Chapter 6: Volume One & Two, Chapter 6: Sunbathing

Linglan sat beside Fuling with a piece of paper in her hand, carefully writing out each character.

You need to rest.

Fuling blinked. “But I think I’ve become a physical-type Awakened~”

Linglan shook her head.

Don’t think about it.

Rest.

Fuling’s ability was practically unbeatable. Once she identified an enemy’s weak point, she could use Time Acceleration to break through any obstacle and strike in an instant. Even against a difficult opponent, she could escape just as quickly.

But in the early stages, she couldn’t control her ability effectively.

In the novel, she’d said it was incredibly hard to manage. If she hadn’t thrown herself into battle after losing Linglan, gradually mastering her ability through one fight for her life after another, it might have taken her five or six years just to learn how to switch it on and off.

So apart from helping Fuling recover physically, Linglan’s other main goal was to help her master her ability.

With that in mind, Linglan set down her paper and pen and headed for the door. The moment she stood up, Fuling somehow found the strength to grab the waistband of Linglan’s underwear.

It was worth remembering that Linglan was still wearing nothing but underwear herself.

“Ah! S-sorry, I…”

Fuling quickly pulled back her hand, her face stricken with panic. She probably hadn’t expected herself to do something so outrageous, either.

Her attempt at an explanation fizzled out.

She’s going to hate me.

But the expected bad ending never came. Linglan simply bent down and gently stroked Fuling’s cheek, then patiently wrote a few words on the paper.

I’ll be right back.

Fuling read the message and closed her eyes, still uneasy.

Linglan’s aloofness wasn’t a matter of temper. She was kind to everyone. As long as no one tried to get too close, anyone could enjoy the same care from this formidable woman.

Her kindness was like a warm wall. Anyone who tried to climb over it would find only a cold, impenetrable heart on the other side.

No one knew what she was thinking. All they could see was the cold sunlight she chose to show the world.

So what was Linglan thinking right now?

Ha! I’ve finally escaped the hell of office life!

As she rummaged through the looters’ clothes, Linglan happily planned out her future.

She was a one-in-ten-thousand Dual-Ability User, and paired with a heroine who specialized in killing, if they joined forces, the whole Land of Shenzhou would be theirs to roam!

ヽ(´∀`)ﾉ

The world had ended. Society had collapsed. A new order was taking shape.

But compared with some boring struggle for supremacy, Linglan had one dream above all others:

To own a train! Preferably an armored, weaponized train!

Then she could travel with someone she loved and enjoy a life of freedom!

That would be so cool, wouldn’t it?

Linglan changed into a light gray shirt and dark blue shorts, then threw on a knee-length coat. With her dry, shoulder-length hair, tousled and weathered, she decided she looked ready to hunt demons in Louisiana.

Her broken-bellows throat let out a steady rhythm of sounds as she hummed and cut a length of elastic. She tied both ends to a round piece of cloth, making herself an eye patch.

When she strode into view, dressed to kill, Fuling stared at her in disbelief.

Linglan’s face remained expressionless, but every movement practically begged for praise.

The real Linglan wouldn’t go out of her way to show someone her new outfit, would she?

Then again, maybe this was the senior’s true nature~

Fuling beamed. “You look so cool~”

Linglan narrowed her eyes and returned to Fuling’s side. She tugged at the hem of Fuling’s clothes, trying to lead her somewhere.

“Do you have something in mind, Senior?”

When Fuling got up, she noticed her bedding floating along behind her. Linglan led her into a room full of cushions and dust.

As Fuling watched, countless specks of dust rose into the air and clumped together into a filthy ball. It sailed out the window, and in the blink of an eye, the room was spotless.

“Pfft, pfft.”

Linglan arranged the bedding in the sunniest spot, then sat down and patted the space beside her, inviting Fuling to join her.

Without food, the spores in their bodies could produce energy through photosynthesis. Since Fuling had just eaten, soaking up some sun would help her recover faster.

“Thank you.”

Fuling sat down with perfect poise, undid her clothes, and took them all off.

Linglan’s eyes seemed to come with some kind of filter. Faced with the enticing sight of a beautiful girl lying beside her, she only felt ravenous.

How tragic.

“Senior, aren’t you going to sunbathe?” Fuling rolled lazily onto her side. Her full breasts pressed together between her arms, and her unguarded face was exquisitely cute.

Linglan shook her head, picked up the map, and tapped the Red Sun Base.

“That place has been abandoned for three years,” Fuling said seriously. “I’ve never explored in that direction. There should be a lot of Mutant territory.”

Remembering that Linglan’s memories were incomplete, she made sure to emphasize, “If a Mutant spots us, it’ll keep hunting us until we kill it or lose it in a vehicle.”

Is there a relatively safe route?

“There isn’t.”

Linglan hesitated, then pointed at the vines linking the nearby high-rises.

Fuling shook her head. “We’re in the city center. There are lots of tall buildings here, so the vines had room to spread. The base is south of the Third Ring Road. The vines couldn’t outcompete the zombies there.”

After their exchange, Linglan had a better sense of the dangerous areas around the city center.

When the base fell, a suicide squad had used a broadcast to draw most of the zombies in the city into the center, giving many survivors a chance to escape.

Because zombies were drawn to light, they tended to settle in one area and enter a dormant state. More powerful Mutants claimed the sunniest spots instead.

Once the vines took over the city center, the zombies moved to the Second Ring Road to sun themselves. To conserve energy, they couldn’t be bothered to explore new areas, splitting Xuzhou City into an inner zone and an outer zone, separated by a sea of the dead.

“Those bastards came by car from the overpass. I’d lured most of the zombies away from there, but when they showed up, the horde took over again. With the way zombies are, they’ll never leave.”

Fuling pouted in frustration. “I hate them…”

I avenged you. Don’t be sad, don’t be sad.

Linglan stroked her head.

But the overpass was the only safe way around the Second Ring Road. Now it was blocked by the horde.

If they couldn’t leave the city center anytime soon, they’d have to find a way to make Fuling stronger. They also needed to scavenge weapons and figure out how to clear the zombies from the overpass.

Linglan scanned the map. One marker caught her eye.

Abandoned Han Dynasty Museum Shelter — Danger Level Unknown

In her dream, Linglan had visited the museum. Early in the disaster, the armed police had set it up as a temporary shelter. Unfortunately, a clever Mutant had led an attack and overrun it.

The shelter had fallen very suddenly. There should still be plenty of supplies inside that no one had managed to take out.

Maybe they could find some weapons and equipment there.