A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

Bei Nuan woke up to familiar surroundings.

The room was bright, sunlight streaming in through the checkered curtains and falling on her pillow.

The pillowcase was printed with brown bears, as was the duvet cover. Her childhood teddy bear alarm clock sat on the nightstand.

Bei Nuan glanced at the time and jolted. The alarm didn’t go off? I’m going to be late!

She started to sit up, then paused, momentarily unable to recall what time it was or where she was supposed to be going.

Someone leaned over her.

Lu Xingchi’s star-like eyes were right in front of hers.

He pressed his lips firmly against hers. Soft and warm.

Bei Nuan snapped awake.

Did it have to be this exciting first thing in the morning?

“I didn't want to take advantage of you while you were sleeping,” Lu Xingchi murmured, “I waited so long for you to wake up.”

He leaned down again, patiently kissing her.

Bei Nuan thought, So it’s not taking advantage if I’m awake?

He continued kissing her, but Bei Nuan suddenly felt his fingers brush against her neck, pulling down the neckline of her T-shirt.

Bei Nuan was startled and instinctively reached up to stop him.

He caught her hand, gently but firmly holding it at her side. He stopped touching her clothes and, through the fabric, lowered his head to kiss the place where her scar should have been.

“Bei Nuan,” his voice was as pleasant as ever, “You don't have to be afraid of me seeing it.”

Bei Nuan knew he was talking about the scar. “I told you yesterday, I’ve been cured for a long time. The scar is gone.”

Lu Xingchi looked up at her, then lowered his head again, kissing along the line where the scar had been.

“Whether you have a scar or not,” he said, “you don't have to be afraid of me seeing it. I don't care. I don't think you should worry about it either.”

The burning heat of his lips transmitted through her clothes.

“I remember a story about a father whose son had open-heart surgery and had a scar on his chest. The father got a matching scar tattooed on his own chest. Bei Nuan, if you had one, I would get one too, to be with you.”

His tone was serious, not joking at all.

Bei Nuan heard him whisper again, “What’s a scar? Even if one day you change your face, change your skin, it doesn't matter. I would still recognize you.”

Bei Nuan's heart skipped a beat.

His words were a bit strange.

Had he discovered something?

Bei Nuan quickly reviewed everything, confirming once again that all the photos in the house were gone.

I still can’t stay here long-term.

He’s too smart. Who knows when he’ll notice something’s off, and my cover will be blown.

Lu Xingchi looked up at her nervous expression and suddenly smiled. He lowered his head again, his lips lingering on the spot where her scar had been. “Your heart is beating so fast.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Bei Nuan blushed deeply. She pushed him away and sat up, changing the subject. “It's so late, let's go out?”

Lu Xingchi didn't press the matter.

He let her go and stood up, smiling. “Okay.”

A book lay face down on the desk beside the bed, probably what he had been reading before she woke up.

Bei Nuan peeked to see what it was.

It was a romance novel.

Bei Nuan had hidden a whole row of romance novels on the bottom shelf of the bookcase, deliberately covering them with other books. He had actually found them.

When they came out, the bedding on the floor had been rolled up, and everyone was awake.

Du Ruo glanced at Lu Xingchi. “That’s a bit much, not coming back to sleep all night. So blatant.”

Bei Nuan understood. Lu Xingchi had sat in her room all night.

He had kept his promise and really waited for her father all night.

No wonder his usually clear eyes were a little red; he was probably exhausted from staying up all night.

Lu Xingchi explained, “This place is too strange. I was afraid something would happen if she slept alone in the room.”

Tang Tang also said, “Brother Du, you’re wronging Brother Lu. He was reading all night. He came out in the middle of the night looking for a candle, saying he was reading and had used up all the candles.”

So that’s why I dreamt of smoked meat in the first half of the night and cream cake in the second half. He changed the candles.

So, Big Boss Lu, while keeping watch, had nothing better to do than diligently study romance novels all night?

Jiang Fei had already prepared breakfast, still the incredibly light porridge and side dishes.

“I wanted to make fried rice cakes, but Dr. Du said I couldn't make any fried food for you,” Jiang Fei reported to Bei Nuan.

Bei Nuan wanted to cry.

If I had known, I would have made up a different excuse for the surgery yesterday. I should have said I accidentally broke a bone. Maybe I would have gotten bone broth today.

Lu Xingchi glanced at Bei Nuan's pained expression and pressed his lips together, hiding a smile.

“Du Ruo, don't worry, she can eat anything,” Lu Xingchi said.

Bei Nuan looked up at Lu Xingchi in surprise, as if seeing a savior's halo shining above his head.

“Trust me, she's been cured for a long time. There’s no need to restrict her diet.” Lu Xingchi continued.

“Look, her lips aren't purple at all. She's been running around every day, and we’ve been with her for so many days, eating and drinking whatever we want, and nothing has happened, right?”

How could he be so nice? Bei Nuan was almost moved to tears.

Since Lu Xingchi said so, Du Ruo relented.

“You’re responsible if anything happens,” Du Ruo warned.

Lu Xingchi nodded calmly. “I’m responsible.”

Lu Xingchi glanced at the jubilant Bei Nuan. “But things like pickled pepper chicken feet are still not allowed. They’ll give you a stomachache if you eat too many.”

Bei Nuan immediately agreed. Anyway, she could sneak those snacks and eat them where he couldn't see.

Bei Nuan asked Jiang Fei, “So can we have some fried rice cakes? Also, can you cook a bowl of noodles?”

Bei Nuan was never picky. As long as it was Jiang Fei's cooking, she would eat anything and praise it to the skies.

This time, it was rare for her to request something specific, and Jiang Fei readily agreed.

Two large plates of golden-brown, crispy fried rice cakes were brought out, and Jiang Fei also cooked a pot of eight-treasure noodles with chili oil.

Du Ruo was a little curious and asked Bei Nuan, “Why do you suddenly want noodles so early in the morning?”

Bei Nuan made something up. “I dreamt of noodles last night, and I really wanted to eat them when I woke up.”

Bei Nuan wasn't telling the truth. Today was actually her birthday.

When she was little, her father would always cook noodles for her on her birthday. She hadn't expected that this birthday, even amidst the zombies, she would, by chance, be sitting at home eating noodles. It was a pleasant surprise.

The eight-treasure noodles had bouncy shrimp, a rich broth, and the noodles, hand-pulled by Jiang Fei, were smooth and chewy.

Bei Nuan ate contentedly.

They devoured the food so quickly that Jiang Fei fried another plate of rice cakes. He suddenly seemed to remember something.

He wiped his hands and went back to his room to get a key.

“Bei Nuan, I found this on the floor this morning. See if it’s useful.”

It was a metal key with a small, clear plastic tag attached.

The corner of the tag had a blue circular logo, and a small piece of paper was tucked inside. It read:

Safe deposit box.

The handwriting was elegant and unrestrained. Bei Nuan recognized it as her father's at a glance.

But Bei Nuan had never seen this key at home. What was it for?

Du Ruo leaned in to look at the logo on the tag. “I know this. It's a bank, right?”

Lu Xingchi also leaned over to examine it. “Bank safe deposit box. Is it a bank safe deposit box?”

Du Ruo was excited. “Bei Nuan, you're about to discover your family's secret fortune!”

“Don't be silly. I know how much money my family has. It was all accounted for when my dad passed away.”

Bei Nuan studied the key.

“If it’s real, it might be something important that my dad hid. But even with the key, I can’t fly to that bank now.”

There used to be a bank near Bei Nuan's home. She couldn't quite remember what the bank's logo looked like, but it seemed somewhat similar to this one.

However, Du Ruo's confident tone suggested that, at least in this world, such a bank existed.

“Sister Nuan,” Tang Tang hesitantly began, “Actually, I think, since you were able to find your house here, why not try to find this bank nearby? Maybe this safe deposit box is here.”

Du Ruo immediately agreed. “That makes sense.”

Bei Nuan looked up at Lu Xingchi.

Lu Xingchi, always rational and calm, actually smiled. “We can try.”

They packed their bags, ready to go out and find the bank.

Bei Nuan reluctantly took another look around the house before stepping out.

I can’t stay inside forever.

Bei Nuan silently prayed that when she returned and opened the door, this house would still be here.

Outside, the sun was bright, but the buildings and roads were all dusty gray. Bei Nuan and the others asked around, and everyone laughed when they heard they were looking for a bank.

“At a time like this, what’s the use of looking for a bank? Where would there be a bank?”

Bei Nuan persisted. “Wasn’t there a bank in this city before?”

“Before? Maybe there was.”

Someone else chimed in, “It seems like there was one on the right side of the main road, if you go straight. It’s been closed for years.”

Bei Nuan and the others were overjoyed and followed the directions. They finally found it.

It was a small bank storefront, dilapidated. Needless to say, there were no safe deposit boxes inside, nothing but a few walls. It was completely empty.

Most importantly, judging by the sign hanging above, this bank's logo was red, not the one on the key tag.

Bei Nuan clutched the key her father had left behind, feeling a little disappointed.

A convoy roared past on the road, kicking up dust.

The man in the front jeep held the open door with one hand, like a bus conductor on a suburban route, leaning halfway out of the vehicle and shouting, “Anyone want to go out of the city to find supplies? Three-day meal tickets! Three-day meal tickets!”

Lu Xingchi pondered for a moment and grabbed a passerby to ask, “Where do they go to find supplies outside the city?”

“There's a small city west of here. It has everything, but it's a pity it's full of zombies.”

A helpful old man next to them said, “You want to join the search team? You can sign up at the main gate.”

Someone else advised them, “You can get meal tickets by joining the search team, but it’s quite dangerous. You should think it over.”

Bei Nuan understood Lu Xingchi’s meaning. So there was a small city not far from here?

If there was a city, there must be a bank.

It felt a bit absurd, using a key from another world to search for banks and safe deposit boxes here, like searching for a lost sword in a moved boat.

But they could try. What if it worked?

So, ten minutes later, Bei Nuan and the others arrived at the main gate.

Sure enough, a search team was waiting at the gate, recruiting people willing to leave the base to collect supplies. Probably because the place they were going was too dangerous, not many people signed up.

Lu Xingchi and the others registered their information one by one.

The search team was a group of men who seemed to know each other well, gathered at the gate, joking and laughing.

Their captain, surnamed Zheng, stood by the registration table.

He was a man with a stern face, his features as sharp as a knife, his chin covered with stubble.

He looked like someone who had weathered the apocalypse, speaking concisely and forcefully, fiddling with a gun in his hand.

He glanced at Lu Xingchi and the others without any reaction. When he looked at Bei Nuan, he frowned.

He said, “The search team doesn’t take family members.”

Du Ruo said “Oh” and patted Bei Nuan. “Then we’ll go back. You must be careful.”

Lu Xingchi smiled and turned to leave with Du Ruo and the other “family members.”

Captain Zheng: “…”

It was always difficult to recruit people for the search team. Since these young and strong-looking people had finally come, Captain Zheng had to call them back and ask the registrar to write down Bei Nuan’s name as well.

They were neatly and cleanly dressed, and good-looking, completely out of sync with the rough style of the search team.

Bei Nuan heard someone whisper and laugh, “Where did these young masters and misses come from?”

“They think they’re joining a sightseeing tour.”

Bei Nuan pretended not to hear and ignored them.

“What weapons do you use?” the registrar asked. “If you don’t have any, you can get one. There are knives and crowbars.”

Lu Xingchi turned around and gestured for Bei Nuan to open his backpack.

Bei Nuan stood on tiptoe, unzipped his backpack, and pulled out his crossbow with some effort.

Jiang Fei took out a pair of daggers and showed them. “I have my own.”

Du Ruo nudged Bei Nuan. “My knife.”

Bei Nuan groaned inwardly. His knife is too long. How can I pull it out of the backpack as inconspicuously as the crossbow? Does he think I’m performing magic?

However, everyone's attention was drawn to Lu Xingchi's exquisite, black crossbow, and they all crowded around to look.

Bei Nuan seized the opportunity to swiftly and improbably pull Du Ruo's Minghong Dao out of the backpack.

As soon as Du Ruo's knife left its bag, it immediately stole the show from the black crossbow.

Because it was simply too flashy.

The knife was large and long, decorated with patterns, its shape exaggerated and flamboyant.

Du Ruo waved it triumphantly, the whooshing sound somewhat impressive.

Someone, like Bei Nuan when she first saw the knife, recognized it and tentatively asked, “Is this knife for cosplay? Is it sharpened?”

He carefully touched the blade with his finger.

Bei Nuan thought, No need to touch it. I know it's not.

The onlooker poked the silver blade. “It doesn’t look like iron. It seems to be… made of resin?”

No way?

Bei Nuan couldn't help but look at the blade.

Lu Xingchi lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, “No need to look. It’s probably really resin. I just tried to sharpen it, and I couldn’t.”

Big Boss Lu, for Du Ruo's sake, had tried to sharpen the blade on the spot, but the knife wasn't even metal.

Bei Nuan: “…”

Du Ruo didn't care and waved it again. “So what if it’s resin? As long as it works, right?”

Captain Zheng didn’t dwell on Du Ruo's knife and let Tang Tang, who had no weapon, go get one.

Bei Nuan also wanted to get a crowbar.

The men of the search team burst into laughter when they saw her reaching for a crowbar.

“Can a little girl even lift a crowbar?”

“I think your arm is thinner than the crowbar, hahahaha…”

“Don’t give it to her. If she gets scared and throws the crowbar into the zombie horde, we’ll be one short.”

Bei Nuan suddenly felt indignant. “I might not be able to swing a crowbar very well, but I can use a gun.”

This time, the men laughed even harder, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.

Captain Zheng didn’t laugh. He raised an eyebrow and handed his gun to Bei Nuan.

“Oh? Fire a shot and show me.”

Then he bent down, picked up an empty soda can, and walked unsteadily to the gate, placing it on the table used by the guards for registration.

The distance was about twenty meters, not close for a handgun.

Bei Nuan looked at the gun in her hand.

It was a silver handgun, all steel, polished to a shine, much heavier than the half-plastic one Bei Nuan had used during the cage fight.

The gun was loaded, the hammer cocked.

Bei Nuan gripped it with both hands, assumed the correct posture, aimed at the soda can on the table, and pulled the trigger.

It wouldn’t budge.

A louder burst of laughter erupted around her.

Captain Zheng helplessly took the gun, released the safety for her.

Bei Nuan blushed, aimed at the soda can again, and fired.

The can flew off with a clang and landed on the ground.

The laughter stopped.

At this distance, many people couldn't hit the target even after emptying the magazine. Being able to hit the can was already quite good.

However, some were still unconvinced.

A skinny young man scoffed. “Someone who doesn’t even know how to release the safety. That was just a random shot, a blind cat catching a dead mouse, right?”

Captain Zheng heard him and glanced at Bei Nuan. “Then try another shot.”

Then he pointed at the skinny young man. “Go set up the can.”

The skinny young man chuckled, with a “let’s see how many times you can get lucky” expression, and ran to set up the soda can.

He found the can that had been shot off, and as he was about to put it back on the table, he casually glanced at it and his expression changed.

Captain Zheng saw him holding the can without moving and asked, “What’s wrong? What are you spacing out for?”

The skinny young man held the can and turned around with a shocked look. “She… she just shot the star…”

The soda can was dark blue, with three yellow stars printed near the top. Although the color was eye-catching, they were no bigger than a peanut.

Bei Nuan's bullet had cleanly pierced a hole right through the center of the middle star.

Everyone was looking at the star.

At this distance, those with poor eyesight couldn't even see it.

Just then, bang, the gun went off again.

The skinny young man was so startled that he dropped the can.

Immediately followed by the third shot.

The skinny young man crouched on the ground, covering his head, trying to curl up into a ball, not daring to move.

Bei Nuan obediently returned the gun to Captain Zheng and asked, “No need to shoot anymore, right?”

Captain Zheng glanced at her, said nothing, and walked to the table opposite, picking up the soda can that had rolled to the ground.

Three shots, three stars pierced.

Including the shot fired when the can was in mid-air.

Captain Zheng silently brought the can back. This time, everyone clearly saw the three neatly arranged holes on the can in his hand.

The group of men who had been laughing so heartily just moments ago were all silent.

Bei Nuan thought, Big Boss Lu is not happy. He’s scary when he’s angry.

The first bullet was controlled by him, and the second and third shots were fired directly by him. Bei Nuan hadn’t even touched the trigger.

Author's Note:

Lu Xingchi (smiling): Who laughed at my wife? Step forward.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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