“I really want to…” Pang Cancan stared at the distant team, gritting her teeth fiercely.
“Really want what?”
“Really want to kill those bastards!”
Su Su followed her gaze, looked over twice, and seriously considered the feasibility.
Two seconds later, she softly suggested, “It might not work right now. Those Tier 1 ability users who betrayed you are easy to deal with, but Zhao Zhenyu will definitely step in…”
As she spoke, Su Su instinctively glanced at the Xiao Hei snake coiled beside her leg.
With it, dealing with Zhao Zhenyu wouldn’t be a problem either.
“But if you push them too hard, they might open the gate and go down with us in mutual destruction.”
“Maybe we can wait until the zombie horde leaves, then quietly follow them…”
Pang Cancan rested her chin on her hand, staring at Su Su, who was earnestly offering suggestions.
Her red lips parted slightly, her skin was flawless and delicate, and her beautiful eyes stared straight ahead, making it hard not to get lost in them.
And this serious look… Pang Cancan felt like her heart was about to melt.
She had just been venting and didn’t actually plan to seek revenge against those bastards at this moment.
But Su Su was seriously considering it for her!
“Sister Su Su, how can you be this cute?”
Pang Cancan leaned in closer and closer, even boldly pouting her lips.
“Give sister a kiss. If not on the lips, the cheek is fine too. Mwah, mwah, mw—ahhh!!!”
Su Su’s face instantly turned bright red.
Before she could react, a thick snake tail had already lashed out and smacked the audacious Pang Cancan two meters away.
“Xiao Hei! Come back! You’re not allowed to bite people!”
The black snake uncharacteristically ignored the human’s command. It raised its body in fury, swiftly slithered toward Pang Cancan, its sinister mouth widening—then chomped down viciously on her sleeve, crushing a poisonous insect hidden inside.
In the end, it didn’t bite the person, just the bug that had been on her.
Pang Cancan wailed, “My baby!”
Su Su was furious. “Xiao Hei!!!”
The black snake: “Hisss!”
For a moment, chaos broke out.
Even Zhao Zhenyu, who was quite far away, turned his head and stared at the two women for a long time.
The one facing away from him… “Why does she look a little familiar?”
Lin Wenzong, the original captain of this squad, also turned his head. However, after just one glance, his expression darkened.
“What’s wrong?”
Facing Zhao Zhenyu’s inquiry, Lin Wenzong carefully chose his words. “That woman with the braided hair was once our teammate. Her ability is raising poisonous insects. Useless against zombies, but effective against us. Later, we got an opportunity, so we abandoned her. She probably still thinks we betrayed her.”
Zhao Zhenyu remained noncommittal.
He continued staring at the woman who had her back turned to him. As he watched, she suddenly turned her head, revealing an extremely familiar side profile.
“It’s her!”
She actually made it out of that small town! And she even found a similarly despicable female teammate!
In an instant, Zhao Zhenyu completely believed Lin Wenzong’s words.
That familiar restless feeling surged within him, demanding an outlet.
She deserved to fall into his hands.
Without her, it would be difficult for Zhao Zhenyu to find someone so weak, so perfectly suited to being bullied. Ordinary people gave in too quickly, which took away the sense of accomplishment. They couldn’t fully satisfy the violent tendencies that had grown within him in the apocalypse.
Zhao Zhenyu curled his lips into a cold smile.
—
“Xiao Hei!”
Su Su moved swiftly, grabbing the black snake that was furiously “hunting down” their teammate, successfully stopping it from devouring all of Pang Cancan’s poisonous insects.
“If you don’t behave, I won’t like you anymore!”
The blatant threat made the black snake, which had been baring its fangs at Pang Cancan, freeze in place. After a moment of realization, it angrily turned its head and lunged at Su Su’s neck.
This bold human! How dare she threaten it!
She was its servant, yet she dared to say she wouldn’t like it!
The black snake was furious, feeling as though its dignity had been violated. Its sharp venomous fangs were fully prepared to strike.
“Sister Su Su!”
Pang Cancan had just come to a stop when she saw this horrifying scene, wishing she could throw herself forward and take the bite in Su Su’s place.
“It’s fine.”
Su Su’s voice was exceptionally calm. She didn’t even flinch, leaving her slender, fair neck exposed, allowing the petty venomous snake to bite—
Or rather, lick.
Yes, just as those vicious fangs were about to sink in, they ultimately retracted. All that remained was an unsatisfied snake tongue flicking over her skin twice.
Damn human.
The black snake thought coldly.
It had been too lenient with her. Next time, it would definitely make sure she learned her lesson!
Su Su silently exhaled in relief.
No matter how confident she was, she couldn’t be completely certain. Xiao Hei was, after all, a cold-blooded creature. If it ever truly got angry one day, there was a real chance it would kill her.
“Alright, it was my fault.” Su Su coaxed it with a good temper. “I’ll cook some meat for you. How about that?”
The black snake reluctantly accepted.
It curled back into the human’s embrace, its cold eyes fixed on the other human who seemed to have a death wish. Its tongue flicked out occasionally, as if sizing up prey from its spot on the food chain.
Pang Cancan trembled as she sat back down, making sure to keep a half-meter distance from Su Su.
“Sister Su Su, if I say I’m not into girls, I just love kissing, would you believe me?”
Su Su pressed her lips into a small smile. “Mm, I believe you.”
Pang Cancan was only eighteen, with a lively and mischievous nature—nothing she did was surprising.
It was Xiao Hei who was too possessive and too easily angered.
Su Su secretly pinched the tip of Xiao Hei’s tail.
Pa.
The snake’s tail lightly tapped the back of her hand.
This level of force didn’t bother the black snake in the slightest.
“I don’t know how long we’ll have to wait. Let’s eat something.”
As soon as she said that, Pang Cancan’s stomach growled loudly. “Yes!”
While Pang Cancan rummaged through her backpack, Su Su pulled hers closer as well.
“Xiao Hei, food.”
The human’s soft voice reached the black snake’s ears. It flicked its tail tip and scratched at its slightly itchy head.
The next second, a heap of miscellaneous food items appeared out of nowhere in the backpack.
Su Su picked out a smoked chicken, two packs of snail rice noodles, two sausages, and five raw eggs.
Pang Cancan, who was still digging through her bag, glanced at the items in Su Su’s hands, then at the expired bread she had scavenged.
She immediately tossed the bread aside and shamelessly scooted closer.
“Sister Su Su, is there some for me too?”
“Yes.”
“Ahhh, Sister Su Su, you’re the best! Once we’re on the road, I’ll take care of all the dirty and tiring work!”
The food they had looted from the town hadn’t run out yet, and the supplies they had gathered from the supermarket were still plentiful. Su Su wasn’t stingy with them.
She set up a pot—also taken from the supermarket—and opened the pack of snail rice noodles, pouring in bottled water with a glug, glug, glug.
The only downside was the lack of firewood.
Suddenly, Pang Cancan seemed to remember something and dashed off toward the break room.
Moments later, she returned carrying a pile of dusty clothes.
“Burn these!”
Indeed, they were the only readily available flammable material. Su Su borrowed a spark from Xiao Hei and successfully set the pile of clothes ablaze.
The water in the pot began to boil, and the rice noodles gradually softened, turning into a milky white color.
Su Su methodically added the other seasoning packets into the pot.
In an instant, a pungent odor spread through half of the sports stadium.
She didn’t care if others smelled it or not.
All she knew was that in her past life, she had eaten enough of those dry, throat-scratching coarse grain cakes. Now that she had the means, she would rather go through a little trouble to eat proper hot food with broth.
The smoked chicken and eggs prepared for Xiao Hei were already cooked.
The snail rice noodles in the pot had turned soft and tender, the sausages soaked in the rich broth, and a plump egg was added to each bowl—a feast fit for an emperor.
Not far away, Lin Weiran caught the overwhelming stench in the air, and it unexpectedly triggered memories she had tried to forget.
—On the highway, she and her teammates drank white porridge and ate wild vegetables, while the ordinary survivors behind them numbly gnawed on dry, bitter greens.
—At the town’s guesthouse, she and her teammates sat as honored guests, enjoying a fragrant and flavorful hotpot, while ordinary people in the corner watched them with longing and envy.
And now, all she could do was pull out the last two packets of instant noodles from her backpack. There was a pot and fire, but without Zhao Zhenyu’s water ability, they couldn’t even cook the noodles into a proper soup.
In the end, the two dry noodle cakes were broken into five pieces and distributed among the team members.
This was their most miserable, most meager meal since they had set out on their journey.
The atmosphere grew unbearably heavy.
Lin Weiran wanted to say something to boost morale, but the distinctive stench of snail rice noodles lingering in her nostrils kept pulling her thoughts away.
“Weiran, I don’t have an appetite. You take this piece.”
Si Zhe’s voice pulled Lin Weiran back from her thoughts.
She looked at the piece of instant noodle cake being handed to her. It was larger than the others—she had intentionally given him a bigger portion.
And now, he was handing it back to her.
The small warmth that had just bloomed in Lin Weiran’s heart was instantly crushed by bitterness.
“I’ve had enough.” Without giving him a chance to refuse, she shoved the piece of noodle cake into Si Zhe’s mouth. “Your injuries aren’t healed yet. If you don’t eat something, how will you hold up? We’re all counting on you.”
Si Zhe gazed at her deeply. “Weiran, I won’t fall.”
“Mm, I believe you.”
After Si Zhe slowly finished his portion, Lin Weiran suddenly spoke. “Si Zhe, did you see that python beside Su Su?”
“I saw it.”
Si Zhe glanced toward the snake, which had just finished eating and was now lazily dozing off.
Back at the clinic, he hadn’t been completely unconscious—he had heard every word of the confrontation between Weiran and Su Su.
Naturally, he knew of the snake’s existence.
Si Zhe’s eyes flickered. “I never expected… animals could have abilities too.”
Lin Weiran pressed her lips together. “I wonder how Su Su managed to make it obey her.”
Si Zhe’s expression turned noticeably cold at the mention of this topic, his tone carrying an air of superiority and judgment. (TL: Is this what they call a match made in heaven?)
“Just humbling oneself to serve a mere beast.”
“Weiran, don’t waste too much of your energy on someone insignificant. Some people are willing to grovel just to survive, but you’re different from them. You’ll never need to understand their desperate struggles.”
These words struck Lin Weiran straight in the heart.
Yes, she was different from Su Su. There was no need to let a momentary setback disturb her composure.
Lin Weiran quickly regained her smile.
—
The slightly hot, savory broth warmed Su Su from the inside as she drank it, spreading heat through her stomach.
After eating a few bites, she suddenly remembered the boy hiding in the restroom.
He must have heard the commotion in the stadium… which probably made him even more afraid to come out.
A frail, bony figure surfaced in her mind, along with those disproportionately large eyes, made even more prominent by his emaciated face.
Su Su abruptly stood up, picking up a bowl of noodles. Inside, an extra egg was buried beneath the broth.
“Sister Su Su?”
“I’m taking some food to that boy.”
As Su Su walked toward the backstage area, the black snake—still lazily digesting the smoked chicken in its stomach—slithered along behind her. Wherever she went, it followed.
The door to the last break room remained tightly shut.
Su Su knocked a few times and raised her voice. “I brought you something to eat. Once I leave, make sure to eat it while it’s hot.”
After saying that, she turned and left without waiting for a response from inside.
The black snake glanced back at the bowl of noodles left by the door.
“Hiss~”
Hmph, foolish human kindness.
If it weren’t for the fact that it didn’t like eating such strange things, it would have slithered over and knocked the bowl over on principle.
With an air of arrogance, the black snake glided to Su Su’s feet, idly brushing its tail against her ankle as they walked back.
Returning to their spot, Su Su picked up her bowl, but after only a few bites, she noticed the atmosphere had grown unusually quiet.
She glanced up inadvertently—and realized that Pang Cancan, who had just been happily devouring her meal, had suddenly stopped chewing.
She was staring, dazed, in a particular direction—
Toward Si Zhe.
Despite his severe injuries, the pallor of his complexion did nothing to diminish his striking features. In fact, it gave him a certain… broken fragility?
Su Su felt like she must be losing her mind.
But that was the only explanation she could think of for why Pang Cancan was staring at Si Zhe so intently.
Just like in her past life… Wait, past life?!
In her past life, everyone at the Southern Base knew that Pang Cancan had fallen for Si Zhe at first sight during a supply run. From then on, whenever Si Zhe and Lin Weiran went on a mission, she would insist on tagging along. She even made it a habit to mock Lin Weiran in front of others.
Over time, people assumed Pang Cancan was simply jealous and targeting Lin Weiran.
Could it be that her love at first sight was real?
Su Su instantly became alert.
The reason she had taken Pang Cancan in at the start was out of empathy—empathy for her being betrayed by her teammates, and empathy for how, in their past lives, Si Zhe and Lin Weiran had self-righteously erased all traces of her existence.
But if she really did like Si Zhe…
Su Su hesitated before testing the waters. “Do you think he’s handsome?”
“He’s alright.”
Si Zhe, after all, looked like the typical chosen male lead from a novel—his appearance was more than passable.
But Su Su’s heart sank a little. She stopped being subtle and asked directly, “Do you like him?”
“Who? Who likes who?” Pang Cancan snapped out of her daze and looked at Su Su in confusion.
“You’ve been staring at him for a long time. Isn’t it because you like him?”
“I wouldn’t fall for a fake gentleman like that!”
Pang Cancan looked utterly offended.
“Do you know what he was just saying?” she scoffed. “He said we’re just struggling to survive! That we’re scheming opportunists! And that woman—he said she’s different from us!”
“Different how? More pretentious?”
“What a pair of idiots!”
She had only released a couple of poisonous insects, intending to gather intel on the enemy camp. Instead, she ended up overhearing cringeworthy love confessions followed by some of the most ridiculous nonsense she had ever heard.
Pang Cancan was shaken.
She kept replaying their conversation, trying to find a part that wasn’t absurd—only to realize that everything was absurd. There were so many things wrong that she had even lost interest in her delicious snail rice noodles!
Su Su let out a deep sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. Thank goodness Pang Cancan didn’t fall for Si Zhe at first sight.
Otherwise, she had already considered going back on the road alone again… Luckily, the girl wasn’t love-brained.
—
Not only were they eating, but across the stadium, Zhao Zhenyu’s group was also cooking instant noodles.
Mealtime was the only time when an unusual sense of peace settled over them.
For once, the stadium was quiet.
Su Su finished every last drop of her soup and gradually turned her gaze toward the tightly shut stadium doors.
“Cancan, do you hear any zombie growls?”
Pang Cancan tilted her head and listened. “Nope!”
The stadium was too well-sealed, and at some point, the deafening howls of the zombie horde had completely disappeared.
It had only been about an hour and a half since they entered.
If the zombie horde had been moving normally, it should have already passed this stadium. But if the horde behind them was endless, packed so densely that there was no end in sight… it still shouldn’t be completely silent.
“Could they have left? Moved on to another place?”
Su Su scanned her surroundings. Aside from the front and back entrances, neither the sports field nor the spectator stands provided any way to observe the outside.
They were like a group of people locked inside a tin can, completely unaware of what they would see when the lid was finally lifted.
…Wait.
Su Su suddenly remembered the skylight they had entered through.
“Should we check the skylight?”
“Let’s go!”
The two abruptly stood up, drawing several people’s attention. Some glanced at them before looking away indifferently, while others stared at their backs for a long time.
The skylight was near the back entrance, and to reach it, they had to pass through the backstage area and a dozen break rooms, including two restrooms.
As they walked, Su Su’s gaze landed on the last break room.
The bowl she had left at the door was gone.
Clearly, the boy had taken it inside—accepting her goodwill.
But he was still cautious, still deeply resistant to strangers.
Su Su retracted her gaze and continued walking, passing all the break rooms until they reached the skylight.
“Sister Su Su, let me go up!”
“Alright.”
Pang Cancan had grown up in a mountain village, mastering tree-climbing and rock-scaling from a young age. She was more agile than even the men in the group, which was why she had survived this long in the apocalypse.
With a swift push off the wall, she leaped onto the window ledge.
Her fingers hooked onto the edge of the skylight, balancing her body as she peered outside—
“Holy shit!!!!”
Pang Cancan flinched violently, nearly falling backward.
Su Su’s heart immediately clenched. “What’s wrong?!”
Pang Cancan didn’t respond right away. Her wide, terrified eyes remained locked on the scene outside, her mouth slightly agape, as if she had lost the ability to speak.
Su Su couldn’t see anything and was getting increasingly anxious.
“What the hell is happening?!”
Pang Cancan swallowed hard, then forced out a hoarse reply. “Sister Su Su… you should come up and see for yourself.”
She couldn’t put into words what she had just witnessed.
Hearing this, Su Su instinctively looked at Xiao Hei. The snake, as if reading her thoughts, slithered up the skylight and skillfully pulled her up.
The ledge was incredibly narrow, barely enough for half a foot. Su Su relied entirely on Xiao Hei’s tail for balance, gripping it tightly to stay steady on the skylight.
And then—
She gasped sharply.
Su Su stared in utter disbelief at the scene outside the stadium, her pupils contracting sharply.
What did she just see?
A zombie horde—tens of thousands strong!!!
At this very moment, they were standing silently outside the stadium, surrounding the entire building so densely that not even a single gap was left!
But the most terrifying part—
Despite the overwhelming number of zombies, not a single one was making a sound!
Even the few zombies directly below the skylight, who had already noticed them, weren’t howling. Instead, they restlessly ground their teeth, thick, rancid saliva dripping from their mouths.
It was as if they were organized. As if they were disciplined.
Su Su and Pang Cancan locked eyes, sheer terror reflected in both their gazes.