Chapter 14: A World Overrun by Zombies

On the small map before Du Yun’s eyes, a blue dot and a red dot were drawing ever closer to her. She broke into a run, sprinting for dozens of meters before witnessing a zombie chasing a little girl.

The girl looked no more than six years old, frail and petite. The zombie behind her resembled an old woman, carrying a large firewood basket on her back, hobbling after the girl on tiny bound feet. Bloodstains covered her body, and crimson smeared her lips, evoking a chilling terror.

Perhaps because her bound feet made walking difficult and the weight she carried was heavy, the zombie was unable to catch the stumbling little girl.

“Second Granny, please, don’t eat me! Help!” The girl cried as she ran, instinctively veering in Du Yun’s direction when she saw her. The zombie, as if agitated by the girl’s cries, suddenly accelerated, lunging bent over toward her.

“Ah!” Just as the zombie was about to catch her, the girl stumbled on some weeds and fell, narrowly escaping the attack. The bound-foot zombie was about to pounce again when Du Yun arrived with her hoe.

Bang! The hoe struck the zombie’s back, drawing its attention. Its grotesque face snapped toward Du Yun, blood-red eyes locking onto her like a beast stalking its prey.

“You monster, take this!” Du Yun watched every move of the zombie, tense with anxiety. Seeing that her blow had barely hurt it, she steeled herself and swung the hoe at its head.

The stench of blood from the bound-foot zombie was overpowering, with traces of blood and what looked like remains at its mouth. Perhaps it had already eaten a person—just the thought sent shivers down her spine.

Du Yun felt a creeping dread: if she couldn’t deal with this zombie quickly, she’d be torn apart and devoured within moments, left as nothing but dry bones.

Under its fierce assault, Du Yun fought desperately. Whether by luck or determination, after several minutes she managed to land another blow on the zombie’s head, knocking it to the ground.

“Take that! You ate my grandma, monster!” As the zombie fell, the little girl seemed to regain her strength. She picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground and smashed it onto the zombie’s head. Then another stone, and another...

Watching as a patch of the zombie’s head caved in, revealing a pale gray beneath, Du Yun hurriedly grabbed the girl and pulled her into her arms. “Enough! That’s enough!”

The girl struggled in Du Yun’s embrace, but after a long moment she finally relaxed and burst into tears. “It’s so scary... so many people turned into monsters and want to eat people. So many died…”

“There, there, don’t be afraid... It’s all over now, you’re safe.” Du Yun held the trembling girl, comforting her softly. In truth, she was comforting herself as well.

“We need to leave here quickly.” The girl managed to stifle her sobs. Though Du Yun’s hands and legs felt weak, she forced herself to pull the girl along, hurriedly heading in another direction. The zombie’s corpse reeked too strongly of blood—if other zombies caught the scent and came, she wouldn’t have the strength to fight again.

With the core intelligence system acting as her all-purpose scanner, and Du Yun’s own careful vigilance, they encountered no more zombies along the way. After walking an unknown distance, Du Yun, exhausted, finally spotted a small shed made of earth bricks at the edge of the fields. It offered some measure of protection, so she led the girl there.

After thoroughly inspecting the surroundings, Du Yun found a spot against a thick wall and sat down, the girl by her side.

“Do you know what happened? Where did these zombies come from?” Du Yun looked at the shaking girl. Though it felt cruel to ask such questions at a time like this, gathering information was vital when life and death hung in the balance.

“I don’t know… Yesterday, people in the village suddenly went mad. Grandma thought it was dangerous, so she took me to hide in the mountains…” The girl was badly frightened, tears streaming down her cheeks.

From her account, Du Yun learned that the village’s outbreak had begun yesterday, and from then until today, normal people kept turning into zombies. Those caught or bitten by zombies—if they survived—would also change after a while, sometimes within minutes, sometimes hours.

“This must be the legendary Cataclysm!” Du Yun thought, listening to the girl’s story, so similar to the apocalyptic tales and zombie novels she’d read before.

According to the girl, this world had seen countless people infected overnight for reasons unknown, transforming into zombies. The infection continued to spread in the hours that followed. The bound-foot zombie Du Yun had just destroyed had mutated today, which was why the girl’s grandmother had been attacked by her and lost her life.

The girl leaned against Du Yun, gradually drifting into sleep as she spoke. Du Yun sat against the earthen wall, watching the sky darken outside, listening to the mournful wind as it swept past the hut. A strange feeling grew in her heart—a chaotic chill, a craving for someone to talk to.

Wait, I’ve been talking for a while now. If there are zombies nearby, wouldn’t they be able to follow the sound here? Du Yun suddenly felt a chill, beads of cold sweat forming as she stiffened and listened intently to the sounds outside, gripping her hoe tightly.

The wind wailed, and Du Yun’s nerves were stretched to the limit. She thought she could almost hear the blood coursing through her veins. “No, if this keeps up, I’ll die of anxiety. Intelligence Core, are you there?” she thought to herself.

“Huh? I’m here, Master! What is it? Master!” The voice of the blue chubby figure sounded in her mind, as lighthearted as a character from a cartoon.

“So this is how we communicate.” Du Yun relaxed a little. In a place where zombies could appear at any time, having someone to talk to was a comfort. “But your tone is so cheerful—does that really suit the situation?”