Translator: AmidstTheSeaOfFlurries

Chapter 64.1

Luo Yesheng was on the rooftop of the community. With his binoculars, he saw Xia Liuzhu make the convoy turn a corner and park in another community near the south of Jinxin Community, instead of stopping there directly. Seemingly without the intention of letting that group of people get to know them.

It was quite thoughtful.

Luo Yesheng put down the binoculars. Bian Bian stood beside him and said, “Isn’t Auntie coming over?”

The little girl simply thought that the group of people brought by Xia Liuzhu would live in Jinxin Community.     

“Although that community is a bit shabby, it’s enough for them to live in. Moreover, we’re not familiar with them. Bian Bian, do you remember what I taught you?”

Bian Bian remembered— with unfamiliar people, you can’t trust them easily and you have to be vigilant.

She nodded, but still had doubts: “But you said that Auntie isn’t a bad person.”

“Xia Liuzhu is not a bad person, but she brought a lot of people. So I’m not sure if there are bad people among those people she brought.” Luo Yesheng patiently said, “It’s best for us to keep our distance.”

Bian Bian seemed to understand, and then looked at the people in the distance. The little girl hesitated and asked Luo Yesheng, “Then can I go to them?”

Luo Yesheng noticed the expression on Bian Bian’s little face and suddenly understood.

When Bian Bian used to live with her grandpa, they would not live in one place for a long time. Instead, they would stay in another place for a while, and when they came across some small bases, her grandpa would take her there.

Ensuring that Bian Bian can still communicate with other people.

If a person does not communicate with other people for a long time, he will inevitably become withdrawn and lonely over time.

After Luo Yesheng became a nanny, Bian Bian had someone to communicate with. Whereas before, her only communication partner was Gray Gray. Frequently soliloquizing.

With Luo Yesheng, she can communicate with her father through him. However, her father is not always there. Apart from taking care of her daily life, Luo Yesheng still tries to get along with the child, but there’s a generation gap after all. So the communication between the two is that, a bull’s head is not a horse’s mouth.^[1]TN: An idiom, which describes things without logic. For Bian Bian, it’s enough because there is someone to talk to.

However, Luo Yesheng also needs time to cultivate, so it was impossible to accompany Bian Bian all the time. In the end, Bian Bian spent most of the day by herself. Although grandpa stayed by her side, he couldn’t speak.

Now, learning to read and write through Luo Yesheng’s teaching can be regarded as finding new and interesting things, but in general, children have an innate curiosity and tendency to explore unknown objects. It was inevitable for Bian Bian after seeing a group of people. Knowing for sure that they are not those bad guys who came to kill grandpa and uncle Zhu Yuan, as well as knowing that she is now safe and was no longer alone… In that case, she would instinctively want to extend her curious and excited tentacles to contact others in the outside world.

Luo Yesheng swallowed what he originally wanted to say. Bian Bian will grow up, and will also be in contact with other people in the future so there’s no reason to hide her and prevent her from seeing other people.

“Of course you can.” He thought for a while, “But those people were just chased by a zombie beast, so don’t let grandpa scare them.”

Not everyone will think that a zombie is a “good person” if it doesn’t eat people.

If he wasn’t forced by the reincarnation ring to stay and take care of Bian Bian, Luo Yesheng asked himself; granted that he knew that there were zombies who had developed consciousness and would not actively attack people, would he still live with the said zombies without any qualms?

The answer is naturally no.

Bian Bian seemed to understand the logic of this even without a teacher. She turned towards the silent old zombie with her big grape-like eyes bent: “Bian Bian will always be with Grandpa.”

Grandpa raised his gloved hand and touched the soft hair on top of Bian Bian’s head, and tenderly made a tiny sound.

He probably wanted to laugh, but the zombie’s stiff muscles couldn’t support him to complete this action, and because he raised the corner of his mouth, showing his mutated teeth, it instead looked a little scary at first sight.

If this is seen by the survivors downstairs, it is estimated that they will be scared to death.

“Grandpa can go with me.” Bian Bian grabbed Grandpa’s fingers, “As long as Grandpa wears a mask, they won’t know that Grandpa is a monster.”

The little girl was reluctant to leave Grandpa alone at home.

Luo Yesheng suddenly remembered that her father appeared two days ago, and then there was an additional cardboard box on the table, which contained medicines, and some masks and gloves.

Then, without being reminded, the old zombie picked up a pair of gloves and put them on his hands— before that, Luo Yesheng didn’t expect that he would make a zombie wear gloves.

……

“Okay.” Under Bian Bian’s insistence, Luo Yesheng compromised.

Bian Bian amicably prepared some vegetables and fruits that can be eaten quickly, such as cherries, tomatoes and cucumbers. She put them in a big wooden box, which was carried by Luo Yesheng. Just as they walked out of the gate of Jinxin Community, they happened to meet Xia Liuzhu, who was walking towards their side.

Meeting once again, Xia Liuzhu and Luo Yesheng looked at each other. The former still snorted and turned to face Bian Bian, then a smile appeared on her face. Out of the corner of her eyes, she subconsciously swept over the fifth-level zombie, who’s wearing a mask.

Wearing a mask and a hat, which covers most of his face, the tall figure barely showed any skin, appearing to be a silent bodyguard behind Bian Bian.

If not for seeing the real appearance of the fifth-level zombie before, it would have been hard to believe that this is a real zombie.

Luo Yesheng handed the wooden box over. The red, green and fresh melons and fruits inside tempted Xia Liuzhu, who filled her belly with potatoes almost every day and felt like she was about to become a potato.

“Non-toxic, pollution-free, healthy and green.”

Xia Liuzhu took the wooden box without pretending to be polite, but also did not accept the gift for no reason: “I’ll trade supplies.”

“This box is given for free.” Luo Yesheng replaced Bian Bian as a diplomat, “This is Bian Bian’s meeting gift as the host’s family.”

He emphasized the word “host”.

Xia Liuzhu understood it in seconds. She didn’t have time to explain the situation of the convoy before, but now she explained in a few words: “Besides me, there is another ability user. The rest are ordinary people. They are taken along the way intending to go to the north base”

Luo Yesheng was surprised: “With so many people, there are only two ability users?”

“Three.” Xia Liuzhu said expressionlessly, “One died not long ago.”

Luo Yesheng remembered the sentence from the walkie-talkie— Tian Shu is gone.

Looking at Xia Liuzhu’s expression, he’s not someone who’s good at comforting. Moreover, the situation between him and Xia Liuzhu is quite complicated, so in the end he only said dryly: “Condolence.”

Xia Liuzhu: “…”

She felt her trousers being pulled down, so she hurriedly lowered her head. Bian Bian stretched out her hand, holding a round piece of chocolate. Her big doll-like eyes were filled with genuine concern belonging to a child.

“Thank you.” This kind of comfort without any impurities will make people feel moved. Xia Liuzhu swallowed, pushed Bian Bian’s little hand back, and bent over to hug her.

Although Bian Bian’s flesh has grown back during this period of time, she has not grown taller. She still looks younger than her real age.

For Bian Bian, Xia Liuzhu was still a stranger, so when she was picked up by an unfamiliar person, her first reaction was to struggle. Then, she didn’t feel any malice. She hesitated, and was obediently hugged by Xia Liuzhu.

However, Xia Liuzhu quickly put Bian Bian down.

Because when she hugged Bian Bian, a cold feeling suddenly surrounded her nerves, and then she found that the fifth-level zombie, who’s wearing a mask looked up and stared at her— the pair of cold gray eyes under the brim of the hat put too much pressure on people, as if silently saying “Try hugging again!”

As an ability user who cherishes her life, Xia Liuzhu instantly came up with an action that would benefit herself.

Without realizing it, an inconspicuous metal button on her pants quietly changed back to its original shape.

“Sister Xia—”

A pitched cry rang out in the distance, indicating that something bad had happened. Xia Liuzhu’s face changed immediately, threw the sentence “I’ll go back first”, and the person already ran towards her convoy.

The community that Xia Liuzhu and the others chose was called Xingfu Xiaoyuan.^[2]TN: Blessed little garden. Half of the gate of the community collapsed. There’s a vacant lot at the entrance. The bus is parked in that open space.

Perhaps the previous hotel left a deep shadow. Even though Xia Liuzhu had already said that it was safe, the survivors unanimously decided not to enter the residential building. Everyone set up tents and laid it on the ground in the open space as they had done on the road. They thought it would be better to gather together.

When Luo Yesheng led Bian Bian and walked over, he found that the expression of this group of people looked ugly, and several young girls had already covered their mouths and cried.

“You are…” Someone found them and asked vigilantly, and then felt a different breath from Luo Yesheng. Thinking of the survivors that Sister Xia said she met, one of them is a very powerful ability user. Is that them?

“What happened?” Xia Liuzhu was surrounded by a group of people. Luo Yesheng couldn’t see the situation inside.

The man’s cheeks were tensed. He only shook his head. Just as he was about to speak, Xia Liuzhu’s stern shout suddenly sounded: “All of you get out of the way!”

There’s a boy who was pulled away by others while crying and struggling.

The crowd dispersed, revealing Xia Liuzhu’s figure. She was half-kneeling on the ground, with a middle-aged man lying in front of her, who was trembling abnormally. His face was deathly pale without any blood, cold sweat kept rolling down, and his lips turned dark purple.

Luo Yesheng’s pupils shrunk— this is the state of mutation after being infected.

“Hang in there! You won’t necessarily turn into a zombie, you might also awaken your abilities, hold on!” Xia Liuzhu roared.

The way ordinary people acquire abilities is not by suddenly having them, but through after being infected with the virus, where they would be in a coma having a high fever for several days and nights. If they don’t turn into a zombie, they will awaken their abilities when they wake up.

Everyone knows this truth. However, looking at the middle-aged man’s face, it’s obvious that he doesn’t have the luck to awaken an ability. Instead, he’s rapidly turning into a zombie.

The speed at which a person infected with the virus can turn into a zombie is a few minutes at the fastest and no more than 24 hours at the slowest.

“Dad—” the boy who was pulled away screamed mournfully.

Bian Bian was shaken all over by the sound. She didn’t know what was going on. Her vision was blocked by grandpa who suddenly moved from behind to the front.

“Uncle Luo, is someone going to become a monster?” She asked softly.

Luo Yesheng said “En”, he was used to seeing this kind of scene so he didn’t feel anything.

“…Xiao Xia.” The middle-aged man’s dark eyes kept rolling, showing a faint grayish color. He firmly grasps the ground, gasping for breath, suppressing the severe pain caused by his body, “Kill me… kill me… I, I don’t want to… become… that kind of monster…”

Xia Liuzhu gritted his teeth, pressed his body, and said mechanically, “Hang in there…”

“Let me go, let me pass through!” The boy’s shrill voice came through.

The middle-aged man laboriously tilted his head in the direction of the young man. His half-zombified eyes were filled with infinite worry for his son.

Without him, what would his son do?

The young man let out a whimper similar to a cub and stopped struggling.

“Cough cough cough.” Coughing violently, a big mouthful of black blood gushed out of his mouth. This dying father didn’t say the words of entrustment to Xia Liuzhu even at the end, “Kill me…”