Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

”How could there have been no injuries?”

”That whole thing caused a huge uproar that night. I heard the higher-ups even sent a top official just to calm everyone down.”

”Brother Gu Chen has been so busy these past couple of days. He hasn’t been able to come check on us.”

Song You’ai nodded. ”The zombie horde outside the base still hasn’t receded? What do you mean, ’stabilized’?”

”Didn’t they use that drug to make the zombies kill each other? The ones that survived on the front lines are now basically all Level 4 zombies or higher.”

Song You’ai was taken aback. ”There are still a lot of them?”

”The main control room says there aren’t many, but Chen privately warned us not to get complacent.”

Song Kexin sighed. ”The sandstorm outside still hasn’t let up, but the surveillance videos can see into some areas. They’ve detected a group of High-level zombies that seem to be eating the bodies of their own kind.”

The mere mention of it made Song You’ai feel sick to her stomach.

”Zombies need to eat, too?”

”I don’t think so.” Xie Ning shook her head. ”They’re likely just eating the Zombie Crystal Cores from their heads.”

”Eating Crystal Cores?” Song You’ai gasped. ”Ningning, are you saying High-level zombies have already developed some sort of consciousness? That they know eating the Crystal Cores of their own kind will help them advance?”

Xie Ning nodded with conviction. ”I believe that’s exactly what’s happening.”

”Whoa, have you told Brother Gu Chen about this?” The thought sent a chill down Song Kexin’s spine.

’If that’s really the case, then in the future... won’t the zombies advance and level up even further?’

’Their rate of advancement might even surpass us humans?’

’After all, they’re surrounded by so many lesser zombies. They can just grab them whenever they want. For them, feeding is... a piece of cake.’

Xie Ning gave a slight nod. ”I’ve already told him. But you don’t need to be so tense.”

”How can we not be tense?” her uncle, Song Youzhi, couldn’t help but interject. ”If the zombies start devouring all their minions, won’t High-level zombies start popping up like mushrooms?”

Xie Ning shook her head. ”That’s highly unlikely.”

”Nature has its own laws. Take us Superpower Users, for example. We need a huge influx of energy to advance.”

”Look at how long this apocalypse has been going on. How many Superpower Users have reached the Fourth Rank or higher?”

”Low-level zombies might not provide a huge energy boost to High-level ones, but if they keep feeding over a long period, it’s bound to be beneficial.”

”And I suspect that, going forward, Superpower Users will become an even bigger draw for High-level zombies than regular zombies are.”

”Don’t forget, all of us Superpower Users have an energy source inside us.”

Song Kexin was so frightened she clutched at her chest. ”My god, are you saying those damned zombies might start targeting the Energy Crystals inside our bodies?”

Xie Ning nodded, her expression turning strangely solemn. ”It’s the law of natural balance—predator and prey. It’s just like how we want to harvest more Zombie Crystal Cores to become stronger.”

”The zombies are probably targeting our Energy Crystals, too. They want more of them, so that thermal sense they evolved likely followed the laws of nature. It’s probably a mutation designed to help them track and capture human Superpower Users.”

Song Kexin and Song Shijun’s jaws dropped, as if they were listening to gibberish.

”Cousin, you mean...” Song Kexin gulped. ”The zombie horde was actually drawn here by us Superpower Users?”

”It’s highly likely.” Although she didn’t want to admit it, Xie Ning couldn’t help but sigh.

”But Superpower Users are the most sought-after prey for only a very small portion of High-level zombies.”

”Meanwhile, regular zombies still crave the flesh and blood of ordinary people.”

Song Shijun let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest. ”See? I knew it. There’s no way we were the only ones who attracted the zombie horde.”

’As long as everyone in the base is in it together, that’s what matters!’

”To the zombies, our base is basically a juicy slab of meat dangling right in front of them!”

Song You’ai tutted. ’No wonder they’ve refused to leave after all this time.’ ”So, after the sandstorm dies down, will the zombie horde attack the base again?”

”An attack would be useless.” Xie Ning smiled and shook her head. ”The situation has mostly stabilized. There’s a huge quantitative difference between tens of thousands of zombies and just a few thousand.”

”Don’t worry. Once the sandstorm passes, we can wipe out all the ones that are left in one fell swoop.”

Song You’ai smiled and nodded.

’She now had this inexplicable confidence in her daughter...’

’It felt like anything her precious daughter said, she could definitely achieve, and make it look incredibly simple, too.’

Seeing that everyone was in a good mood, Song Kexin timidly raised her hand. ”Auntie, Dad, Cousin... I have something to report.”

The expression on Xie Ning’s face instantly hardened...

Seeing Xie Ning’s terrifyingly serious expression, Song Kexin’s voice grew even fainter. ”It was, uh, the day before yesterday, I think. We went to Zones A-1 and A-3. You knew that, Cousin.”

”They, uh, they asked the Fire Ability Users to go over and help ’add Fireball energy.’ They said the underground shelters were too cold and damp, which was bad for the health of the regular citizens.”

”Mhm.” Song You’ai, not yet realizing what her niece was getting at, nodded along. ”Kexin is one of the top Fire Ability Users in the base now. It’s no big deal for her to lend a hand.”

Xie Ning shot a look at the guilty-looking Song Kexin. ”Spit it out.”

’Stuttering and beating around the bush. It’s obvious she’s hiding something!’

”So, uh, that day...”

”Wait, you were there when the riot in A-1 broke out?!” Song Youzhi couldn’t help but cut in. ”Are you alright? I remember you took Xiao Yueyue with you that day, right?”

”Y-yeah. But we’re fine, that’s not what I wanted to talk about.” Song Kexin quickly stood up from the sofa and cleared her throat.

”That day, Yueyue and I... we brought a mother and daughter back from Zone A-3.”

”Huh?” Song Youxuan, who was sitting on a small stool sorting vegetables with Song Shijun’s parents, froze for a second. She turned her head to look at Su Xiyue, who was focused on her homework.

Su Xiyue was hunched over her desk working on a foreign language test paper, a pair of headphones in her ears playing the language of Country Y. She was completely oblivious to what her cousin, Song Kexin, was saying.

”We didn’t see you bring anyone back,” He Shuping said, surprised. ”What mother and daughter?”

”It was Yueyue’s classmate and her mother,” Song Kexin quickly explained. ”The situation was pretty tense.”

”Yueyue’s classmate was in bad shape. She was extremely sick.”

”So, as her classmate and good friend, Yueyue... she... well, she decided to get involved.”

Song Youxuan frowned and bit her tongue, but her eyes flickered over to her daughter.

”But don’t worry! We... we didn’t bring them back *here*. We just... settled them somewhere for the time being.”

”Oh.” He Shuping looked completely lost as she placed the sorted vegetables into a small basket.

Xie Ning couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She cut to the chase. ”Where did you put them?”