It took about an hour for Yang Zhang to be able to move his body again. Of course, he was still very sluggish, but he could at least get up and pick up Chestnut, who was still lying on the ground.
He put Chestnut inside the spacious jacket pocket and said to his crew, "Alright, guys. It's time to go home. I'm afraid another monster will attack us."
"Chirp!"
Only Spicy Wing was full of vigor, while the rest were too exhausted or hurt. Honestly, Yang Zhang planned to find a good plant for the Brain Bead to take back with them, but he was too exhausted, and the Brain Bead had a defect.
He already planted a Brain Bead with that rose right before he left, so it would be better to check on that first before carelessly using another one that was damaged.
Because she was hurt, Yang Zhang couldn't use Ivy's vines, so it was better to just walk, albeit it was quite far from the hut.
"Urgh, we really need to find medical supplies," Yang Zhang complained as he strode through the forest. Then he silently added medical supplies to his wish list for when he wanted to go out to the cities to scavenge or barter.
Yang Zhang arrived at the hut after another two hours of trekking. He was so goddamn exhausted that he just collapsed after opening the door.
"Ivy, close the door, and… urgh, you guys should return to your places and rest. We will… have dinner later…." Yang Zhang sighed tiredly. Little Ivy closed the door with her vine and returned to her pot.
As for Chestnut, it returned to its self-made den filled with chestnuts. Meanwhile, Lt. Spicy Wing was still too energetic to settle down. In the little chick's mind, it was still too early to go to bed.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
"Ah… Spicy Wing, just… do whatever you want. Just don't burn the hut, okay?"
"Chirp!"
Yang Zhang pushed his willpower to the limit as he crawled to the old sofa. Once he had settled in, he fell asleep almost immediately.
Lt. Spicy Wing looked around the hut, everyone was resting now because of exhaustion, but the young chick still had a lot of vitality. So it started walking around curiously, circling around Little Ivy's pot, jumping up and checking Chestnut's den full of chestnuts, and studying Yang Zhang, who fell asleep quickly.
Now that the chick was alone, it decided to explore the backyard.
The backyard door was closed, but a small opened window was at the top of the door.
"Chirp!" Lt. Spicy Wing quickly jumped from the chair to the cupboard near the door. The young chick easily jumped from the open window, and… voila—it was now in the backyard!
Lt. Spicy Wing looked around the backyard, and its attention immediately darted at a rose that wiggled around as if greeting the baby chick.
"Chirp?"
Wiggle. Wiggle.
"Chirp…" the chick approached the dancing rose and circled around the rose without much care. The rose continued wiggling happily until… Bop!
A head suddenly popped out of the grave, but only half of one, showing the hair, forehead, and down past the eyes. It was a woman's head.
Lt. Spicy Wing was a fearless little chick who had no fear of zombies, let alone ghosts. It was just a bit surprised when a head suddenly popped out, causing it to chirp curiously.
"Chirp, chirp?"
The eyes stared blankly at Spicy Wing before winking, and the dancing rose on top of her head continuously wiggled and danced happily. The woman couldn't speak because she had only half a head protruding from the ground. Instead, she communicated using the rose on top of her head.
The rose wiggled again and bowed in front of Lt. Spicy Wing.
The tiny chick puffed out its chest proudly because this half head was greeting him politely, "Chirp! Chirp!"
The half head made an eye smile and slowly struggled to leave the grave.
POP!
"Chirp!"
Lt. Spicy Wing was excited when the half-head finally popped out, completely revealing the rest of the woman's face. She was now only buried from the neck down.
Now, Spicy Wing was able to look at her properly.
She was around her mid-twenties, with long dark hair and a sweet smile.
Despite her rotting skin, she looked really beautiful. The girl turned out to be a living corpse, aka a zombie.
"Chirp!" Lt. Spicy Wing quickly retreated, readying itself just in case the woman decided to attack.
But she didn't have any intention to attack. Instead, she smiled at Spicy Wing and said in a low but gentle motherly voice, "Hello, what's your name?"
"Chirp, chirp, chirp!"
"Lieutenant Spicy Wing? Is that your name?" The woman asked, and the chick puffed out its chest again in confirmation.
"Chirp?"
"Ah, my name? I don't have one, at least not yet…" the woman smiled. "I'm just showing up to greet you first, Lieutenant."
Spicy Wing was proud of its popularity and charisma, which led him to get a greeting from a random zombie, but that wasn't enough. The little chick wanted to show Yang Zhang about this new finding! A zombified rotting head that could talk, complete with a dancing rose on top of her head!
When the woman sensed what Spicy Wing wanted to do, it hurriedly said, "Don't tell him, okay?"
"Chirp?"
"Well, I can't tell you the reason, but don't tell him yet."
"Chirp, chirp?"
"Yes, don't tell your Uhm… Major General Yang Zhang about my presence. I will show myself once I'm ready."
"Chirp!"
"Thank you, Lieutenant. I will bury myself again, but you are free to come and visit me whenever you feel like it. See you later, Lieutenant Spicy Wing!"
"Chirp!"
With that, the woman buried her head inside the grave once more, and the dirt magically moved to cover the top of her head, only showing the dancing rose as if nothing had happened.
Wiggle. Wiggle.