Hearing the name of a legendary figure from her past life all of a sudden, Su Su’s emotions were complicated.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she uncharacteristically developed a slight curiosity.
“Pang Cancan? How do you write it?”
Seeing Su Su turn around, Pang Cancan’s hope was immediately rekindled. She eagerly explained with exaggerated gestures, “Pang as in ‘vast,’ Can as in ‘brilliant,’ and Can as in ‘shining like the stars!’”
That was indeed the name.
Su Su opened her mouth, but the question she asked was somewhat baffling. “If—I’m just saying if—I hadn’t happened to appear here, what would you have done? Stayed hidden in the storage room forever?”
Pang Cancan followed the train of thought and considered it. “I’d probably starve to death… No, wait, that zombie was so strong, it would likely smash the door first. When that happens, I’d be a turtle in a jar, ready for the taking.”
In other words, she would die—used as a sacrifice by those bastards.
The more Pang Cancan thought about it, the angrier she became. Reaching her breaking point, she blurted out without thinking, “But I still have a way to turn the situation around!”
“What way?”
“I grew up in a mountain village, drinking poison-infused water. If I had no other choice, I could swallow venomous insects and let their toxins transform my body! If the transformation succeeds, my body will be just like the zombies’—all rotting dead flesh. Then they wouldn’t even be interested in eating me!”
In order to cling tightly to the beautiful older sister’s thigh, Pang Cancan practically revealed all her secrets without any reservations.
Su Su was silent for a few seconds.
She never expected that after living another lifetime, she would run into the infamous ‘Poison Girl’ in her childhood phase—and even successfully prevented her from modifying her body.
No, considering how unguarded this person was… there was probably more to come.
Su Su thought for a long time.
“Where are you planning to go?”
Pang Cancan shamelessly latched onto the opportunity. “Wherever you go, I’ll go!”
Under Su Su’s silent gaze, she chuckled sheepishly, no longer daring to say such flattering words. She honestly admitted, “Actually, I don’t know where to go. Lin Wenzong… those bastards, they were planning to go to the Southern Base. It’s said that there are many ability users there, lots of supplies, and it’s safe and stable. So, I just followed them.”
“I’m also going to the Southern Base.”
Humans were social creatures. They would naturally flock to the most stable and safest place, and Su Su was no exception.
“If you follow me, you must listen to what I say.”
“I’ll listen! Listen, listen, listen! I’m your loyal dog, Sister! Just point, and I’ll attack!”
Su Su: “……”
She truly couldn’t associate the lively and eccentric girl before her with the cunning and ruthless “Poison Girl” of the future.
“Let’s go.”
Su Su took the lead in heading downstairs, and Pang Cancan eagerly followed. Just as they were about to leave, she suddenly remembered something and rushed back to scoop up the pile of food she had left on the ground.
Serves them right! Those bastards abandoned her, yet they didn’t get any supplies either!
Su Su led Pang Cancan to the parking spot. “Get in the car.”
“Got it!”
Pang Cancan excitedly made her way toward the front passenger seat, but just as she had climbed halfway in, a hideous snake’s head lunged straight at her forehead.
“Holy shit!!!”
Pang Cancan was so startled that she fell backward. Instinctively, she released a swarm of venomous insects to counter the attack.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
The insects darted forward at astonishing speed, but to the black snake, they were nothing more than a batch of prey delivering themselves to its mouth.
“Hiss—!”
In an instant, the black snake swallowed over a dozen venomous insects whole. With a few crisp crunches, they were crushed and digested.
Toxic creatures? To the black snake, they were merely nourishment.
Pang Cancan let out a shriek. “My babies!!!”
Su Su: “…… Xiao Hei, spit them out!”
As if that were possible—it had already digested them completely.
The black snake rolled its eyes at Su Su, lazily slithering out of the backpack. Its two-meter-long body coiled around the entire front passenger seat, making it very clear that this was its territory.
Once settled, it even cast a disdainful glance at the unfamiliar human, its eyes flickering with satisfaction, warning, and a hint of undisguised greed.
Venomous insects—delicious. A few more wouldn’t be bad.
Pang Cancan turned pale, stumbling backward out of the car as she looked helplessly at Su Su.
“Sister, this…”
“This is my pet,” Su Su said stiffly. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier.”
She really hadn’t expected Xiao Hei to suddenly slither out of her backpack just as Pang Cancan climbed into the front seat.
She had originally planned to keep it hidden for a while longer, but now—well, the secret was completely out.
“How about you sit in the back instead? This is its designated spot, so it got a little aggressive just now. Actually, Xiao Hei is usually well-behaved.”
That last sentence was a blatant lie.
Pang Cancan clutched her chest and got into the backseat. Once she calmed down, the initial shock faded.
It was just a python—back in her village, plenty of people raised centipedes, scorpions, and other creatures. It was all just a matter of personal preference.
Su Su discreetly observed Pang Cancan through the rearview mirror for a while.
How should she put it? As expected of the “Poison Girl”—she accepted the idea of keeping a venomous snake as a pet unusually fast, even showing a hint of excitement.
Su Su let out a slight sigh of relief.
The reason she was willing to let Pang Cancan travel with her—aside from guessing that she would quickly accept Xiao Hei—was also because, in her previous life… due to her unique ability and some rumors of romantic rivalries, Pang Cancan had a terrible reputation at the Southern Base. People spoke of her with disdain and disgust. Even when conflicts of interest arose, most would side with Lin Weiran and Si Zhe.
Yet in the end, Pang Cancan died on the frontlines of the base’s defense. The thousands of venomous insects she controlled successfully held off the first wave of zombie attacks.
Later, it was Si Zhe and Lin Weiran who arrived to clean up the remaining stragglers.
No one cared about the corpses of the venomous insects scattered across the ground, nor about the Poison Girl’s lifeless body. Instead, everyone looked up in gratitude at the two powerful figures standing atop the city walls.
And then Su Su died too—perishing in the second wave of the zombie horde.
If her death had been seen as the demise of an overconfident ant, then Pang Cancan’s death was more like the fall of a whale, giving countless others a chance to scrape by and survive—so they began to sing praises of the ocean’s mercy.
“I’m Su Su, twenty-two years old. Just call me by my name from now on.”
Pulling herself from her memories, Su Su recalled the venomous insects that Xiao Hei had swallowed, and the guilt in her heart was beyond words.
Silently, she took out a Grade 2 crystal and then reached into her food supply pocket, pulling out two boiled eggs.
“This is my apology. I hope it can make up for your loss.”
A Grade 2 crystal!
Two boiled eggs!
Either one was enough to make Pang Cancan—who was currently only at Tier 1 strength—drool.
“Hehe, this is really too much… I feel embarrassed.”
Though she said that, her hands didn’t hesitate in the slightest as she swiftly accepted them.
“Actually, I still have other babies. The fact that those babies got eaten by your pet just now—it’s their honor!”
Su Su: “……”
She didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so she simply started the off-road vehicle and continued toward X City.
Boiled eggs. Soft, white egg whites and plump, golden yolks.
Pang Cancan devoured them ravenously, tears of emotion welling up in the corners of her eyes.
No wonder the elders always said eggs were the best nourishment.
This whole time, she had watched those bastards feast while she had to survive on instant noodles and spicy snacks, eating until her face turned pale.
Now, after being abandoned, not only did she obtain the Grade 2 crystal those bastards had dreamed of, but she also got to eat eggs!
Betrayal was amazing!
If they hadn’t betrayed her, how would she have had the chance to cling to such a powerful figure?
As she chewed, Pang Cancan sneaked glances at Su Su in the driver’s seat.
It was hard to imagine that such a delicate, soft, and seemingly fragrant beauty would raise such a terrifying python—and raise it so well, all sleek and shiny.
Was this the legendary sense of contrast?
Su Su had no idea that Pang Cancan’s mind was so full of thoughts. All her attention was focused on the road ahead.
With no map and no navigation, she could only rely on her vague memories to drive forward.
“I don’t know how much longer we need to head south. I plan to stop by X City to restock some supplies.”
Gasoline, medical supplies… Only by preparing well in advance could they avoid being caught off guard again, like when they encountered a completely looted highway service area.
“Sister Su Su, I’m familiar with X City’s downtown. We can take this shortcut—it avoids high-traffic areas and passes by a large wholesale market, a big pharmacy, and a gas station!”
“If we take a detour out of X City from this direction, I also know of a farm nearby. Even if the people there were all eaten by zombies, the chickens, ducks, and geese they raised wouldn’t have been, right?”
Back when she was following those bastards, Pang Cancan had never revealed her knowledge of X City.
A group of Tier 1 ability users could barely scavenge supplies in the suburbs—going into the city would have been suicide.
But now, things were different. Pang Cancan had witnessed Su Su kill a Tier 3 ability user, so she was convinced that Su Su was strong. Entering the city would yield far better rewards.
“Alright, we’ll take the route you suggested.”
Su Su didn’t hesitate and immediately changed direction.
Seeing how much Su Su trusted her, Pang Cancan was secretly delighted.
In her excitement, she accidentally caught a glimpse of the python in the front seat out of the corner of her eye.
At some point, it had already opened its vertical pupils and was staring at her coldly.
“Xiao Hei.” Su Su freed one hand and gently stroked the black snake’s head. “Don’t scare people.”
“Hiss—!”
The black snake shook its head in displeasure and lazily coiled itself in another direction. At least it stopped staring at Pang Cancan… or more precisely, stopped drooling at her sleeve.
What a terrifying pet.
Pang Cancan quickly tucked away the last few venomous insects she had left, burying them even deeper.
The off-road vehicle sped toward the city.
Suddenly, Su Su spoke. “If your ability reaches its limit, swallow that Grade 2 crystal first. Once your strength improves, even if we run into unexpected trouble in the city, you’ll be able to protect yourself.”
“Got it!”
Pang Cancan obediently swallowed the Grade 2 crystal and closed her eyes to absorb its energy.
Seeing this, Su Su no longer hesitated. She wrapped her ability around the entire vehicle.
To the zombies, it now appeared as nothing more than a glowing ball of light. Perhaps they could still smell the scent of living humans, but their simple minds were affected, making them lose all desire to pounce and feed.
Just like that, the off-road vehicle smoothly drove into X City’s downtown area along the planned route.
Strangely, the zombies roaming the city weren’t very dense, and their levels weren’t particularly high either.
From time to time, they even saw a few people rush out of residential buildings.
These survivors were well-coordinated—some would lure the zombies away while others raided the nearby shops.
Once they secured supplies, they would retreat in an orderly manner back into the buildings. The zombies, having been led on a chase, would only sluggishly wander back after quite some time.
Su Su was utterly stunned.
Not to mention the city she had lived in, even W City and C City, which she had passed through in the past few days, had already fallen. Millions of zombies densely packed every corner of the urban areas, completely overrunning human residences. Those trapped in high-rise buildings either didn’t dare to come out—only to run out of food and starve to death—or eventually broke down and rushed outside… becoming nothing more than fresh sustenance for the zombies.
The zombies continuously devoured fresh flesh and blood, evolving into terrifyingly powerful beings amidst the screams and cries of despair.
If the vast, endless primitive forests had been forbidden zones for humanity before the apocalypse, then in the post-apocalyptic world, the most populated cities had turned into a different kind of concrete jungle—a new forbidden land for the last remaining survivors.
In comparison, X City was entirely different.
Here, the surviving humans seemed to have developed a unique way of life—forming teams to scavenge for food before hiding away in the corners of high-rise buildings.
Su Su didn’t understand where the crucial difference lay, but she could only remain vigilant, constantly observing her surroundings.
They passed several pharmacies in a row, and even through the car window, it was clear that their glass doors had long been shattered. Inside, the shelves were toppled over and completely ransacked.
Having finished absorbing the crystal’s energy, Pang Cancan leaned against the window. “There are too many survivors in X City. The pharmacies were probably looted first.”
Su Su thought for a moment. “Do you know any more secluded pharmacies?”
“Let me think… That street! If we take that alley, there’s a small clinic that mainly served the elderly in the community. Hardly anyone besides the locals knew about it, so there might still be some leftover medicine!”
Since the off-road vehicle couldn’t enter the narrow alley, Su Su decided to park nearby.
“I’ll lure the zombies out of the alley. You go into the clinic—whether there’s medicine or not, wait for me to come back before moving anything into the car.”
“Got it! No problem!”
Seeing how quickly Pang Cancan agreed, Su Su didn’t hesitate. She stuffed Xiao Hei into her backpack and dashed into the alley.
“Roar!!”
“Roaaar!!!”
The moment they caught the scent of a living human, the zombies let out earth-shaking howls. Within seconds, they were already chasing after Su Su, pouring out of the alley behind her.
Fortunately, these zombies—former elderly residents—weren’t very agile. After a few loops, they lost track of her, standing in place with blank expressions, spinning in confusion.
Su Su had no intention of killing them all. She simply took a detour and circled back to the alley.
As soon as she reached the clinic’s entrance, she heard Pang Cancan’s angry voice.
“The zombies in the alley were lured away by my companion, and I found this clinic first! You followed me all the way here, and now you want to steal the medicine I found—do you have no shame?!”
“You’re not even injured, but we have someone hurt. What’s wrong with taking some medicine? There’s no owner in an apocalyptic clinic—whoever’s stronger gets the supplies. If you have the ability, take it back. If not, stop whining!”
“You’re bullying me too much!”
Hearing just a few sentences was enough for Su Su to grasp the situation—someone had gotten here first.
She pressed her lips together, straightened her back, and forced herself to put on an intimidating, no-nonsense expression before stepping inside.
“What’s going on?”
She immediately looked at Pang Cancan.
The moment Pang Cancan saw her, her eyes lit up.
“Sister Su Su, they’re bullying me!”
“Su Su… is that you?”
Two voices rang out at the same time—one aggrieved, the other shocked.
On the other side, Lin Weiran’s eyes widened in disbelief. She had never expected to run into a familiar face here, in a small clinic in X City—a face she thought she would never see again.
Su Su was equally surprised.
But after the initial shock, there was only silence.
She gazed at the people standing across from her. They all bore varying degrees of injuries, but the most severely wounded was Si Zhe, who was unconscious, being carried on someone’s back. His eyes were tightly shut, his face pale. Judging by their sorry state, they must have just survived a brutal battle.
Wait—!
One, two, three, four, five… only five people?
Zhao Zhenyu is missing?