The Abused Heroine Stops Pretending [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 77.1

As if sensing their concerns, Xu Yushu nodded slightly, signaling for them to trust her.

“Senpai can understand what we’re saying!” Zhou Tiantian exclaimed in delight.

The zombie outside had already charged toward them, leaving little time for hesitation.

Tang Jing swiftly untied the senior, hesitating for a moment before reaching to tear off the tape covering her mouth, only to be stopped by the latter. Her pale pink eyes gazed at Tang Jing as she took a step forward.

The hearts of Zhou Tiantian and the others clenched in fear, worried that the senior might do something extreme.

But Xu Yushu merely repeated a habitual action burying her face against Tang Jing’s neck, inhaling her scent, then pressing her taped lips lightly against Tang Jing’s skin before pulling away.

The gesture seemed almost perverse, yet it carried an unsettling intimacy, as if she were memorizing Tang Jing’s essence. That fleeting touch of her lips felt like a mark of possession.

“Senpai, be careful,” Tang Jing said.

BANG! BANG!

The zombie had caught their scent and was now slamming against the door with terrifying force. After just two impacts, the metal door dented inward, a few more hits, and it would be done for.

Ye Yuanhua moved to the door, swiftly pulling it open before the next strike and delivering a powerful kick. The zombie was sent flying two meters back, buying them a few precious seconds.

By the time the zombie lunged again, Xu Yushu had already stepped forward to meet it.

“Hrrgh.” The little zombie on the table also let out a growl, clearly eager to join the fight.

“Be good, you don’t need to,” Tang Jing said, flicking the little zombie’s forehead lightly with her finger.

The little zombie seemed to understand, its pink, puppy-like eyes brimming with grievance.

“This little one can understand us too?” Su Zhen found it amusing and pinched the chubby cheeks of the small zombie.

Perhaps due to rapid evolution or an abundance of energy, the little zombie hadn’t withered like most undead. Instead, it retained much of its human appearance just like Xu Yushu.

Ye Yuanhua retrieved a gun case and began assembling the firearm, finally attaching a silencer.

A bullet could take down the zombie outside, but its speed was too great someone had to restrain it first. And the only candidate for that role was Xu Yushu, another zombie.

Tang Jing kept a close watch on her senior, fearing the other zombie might harm her. For now, however, the two were locked in a stalemate.

Tang Jing also drew the pistol at her waist, splitting her attention between the fight and the distant village.

The commotion was loud, would it draw the zombies from the settlement? Rain still poured outside. If they got surrounded, it would truly be game over.

Ye Yuanhua positioned himself by the window, rifle steadied as he aimed, waiting for the perfect shot.

Tang Jing moved to another window to survey the surroundings.

Through the curtain of rain, a blurred figure emerged then two, then three.

“The zombies from the village are coming,” Tang Jing said grimly, tightening her grip on the gun.

Su Zhen and Zhou Tiantian also ran over. Seeing the large horde of zombies, Zhou Tiantian trembled in fear. “What do we do? Are we going to die here today?”

Tang Jing and Su Zhen exchanged glances before both of them entered the main hall and looked at the small zombie on the table.

The little zombie also sensed its kind and let out a low hiss.

In the consciousness of lower-level zombies, humans are the most delicious food, while for higher-level zombies, the most coveted are the energy cores.

These cores are formed when lower-level zombies accumulate energy by consuming humans. The more energy they gather, the more likely it is to crystallize into a core within their brains. Higher-level zombies, however, obtain energy directly from these cores, as they provide a faster means of evolution.

The intermediate-level zombie outside had likely been drawn here by the scent of Xu Yushu and the little zombie’s energy cores.

Originally, Tang Jing hadn’t wanted to send the little zombie into battle, but given the circumstances, there was no other choice.

“Be careful,” Tang Jing said as she untied the ropes binding him.

“Grr,” the little zombie nodded obediently before darting out the door.

“It’s hard to believe you can actually raise a zombie,” Su Zhen remarked. “Do you think the people outside know about this?”

“Someone must have figured it out by now,” Tang Jing replied.

Bang! A suppressed gunshot rang out. Tang Jing and Su Zhen hurried to the window and saw that the zombie fighting Xu Yushu had been shot through the left eye. It crawled on the ground for a moment before staggering back to its feet.

“We need to sever its spinal cord,” Ye Yuanhua muttered, steadying his aim once more.

With Ye Yuanhua handling that side, Tang Jing and Su Zhen moved to the other.

The little zombie had already pounced on the ordinary zombies wandering in from the village. These zombies were no match for him, so Tang Jing and the others didn’t need to intervene. Still, just in case, Tang Jing kept her gun ready, prepared to provide backup if anything unexpected happened.

Now upgraded to an elementary-level zombie, the little one moved swiftly through the horde, leaving fallen zombies in his wake.

On the other side, Ye Yuanhua fired another shot, successfully taking down the intermediate-level zombie. However, Xu Yushu had also sustained some injuries in the process.

“I’ll go out and assist her,” Ye Yuanhua said, holstering his gun.

“Wait,” Su Zhen stopped him. Outside, Xu Yushu was digging out the energy core from the intermediate zombie’s brain a bluish core, indicative of its rank.

After pocketing the core, Xu Yushu joined the little zombie’s fight. With her help, the zombies were eliminated even faster.

Tang Jing remained by the window, her expression filled with concern as she noticed something off about her senior.

Su Zhen, who had quietly approached, reassured her, “Don’t worry. Once she absorbs the core, her injuries will heal naturally.”

Tang Jing gave a quiet “Mm.” Though she understood the logic, she still felt a pang of heartache at seeing her senior hurt. She wondered if zombies even felt pain when injured.

As dusk gradually settled, the battle finally came to an end. The rain had lightened and eventually stopped, leaving only droplets slowly dripping from the eaves.

Tang Jing opened the door, waiting for her senior and the little zombie to come inside.

Both were covered in grime, and though the rain had washed some of it away, they were still far from clean.

“I’ll take them to wash up and change clothes,” Tang Jing said.

“Alright.”

“Senior, come here.” Tang Jing grabbed her wrist.

Xu Yushu tilted her head, her large eyes seemingly brimming with confusion.

The little zombie she held in her hand flailed its limbs like a child, trying to get the big zombie to put it down.

Xu Yushu looked down at it, gave her arm a slight shake, and the little zombie swayed with the motion, immediately settling down.

Watching them enter the bathroom in such a harmonious scene, Zhou Tiantian felt a bit dazed, almost as if they were a family of three, two mothers and a child.

Ye Yuanhua put the guns back into their case and asked, “Are you hungry? I’ll make something to eat.”

Su Zhen was indeed a little hungry and stood up. “I’ll go with you.”

Ye Yuanhua hesitated for a moment but ultimately wanted some alone time with Su Zhen, so he nodded in agreement.

Soon, only Zhou Tiantian remained in the main room, sitting blankly on a chair, feeling that something about the atmosphere was off.

In the bathroom, Tang Jing first stripped the little zombie of its clothes and tossed it into a small wooden basin to play in the water by itself. Then, she turned to undress her senior.

Xu Yushu stared at her with those big eyes, an expression that made Tang Jing feel as though she was about to take advantage of her. She couldn’t bring herself to do it and finally had to coax her, “Senior, could you close your eyes?”

Xu Yushu tilted her head, uncomprehending.

The little zombie acting cute was one thing, but even the big zombie was doing it. Tang Jing couldn’t tell who had learned it from whom.

“Close your eyes, or it’ll be hard to bathe you,” Tang Jing fibbed.

The big zombie was clever. She lifted her chin slightly, her eyes lowering, her expression practically saying, You’re lying to me.

Tang Jing: “…”

Fine. Even as a zombie, she was still this sharp. Tang Jing had no choice but to lie to herself. “I’m just giving Senior a bath. No ulterior motives.”

After removing the top, Tang Jing closed her eyes, took a deep breath, exhaled, and steeled herself before opening her eyes again to unbutton Xu Yushu’s pants. “Senior, be good. Let me take off your pants, and then we can bathe.”

Splash! The little zombie flapped in the water, sending it flying onto Tang Jing and Xu Yushu.

Tang Jing: “…” This one was truly a handful.

Finally, with her senior fully undressed, Tang Jing began washing them with water that had been boiled before the zombies arrived. Originally, she had planned to rinse her senior off and change her clothes, but now the goal remained the same, only her senior had gotten even dirtier.

“Sit still, don’t move,” Tang Jing pressed her onto a small stool.

Heh heh. Xu Yushu looked up at her.

Tang Jing smiled. From this angle, her senior’s eyelashes were long and curled. Unable to resist, she flicked them with her index finger, and Xu Yushu’s eyes curved into crescents.

Seeing her actually smile, Tang Jing teased, “You’re that happy, huh?”

Heh heh. Xu Yushu nodded.

“Alright, time to rinse.” Tang Jing poured water over her with a ladle, scrubbing with a towel while rinsing away the black grime, revealing pale, cool skin beneath.

Xu Yushu was very well-behaved, letting Tang Jing wash her without protest. Tang Jing had reason to suspect that the other girl was belatedly feeling shy, but she also wondered if she was just overthinking it.

Meanwhile, the little zombie splashed around in the basin, washing itself clean without any help, most of the black grime had already been shaken off.

After giving her senior a bath, Tang Jing then bathed the little zombie. The little one wasn’t very big, so it only took a few moments to finish.

“Alright, now it’s time to get you both dressed. Stand still and don’t move,” Tang Jing said, her tone as if she were speaking to a three-year-old.

And honestly, given Xu Yushu and the little zombie’s current level, they really were like three-year-olds.

Once both were dressed, Tang Jing led them out of the bathroom.

Coincidentally, Su Zhen and Ye Yuanhua had just finished preparing dinner.

After all the traveling, they could finally have a hot meal.

“For everyone’s safety, you two still need to be tied up,” Tang Jing said, holding a hemp rope.

Xu Yushu obediently offered her hands.

The little zombie initially wanted to fuss, but seeing the big zombie willingly submit, he could only wiggle his tiny body before finally raising his chubby little arms.

“You need to be tied up completely,” Tang Jing said, lightly patting his little bottom.

The little one was just too small, if only his arms were tied, there was a risk they might snap off from struggling.

Yet Tang Jing had completely forgotten that earlier in the afternoon, when the little zombie had fought other zombies, his moves had been swift and ruthless, showing no sign of fragility whatsoever.

Once both zombies were securely tied, Tang Jing washed the collected crystal cores they had gathered, making sure they were clean before handing them over.

There were two ways to absorb crystal cores: one was to swallow them directly, and the other was to hold them in the palm and absorb their energy.

At first, Tang Jing had thought there was only one method. Considering the cores were dug out of zombies’ brains, the idea was revolting, even if she wasn’t the one consuming them, she didn’t want her senior to do so either.

The little zombie, however, was left to his own devices. He had already eaten several before, and boys should be raised tough, a little dirt never hurt anyone.

But her senior was different.

It wasn’t until she saw Xu Yushu absorbing the crystal core by holding it in her palm that Tang Jing allowed her to proceed.

While the two zombies absorbed their cores, Tang Jing and the others sat at the dining table to eat. It was the most satisfying meal they’d had in a long time.

Zhou Tiantian closed her eyes blissfully as she chewed her rice. “It’s been so long since I’ve had rice, I almost forgot what it tasted like.”

After dinner, everyone rested, still taking turns on watch. Even though the village’s zombies had likely all been wiped out, they didn’t let their guard down for a second.

In the latter half of the night, Tang Jing and Zhou Tiantian were woken up for their shift.

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