” Qiao Gaogao sighed with regret.

“Growl?”

“It’s not a G-Class.”

“…”

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