At eight o’clock in the evening, the lights in the urban village lit up on time.
Granny Niu carried a bundle of fresh greens and two tomatoes she had just exchanged from a vegetable vendor. When she opened the door, the rich aroma of meat was already wafting from inside.
It was the young girl who had just rented the place today. She was cooking in the kitchen, and from the smell, it was probably braised rabbit.
“Hiss!”
A two-meter-long black python suddenly slithered onto the shoe cabinet, its vertical pupils gazing at her eerily.
Granny Niu was stunned for two seconds. A trace of surprise flashed through her eyes, but there was no fear.
She calmly began to change her shoes.
Before the black snake could do anything, Su Su stormed out of the kitchen in a fury. “Xiao Hei! What are you doing!”
“Hiss!”
The large black python hissed twice more at Granny Niu. Seeing that she remained unresponsive, not even grabbing the broom propped against the door to chase it away, it was instantly satisfied and slithered back to its female companion’s side.
To prevent her from getting angry, it even deliberately rubbed against her calf.
“Hiss~”
Su Su’s heart instantly softened. She looked at Granny Granny Niulogetically. “Sorry, Xiao Hei is my companion. It’s just a bit mischievous, but it doesn’t mean any harm.”
“It has an ability, doesn’t it?”
This wasn’t something that could be hidden forever. Su Su nodded. “Yes.”
“Mm.”
Granny Niu’s reaction was too calm, leaving Su Su momentarily unable to figure her out. “Aren’t you afraid, Granny?”
At these words, Granny Niu’s lips briefly curved into a smile. “People can turn into zombies. What’s there to be afraid of in a snake?”
That was true.
Since Granny Niu didn’t reject Xiao Hei, Su Su was especially happy. She brought out the braised rabbit. “If you don’t mind, we can eat together.”
Granny Niu didn’t refuse either. She returned to the kitchen and stir-fried a plate of greens and another of tomatoes with scrambled eggs. Together, it made for a balanced meal with meat, eggs, and vegetables—better than what low-level ability users in the northern district were eating.
The black snake had already been fed and was now lazily coiled around the female’s thigh, its tongue flicking idly against the fabric covering her lower abdomen, but it could only touch the thin layer of clothing.
The dining table was exceptionally quiet.
This was also how meals with Granny Niu had always been in her past life, so Su Su was already used to it.
“I’m planning to craft a curved short blade for you.”
“The blade will be forty centimeters long. That way, it won’t be easy for others to snatch your weapon, and it’ll be convenient for close combat against zombies.”
In her past life, Granny Niu had also crafted this exact weapon for her. Hearing it again now, Su Su wasn’t surprised.
“Thank you, Granny.” She smiled sweetly. “This knife will definitely suit me well.”
Granny Niu seemed surprised that the young girl appreciated her skills so much. She remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. “My craftsmanship isn’t worth the Grade 3 crystal you’re offering, but I need it… Besides the knife, I can also forge a fitted soft armor for you, as well as some concealed weapons for your sleeves. If that snake of yours has shed scales or skin, you can give them to me too. I can incorporate them into your weapon to make it even harder and sharper.”
Su Su instinctively looked at Xiao Hei.
The latter innocently raised its head to look at her, quickly retracting the tongue that had almost slipped into the inside of her shirt. “Hiss~”
Su Su didn’t notice its little action.
She originally wanted to say that Xiao Hei never shed its scales, but then she suddenly remembered the dozen or so scales it had knocked off in the underground cave.
“Xiao Hei, can I use those scales to forge a weapon?” Su Su knew that Xiao Hei could understand her, so she asked nicely.
“Hiss!”
Of course, the black snake agreed. Just imagining its scales being made into soft armor and pressed tightly against its female made it look at the old woman with a much gentler gaze.
Granny Niu, who had been observing for a while, suddenly said, “You two are the closest human and battle companion I’ve ever seen.”
Su Su raised her eyes in surprise. “You’ve seen other people raising battle companions?”
“Of course.” Granny Niu picked up two strands of greens with her chopsticks and said blandly, “Ability users in the northern district come in all varieties. Some specifically raise fierce beasts to fight for them, and some even feed them crystal stones.”
“If they fail, the beast’s body explodes and dies. If they succeed, the master is devoured instead.”
“So far, no one has successfully controlled a fierce beast.”
The sheer amount of information crashed into Su Su’s understanding of the world.
In her past life, Granny Niu had never talked to her about these things. But that made sense—back then, she was just an ordinary person struggling at the very bottom to survive, with no need to know too much.
“When your weapon is finished, you should leave this place.”
“The urban village in the southern district isn’t suitable for you. Go to the northern district. You’ll find better opportunities and a higher standard of living there.”
Su Su countered, “Then what about you, Granny? You’re clearly a Tier 2 ability user, so why are you still living in the urban village?”
This was a mystery that had never been solved in her previous life—not even by the time Granny Niu died.
The elderly woman sitting across from her was silent for a long time, so long that Su Su thought she wouldn’t answer.
Then, Granny Niu slowly spoke. “The Southern Base has a rule: ability users who enter the city must reside in the northern district. Whether they live in an apartment, a compound, or a villa depends entirely on their strength. According to the regulations, each ability user is allowed to bring one ordinary person with them.”
Su Su nodded.
This was common knowledge given to everyone before entering the city, clearly written in the handbook.
Granny Niu tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Perhaps this is the base’s version of kindness. When my ability awakened, I brought my daughter, who hadn’t awakened any abilities, to live in the northern district.”
Su Su looked over in shock. “You have a daughter?”
“She’s the same age as you. Grew up well. Not as pretty as you, but still delicate.”
Granny Niu’s gaze gradually turned vacant, as if lost in memories.
“With this ability, I managed to live decently in the northern district. Even without going out to fight zombies, I had a steady supply of crystal stones.”
At this point, Su Su couldn’t help but ask, “What happened after that?”
“She later died in a horde of zombies.”
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. Even though Su Su had somewhat expected it, she was still shocked by this past event.
Now, she more or less understood—why Granny Niu had taken her in during her previous life.
Granny Niu picked up the last strand of greens. The plain, unseasoned vegetables were like her life over the past half-year—bland, tasteless, and devoid of hope.
The two sat in silence for a long time. Then, Su Su asked a simple yet crucial question: “She was an ordinary person. Why was she in a zombie horde?”
Granny Niu fell silent again.
Ever since that incident, she had never spoken about it to anyone. It was as if just bringing it up had become something unbearably difficult.
Perhaps it had been bottled up for too long. Or perhaps this young girl’s actions today had reminded her of how her daughter used to stand at the shop entrance, arguing persistently with dishonest customers.
At last, she revealed a fragment of the truth. “She fell for a man. He was a Tier 1 ability user—not bad-looking, good at sweet-talking. After half a month of dating, she brought him home and asked me to forge him a weapon.”
At this point, Su Su already had a guess about what would happen next.
Sure enough, Granny Niu’s calm tone narrated the cold reality of this world: “After he got the weapon, he broke up with my daughter.”
“Not long after, he started dating the daughter of a hunting squad leader and soon advanced to a Tier 2 ability user.”
Logically, that should have been the end of it. But the loser often refuses to accept defeat. And when that unwillingness grows too strong, it turns into obsession.
Her daughter went looking for that man multiple times. Fearing that his current girlfriend would find out, he spat the most vicious and humiliating words at her.
Granny Niu had been busy forging weapons. By the time she realized what had happened, her daughter had already signed up for an outer-city zombie extermination mission on her own.
She thought that by throwing herself into danger, she might awaken an ability. That she could transform from a worthless ordinary person into an esteemed ability user.
In the end… she was devoured by zombies.
The scumbag lived happily ever after. Her daughter died with no remains left behind.
Granny Niu had thought about revenge. But that man possessed an offensive Tier 2 ability, while hers was purely functional. And she was a woman in her sixties—how could she stand against a grown male ability user?
“Leave the southern district.” The silver-haired old woman stood up and carried the dishes to the kitchen. “You’re far better than my daughter. You can build the best life on your own. Never throw your life away for a man.”
Seated at the dining table, Su Su silently lowered her head and glanced at Xiao Hei.
The black snake shuddered!
It was actually quite intelligent—just too lazy to think most of the time. But now that a sensitive topic had come up, it immediately straightened its body and clung to her, rubbing its head into the crook of her neck in an attempt to act endearing.
“Hiss~”
Human males and itself were obviously two entirely different species.
It just hoped its female would understand that.
Xiao Hei suddenly snuggled closer. Su Su, puzzled, reached out and stroked its head. “What’s wrong?”
The black snake tilted its head upward, its vertical pupils carefully scrutinizing her expression… Seeing nothing unusual, the petty cold-blooded creature sulked and flopped back down.
Even then, it still wasn’t satisfied. It opened its mouth and bit down on her finger, gnawing on it aggressively.
Su Su assumed it was still upset about the broom incident. Amused, she let it do as it pleased.
The sound of running water in the kitchen gradually ceased.
Su Su had already walked to the kitchen doorway. She gazed at the slightly hunched figure inside and softly said, “Maybe she wasn’t throwing her life away for a man.”
“She wanted to awaken an ability. Maybe… she was doing it for herself.”
To no longer be used as a stepping stone.
To no longer be humiliated.
To… take control of her own fate.
In her past life, Su Su had also signed up for an outer-city zombie extermination mission.
Granny Niu had been furious, arguing with her for half a month and even threatening to kick her out of the house.
But Su Su had never backed down.
She preferred to believe that Granny Niu’s daughter had made that choice for herself, marching toward a death that was both tragic and noble.
Pa-ta.
The moment she finished speaking, the one-hour timed power supply shut off precisely on schedule. The entire urban village plunged into darkness.
Su Su didn’t know what Granny Niu was feeling at that moment. Maybe she believed her. Maybe she didn’t.
“…Go wash up and sleep.”
“Mm.”
Su Su picked up Xiao Hei and returned to her room.
The mattress and bedding were all new. After so long, she could finally lie comfortably on a proper bed.
Rustle—rustle—
The freshly cleaned black python slithered under the blanket, expertly squeezing into the female’s embrace.
The urban village had no soundproofing. Outside, people were still chattering, arguing, playing cards… There were no drunkards—alcohol had become a luxury in the apocalypse. At most, they could afford cheap, endlessly diluted beer. Only single men with a few miscellaneous-element crystals to spare would consider buying it.
Hiss~
Su Su closed her eyes, her breathing gradually evening out.
A cool, forked tongue cautiously licked the corner of her lips.
Su Su’s eyes suddenly snapped open. In the darkness, she caught Xiao Hei in the act.
Black snake: “……”
Su Su had long since forgotten about the hot spring incident. She simply tightened her embrace around Xiao Hei, pressing her ear against the pillow, listening to the restless noise outside that made it hard to sleep.
“Woo woo woo—”
“Why is it grain husk cakes again tonight? Didn’t I bring back two Grade 1 crystals at the beginning of the month?!”
“We have to ration. Next month, we’ll have to pay the population tax again…”
“Living is meaningless.”
“I killed over twenty miscellaneous-element zombies today. Got a total of 26 miscellaneous-element crystals. Tomorrow, I’ll exchange twelve of them for a Grade 1 crystal and send it to your younger brother. As long as his strength increases, our son can live comfortably in the northern district.”
“Wuwuwu—It hurts—it hurts so much—”
“……”
Su Su abruptly pulled the blanket over herself and Xiao Hei, enclosing them in a narrow, pitch-black space.
“Xiao Hei, Granny Niu wants that Grade 3 crystal. She’s definitely planning to go back for revenge.”
“Who knows what level that scumbag’s ability has reached by now. But since Granny once saved me, I have to help her.”
After tonight’s conversation, she had more or less pieced together the truth of her past life—without her providing a Grade 3 crystal, it had taken Granny Niu two whole years to finally obtain one, successfully advancing to a Tier 3 ability user.
That weapon Granny had given her to take to the northern district… was probably meant to be the murder weapon for killing that scumbag.
Unfortunately, in the end, it was Granny Niu’s corpse that had been brought back.
Su Su took a deep breath. “We’ll take on a mission tomorrow too. That way, we can also ask around about Cancan and Le Rui’s whereabouts.”
If Cancan and Wei Yan had arrived at the Southern Base with the others, then with their strength, they wouldn’t have remained unknown for long.
With a little investigation, she might be able to find out where they were living.
Warm breaths brushed against the snake’s smooth body. Beneath the covers, the black python silently coiled itself more tightly around its female.
“Hiss~”
A faint restlessness stirred within it, but to avoid scaring her away again, it suppressed the urge.
Instead, its sleek head nudged gently against Su Su’s chin in a coaxing manner.
Understanding the gesture, Su Su placed a light, fleeting goodnight kiss on its head.
“Goodnight, Xiao Hei.”
Goodnight.
The deep emerald vertical pupils gazed at her for a long time before, at last, as she drifted into sleep, they slowly closed as well.
Goodnight.