《The Tutorial is in Chinese》


 Chapter 1 – The Very Beginning

    I, Alex, am alone and very much wish I wasn''t.


    I hold my breath as another misshapen zombie ambles by my hiding place and only release it after I am absolutely sure it is gone. I am very good at holding my breath. Normally that is a point of pride for me, but right now, I''d trade that ability in heartbeat for something far more useful, such as the ability to run very, very fast or very, very quietly.


    The ability to fight would be nice too, I guess... but I''ll be honest. Even if I had the strength to fight them I''d probably still run and hide. I am very firmly on the ¡®flight¡¯ side of the ¡®fight or flight'' instinct.


    Coward? No, no, I''m a pacifist.


    The building I am in is a shopping centre and I am currently hiding behind the counter in a clothes store. I have been here ever since the initial panic where one person suddenly turned into a zombie and attacked the person beside her. She was just the first.


    While the crowd watched in horror as she ¨C it ¨C began tearing at the flesh of its screaming victim, more screams rang out in the silence. I wasn''t able to see exactly what happened to those other screamers, but by the way people started yelling and stampeding for the stairs, I think it''s safe to say more sudden transformations transpired.


    Even as people ran away from the zombies, they transformed. One moment you could be running next to a perfectly normal terrified mall patron, and the next you could be having your throat torn out by them. No one was guaranteed to stay human and that only added to the fear fuelling the crowd.


    It was when someone suddenly transformed next to me that I got separated from my family. They lunged for me and I barely managed to avoid an instant death via missing chunk of throat. We both fell to the ground. The crowd avoided us so at least I didn''t get trampled, but I''d much rather have been trampled than had to wrestle with a flesh eating monster.


    It was only through sheer dumb luck that I won. In my struggle for life we''d somehow tumbled all the way to a fire extinguisher. There was a moment where I thought cardiac arrest would get me before the zombie could when the fire extinguisher remained where it was when I tugged at it, but it came off with another desperate pull.


    I whacked the zombie across the head and the rest is history.


    So here I am, hiding in a clothes store, with a dented fire extinguisher as my only weapon. I have, unfortunately, been bitten. It happened when I stopped my throat from being in the zombie''s mouth by putting my arm there instead.


    I have, fortunately, still remained human, although I have yet to figure out whether that is because I am immune, it takes longer to turn, or zombie bites don''t turn you into zombies, in which case they are not zombies at all and I should find a new name for them to save everyone the confusion.


    For now, I will move forward on the assumption that I won''t be turning. Or I could just stay here, I guess. It would be so much easier to just not move.


    I mull that idea over for a bit before the growl of another zombie makes me flinch. I make up my mind.


    I need to at least find a better hiding place. One with food, or else I''d just hide in the back room of this clothes shop. A place without other people too, despite my desire for human company, as I have been bitten and do not wish to be killed by other survivors or turn and kill them.


    First of all, I wipe my glasses. A little blood splattered on them when I was bashing that zombies head in and I have to scrub hard with the random shirt I pulled off a rack to clear it off.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Then I grab a thick jacket and put it on before leaving in search of a new base. The shopping centre is warm right now due to the heaters but who knows when they''ll stop working? Gotta be prepared. I''m a Scout.


    I also grab a shirt to wrap around my injured arm. It kinda hurts, but I guess the adrenaline is still keeping me from registering the worst of it. I don''t actually know how adrenaline works.


    I stuff a few more clothes into my backpack just in case and rearrange the contents so that nothing hits against something else to make noise.


    Then I venture into the backroom to search for anything useful. There is nothing. I don''t know where the employees are. If I were them I would have hid in there.


    I spend a minute trying to figure out what could have happened to them.


    At this point I''m just stalling.


    I slap my cheeks, but quietly. Okay, Alex.


    You can do this.


    <hr>


    I LIED, I CAN''T DO THIS.


    After the nth time I catch so much as a glimpse of a zombie and dive into the nearest hiding place, I admit to myself that yes, I am probably just a coward. Pacifist was just a pretty word I used to cushion my pride.


    But no more. For too long, I have been oppressed by society. But no more, I say, no more! From now on, I am a proud and unabashed coward! I will not be afraid to be afraid!


    ...I''ve got to stop stalling. I creep out from my hiding place. There are no zombies in sight but I still hold my fire extinguisher out in front of me. Y''know, to fight the zombies despite knowing that I''ll just end up running and hiding instead.


    There''s a cafe downstairs which I''m heading to. I had eaten there earlier with my immediate family and two of my many aunts and uncles.


    By some miracle, I make it. A few close calls, but I get lucky. I get lucky so many times that it makes me nervous about my luck for the rest of- the rest of- whatever this is. The apocalypse?


    Man, couldn''t the apocalypse have happened after I got back to Australia? At least there I''d have the advantage of familiar surroundings.


    A look out the window earlier confirmed that the zombies were not exclusive to the shopping centre. Cars have crashed into each other creating fires, roadblocks, and fiery roadblocks. Zombies attack people and people either run away screaming (a sensible decision) or fight back (a not so sensible decision).


    At least there don''t seem to be any more spontaneous zombie transformations anymore.


    I peer into the cafe. Abandoned meals lie on the tables. The coffee coloured wallpaper is ripped in some places and bloodied in others. There is a faint dripping sound, the source of which I can''t yet determine.


    There don''t appear to be any zombies but you can never be too careful. I''ve watched enough zombie movies to know that this is the part most likely to have a zombie jump out at the protagonist.


    Goddamnit, I don''t want to be the protagonist of a zombie movie.


    Apprehensive, I tiptoe into the cafe, holding so tightly onto my fire extinguisher that my knuckles turn white. My anxious mind conjures up rotting flesh in the shadows of tables and chairs. On one of the tables, a large puddle of blood drops onto the floor. That''s one mystery solved. I don''t look too closely at it and try not to think about how whatever made it is missing.


    The counter at the back of the cafe is where I dread looking the most. It''s the perfect place for zombie to lie in wait behind, only jumping out when some poor schmuck (me) looks over the counter.


    I take a deep breath and push my glasses up. Just like ripping off a bandaid, Alex.


    I grab a fork off a table and toss it over the counter. It lands with a clang that is far too loud and I wince, half convinced that the whole shopping centre must have heard that and there is now an army of zombies zeroing in on my position.


    Nothing happens.


    I look behind the counter myself, and only when I see there really isn''t anything hiding there do I relax.


    Of course, my phone just has to choose that very moment to start buzzing.


    I just about jump out of my skin and scramble to get it out of my pocket. I actually drop my fire extinguisher but kick it up with my foot back into my hands in a sick move which I can never, ever replicate.


    The buzzing has stopped by the time I¡¯ve finally got it in my hands. I unlock it, hoping that it''s a message or call from my family despite knowing that I don''t have a sim card.


    Instead, it''s a notification for the successful installation of an app I don''t recognise. The name is in Chinese and the icon is some kind of purple magic circle on a black background.


    Weird. Where''d it come from and why''d my phone buzz for so long if it was just a notification?


    I frown, but it seems harmless so I put my phone back away. I''ll examine it later when I''ve set up base.

 Chapter 2 – Grief for a Stranger

    There''s a dead body in the kitchen area. Its skin is deformed and slightly green so it must have been a zombie before it became a corpse. I was going to start screaming when I first saw it; then I noticed how still it was and the knife through its forehead.


    Zombies are able to be killed by destroying the brain: check.


    I take a closer look at it and immediately wish I hadn''t. I recognise the woman it was before it was a zombie. She was the waitress who served our food. The wide-open bloodshot eyes and mouth full of abnormally sharp and bloody teeth are a stark contrast to the pleasant customer service smile.


    I want to puke. I go to one of the kitchen sinks and do just that. The part of my mind not occupied with that notes down her teeth.


    I wipe my mouth with a random dishcloth and swish some water around in my mouth to get rid of the taste. My throat is a little sore, but it''s not like I''ll be giving any lengthy speeches anytime soon.


    I look back at the body and nearly puke again. It''s just so unsettling to see the corpse of a person you were thanking for the meal not even an hour ago. She was kind of pretty when she was alive, but now...


    Let''s just say zombification will never become popular, unless the standards of beauty change drastically.


    I can''t just leave her ¨C it, it makes it easier to think of them as ¡®it''s ¨C in here. One, it''ll start to smell, and two, I just really don''t want to spend more time than necessary in the company of a corpse.


    A pair of still soapy rubber gloves lie beside a sink full of dirty dishes and I put them on before touching the body. I poke it first, to make sure it''s really dead and not pulling some kind of possum bullshit. It is absolutely, definitely dead.


    I could just carry it out, but I¡¯m wearing these gloves for a reason. Dragging it out will ensure that only my protected hands will be in contact with it.


    I grab its arms and begin to drag it out. The nails on the hands are far longer and more raggedy than they were before. Probably tougher too, I conclude when I experimentally tap them against the wall.


    They look like claws.


    I file that away in the same space I put the sharp teeth.


    I leave the body in the main space of the cafe and allow myself a brief moment of acute grief for this stranger. The least I can do is close her eyelids, and while I''m at it I rearrange the body so that it would just look like a sleeping human, if not for, y''know, the obvious zombieness.


    I''ve never really believed in the existence of a higher power, but in this moment, in this absurd situation, I could really use some divine intervention. Perhaps that''s why I close my eyes, clasp my hands, and pray for her soul, if it exists, to be delivered safely to wherever souls go.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Nothing changes. There is still a dead body in front of me and my bitten arm still aches dully. But somehow, I feel just a little lighter.


    So this is why so many people turn to religion in times of death, I think.


    The tables have vases of flowers, and I take a few to put underneath the hands clasped over her stomach.


    I feel like I should say a few words, but I don''t even know her name. She has a nametag, but I can''t read it.


    I kneel there, suddenly wishing I''d tried harder to learn Chinese, and it is only the distant growl of a zombie that brings me back to reality.


    Right.


    I need to set up base. Back to the kitchen we go.


    First thing on my list is to disinfect my arm. Even if the zombie germs don''t get me, others might. I''ve heard nasty things about infections in untreated wounds, and mine is about as untreated as you can get.


    I find a first aid kit after washing my arm with water. The dishcloth I used to dry my arm is all bloody and my arm started bleeding right after anyway.


    I don''t actually know how to treat a wound as bad as this one, but since I''m literally the only one here, I''ll have to make do with guessing and common sense. I take out gauze, bandages, and what I really hope is a bottle of antiseptic, since I¡¯m Jared, 19, and never fucking learned how to read*.


    I pause with the bottle of antiseptic held over my arm.


    I really, really don''t want to do this. Alcohol wipes hurt bad enough when they''re on tiny scrapes, so an open wound like this...


    It''s going to be agonising.


    Surely infection wouldn''t be so bad...? We don''t even know for sure that it''s going to get infected. I could be doing it wrong and actually making it worse.


    Before I can talk myself out of it, I tip the bottle.


    The pain is... yep, it''s agonising alright. Good thing I had the foresight to stuff a spare piece of clothing (I knew they''d come in handy) in my mouth so any screams have to go through the cloth and the door to reach the ears of the zombies.


    There''s actually sweat on my brow when it''s over. I slump over, exhausted from that trial.


    I am admittedly a sheltered child; that was literally the worst pain I''ve ever experienced.


    The gauze and bandages are wrapped messily around my arm, but at least they¡¯re wrapped.


    Next thing on the list: food. I''m super hungry after all that vomiting and grieving. Fortunately, I just so happen to be in a kitchen.


    The waitress''s zombification must have happened right when she was carrying a plate out because there''s a smashed plate of food on the ground which I''m too tired to clean up right now.


    I quickly put together a sloppy sandwich and eat it just as fast. There''s orange juice in the fridge and I opt for that instead of any fizzy drinks. I make another sandwich, this one with three slices of bread, and eat that too.


    It''s tempting to just go straight to sleep after sating my hunger, but I''d read somewhere sleeping right after eating is bad for you, so I pull out my phone. The first thing I see is the mysterious app.


    Perfect time to check it out.


    I tap on the icon, and it brings me to a screen which just looks like an enlarged version of the icon. Purple magic circle on a black background.


    A picture of a thumb appears on the screen and taps it. Am I supposed to follow its lead...?


    I obligingly tap it.


    Nothing happens for a moment, then my phone starts vibrating and vibrates straight up into the air.


    I scramble back, eyes wide and heart in my throat. My phone hovers in the air and vibrates like it''s the end of the world (which I guess it is).


    It vibrates so violently I start to fear an explosion.


    And it does. Explode, that is. Not into fiery debris like I was expecting, but into a sudden cloud of violet tinged smoke. Strangely, the scent reminds me of snow. I cough and wave it away.


    The smoke clears by itself and the first thing I see is my phone. It is no longer floating in the air. It is being held in a hand with long and slender fingers. I follow that hand to an arm, a shoulder, a neck, and finally a face.


    A human face.


    In front of me, where there had most definitely been no one before, stands a man.


    I stare. I open my mouth. I say,


    ¡°What the fuck?¡±

 Chapter 3 – White Snowflake

    The man looks like he stepped straight out of a classical Chinese painting.


    His long hair, pulled back from his face in a half ponytail, is so white it''s almost glowing. It reminds me of the first time I''d gone skiing and seen the perfect, unbroken surface of the freshly fallen snow in the early morning, before snowboarders and skiers arrived to destroy it. Looking at this man''s hair makes me want to put on my ski goggles lest I get snow blindness. I also have the strange urge to run my hands through it, to see if it''s really as smooth and cold as it looks.


    The look on the man''s face quashes that thought. He''d probably chop my hands off and step on me if I even dared near his hair with those intentions. I like my hands where they are, thanks.


    The cold expression doesn''t detract from his looks any; rather, his beautiful face is enhanced by his icy gaze. His sharp and delicate features are very different from my own babyface.


    If not for the pale peach hue of his skin, he could be mistaken for an ice sculpture made by a master sculptor. His eyes are the same pale blue as his robes, which have the same snowy sparkle as his hair and are long and flowy, true to the style of ancient China. In the hand not holding my phone, he holds a fan made of ice. When he flicks it open, it displays an ever-changing snowscape.


    Maybe it''s just because I''m sitting open-mouthed on the ground while he''s standing and quite literally looking down on me, but like this, with the open fan covering the lower half of his face, it seems as if no matters of the human realm could ever touch him; like a true deity, come down to earth for matters incomprehensible to our tiny mortal minds.


    ¡°Greetings,¡± he murmurs. ¡°I am Bai Xuehua.¡±


    W¡­White Snowflake? His name is seriously White Snowflake?


    ¡°You must be my new summoner.¡±


    His eyes hold mine for what feels like an eternity, staring into my soul and finding it lacking.


    Then, unexpectedly, he kneels before me. Goddamn, even that simple action holds more grace than I can ever hope to display. He offers me my phone and I automatically reach out to take it.


    Before I can pull back, he takes my hand and presses a kiss against the back of it. A stylised snowflake blooms where his lips touch my skin and a wave of cold washes through me.


    ¡°I am yours to command, my liege,¡± he murmurs against my hand. His lips are as just as cold as the hand holding mine and I have the idle thought that he sure would be a great guy to have around in summer. ¡°Have you need of me, you need only call my name, and I, Bai Xuehua, will appear by your side.¡±


    Then he bursts into a flurry of snow and disappears.


    I am left alone, outstretched hand holding my phone.


    ...


    What the hell was that?! Where did he come from?! Where did he go?!


    I freak out for about five minutes, then get over it. This day has already been so goddamn weird; this may as well just happen.


    It occurs to me that I understood everything he said perfectly, despite him speaking an unfamiliar dialect. It sounded like Mandarin, but not. His speech gave me the overall impression of¡­ antiquity. If you were a Modern Mandarin speaker, you¡¯d get the gist of it if you concentrated but not the details. It was sort of like how Middle English was to Modern English.


    So, for me, one who¡¯s not even fluent in Mandarin, it should have been impossible.


    The way he appeared and disappeared is definitely weirder though. I distinctly remember there being snow with his exit, but the floor around me is perfectly dry. A bit dirty, especially where the dead waitress was slumped before, but dry.


    I squint suspiciously at my phone. I bought it myself last year from an official store, and have never had any modifications done to it. It should just be a regular smartphone, so why¡­?Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    How did it start flying? Where did that weird app come from? I¡¯m not connected to Wi-Fi and don¡¯t have mobile data, so how was it downloaded?


    I unlock my phone and realise the screen¡¯s changed. A full body picture of Snowflake now occupies the screen. There is some Chinese text beneath him, and I recognise some of the characters.


    °×Ñ©»¨ ¨C that¡¯s his name.


    When I scroll down, what looks like a stats screen is shown. One part catches my eyes,¡¾ÊôÐÔ:±ù¡¿I don¡¯t know what the first two characters are, but the third ¨C b¨©ng ¨C is ¡®ice¡¯.


    So Snowflake has something to do with ice. Never would have guessed.


    I skim through the rest of the text. I can recognise a few words here and there but not enough to put together any sentences. There are numbers, but without knowing what the numbers are for, they are useless.


    I press the back button and explore the rest of the app. It seems more like a card collectible game than anything else. I don¡¯t have much experience with those. The menu screen has several buttons, some of them greyed out and locked.


    The button leading to screen I first saw with the magic circle is unlocked. In the middle of the summoning circle is now the number 100 with picture of a crystal next to it. I assume to summon another, I¡¯d have to collect that many crystals. I have no idea where to get the crystals and how the transaction would take place though. There¡¯s a box in the top right corner showing how many crystals I have, which is zero.


    Another unlocked button leads to a 4 column grid. All the spaces are empty so I have no idea what it¡¯s for. The button has a satchel on it though so it¡¯s possibly some kind of inventory? A window pops up with an explanation I can¡¯t read and is immediately dismissed.


    The third and last unlocked button seems to be an compendium of my summons. The only entry is of Snowflake. I tap it and it comes up with his stats screen. There¡¯s no button that appears to be [Summon]. So if Snowflake was telling the truth, the only way to summon him is to call out his name.


    I should practice calling him out. I really should. What if I suddenly get attacked by zombies and it turns out just calling his name isn¡¯t enough? I should really give it a try.


    ¡­I don¡¯t want to. Even though he seems to have subordinated himself to me, he¡¯s still scary. Everything about him is intimidating. His looks, his aura, his height¡­ although that last one may just be because I was on the ground.


    I¡¯ll definitely call him out if there¡¯s danger, but doing that right now, less than fifteen minutes after his first summon, for essentially no reason, just seems like a bad idea.


    I exit the app and check to see if anything else has changed. All my apps are still there and nothing else has been added. Checking the settings doesn¡¯t yield anything strange either. But something still seems off¡­


    Then I realise. My battery indicator is gone. I restart my phone, and it¡¯s still gone. I check the settings more thoroughly and realise everything pertaining to the battery is gone as well.


    Strange. I really hope this means that whatever magic put that app there is powering my phone, and not that my phone¡¯s just going to suddenly die and stay dead. Just in case, I make a note to minimise my use of it.


    The light blue snowflake on the back of my left hand is of an extremely simple design. If you asked a child to draw a snowflake, this is most likely what they¡¯d draw. It¡¯s a bit obvious, but doesn¡¯t look particularly magical. It just looks like a regular tattoo, only a bit brighter in colour. I run my fingers across it. It feels like normal skin too. It¡¯s on the same hand as the zombie bite.


    I think it¡¯s safe to say that I won¡¯t be turning into a zombie any time soon. Still not sure if that¡¯s because I¡¯m immune or these just aren¡¯t the typical western brand of zombie. The latter is looking more and more plausible. I should probably call them something else, but ¡®flesh-eating monster¡¯ or ¡®abomination¡¯ just doesn¡¯t have the same je ne sais quoi, so I suppose I¡¯ll continue referring to them as zombies in my head.


    The shock of everything has worn off, and now I¡¯m just tired. The temperature in the room has finally risen back up to a comfortable temperature. I lock the door and give the kitchen a cursory check for any other entrances. Unfortunately, there¡¯s nothing in the kitchen that I can push against the door. There¡¯s a vent in the ceiling, but if zombies have advanced enough to climb through vents, then they probably deserve to eat me.


    I¡¯m all out of fucks to give. Come back tomorrow, they should have restocked by then.


    After rechecking the door, I lay down and pass out.


    <hr>


    Bang, bang, bang.


    I groan and cover my ears.


    ¡°Go away, I¡¯m trying to sleep here,¡± I mumble.


    Bang, bang, bang.


    ¡°I said go away.¡±


    There¡¯s a pause, then the sounds come faster and more insistently. After ten seconds, I¡¯ve finally had enough and roll to my feet. There¡¯s a brief moment of disorientation, then the reality of everything sinks in. Zombies are a thing now and I¡¯ve been separated from my family.


    I really, really want to go back to sleep.


    Bangbangbangbangbang-


    ¡°Calm the fuck down, I¡¯m coming!¡± I yell at the door. Whoever¡¯s knocking on it doesn¡¯t seem to hear me. I scrub my face free of any dried drool.


    Who¡¯s knocking on the door? Are they in trouble? Maybe it¡¯s someone I know?


    Despite knowing that it¡¯s near impossible, I can¡¯t help but get my hopes up. My heart beats a little faster. Just the thought of a familiar and unzombified face makes me smile giddily.


    I unlock the door and open it.


    The smile falls off my face.

 Chapter 4 – Moving Base

    There are four people. All of them are unfamiliar and carrying weapons. I lift my lips back into a smile despite the crushing disappointment.


    ¡°Hello,¡± I say in Mandarin. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    One of them, presumably the leader, steps forward.


    ¡°I am called Lu Yang, and these are my ---. We are searching for ---. Can we come in?¡±


    There are a few words in his speech which I can¡¯t understand, but at least I can understand the question. I obligingly step aside and they enter the kitchen. While everyone else searches the place, Lu Yang stays with me.


    ¡°Are you by yourself?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡±


    I¡¯m not sure how to explain the existence of Snowflake, both because I don¡¯t think they¡¯d believe me and I just don¡¯t have the vocabulary, so I just don¡¯t.


    He says something else and points out of the cafe. I stare blankly at him and tilt my head.


    ¡°Sorry, my Chinese is not good. Do you speak English?¡±


    Lu Yang looks back at his companions. Two of them shake their heads while the third says ¡°Only a little bit.¡±


    Lu Yang gestures for the man to come speak to me. He steps up and says haltingly, ¡°I am Kui Renshu. We have, safe place. Do you, want, come with us?¡±


    ¡°I think it is easier to speak Mandarin,¡± I reply after a moment. ¡°I want to come with you, but I have been¡­¡±


    I can¡¯t remember the word for ¡®bitten¡¯, so I just roll up my sleeve and make a chomping motion at the injury. I know that zombieness isn¡¯t contagious, but do they know that?


    Lu Yang chuckles and ruffles my hair. ¡°No need to worry. --- will not ---.¡±


    A part of me bristles at being treated like a child, but the rest recognises it as a good thing. My goal is to survive, and if it means being seen as a child in need of protection, so be it. It chafes at my pride, but what use is pride without life?


    The one woman in the team yells something at Lu Yang from the other side of the room. Lu Yang yells something back.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving now,¡± he says to me. ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    I adjust my backpack and nod. The kitchen has been stripped of all the non-perishables. The team has taken a some of the cookware as well.


    On the way out, Lu Yang nods at the dead zombie.


    ¡°Was it you who killed the sangshi?¡±


    ¡®Sangshi¡¯? I suppose that means zombie.


    I shake my head. ¡°When I arrived, she was already dead.¡±


    Lu Yang hums thoughtfully and moves to the front of the group. The four people are in a diamond shape around me, with Kui Renshu taking up the rear. The two I don¡¯t know the names of are beside me. I take this opportunity to look at everyone more closely. They all look to be university students, and are carrying different weapons. Lu Yang wields a cross bow, Kui Renshu a staff, the unnamed man a long and thin sword, and the woman a machete.


    Outside the caf¨¦, there are surprisingly little zombies, which Lu Yang quickly takes care of. You¡¯d think that with all the racket they were making banging on the door, there¡¯d be more. He yanks the bolts out of the zombies afterwards.


    The woman reaches into her pack and hands me a sheathed hunting knife. It is entirely black and one side is serrated.


    ¡°Here, I¡¯ll give this to you,¡± she says.


    ¡°Oh¡­ thank you.¡± I take the knife from her gingerly. She huffs a laugh and helps me affix it to my side.


    ¡°My name is Wang Xiuying. That guy,¡± she nods at the man on my other side, ¡°is Jin Hailin. You are?¡±


    ¡°My English name is Alex. My Chinese name is Lin Mingyue.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Alex¡­ Lin Mingyue¡­¡± Wang Xiuying taps her chin with the hilt of her own knife. ¡°Mm, I¡¯ll call you Xiao Lin.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m bigger than you,¡± I mumble, which makes her laugh. ¡°I¡¯ll call you Xiuying-jie then.¡±


    We stop by a hair accessories kiosk on the way to their base and Xiuying-jie snags a bunch of hairties while I grab a headband to push my bangs back. There are surprisingly little zombies in our way and I can only assume it¡¯s because the majority chased the humans out of the shopping centre. We also pick up another survivor, a middle-aged woman who introduces herself as Lu Yunhua.


    ¡°Do either of you have ---?¡± Jin Hailin asks. This is the first time I¡¯ve heard him speak.


    I don¡¯t know what yi neng means, but I¡¯m surprised to hear Ms Lu repeat yi neng quizzically.


    ¡°Ah, like¡­¡± Xiuying-jie taps her chin. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll show you.¡±


    She holds out her hand and concentrates. At first, nothing happens, then a drop of water appears above her palm and grows until it¡¯s about half the size of a closed fist. Lu Yang turns around briefly to show us the flame hovering above his hand.


    Ms Lu stares in shock and shakes her head. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything like that.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    Xiuying-jie asks me what it is and I swipe my thumb down my jawline, unsure of how to explain. I am strangely reluctant to show them my phone. Eventually, I settle on ¡°I can call people over.¡±


    ¡°You can call people over?¡± Ms Lu says.


    ¡°Sorry, my Chinese is not good. I don¡¯t know how to explain.¡±


    ¡°Can you show us?¡±


    I think about Jin Hailin¡¯s request.


    ¡°Maybe when we see a lot of zombies,¡± I decide.


    He nods. We move through the shopping centre, the four corners of the diamond on alert. Ms Lu walks closely beside me.


    ¡°Are you American?¡± she asks.


    ¡°No, I am from Australia. I have come to China to visit my maternal grandparents.¡±


    We make quiet small talk all the way to the base. Kui Renshu takes the opportunity to join in as well. I only understand about a fifth of what he says though. Eventually, we arrive at what looks like the security office of the shopping centre.


    Lu Yang knocks on the door ¨C knock knock knock-knock-knock knock, knock ¨C and after a few seconds, the door opens. A man dressed as a mall security officer opens the door and lets us in.


    ¡°Uncle Bo, we¡¯re back.¡±


    ¡°Good, you¡¯re safe. How many people did you bring?¡±


    ¡°We only found two.¡±


    Ms Lu and I introduce ourselves to Bo Chenming, who tells me to call him Uncle Bo. One of the tables in the room has been cleared off, and the team places their loot there.


    Another series of knocks on the door sounds about half an hour later. I spend that half an hour trying to chat with the two university students who had stayed in the security office with Uncle Bo.


    Uncle Bo answers the door and another team of four enters. They bring with them two survivors, an old lady and a sniffling child.


    The office is getting kinda crowded, with fifteen people. Uncle Bo calls over Lu Yang and the leader of the other team to discuss something.


    I shuffle over to the old lady, who is wiping the child¡¯s nose.


    ¡°Here.¡± I take out a lollipop from my backpack and offer it to the kid.


    He sniffles and takes it. The old lady helps him unwrap it and smiles at me gratefully. I offer her one too but she refuses. I shrug and pop it into my own mouth instead.


    The two men and one woman are still discussing something. Uncle Bo and the woman seem to be in agreement while Lu Yang is agitated. Uncle Bo keeps pointing at the radio he¡¯s holding and repeating something. Eventually, Lu Yang gives in.


    Uncle Bo calls for the whole room¡¯s attention and begins a short speech. I try to follow it to the best of my ability, but the end, all I get out of it is that we¡¯re moving. And maybe something about the military? Lu Yang still looks disgruntled but doesn¡¯t interrupt.


    There are murmurs of dissent from some people, but Uncle Bo eventually manages to win everyone over and we start packing everything up. Xiuying-jie hands me some of the food and a medical kit to carry.


    About an hour later, everything is packed up and everyone, except me and the kid, understands the plan. I tried my best, but all I got is that we¡¯re separating into two groups.


    Oh well. I¡¯ll just stick to Xiuying-jie like glue.


    I have no idea where she got them all, but before we separate, Xiuying-jie hands everyone without a weapon a hunting knife.


    The group I¡¯m in consists of the team I came with plus one of the uni students who stayed behind in the security office. Her name is Su Xinya and she looks even more apprehensive of the knife than I am.


    The other team leaves first. We wait for half an hour, and it¡¯s only when the two-way radio crackles out a ¡°Clear¡± do we move.


    Our team employs a diamond formation with me, Ms Lu and Su Xinya in the middle. Lu Yang takes point again, but Jin Hailin serves as rearguard this time.


    The journey to the shopping centre entrance is uneventful, and we only encounter four individual zombies. Kui Renshu keeps up a steady stream of chatter. This expedition could not possibly go better.


    But for some reason, I have a bad feeling. It only grows the closer we get to the outside. When we¡¯re in sight of the entrance, I get real nauseous and just stop moving. Jin Hailin nudges my back but I ignore him.


    ¡°Xiao Lin?¡± Xiuying-jie calls. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Kui Renshu stops talking and Lu Yang turns around.


    I don¡¯t even know how to explain what I¡¯m feeling in English, so how am I supposed to do it in Mandarin? I shake my head.


    ¡°I just have a bad feeling.¡±


    At that moment, the radio crackles to life and panicked Mandarin starts spilling out of it.


    Lu Yang grabs it and speaks into it.


    ¡°Uncle Bo? Uncle Bo, what¡¯s wrong? I need you to-¡±


    The radio cuts off with a final ¡°Help!¡± and there¡¯s a scream just outside. Lu Yang curses and sprints for the doors. Everyone else follows a moment later.


    The first thing I see once outside is Uncle Bo flying towards me. I yelp and duck, and he crashes into Jin Hailin.


    Oh dear. His neck¡­ should not look like that.


    Jin Hailin checks for a pulse and his face turns grim.


    ¡°Oh my god, what is that?¡± Su Xinya screams.


    I whip around. That¡¯s a lotta zombies. But the horde of zombies is not what Su Xinya is screaming about.


    Massive hand outstretched, gaping grin on its deformed face, the biggest zombie I¡¯ve ever seen points at us and roars.

 Chapter 5 – Big Ass Zombie

    The only thing I can do is say ¡°Oh, shit.¡±


    I am absolutely terrified. One zombie was bad enough, and this? This is way, way more than just one zombie.


    The giant zombie is about twice my height and five times my girth. Each of its disproportionately large fingers is about the size of my thigh and the hands themselves are pretty much just the fingers. Like, there¡¯s a tree trunk size arm and then boom, fingers.


    It has no neck. The head is nothing more than a hill on its shoulders and the only reason I can tell it even is a head is because of the eyeball hanging out of one of the eye sockets ¨C the other socket filled with some sort of fleshy mass I don¡¯t look at for too long ¨C and the mouth slash across it full of sharp, spiny teeth.


    It charges at us. I stare in horror as its massive weight bears down on me.


    ¡®Move, Alex! You have to run!¡¯ I scream at myself in my head.


    I do not move. I stand there, frozen, waiting for death.


    It curls its fingers and prepares to crush me flat. The fist falls. The only thing I can do is close my eyes.


    My eyes which fly open in shock when something crashes into my side and throws me clear. My glasses fall off my face but I can still tell it¡¯s Jin Hailin.


    ¡°This is a lot of zombies,¡± he tells me.


    Thanks, man, never would¡¯ve known!


    He says something else but the only word I catch is ¡®yi neng¡¯.


    Yi neng, yi neng¡­ Oh. My eyes widen.


    Snowflake.


    In the moment that I take a breath in preparation for yelling his name, doubt almost overcomes me.


    This is a really big zombie backed up by a horde of normal zombies. What can Snowflake even do? Will he even come? Am I really sure that he even exists and the whole thing wasn¡¯t just some illusion cooked up by my tired, desperate-for-human-contact mind?


    I guess there¡¯s only one way to find out.


    ¡°Bai Xuehua!¡±


    There¡¯s a single heart-stopping moment where I think nothing will happen, then a miniature snowstorm materialises in front of me and Bai Xuehua steps out. He is facing the giant monstrosity.


    In that moment, I can¡¯t help but think that his back is the most beautiful thing I¡¯ve ever seen in my life.


    ¡°I am here, my liege,¡± Bai Xuehua says without turning around. ¡°Fret no longer, for I, Bai Xuehua, will take care of everything.¡±


    He flicks open his fan, and with a wave of his hand, a great swathe of ice appears, freezing all the normal zombies to the ground.


    With just one move, he¡¯s dealt with 99 of our problems. Now there¡¯s just one. A very, very big one.


    While all the normal zombies moan and claw uselessly at the ice, the giant zombie screams in anger and smashes the ice trapping its feet, killing a few normal zombies as well.


    Man, I really need to call them something other than ¡®normal zombie¡¯ and ¡®giant zombie¡¯. Perhaps, tier-1 and tier-2?


    Bai Xuehua is unfazed when the tier-2 starts charging towards him. He flicks his wrist and the ribs of his fan elongate and flatten until he is holding a fan of blades.


    He lightly kicks off the ground, and I watch with wide eyes as he jumps higher than any human should be able to.


    But then again, he¡¯s not quite human, is he?


    Bai Xuehua¡¯s arm blurs and an ice blade is now lodged in the tier-2¡¯s face. The optic nerve is cut and the eyeball falls to the ground. It rolls in front of me. Jin Hailin is the first to react and kicks it away from us.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The tier-2 is now blind. (Not that I know how it was seeing before, with its eyeball hanging out like that.) It roars and gropes around, finally grabbing the head of a weakly flailing tier-1. The tier-2 crushes it and I have no idea what it¡¯s trying to do, but then it mashes the matter into its eye socket.


    I think I¡¯m going to vomit.


    Somehow, an intact eyeball is in that zombie mush. I don¡¯t know how the tier-2 starts seeing out of it, and I don¡¯t want to. All I need to know is that it just does.


    The tier-2¡¯s attention is fixed firmly on Bai Xuehua. Bai Xuehua, who evades the clumsy swings of the zombie with grace and artfully flowing robes. Like, what the actual hell. You¡¯d think he was an aerokinetic with the way the cloth moves in the air.


    He uses his fan blades to inflict wounds on the tier-2 but never goes in for the kill. He seems to be waiting for something. What that something is, I don¡¯t know.


    I¡¯ve been so absorbed in the fight that I barely notice Jin Hailin getting up and dragging me to my feet.


    ¡°The others,¡± he says.


    Right, the others! What happened to everyone else?


    I nod at Jin Hailin and we head off. We find Xiuying-jie helping chip Kui Renshu out of the ice with a dagger. Looks like he accidently got caught up in Bai Xuehua¡¯s groundfreezing move. Lu Yang is in the middle of the horde killing the trapped zombies, and the non-combatants, Ms Lu and Su Xinya, have moved back into the relative safety of the shopping mall.


    I unsheathe my knife to help Kui Renshu as well while Jin Hailin runs to Lu Yang¡¯s side. Xiuyin-jie looks up at me and then Bai Xuehua. She raises an eyebrow. Kui Renshu is also chattering, too fast for me to pick anything out but I figure he wants to know what¡¯s up with Bai Xuehua as well.


    I puzzle over how to explain it to them with my limited vocabulary. In the end, I just shrug.


    ¡°Yi neng,¡± I say. I figure that it means something like ¡®special ability¡¯ or ¡®superpower¡¯. ¡°Can call people over.¡±


    I can¡¯t currently remember the word for ¡®explain¡¯, so I just follow up with, ¡°Chinese is not good. Don¡¯t know how to say it.¡±


    Xiuying-jie and Kui Renshu look at each other. They look back at me.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± I offer.


    Xiuyin-jie sighs and ruffles my hair.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Kui Renshu chips in with reassurances as well, but this guy always talks too fast and too much; I get maybe a third of it.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Lu Yang calls us over. He¡¯s found the rest of the team that came before us. Kui Renshu breaks free of the ice with last swing of Xiuying-jie¡¯s dagger, and the three of us rush over to Lu Yang.


    Most of the first team is dead. Only the old lady, the child, and the leader survived. I don¡¯t know how long the leader has to live though; she¡¯s in pretty bad shape. There¡¯s a big chunk taken out of her waist and adrenaline seems to be the only thing keeping her standing.


    I¡¯m given the task of ushering the old lady and kid over to the safety of the shopping centre. The combatants will continue to slay the tier-1s while Kui Renshu tries his best to save the other team leader. I hand the medical kit I was carrying over to him before leaving.


    The old lady seems shaken up but has no major injuries, and the child hasn¡¯t stopped crying and clinging to her. I really can¡¯t blame him. I, too, want to curl up and cry until this apocalypse bullshit goes away. Nearly all the people in his team were killed in front of him too. No child deserves to see that.


    Once we¡¯re back in the shopping centre, Ms Lu helps comfort the kid while Su Xinya bandages the old lady¡¯s cuts and scrapes. I nervously look around. The five of us here are all non-combatants, and my trump card is still fighting the tier-2. Ms Lu, Su Xinya and I could probably take on a zombie each, but any more than three and we¡¯re screwed.


    An infuriated howl draws my attention to the battle between the tier-2 and Bai Xuehua. Both of the tier-2 zombie¡¯s arms have been destroyed and its legs are solidly frozen to the ground. It seems Bai Xuehua is finally ready to unleash his finishing move.


    Bai Xuehua does another of his gravity defying jumps and this time, when he raises his fan, it turns into a massive spear of ice that takes about five seconds to form. Oh, so that¡¯s why he focused on immobilising the tier-2 first.


    When it¡¯s done forming, he drives it straight down and it plunges through the giant zombie¡¯s head and through its body. Now held upright by the spear, the tier-2 doesn¡¯t die immediately. It struggles futilely for a few more moments before finally expiring.


    Bai Xuehua lands nimbly on the ground. Another ice fan forms in his hand and he flicks it open leisurely. He looks as if he¡¯s just finished with a relaxing stroll instead of a fight against a monster.


    I can¡¯t help the smile that stretches across my face. I can¡¯t believe it. He¡¯s really done it. He¡¯s really killed the giant zombie!


    I trot towards him, to thank him, praise him, worship him; whatever, but all of a sudden I am completely and utterly drained. My legs give out beneath me. I mean, I¡¯d expected them to do that sometime anyway, but this is different, somehow. This isn¡¯t the ¡®I just narrowly avoided dying¡¯ collapse. This is the ¡®I have been doing intensive exercise for an entire week without eating or drinking and suddenly the consequences are upon me¡¯ type of collapse.


    The edges of my vision start to fade. I¡¯m too weak to even catch myself. Somehow, Snowflake moves fast enough to stop me from breaking my nose on the concrete. An expression I am intimately familiar with crosses his face.


    It¡¯s the ¡®Oh man I majorly fucked up this time¡¯ look. It¡¯s quite strange to see it on his face when all he¡¯s ever looked like before is calm and composed. Granted, I haven¡¯t known him for that long, but he had an unflappable air about him even when he was in battle.


    The last thing I see is him plunging his hand into the chest of the giant zombie and shoving whatever he finds there into my mouth.

 Chapter 6 – Quality Time with Snowflake

    I swirl my dry tongue around my mouth to get rid of the leaden feeling. It comes to my attention that it''s a little chilly. It also comes to my attention that the reason everything is dark is because my eyes are closed.


    I open my eyes. Everything is blurry. I reach for my glasses, only to be stopped by the fact that I am being carried in someone¡¯s arms.


    I look up.


    ¡°G''morning, Snowflake,¡± I mumble.


    ¡°I see you are finally awake, my liege.¡± A pause. Snowflake looks down at me and raises a brow. He looks back away. ¡°Snowflake?¡±


    I am suddenly very wide awake.


    Oh shit, I slipped up.


    I flail and nearly fall out of his arms. He tightens his hold on me, and I become very aware that my head is resting on his collarbone.


    ¡°If you wish to call me Snowflake, my liege, I have no objections.¡±


    I peer at his face and find no sign that he¡¯s just saying that.


    ¡°Snowflake,¡± I test out. Both his face and body language fail to display any dissatisfaction. In fact, it could just be my imagination, but is he looking a little... pleased?


    Nah, must just be seeing things.


    ¡°However, only by calling my true name will I be able to come to your side.¡±


    I nod. ¡°Good to know. By the way, can you put me down now? Being carried like this is kinda embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°If that is not an order, I must refuse. My negligence almost lead to your death and you still have not fully recovered.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Wait, put me down first; that''s an order.¡±


    He purses his lips but stops walking to gently set me down. I immediately collapse.


    Snowflake''s arms wrap around my waist before I can hit the ground. He sighs, exhalation misting in the air.


    ¡°Okay, so you were right,¡± I grumble once back in his arms. ¡°Will you explain what you meant by ¡®my negligence almost lead to your death¡¯ now?¡±


    ¡°Gladly, but your human companions have been waiting for you to notice them for a while now.¡±


    He gestures to the side with his head. Xiuying-jie and the rest walk a respectful distance away, shooting us glances every so often. The injured leader of the other team is being supported between Kui Renshu and Jin Hailin. She''s alive, but for how much longer?This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Xiuying-jie, hi,¡± I say and wave. ¡°Why are you walking so far?¡±


    Xiuying-jie smiles and takes a step closer, only to step back away when Snowflake''s gaze falls on her.


    ¡°Xiao Lin, I''m happy to see you''re okay,¡± she says, keeping a wary eye on Snowflake. She doesn''t say anything else.


    The whole group seems to be afraid of Snowflake. I mean, I get it, I was scared of him too, but it''s hard to continue being scared of someone when you''ve seen their ¡®shit I fucked up big time'' face and they''re carrying you so carefully.


    I suppose it''s the display of power that''s gotten them all in a tizzy. When they showed their abilities to me, they could barely produce anything useful, so the presence of someone who can instantly coat an entire battlefield in ice will naturally cow them. His glacial mien doesn''t help any.


    Still, they shouldn''t be this frightened. I eye Snowflake. Did he do something?


    ¡°Xiuying-jie, did you pick up my glasses?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I was too busy.¡±


    No one else turns up with my glasses either. Damn, so unless we can find another pair I can use, I''ll remain blind.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    Lu Yang, who is leading the group with a map in hand, answers me.


    ¡°We''re going to the --- we heard about on the radio.¡±


    The only thing I know about the unfamiliar phrase is that it has something to do with the military. Are we going to a military camp? The biggest difference between Chinese and American apocalypse stories is that the Chinese military seems to get its shit together a lot a more quickly and plays a bigger role in the story.


    ¡°Only they can save Liu Guanjun.¡±


    So the other team leader''s name is Liu Guanjun. Not that there''s really another team anymore.


    No one seems inclined to make small talk with me so I turn back to Snowflake. At least with him I have no trouble communicating.


    ¡°Okay, I''m done talking to them. So..."


    ¡°As you know, I must manifest my power through you.¡±


    ¡°That''s the first time I''ve heard of this though?¡±


    He gives me a strange look. ¡°It should be written in the manual.¡±


    Does he mean the weird phone app? I fish my phone ¨C thankfully intact and working ¨C out of my pocket and navigate into it. Another option has been unlocked in the main menu screen. The crystal bar in the corner now displays a number of 42.


    ¡°Do you mean this? Yeah, I can''t read it. Oh, but you can, right?¡±


    Snowflake peers at my screen and dismisses it with an imperious sniff.


    ¡°I could never recognise such a bastardised form of Chinese.¡±


    Right, he''s probably from ancient China. I want to ask him his story, but now''s not the time.


    I sigh. Of course it couldn''t be that easy.


    ¡°That''s too bad. But you know how this whole summoning thing works right? Can you explain it to me?¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    As he gathers his thoughts in preparation to explain, I spot something that makes me shoot up in his arms.


    I grab his face and pull his lips back. I was right, his teeth are sharp!


    ¡°Omg, they''re like a shark''s,¡± I whisper reverently. Two rows of sharp triangular pearly-whites line his mouth and I can''t resist sticking a finger in to feel them.


    Snowflake yanks his head back, to my disappointment. He glowers at me.


    Oops. I just got so excited seeing his cool teeth that I forgot how intimidating he could be.


    He usually covers his mouth with his fan or faces away while talking. Is he perhaps sensitive about them?


    ¡°It would behoove you to keep your hands away from my mouth,¡± he snaps, two spots of colour high in his cheeks.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± I say, raising my hands in surrender. ¡°I just really like your teeth.¡±


    The spots of colour spread, but I don''t think it''s from anger.


    ¡°If you like sharp teeth so much, then go molest a zombie,¡± he tells me. I pout and cross my arms.


    ¡°Boo, it''s not the same. C''mon, just let me feel them. Just once? Pretty please?¡±


    ¡°Enough,¡± says Snowflake, putting as much distance as he can between his head and my eager fingers. Given that he''s holding me, that distance is not very much. ¡°Do you want me to explain how everything works or not?¡±


    I settle my hands back on my lap. ¡®Another day, perhaps,¡¯ I think, staring longingly at his mouth.


    ¡°Sorry. Go on.¡±

 Chapter 7 – Snowflake’s Explanation

    ¡°I can independently manifest in this world, but in order to use my ice abilities, I must channel my power through you. All my previous summoners-¡±


    ¡°Wait, ¡®previous summoners¡¯?¡±


    He looks disapprovingly at me for the interruption and I shrink back.


    ¡°Sorry. Go on.¡±


    ¡°As I was saying, all my previous summoners have cultivated their bodies to handle my power. It was remiss of me to assume you had gone through the same process. My presumption almost cost you your life.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°I channelled too much power through you and your body broke down as a result. It was only fate that allowed me to gain the resources to save your life.¡±


    ¡°Right, right!¡± I point right at his face, almost gouging out his eye. ¡°I remember you made me eat something you found in that tier-2 zombie¡¯s chest! I still have the taste of corpse in my mouth!¡±


    ¡°¡¯Tier-2 zombie¡¯?¡± Snowflake muses, ignoring my complaint. ¡°I suppose that is an appropriate way to differentiate zombies of different power levels. All zombies have a ¡®core¡¯. The higher the ¡®tier¡¯ of the zombie, the more powerful their cores will be.¡±


    ¡°Cores?¡± I show him my phone and point at the bar in the corner. The number on it ¨C 42 ¨C is unchanged. ¡°Are those what this is counting?¡±


    Snowflake shakes his head. ¡°No. Those are souls. They are different from cores in that they are intangible and are used to request goods and services from your Compendium. They can be gained from the death of any sentient being in our vicinity, regardless of whose hand they fall by.¡±


    ¡®Compendium¡¯, huh? Better than just referring to it as ¡®the app¡¯, I guess.


    I take another look at the counter.


    ¡°Funny symbol for souls,¡± I mutter. You¡¯d expect the symbol for a soul to be either a ball of light or a wavy teardrop, not a crystal. The thing about souls being gained from the ¡®death of any sentient being¡¯ to be used as currency in the Compendium was a little concerning. What was this, necromancy?


    ¡°The Compendium automatically collects souls, but cores must be individually collected. I have taken the liberty of storing the collected cores in the Compendium¡¯s pocket dimension, along with your possessions.¡±


    I tap the button with the satchel on it. My guess is right; the pocket dimension Snowflake was talking about is the thing I thought was some kind of inventory. The first few slots are now filled with the items I had on me plus the zombie cores. There are words underneath the boxes but I obviously can¡¯t read any of them, except the number in¡¾1¼¶¾§ºË¡¿under the box with the picture of the crystal on it. I suppose those are the tier-1 one cores.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°First question, how do I put stuff in and take it out?¡±


    ¡°To take something out from the Compendium space, you simply will it and it will be so. However, to place something in, contact is required.¡±


    I try it; my water bottle appears. I wash the taste of zombie out of my mouth before putting it back.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it kinda dumb to put everything in one place? What if I lose my phone?¡±


    ¡°That is impossible. The form your Compendium has taken is bound to you, and should you misplace it, you need only a thought and it will appear. It is also indestructible.¡±


    I raise my eyebrows in pleasant surprise. A phone which needs no recharging, no searching for, and no fixing? Sounds like a dream come true. If only my glasses could be the same way¡­


    ¡°Why are there less cores than souls? Like, I know I ate one of the cores but there should still be more than 31 cores, right?¡±


    ¡°I cannot be sure, but I suppose it has something to do with how the zombies evolve. I imagine the absorption of other zombies would be necessary for evolution.¡±


    I recall the mass of flesh leaking out of the tier-2 zombie¡¯s eye and shudder. At least it doesn¡¯t eat them¡­? Not sure if it mashing other zombies into its eye socket is better or worse, actually.


    ¡°All the souls would be consumed by the zombie as well, but it most likely had no way to process them, so they simply lingered within it along with the original soul until we came along. Of course, all of this is mere conjecture.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? You knew so much about the other stuff.¡±


    ¡°I only know what I myself have experienced in the past.¡±


    ¡°Right, you said something about previous summoners before. What¡¯s the story?¡±


    ¡°The story is one for another time. I have yet to explain the full damage done to you by my carelessness.¡±


    ¡°You mean it¡¯s more than just me fainting and feeling weak?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately so.¡± Snowflake dips his head. ¡°I fear I may have crippled your cultivation permanently.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It means unless appropriate measures are taken, neither I nor any of your future summons will be able to access our full power without causing you fatal damage. It is only the will of the fates that I was able to obtain the materials to save your life this time. You will also be unable to use any of your summons¡¯ abilities.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that I could be able to use cool ice powers as well?¡±


    It¡¯s a bit exciting, imagining being able to freeze everything in your way.


    ¡°Not without fixing your cultivation first,¡± Snowflake reminds me. ¡°Currently, your body is weaker than ever before and even once you¡¯ve recovered your energy you¡¯ll find your strength and vitality are worse than before.¡±


    I deflate. ¡°Sounds like a bad time. How do we fix it?¡±


    ¡°By eating the cores.¡±


    As soon as he says that, I¡¯m popping one of the crystals into my mouth and swallowing. Maybe I should have hesitated, knowing exactly where they came from, but the need to bring my body back up to a point where I can run away from the zombies again is more pressing.


    ¡°Let me finish- you¡¯ve already eaten one,¡± he sighs. I get the feeling that if he weren¡¯t carrying me he¡¯d be covering his face with a hand.


    I blink at him. Oops. Was I not supposed to?


    ¡°You should be fine if it¡¯s just one. Next time, please let me finish what I¡¯m saying.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Meditation is an integral part of cultivation. Without it, the power from the cores would build up in one part of your body until you quite literally explode.¡±


    Mm yeah, don¡¯t like the sound of that much.


    ¡°Teach me how to not explode, please?¡±


    ¡°Later. Now is neither the time nor place. A stable environment is required.¡±

 Chapter 8 – Out of the City

    ¡°Ow, ow, ow, ow,¡± I hiss as Su Xinya pours antiseptic over my arm.


    In all the excitement, I¡¯d nearly forgotten about my arm, but it all came back when the group stopped for a break. Snowflake probably could have kept walking forever, but everyone else is human and needs to eat and rest, Liu Guanjun especially. She¡¯s still conscious, but with all the pain she¡¯s in, maybe it¡¯d be better if she wasn¡¯t.


    Kui Renshu, the only one with any medical training, is tending to her. His face is grim. Ms Lu is assisting him. Lu Yang and Xiuying-jie went off as soon as their wounds were seen to, and I think they¡¯re searching for a pharmacy to raid. The old lady, who told me to call her Granny Yang, is comforting the child. His name is Zhu Aiyao and they¡¯re not related. Granny Yang found him crying in a shop somewhere and has been looking after him ever since.


    Su Xinya finishes bandaging my arm and helps me stick bandaids on all the other small cuts and scrapes I have. I smile at her.


    ¡°Thank you, Su Xinya.¡±


    ¡°You can call me Xinya-jie if you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Thank you, Xinya-jie.¡±


    She smiles back at me but pales as soon as her eyes move to over my shoulder. I reach behind without looking and smack Snowflake.


    ¡°Knock it off,¡± I say in English. ¡°Is there really a need to look so scary?¡±


    ¡°Hmph.¡±


    I smile apologetically at Xinya-jie. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I also thought Bai Xuehua was scary but he¡¯s really a good person!¡±


    ¡°A-ah.¡±


    Once she leaves to tend to Jin Hailin, who¡¯s hanging around the fringes of the group as lookout, I carefully walk over to Granny Yang.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    She gives me a warm smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Please thank your handsome friend for me.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I look down at the kid. ¡°What about Yaoyao?¡±


    ¡°Yaoyao is just tired. Let him sleep.¡±


    ¡°Ah. When he wakes up, can you give him this lolly?¡±


    I hand her a watermelon flavoured lollipop. She takes it and promises to give it to the kid. Pathetically, I am exhausted from even that short walk. I rest a bit before ambling back to Snowflake. I drop to the ground and rest my chin on my knees.


    I stare at him.


    His robes have not the slightest bit of dirt on them and even the hems are pristine, despite having been dragged along the ground while he was carrying me. His sleeves flap gently in a breeze of dubious existence as he sips a cup of tea that appeared from out of nowhere. If someone were to bring a classical painting of a noble scholar to life it¡¯d probably result in this.


    Seriously, where is that wind coming from?


    I lick a finger and hold it up in the air. Nothing.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°That is unsanitary,¡± Snowflake says. His words radiate disapproval, but I have achieved immunity through overexposure to my mother. ¡°When was last time your hands were cleansed?¡±


    I wipe my finger on my shirt, which makes him twitch.


    ¡°Says the guy who made me eat something straight from a corpse.¡±


    ¡°Extenuating circumstances. What even are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Just enjoying the view.¡±


    ¡°Flirt with someone your own age, child.¡±


    ¡°Do you even know my age?¡±


    ¡°I estimate fifteen winters have passed since your birth.¡±


    ¡°Ha, wrong! It¡¯s seventeen!¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, because two years is such a long time.¡±


    I boo him and reach for his tea.


    ¡°Can I have some tea? Where¡¯d you even get it?¡±


    He smacks my hands away. ¡°No. Do you think you are the only one with the ability to bring-¡±


    Snowflake shuts his mouth abruptly and looks away.


    Oho. Was he just about spill something he shouldn¡¯t?


    ¡°Ability to bring¡­?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± he says curtly. He refuses to say another word on the subject no matter how much I pester him, nor can I get him to fall into casual banter with me again.


    I pull out my phone and spot the newest unlocked option in the Compendium. Perfect time to check it out. The picture on the button is the silhouette of a person¡¯s head and shoulders. I tap it.


    A stats screen pops up. It comes with a picture of my face. I squint at it. I don¡¯t remember ever taking a photo like this. The closest thing is my passport photo but this one is much more flattering. I chalk it up to the magic of the Compendium.


    So this must be my own status. I screenshot both it and Snowflake¡¯s stats screen for comparison. My numbers are much, much lower than his, which, while not unexpected, still kinda pisses me off. It¡¯s not exactly pleasant to be presented with numerical evidence of your weakness.


    The pharmacy raiding team soon comes back with supplies. They¡¯re covered in a bit of gore but don¡¯t seem to have received any serious injuries. Kui Renshu still makes them sit down for treatment and I learn the word for infection.


    Lu Yang gathers the group together to brief us on what we¡¯re going to do. Not including Snowflake, there are ten of us, with four willing to fight, two able, two invalids, one elderly and one child. At least this invalid isn¡¯t half dead. We¡¯re a few blocks away from the edge of the city. Once we¡¯ve reached a portion of the road where it¡¯s less congested (but not empty, this is China after all), we¡¯ll split up into two vehicles and drive to the military base.


    I want to offer to carry all our supplies in my Compendium space, but Snowflake tells me it¡¯s best to keep the full extent of what I can do secret. I think he¡¯s being paranoid, but on second thoughts, putting everything in one place is a bad idea anyway. At his insistence, I also ask everyone to not go spreading my ability around. I do my best to explain with clumsy Chinese and wild gesturing the damage that has been done to my body and let them draw their own conclusions as to what caused it.


    We pack up. Snowflake lifts me up and I automatically wrap an arm around his shoulders. Liu Guanjun is being supported between Xinya-jie and Ms Lu. Granny Yang shakes Yaoyao awake and takes his hand. He sleepily sucks on the watermelon lollipop she gives him.


    The four fighters surround the seven of us and we set off.


    Snowflake collects the cores of any zombies they kill. He allows me to explain what they are when asked. I don¡¯t have the vocabulary though and only manage to convey that it¡¯s good for you, and that Snowflake recommends that only people with abilities eat them. Kui Renshu starts coming up with theories but every time he looks at me for confirmation I can only shrug and say, ¡°Maybe?¡± The cores are split evenly between Lu Yang, Xiuying-jie and me.


    By the time we reach the outskirts of the city, I have gained 22 souls and 7 cores. There were a few close calls and Jin Hailin got a nasty scratch across his face, but we make it out in one piece. While Kui Renshu treats the scratch, Xiuying-jie and Lu Yang go search for vehicles we can use. Xinya-jie goes with them for some reason.


    It¡¯s only when they come back with two largely undamaged jeeps do I find out why; Su Xinya knows how to hotwire a car. Talk about hidden depths.


    Lu Yang designates himself and Xiuying-jie as the drivers. I¡¯m in Xiuying-jie¡¯s car along with Kui Renshu, Ms Lu and Liu Guanjun. Snowflake disappears after placing me in the car and warning me about placing too much trust in others. I can only smile cluelessly at the shocked looks everyone gives me at his abrupt departure.


    I ride shotgun. Kui Renshu and Ms Lu have to concentrate on making sure Liu Guanjun isn¡¯t in too much pain in the back.


    Lu Yang¡¯s car leaves first. Xiuying-jie steps on the gas and follows.


    Soon the city we left is disappearing into the horizon.

 Chapter 9 – A Rest Stop

    I must have fallen asleep sometime during the journey, because the next thing I know, Xiuying-jie is shaking me awake. I wipe the drool from the edges of my mouth.


    There is a highly concerning crack on the windscreen. Normally I¡¯m a light sleeper and would have woken immediately to the thud of something hitting the windscreen hard enough to leave those cracks. Is this another side effect of having my cultivation crippled or whatever?


    The two cars have stopped for the night. There was a bit of an argument earlier among the adults but the side in favour of stopping and resting won.


    We have made camp beside a small stream. Lu Yang uses his ability to start a small campfire after the needed firewood is gathered. A small stand is set up and a kettle hung from it, which Xiuying-jie fills with her ability. They both look a little tired after.


    The boiled water is used to cook instant noodles. Ms Lu has somehow managed to find and catch the only fish swimming in the stream, so we all get a little meat to go with it.


    Everyone¡¯s sitting around the fire and talking quietly with each other. With the threat of zombies looming over us, no one can fully relax, but we try our best.


    Kui Renshu entertains a wide-eyed Yaoyao with a dramatic rendition of an event that happened to him. Granny Yang sits beside Jin Hailin and chats with Ms Lu. Xinya-jie assists the injured Liu Guanjun with eating.


    Lu Yang waves me over. I carefully carry my noodles over to where he sits with Xiuying-jie. The last thing I want to do is spill hot water on my hands.


    ¡°What¡¯s that on your hand?¡± he asks, gesturing at my left hand with his chopsticks. I lift my noodles higher and twist my head around to see. He¡¯s talking about the blue snowflake tattoo.


    ¡°Oh, Snowflake put it there,¡± I answer. Xiuying-jie pats the ground between her and Lu Yang. I carefully sit.


    Lu Yang hums thoughtfully.


    ¡°Tell us more about the cores. Are they safe to eat?¡±


    ¡°Snowflake says you have to do, do, uh¡­¡±


    Shit, what¡¯s the word for meditation? I have no idea.


    I set my noodle cup on the ground and take up the only meditative pose I know. I close my eyes and hum a single low note.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I can feel their incredulous stares boring into me. My face heats up and I¡¯m just about to give up and laugh it off when Xiuying-jie makes a noise of realisation. She drops her fist into her palm.


    ¡°Ch¨¦ns¨©?¡±


    I really hope that means meditation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means but probably?¡±


    I pick my noodles back up and slurp them while Xiuying-jie and Lu Yang discuss something too quickly for me to understand. I instantly regret it.


    Ow, hot!


    ¡°Xiuying-jie¡­¡±


    She takes one look at my face before laughing.


    ¡°Slow down, no one¡¯s going to steal your food.¡±


    She creates a ball of water and guides it into my mouth. It soothes my scalded tongue and I smile at her gratefully. She ruffles my hair.


    When everyone¡¯s finished eating, Lu Yang sets up a watch schedule. I volunteer but he pats me on the head and tells me good children should obediently go to sleep. I want to protest at being called a child, but honestly, I¡¯m really tired. The earlier nap helped, but I still feel like I could just crash for 24 hours straight.


    Lu Yang and Xiuying-jie take first watch. Everyone piles back into the two cars. We didn¡¯t bring any sleeping bags or blankets, so I pass around the clothing I took from the shop I first hid in.


    Man, the apocalypse only started this morning but it already feels like it¡¯s been years. So much has happened today.


    I got separated from my family, met Snowflake, met new people, saw some of those new people die¡­


    Well. I¡¯ll be surprised if I don¡¯t have any nightmares tonight.


    <hr>


    If I have nightmares, I don¡¯t remember them. I¡¯m woken up by the sound of Xiuying-jie¡¯s name being called. Xiuying-jie rubs her eyes and scowls at Kui Renshu.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°A horde of zombies is coming our way!¡±


    That wakes her up quickly.


    She curses and starts up the car. Lu Yang¡¯s car is already pulling back onto the road.


    I look behind us and my breath catches.


    Oh shit. Is that a tier-2?


    Another one already? I thought our luck had been pretty good in that we¡¯d only encountered one horde of tier-1s, but if that means we have to face another tier-2, I¡¯d like the tier-1s back, thanks universe!


    Xiuying-jie steps on the gas and we launch straight into 130km/hr. The tier-2 charges towards us but its bulk is fortunately not conducive to speed and we quickly leave it in the dust.


    There is a collective sigh of relief when the reflection of the tier-2 finally disappears from the rear-view mirror.


    A thought strikes me and I twist around in my seat. Kui Renshu, Liu Guanjun, and Ms Lu; they¡¯re all here. Whew. For a moment I thought we¡¯d left someone behind.


    The radio connecting the two vehicles crackles to life.


    ¡°Hey, are you guys okay?¡± Lu Yang¡¯s distorted voice asks. I pick the radio up and press the button.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re following right behind you!¡± Xiuying-jie answers. ¡°Everyone¡¯s here, so no need to worry!¡±


    ¡°Good, good! That¡¯s good to hear!¡±


    We drive for a relieved minute. Then Yaoyao¡¯s voice comes on.


    ¡°Hi! Is this the other car?¡±


    Aww, he¡¯s such a cute kid.


    ¡°Hello, Yaoyao. This is the other car. How are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay. Um, I want to talk to Granny Yang!¡±


    ¡­What?


    ¡°Sorry, can you say that again?¡±


    ¡°I want to talk to Granny Yang!¡±


    Okay, so he wants to talk to Granny Yang, and he¡¯s asking through the radio, which means that he thinks she¡¯s in this car, which means she¡¯s not in the other car, but she¡¯s not in this car either, which means¡­


    Just to make sure, I ask, ¡°Is Granny Yang not in your car?¡±


    ¡°No, silly, she¡¯s in your car!¡±


    ¡­Shit.

 Chapter 10 – The Granny Yang Dilemma

    ¡°We can not turn back,¡± Lu Yang says. ¡°I won¡¯t allow it. We only survived the tier-2 zombie last time because of Lin Mingyue¡¯s ability. But we can¡¯t rely on your ability this time, can we?¡±


    I shrink in on myself. ¡°¡­No, we can¡¯t. Not without killing me.¡±


    ¡°And we don¡¯t want that. We¡­¡± He sighs, and in that sigh I can hear the toll it¡¯s taking on him to make and stick to this decision. ¡°We will have to leave Granny Yang behind.¡±


    Everyone is silent, save for Yaoyao who complains about wanting to talk to Granny Yang in the background. No one wants to leave Granny Yang back there, but it¡¯s true, the tier-2¡¯d decimate us if we turned back.


    Xiuying-jie grips the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turn white. Kui Renshu rests his forehead on his clasped hands and Ms Lu looks out the window, gnawing her bottom lip.


    Everyone wants to go save her, but we also have Liu Guanjun, who is heavily injured.


    That, if nothing else, is what keeps this car aimed at the military base.


    But I can feel it. All of us want to turn around and save Granny Yang.


    And we could! We could, and we would, if only someone would say something. Just one person would do. I would do.


    ¡®Turn the car around.¡¯


    A few simple words, and I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the ball of guilt already forming in my chest. All I have to do, is say them.


    I don¡¯t.


    ¡°Turn the car around.¡±


    Liu Guanjun does.


    There is silence.


    ¡°Is that Liu Guanjun?¡± Lu Yang asks. ¡°You can¡¯t! You¡¯re the most injured of all, don¡¯t you get it? You¡¯ll die!¡±


    ¡°Then I will die with honour. Wang Xiuying.¡± Their eyes meet in the rearview mirror. ¡°Turn the car around.¡±


    Lu Yang protests and uses everything from well composed arguments about the risks to outright begging her. Liu Guanjun just steadily stares at her.


    Every second that passes is another second in which Granny Yang could have died and another few metres away from the campsite.


    Xiuying-jie¡¯s hands tighten on the steering wheel, then relax. She sighs a heavy, heavy sigh.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°What? Wang Xiuying, be reasonable, there is no way-¡±


    I reach over and switch the radio off.


    ¡°Xiao Lin¡­?¡±


    I flap my hand at her.


    ¡°Hurry up and turn around already. Everyone¡¯s okay, right?¡±


    Kui Renshu and Ms Lu look at each other and voice their assent. Liu Guanjun strains to lay her hand on Xiuying-jie¡¯s shoulder. Xiuying-jie sighs again, before rolling her shoulder determinedly and pulling the car around in an abrupt u-turn.


    ¡°You guys can¡¯t regret this, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    <hr>


    We ram right into the tier-2 at like 200 km/hr. The hood of the jeep crumples but so does the zombie.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    It roars and I flinch. I¡¯ve never been good with having anger directed at me, but this feels different. Is this what they call killing intent?


    The car reverses back out of the horde, leaving crushed tier-1s in our wake. Everyone but Liu Guanjun gets out the car.


    As per the plan made mere minutes ago, Xiuying-jie and Kui Renshu kick up a fuss and draw the zombies away from the trees where Granny Yang, if she is alive, is likely to be hiding. Ms Lu and I run into the trees and start searching for Granny Yang or¡ªI don''t want to think about it but it is a possibility¡ªher corpse.


    If we find her, we run back to the car, where Liu Guanjun has hopefully already manoeuvred herself into the driver¡¯s seat, and pick the distraction team up; if the distraction team finds her among the zombies, they run back to the car and come pick the search team up.


    Kui Renshu yells obscenities which cause Ms Lu to make a scandalised face and occasionally hacks at the zombies. Xiuying-jie just lets out one long continuous scream.


    The theory that zombies rely mostly on their hearing proves to be true and only two chase after me and Ms Lu.


    She kills one and I kill the other. Or at least I try. Instead, it runs and knocks me down. I feebly try to stab it but my knife slips out of my fingers. Shit.


    Evidently, I''m now too weak to take on even one goddamn basic ass zombie. Thanks a lot, Snowflake.


    But it''s not like he could''ve known what would happen and the I feel resentment turns into guilt as I summon him. He poofs into existence and grabs the neck of the zombie about to take a bite out of mine. He throws it at a nearby tree.


    I quickly explain the situation to him.


    ¡°Granny Yang got left behind so we''re searching for her.¡±


    Snowflake nods, once. He picks up the knife I dropped and thrusts it into the zombie''s head with a faint curl of distaste to his lips.


    ¡°Reduced to using mortal weapons...¡± he mutters. I tactfully pretend I didn''t hear him.


    Ms Lu helps me up with a wary glance at Snowflake. Still have no idea why everyone dislikes him, but it doesn''t affect my relationship with them as well so whatever.


    ¡°Hurry,¡± she says. ¡°We don''t have much time left.¡±


    We could hardly spend half a day searching for Granny Yang, so we''ve given ourselves a limit of ten minutes. Once that time has passed, all of us must make out way back to the car with or without the old lady.


    I check my phone and grimace. There''s only six minutes left.


    Everything''s pretty blurry but Granny Yang was wearing clothes with colours that would stand out against the grass and soil so I''m not too concerned about missing her. Two and a half minutes later, I spot orange pants on a pair of legs sticking out behind a tree. My heart soars. It''s Granny Yang!


    ¡°Granny Yang, Granny Yang!¡±


    ¡°My liege-" Snowflake tries to stop me but I duck under his arm. I round the tree, delighted smile on my face.


    A smile which immediately drops along with my heart.


    It is indeed Granny Yang resting against the base of the tree. But she is not alone.


    A zombie crouches over her, one clawed hand digging into the gaping wound in her chest and the other...


    The other holds a red and squishy mound of flesh. It shoves it into its mouth before I can see what it is. It could be a heart, a breast, a lung; whatever it is, it clearly once belonged to Granny Yang.


    My hands are pressed tightly against my mouth. This is the first time I''ve really witnessed a death. The zombies don''t count, and Uncle Bo''s corpse passed by too quickly for me to really process it.


    A strangled noise comes out of my throat. The zombie pauses in its desecration of Granny Yang''s body. Its head swivels towards me while the rest of its body remains perfectly still. It seems to consider me for a moment.


    That is what scares me most. Other zombies would immediately rush at new targets, and also gnawing at corpses messily instead of digging flesh out to eat with its claws. The zombie virus should have eroded their brains to leave only overwhelming hunger behind. No zombie should have this semblance of sapience.


    Before it can deem me weak enough to make for an easy meal, Snowflake has sliced off its head. He stabs the knife through its temple.


    I kneel in front of Granny Yang. I wet my lips.


    ¡°Granny Yang...?¡± I say, despite knowing she''ll never reply to that name again. I can''t seem to control the tremor in my voice when I call her again. ¡°Granny Yang...¡±


    Someone pats my shoulder. It''s Ms Lu. Snowflake is standing further back with an almost uncomfortable expression.


    ¡°Xiao Lin...¡± Ms Lu says. ¡°We need to leave.¡±


    I wipe the tears from my face (when did I start crying?) and nod.


    I''ve just stood up and turned my back to the corpse, when unexpectedly, there is a groan. I whirl around.


    ¡°Granny Yang?¡±


    Those were fatal injuries, but maybe she somehow had an ability that-!


    Granny Yang staggers to her feet. Except. It''s not Granny Yang. It''s a zombie now.


    Seeing the corpse of someone you know is bad enough, but true despair is seeing the reanimated corpse of someone you know.


    ¡°Graaggh...¡±


    Both Ms Lu and I are frozen to the spot, unwilling to harm a friend, even it¡¯s just a zombie wearing their face.


    Snowflake has no such compunction and readily dispatches the zombie who was once Granny Yang. Bizarrely, I feel the urge to stop him. I swallow it down and clutch my hands to my chest.


    Snowflake flicks the knife and droplets of red-black blood fly off the blade.


    ¡°We should leave,¡± he tells me. It feels cold.


    I nod. Ms Lu is silent beside me.

 Chapter 11 – Back on the Road

    There¡¯s still the matter of the tier-2 to deal with. And the way we deal with it is¡­


    ¡°Run!¡±


    The search team is running along the road, waiting for the car to catch up. The distraction team is already inside. They¡¯d had to take off to lead the zombie crowd away from us earlier and do some off-roading to circle back around to us.


    Well, Snowflake and Ms Lu are running. I¡¯m being carried over Snowflake¡¯s shoulder. His shoulders are surprisingly broad under those loose robes, but I¡¯m also not the smallest person so his shoulder digs into my abdomen. I am immensely grateful for his graceful glide-run saving me from the further discomfort of being winded every time he takes a step. Though I have no idea how he isn¡¯t tripping over the hems of his robes while also slashing at any zombies that get too close.


    It''s somewhat demeaning to be carried like this, but I don''t tell him to put me down. ¡®Life over pride,¡¯ I chant silently, ¡®Life over pride, life over pride.¡¯


    The car draws up alongside us. Xiuying-jie throws open the door. Ms Lu grasps her outstretched hand and is safely pulled inside.


    Snowflake doesn¡¯t wait for Xiuying-jie to stick her arm out again. He grabs my waist-


    ¡°Wait-¡± I shriek, voice cracking at the end of the word-


    -and hurls me into the car like a sack of potatoes. I land on top of the two women with a pained grunt. My head knocks into Ms Lu¡¯s. I flop down onto the ground and sigh. This is just my life now, I guess.


    Snowflake tosses my knife into the car before poofing back to wherever he came from. Xiuying-jie yanks the door shut. Liu Guanjun wastes no time in stepping on the gas, and with a lurch, we are speeding away from the zombie horde.


    The whole car sighs in relief.


    We drive in silence for a minute. Kui Renshu, never one to stay silent for long, speaks first.


    ¡°So, you didn¡¯t find Granny Yang?¡±


    The high of relief is abruptly dampened by his question. I draw my knees up and bury my face in them. Ms Lu rests a hand on my back and recounts the events.


    <hr>


    When we turn the radio back on, Lu Yang is ready with a thorough tongue-lashing. The moment he takes a breath though, Kui Renshu cuts in with an uncharacteristically curt ¡°She turned into a zombie.¡±


    He probably shouldn¡¯t have put it so bluntly. After a moment of shocked silence, Yaoyao starts crying. Lu Yang clicks his tongue and ends the transmission with ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this later,¡± which is fine by everyone.


    I look out the window. We drive by the occasional zombie. Every time we do, it tries to follow but is quickly left behind. The biggest group I see only contains five tier-1 zombies.


    Somehow, out of all these zombie groups on the road, we managed to run into the only big group with a tier-2. Are all the other survivors having as horrible luck as we are?This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Speaking of survivors, we haven¡¯t run across any at all. I¡¯d think we were the only humans left on earth if not for the constant chatter coming from the car¡¯s radio, which is repeating the location of the military camp and occasionally giving updates on the situation. I don¡¯t get all of it but I do get that teams of soldiers have gone into the city to look for survivors. Man, the military works fast. It¡¯s what, day 3 of the apocalypse? Feels a lot longer.


    I do wonder about how they have that many soldiers though. A third of the people in the shopping centre turned into zombies and killed a good many more, which I now know would¡¯ve turned into more zombies, which would kill more people, which would make more zombies, and so on and so forth. Judging from that, you¡¯d expect about half the military to be gone and the chain of command destroyed, making a response as fast as this impossible. So either there was something in the shopping centre that caused more zombification than other areas, or the military somehow had forewarning and a method to stop the random zombification. Perhaps there¡¯s another factor which I don¡¯t know about, but with the information I have, those two theories are the most likely.


    I huff a sigh. Getting more information is going to be even harder for me with my shaky grasp on Mandarin. And anyway, those problems are far removed from what I really need to worry about. Big issues like that should be left to the big fish; small fry like me just need to focus on preserving our small existences.


    A few hours later, we stop for lunch. Jin Hailin volunteers to be lookout.


    Kui Renshu is checking on Liu Guanjun, whose condition has worsened after her stint as a driver. He fixes up her bandages and tries to smile, but who does he think he¡¯s fooling? Even Yaoyao, were he not conked out from crying over Granny Yang, would understand the severity of her injuries. He gives her two muesli bars and some painkillers.


    He grabs Lu Yang and draws him into a hushed discussion. They grow agitated at some parts, but their volume never rises to the point where I can understand their words. Not like I need to though. Everyone knows what they¡¯re whispering about.


    Once they seem to have reached a conclusion, Lu Yang waves me and Ms Lu over. I brace myself, but Ms Lu kindly recounts the events by herself again. I feel bad that I¡¯m not of any help, but not bad enough to want to relive the discovery of Granny Yang¡¯s corpse. For once, Mandarin being my worse language helps.


    When told about the dead becoming zombies, Lu Yang doesn¡¯t look too surprised. He does look concerned about the intelligent zombie though. He dissolves into muttering with terms I am unfamiliar with and waves us away. Kui Renshu stays and the two use each other as sounding boards for their theories. Ms Lu puts a hand on my arm and I take that as our cue to leave.


    We sit on the ground.


    ¡°How are you doing?¡± she asks gently.


    ¡°¡­Not good,¡± I admit. ¡°Right now, I am very not good. But. Give me time, and I will be okay.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    We chew on our meagre fare in silence after that. In an effort to distract myself from reality, I think about the intelligent zombie. Not that far from reality, I know, but thinking about the theory of a thing makes the thing itself easier to face for me.


    So, what do we know so far?


    Normal tier-1 zombies have poor motor functions, are sensitive to noise, and are driven entirely by hunger. They are more like puppets with a singular purpose than beasts.


    Tier-2s are an evolved form of the tier-1. Evolution is achieved through absorption of other zombies. It is unknown whether the matter or the core is what contributes to the evolution, or perhaps both. Tier-2s gain basic sentience and the two encountered so far have shown they are capable of anger. Tier-2s appear to be capable of attracting and ordering a small number of zombies around. Their main moves consist of charging, grabbing and swiping.


    The deviant encountered earlier displayed caution when faced with unknowns. It demonstrated its motor functions were advanced enough to carve an organ out of a body for consumption. Its speed and strength resembled a tier-1 zombie. It was only its intelligence and improved motor functions that set it apart.


    I really wish I could Mandarin. As it is, I don¡¯t even know the word for ¡®evolution¡¯. I look over to where Kui Renshu and Lu Yang are in a heated discussion. Are they talking about the deviant zombie? I have theories too, but no one to discuss them with.


    Goddamn language barrier.