Chapter 71: Voodoo Secrets
The truck was about to run them over. Lin Xiwan instinctively shifted into reverse, but just as she was about to slam on the gas, her sister grabbed her hand.
“No fuel, Sis…” Lin Jiayao glanced at the fuel gauge, meeting Lin Xiwan’s terrified gaze.
The needle was on empty. They couldn’t outrun the truck.
And they were facing the Voodoo Cult… Any attempt to escape would only excite them, possibly even prompting the entire convoy to join the chase.
Now, they could only gamble.
If necessary, even if it meant revealing her zombie abilities, Lin Jiayao would get her sister out of this alive.
“Sis, don’t be afraid.” Lin Jiayao squeezed her sister’s hand, her voice gentle, trying to calm her down.
“Just lower your head and gently bang it against the steering wheel. You can tremble too. Just follow my instructions, okay?”
Seeing the panic in her sister’s eyes, Lin Jiayao pushed her head down, her forehead resting on the steering wheel.
At least her expression wouldn’t be visible.
Lin Xiwan was terrified. No matter how powerful the zombie, she wouldn’t be afraid; there was always a chance to escape or fight back.
But there was no escaping the Voodoo Cult. She didn’t care about her own fate, but she wouldn’t let her sister suffer at their hands.
She was ready to fight.
But hearing her sister’s instructions, she obeyed, resting her forehead on the steering wheel.
Glancing at her sister, she was surprised to see a cold resolve in her goggle-covered eyes. The brief panic was gone.
Her composure… was even stronger than her own, after five years in the apocalypse.
Lin Jiayao took out the Voodoo Cult keys, hesitated for a second, and placed the V-E-031 key on the dashboard in front of her sister, keeping the V-D-021 key for herself.
“Honk—”
“Screech—”
The truck’s brakes screeched, its headlights blinding.
Lin Jiayao fumbled with the glove compartment, grabbing a handful of syringes and pills and scattering them on the dashboard.
“Woohoo—”
The truck’s headlights switched off, and a tall, thin figure jumped out, did a few somersaults, and then grabbed onto their window.
“Knock, knock, knock—Is anyone there? Hello? Anyone in there?” The man’s face was painted white, but the rain was washing it away.
He knocked on the window, mimicking the sound with his mouth, his brow furrowing.
Two women?
Although the Voodoo Cult wasn’t sexist, female members were rare… They were usually assigned to the Boss, as personal guards.
And what were they doing here?
He jumped down, examining the vehicle. Despite the scratches and dents, it was definitely a Voodoo Cult modified car.
As he jumped back up to the window, he saw the black-haired girl in the passenger seat aiming a rifle at him.
Before he could react, she fired.
“Rat-tat-tat-tat—”
“Shatter—”
Four quick shots, one at each corner of the window, shattering the glass.
The man, startled, lost his grip and stumbled back, almost falling.
He quickly steadied himself, grabbing the door frame.
“Fuck yo— Hahaha! Nice shot, sis! You’ve got good aim.” He’d been about to curse when he saw the gold key dangling from the girl’s rifle, still swaying from the recoil.
Holy shit, was she one of the Boss’s Awakened guards?
“Tow us, please. Out of gas. She’s high as a kite.” Seeing he hadn’t noticed anything amiss, Lin Jiayao shook her rifle slightly, the key spinning, obscuring the inscription.
The man followed her gaze to the driver’s seat.
The woman was trembling, her head banging against the steering wheel; she did indeed look high.
He didn’t know her trembling was from fear.
He saw another key on the dashboard, amidst the scattered syringes and pills, confirming his suspicion.
Definitely one of the Boss’s people. He’d never even seen the Boss’s women, let alone his leader.
And the nonchalant, cold demeanor of the girl in the passenger seat didn’t arouse any suspicion.
“Sure thing, sis. I’ll… I’ll tow you.”
He gave an okay sign, let go of the door frame, and jumped down.
Returning to his truck, he found a tow rope, attached it to the monster truck’s and his truck’s bumpers, gave another okay sign to Lin Jiayao, and then carefully reversed the truck.
He didn’t dare drive too fast and anger the two Awakened, especially the one in the driver’s seat, who was clearly high; there was no telling what she might do.
As he reversed, a voice came from his walkie-talkie.
“Zzz… Who’s that outside?”
He pressed the button and replied, “The Boss’s little sister.”
“Oh?”
The voice on the other end seemed surprised. After a moment, it said, “Treat them well. I’ll be there soon.”
“Beep—Beep—Beep—Beep—”
The truck’s reversing alarm blared.
Each beep brought them closer to the factory gate, closer to the dragon’s den.
Lin Xiwan, still slumped against the steering wheel, glanced at her sister, who seemed calm and composed in the passenger seat.
“Yao… what do we do…?” She whispered, her voice close to tears. “We’re going inside…”
“Yao… hold onto your gun. If they try anything, I’ll fight them. Then you can…”
Her voice trailed off.
Even if she fought, she couldn’t kill them all.
And even if she held them off, her sister couldn’t escape.
A sense of helplessness washed over her.
She wished she were a C-rank, or even a B-rank, Awakened, capable of overpowering them.
But she wasn’t.
She was just a D-rank, her blood crystal metabolism slow, her progress limited.
In other words, not very talented.
She began to blame herself.
Seeing her sister’s despair, Lin Jiayao’s heart ached.
Her sister bore so much pressure to protect her, always hiding her vulnerabilities, silently enduring.
But facing this seemingly inescapable situation, her emotions finally surfaced.
“Sister… I’m here,” Lin Jiayao said softly, patting her sister’s back. “Trust me.”
A system interface appeared before Lin Jiayao’s eyes.
She switched to the login screen, held her rifle, and leaned against the seat.
She still had the fourth zombie slot unused… Fuzhou City was available. If she was lucky, she could control a mutated zombie there.
If she was even luckier, it would be close by, and she could do something.
But the new zombie assignment was completely random.
A gamble.
Lin Jiayao selected the fourth zombie. Her consciousness shifted.
Slowly opening her eyes, she saw Fuzhou City in the rain, dilapidated buildings and wandering Biters.
She clenched her fists, looked around, and her heart sank.
Such weakness…
She’d lost the gamble.
Not only was it a Biter, but it was also located within the city.
There wasn’t time to upgrade it. She didn’t even bother checking the extraction point or time and immediately switched back to her main body.
The fourth zombie was useless; she would just let it wander until it despawned.
Mask was in Xin City, An Xiaoxi in Donghai City, and her third, the Hive Zombie, in America.
Now, she was on her own.
If the Voodoo Cult discovered her disguise, she would unleash everything in her warehouse, controlling her bone spikes and firing all eight M4s.
Explanations could wait until they survived.
The truck had towed their monster truck to the factory gate.
The window on her sister’s side was shattered, the metallic scent of blood strong even through the rain.
Among the mangled corpses hanging on the gate, Lin Jiayao saw Brother Gou’s head, his expression frozen in shock.
His head was positioned in the center of the right gate, surrounded by… well, let’s just say his severed genitalia… it looked like a grotesque sunflower.
The twisted aesthetic of the Voodoo Cult.
Blood still dripped from the corpses, washed by the rain; the massacre had been recent.
There were no female corpses, and she didn’t see Brother Gou’s daughters.
Lin Jiayao’s heart sank. A bad premonition…
Remembering the two adorable girls who had shyly offered her candy, her knuckles turned white on the rifle’s grip.
Inside the factory grounds, the music was even louder.
A makeshift stage had been set up in the central courtyard, a waterproof tarp overhead, a band playing beneath it.
And outside the tarp, Voodoo Cult members reveled in the rain.
Some were injecting themselves with drugs, their bodies trembling; some were engaged in unspeakable acts with a limbless woman; most were simply holding bottles, swaying to the music.
The truck, towing their monster truck, expertly reversed towards the factory warehouse, the driver clearly skilled.
Inside the warehouse, sheltered from the rain, the incessant drumming on the roof finally stopped.
The truck driver jumped out and approached their window.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
He knocked on Lin Jiayao’s window. “Anything else I can help with, Boss’s little sister?”
“Fuck off.”
“Right away!”
Receiving the expected response, he didn’t linger, jumping down and running back towards the party.
He hadn’t sensed anything unusual.
A drug-addled lunatic of a driver, and a cold, aloof young woman who didn’t flinch at riding with him and casually fired a rifle…
Wasn’t that cool? As a Voodoo Cult driver, he thought it was incredibly cool, perfectly in line with his image of the Voodoo Cult: insane and entertaining.
After he left, the surrounding area fell silent. Lin Xiwan stopped banging her head against the steering wheel and turned to her sister.
“What… what do we do now…?” she whispered, her voice trembling.
She now instinctively looked to her sister for guidance.
Perhaps because of her sister’s unnerving calmness in the face of the Voodoo Cult.
“Don’t worry… I’m thinking…” Lin Jiayao, her hand on the door, didn’t look at her sister. Through Bone Spike Lurker, she heard approaching footsteps.
Multiple people.
Had they been discovered?
She opened the warehouse interface, the bones in her back shifting slightly, ready for combat.
Through the rearview mirror, she saw several figures in full protective gear approaching through the rain, carrying burlap sacks.
They weren’t carrying guns?
“Sis, someone’s coming.”
Lin Jiayao relaxed slightly, lowered her rifle, placing it in the blind spot beside the door, and waited.
The man in the full-face mask stopped at the side door and knocked.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
Lin Jiayao lowered the window slightly but didn’t open the door.
She glanced at the man, her expression indifferent, and remained silent.
She wasn’t intentionally being aloof; she just didn’t know what to say.
In this situation, less was more.
Sensing her aloofness, the masked man chuckled. “Hey, Boss’s little sister, how’s the Boss doing lately? The brothers are worried.”
“Cut the crap,” Lin Jiayao replied, detecting the man’s flippant tone.
“No, really, we’re genuinely worried about the Boss,” he shrugged, seemingly exasperated. “We’re afraid she’s having another episode.”
He leaned against the car door, his posture relaxing. “Maybe you should talk to her, you know, help her realize she’s just… sick… Mentally ill.”
He tapped his masked head. “Schizophrenia and paranoia, isn’t it?”
“I’ll convey your message,” Lin Jiayao said calmly. “Every word.”
“Uh… on second thought, maybe not.” The masked man straightened up, scratching his head through the mask. “Right, we caught two sheep today, a little tribute for the Boss.”
He snapped his fingers, and his subordinates opened the burlap sacks, dumping the contents onto the ground.
“Thud.”
Two drenched figures fell.
Two little girls.
One of them hit her head on the ground. They huddled together, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Waaaaah—”
“Damn it, shut up.”
“Bang, bang, bang—”
The masked man fired a few shots into the air, silencing their wails. They continued to sob softly.
“Fucking hell, only a paranoid schizophrenic like the Boss would keep little girls around, talking about how pure and innocent they are.”
He stepped on one of the little girls’ heads and sneered, “Lucky them, having a pussy is all it takes to live the high life with the Boss.”
His words were laced with resentment; he seemed disgusted by this.
He looked at the girl inside the car and said with a forced smile, “Not you, of course, sis. You understand. It’s not fair to us male followers.”
“Why don’t you just off yourself,” Lin Jiayao replied flatly.
“Hahaha, maybe next time, maybe next time.” A superior’s joke, even a bad one, required a polite chuckle.
He then looked at the car door, his voice curious. “Why aren’t you getting out, sis? We’ll fix your car and replenish your supplies.”
“We’re having a party tonight. Care to join?”
“Anything goes! Anything at all, sis!”
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