A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

Tattooed Big Brother asked Bei Nuan again, incredulous, "We can leave today?"

Having planned for so long, the realization was right before his eyes.

"That's right," Bei Nuan affirmed. "If you want to leave, you can go now. There are boats available at any time."

Decisive as always, Tattooed Big Brother only thought for a second before making up his mind.

"Then we'll leave now. The guards on the wall towers are slacking off and eating during the shift change. It's the perfect window. I've calculated it; it's enough time for us to row the boat to the nearest shore."

They had already scouted the location. Everything was ready; all they needed was a boat.

Bei Nuan suddenly said, "Wait for me."

She turned and ran, rushing back to the arena.

Lu Xingchi followed her and found that she had already located the arena's cashier, withdrawing all the money she had earned from the cage fights.

Bei Nuan clutched the thick stack of money, contentedly storing it in her space. "It's safer with me. I took the money out to buy Du Ruo roasted sparrows."

She sounded like a parent who had worked hard all day and wanted to buy snacks for their child on the way home.

Leaving the arena, the two retrieved their bags from Tattooed Big Brother and his Little Brother.

Like everyone who had journeyed a long way in the apocalypse, they each carried a backpack containing essential food, water, and warm clothing—nothing more.

They led Bei Nuan and Lu Xingchi around the back of the small island, retrieving a long wooden ladder from a patch of wild grass.

The ladder still had rough bark on it, but it was sturdily built, tall enough to reach the top of the wall.

"Where's the boat?" Tattooed Big Brother asked Bei Nuan.

Bei Nuan calmly replied, "The boat is parked outside. You'll see it as soon as we go out. Shall we climb over now?"

Having interacted with Bei Nuan twice, Tattooed Big Brother understood her character well and believed her without a doubt.

He glanced at his gold watch. "Wait ten more minutes."

Sure enough, ten minutes later, they could see from afar the guard on the distant wooden tower slowly strolling down and disappearing.

They quickly placed the ladder against the wall and climbed up.

Lu Xingchi and Tattooed Big Brother worked together to pull the ladder up, place it on the other side of the wall, and then climb down.

After descending the ladder, Bei Nuan went straight to a large cluster of water plants by the shore, parting the plants to reveal what lay beneath.

"Come here, look, the boat is here."

A long, crescent-shaped wooden boat with pointed ends was quietly moored in the water plants.

"There really is a boat!" Tattooed Little Brother cheered, running over.

Climbing over the wall from here, with the boat conveniently moored nearby, seemed too coincidental to be normal. Yet, Tattooed Big Brother only glanced at Bei Nuan and didn't ask any questions.

Time was of the essence. He and his Little Brother boarded the boat, picked up the wooden oars, and turned the bow before waving to Bei Nuan and Lu Xingchi.

"Let's all stay alive. See you in the safe zone!"

Bei Nuan waved back.

Big Brother continued, "Don't forget to invite me to your wedding when we get to the safe zone!"

Bei Nuan: "…"

Lu Xingchi actually smiled and calmly replied, "Okay."

Bei Nuan: "???"

"Why did you say okay?"

"To invite him for a drink." The small boat had drifted away, and Lu Xingchi turned back towards the wall.

He deliberately omitted a crucial word.

"But he said, but he said…" Bei Nuan chased after him.

Lu Xingchi stopped, turned around, and asked her seriously, "What did he say?"

Bei Nuan mumbled, "Nothing."

Lu Xingchi smiled again, unable to resist reaching out and ruffling her hair, seemingly in a very good mood.

After climbing back over the wall, Bei Nuan stored the ladder in her space. They waited for a long time before seeing the guard slowly climb back up the tower.

After reaching the top, the guard casually glanced over the lake, showing no unusual reaction.

It seemed Tattooed Big Brother and his Little Brother had successfully reached the shore.

With them gone in Bei Nuan's boat, her Saintess Points increased again, and Bei Nuan was in a good mood.

When they returned to their camp, everyone was there.

Seeing them return safely, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"See, I told you they'd be fine," Tang Tang said. "If something had really happened to Sister Nuan, Brother Lu would have blown up this island already. Since there was no commotion all night, they must have gone on a date."

Bei Nuan was speechless. "What date? From last night until now, I've been playing cage fights with zombies four times."

Even Jiang Fei furrowed his handsome brows.

"Cage fights? What cage fights?"

Bei Nuan explained what had happened.

Jiang Fei sneered. "That Qiu something got off easy. He should have been locked in the room with the zombies, with all the zombies released."

Du Ruo glanced at him, grumbling in dissatisfaction. "Trying to shove any random thing into our zombie mouths. How inhumane!"

Bei Nuan pondered, "Is that called 'humane'?"

Du Ruo thought for a moment. "Uh… zom- zom- humane? Zom- inhumane?"

Lu Xingchi was speechless. "Isn't not mistreating wild animals also called humane?"

Du Ruo immediately protested, "Are you calling us zombies wild animals?"

Bei Nuan diverted his attention, pulling out a thick stack of money from her space. "Du Ruo, look! Prize money from the cage fights, to buy you roasted sparrows!"

Du Ruo was immediately touched. "Bei Nuan, you're so kind. But this is money you risked your life for. I can't spend it carelessly."

He sounded like he was acting in a melodramatic play about a starving child whose mother sells her blood.

Bei Nuan showed him the money. "There's plenty. It doesn't matter how you spend it."

There really was a lot.

Looking at the thick wad of cash, Du Ruo suddenly asked, "This is much faster than carrying stones. Can you volunteer for cage fights at the arena? I want to go too. If I shove a zombie back into the cage with my bare hands, does that count as a win?"

Everyone: "…"

After breakfast, they went to the market to buy roasted sparrows from Xiao Shao.

As soon as they arrived at the market, they could smell the aroma of roasted sparrows from afar.

Xiao Shao's eyes lit up when she saw Bei Nuan. "Sister, they finally let you go?"

Bei Nuan replied, "Yes, I fought a few more matches and won again."

Xiao Shao was as happy as if she had won the cage fights herself. "I knew you could do it the moment I saw you."

She picked up a large skewer of roasted sparrows from the stall and handed it to Bei Nuan. "To celebrate your victory in the cage fights!"

Bei Nuan handed her a hundred-yuan bill. "We do need to celebrate. We want to buy many, many roasted sparrows today."

The result was a group of people gathered around Xiao Shao's stall, eating roasted sparrows together.

Xiao Shao's culinary skills were exceptional. The sparrow meat was perfectly roasted, and the seasoning was just right, fragrant and crispy. Even the culinary master Jiang Fei praised her profusely.

"Why didn't Uncle Shi come today?" Xiao Shao wondered as she roasted the birds.

"He comes every day to freeload roasted sparrows from me. He's gotten used to it. He should have been here by now. Could he have suddenly gotten tired of them and changed his taste?"

Bei Nuan and Lu Xingchi exchanged glances, thinking simultaneously: He really did change his taste. And he'd already received a bullet; he wouldn't be freeloading anymore.

As Bei Nuan and the others were eating, a few people passed by. One of them glanced at Bei Nuan, then couldn't help but look again, nudging the person next to them.

"Is that the F?"

"It seems to be the F who won consecutive cage fights!"

"That's right, it's her, I recognize her! She won three cage fights in total!"

Bei Nuan silently thought: Not three, but four.

The people nearby overheard, and many stopped to look.

"Is that her?"

"Definitely her! The whole island is talking about it this morning! An F-tag holder won many cage fights!"

Bei Nuan silently thought: Not many, but four.

Bei Nuan diligently gnawed on a small bird leg, her mouth busy.

Now, everyone in the market, from passersby to vendors, was staring at her, as if collectively watching her eat a bird.

Bei Nuan suddenly understood how the monkeys on Monkey Mountain at the zoo felt.

Xiao Shao, however, was quite pleased and couldn't help but boast to the onlookers, "It's Sister F! Don't underestimate F, F is also very capable!"

Her pride was practically overflowing.

The crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger.

Many people stood in groups around Xiao Shao's stall, near and far. Before Bei Nuan had finished her bird leg, she was surrounded by a sea of heads.

Even many people from the F-pit came over, all to see the legendary F.

Their eyes shone. "Is this the F who won countless cage fights?"

Bei Nuan silently thought: Not countless, but four.

Everyone didn't know how to express their excitement, and someone started chanting rhythmically, "F! F! F! F!"

Many immediately joined in.

The market resounded with chants of "F." Bei Nuan couldn't eat her roasted sparrow anymore.

Bei Nuan tugged at Lu Xingchi's clothes. "Shall we go?"

Xiao Shao quickly said, "Wait, I'll get you your change."

"No need," Bei Nuan refused. "We come here often, consider it a prepayment."

Xiao Shao agreed. "Okay, I'll put it on your tab. The weather is good today, I'm planning to go up the mountain again. Come back tonight, I should have fresher ones."

Bei Nuan agreed and turned to leave.

Looking back, she caught Du Ruo happily chanting along with the crowd: "F! F! F! F!"

Bei Nuan: "…"

For the rest of the day, they searched the island again but couldn't find the legendary mysterious symbol.

However, no matter where they went, someone would immediately recognize Bei Nuan.

Bei Nuan had magically become like "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," acquiring a code name: "That F."

Everyone on the island called her "That F."

The number of zombies she had supposedly killed also snowballed, skyrocketing from morning till now.

Bei Nuan strongly suspected that in the minds of many islanders, she had become an existence like Lu Xingchi, who could wave his hand and summon a rain of arrows, instantly annihilating countless zombies.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived. The sun sank behind the mountains, and the sky darkened.

Du Ruo, tired from walking all day, rubbed his hands. "Do you want to go eat a few more roasted sparrows?"

He hadn't had enough.

They were leaving in two days, and then he wouldn't be able to eat them anymore.

Bei Nuan pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and zipped it up, covering half her face. "Yes. Let's go."

The market was still bustling, but the familiar aroma of roasted birds was missing. They walked around but couldn't find Xiao Shao.

Bei Nuan said, "I'll go ask someone."

Tang Tang asked, "So many people, who should we ask?"

Bei Nuan scanned the stalls on both sides of the road and decided, "Let's ask that uncle selling roasted cassava chips. They both 'roast' things; they're in the same business, maybe he knows."

Lu Xingchi casually patted her hooded head. "Bei Nuan, your logic is impeccable."

His tone sounded sarcastic.

However, his sarcasm was misplaced. The roasted cassava chip uncle actually did know.

"Xiao Shao? Yes, I know her!"

But his attention shifted first. He carefully examined Bei Nuan's face, mostly hidden by the hood, then studied her exposed eyes, tentatively asking, "Are you that…"

Du Ruo happily finished his sentence: "F."

Bei Nuan: "…"

The uncle immediately became excited. "You're the one who won many cage fights…"

Bei Nuan corrected him, "Actually, I only won four. Do you know where Xiao Shao is? Why isn't she out here?"

The uncle said, "I heard that Xiao Shao went up the mountain to catch birds this morning and seemed to have fallen and broken her leg. She crawled back down the mountain by herself. She should be lying at home now."

Bei Nuan and Du Ruo exchanged glances and asked simultaneously, "Where does she live?"

After getting directions to Xiao Shao's house, they thanked the uncle and turned to leave.

Bei Nuan heard the uncle loudly telling others, "See? That's the F! I just spoke to her! The F who fought in the cage for many days, winning every time, killing so many zombies!"

Bei Nuan: "…"

Xiao Shao's house wasn't hard to find. It was at the end of the row of bungalows in the market area, closest to the wall.

It was a small hut built of mud, plaster, and stone. Small but complete, with a door and a window, and a small earthen stove built under the eaves.

Bei Nuan knocked on the small wooden door. "Xiao Shao?"

Only a faint sound came from inside.

Bei Nuan quickly pushed the door open.

The door was unlocked. The room inside wasn't large but was tidily kept.

Although the floor was compacted earth, it was very level, clearly swept carefully.

A small square table made of nailed-together wood sat by the window, with a vase of wildflowers on it.

Against the far wall was a bed, where Xiao Shao lay wrapped in a blanket, looking even smaller than usual.

The little girl's eyes were closed, her lips chapped, and her cheeks flushed, as if she had a fever.

Probably because her broken leg hurt, she whimpered softly, unable to lie still, constantly tossing and turning in bed.

"Xiao Shao?" Bei Nuan called softly.

Xiao Shao opened her eyes. Seeing Bei Nuan, she croaked "Sister," reached out from under the blanket, and grasped Bei Nuan's hand.

Only then did Bei Nuan realize that Xiao Shao was just an eight or nine-year-old child.

If it weren't for the apocalypse, she would probably be sitting in an elementary school classroom, doing mixed arithmetic and long division.

"You broke your leg?" Bei Nuan asked.

"Mm-hmm." Xiao Shao nodded. "I was afraid of dying on the mountain, so I crawled down myself."

Bei Nuan thought to herself that she made it sound so easy. She couldn't imagine how she had managed to crawl down the mountain alone.

Du Ruo asked gently, "I'm a doctor, can I take a look at your leg?" He then lifted Xiao Shao's blanket to examine her leg.

After a careful examination, he concluded, "There's an infection, and it needs to be reset."

He asked Xiao Shao, "I need to reset the bone. Once it's set, you'll be able to walk properly again, but it will be very painful. Do you want me to do it?"

Bei Nuan rarely heard Du Ruo speak in such a gentle and serious tone. He looked like a patient and reliable doctor now.

Without a second's hesitation, Xiao Shao replied, "Yes."

Lu Xingchi and the others went outside. Bei Nuan wanted to leave too, but Xiao Shao was still holding her hand.

The thoughtful child realized this and quickly let go.

Bei Nuan held her hand again. "I'll stay here with you."

Du Ruo said, "You two can chat about something."

Xiao Shao didn't look at her leg, focusing only on Bei Nuan.

"Sister, I lied to you about something. Yesterday during the cage fight, I knew you would win, so when I placed my bet, I only bet on you winning."

Bei Nuan was puzzled. "Everyone was betting on me losing, why did you think I would win?"

"Because I thought, even someone with an F-tag wouldn't necessarily lose."

Xiao Shao gave Bei Nuan a weak smile. "You're good people, Sister. I'll tell you a big secret."

Xiao Shao pulled the small metal B-tag from inside her clothes.

"This tag isn't mine. I'm actually an E-tag, not much better than your F-tag."

Du Ruo seized the opportunity while they were distracted.

Xiao Shao shuddered in pain, cried out, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Bei Nuan quickly squeezed her hand and continued talking to her. "The tag isn't yours, then whose is it?"

"It was my brother's. He's dead." Xiao Shao was sweating from the pain but tried to talk to Bei Nuan to distract herself.

It turned out that Xiao Shao had come to the island with her brother. Her brother received a B-tag, and Xiao Shao received an E-tag.

Xiao Shao didn't like the E-tag, so her brother gave her his B-tag to wear.

Xiao Shao's brother was skilled at catching birds and knew how to deal with venomous snakes. After arriving on the island, they made a living by selling roasted birds.

Later, her brother had an accident, also falling from the mountain.

Before he died, he told Xiao Shao not to let anyone know she was an E-tag. Wearing a B-tag would make her life on the island much easier.

When someone died, their metal tag had to be returned. When Xiao Shao went to hand in her brother's tag, she gave Old Hu her own E-tag.

Xiao Shao was terrified, but Old Hu only glanced at her, perhaps pitying her for being alone and saying nothing.

From then on, Xiao Shao lived a life disguised as a B-tag holder.

Her brother was right. Wearing the B-tag did reduce a lot of trouble.

Xiao Shao continued to catch birds every day as her brother had taught her, and everything was fine until today, when she accidentally rolled down the cliff.

Xiao Shao whispered, "So, is the metal tag true? Am I going to die?"

Bei Nuan held her hand and said firmly, "I didn't die, and you won't die either."

She was the legendary "That F." Her words were more convincing than anyone else's.

Xiao Shao's eyes lit up, and she looked at her eagerly, nodding her head with effort.

"You won't die," Du Ruo added. "The situation isn't too bad. It's reset, and the infection isn't too serious."

"I'll make you a splint to immobilize your leg. It should be completely healed in about four months." Du Ruo stood up and emphasized, "But during these four months, you need to rest. You can't move around, and you can't go up the mountain to catch birds."

He then said with some concern, "But how will you earn money to support yourself?"

"No problem, I have a lot of savings." Xiao Shao said confidently.

"I've been going to the arena, only betting on cage fights. I'm good at judging people, and I've won quite a bit of money. I've saved it all at the arena, enough for a year or two. It's precisely for unexpected situations like this."

Bei Nuan said, "You should still think of other ways to make money. Going up the mountain every day is dangerous after all."

Xiao Shao replied, "I've gotten to know the people at the arena quite well these past few days. They said they'd let me help out in the kitchen next month. The pay is good, and it's not dangerous. Now I'll have to recuperate for a while before I can go."

This child was well-prepared and thoughtful, taking care of herself.

Although she was a fake B-tag, a true E-tag, she was working hard to survive.

Du Ruo treated her wound, gave her medicine, found a few small wooden boards, and made her a splint with bandages to immobilize her lower leg.

By the time he was finished, it was completely dark. Bei Nuan got up to leave, suddenly remembering something.

Xiao Shao had been here for so long; she wondered if she had seen the legendary mysterious symbol.

"Xiao Shao, have you ever seen a symbol shaped like this on the island?"

Bei Nuan drew three arcs arranged in a triangular shape on her palm, with an eye in the center.

Xiao Shao was stunned.

"Of course, I've seen it. I see it every day."

She took out the small metal B-tag hanging around her neck and flipped it over.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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