Chapter 114: Hello, Boss, p1
The building they were in was an office building.
Lin Xiwan didn’t jump down with Lin Jiayao and Huayibai, but instead carried her sister and led Huayibai down the stairs.
She wanted to see if she could find anything useful.
The battle last night had destroyed most of their supplies, the jeep crushed almost beyond recognition.
She’d even gotten a few folding wheelchairs for her sister, but now, even if she found them, they would just be twisted metal.
All they had left was the rifle Lin Jiayao had been holding, its barrel now bent.
She needed to find a rope or something to secure her sister to her back or front, her legs wrapped around her waist.
Carrying her sister like this made it difficult to fight.
Descending the stairs, Lin Xiwan saw the dimly lit, ransacked stores.
Before the apocalypse, this building had been a small commodity wholesale center, filled with toys, figurines, and other trinkets.
In the dark corridors, illuminated only by the light filtering through broken windows and the open stairwell, she could make out dark, dried bloodstains on the floor.
Each stain, each scratch mark on the walls, a testament to a lost life.
Only these bloodstains remained, a silent reminder of those who had once been here, their bodies long consumed.
“Yao, can you still use your ability?” Lin Xiwan asked, looking down at her sister, her voice low.
Although many zombies had been drawn to the burning vehicle below, there might still be some lurking inside the building.
She didn’t want to startle any – they were rather unnerving.
“Yes.” Lin Jiayao, her head resting against her sister’s chest, looked up, her eyes turning red as she activated Blood Crystal Vision, scanning the area.
“Below… about ten meters down… four or five red dots… and one on the right…”
She quickly described the distribution of zombies within the building.
Lin Xiwan made a mental note of their locations. “Okay, deactivate it, Yao.”
She knew her sister shouldn’t strain herself; healing her had taken a toll. She needed to rest.
She asked if her sister felt unwell, and receiving a “no,” turned to Huayibai.
“Xiao Yibai, hold onto Sister’s clothes, okay? Don’t be afraid.” Although she knew Huayibai was an Awakened who had been on missions with Survivor’s Light, she still felt the need to reassure her.
Huayibai looked so small and frail, not at all threatening, almost… cute. It evoked a protective instinct.
“Okay.” Huayibai nodded, gripping Lin Xiwan’s shirt tightly.
Ready, Lin Xiwan entered the office building, searching for anything useful.
And they actually found some things.
Two unopened rolls of toilet paper, a bundle of red plastic packing string, a genuine leather belt, and a crowbar.
As for food, there was none left, and even if there were, it would be inedible after so long.
After taking her sister to the restroom, Lin Xiwan rearranged her.
She crouched down, had her sister get on her back, then stood up, leaning against the wall to support her sister’s weight, and then secured her with the belt, wrapping it around both their waists, Huayibai helping to fasten the buckle.
Thankfully, they both had slender waists; a single belt was enough.
Then, using the red plastic string, she lifted her sister’s legs and, with Huayibai holding them steady, wrapped them around her waist, securing them.
Unsure how tight to tie them without restricting blood flow, she wrapped the string multiple times, not pulling it too taut.
Finally, her sister’s legs and waist were secured. Feeling the soft body pressed against her back, Lin Xiwan breathed a sigh of relief.
This was more tiring than fighting zombies, but she would be faster next time.
With her sister’s legs secured, she no longer had to worry about them dangling and getting injured.
“Yao, try holding onto my neck.”
Feeling her sister’s arms around her neck, Lin Xiwan stepped away from the wall. Her sister’s weight, now supported by the belt and the string, no longer strained her arms, and it wouldn’t be too tight for Lin Jiayao.
Much easier to move now.
“Yao, you can sleep on my back if you’re tired,” she said, and then, carrying her sister, Huayibai trailing behind, left the office building.
Stepping out into the sunlight after so long in the darkness made her squint.
She saw the burned-out wreckage of their jeep, now just a blackened metal frame.
A thick layer of oily residue covered the wreckage, a foul stench even from this distance.
Lin Xiwan knew what it was: the rendered fat of the Biters that had thrown themselves into the flames, their bodies incinerated, only the thick, greasy residue remaining.
And within the oily residue, shimmering in the sunlight, were tiny specks of light – the blood crystals from their bodies.
A small amount, but valuable nonetheless. She could use them to trade for essential supplies if they encountered a traveling convoy or a camp.
Lin Xiwan, her left hand holding Huayibai’s, her right hand gripping the crowbar, walked towards the burning wreckage.
As they got within five meters, she felt Huayibai’s hand flinch in hers.
The heat was intense at this distance, and Huayibai seemed afraid of the fire, or perhaps the charred remains.
“Stay here, Yibai,” Lin Xiwan said, releasing Huayibai’s hand. “Wait for Sister.”
She walked closer, now less than three meters away, and through the thick layer of rendered fat, she saw something inside the wreckage.
That is…
Lin Xiwan’s eyes widened.
Several blood crystal stones, gleaming at the bottom of the vehicle, the charred frame offering no concealment.
So that’s why the zombies had been so frenzied last night.
Although they couldn’t retrieve the crystals, she could.
“Yao, hand me that,” she said, handing her sister the crowbar. After making sure her sister had a firm grip, she looked at the burning wreckage and took a deep breath.
There wasn’t much left to burn, just the rendered fat.
If she cleared some of it, she could use the crowbar to retrieve the blood crystals.
Glancing around, she found a suitable tool.
Walking towards the roadside, she gripped a triangular warning sign, its metal base embedded in the concrete.
“Haaa—”
“Crack—”
With a powerful tug, she ripped it free.
Carrying the sign, now like a large metal rod, she returned to the burning vehicle.
She shoved the sign under the wreckage and, with a heave, flipped it over.
After scraping away the burning fat, she used the sign to push the blood crystals out.
Five in total, coated in the greasy residue. The smell was unbearable; she didn’t want to clean them here.
Dragging the sign, she pushed the blood crystals towards Huayibai, waving. “Let’s go, Yibai.”
Although she had found toilet paper, wasting it on cleaning blood crystals was out of the question.
Finding a clothing store, she had Huayibai guard the crystals while she went inside and grabbed a few discarded clothes to wipe them clean. Then, excited, she patted her sister’s bottom playfully.
“Yao, look! Blood crystals! Five of them!”
She had never seen so many blood crystals at once. Her largest haul had been the two from the Corpse Bird.
“Mm…” Lin Jiayao mumbled, burying her face in her sister’s hair.
She didn’t seem very interested, perhaps because of the stench from the wreckage; she was clinging to her sister for comfort.
Having seen sixty blood crystals neatly arranged in her warehouse – although she’d quickly spent them – five wasn’t that impressive.
Lin Xiwan, seeing her sister’s lack of enthusiasm, assumed she was still sleepy.
She crouched down, put the crystals in her waist pouch, then took out two more.
Looking at Huayibai, she offered them to her.
“Xiao Yibai, this is your share. Let me know if you need more.”
She smiled at Huayibai.
She still remembered Huayibai shielding them from the gunfire, throwing the grenade back; if at first she had seen Huayibai as a child in need of protection, now she saw her as a valuable teammate.
As expected of someone coming from Survivor’s Light, brave and resourceful in battle.
So, Huayibai deserved a share of the loot, and the remaining three were enough for them.
“Eh?” Huayibai stared at the two crystals, surprised.
She hadn’t expected Mommy’s… partner… to give her two.
Should I accept them?
She looked at Lin Jiayao, who was leaning against Lin Xiwan’s back, her eyes closed.
Sensing Huayibai’s questioning gaze, Lin Jiayao looked up and nodded. “Take them.”
“Okay!”
Huayibai beamed, took the crystals, and clutched them tightly.
I’ll save them for Mommy! she thought.
Although she was still injured, she didn’t intend to use them for herself. Her Mommy was more important.
She was a bit too well-behaved.
To make it easier for Huayibai to carry the blood crystals, Lin Xiwan took her back to the office building and found a small brown backpack. She put the crystals and some tissues inside.
Huayibai seemed to like her new backpack, bouncing occasionally as they walked, enjoying the clinking of the crystals inside.
With the newly acquired blood crystals, Lin Xiwan had two options.
Search the city for a camp and supplies, a potentially fruitless endeavor.
Or risk returning to the site of the previous battle and see if the Voodoo Cult had left anything behind.
Judging by their hasty retreat, they might have been responding to an emergency, leaving in such a hurry that they might have even abandoned some vehicles.
If they could find supplies and a working vehicle, they wouldn’t have to risk scavenging in the city.
“Yao? Asleep?” Lin Xiwan gently pinched her sister’s bottom.
“No, what’s up?” Lin Jiayao was busy in the Training Grounds, practicing with Goldie, preparing for another login, hoping for a new mental enhancement evolution.
After Goldie’s extraction, there would be enough time to check the Zombie Loot Box and the evolved fifth zombie.
She needed her zombies to reach B-rank so she could retain their evolved abilities.
Her current abilities, combined, were almost at peak C-rank, but she lacked a truly powerful skill.
And her logged-in zombies were all C-rank at most, A4 being the closest to B-rank, but it was still on its way back to the extraction point.
She’d asked Huayibai if she could turn the car around and take A4 back to Chongyu City, but Huayibai had said that A4 would jump out of the car and run towards the extraction point the moment she changed direction, so she’d abandoned that plan.
Perhaps after a few more… visits… to the Voodoo Cult’s headquarters, A4 would reach B-rank?
She just didn’t know if the fifth zombie, currently evolving, would reach B-rank.
If she could evolve all her zombies to B-rank, retaining their most powerful abilities, she would be truly formidable.
Although her progress was already incredibly fast, compared to other Awakened, she still felt… inadequate.
Especially compared to the B-rank Awakened she had encountered…
Lin Xiwan, hearing her sister was awake, explained her dilemma, hoping for some input.
And she’d asked the right person.
Lin Jiayao and Huayibai knew exactly what had happened to the Voodoo Cult convoy last night.
“Let’s go back to the battle site. We can at least check if they’ve left. Going into the city will put us on the same path as the Voodoo Cult,” Lin Jiayao whispered.
“That’s true…” Lin Xiwan nodded.
Her sister’s concerns were valid. The city was dangerous.
More zombies, and definitely more powerful mutated ones, risking a confrontation with a horde, even for a C-rank Awakened, was dangerous.
And if the city was deserted, with no camps, they might even starve.
Both options were gambles. She trusted her sister’s judgment.
They turned back, Lin Xiwan carrying Lin Jiayao, Huayibai trailing behind, walking along the highway.
As they walked, Lin Xiwan scanned the surroundings, regularly having her sister use her ability to check for any hidden blood crystal entities in the nearby buildings.
Luckily, besides a few scattered zombies, the road was clear, eerily quiet.
Walking further, they saw crows circling overhead and feasting on corpses on the ground.
“Caw—Caw—”
Sensing their approach, the mutated crows spread their large wings, as if trying to scare them away.
Just mutated crows, not zombie crows.
Lin Xiwan was about to stop when one of the approaching crows, seeing Huayibai, screeched and veered away, its feathers scattering as it fled in terror, like it had seen a predator.
“Caw, caw, caw—”
The other crows, startled, also took flight, scattering in all directions.
“Huh?” Lin Xiwan blinked, surprised.
Were even mutated animals this discerning now? Fleeing at the sight of a C-rank Awakened?
But this was good news. The presence of these crows meant the Voodoo Cult had already left.
She wondered why they had left in such a hurry… Internal orders? That seemed like the only explanation.
“Yao? Can you check again?” Lin Xiwan patted her sister’s bottom.
After Lin Jiayao confirmed there were no blood crystal entities in the area, Lin Xiwan led Huayibai towards the scene of the battle.
But as they walked, she realized something was wrong.
If she remembered correctly, the Voodoo Cult convoy had fought their out-of-control insect on the street over there… but had it really been that… destructive?
Voodoo Cult corpses littered the street, several vehicles overturned, most riddled with bullet holes.
It didn’t look like a battle against a zombie, but a fight between the Voodoo Cult members themselves.
A power struggle? Internal conflict? A purge?
Lin Xiwan was completely bewildered.
What had happened last night…?
Remembering the annihilated Voodoo Cult squad at the factory, she felt a chill.
Why did every Voodoo Cult group they encountered end up either dead or decimated?
Was the Voodoo Cult really that unlucky?
“Yao, what do you think?” she murmured, then realized her sister had fallen asleep.
After pinching her sister’s bottom and getting no response, she decided not to disturb her.
I don’t understand…
This place isn’t safe.
Better gather some supplies and leave quickly.
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