Chapter 87: Zombie Empress (18)

(Lirean Province- Capitol City)

(Eastern District- Sunshine Gated Community)

"Bro… watch out!" Qin Lan yelled as she slashed her dagger at the neck of the zombie that leapt at them from the darkness.

Qin Wei was startled as the blade passed mere inches away from the side of his face.

Qin Lan killed the zombie easily and kept running while dragging her brother by the hand.

Eve and the rest of the teenagers were a few dozen meters ahead and dealing with the zombies that had been attracted by the noise.

"Go…. go… go away…" Eve growled inhumanly as her fingernails were transformed into black claws.

She brutally tore open the throats of the zombies in her path and black blood splattered all over her jacket.

Qin Lan turned around to get a final look at the mansion that had now been overrun by thick green vines that squirmed and wriggled with snake-like movements.

Fortunately, the vines could not extend very far so they didn't need to worry about being dragged back into that death trap.

Qin Lan could faintly make out humanoid shadows standing near the windows of several mansions along the street.

Whether their occupants were humans or zombies was impossible to tell but she could feel numerous eyes staring at them.

"Eve look out behind you!" Qin Lan shouted as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her handgun.

Bang!

A single shot penetrated the forehead of the zombie that jumped down from a nearby streetlight.

Qin Lan furrowed her brow as she realised that the zombie had somehow managed to climb up the steel structure and lay in wait for an ambush.

They were slowly evolving and getting more intelligent…

Fuck! That was not good!

Qin Lan could feel her brother's hand slightly trembling, so she squeezed it reassuringly.

Her brother may not be very brave, but Qin Lan was not about to abandon her only family member.

"Come in here!" a voice suddenly shouted from a mansion across the road. A door was opened, and a middle-aged woman gestured for them to run inside.

She wore an expensive white fur coat and had a gold ring on each finger. It was an untasteful display of wealth, but Qin Lan was grateful for her kind offer.

Still, one could not help but be a bit cautious during the apocalypse, so Qin Lan knew that she needed to politely decline.

"It's okay! We have a van! If you have a car, I would recommend that you leave the city as soon as possible," Qin Lan shouted in reply.

A thoughtful expression flashed across the middle-aged woman's face, and she closed the door after seeing the group approach a large red van.

Qin Lan got into the driver's seat and was joined by Eve who kept looking at the zombies in the distance.

"Everyone okay? I think we might have to cancel trying to find a place to sleep tonight so try to get some rest," Qin Lan explained gently to the frightened teenagers.

"Yeah… yeah… I'm okay…" Chen Xiao replied with a tremor in his voice.

Liu Yifei and Liu Tao nodded as well but Gong Li and Qin Wei remained silent.

Qin Wei had his hand in his pocket and kept staring off into the distance while Gong Li kept trying to peak at Liu Yifei without getting caught.

The young girl kept opening her mouth as if to say something to her friend, but no words managed to come out.

Eventually she lowered her head and tried to go to sleep.

What she saw while she was under the plant's influence would remain hidden in her heart.

Qin Lan observed that everyone was in a bit of a low mood but there really wasn't anything that she could do about it.

"Eve… let me see your hands," Qin Lan whispered softly as she reached down to pick up the packet of wet tissues on the bottom of her seat.

She gently held Eve's hands and wiped off the dirt and black blood that stained her delicate fingertips.

Qin Lan worked very seriously to make sure that not a single speck of blood remained on Eve's white hands.

Her hair fell across her face, so Eve reached out and carefully brushed the loose strand of hair to the side.

Two pairs of eyes met, and Qin Lan was forced to look away before the blush could be seen on her face.

Eve's confession was still fresh in her mind but unfortunately now was neither the time nor place to talk about their relationship.

The zombie empress stared at her cute human and laughed softly.

She playfully grabbed Qin Lan's hand and squeezed it twice before letting it go.

Qin Lan nervously trembled and Eve had to resist the urge to lean in closer and kiss her right on the lips.

"Are we going to go yet?" Qin Wei's voice interrupted the sweet moment.

He stared out of the window and ran his fingers over the cold surface of the crystals in his pocket.

"Sorry… just had to make sure that the route was correct," Qin Lan offered a half-hearted explanation as she plugged the key into the ignition port.

Eve frowned at the annoying human and her eyes briefly lingered on Qin Wei's pockets. She could sense what was hidden inside but did not say anything.

Qin Lan started up the van and began to drive the vehicle along the road and towards a northeastern direction.

There was a street that led directly out of the capitol city, but it was a solid ten-kilometer distance away.

Liu Yifei touched the tattered pendant around her neck and a few protein bars dropped into her hands.

She passed them around the van and got a few grateful looks from her fellow classmates.

Qin Wei in particular stared at her for a bit longer than she was comfortable with but Liu Yifei tried her best to ignore him.

It was not that she hated him to core….

It was just that there was a trace of resentment in her heart for his inaction when the gang grabbed her in the supermarket.

All those flowery words and promises… didn't mean shit.

Liu Yifei let out a heavy sigh and leaned against Gong Li who stiffened up immediately as if she had just been electrified.

"You've been pretty quiet… everything okay?" Liu Yifei asked quietly.

"Yeah! I'm great! You're great! I mean… um…" Gong Li stuttered as certain images flashed across her mind.

Liu Yifei raised an eyebrow since she didn't know why her friend was acting so strange.

Maybe she saw something in the illusions?

Liu Yifei thought back to what she saw in the mansion and a warm smile surfaced on her face.

She had seen a vision of her family standing in the middle of the room with their arms outstretched waiting to be reunited in a big group hug.

What had given the illusion away was that the vision included her grandparents smiling at her, but they had both passed away a few years ago.

Still… it was good to see their faces one last time…

Qin Lan gripped the steering wheel and turned left to avoid a zombie that ran directly at their vehicle on all fours like a dog.

A low pressure surrounded Eve's body and the vicious zombie froze in place for a moment as if someone had paused his movements.

Qin Lan didn't notice the strange sight since she was concentrating on manoeuvring around the abandoned cars that were scattered across the road.

She could see zombies inside some of the vehicles who kept banging against the glass windows over and over again.

It was a terrifying sight.

Especially those empty pitch-black eyes that contained nothing but hunger and the desire for human flesh.

"Eve, would you mind reaching into my pocket and washing the crystals for me?" Qin Lan asked casually.

A mischievous glint surfaced in Eve's eyes as she reached across and placed her hand inside Qin Lan's pocket.

She grabbed the purplish-black crystals but intentionally used her fingers to brush the upper part of Qin Lan's right leg.

Eve stared at the reddish tips of her favourite human's ears and felt very content.

She picked up a bottle of water and began to wash away the chunks of flesh on the crystals.

"So how do they taste?" Liu Tao asked curiously as she leaned in to get a closer look.

"They don't taste like anything… but the energy inside… hurts like hell…" Qin Lan confessed as she remembered the pain of swallowing the crystals.

"It feels like needles tearing through every part of your body…. and that's not the worst part…"

Liu Tao listened in fascination as Qin Lan explained how the crystals made her feel. She was not the only one and a conflicted look flashed across Qin Wei's face.

He began to feel a bit hesitant about his plan but as he spotted Liu Yifei's sleeping body in the corner of his vision…

He was filled with determination.