Chapter 6
Xia Weishuang woke up with a start, covered in a cold sweat, her body twitching uncontrollably.
She coughed hard twice. The pain of being scorched by smoke and fire still lingered on her body. Her eyes, nasal cavity, windpipe, skin… all still ached faintly.
It was as if she had really died in a fire.
But it was just a nightmare, just a nightmare that left her feeling uneasy and unable to let go for a long time.
After waking up, Xia Weishuang found that she was still sitting by the door. Because she had fallen asleep in a position not conducive to rest, her whole body was now sore, numb, and tingling.
She couldn’t help but recall the details of the dream. The more she thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed, and the more real it felt.
Her head ached and felt swollen. She subconsciously tightened her grip on the stone in her hand, as if by doing so, she could feel Sang Lu by her side, and thus calm down and feel at ease.
But as soon as she gripped it, she realized the texture in her hand had changed.
By the dim light of the night, Xia Weishuang opened her hand and saw a pinch of grayish-white powder in her palm.
She was stunned into silence.
Was this another one of her hallucinations, another nightmare, or had the unbelievable event of the stone being crushed into powder really happened?
Xia Weishuang sneezed, and the stone powder gently floated away.
Xia Weishuang: “…”
It was gone. The gift Sang Lu gave her was completely gone!
A ray of morning light passed through the living room window, bringing light to Xia Weishuang. She turned her head to look and thought, it’s time to leave.
Xia Weishuang shook Xia Qingxue awake, sat on the edge of the bed, and lightly dropped a bombshell on her: “I might have the ability to predict the future, but I’m not one hundred percent sure. You know, I often have hallucinations.”
Xia Qingxue, lying in her quilt, opened her sleepy eyes: “…”
Xia Weishuang said, “I dreamed that there was a fire in our apartment building, and we both died.”
Xia Qingxue: “…Huh?”
Xia Weishuang said, “But there was no specific time, and I don’t know the specific location or cause of the fire, only that it was late at night. Just in case, let’s go.”
The sheer amount of information made it hard for Xia Qingxue to process. She lay in bed and mulled it over for a moment, then suddenly her expression changed to one of “holy crap.” “Sis, you’re not lying to me, are you?!”
Xia Weishuang gently placed some clothes by the bed and said, “Why would I lie to you?”
Xia Qingxue said warily, “For example, you might be trying to take this opportunity to go out and find Sister Sang Lu or something.”
Xia Weishuang chuckled. “I’m not that far gone, Little Xue. I won’t let you take risks with me.”
At first glance, there was nothing wrong with that statement, but the more Xia Qingxue thought about it, the more problematic it seemed. She gave a wry smile. “No, Sis, how are we going to leave? Where are we going? Are we going to walk? I’m afraid we’ll be eaten before we even get downstairs. Call a Didi? I don’t think we can get one now…”
On the night of the 9th, the zombie virus had a major outbreak, and all the food delivery and ride-hailing systems collapsed. Xia Weishuang had managed to catch the last wave by chance, but they wouldn’t be so lucky now.
Xia Weishuang said, “There will be a way to solve these problems. Besides, even if we don’t leave now, we’ll probably have to leave eventually. We can’t just hide at home forever. As for waiting for rescue… Little Xue, have you ever thought about how severe the consequences of a zombie virus outbreak would be in a densely populated, communal living area? And this time, the disaster area is so wide. We can’t just rely on others; we have to find a way to save ourselves.”
“I’ve thought about that too…” Xia Qingxue shrank into her quilt and said weakly, “But it’s really scary to go out. So far, I haven’t actually seen a zombie. I’m a little scared.”
Xia Weishuang thought for a moment and said, “I see. Actually, we can continue to stay at home, but we have to find a way to warn the living people downstairs to be careful not to start a fire, although the warning may not be useful, since the fire could also be caused by a mindless zombie.
“Or we could take turns on watch at night… hmm, but under the current circumstances, even if we discover a fire in time, it won’t be easy to put it out. Otherwise, let’s just wait another two days and see if we can come up with a solution later. Coincidentally, I also want to wait for Sang Lu.”
Xia Qingxue: “…”
Xia Weishuang patted her cousin’s forehead. “Be good. I’ll protect you.”
She had already lost enough. She absolutely could not accept Xia Qingxue dying in front of her. She wasn’t afraid of death; she wanted to stay here and wait for Sang Lu, but she was afraid that Little Xue, who had a chance to live, would die in vain. In truth, Xia Weishuang wasn’t one hundred percent sure if that dream was the real “future.” This ability was not under her control and had no pattern to speak of.
Xia Weishuang could only choose to believe it for now. After all, as the old saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Xia Qingxue gritted her teeth, hardened her heart, and with a whoosh, threw off the quilt, revealing her magnificent Doraemon nightgown. “Let’s go then! I refuse to believe that living people can’t beat brainless dead people!”
**
Since they planned to leave, they had to prepare.
Without a doubt, after leaving here, the only place they could go was Green Mountain Village, where their grandparents lived. Coincidentally, her second uncle and aunt were also there. Sending Little Xue there would be one less thing for her to worry about.
As for how they would leave?
Xia Weishuang didn’t have a car. Xia Qingxue pressed her face against the window, looking at the desolate main road and the few zombies wandering on it. Without much thought, she said, “There must be abandoned cars on the street. Let’s find one that works and go!”
Xia Weishuang said, “Cars abandoned on the road might not work. And although there aren’t many zombies on the street now, do you dare to fight them? It’s too risky to look for a car on the spot. It’s better to arrange one in advance.”
Xia Qingxue: “Huh? How do we arrange one?”
Xia Weishuang looked towards the front door. Through the door was apartment 701, where a tragedy had already occurred.
“A couple lived next door. The husband turned into a zombie, and the wife was bitten and fled. That was a few days ago, so the wife has probably turned into a zombie by now. I remember they had a car, which the husband usually drove. In a critical situation, it’s hard for people to think clearly, so the wife might not have taken the car keys… We can go look for the car keys.”
Taking things from a deceased neighbor seemed a bit immoral, but the situation was special now, so Xia Weishuang could only offend them.
“How do you know it was the wife who was injured and fled?”
Xia Weishuang said, “The bloody footprints outside are small, a woman’s size.”
Xia Qingxue gave a thumbs-up. “Then we’ll listen to you, Sis. Let’s go over together just in case. It’ll be good practice to build up our courage, so we don’t get weak in the knees when we really face a zombie.”
The two of them got to work immediately. Xia Weishuang found old raincoats, a large stainless steel steaming plate, and thick denim clothes, and made them some simple “armor” that wouldn’t hinder their escape. Then she tied a fruit knife to the head of a clothes-drying pole as a bayonet. In short, she had upgraded their equipment a little.
Afterward, they carefully opened the door, looked left and right to confirm there were no zombies in the hallway, and then went out, using a small stool to prop the door open a crack to prevent the unfortunate situation of the wind blowing the door shut and them being unable to run back in time.
With full preparations, they mustered their courage and entered apartment 701.
Then they gently closed the door to prevent zombies from outside from breaking in.
Xia Weishuang had wanted to go in front, but Xia Qingxue insisted on taking the lead, afraid that Xia Weishuang’s skinny arms and legs wouldn’t be enough for a single zombie bite. Then, with safety as their top priority, they checked all the rooms in 701.
It was completely silent, with no movement at all. Only the master bedroom remained unchecked.
The master bedroom door was ajar, and a large, messy patch of dark blood had seeped out from under it. The smell of decay filled the entire apartment, so strong that it was hard to breathe.
Xia Weishuang glanced at Xia Qingxue, quietly gripped the doorknob, and stood to one side.
Xia Qingxue held her “long spear,” ready to strike.
With a single look, the two of them acted with perfect coordination. Xia Weishuang yanked the door open, and Xia Qingxue thrust towards the doorway—it was completely useless.
Because no zombie lunged out.
As it turned out, their preparations had been somewhat in vain. The male owner of 701 had indeed turned into a zombie and had indeed been locked in the master bedroom, but he was already completely dead, having lost the ability to move.
The male zombie’s corpse was rotting and stank, lying motionless on the floor. Flies buzzed in the air, making an annoying sound. Xia Weishuang stopped Xia Qingxue and first observed the room. She immediately noticed something strange.
The window in this bedroom was open.
And there was a faint brownish trail leading from the zombie to the window.
Then Xia Weishuang covered her nose and walked closer to observe the male zombie. She found that there was a hole in his head, right between the eyebrows. The position was precise, and the opening was smooth and regular. Although the flesh had already rotted, the shape of the wound could still be seen on the bone.
This time, Xia Qingxue didn’t dare to take the lead. She covered her nose, almost throwing up, and grabbed Xia Weishuang’s clothes, pulling her back a little. “Sis, don’t get so close.”
“It’s fine,” Xia Weishuang said calmly. “Someone—or rather, something—killed him before we did. This kind of wound doesn’t look like something an ordinary person could make. I feel like it’s a bit strange.”
“But besides his wife, who else could it be? His house isn’t very messy, so no outsiders should have come in.”
Xia Weishuang looked at Xia Qingxue and hesitated. “Actually, I have a suspect in mind.”
“Who?”
Xia Weishuang said, “Maybe it wasn’t his wife. What if it was my wife?”
Xia Qingxue said, “Sis, you two aren’t married yet!”
Xia Weishuang said faintly, “We got married abroad two years ago. You even attended our wedding.”
Xia Qingxue said hurriedly, “Sis, you need to take your medicine. That was one of your hallucinations!”
Xia Weishuang smiled. “Oh, I see. Sorry, I forgot.”
Xia Qingxue: “…”
