A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

Bei Nuan deeply regretted it.

The overwhelmingly sour taste was like a thunderclap, a lightning bolt that shot from the tip of her tongue straight to her brain.

Bei Nuan's face contorted.

This candy, touted as the sourest in the world, truly lived up to its reputation.

Bei Nuan, who considered herself someone with a high tolerance for sour and spicy flavors, thought she could handle it. She was wrong. It was so sour she could cry.

The truth was, whenever the two of them kissed, things got a little out of control. Bei Nuan didn't want the atmosphere to become overly intimate again. A sudden surge of mischief and a flash of inspiration led her to play a prank.

The result was a classic case of hurting herself as much as him.

What a brain fart to think of eating this.

Was this level of sourness something a human could endure?

The moment Lu Xingchi's tongue touched the candy, he paused, his beautiful eyes narrowing. Then, he wrapped his arms around Bei Nuan.

Bei Nuan struggled to spit out the candy, but Lu Xingchi freed a hand, firmly pressing the back of her head and sealing her mouth, preventing her from getting her way.

They clung tightly to each other, overwhelmed by the sourness.

The initial, most intense wave finally subsided. As with any overwhelming sensation, the taste began to fade, and Lu Xingchi's actions gradually became tender and lingering.

When they finally separated, Lu Xingchi seemed to be enjoying himself.

He said leisurely, "Bei Nuan, I like your new idea. Exciting."

Bei Nuan, eyes watering from the sourness, whimpered.

When they returned, they found Tang Tang had already prepared a dish of pickled pepper squid.

Lu Xingchi, in excellent spirits, rolled up his shirt sleeves and asked Bei Nuan for a pound of prawns.

Bei Nuan guessed that the big boss, after his recent diligent studies, had achieved some culinary breakthrough and was planning to cook again.

With the meticulousness of a surgeon, he carefully deveined and shelled each prawn, slitting their backs before heating a wok of oil.

This time, he didn't use an excessive amount of oil and even remembered to wipe the wok dry before adding it.

The prawns gradually released their aroma in the hot oil, turning a beautiful orange-red.

Lu Xingchi calmly added sugar, salt, and soy sauce, then sprinkled some spring onions, controlling the quantities perfectly.

When he plated the dish, everyone gathered around to observe, like parents attending their child's graduation ceremony.

Although the oil-braised prawns were simple, the freshness of the prawns and Lu Xingchi's meticulous preparation, ensuring every bit of vein was removed, made them delicious.

Before the rice was even served, the plate of prawns was devoured.

Lu Xingchi himself didn't eat much, keeping his eyes on Bei Nuan.

To prevent Du Ruo from snatching them all, Bei Nuan held a prawn in each hand, another dangling from her mouth.

Lu Xingchi was immensely satisfied.

After lunch, they continued driving towards the Yan River.

Xie Yuanqing was right. This season marked the start of the rainy season upstream, causing the Yan River to swell. With no flood control measures in place this year, the river overflowed its banks, inundating the fields.

Like the great river outside Jiang City before, the Yan River no longer had any bridges.

As the virus spread from east to west, people west of the river had blocked and destroyed bridges. When blockades failed, bridge demolition became standard procedure.

The situation was different from their previous river crossing. Back then, there were still black boats on the river. Now, as Lu Xingchi drove the SUV along the Yan River, not a single boat was in sight.

Bei Nuan resolved to find an opportunity to store a boat in her space, even if it was just an inflatable raft, as long as it could hold five people.

The Yan River flowed from west to east. The section before them was a large V-shaped bend.

So, there was a way to temporarily avoid crossing the river: follow the riverbank south, along the bend.

However, as Xie Yuanqing had mentioned, this would require following the river's course across the border.

This was the route the squad took in the book.

As expected, after a brief discussion, Lu Xingchi and the others decided to do the same.

Bei Nuan was elated. "So, we're going on an international trip?"

Du Ruo calmly analyzed, "This trip is pointless. There are no living people, only zombies. I imagine the zombies on the other side of the border are the same as here. They probably don't have different languages, right?"

All they say is "heh heh heh," "goo goo goo," and "Aw aw aw."

Bei Nuan glanced at the countdown timer for the Saint's Wish mission and, finding a moment alone with Lu Xingchi, stealthily pressed him. "What are your other two wishes?"

Lu Xingchi glanced at her. "What's the rush? Are you on a deadline?"

Bei Nuan's heart skipped a beat.

He was too perceptive. Bei Nuan tried to maintain a calm expression. "Of course, I have a deadline. I've given myself three days. It expires after that. You don't want it to expire, do you?"

Lu Xingchi smiled. "Fine. I'll tell you within three days."

The SUV drove along the river until nightfall, finally reaching a small border town. Across from the town was Country N, also a small city.

Residents of both sides had always interacted frequently, with many conducting cross-border business. The area near the border crossing was quite lively and prosperous.

Prosperity was not a good thing now. The area was teeming with zombies, devoid of living people.

Lu Xingchi drove straight through.

Du Ruo was right; the other side of the border was no different.

The scenery was similar, the architectural style was alike, and even the zombies looked the same.

Lu Xingchi continued driving along the river for a while, stopping to set up camp only after dark.

They camped in a secluded wooded area by the Yan River.

The late spring night was warm and comfortable. Bei Nuan didn't sleep in the car. She retrieved it into her space and, like Lu Xingchi and the others, set up a single-person tent.

Having enjoyed comfortable beds in Yao Town for the past two days, she found it difficult to adjust to the inflatable mattress.

Bei Nuan volunteered for the first watch.

Previously, night watch duty had been handled by the others, allowing Bei Nuan to sleep soundly.

As Du Ruo put it, "If you're on watch, we won't be able to sleep soundly worrying about you. It's too much trouble."

Tonight, however, she pleaded so earnestly, and the surroundings were so desolate, without even a zombie in sight, that Lu Xingchi surprisingly agreed.

After everyone else had gone to sleep, only the chirping of insects filled the woods.

Bei Nuan sat for a while before walking to the riverbank for some fresh air.

Although the river was wide here, the current was gentle. The moonlight shimmered on the rippling water, creating a delicate, silvery glow.

Suddenly, Bei Nuan noticed what appeared to be a small boat on the river's surface.

The boat wasn't far from the shore. It was empty, with no one on board.

It seemed to have drifted downstream and was now trapped in an eddy, slowly spinning.

Bei Nuan ran back to the camp and rushed to Lu Xingchi's tent, zipping it open.

He lay there quietly, covered by a blanket.

The small mesh window on the tent was unzipped, allowing a sliver of moonlight to illuminate his face. The light cast a shadow on his straight nose, his long eyelashes resting on his cheekbones. He appeared to be fast asleep.

Bei Nuan thought, he sleeps too soundly.

What if a zombie dragged her away while she was on watch? A zombie could crawl into his tent, and he wouldn't even know.

Impossible.

He must be pretending.

Bei Nuan quickly retreated.

The moment she moved, Lu Xingchi, who had appeared to be asleep, flipped over and pinned her beneath him.

Bei Nuan noticed he was fully dressed in his shirt and trousers. He hadn't even taken off his clothes.

Just how worried was he about her being on watch?

Lu Xingchi loomed over Bei Nuan, like a leopard pinning down its prey, his eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a successful hunt.

He tilted his head, his gaze fixed on her. "You're getting bolder. Sneaking into a man's tent in the middle of the night. What did you have in mind?"

Bei Nuan replied with an innocent expression. "Of course, I had something to tell you."

Lu Xingchi looked at her, licking his lips. "As it happens, I have something to tell you too. I was thinking about my second wish…"

Seeing his thoughts drifting off track, Bei Nuan quickly interrupted him. "Could you please talk about your second wish later? If you keep stalling, the boat will be gone."

"Boat?" Lu Xingchi's interest was piqued. He sat up and released Bei Nuan.

They reached the riverbank. The small boat was indeed about to break free from the eddy.

"Do you have any rope? Something long and sturdy," Lu Xingchi asked Bei Nuan.

Bei Nuan found a rope and handed it to him. Lu Xingchi also asked for a long nail.

As soon as the nail was in his hand, its tail curled like a cat's, forming a small loop.

Lu Xingchi tied the rope to the loop, then opened his palm. The nail shot into the air towards the boat.

The nail, trailing the rope, embedded itself firmly in the bow, the other end of the rope remaining in Lu Xingchi's hand.

He pulled, slowly drawing the boat towards them.

Bei Nuan, delighted, helped Lu Xingchi pull the boat ashore.

Next time they encountered a river, they would have a boat.

They examined the boat.

It was an old-fashioned wooden boat with a distinct ethnic design, long and narrow like a bean pod, with both ends curving upwards.

Although small, it should be able to accommodate five people.

As they were busy inspecting the boat, they heard the sound of tires crunching over leaves behind them.

Bei Nuan turned to see a van emerge from the woods and stop nearby. Several people jumped out, shouting something.

Bei Nuan glanced nervously at the boat. Had they been caught stealing it? The boat was drifting on the river; could it have an owner?

As the men approached, Bei Nuan saw they were all carrying guns.

They shouted again, and this time Bei Nuan understood. They were saying, "Hands up!"

Despite crossing the border, the language hadn't changed.

Bei Nuan remembered.

The book mentioned that this border region of Country N had a complex history, and many of its inhabitants weren't originally from Country N. Due to the constant cross-border trade and close interactions, even the language taught in schools wasn't the language of Country N.

Bei Nuan obediently raised her hands.

Since they were people, not zombies, Lu Xingchi didn't resist and raised his hands as well.

The men approached, scrutinizing Lu Xingchi and Bei Nuan like buns in a restaurant, seemingly pleased with their appearance.

"Don't be afraid. We're the good guys," one of them said, his tone softening.

Those who claimed to be good guys were usually not. If they were truly good, why would they be brandishing guns?

Neither Lu Xingchi nor Bei Nuan responded.

"We can take you to a safe place."

It turned out this man, like Lu Xingchi, ran a delivery service.

This time, he actually lowered his gun.

He put on a wolfish grin. "Our place is free of zombies, with plenty of food and drink. It's surrounded by a lake, so zombies can't get in."

The mention of a lake told Bei Nuan exactly who they were.

The squad in the book had also visited this place during their journey through Country N. It was a base built on an island in the middle of a large lake.

These people weren't good guys. They captured people to work as laborers on the island, receiving payment for each person they brought.

Lu Xingchi suddenly spoke, his voice a mix of skepticism and feigned surprise. "No zombies, and food? Really?"

Bei Nuan thought, "…"

He was suddenly playing the innocent fool, and he was doing it convincingly. There was no hint that he had just enjoyed pickled pepper squid and oil-braised prawns for lunch.

"That's right. It's completely safe, and there's everything you need. Come with us," the man said with a smile.

"We have a few more people, over there in the tents," Lu Xingchi added, not forgetting to sell out his teammates.

The man's eyes lit up. "Even better. Bring them all."

Bei Nuan thought, Lu Xingchi wasn't stupid. He must know they weren't good guys. She wondered why he was playing along.

Since he wanted to go, Bei Nuan would obediently follow.

She had come to accept that they would inevitably visit every place the squad had been to in the original book. So far, they hadn't missed a single one.

So be it. With Lu Xingchi around, she didn't need to worry.

Bei Nuan was preoccupied with something else.

The small boat she had finally acquired! Such a precious little boat!

It was still there, and she hadn't had a chance to store it away.

With so many eyes watching, retrieving it now would be too conspicuous.

She remained silent, and Lu Xingchi looked down at her small face.

In the moonlight, he saw her gaze fixed on the newly acquired boat, filled with reluctance.

Lu Xingchi couldn't help but smile.

The man urged Lu Xingchi, "Let's go get them, shall we?"

Lu Xingchi gave a noncommittal grunt and glanced at the man's van nearby.

Suddenly, the van door slammed shut.

The sound was startling in the quiet night.

"What was that?" someone asked.

"It seems like…our van," another replied, pointing at the van with a terrified expression.

Everyone saw it. The van door was sliding open again, as if manipulated by an invisible hand.

Then, with another bang, it slammed shut, as if someone was throwing a tantrum.

Then, slowly and eerily, it began to slide open again.

By the dark riverbank, the automatically opening and closing van door looked like a scene from a horror movie.

The man tried to maintain his composure, instructing a skinny young man, "Go check it out."

The skinny young man reluctantly shuffled towards the van, clutching his gun.

While the distraction was happening, Lu Xingchi turned his head and glanced back.

Sure enough, the patch of grass where the boat had been was empty.

While everyone's attention was focused on the van, Bei Nuan had quickly stored the boat away.

Her small face was filled with satisfaction.

"There's…no one there," the skinny young man called back after checking around the van.

No one was even more frightening than someone.

Having secured the boat, Bei Nuan was elated. Unable to express her joy directly, she decided to add fuel to the fire for Lu Xingchi.

"Did…did you see that?" Bei Nuan stammered, her voice trembling. "Wasn't there a boat here just now?"

Lu Xingchi: "…"

The man glanced at the empty spot where the boat had been, his face turning pale.

Someone stammered, "I think there was a boat…an old wooden one, like they used decades ago, right?"

"Where is it?"

Silence.

Bei Nuan added, her voice trembling, "Could there be something on that boat? I saw that half of it was still dripping wet."

She paused, then continued in an even more frightened tone, "An empty boat on the shore, why would it be dripping water?"

Bei Nuan was enjoying herself, when suddenly she was pulled into a warm, strong embrace.

Lu Xingchi's gentle voice came from his chest, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Bei Nuan: "…"

He was taking advantage of the situation.

The man stepped closer, bending down to examine the spot where the boat had been.

Of course, there was water on the ground, quite a bit of it, much wetter than the surrounding area.

The man didn't speak, but his silence spoke volumes.

Panic spread through the group.

"I've heard stories about water ghosts…" someone muttered.

"What ghosts?" the man snapped, his voice lacking its usual confidence. "Don't talk nonsense. Let's go get the others and leave quickly."

Lu Xingchi raised an eyebrow, released Bei Nuan, and led them to where Du Ruo and the others were sleeping.

The commotion had woken them up. Du Ruo peeked sleepily out of her tent, while Jiang Fei was already dressed.

Lu Xingchi whispered a few words to them. They woke Tang Tang, who was still sound asleep, and began packing up the tents.

Bei Nuan dismantled her tent, storing everything in her space. She left two empty tents outside, packed in bags, as a pretense. It was dark, so the group wouldn't be able to tell.

The men weren't paying much attention to them anyway, their minds still on the ghostly incident.

"Is there something…unclean about this place?" someone muttered.

Bei Nuan thought, what unclean thing? Our Lu Xingchi is very clean, handsome, and showers every day.

Unease settled over them. They didn't dare linger by the river any longer, urging Lu Xingchi and the others to get into the van.

The van headed south, and soon they arrived at a large lake.

The lake stretched as far as the eye could see. In the distance, near the center of the lake, there appeared to be a sizable island, with what looked like mountains and a cluster of buildings.

The van expertly navigated to a dock by the lake. The men, guns in hand, escorted Bei Nuan and the others out of the van.

A speedboat was docked there.

It was a sleek, white speedboat with silver-blue trim, gleaming in the moonlight.

It looked like it could hold several people, incredibly luxurious, making the little wooden boat look like a relic of a bygone era.

Bei Nuan's eyes lit up.

A speedboat!

They boarded the speedboat, a bit crowded but manageable.

The speedboat was new, its engine powerful, like a beast, speeding across the calm lake surface. In no time, they reached the island.

As they disembarked, Bei Nuan tugged at Lu Xingchi's sleeve.

She blinked, her expression earnest.

Lu Xingchi looked down and saw her eyes clearly saying: Lu Xingchi, a speedboat! Such a big, beautiful, gorgeous speedboat!!

Lu Xingchi's eyes replied: You want it?

Bei Nuan's eyes: Yes! Very much! Desperately!

Lu Xingchi's eyes: Shall we try that again? But we just used that trick.

Bei Nuan's eyes: Let's do it again. It's fine; they're so gullible.

Lu Xingchi smiled.

Lu Xingchi's eyes: Alright.

Bei Nuan's eyes: I'm ready. Let's do it.

Suddenly, a strange sound came from the darkness at the end of the dock, slow and eerie.

"Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack."

It sounded like something slowly breaking, or an unknown creature lurking in the shadows, grinding its teeth.

"Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack."

The sound continued.

Panic gripped the group on the dock.

They had driven so far, but whatever it was, it was still there.

The skinny young man, the most timid of the group, was almost crying. "Brother, what's going on tonight? Is it a ghost?"

The man, himself unnerved, snapped back, his voice lacking conviction, "Nonsense! Come on, let's go take a look."

Gripping their guns, they cautiously walked towards the shore.

No one noticed that the beautiful, powerful, luxurious speedboat behind them had vanished.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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