Chapter 7: Perish in the Ashes

"Use your head." He reached out and patted the baby-faced man on the head.

"Boss, what’s going on?" A burly, middle-aged man strode over, his muscular arms on full display.

"It’s nothing." The man watched the departing van for a moment before looking away. "That girl was a bit strange," he said lightly. "Her awakening seems to be taking a while, don’t you think?"

"Boss, are you saying that girl is in the middle of her superpower awakening?"

’Holy cow! Awakening a superpower while still being able to lead a horde of zombies around? Shouldn’t she find a safe place to hole up until it’s over?’

Hearing this, the burly man’s eyes lit up. "Boss, you mean that girl is a promising Superpower User?"

"Then we really should have kept her and recruited her for our team!"

A half-smile played on the man’s lips. "She’s long gone. Didn’t you notice?"

"Oh, right." The burly man scratched his head, his face a mask of regret. "What a shame."

’We let a good prospect get away! If we ever run into her again, we can’t miss our chance.’

"I just wonder if we’ll ever see her again," the burly man muttered.

The man couldn’t help but chuckle as he glanced toward the entrance of the district.

The burned-out vehicles were slowly being extinguished by the downpour.

Following them came the gathering hordes of the rotting dead. They swayed around the wreckage of the cars, pouring out in a flood.

They couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

The man’s eyes narrowed. "Everyone, get in the vehicles. We’re moving on to the next location."

A moment later, two black Jeeps took the lead, followed by three or four minibuses, and the convoy sped away from Ruihua District.

...

"Hand me the ice from the bag."

"Sis, where are we going now?"

"To Ai Jia Supermarket," Xie Ning said without hesitation.

"Ai Jia Supermarket? Oh, is that the one where Auntie works?"

"Yeah." Xie Ning kept one hand on the steering wheel while pressing the ice against her forehead with the other.

"Sis, let me help." Song Kexin quickly took the ice and held it for Xie Ning. "Does that feel any better?"

"Help me watch the road," Xie Ning said, letting out a breath. "My vision is getting blurry."

"Sis, are you sure you’ll be okay with a fever this high?" Song Kexin asked nervously. "Maybe we should go to that hospital up ahead?"

Xie Ning’s head felt heavy and clouded, but she forced herself to stay alert. "We can’t go to the hospital."

Right now, the hospitals were zombie wonderlands—even more terrifying than the university campus.

"Sis," Song Kexin’s voice broke. "What is happening? Are those things... zombies? I-I’ve only ever seen them in movies."

"The whole world has changed," Xie Ning said in a low voice. "If you don’t want to die, you have to adapt to this new reality."

"Stop crying. Remember the law of survival?"

"Natural selection. Survival of the fittest. In a world like this, you have to adapt to your environment. It won’t adapt for you."

"If you can’t adapt, you die."

"You’re either reborn in the flames or you perish in the ashes. Which will it be?"

Song Kexin fought back tears, biting her lower lip so hard it trembled. "I-I’m scared."

Xie Ning glanced over and patted her on the head. "Don’t be afraid. There’s always a way forward. It’s just going to be a little harder, that’s all."

"Back when things were peaceful, you’d always see people online whining about how hard life was. Now they’ll know."

"It’s really, truly hard."

Xie Ning turned and gave her cousin a small smile. "But what choice do we have?"