Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Xu Fang, anxiously rubbing his bald head and facing Lin An's non-cooperation, had no choice but to forcefully extract her, which upset Xiao Fu standing nearby.

Though they had fun in the morning and Xiao Fu seemed to like Xu Fang, seeing him now as a threat to his master, Xiao Fu immediately started barking and snarling at Xu Fang, as if ready to bite.

Xu Fang quickly withdrew his hand, standing by the cabinet for a long time, seemingly at a loss with the zombie.

Fortunately, at this moment, Shen Xiuzhe returned.

He severed all the filament-like materials from the mutant zombie’s hands, effectively rendering it incapable of sensing enemies. After Shen Xiuzhe lured it out, the fight ended quickly, and the zombie was burned to ash.

Seeing his boss, Xu Fang immediately shouted, “Boss, what about that zombie?”

“Dead,” Shen Xiuzhe said, frowning slightly upon seeing Xu Fang still standing in front of the cabinet.

“It stubbornly refused to come out, and every time I reached out, Xiao Fu tried to bite me. Now that the zombie is dead, we shouldn’t need to keep running with An Ge, right?”

Shen Xiuzhe’s gaze shifted to Lin An in the cabinet; the situation was becoming tricky. Since last night, three special types of zombies had appeared, all seemingly drawn to Lin An.

Or more precisely, drawn to the meteorite.

Before, when he carried the meteorite, he was a prime target of zombie attacks. Later, he found a rare metal and crafted a small ring box to contain the meteorite, which largely concealed it from the zombies’ senses.

Now that Lin An had ingested the meteorite, it had started attracting zombies again.

However, the sole piece of good news was that only special types of zombies were drawn to Lin An; ordinary ones seemed unable to detect him, or else this place would have been overrun by them by now.

That rare metal was also a serendipitous find, available in very limited quantities, and it was impossible to shield such a large entity as Lin An.

So now he was a living target; staying in one place would inevitably draw special zombies sooner or later.

“If we go out for supplies, we must take him with us,” Shen Xiuzhe said, massaging his temples.

“Ah, why?” Xu Fang was very puzzled. To him, taking along an unpredictable zombie seemed too dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better to leave Lin An and Xiao Fu here? After all, they wouldn’t go out.

“Because if we’re not here, by the time we come back, there might be nothing left of Lin An and the dog.”

Shen Xiuzhe hadn’t planned on telling Xu Fang about the meteorite, but now that he knew Lin An could attract special zombies, the dangers they would encounter on the road would increase exponentially. He couldn’t bring himself to risk Xu Fang's life in ignorance, so it was better to inform him beforehand, leaving the choice to him.

After Shen Xiuzhe revealed the matter of the meteorite to Xu Fang, he had expected hesitation, but instead, Xu Fang looked at Lin An with fervent eyes. The little zombie couldn’t bear such a scorching gaze and buried its head in its knees.

“Can he end the apocalypse?” Xu Fang asked excitedly.

“It’s just a hypothesis.”

"As long as we get him to Baize City, we could develop a method to combat the zombies, or even a zombie vaccine!"

"The likelihood is very low."

"Is it enough just to protect him?"

"He is indeed important, but the greatest likelihood is that we'll discover nothing, and my guess will be wrong. Moreover, due to his ability to attract special zombies, both you and I could lose our lives at any moment."

Xu Fang gave Shen Xiuzhe a relaxed, cheeky smile: "Boss, just the possibility is enough. Even a slight chance is worth risking my life for, at least now I know there's a potential end to this apocalypse."

Xu Fang might seem carefree, but these past six months have been a nightmare for him.

Though he possessed special powers and followed a good leader, making life not too bad, witnessing his own kind go from laughter to having their throats torn open by zombies, blood gushing, flesh being devoured bit by bit, and some still alive, screaming for help even as they were eaten halfway - such scenes, no matter how often repeated, were always unbearable and nauseating.

Brothers turning on each other over a moldy bun fallen in a dirty gutter; a woman holding her dead baby with a numb expression; children pushing their parents into a horde of zombies to save themselves - he had seen too much of this.

Life used to be so stable, with the biggest worries being unruly hair or not making enough money, but in one night, the whole world changed.

It felt like falling from heaven into hell in an instant.

Unsure when the apocalypse would end, every night he hoped that the past six months were merely a nightmare, wishing to awaken from it.

But every day he woke up to a new despair.

"Boss, don't worry, I'll protect him." Xu Fang might not look like a good guy, and even his smile now seemed a bit insincere, but Shen Xiuzhe knew that his promise carried great weight.

Shen Xiuzhe patted his shoulder: "Don't worry too much, I'm here too."

The unspoken understanding between the two meant their attention was now focused on the little zombie hiding in the wardrobe.

The little zombie almost cried, feeling as if holes could burn through him under their intense, scrutinizing gazes.

Lin An: Stop staring at him.

"Ah, my eyes!" Xu Fang was suddenly hit in the eyes by two small jets of water from mid-air, while Shen Xiuzhe dodged yet again.

The jets were not powerful and were just clear, clean water. The surprised Xu Fang was unharmed, and his gaze indeed shifted away from Lin An.

Xu Fang: He'd rather go see Xiao Fu; why is it always him getting hurt?

They were headed to the city center for supplies, with no choice but to take Lin An along due to his non-cooperation. Shen Xiuzhe grabbed the little zombie and hoisted him onto his shoulder.

Xiao Fu, who had wanted to bite Shen Xiuzhe, was deterred by a mere glance.

Lin An lay across Shen Xiuzhe's shoulder, struggling continuously. Realizing he was about to be taken away from home, he clung to the door frame, refusing to leave.

"Why is leaving the house as bad as losing your life?" Shen Xiuzhe couldn't fathom the zombie's issue and said coldly, "Stop your fuss, or I'll leave you at home!"

Shen Xiuzhe's self-perception was inaccurate; he saw himself as friendly, but others found him entirely the opposite.

His phoenix eyes, when cast upon others, often held a disdainful air, his smile seeming more like a sneer, especially when his face was expressionless, giving off the impression of harboring a grudge.

Thus, despite his top-tier looks and stature, few dared to approach or entice him, with many in the base perceiving him as arrogant and domineering.

He thought his tone was just a bit cold, but to others, it felt like a severe threat, like a cold, angry shout.

Lin An, frightened, shrunk his neck and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Shen Xiuzhe: "..."

"Why are you crying? I didn’t scold you." He could only set the little zombie down, wiping the tears from his face with one hand and gently patting his head with the other, coaxing, "Behave, and we'll be back tonight."

The little zombie, not understanding, continued to cry.

Xu Fang had glanced over countless times, each look filled with unspeakable thoughts. In the half-year they’d known each other, his boss had never spoken to him in such a tone.

"Tsk." Faced with Lin An who simply couldn’t understand, Shen Xiuzhe seized the moment while the little zombie was still crying and oblivious to grab the door frame, scooping him up and holding him in his arms: "Xu Fang, make sure to lock the door when you leave."

The little zombie, caught off guard and trying to reach for the door frame again, missed and ended up clutching a pink watering can set on a shelf by the door.

Watching the boss and Lin An leave, Xu Fang petted Xiao Fu's head: "Xiao Fu, there are too many zombies in the city center. I might not be able to look after you, so stay and guard the house. I’ll take you out for a walk when I come back tonight."

With that, he closed the door and left.

He hadn’t gone far when the door clicked open behind him, and Xiao Fu, leash in mouth, dashed out and looked up at Xu Fang.

Xiao Fu: "Hmm-hmm~"

Xu Fang: "..."

Shen Xiuzhe carried the little zombie downstairs, ensuring he couldn't grab onto anything along the way. Arriving at the car, he opened the rear door and stuffed him in.

With no place to hide, Lin An could only crouch low in the corner of the back seat, subconsciously clutching the pink spray bottle in his hands.

Shen Xiuzhe took the passenger seat and waited for Xu Fang, who eventually came down, leading the dog.

"Why did you bring the dog along?"

"Heh, boss, you didn't know, Xiao Fu can open doors. If we leave and he runs out to find us, he could get spotted by nearby zombies, which would be even more dangerous. Better to bring him with us."

Upon opening the rear door, Xiao Fu leaped in, snuggling next to his owner.

Xu Fang placed the backpack in the car too before shutting the door and heading to the driver's seat.

The bulging backpack in the back was clearly from Lin An's household supplies, a travel backpack designed for wilderness adventures.

"What's in the bag?" Shen Xiuzhe asked.

"Just some food for Xiao Fu. We can scavenge for ourselves, but a lot of human food isn't safe for dogs, so I packed some specially."

Shen Xiuzhe: "...Alright then, I’ll keep an eye on Lin An, and you take care of the dog. Make sure he doesn't get lost."

Xu Fang started the car, acknowledging with an 'okay'.

While they only spoke of Lin An attracting special zombies as a danger, in reality, their ability to attract ordinary zombies made them even more vulnerable.

The city center of Chuxi City used to be bustling, now streets swarmed with countless zombies that would converge upon detecting human scent.

Their small white car was almost submerged in the teeming mass of zombies.

Lin An, seated in the back, unable to bear the sight of the ugly, filthy zombies up close, sprayed his bottle against the glass.

He didn't appear scared, just disgusted by the zombies' dirty, ragged clothes and yellowed fangs. His special ability hadn't returned, only able to moisten his head or refill his spray bottle with water, far from creating a water spout.

So now, he contented himself with spraying the car windows, as if this would cleanse them. He had sprayed all around inside the car, probably thinking he was disinfecting, though the bottle only contained water he had enhanced with his powers.

At first, Xiao Fu was terrified of the many zombies, clinging to his owner's legs. But realizing they couldn't get in, he perked up, hopping onto the seat, paws on the window ledge, barking out at them.

With too many zombies to proceed, Xu Fang looked to his boss for guidance.

The two had grown accustomed to such scenes. Shen Xiuzhe leaned back in the passenger seat, glancing outside for a moment before flames erupted on the zombies crowding around the car.

Due to their close proximity, the flames quickly spread among the zombies, soon engulfing a large swath of them in a fiery inferno.

Xu Fang restarted the car, slammed on the accelerator, and charged into the blazing sea of fire ahead.