The two of them strolled around the streets, finding nothing to eat. As the sun grew hotter, even the zombies were reluctant to come out. Xiao Chongyan stopped at the entrance of a shop.
Despite not walking fast, he was panting heavily in the heat, his face flushed red and dripping with sweat.
The person behind him caught up, standing beside him, still holding that sword. Her expression was unchanged, showing no sign of fatigue from walking so long under the sun.
Xiao Chongyan leaned against the wall, unsure of his own feelings as he said to her, "You can leave first. You don't have to wait for me."
"You promised to find food today. If I don't follow you, what if you find some and eat it all yourself?"
Xiao Chongyan: "..."
It was an unreasonable statement, yet he couldn't find a way to refute it.
In the end, he could only say faintly, "As you wish."
He no longer possessed the abilities of his past life, and his body was weaker. If he encountered zombies again, he didn't want to be bitten and turn into a zombie king as he did in his previous life.
Most importantly, he might not have the same luck as before.
He sat there, lost in thoughts of his past life, while Zhuo Ran idly etched characters on the ground with her long sword. Each stroke was even more beautiful than writing on paper.
Xiao Chongyan caught a glimpse of it and was so stunned he couldn't speak.
He knew this person. They had lived together for over a decade. In his past life, he had even witnessed how she died. She knew absolutely nothing about calligraphy.
Even if she had enough strength to carve on stone slabs, it was impossible for it to be this beautiful.
"Who are you?"
Zhuo Ran slowly raised her head, her eyes as usual. "Who am I? Did you lose your memory?"
Her expression was so nonchalant that Xiao Chongyan couldn't be sure if she was being genuine or faking it.
But she truly didn't know calligraphy, and her personality seemed to have changed slightly these past two days.
She was still bossy, but she was less annoying than before.
[Task Target's Blackening Value -1, Current Blackening Value: 86.]
He didn't probe further. "I was worried you had lost your memory."
Zhuo Ran let out a laugh. "Don't worry, I'll never forget the time you wet your pants at three years old."
Xiao Chongyan: "..." He retracted his earlier thoughts. This person was clearly as malicious and annoying as before.
[Task Target's Blackening Value +1, Current Blackening Value: 87.]
System: [...] Host, if you keep this up, are we even going to complete the mission?
Given the high initial blackening value, his host also kept provoking him, showing no care for the villain at all. This white... black lotus.
Zhuo Ran mentally added another mark against him. "Yes!"
She would definitely get it back, bit by bit.
This was truly outrageous!
They stayed at the shop entrance for about ten minutes when the roar of a motorcycle suddenly came from afar. Zombies were largely attracted by sound. Riding a motorcycle in the apocalypse was simply suicidal.
Worse still, as the motorcycle sound grew closer, the hidden zombies began to emerge, seeking their lunch.
Seeing the zombies lurching towards them in the distance, Xiao Chongyan got up and wanted to leave. "They're coming. Let's go quickly."
Zhuo Ran looked at the few slow-moving zombies. "No. If they come, I'll kill them."
Xiao Chongyan was silent for two seconds, then leaned back again.
The motorcycle arrived before the zombies. A flamboyant motorcycle stopped in front of them. Two young men, around twenty years old, were on it. Like fearless young calves, they paid no mind to the distant zombies.
"Excuse me, how do we get to Wutong Street?"
Xiao Chongyan wanted to scold them for attracting the zombies, but Zhuo Ran spoke first. "Go straight from here, turn right at the third intersection, walk about two to three hundred meters, there's an intersection. It's near that intersection, there are signs."
"Thanks!"
After replying, the men gunned their engines and sped off in the direction she pointed.
The zombies followed the motorcycle's movement for dozens of meters. After the sound disappeared, they turned back, trying to pursue them.
Zhuo Ran led the way with her sword.
Xiao Chongyan quickly followed.
"You still remember where Wutong Street is?"
Their home was there, so remembering common place names was fine, but pinpointing the exact location was difficult.
Zhuo Ran replied without looking back, "No."
Xiao Chongyan: "..." So you lied to them.
"Mm."
Xiao Chongyan: "..."
To lie so shamelessly was truly something.
"Why did you lie to them?"
"I felt like it."
Truly malicious.
Xiao Chongyan thought this, but his blackening value didn't change.
As for Zhuo Ran, her tormenting of others usually fell into two categories. One was when the person had committed a grave sin, and she could see the karma. In such cases, she would certainly not let them off easy.
The second was when she disapproved of someone's actions. In such cases, she would usually just play a trick on them, not really letting them die.
For instance, the behavior of those two men revving their engines and creating noise. She really disliked it, so she deliberately gave them the wrong directions, making them take a longer route.