The Post-Apocalyptic Rival Who Crashed My Wedding with a Baby - Chapter 3

What is a zombie?

In movies and television, they are depicted as the unique byproduct of the apocalypse. The greatest threat to human life. A single bite leads to infection, followed by a total loss of reason until not a trace of humanity remains.

Having fought them for three long years, Jiang Weiqing could add much more to that description: the unnatural purplish hue of the skin, the exaggerated whites of the eyes, the lethally sharp fingernails, the fangs hidden in the jaw, the unnervingly cold body temperature… and an insatiable, bloodthirsty hunger for human flesh.

Zombies, like humans, could cultivate and level up using soul crystals.

Level 0 zombies were usually mutated civilians. Slow-moving, devoid of pain, and easily dispatched by a normal adult with a weapon. But above them were Level 1, Level 2, and even higher. Like Espers, these advanced zombies could wield powers, develop intelligence, use weapons, and even employ psychological warfare to slaughter more humans.

Not long ago, a powerful Level 4 Zombie King had appeared in the east. It gathered a horde, overran a small base of several hundred people, and infected every last soul. The Esper teams sent to rescue them never returned.

The only way to kill a zombie was to shatter its head and extract the intracranial soul crystal. It was a dark irony that such a foul, disgusting creature could produce something as pure and beautiful as a soul crystal; shimmering like a mysterious, ethereal gemstone.

The colors of these crystals changed according to their rank and attribute. Researchers had found that from Level 0 to Level 7, the crystals transitioned through white, red, yellow, blue, green, cyan, and purple. A fire-type crystal would have a flicker of flame dancing in its center; a water-type would hold a swirling orb of water. They were easy to identify. If an Esper absorbed a crystal of their own element, their cultivation would yield twice the result for half the effort.

Though the apocalypse had lasted three years, the war between humans and zombies never ceased. The roles of predator and prey shifted constantly, but the fact that the two species stood on opposite sides of an eternal divide was a fundamental truth.

And yet… Jiang Weiqing’s eyelids twitched.

This fair-skinned, pitifully sobbing child in front of her was a zombie!

The girl showed none of the physical traits of zombification, but the System’s judgment was never wrong. A zombie child was a walking pathogen. If left unchecked in Dragon City, there was no telling how many would be infected. Dragon City would become a City of the Dead.

In an instant, killing intent flared in Jiang Weiqing’s eyes as she stared at the back of the weeping toddler.

******

Time seemed to slow. In the span of a heartbeat—Bang!—the gun fired.

The bullet erupted from the magazine at 1,200 meters per second, tearing through the air. At such a claustrophobic distance, the eye could barely register the motion, and the body was too slow to follow the mind’s command to dodge especially with the barrel pressed against her forehead.

“Captain, get out of the way!” Lin Yunxia screamed from below, her heart leaping into her throat. The black raven on her shoulder sensed the danger, its wings flapping as iridescent blue light surged, spiraling into the air.

As a Level 5 Esper, Jiang Weiqing’s strength was beyond doubt, yet for some reason, she hadn’t dodged immediately. She had dazed for a crucial second.

Yunxia’s healing energy surged instantly, emitting warm white spots of light as she instinctively locked onto Jiang Weiqing. Even if the bullet pierced her brain, as long as she was fast enough, she could stitch the wound before the brain realized it was dead.

The crowd watched with a mix of expressions; worry, glee, and cold curiosity. Many hoped Jiang Weiqing would be dealt with here and now, eliminating a powerful rival.

But the expected scene of carnage never came.

Jiang Weiqing remained perfectly composed, not a single strand of hair out of place. The silver ring on her chest flashed with a dull light as a stream of blue water materialized out of thin air. It condensed into a physical blade that sliced the pistol clean in half. The weapon clattered to the floor. Through the cross-section of the severed metal, one could see the bullet lodged in the barrel, still spinning at high velocity.

It was a feat of terrifyingly precise anticipation. One second later, and Jiang Weiqing’s head would have been a mess of bone and lead.

Opposite her, Shen Qingyu seemed to know that a single bullet wouldn’t be enough. With a flick of her hand, forks, knives, plates, and metal boxes were snatched up by an invisible force. They swirled around her, kneading and merging into a massive iron sphere ten meters in diameter.

Thinking this was the main attack, Jiang Weiqing retreated two steps. Instead, the sphere shattered into thousands of razor-sharp steel needles that rained down in every direction like scattering pear blossoms.

“Not good! She’s a Metal-type!” Lin Qitong cried out.

In this era, most awakened the five basic elements or special traits like Healing or Space. Among the Five Elements, Metal-types were the rarest. They controlled the very essence of metal, understanding its structure so well they could manifest an arsenal in minutes. They were versatile, lethal, and notoriously hard to defend against. A Metal-type was generally considered half a rank stronger than any other Esper of the same level.

“Don’t just stand there! Stop her!” Lin Yue barked at his guards.

The guard detail snapped out of their shock and launched their counterattack. Most guests were Level 3 Espers; for self-preservation, they began unleashing their own powers. Water shields, fireballs, and earthen walls erupted. The elegant hall was reduced to a wasteland of elemental energy and debris in seconds.

Facing the onslaught of needles, Jiang Weiqing made a sweeping motion with her hand. A massive water dragon roared into existence, its waves engulfing the steel needles and slamming them into the floor.

She rose atop the dragon, glaring down at Shen Qingyu with a warning in her voice. “Give me the child!”

A zombie. Even a zombie child had to be eliminated.

“Never,” Shen Qingyu sneered. This woman had abandoned the child once; she wouldn’t let her take her now.

Shen Qingyu launched another attack, and the two clashed in mid-air. Jiang Weiqing felt a nagging sense of restriction. A flicker of doubt crossed her mind: We haven’t met in three years. Why is she so familiar with my fighting style? She’s even predicting my feints.

“Her control is too smooth…”

“She’s Level 5, right? To be this strong while holding a kid… Metal-types really are terrifying.”

“This is classic ‘enemies-to-lovers’ drama. I love it.”

“Wait, Jiang Weiqing said the kid wasn’t hers, so why is she trying to snatch it now?”

The murmurs reached Lin Qitong’s ears, filling her with resentment. Today was supposed to be her day. She funneled her energy into the floor, attempting to summon wooden vines to snare Shen Qingyu and help Jiang Weiqing win. But she was outmatched in level, and Metal naturally countered Wood. Her vines were sliced apart before they could take hold, and the backlash sent her reeling, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Xu Banmeng rushed to her side, offering a handkerchief. “Qitong, are you alright?”

Qitong put on a frail expression. “I’m fine… I’m just worried Weiqing will get hurt.”

Xu Banmeng’s face darkened. “You’re still worried about her? If she truly loved you, how could she have a child with someone else?” To her, this was clearly a case of Jiang Weiqing’s past flings coming back to haunt her.

Lin Yue had seen enough. His guards were useless against these two; he needed to leverage the room. “Shen Qingyu has trespassed and attempted to sabotage this ceremony with malicious intent! To whoever captures her, I offer three Level 3 soul crystals and one thousand mission points!”

The atmosphere shifted instantly. While crystals could be hunted, a thousand mission points was a fortune. In the post-apocalyptic economy, points were the universal currency, used for everything from food and weapons to rent. The offer was a massive bounty.

Every Esper in the room began eyeing Shen Qingyu, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Shen Qingyu was powerful, but she couldn’t fend off an entire room of hunters, especially when they began targeting her weakness: the child.

She dodged a barrage only to see a water whip lashing out toward the toddler. At the critical moment, a piercing cry rang out. A five-meter-long black raven plummeted from the rafters, the wind from its wings shredding the water whip to mist.

“Little Black! Little Black!” the child chirped affectionately, rubbing her face against the raven’s wing. She even reached out to ruffle the feathers on its head.

The usually prideful and fastidious raven didn’t snap. It let out a soft caw in response, allowed Shen Qingyu and the child to climb onto its back, and took to the air, weaving through the elemental attacks.

Before leaving, the raven swooped down and snatched the two diamond rings from their velvet box. It dropped them into Shen Qingyu’s lap, then shot a triumphant look at Lin Qitong. Finally, it turned to look at Jiang Weiqing, its gaze lingering on Shen Qingyu and the child as if to say: They’re mine now.

Before Jiang Weiqing could react, Little Black smashed through a window and vanished into the night sky.

Lin Qitong was trembling with rage. Those were her engagement rings! That wretched Level 3 Wind-type raven had always hated her—dropping stones on her head or stealing her jewelry—and now it had stolen her rings. Because of its speed, even high-level Espers struggled to catch it.

“Weiqing… how could Little Black do this?” Qitong sobbed.

Jiang Weiqing let out a short, cold laugh. Her sapphire eyes were as sharp as shards of ice. Looking at the broken window, she whispered, “Oh, I’m going to teach that bird a lesson.”

The raven’s mocking gaze had stung her pride. Fueled by a sudden, inexplicable fury, she leaped through the shattered window in pursuit, leaving Lin Qitong standing alone on the stage.

The gentle smile on Lin Qitong’s face finally crumbled. She swayed on her feet.

Lin Yue felt his dignity being trampled. “Tongtong, it’s clear she doesn’t care about you. To abandon you like this… this engagement is over.”

“Father, no!” Qitong cried, but she knew her father’s word was law.

Lin Wenguang chimed in, “He’s right, Little Sister. She doesn’t cherish you. Forget her.”

Even Lin Qing, who usually favored Jiang Weiqing, turned. “That woman had a love letter from her. The evidence is right there.”

Xu Banmeng added the killing blow. “I heard Jiang Weiqing has been searching for Shen Qingyu for years. They aren’t rivals. They’re lovers. Why else would she spend so much time looking for her?”

Lin Yue waved his hand, his decision final. He announced to the crowd, “The engagement between Jiang Weiqing and my daughter is void. Jiang Weiqing is hereby blacklisted from Dragon City for her dishonorable conduct. She is banned from entry!”

Despair washed over Lin Qitong. She had set her “family affection” parameters too high; now, her mission was a total failure.

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