Chapter 92: Childhood’s End
“Yao? Are you alright? Yao? Your eyes…”
Lin Xiwan held her sister close, gently shaking her.
Her hand trembled as she noticed something blood-red writhing beneath the skin around Lin Jiayao’s eyes.
And a faint pull, a familiar sensation…
Only two possibilities.
A zombie or an Awakened.
Either way, it meant Lin Jiayao had absorbed blood crystals, and they had fused with her blood.
But when…?
Lin Xiwan had always protected her sister, even shielding her from zombie scratches with her own body in the early days of the apocalypse.
But now… somehow… she had absorbed blood crystals…
Could it be… that Corpse Bird last night?!
She remembered being covered in blood after the attack… Could her sister have accidentally ingested some then?
Actively consuming blood crystals was different from passive exposure; it carried a high risk of infection.
Passive awakening, like the little girl Awakened, involved minuscule amounts of blood crystals, slowly modifying the body.
But active consumption… that was on a completely different scale, far too much for an ordinary person.
And judging by the pull she felt, her sister had absorbed several grams.
Before the fusion, she hadn’t even sensed the blood crystals in her sister’s body.
No wonder she’d been so sleepy since last night… the blood crystals were taking effect…
Her frail sister might not be able to withstand the process and could turn into a zombie.
“No… no…” The thought terrified Lin Xiwan.
She pried open her sister’s mouth, her fingers reaching down her throat.
Although she knew it was futile, she couldn’t think of anything else.
Maybe… just maybe… she could get the undigested crystals out?
Lin Jiayao gagged, struggling.
“Mmm—”
Her mouth was held shut; she couldn’t speak, couldn’t push her sister’s hand away.
Feeling her sister’s cold fingers probing her throat, she tried to push them back with her tongue, but it was more like a lick.
Finally, unable to breathe, she opened her eyes, her “awakening” interrupted.
Her eyes were completely red, the whites gone, only glowing red pupils.
A chilling sight.
Seeing her open her eyes, Lin Xiwan stopped.
She… she’s awake?
She hesitantly withdrew her hand, covered in her sister’s saliva.
“S-Sister…?” Lin Jiayao asked weakly, her voice hoarse.
“Yao? How are you feeling? Are you alright?” Lin Xiwan asked quickly.
Her sister was still conscious! Relief washed over her.
But she also noticed a blood-red line extending from her sister’s collar, up her neck, and towards her eyes.
Could it be… that she…
“Sister… I can’t see… I can’t see anything… Sister, where are you…?” Lin Jiayao reached out blindly, as if truly blind.
She was right there, in her arms, but her sister couldn’t see her, her unfocused, crimson eyes darting around.
This wasn’t an act; it was too realistic.
And indeed, Lin Jiayao couldn’t see anything; the simulation was perfect.
Her sister’s panic made Lin Xiwan’s heart ache. She held her close, gently patting her back. “Don’t be afraid, Sister is here, right beside you…”
She now had a strong suspicion.
Her sister… had likely Awakened.
And she hadn’t yet learned to control her ability.
Comforting her sister, she shifted her position, leaning against the wall, her legs bent, supporting Lin Jiayao’s back.
She gently parted her sister’s legs and placed them on either side of her waist, then looked into her eyes.
This position should make her feel safer.
“Yao, you can’t see anything at all? Can you describe what you see?” Lin Xiwan gently bounced her legs, letting her sister feel her presence. “It’s okay, Sister is right here.”
“I…”
Lin Jiayao’s panic subsided slightly. She placed her hands on Lin Xiwan’s shoulders, her voice hesitant.
“I… I see a red light… right in front of me… and everything else is black… I’m scared…”
Red light?
The only thing in front of her was herself… the red light was her.
A detection-type ability?
Lin Xiwan instantly understood. Her former vice-captain had a similar ability: seeing through walls and detecting blood crystals.
“It’s okay… Yao, relax… just relax…” Lin Xiwan gently bounced her legs, comforting her sister, a smile playing on her lips.
She was almost certain now; her sister was an Awakened. Her behavior, her reaction, it was all typical of a newly Awakened individual.
This realization brought immense relief. And with the relief came… amusement.
Seeing her sister this scared and confused was rare; she didn’t even flinch at the sight of zombies.
But now, seeing the tears in her eyes, her reaching out blindly, her helplessness… it filled Lin Xiwan with a sense of satisfaction.
This is what it feels like to be relied upon!
After a moment of quiet enjoyment, Lin Xiwan returned to the task at hand: teaching her sister how to control her ability.
“Relax… feel your heartbeat…” she said, taking her sister’s hand and placing it on her chest, guiding her.
“Can you feel it? Your heart is beating too fast. Try to slow it down… you’ll feel a warmth flowing back to your heart…”
She spoke softly, patiently guiding her sister. The satisfaction of teaching, of being needed, made her smile.
When the blackness in her sister’s eyes receded, her gaze focusing on her, Lin Xiwan cupped her face in her hands.
“Congratulations, Lin Jiayao,” she said with a smile. “Starting today, you’re an Awakened.”
“I… an Awakened?”
Lin Jiayao repeated the words, still in disbelief.
“Yes! Really!” Lin Xiwan hugged her sister, her excitement bubbling over. “You can be as strong as Sister now!”
Just as she was anticipating her sister’s reaction, the door suddenly burst open.
“The doctor is here! Where’s the patient?”
The little girls, the camp doctor, Auntie Lan, Wan Zi, and several helpers crowded into the room, then froze, staring at the two sisters on the bed.
Was… was this… something they were allowed to see?
A slender, beautiful young woman, straddling a slightly older, equally beautiful woman, her legs wrapped around the older woman’s waist, the older woman’s hands cupping the younger woman’s face, their foreheads touching.
And the older woman’s legs were bouncing rhythmically, her movements causing the younger woman’s body to move up and down…
Wait… where’s the patient?
Wan Zi was the first to react. She sensed a faint pull from the younger woman, who hadn’t had any Awakened aura before.
And seeing the older woman’s delighted expression, she instantly understood.
“Congratulations! I didn’t expect to witness the birth of a new Awakened in our camp! Haha, this place truly is blessed!”
She clapped her hands and turned to the helpers. “Alright, everyone, nothing to see here, back to work.”
The others, ordinary people, hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
But a new rumor would likely spread through the camp tonight.
[Two beautiful sisters arrived today, incredibly gorgeous, but they’re… lesbians!]
In the monotony of camp life, such gossip was far more interesting than the usual scavenging reports.
Wan Zi leaned against the door frame, smiling. “Anything else I can help with?”
The little girls had returned to their bed and were now looking curiously at the two sisters before glancing at their still-sleeping sibling, lost in their own thoughts.
“No, thank you,” Lin Xiwan replied, smiling back at Wan Zi, oblivious to how compromising their position looked.
And Lin Jiayao didn’t move; she didn’t care what others thought, only her sister.
“Congratulations. I’ll leave you two alone then. I’ll have someone bring over some blankets later.”
Wan Zi closed the door and left, still smiling.
Not because she enjoyed… that… but because the younger girl’s awakening increased the probability of them staying.
Seeing how happy the older sister was, if she gave them a tour of the camp and then suggested they stay, they would likely agree.
And she had also made another observation.
She now understood why they hadn’t accepted the bone fracture rings.
It wasn’t a fracture; it was likely paralysis.
She hadn’t seen the younger girl move her legs at all.
They didn’t need bone fracture rings; they needed a wheelchair or crutches.
Wan Zi remembered a few unused folding wheelchairs in the medical center. She would go and see if she could find one, clean it, and bring it to them.
This gesture, if she was right, would seal the deal.
Meanwhile, in room 111, Lin Xiwan was teaching Lin Jiayao how to control her new ability.
She had cleaned the stool and placed it beside the bed, helping her sister sit there, then sat on the stool herself, facing her.
“Now breathe deeply… and feel your heartbeat, the flow of blood… Yes… yes! That’s it!”
Lin Jiayao learned quickly, much to Lin Xiwan’s delight and satisfaction.
Within five minutes, under her expert tutelage, her sister had learned to activate and deactivate her Awakened vision.
And through her questioning, Lin Xiwan had a better understanding of her sister’s ability.
Unlike her former vice-captain, her sister couldn’t see through walls – she couldn’t see walls at all.
Activating her ability plunged her vision into darkness, only blood-red lights visible, unlike her vice-captain, whose normal vision wasn’t affected.
But her vice-captain’s ability only had a range of 50 meters, which he could maintain almost constantly.
Her sister’s ability, while able to detect all blood crystals within her field of vision, couldn’t be maintained for long; she would be unable to see obstacles.
This was an incredibly useful ability for them.
They could detect enemies from hundreds of meters away and avoid them, preventing another incident like last night.
Even now, looking at her sister, still experimenting with her new ability, Lin Xiwan felt like she was dreaming.
She’d found a seemingly decent camp, and her sister had Awakened. Two joyous occasions, double the happiness.
What Lin Xiwan didn’t know was that her sister, while ostensibly testing her new ability, was also experimenting with something else.
With Blood Crystal Vision activated, Lin Jiayao’s world was shrouded in darkness, only red lights visible.
But when she touched the bed frame with her fingernail, activating Bone Spike Lurker, her vision changed.
The terrain simulated by Bone Spike Lurker overlapped with the darkness.
Now, besides the darkness, she could also see white lines outlining the objects within a fifty-meter radius.
The combination of the two abilities allowed her to see both blood crystal entities and the surrounding terrain.
The weakness of Blood Crystal Vision had been compensated for by a simple gray evolution.
This realization excited her.
As she gained more evolutions, they could complement each other, creating synergistic effects greater than the sum of their parts.
Continuing down this path, she might truly become… the perfect ultimate being…
“Hoo…” Lin Jiayao exhaled slowly, deciding to avoid mental-affecting evolutions from now on, no matter how powerful they seemed.
As long as she remained in control, what did it matter how she evolved? It only meant she could protect her sister more effectively.
I’ll rest for a bit, take a shower, and then check on Goldie.
The last extraction had been dangerous; she didn’t know if Goldie had survived in that sewer.
If she had, she would have to retrieve the two blood crystals that had fallen in.
…
“Clank, clank…”
“Screech…”
On the highway, four Sprinters, their bodies connected by fungal tendrils, pulled a Wuling Hongguang van, its tires worn down to the rims, sparks flying as the chassis scraped against the asphalt.
A surprisingly cool sight.
The four Sprinters pulling the van were different from before; she’d clearly gone through a few sets.
Inside the van, the little girl with white hair knelt on the driver’s seat, clutching a notebook, her other hand on the window, her eyes wide with fascination as she watched the sparks fly, her stocking-clad feet dangling.
So pretty… but so dangerous…
She was both fascinated and scared by the sparks.
She was afraid they might burn her.
“Driving is dangerous…” she murmured, watching the sparks.
“Screech—Thump—”
One of the Sprinters pulling the van suddenly stumbled, its head snapping back as it crashed into the front of the van, denting the hood.
The little girl looked at the Sprinter’s corpse, now covering the windshield, and ordered the other three to stop.
Dead?
What happened?
Then, she felt herself losing control of the other Sprinters, one by one.
She put down her notebook, sat down properly, put on her shoes, and was about to put on the other shoe when she heard the car door open.
Still bending down, she looked towards the open door.
A muscular man with tattoos, wearing a black gas mask and green goggles.
A human?
Just as she reached for her notebook, about to greet him politely, she was lifted off the ground by the back of her shirt.
“Boss—There’s a kid inside—Nothing else—” the man shouted towards the front.
Before he could finish, a shout came from ahead: “That’s a fucking zombie, you idiot—!”
“Holy shit!”
The man dropped the little girl as if she were a hot potato and ran towards the convoy.
He didn’t notice the slimy tendrils clinging to his hand.
The little girl stood up, clutching her notebook, looked at the men holding strange cylindrical objects, and said in a childish voice, “Hello, my name is Huayibai. My mom is—”
“Boom—”
A rocket, trailing flames, slammed into the wheel-less van beside her, exploding.
The blast threw Huayibai across the median and onto the opposite lane.
Its body was torn, the right side of its face mangled, only a few tendrils holding it together.
Its tendrils writhed, rapidly repairing the damage, but, ignoring the pain, it struggled to its feet and looked towards the burning van.
The van was engulfed in flames, everything inside charred.
Including the twenty books Lin Jiayao had given her.
Huayibai looked down at the scorched notebook in its hand, its belly splitting open, stuffed the book inside, and stood up unsteadily.
Its eyes glowed red, its mind filled with rage.
Searching its memories for the most potent curse it could find, it stared at the men and said in a raspy voice, “Your mother is dead…”
“Whoosh—”
Another rocket streaked towards its head.
But just as it was about to hit, Huayibai’s face split open, the rocket passing harmlessly through.
It glared at the woman holding the strange cylindrical object and slowly raised its right hand.
The tendrils that had clung to the tattooed man’s hand had crawled into his ear, pushing aside his useless Bluetooth earpiece and burrowing inside.
“AAAAAH—”
His scream echoed through the convoy.
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