Chapter 55: Traveling Together

Mo Yu sat at the head of the bed, her eyes vacant as she stared at the stark white wall opposite. After a while, she tugged the towel blanket wrapped around her body closer with both hands, even burying her head beneath it.

“Heh~heh~heh~” Mo Yu lifted her head; suddenly, a foolish laugh spilled from the corners of her upturned mouth. She reached out and pinched her now much fuller chest, a sense of satisfaction rising from the soles of her feet to her mind, flooding her entire being. If there was anything in this life—or perhaps in the forgotten life before—that Mo Yu resented (purely for personal reasons, no external cause), it was only one thing: her chest. She had always been a little proud of her looks, even her family background, but the one thing that irked her was that she was a naturally flat-chested girl! She couldn’t compare to her cousin Mo Qing’s voluptuous figure, nor to Xia Zi’s delicate curves; she possessed only a “runway” that even airplanes would find too flat. This had troubled her until the arrival of the apocalypse. Now, by some twist of fate, she had gained a pair of “magnificent wet breasts,” and the feeling was…

Absolutely fantastic!

However, bigger breasts = a fuller figure + more to boast about = no clothes that fit.

Damn! What was the universe’s malice trying to do to her?

But Mo Yu quickly calmed herself. Back before the apocalypse, during her shopping frenzies, she hadn’t just bought good things for herself—she had also bought plenty for her mother, father, grandfather, even her cousin and Lingzi. Now, though she had no chance to give them away, it meant she still had clothes to wear.

Mo Yu resolutely abandoned the obviously too-small clothes on the bed and cheerfully ran to the large warehouse on the first floor to hunt for clothes.

Of course, reality teaches us that if you want to survive in the apocalypse, you must know how to hide your abilities. If Mo Yu only cared about wearing pretty or more comfortable clothes and abandoned her original outfit, it would not only attract the greed of schemers but also the hatred of those who couldn’t even feed themselves. So Mo Yu unhesitatingly chose an outfit identical to what she had worn before. Hmm, this one was originally meant for her cousin.

After changing and packing her bag, Mo Yu hurried over to Egg. The fire had gone out, and the puppy was comfortably napping on the ground. Mo Yu squatted, stroked its fur, then gently placed a few transparent crystal cores beside it and vanished from sight. As soon as Mo Yu disappeared, Egg sprang awake, glanced at the crystal cores, then unhesitatingly lay on top of them like a mother hen incubating chicks, slowly drifting back into sleep.

When Mo Yu opened her eyes, a blinding white light flashed before her. After she blinked and reopened her eyes, two enlarged human faces appeared less than five centimeters from hers.

“Damn, scared me to death!” Of course, Mo Yu only grumbled inwardly; outwardly, she displayed quite the opposite demeanor. Mo Yu lifted her left hand, which hung in midair, and gently rubbed her dry eyes, while her right hand supported herself as she slowly rose from her seat.

“Mo Yu, you’re finally awake!” Li Jun’s childish voice reached her ear, brimming with excitement. Mo Yu turned to look at him and, upon recognizing him, gave him a gentle smile.

“Uh, you… you’re awake~!” another voice exclaimed, tinged with surprise, excitement, and warmth, as if seeing a long-lost sister. “Who is this?” Mo Yu had no recollection of this voice. She looked toward its source and saw an exceedingly beautiful face. This person seemed familiar, yet Mo Yu couldn’t place her. Hmm. No memory.

The woman, as if sensing Mo Yu’s confusion, explained, “I’m the one you rescued from the mutant zombie the other day!”

Mo Yu closed her eyes and searched her memory cells carefully. Ah! She found it. The scene from that day slowly replayed in her mind. So it was the ice-powered survivor who’d been taken. Back then, she saved her not just because she was an ice-powered survivor, but because she witnessed her feminine dignity, resistance, and courage—it was only for these traits that Mo Yu intervened. Such women deserved respect and opportunities in the apocalypse.

Jinte and the others, except for Lin Hu who was driving and Nan Li who had lost her lover, gathered around Mo Yu. Mo Yu dragged her black satchel into her arms and, without waiting for anyone to speak, began rummaging through it. While searching, she said, “Wait a moment, wait a moment… Ah, found it.”

Mo Yu stuffed a bag of supplies into Jinte’s hand, her eyes glistening with tears as she pleaded, “These… these are food. Could my brother and I stay with you?”

Truthfully, Jinte had already intended to include them in their team; Mo Yu’s abilities were obvious to all. But her words were like a golden egg dropping from nowhere, stunning everyone, especially Jinte, who held the bag.

Dear heavens, the bag was full of food! Under everyone’s eager gaze, Jinte opened the bag. Goodness! There were at least a dozen roast buns! Damn! So many fresh, juicy tomatoes! The group, starved of normal food for so long, nearly drooled, their eyes gleaming like hungry wolves. Even Nan Li, who sat far away, wanted to rush over and “admire” the buns and tomatoes.

“So… is it okay?” Mo Yu lowered her head and smiled subtly where no one could see.

“Of course. But if there’s danger, you must fight with us,” Jinte said, gripping the bag tightly. “No problem,” Mo Yu replied, moving left to include Li Jun in her embrace. Li Jun hugged her waist tightly, shifting his gaze from the plastic bag to Mo Yu’s face, finally settling on Jinte and the others.

He said, "Thank you."

With food, everyone’s mood improved greatly, even Nan Li, who received some buns, gave Mo Yu a friendly smile. The most enthusiastic of all was the ice-powered survivor Mo Yu saw upon waking. Later, she introduced herself as Zhao Qingqing, whose powers awakened while she was asleep.

Along the way, aside from the whistling wind pouring in through the car’s damaged roof, the rest was everyone’s “concern” for Mo Yu: questions about her name, where she lived, why she only brought her brother, what happened to her family, how her powers appeared, how to awaken powers, and so on. Mo Yu knew she had just gotten into their car and lost a good bag of food to build rapport, so she couldn’t let her efforts go to waste. Thus, she gave casual explanations.

Her name was Mo Yu, she lived in XXX, her family was in City A, her brother vacationed here with her and friends, her powers appeared after falling down the stairs, and she didn’t know how to awaken powers but encouraged everyone to try for the sake of humanity, and so forth…

Everyone looked at Mo Yu, wondering if she’d been hit silly.

Seeing the questions cease, Mo Yu noticed how fatigue etched deep lines between their brows; even Li Jun in her arms was nodding off like a chick pecking rice, though his body trembled at times. After the mutant zombie attack, the car roof was left with a huge hole, and with winter’s cold winds slicing their faces, he was likely to develop a fever again. It would not be as convenient as when it was just the two of them, with water always on hand to reduce his temperature. So… Mo Yu calmly took out a bulging little bundle from her bag, opened it to reveal a warm-looking blanket. She wrapped herself and Li Jun together. Yes, time for a nap!

At night, Xu Dong took over from Lin Hu driving, and the night passed safely.

Lin Hu was the first to rise in the morning; he and Xu Dong took turns driving. Mo Yu hadn’t slept all night. Since waking yesterday, her mind was restless, her heart inexplicably agitated. She spent the night watching the scenery rush past the window, and a few shivering, hungry zombies among it.

From yesterday’s chats, Mo Yu learned that the car’s destination matched hers: they were heading to City A, though they’d stop at any survivor base they encountered to rest before continuing. In short, their goals coincided quite well.

“Thump, thump.” Suddenly, the car jolted, waking the others. “What happened?” Jinte wrapped himself in his wrinkled suit jacket and went to the driver’s seat. “Damn! This car’s done for!” Lin Hu crouched to inspect. “The damage is too severe! It’s totaled!”

If yesterday, Mo Yu’s food was a golden egg from heaven, then Lin Hu’s words now were a landmine—an explosive one at that. The news stunned everyone into silence, even Jinte grew irritable and frustrated.

“One kilometer ahead should be Province C. If I’m right, there ought to be a survivor base,” Xu Dong said, pulling out a map he'd found in the car, carefully searching for useful information.

Xu Dong’s words were a relief; a kilometer wasn’t long, yet not short—it was the risk of encountering hordes of zombies on foot that worried them.

After Jinte assigned everyone their share of supplies, he decisively abandoned the car and was the first to step out. The morning air bit to the bone and reeked of foul odors.

“Everyone be careful. Let’s hurry and reach the base as soon as possible.” Each person gripped their weapon tightly, even Nan Li nodded vigorously. One must know their limits, and Nan Li was no fool. She knew everyone disapproved of her actions before and after Wang Zixing’s death, but she always acted on instinct: in danger, she’d cling to a branch—any branch, high or low—believing subconsciously it was safer than being alone. But now things were different. Now, she had no branch to cling to, only herself. Nan Li instinctively drew closer to Mo Yu, who cradled Li Jun; perhaps, in her mind, Mo Yu was a branch worth clinging to, though not in the usual way.

Date: November 19, 20xx

Location: North X Expressway

Characters: Mo Yu, Li Jun, Jinte, and others

Destination: “Fortress” Base

Author’s note: … Second update