The Advanced Zombie

“A life-saving off-road vehicle, and an inspirational song. We are on the road. Hello everyone, and welcome to the live recording of ‘Safety Moment.’ I am your host, Li Yi. Now, please allow me to introduce our guest. This episode, we are honored to have the most formidable post-apocalyptic survival expert, Miss Mo Yu. Let’s give her a round of applause.”

Clap, clap, clap—

“Alright, Miss Mo, please look at the camera—yes, give us a smile, a smile! …Well then, Miss Mo, what is the one thing you most want to say about surviving the apocalypse?”

“Shut up.”

“...Oh, haha, what a classic! Miss Mo Yu’s words are truly memorable. Audience members here and everyone watching at home, be sure to remember: don’t chat while driving~ Okay, let’s interview some people from the audience. This gentleman—uh, actually, never mind.” Li Yi quietly moved his phone away from Qing Xuan’s face. Damn, he just kept staring at the guest so creepily.

“This little one here, what’s your view on the apocalypse?” He held the phone up to Li Jun.

Li Jun tilted his head, pretending to ponder, then suddenly flashed a big smile at the camera. “I want to be with my sister forever!”

“Oh! A heartfelt confession to Miss Mo from our audience! ...Li Jun, looks like your brother Mo wants to have a word with you...”

“Alright, next. Dear little friend, in the apocalypse, who would you most want to say something to?”

“Hmm. Sister, I love you.” Chi Chi blinked sleepily.

“It seems our Miss Mo is receiving rave reviews~ But we still have three little ones. Let’s see what they have to say. Let’s invite our only little girl to say a few words.”

“There’s nothing much I want to say, just that I’m very grateful you saved me.” Xiao Ai hugged her teddy bear tightly. “And, Mom and Dad, I miss you so much.”

Xiao Ai’s words landed in the car like a heavy stone, weighing on everyone’s hearts. Who didn’t miss home? They were all just trying to find some joy in their hardship, laughing through their tears.

Someone once said that highways are a good place—endless and open, with countless identical roads and countless wanderers, all lost and homeless. The highway is like a river on land, and the car is but a little boat.

“Let’s rest for a while.” At last, after driving at full speed for two days and nights, Mo Yu called for a stop. “There’s a gas station up ahead, the closest rest stop we’ll find. Li Yi, you’ll look for food, Qing Xuan, you’ll search for fuel. We need to stock up on supplies.”

“Got it!” Li Yi replied, full of confidence and energy. Mo Yu had been taking care of them the whole time, and he, a grown man, hadn’t even had a chance to prove himself. Now, given this opportunity, he wasn’t about to let it go. Besides, he’d recovered his strength and wanted to see just how strong he’d become.

“I’ll stay in the car with the kids. If there’s any danger, you get back in the car immediately—we leave, no hesitation. Remember! Don’t risk your lives for petty gains. We’re approaching the station, get your weapons ready! I’ll be waiting for you!” With those last words, Mo Yu made a sharp 180-degree turn, bringing the car door flush against the convenience store at the rest stop.

Once the two men had gotten out, Mo Yu turned to look at the children in the back seat. Perhaps from the discomfort of traveling so long, their little brows were knitted with worry, and the four of them huddled together for warmth. Mo Yu suddenly remembered the large storage compartment beneath her feet, packed with food she’d bought before the apocalypse began. The past few days, they’d been forced to eat only compressed biscuits and drink tap water while on the run. Now that they could rest, it was time for a proper meal. With that in mind, Mo Yu opened the storage compartment.

There were several cans of long-life fish, a few cans of luncheon meat, some packs of flatbread that could be stored for ages, and several bottles of vitamin drinks. Staples, sides, water—Mo Yu took out plenty of each, thinking it was a small reward for everyone’s endurance these past days.

“Nothing?” Mo Yu asked as Li Yi and Qing Xuan returned.

“Damn it, it’s all been picked clean—not even a rat dropping left.” Li Yi’s enthusiasm had been completely dampened by the sight of the ransacked, dust-filled shelves.

“And what about gas?” Mo Yu turned to Qing Xuan.

“None,” Qing Xuan replied calmly, but Mo Yu was starting to get anxious. “We have enough food, but who knows if the fuel will last. It’ll take at least three days to reach the capital. Gas is a major problem.”

“How much fuel do we have left?” Li Yi asked without even looking up.

Mo Yu frowned at Li Yi, but when she turned to Qing Xuan, she saw a look in his eyes she’d only ever seen in the worst of men after the world ended. And Li Yi—she’d told them just yesterday that she only had two barrels of gas left. What was going on with these two? Why were they acting so strangely?

“Well, if there’s no gas, we’ll just have to figure something out. But running out of food would be much worse.” Mo Yu shoved the food she’d just taken out back into the compartment.

“That’s easy—when we see another convoy, we’ll just take some from them.” Qing Xuan chimed in.

Now Mo Yu was certain—these two in the car were impostors. What kind of bandit logic was that?

“Hey, let’s get moving. The sooner we find a convoy, the sooner we can eat,” Li Yi urged impatiently.

Mo Yu shot a fierce glare at this fool—no one had ever dared order her around, not even the original owner. Did he really think she was so easy to deceive?

“Why don’t you two go check the car? It seems to be acting up.” Mo Yu turned her head, innocence in her expression.

“Stupid woman.” The fake Li Yi cursed as he got out of the car.

That did it—Mo Yu’s patience snapped. Did she look that easy to bully? Clearly, these two had a death wish.

The fake Qing Xuan and Li Yi went to the front of the car, studying the steel-welded shield and the bloodstained brass lock at the very front.

“Key!” the fake Li Yi shouted at Mo Yu, his patience gone.

“Key, my ass—go to hell!” Mo Yu stomped on the accelerator, sending the two flying.

The children in the back seat watched this without a word. They simply trusted and relied on Mo Yu.

“Stay in the car. Don’t open the door for anyone. Understand?” Mo Yu instructed as she grabbed a rope and got out.

“Ow! Ow!” The two men groaned in pain on the ground, clutching their foreheads. At last, their true faces were revealed—delinquents with garish dyed hair and silly tattoos, the type who’d wasted their lives before the apocalypse.

Mo Yu looked at the two youths, not much younger than herself, and snorted coldly. Without a word, she set about tying them up, and in minutes had them bound tight, leaving them without the strength to even groan.

“Get up.” Mo Yu nudged the foul-mouthed one with her foot. “Hurry up, don’t dawdle! I’ll count to three—if you’re not up, I’ll drive right over you.” She turned as if to leave.

“Oh, please, auntie! Don’t! We’re getting up!” The two squirmed like caterpillars, inching along the ground, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t seem to sit up.

“Hey, you two!” Mo Yu watched their pathetic struggle, then suddenly sensed something was wrong. Even before the apocalypse, this rest stop, though not bustling, was a crucial route to the capital. Judging by the endless line of abandoned cars on the highway, the traffic here must have been huge. Yet now, there wasn’t a single zombie in sight. Shouldn’t that have set off alarm bells? She’d been careless.

Quietly, Mo Yu drew the gun from her belt and crept closer to the two men still writhing on the ground.

“As I thought!” Swallowing her nausea, Mo Yu didn’t hesitate. She fired a bullet into each of their heads.

Creak—creak—the two corpses on the ground began to rot rapidly, revealing their true forms.

They were zombies. Maggots crawled in their empty eye sockets, their flesh blackened and decaying, the stench filling the air.

Holding her breath, Mo Yu picked up a stick and smashed their skulls with ease.

Inside, she found one murky green crystal core, and another that was clear and sparkling. The difference must be due to the varying development of their brains—the clear one surely belonged to the zombie who had spoken to her, and the cloudy one to the more reticent one. These two intelligent zombies must have deceived many people already! It was clear this was no place to linger—who knew what else might be lurking nearby.

With a heavy heart, Mo Yu picked up the two crystal cores and returned to the car, knocking on the rear window.

“Sis, what’s wrong?” Li Jun opened the window. The children had been watching her every move, and when they saw the two men were actually zombies, they’d all been shocked.

“When I come back, I’ll knock just like this.” Mo Yu demonstrated for Li Jun, then pressed the car key into his palm, wrapping her hand protectively around his. “Lock the doors once I leave. There’s food for you under the driver’s seat. Take care of your siblings. Here, this is for you.” She placed the murky crystal core in his hand.

“Remember how to use the gun?”

“Yes,” Li Jun nodded fiercely.

“I’m trusting you with everything!”

“Don’t worry, Sister! I’ll protect everyone!” Li Jun’s voice trembled with tears.

“Close the window now.”

“Sister!”

[Author’s note: Love you all~ This is your resident troublemaker, Jiang Jiang… 166 Reading Network]