2: Underneath A Thousand Skies

242 Ye Minzhe, Ruler Of The Dead (1)

Beijing, a year later.

"Is Nanjing really safe?"

A group of survivors huddled inside a torn down mall, exchanging information and food. Each of them had pitched their own tents, and were taking temporary shelter. One of them, a large middle-aged man, was the one who asked the question.

"I don't know if it's safe, but it's our best bet. I heard they have a cure for the infection."

"You know how quarantine bases are falling one after another to the zombies these few months. Some people have even seen them behaving like a centipede, their bodies stuck together as they crawled on the sides of the buildings. It's creepy."

A girl that had been listening in shuddered.

"I think they're mutating. You know, I once saw two zombies that were moving in sync. It was as if the two of them were being controlled by a single mind."

"Alright, can you stop all of these horrible talk?" A young mother covered the ears of her little daughter, glaring at them. "We have a long day tomorrow, so let's just get some rest."

After various agreements, all of them took out their sleeping bags and turned off their solar lamps.

Naturally, there were people who could fall asleep quickly, and there were also people who couldn't.

Tossing and turning for more than an hour, the young mother finally decided to sit up. She couldn't sleep because of the creepy stories she had heard. Turning on her solar lamp, she felt that her bladder was full and got up to go to the bathroom.

"Hello?"

On her way back, she suddenly heard a timid voice calling out to her. The voice sounded young, just like a little girl's.

The young mother gripped her pistol with a pale face and didn't respond. Moving slowly with quiet footsteps, she moved to the direction where the voice was coming from.

The young mother was confused. Did a young child get lost? It was well-known that a zombie couldn't talk.

"Hello?" She heard the young voice calling out again.

Finally, the mother found herself inside a women's department store. Behind a clothing rack, she saw a young woman standing with her back facing her.

Her hair cascaded down her back in a stream of silken threads. Her clothes were clean and neat, without a speck of dirt.

It was obvious that despite the apocalypse, she had taken good care of herself.

"Hello?" The little girl's voice continued again. "My name is Xiao Xiao. What's your name?"

The mother raised herself on her tiptoes, trying to peek over the partition to see what the young woman was holding.

She let out a gasp. It was a talking doll.

The voice sounded again, mechanically repeating itself, this time sounding a little eerie.

"Hello? My name is Xiao Xiao. What's your..."

As soon as the young mother tried to flee the scene, a hand clutched her throat, lifting her in the air. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. She grabbed hold of the hand and tried to loosen it. But the grip was too strong.

The young mother flailed her legs desperately, her fingernails clawing at the pale hand that was slowly suffocating her to death.

Just when she was skirting the edge of death, losing oxygen, her attacker released her.