Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 83

Chapter 83: Fixed

The sun rose at 3:00 AM as usual.

Song Ge woke first and checked the time; it was just past three. Her shoulder was a bit numb from being used as a pillow. She turned her head to see Tong Xiangyu sleeping soundly in her arms. The girl was sleeping better with each passing day; during the first two nights, she had constantly talked in her sleep and woken up startled.

Song Ge watched her for a moment, then reached out to gently brush the hair away from Tong Xiangyu’s forehead. This beautiful, silky black hair had truly become a “dog-gnawed” mess. Tong Xiangyu had clearly stopped caring about her vanity; she must have been scared out of her mind at the time.

It really was hard on our high-born young lady.

Song Ge watched her quietly for a while, then adjusted Tong Xiangyu’s position with minimal movement, letting her rest her head on Song Ge’s lap. She then flexed her right arm and took out a whetstone to sharpen her knife bit by bit.

There was no telling how long this day-night cycle would last. It was best to get at least seven hours of sleep. They couldn’t just stay awake for twenty hours straight just because the sun was out. Song Ge was used to little sleep, but the young lady needed her full rest. Having suffered so much in terms of food and clothing on this journey, the least Song Ge could do was let her sleep her fill.

By the time Tong Xiangyu woke up, Song Ge had already finished sharpening the blade. After eating, they continued their journey.

The road was tedious. Tong Xiangyu excitedly discussed her dream from the night before with Song Ge. In the dream, they had reached a new city full of people. Some mutants could fly with wings, while others could control elements like wind, water, fire, and electricity.

Song Ge countered, “That’s impossible. Mutation only changes bodily functions. You haven’t seen those monsters, zombies, cats, or dogs flying.”

Tong Xiangyu also felt it was impossible, saying, “That’s why it was a dream!”

Their luck wasn’t bad. Although they didn’t find a functional car on the first day, they walked for less than an hour today before spotting an intact abandoned vehicle. It was old and low on gas, but the keys were in it.

Tong Xiangyu was ecstatic. “Wow! Finally, we don’t have to walk anymore!!”

Song Ge intended to drive, but Tong Xiangyu stopped her. She felt that Song Ge must have psychological trauma and PTSD from the crash, so she insisted on driving herself.

Unexpectedly, only a few minutes after getting on the road, there was a loud bang. The car tilted and lost control instantly. Tong Xiangyu screamed at the sound of the explosion, instinctively slamming on the brakes. The car spun twice on the spot before slamming into the provincial highway railing with a thud.

The heat had caused a tire to blow out. Fortunately, the brakes were applied in time and they hadn’t been going fast. They were unharmed, but the car appeared unusable. Tong Xiangyu was shaken, her face pale with fright.

Song Ge was about to offer comfort when she spotted something in her peripheral vision. “It’s fine, we’ll just switch to another one.”

Tong Xiangyu looked at her blankly. “Huh?”

Following Song Ge’s gaze, she realized there were several cars parked further up the road. Unlike the dense traffic jams in Kecheng, these were scattered every few dozen meters. Song Ge unbuckled her seatbelt. “Come on, let’s go try our luck.”

After getting out, Song Ge reached out and lightly patted Tong Xiangyu’s chest.

Tong Xiangyu looked at her, confused.

Song Ge: “This way you won’t be scared into having nightmares tonight.”

Though Tong Xiangyu found the gesture scientifically baseless, she was touched. However, despite the sentiment, she was still trembling with lingering fear and didn’t dare to drive again for the time being.

Song Ge was bold; she took the wheel. The “PTSD” had been Tong Xiangyu’s theory; Song Ge didn’t actually have a psychological shadow, even if that steel rod and the crash had nearly killed her. Survival brings its own blessings. Because of Tong Xiangyu’s constant reminders, Song Ge drove slowly, keeping the speed around 40 km/h.

Yet even at this speed, they saw signs of a town half an hour later. Soon, the landmark sign for Zihu City—which they had thought was still far off appeared in their view.

Song Ge raised an eyebrow and asked proactively, “When we enter the city, if we get stopped again and someone invites you to be a ‘guest,’ will you go?”

Tong Xiangyu shook her head like a rattle. Song Ge laughed. “Not going this time?”

“No, never again,” Tong Xiangyu said. “You can know a person’s face but not their heart. Every bit of the unknown is a bit of danger. I just need to follow you closely. I’ll go wherever you go.”

Song Ge lamented, “It wasn’t easy.”

Tong Xiangyu was puzzled. “What wasn’t easy?”

“That you finally understand,” Song Ge said. “Like I said, words don’t teach people; only consequences do.”

Tong Xiangyu took a moment to realize what Song Ge was referring to and immediately argued, “That’s because times have changed! Special circumstances require special treatment. Once this disaster passes and social order is restored, it will be fine!”

Song Ge turned left into the city. “Fine, then let’s hope the world is filled with love, just as you wish.”

Tong Xiangyu: “Stop being sarcastic!”

Song Ge: “I really wasn’t this time.”

Tong Xiangyu: “That means you were before!”

“We agreed not to bring up the past.”

The situation in Zihu City was similar to Taiyun. The whole place looked like a ghost town. There were no people and no monsters, but there were many stray cats and dogs. They weren’t afraid of humans at all, but they didn’t attack either; they were simply busy scavenging rotting corpses by the roadside.

Tong Xiangyu could now look at these scenes with “calm” disgust. “No wonder the cats and dogs mutated. They all eat these infected corpses; how could they stay normal?”

Song Ge said, “But these ones who died instantly were likely normal people who couldn’t handle the infection.”

Tong Xiangyu asked, “Then why do you think these dogs mutated?”

“Maybe they drank poisoned water. After all, you didn’t eat corpses, yet you mutated, didn’t you?”

Tong Xiangyu suddenly remembered the mushroom soup they had made outside Kecheng with water that might have had bodies in it. She shuddered. “Ew, that’s disgusting, don’t say that!”

However, she felt Song Ge’s words weren’t entirely baseless. Normal cats and dogs certainly wouldn’t be a match for monsters that can only be killed by headshots; water issues were a possibility.

As expected, the supermarkets in Zihu were completely emptied. Every shelf was bare. It was unclear if people had cleared them out during the government’s evacuation notice or if survivors had come out to scavenge after the outbreak.

The car made a moderate amount of noise as it drove, but the wild dogs on the roadside remained hunched over their corpses, not rushing to attack. Song Ge suddenly honked the horn twice.

Tong Xiangyu jumped. “Why did you honk suddenly?”

Song Ge: “Testing something.”

The horn startled a half-meter-tall wild cat, which turned and hissed at them. Baibai, tied in the back seat with Song Ge’s seatbelt around his neck, barked at the wild cat through the window. Because the windows were closed, the soundproofing was good, and nothing could be heard outside.

Song Ge noticed that the cat returned to its meal after one glance. She frowned. “Sound doesn’t trigger their aggression?”

Tong Xiangyu asked, “Back at the Taiyun government building, how did you attract the mutant dogs to the upper floors?”

“I made noise,” Song Ge recalled while driving. “But it could have been sight or smell too. Also, these dogs might not be mutated, so their aggression isn’t that high.”

Tong Xiangyu asked, “How do we tell if they’ve mutated?”

“We can’t.”

Tong Xiangyu looked back at Baibai. He was tied to the back seat and could only move within a half-meter radius, unable to jump to the front. Noticing her movement, Song Ge said immediately, “Don’t think about catching him for research.”

Tong Xiangyu pouted. “I was just looking, I didn’t mean to…”

As the car drove through unfamiliar streets and past strange buildings, she rested her chin on her hand. “Why can’t we see a single person on the road…?”

Logically, they were just two high schoolers. There were so many elite professionals in various fields with abilities far exceeding theirs; it shouldn’t just be the two of them on the road.

Song Ge: “They’re probably hiding and waiting for rescue.”

Tong Xiangyu: “That is indeed the safest way.” She continued, “It reminds me of a movie I saw. A small town faces a sudden disaster where a gate to another world opens, and countless monsters crawl out to eat people.”

Song Ge: “And then?”

Tong Xiangyu thought Song Ge wouldn’t be interested, but hearing her ask, she continued: “The main group huddles in a supermarket. Later, they split into factions because of conflicting views. The protagonist’s group is targeted, so they choose to take a car and escape the town and the thick mist full of monsters.”

Song Ge listened.

Tong Xiangyu: “But the gap between human and monster strength was too vast. The protagonist drove until the car ran out of gas, yet they never left the mist. Having seen too many monsters and too many people die in agony, the others didn’t want to suffer anymore and asked the protagonist to kill them.”

Song Ge raised an eyebrow. “The protagonist wouldn’t kill them because they’re a ‘moral paragon’ just like you.”

Tong Xiangyu said that wasn’t the case. “The protagonist killed them. Only he was left. With no bullets left, he chose to go out and be eaten by monsters. However, the mist cleared, and the national army arrived. They closed the gate and used armored vehicles to save the survivors including those who stayed in the supermarket. Meanwhile, the protagonist was left alone, having just personally killed everyone he loved.”

Song Ge was rendered speechless by the story.

Seeing this reaction, Tong Xiangyu naturally shifted the topic to other things. An hour later, without a map, Song Ge was unknowingly about to successfully exit Zihu City.

Just as they were about to leave the city, Song Ge suddenly remembered something and stopped the car. “Little Milk Tea.”

Tong Xiangyu: “Huh? What’s wrong?”

Song Ge looked at her. “That movie you mentioned did it make you think that looking for a way out is worse than staying put and waiting for rescue?”

Tong Xiangyu said, “Of course not. I only remembered the movie because you said people were hiding to wait for rescue. Didn’t you say you’d take me to find my parents? Sitting around waiting for death is useless.”

“Good,” Song Ge restarted the car. “Rest assured, no matter what lies ahead or what dangers we encounter, I will never kill you, nor will I commit suicide.”

Tong Xiangyu’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. “I have nothing to be worried about regarding that.” It felt a bit strange for her to say that so suddenly.

Song Ge didn’t explain further. Under the eerie high temperatures, she resolutely drove north.

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