Chapter 12

While Wen Jiuze was sneaking into the Wen family for some questionable activities, Xue Ling didn’t just stay quietly in the car.

The car was unlocked, so she pushed the door open and got out. After wandering around the small courtyard and not hearing anything outside, she quickly walked over to push open the door.

The courtyard gate was locked, but that was fine. She turned around, pushed open the door to the house, and exited through another door.

Surprised, she thought to herself that Wen Jiuze had been careless!

Xue Ling stepped onto the street, walking forward in the shadows cast by the buildings.

After a while, she spotted a pharmacy with shattered glass doors. She bent down and slipped inside through the broken entrance.

Most of the shelves were nearly empty. Xue Ling looked around casually but didn’t find what she was looking for, so she turned to leave.

After so long since the apocalypse began, the rarest item was definitely medicine. Small pharmacies like this one were among the first places to be stripped bare.

So she figured she wouldn’t find anything useful here.

In times like this, if there was a place with a complete stock of medicines—Xue Ling glanced at the large sign for Anxi Wenkang Hospital in the distance.

That would undoubtedly be a large hospital filled with zombies that no one dared to enter.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too far away, and since Xue Ling had nothing else to do, she decided to stroll over and take a look.

She had just passed by the area yesterday. Now, standing in front of the hospital entrance, she observed more closely. At first glance, it was just a sea of heads, with a high concentration of zombies.

A normal person would want to turn around and run, but for Xue Ling, as a zombie, she could walk through here with ease.

After becoming a zombie, she always crossed streets sideways.

Of course, if she wanted to crawl on the ground or hop around, no one would care.

Reaching the hospital’s main entrance, she found the heavy iron gate tightly locked with a chaotic array of barricades in front.

Behind the gate was a crowd of zombies, pushing against each other, countless hands reaching out through the iron bars.

To humans, this hospital was a den of danger, but to Xue Ling, it was like a crowded supermarket on a weekend—just a bit more chaotic.

She had already spotted her entry point into the hospital. Approaching the security booth, she swiftly pushed open the glass window and climbed inside.

The security guard in the small booth turned to “look” at her as he sensed the movement.

Xue Ling picked up a dusty baton from the ground and pushed the approaching guard aside, taking the conspicuous flashlight from him.

Click, click.

Testing it to see if it still worked, she decided to keep it.

She opened the door of the security booth and successfully entered the hospital. Of course, the first thing she encountered was a horde of zombies crowded at the entrance.

Xue Ling was already accustomed to weaving through crowds of zombies. It felt quite similar to trying to catch a train during the holidays or visiting popular tourist spots.

As a fellow zombie, they showed no interest in her. However, zombies were sensitive to noise, so quite a few of them shuffled closer to investigate the commotion.

That urge to join the fun was ingrained in their DNA, and even as zombies, they hadn’t lost it.

Xue Ling forced her way through the crowd of zombies, and when it was really tough, she would randomly select an unfortunate zombie to hit with her baton. If she took one down, there would be a gap to squeeze through.

In reality, it was easier than pushing through a tourist crowd since the zombies she pushed past wouldn’t curse her out or take advantage of the chaos.

Successfully breaking through the terrifying horde at the entrance, Xue Ling slightly stiffened as she patted her ugly dress.

Then, she wobbled further into the hospital.

Where was the pharmacy?

Based on her previous hospital visits, the pharmacy should be next to the payment hall.

She glanced at the battered signs and entered the emergency hall directly in front of her.

The glass door was locked, with the lock dangling precariously. Xue Ling took the lock off and pushed open the door that had been sealed for three years.

The zombies wandering inside were generally fresher than those outside, who had been battered by the elements for three years. At least their clothes were not as faded and torn.

Xue Ling ignored all the zombies around her and naturally maneuvered through the hall, looking up for the signs.

A nearby zombie, not paying attention to where it was going, stumbled toward her. Seeing that it was about to collide with her, Xue Ling shifted her feet to let it pass and moved away from it.

There was no other reason for this, it’s just that this zombie smells particularly bad.

Some zombies were emaciated and had little odor, while others, severely decayed, were downright putrid. This one definitely fell into the latter category.

Anxi Wenkang Hospital was enormous. It was quite different from many public hospitals she had been to before, and after a while, she still hadn’t found the pharmacy.

There was no one here to ask for directions, so she could only search slowly.

The hospital, filled with zombies, was eerily quiet. Occasionally, a noise would break the silence, usually caused by a zombie accidentally knocking something over as it wandered aimlessly.

A group of zombies turned their heads toward the source of any sound, like sunflowers following the sun. They sensed no human presence and soon returned to their original positions.

The light was fading, making it hard to see. The hospital’s power system had long since failed, leaving it dark. Xue Ling clicked on her flashlight.

The beam of light wavered, making the hospital’s corridors seem even scarier. When the flashlight illuminated the pale, damaged faces of the zombies, it felt like there were ghostly shadows everywhere.

Anyone with a weaker constitution would likely be terrified to the point of fainting.

In the past, Xue Ling wouldn’t have been so brave, but she had grown accustomed to this terrifying environment and focused on finding the pharmacy.

She found it! In a good mood, she waved the flashlight, drawing a circle on the ceiling before putting in some effort to enter the pharmacy.

A nurse in uniform was slowly moving between the shelves, large stains of blackened blood marking her white uniform.

Xue Ling moved slightly faster than her, skirting around the nurses while searching the shelves.

There were many medications here, of various kinds, most of which Xue Ling didn’t recognize. After rummaging through, she finally found some familiar medications but discovered they were all expired!

Could expired medicine still be taken now?

After hesitating, she decided to keep looking. Eventually, she found some medicines that were still within their expiration dates, having been there for over three years without going bad.

Then she glanced at the vast shelves of medicine.

Since she was here, she might as well take more.

Even though she initially only wanted to find one type of medicine, it was like shopping in a supermarket. Even if you just planned to buy a bottle of soy sauce, you often left with a bag full of items.

Xue Ling rummaged through the counter at the pharmacy window and found a large bag, starting to gather supplies.

That night, both Xue Ling and Wen Jiuze had significant gains.

As dawn approached, Wen Jiuze climbed over the high wall of the base and left Qiu Village.

He didn’t return directly to the small courtyard. Instead, he parked a borrowed motorcycle in an abandoned area, got off, and lit a cigarette.

As the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, the breeze carried a hint of the coolness of night across his face.

Wen Jiuze leaned against the bike, exhaling white smoke that drifted away with the wind.

He stared absently at the horizon, rubbing his face with his hand.

He had just repeatedly confirmed the news about Tai Sui from Wen Xuan and Wen Xiang.

He could preliminary confirm that Wen Xuan’s transformation was due to the Tai Sui taken from the ancestral tomb of the Wen family.

Wen Yi, the eldest daughter of the Wen family, who left the Wen family at the same time as him three years ago, did take away some Tai Sui.

But she didn’t take much with her. This was what Wen Jiuze inferred based on what Wen Xuan and the others said.

The remaining Tai Sui was consumed by Wen Xuan, who had ingested more than Xue Ling, so his condition was better than hers.

Before leaving, Wen Jiuze pondered whether to eliminate Wen Xuan.

In the end, he decided against it.

Perhaps Wen Xuan was the only one in the world with a condition similar to Xue Ling’s. If Xue Ling’s anomaly were discovered, having Wen Xuan around would ensure she wasn’t the most dangerous one.

He considered more possibilities. If Xue Ling’s situation wasn’t as good as he thought, he could find a way to have someone study Wen Xuan. Perhaps they could find a way to improve Xue Ling’s condition.

So, Wen Xuan was temporarily safe.

However, before he left, he placed Wen Xiang’s neck close to Wen Xuan’s mouth.

The moment of testing their sibling bond had arrived.

Would Wen Xuan bite Wen Xiang to protect his secret? That he didn’t know.

He flicked the ash off his cigarette, a smirk creeping onto his lips.

While he couldn’t kill Wen Xuan for now, he certainly didn’t want him to have an easy time.

On the way back from Qiu Village, Wen Jiuze felt an intense urge to return home. Ever since he heard about the Tai Sui last night, he wanted to ask Xue Ling if she truly still had her sanity.

But as he drove partway, the night breeze cooled his once burning emotions.

He began to calmly doubt Wen Xuan’s words. Did he really not lie?

Even though he had interrogated and threatened Wen Xuan repeatedly, almost breaking him, maybe he still had lied.

Or could it be possible that Wen Xuan’s anomaly stemmed from something else, not the Tai Sui? Maybe Xue Ling wasn’t as sane as he believed.

What if he had guessed wrong?

His luck had always been poor, leading him to believe that this time couldn’t be so fortunate.

With a blank expression, Wen Jiuze took a deep drag from his cigarette, leaning against the car while staring at the road behind him, taking a long time before finally getting back in.

Having gone a night without sleep, the weariness was visible on his face, coupled with a look of gloom.

At twenty-four, Wen Jiuze appeared to be a mature and charismatic man.

Yet, he hadn’t always been this way.

At nineteen, during his first year in college, he was at his lowest point.

His mother’s condition had worsened, lying in the Wen family hospital, always in need of rescue.

He often thought about taking his mother away, but the Old Master Wen, believing he had come of age, tightened his grip on him even more.

The Wen family was large and powerful, with businesses throughout Anxi City and even in Xia Province. On the surface, they had been cleared of wrongdoing, but behind the scenes, they still engaged in some shady industries. The old man didn’t want his eldest grandson, Wen Xuan, to take over, so he sought to cultivate Wen Jiuze instead.

In Wen Xuan’s eyes, the old man began to value him as an illegitimate child, making him even less favorable and increasing the frequency with which he troubled him.

Changing his university and major was both humiliation and warning.

Wen Jiuze was unable to fight back. Even though he could easily eliminate Wen Xuan with one hand, he couldn’t retaliate when the latter wielded his stick against him.

The old man wanted him to be a well-behaved dog for the Wen family. Since he entered the family at twelve, they had been shaping his temperament. After several years, he was still not satisfied with him.

Under the indulgence of Old Master Wen, Wen Xuan’s treatment of Wen Jiuze became increasingly harsh.

Whenever Wen Jiuze saw Wen Xuan’s face, a surge of anger rose within him.

His dislike for Wen Xuan initially extended to Xue Ling as well.

What kind of good person that could be favored by someone like Wen Xuan?

He knew about “Xue Ling” long before she recognized him.

At first, he heard Wen Xuan discussing her with others.

Wen Xuan said, “It’s that Xue Ling from the neighboring Normal University’s external relations department. I really like that type.”

“Nowadays, these girls have no self-respect. What about that Yang Siwei from the Literature Department? No way, she looks too flashy to be suitable for marriage…”

“You guys don’t understand. Just wait. Once I decide to pursue her, it’ll be a piece of cake.”

He often spoke about Xue Ling, making it clear that he was determined to win her over.

He had always been this way, insisting on getting what he wanted as if the whole world should revolve around him.

At an event, Wen Jiuze saw the Xue Ling Wen Xuan had mentioned.

She was beautiful, not very tall, and exuded a gentle aura that felt non-threatening.

Standing at the entrance of the event, she tirelessly answered questions, gave directions, and even distributed water.

When her colleagues abandoned her mid-task, she hesitated but eventually agreed to stay, enduring the sweltering heat.

She appeared weak and had no personality, even more annoying than he had expected, Wen Jiuze thought.

°.✩┈┈∘*┈˃̶୨୧˂̶┈*∘┈┈✩.°

Hey guys, check out my new translation work —> Here

After Hugging the Wrong Boyfriend

The Beautiful Female Supporting Character in the Period Novel