Chapter 14: Volume One and Two: Chapter 14: I Don’t Want to Wait Until I Can Speak to Tell You How I Feel

She opened a green crate. Inside was a Type 95 Rifle, but the rest of the compartment was empty. The gun’s magazines had been taken, leaving only the bare rifle.

Another crate held half a dozen military uniforms and foil emergency blankets.

A gas cylinder. Acetylene for welding. Gun-cleaning kits. Bandages. Cold medicine…

They were all supplies that no one had had time to use. There was no food, no ammunition, and no weapons.

After searching for several hours, Linglan found an unopened green crate.

She took a few deep breaths. Then, with great solemnity, she clasped Fuling’s small hand and gently rubbed it, trying to soak up the heroine’s good luck.

And then~

Time to open it!

(ﾉﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ

Two Type 03 Rifles, ten empty magazines, and fifty packs of ammunition to go with them!

(ﾟ▽ﾟ*)

Fuling blushed. Linglan, meanwhile, was too overcome with the joy of striking gold to notice.

I knew it. The heroine’s the real child of destiny.

Under Linglan’s expectant gaze, Fuling put on a weak expression. Even after resting for several hours, she still seemed unable to stand.

“Maybe… maybe there really is such a thing as luck,” Fuling said with a shy smile. She hunched her shoulders and hesitated before continuing, “What if you tried touching somewhere else?”

When Linglan reached out, Fuling closed her eyes. But what she expected didn’t happen. Linglan only stroked her face gently before eagerly turning back to the crates.

All right. Her good luck’s on cooldown.

There was food in the crates, too, but most of it was pickled goods like preserved cucumbers. There were very few cans.

That made sense. Conditions had been terrible back then. The government had required every shelter to report its population, then distributed supplies based on need. The storage rooms had mostly held reserves; the food had been moved to the dining areas.

Apart from seasonings and purified water, all that remained were seven single-day military ration packs.

There wasn’t much food. They had four rifles and two pistols without ammunition. Most of the remaining supplies were tools, spare parts, batteries of various kinds, and medical supplies.

All the pills and medicine had expired and lost their potency. Bandages and alcohol were still usable.

“These things will be useful someday,” Fuling said. “But not right now.” She watched as Linglan finished opening the crates, then promptly sprang back to her feet.

She picked up a blowtorch and aimed it at a vine that had crept into the room. The flame hissed against it, and the vine shrank away.

Fuling sighed. “But how are we going to carry all this? There’s so much. We might burn through all the food we just collected just hauling it away.”

Huh?

I stole all this fair and square. You expect me to hand it back?

No way!

I’ll crawl all the way back to base if I have to! I’m not leaving behind so much as one nail!

Linglan turned away and sat on a crate, making it clear she had no intention of leaving.

Ah… So Ling has a childish side after all.

Thinking of the way Linglan had changed clothes just to show off her new outfit, Fuling looked at her with helpless fondness.

Her dry hair hung in a tangle around her face. Paired with the black eyepatch, it gave her a handsome, disheveled air. And yet this icy beauty had started letting loose after turning into a zombie.

“So what should we do?” Fuling asked gently.

“Heh, heh~”

Seeing Fuling soften, Linglan happily hopped down from the crate. She grabbed a pen and began putting her plan together.

There was a mobile vendor’s cart in the park. Linglan planned to turn it into a trailer for the supplies, then attach it to the back of their car. The result would be a passable post-apocalyptic camper!

Fuling would find the cart. Linglan would move the supplies.

As for the energy it took, she could get it from the vines. They contained low concentrations of spores, after all.

Enough of them would fill her up just fine.

They worked through the night. At last, they found a section of collapsed fence and shoveled the dirt into a small ramp, allowing them to push the fully loaded cart out of the park.

Bzzzz—

Back at the car, Linglan tried to weld a hitch onto the cart.

She made a point of ignoring the bird-dropping quality of her welds. If it worked, it worked!

“Wow~ Ling’s so impressive.”

Fuling came over to admire her handiwork. Before she could get a good look, Linglan blocked her view and waved a packet of military rations in her hand.

Fuling had been scraping by on the emergency food she’d brought with her since yesterday. They didn’t get a chance to rest until they had loaded the last crate into the trailer.

“We can eat when we get home,” Fuling said with a gentle smile. “I’m worried something might happen if we stay here too long.”

Okay~

Linglan tested how the car handled with the trailer attached. Once she was sure it was all right, the two of them started home.

Leaving the bright sunshine behind and returning to the dark, damp city center weighed on Linglan’s spirits.

“Ling.” Fuling gazed at the world disappearing into the mist and suddenly spoke. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”

She probably meant the time she had tried to take the Molotov.

Honestly, Fuling’s eyes had been terrifying once she entered combat mode. Even a brief glance from her had sent a chill down Linglan’s spine.

“I’m used to fighting alone. I didn’t coordinate with you properly this time.” Fuling’s mood sank. She nervously lifted her head and looked at Linglan, her eyes full of pleading. “I’ll do better from now on. I won’t make that mistake again!”

“Haa…”

Linglan gradually slowed the car. After checking that there were no zombies around, she stopped and turned to look at Fuling.

Their fight had revealed serious problems. They had barely worked together at all—not even trusting each other enough to handle the simplest things.

Linglan had been overconfident. She had wrongly assumed the Mutant underground was no longer a threat, and her recklessness had nearly gotten Fuling killed.

They looked at each other. Their haul and all their hard work had only temporarily pushed the words down inside them.

Now the feelings they had been holding back finally broke through.

Compared with Fuling, who was brave and sincere, Linglan had so much she wanted to say. But she couldn’t.

This isn’t your fault.

Don’t blame yourself.

My overconfidence was the real mistake.

I… When I thought you might die, it felt like my soul was about to go out, too.

Whenever she remembered the Mutant grabbing Fuling by the ankle and raising her to slam her against the ground, Linglan felt as if the world had collapsed around her.

Her stiff body couldn’t express the complicated feelings inside her. After hesitating for a moment, Linglan slowly took Fuling’s hand and pulled her into a tight embrace.

You’re the person I trust most.

I love you.

I don’t want to wait until I can speak. I want to tell you right now.

The emotions swelling inside them mingled with their relief and fear at having survived. They both understood one thing clearly.

Linglan’s face filled Fuling’s vision. Her cold lips brushed Fuling’s, kindling a warmth like fire.

Still in the passenger seat, Fuling blinked. After a moment’s hesitation, she gently lowered one of Linglan’s hands and pressed her own hand against the other half of the heart Linglan had made.

One cold hand. One warm hand.

The larger heart and the smaller one met. As they gazed at each other, their hands gradually shifted until their fingers were laced together.

Fuling parted her lips, her eyes filled with Linglan’s reflection.

“I never told you… I think I’ve learned how to control my ability at will.”