Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: I’m Okay

The night was deathly silent.

Only a single beam of headlights illuminated the empty, deserted street.

Fearing to make too much noise, Song Ge didn’t ride the electric scooter very fast. She twisted the handlebar to accelerate and brake, steadily maneuvering around all the obstacles blocking the road ahead. The sweltering heat of the day seemed to have settled into the night, making the smell of decay even more nauseating.

Tong Xiangyu gripped a small corner of Song Ge’s clothes. Before setting out, she had been determined, but in reality, she didn’t even have the courage to look to her left or right. She simply kept her head down timidly.

The journey went smoothly.

Song Ge squeezed the brakes and parked the scooter on a street about ten meters away from the supermarket entrance. She didn’t pull out the key; instead, she kept the scooter started and in a ready-to-go state. The headlights were left on so that Tong Xiangyu, while keeping watch, could spot monsters in time.

Then, Song Ge pulled a flashlight out from under her hem. She gestured for Tong Xiangyu to stay on guard there while she walked to the window of the adjacent clothing store to the north. As a precaution, she placed two glass marbles among the shattered glass shards on the left and right.

Finally, Song Ge took out the tactical knife from her waist and cautiously walked into the supermarket.

Having not visited for over half a month, the smell inside the supermarket was even fouler. Song Ge frowned. Entering the supermarket at night felt completely different from entering during the day. Because of the poor lighting, the damp chill and sense of corruption from the lack of sunlight were particularly palpable, making her skin crawl with a genuine sense of discomfort.

Although there was no movement in the supermarket, Song Ge did not let her guard down. She focused on observing her surroundings until she was certain no monsters were lurking. Then, she walked straight to the area where the supermarket sold rice and flour.

Song Ge put away her tactical knife. She lifted a bag of rice with her left hand, bit down on the flashlight through her mask to hold it, picked up another bag of rice with her right hand, turned around, and walked quickly out of the supermarket.

The night was muggy, not cold at all.

Tong Xiangyu stared fixedly at the end of the pitch-black street ahead, looking back from time to time. She felt constant gusts of eerie wind; in the uncanny silence, she shivered repeatedly.

Until she heard Song Ge’s footsteps.

Tong Xiangyu immediately ran to the supermarket entrance to meet her. Upon receiving the rice, she realized it was actually a bit lighter than a solid wood chair.

Song Ge handed one bag of rice to Tong Xiangyu and placed the other at the supermarket entrance. Without wasting half a second, she turned back into the supermarket for the second trip.

Two trips for rice and flour were almost enough. Song Ge’s original plan was to stay in the dangerous supermarket for no more than three minutes.

On the third trip, Song Ge detoured to the braised snacks section and slipped a few bags of small chicken drumsticks into her pocket. Suddenly remembering something, she grabbed a plastic bag and walked to the bulk grain area, swiftly scooping several large spoonfuls of soybeans.

The accident happened at that very moment.

Song Ge was leaning down using a shovel to scoop soybeans, the clean shh-shh sound filling her ears. Suddenly, a distinct wheezing sound came from behind her!

That breathing sound was incredibly eerie.

Song Ge’s scalp tightened. As the breathing behind her suddenly grew louder and the smell of decay lunged toward her, she timed it perfectly, dodging to the side. With a backhand swing, she used the iron shovel as a weapon and stabbed it fiercely into the monster’s neck!

Song Ge’s grip was strong, and in this life-or-death moment of crisis, she used every ounce of her strength. She was still biting the flashlight. Under the light, she clearly saw the monster’s distorted face covered in cadaveric spots. Its skin was sunken like a mummified corpse due to dehydration, its teeth were yellowed, and its eyes were cloudy and white.

Song Ge broke out in goosebumps all over! She gritted her teeth and exerted all her might, forcing the monster—which was skeletal but possessed terrifying strength—against the supermarket wall!

The monster struggled, making crackling and wheezing noises in its throat. Its rotting hands reached out to claw at Song Ge!

Song Ge had nowhere to hide. One hand wasn’t strong enough, so she desperately added a second!

After a loud crack.

The iron shovel in Song Ge’s hand actually “severed” the monster’s skin-and-bone neck!

The skin on the monster’s neck was already moldy and rotten. Once the bone snapped, its head fell off and rolled aside. The torso, which had been violently resisting and attacking, instantly lost all mobility and fell to the ground like a dried corpse.

Song Ge had already retreated two steps. Watching this scene, she realized she was covered in cold sweat!

She didn’t dare stay any longer. With rice in one hand and the bag of soybeans in the other, she strode out of the supermarket.

“Song Ge!!” Tong Xiangyu happened to be calling her loudly in anxiety, her face pale. “This is bad! The monsters are coming!”

Four bags of rice were already stacked neatly in the footwell of the scooter. Song Ge glanced at the dense swarm of zombies in the direction of the headlights. She stacked the bag in her hand on top, handed the soybean bag to Tong Xiangyu, and mounted the scooter without a word.

Without needing Song Ge to say anything, Tong Xiangyu immediately climbed onto the back of the scooter and grabbed her clothes.

In the dark night, the sound of wild, beast-like howling could be heard through the quiet air.

It had felt muggy on the way there, but the road back felt icy cold.

Song Ge’s adrenaline was surging, and her back was drenched in cold sweat. She didn’t dare stop for a second. Although there were headlights, visibility was limited at night. She could only follow the route she had planned during the day, relying on her memory to detour directly to the southern path.

Tong Xiangyu looked back from time to time. She couldn’t see clearly without light, but that only made the nearing cries of the monsters even more terrifying, as if they would catch up and crush everything at any moment.

Tong Xiangyu said loudly in fear, “Song Ge! What if they follow us back to Grandma Tian’s house?”

These monsters possessed immense strength; they had been able to pierce through classroom doors with their bare hands. If they were led back to Grandma Tian’s house, the consequences would be unthinkable. Everyone might die at the hands of the monsters!

“They won’t.” Song Ge’s palms were already covered in cold sweat, but her voice remained steady.

The buildings here were tall, blocking the moonlight. The scooter’s headlights were too concentrated and not broad enough. Song Ge gripped the handles. Feeling the wheels roll over something uneven, the entire scooter jolted. She immediately squeezed the brakes to stabilize the vehicle.

And at that moment, Tong Xiangyu screamed in panic— “Aaaaah! Song Ge!!”

Tong Xiangyu felt a monster slap the rear trunk of the electric scooter!

Song Ge shouted: “Scatter the beans!”

Tong Xiangyu responded in a panic. She didn’t actually understand what those three words meant, but instinctively, she tore a hole in the bag of soybeans in her hand.

The beans scattered down with a shh-shh.

The soles of the shoes of the monsters swarming up were smooth, and the front row slipped and tumbled on the spot. The monsters behind didn’t know how to dodge; they tripped over one another and fell in a heap.

This bought only a tiny bit of time.

Song Ge’s electric scooter had already entered the deserted alley. The distance between the two sides widened.

Song Ge heard Tong Xiangyu say excitedly behind her, “They fell and didn’t catch up! Song Ge, it really worked!”

Song Ge gave a brief acknowledgement but didn’t relax in the slightest. She followed her memorized route through two intersections and turned into a new fork at the third.

The night wind whistled past her ears.

Song Ge stared at the headlights. They would soon be back at the back gate of the courtyard. But just then, a huge black, hairy object suddenly darted across the headlights!

Song Ge’s neck suddenly went numb! By reflex, she almost slammed on the brakes!!

—What on earth was that thing?!

But the thing had already run past. Song Ge reacted in time; instead of braking, she gripped the scooter’s handles tighter to accelerate. Without alarming the oblivious Tong Xiangyu behind her, she drove the scooter to the back yard gate with a racing heart.

Although they were back, no one breathed a sigh of relief. Not until Song Ge quickly untied the rope on the gate, pushed the scooter loaded with five bags of rice inside, and double-locked the gate.

Tong Xiangyu’s legs went weak, and she leaned against the wall, panting.

Song Ge silently pushed the scooter to its parking spot. She picked up two bags of rice on her shoulders and took another in her hand.

Seeing this, Tong Xiangyu stopped resting. “Let me, let me help too.”

Song Ge didn’t refuse.

The two of them made two trips, stacking the five twenty-catty bags of rice brought back from the supermarket in the corner of the room.

Song Ge turned off the flashlight and used a lighter to light a candle.

Tong Xiangyu turned to look at Song Ge. The candlelight made Song Ge’s expression look cold and serious. Seeing that Song Ge didn’t say a word, Tong Xiangyu felt apprehensive and fearful. The situation just now had been too dangerous; fortunately, they had escaped unscathed.

Tong Xiangyu turned and entered the washroom first.

After Tong Xiangyu left, Song Ge lowered her head to inspect her hands and arms by the candlelight.

No wounds.

She felt her neck.

None there either.

Only then did Song Ge let out a long, heavy breath. She reached back and pulled off the T-shirt that was stained with the smell of corpse fluid from when she killed the monster in the supermarket.

As soon as Tong Xiangyu came out of the washroom, she saw Song Ge stripping. Scared, she immediately shrank back inside.

Song Ge changed into a clean short-sleeved shirt and tossed the dirty clothes into the trash can. She sat on a chair for a while, feeling uncomfortable from the sticky cold sweat on her body. Moreover, there seemed to be that heavy, indescribable rot of a corpse stench. She looked up at the washroom.

Tong Xiangyu hadn’t come out yet. Song Ge didn’t rush her and waited patiently for a while.

Tong Xiangyu finally opened the door again.

Song Ge stood up and went in. She took off her clothes, poured some bottled water to wash her face, hands, and neck, wetted a towel, and did a simple wipe-down of the sweat on her body.

When Song Ge came out of the washroom, Tong Xiangyu called her: “Song Ge…”

Song Ge said: “Go to sleep.”

Looking at the indifferent expression on Song Ge’s face, Tong Xiangyu suddenly felt the atmosphere between them become gloomy and stiff. Tong Xiangyu’s mood plummeted. Feeling dejected, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, her mind starting to wander—

Song Ge must be blaming me…

If she hadn’t insisted on getting rice, they wouldn’t have encountered such a dangerous situation. They nearly died at the hands of those terrifying monsters.

Fortunately, Song Ge took the soybeans. Otherwise, the monsters would have caught up to their scooter back then…

Tong Xiangyu couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.

Song Ge, however, fell into a deep sleep the moment she closed her eyes. She began to dream. In the dream, she “severed” the monster’s neck with the iron shovel. However, before she could walk out of the supermarket door, the headless monster chased her out! A bizarre head regrew from its severed, rotting neck; its mouth opened to reveal rows of sharp teeth.

Song Ge resisted with her tactical knife, but more monsters surrounded her. There was also a huge black, hairy monster pouncing toward the oblivious Tong Xiangyu not far away.

Song Ge woke up instantly, sitting up drenched in sweat!

Hearing Song Ge’s suddenly rapid breathing, Tong Xiangyu also sat up in the dark and asked, “Song Ge, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

It took Song Ge a while to recover before she remembered to answer Tong Xiangyu, saying: “I’m okay.”

Tong Xiangyu fell silent upon hearing Song Ge’s flat response.

But after a while, she could no longer hold back the immense self-blame and sense of grievance. She began to sob softly, and then broke into a crying fit.

Song Ge’s head was starting to throb. Hearing Tong Xiangyu’s crying, she had no energy to offer comfort and could only silently get up and leave the room.

Song Ge left the room and walked to the front door. The soundproofing was good; sitting outside, she couldn’t hear Tong Xiangyu’s crying.

Song Ge wiped the cold sweat off her face with both hands and leaned against the door, trying her best to calm down. Putting the nightmare aside, she organized everything she had encountered on this trip.

What concerned her most was the black shadow that had darted out in the alley. It was hairy, likely a stray dog or cat, but certainly not a normal domestic pet. There were countless rotting corpses on the roadside, many of which were dead cats and dogs. Apparently, unlike humans, animals simply couldn’t withstand this strange, mad virus.

But the one tonight was clearly still alive. It was just too fast—so fast that even she couldn’t see what it was.

Song Ge felt uneasy. If pets could also carry the virus, then the severity and the degree to which the situation was out of control had likely increased greatly.

However, there was also good news. That was that she knew how to cleanly kill those “unkillable” monsters.

—Headshots.

It seemed this virus also needed to use the brain to issue commands and control the limbs.

Song Ge sat in the muggy night wind for a good while before remembering that the delicate and timid young lady inside was still crying. But Song Ge couldn’t help it. What happened tonight was, in the end, due to hasty preparation, and the decision itself represented danger from the start.

Even she had been frightened, let alone that sheltered young lady; she must have been terrified. However, the young lady had strong self-esteem and surely wouldn’t want to be seen in a pathetic state.

Song Ge didn’t plan on going back in. She decided to sit by the door and make do for the night.

But Tong Xiangyu walked out.

Song Ge heard footsteps and looked back. Tong Xiangyu was still sobbing. She walked slowly, bit by bit, until she was behind Song Ge. She choked out broken words: “Song, Song Ge, do you still… still want to take me away…”

“Of course.” Song Ge stood up. “Unless you don’t want to go?”

As soon as she spoke, Tong Xiangyu shook her head and lunged into her arms.

Song Ge was stunned for a moment.

Tong Xiangyu hugged her tightly, crying with a sense of grievance, “I thought you were mad at me and didn’t… didn’t want me anymore!”

Song Ge held her hands out, unsure where to put them. Hearing Tong Xiangyu say this, she felt a bit helpless. “How is that possible?”

Tong Xiangyu sobbed, “Because I am very, very troublesome…”

“You’re not troublesome.”

“But, but, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have been in such dan-danger tonight. You almost died.”

“The decision was my own.”

Tong Xiangyu wanted to say more.

Song Ge said: “Can you stop hugging me while we talk?”

With teary eyes, Tong Xiangyu looked up from Song Ge’s chest.

“Tears got on my clothes,” Song Ge said. “I just changed into this; it’s my last clean set. Besides, don’t you think I smell?”

Tong Xiangyu had a stuffy nose. With blurry, tearful eyes, she asked, “What smell?”

Song Ge: “…Forget it, as long as you don’t smell it. Go back to the room and sleep.”

“What about y-you?”

“I’ll sit for a while longer.”

Tong Xiangyu’s nose and eyes were bright red. She looked at Song Ge pitifully.

Seeing this, Song Ge had no choice but to say, “Fine, I’ll go back to the room with you.”

Tong Xiangyu’s mood finally calmed down a bit. She stayed close to Song Ge, reaching out to pinch the corner of her shirt, and whispered for confirmation: “Song Ge, are we really leaving tomorrow?”

Song Ge: “Mhm.”

Entering the room, Tong Xiangyu watched Song Ge close and lock the door. She hesitated and wouldn’t let go, saying in a low voice, “Song Ge, you should sleep on the bed tonight too…”

“No need, I’m used to the sofa.”

“But I don’t dare sleep alone tonight.” Tong Xiangyu was afraid that if she woke up tomorrow, Song Ge would be gone, having left her troublesome self behind to depart alone.

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