(Lirean Province- Capitol City)
(Adna Supermarket)
Eve crouched down on the ground and hummed softly as Qin Lan continued to wipe the blood off her hands.
The zombie empress kept staring at the human who gently touched her fingers and a sweet smile flashed across her face.
She didn't know why this human wanted to find the one who vaguely smelled like her, but Eve was prepared to follow her anywhere.
"There… that should be good enough," Qin Lan whispered as she placed the used wet tissues in a nearby garbage bag.
"I swear… zombie blood takes forever to wipe off…"
A strange atmosphere had descended on the supermarket ever since their arrival.
With the brutality shown by Qin Lan and the monstrous strength displayed by Eve, the other survivors were quite scared of them.
The only exception was the group of schoolchildren who stared at Qin Lan as if she was some kind of superhero.
Qin Lan honestly thought that they looked quite adorable. She was reluctant to leave them behind, but they would need to find some more vehicles.
Still, that was not an immediate problem to solve.
"Sister… I…." Qin Wei's nervous voice came from the front of the store.
Qin Lan furrowed her brows since she didn't know why her brother was behaving so strangely.
For some reason he kept trying to avoid looking at his classmates especially the pretty girl with the tattered pendant.
She would have to be a fool not to realise that something was wrong, so Qin Lan walked over to talk to him.
"What's wrong?" Qin Lan spoke softly and tried to put an understanding expression on her face.
"I… back then… I… actually never mind," Qin Wei stuttered as if he was trying to confess something, but the words refused to leave his mouth.
His fingers curled up into a fist as the emotions in his heart darkened. Embarrassment and shame quickly turned to anger.
He had been grateful for his sister's timely rescue of his crush, but her actions made him look worse.
Liu Yifei would never go out with him… and all his other classmates probably thought that he was a useless son of a bit…
And it was all her fault….
What Qin Wei did not understand was that although his actions had disappointed Liu Yifei, he was not the only one who did not stand up to stop the violent thugs.
The students were only teenagers and placed in a dangerous situation against a gang of fully grown men…
It was to be expected that they would be unable to handle it.
Still… Qin Wei could not help but blame his sister as his sense of pride demanded that he find someone else to transfer over his fault.
If she had only come sooner before those men had grabbed Liu Yifei… if only he was the one with power like that woman who travelled with her…
"Hey… are you alright little bro?" Qin Lan asked with concern as she placed a hand on Qin Wei's forehead to make sure that his temperature was still normal.
"Yeah… I'm just a bit… tired…" Qin Wei replied with gritted teeth.
Qin Lan didn't notice the resentment hidden in his gaze but someone else in the supermarket did.
A hoarse growl escaped Eve's mouth as her fingernails slowly blackened and extended almost like claws.
She turned around to face a nearby wall just as her eyes flashed a pitch-black colour.
It took about thirty seconds for Eve to rein in her emotions and put on her human disguise once more.
"Why don't you join your other friends, and we can discuss what to do next?" Qin Lan suggested gently.
Qin Wei nodded slowly and reluctantly followed his sister to the back of the store where the seven other students were sitting down.
"Here… have some water…" the class monitor handed over a bottle of water to Qin Wei and winced as the side of his cheek ached for a moment.
It was a bit awkward at first, but the students were soon distracted by Qin Lan who got their attention by clapping her hands.
"Okay… so… I don't know how or why but somehow the world has been overrun by zombie-like monsters…" Qin Lan explained calmly.
"I know that many of you probably expect the police or military to regain control of the situation, but the reality is… you will not be priority targets for rescue even if they did show up."
"Staying in the supermarket is safe for now but as more people turn… being in a city will be nothing more than a deathtrap."
Qin Lan did not sugar coat the situation and was upfront and honest with the students despite the terrified looks on their faces.
It would do no good to lie to them about the terrible situation.
Honesty was the best policy especially when preparing the teenagers for what lay ahead.
"Now… has anyone developed any 'gifts'?" Qin Lan asked curiously.
"Gifts?" Gong Li asked with a quizzical look on her face.
"Yes… you saw how Eve was able to move faster and stronger than a normal human? And the man with fire in his hands?" Qin Lan explained gently.
"Somehow it seems that certain people are able to develop supernatural powers. I just refer to those powers as 'gifts'."
"Wait… do you have a special power as well?!" Qin Wei suddenly exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, but I haven't had to use it. Let's just say that it is a secret weapon," Qin Lan teased her brother as she ruffled his hair.
She definitely had an ability but only the gods would know what it was…
Qin Wei wanted to throw her hands off but froze in place as he saw out of the corner of his eye, the powerful woman who accompanied his sister.
Eve did not have to say a single word as her eyes were locked on Qin Lan's hand that was touching her brother's head.
Qin Wei felt a chill run down his spine as the mysterious woman seemed to be looking at him as if he was prey.
Eventually Qin Lan stopped teasing her younger sibling and turned her attention back to the students.
"It usually feels like a warm fuzzy feeling in your chest… you may not know what your ability does but you should be able to sense it," Qin Lan tried her best to explain.
She did not bother to lower the volume of her voice so the other survivors in the supermarket could hear her words.
Contemplative expressions flashed across their faces and an elderly woman in the corner of the building stretched out her palm.
Her skin briefly turned into a metallic colour, but she quickly concealed her power before anyone else could notice.
"I… think…. I feel something…" Liu Yifei hesitantly spoke.
The pretty girl furrowed her brows and concentrated as she felt warmth travel from the tattered pendant on her neck into her body.
The can of soup in her hand instantly disappeared. Gasps of amazement came from the other students who crowded around her.
"Is it invisible?" Qin Lan asked as she walked over to inspect Liu Yifei's hands.
"No… it's… gone…" Liu Yifei explained in bewilderment. She searched for the can, but it didn't seem to be anywhere.
"Hmm…. try picturing the can and see if it returns," Qin Lan suggested as a memory flashed across her mind about a similar situation.
Liu Yifei concentrated and the can reappeared in her hand as if it had never left.
"Wow! It looks like you can control an extra dimensional storage space," Qin Lan happily stated as she revised a few plans in her mind.
Those gifted with storage abilities were not particularly strong individuals but every single one of them was invaluable.
Bases would fight over them, and it was said that storage was classified as an upper tier ability by most of the leaders.
Qin Lan could not believe her good fortune to find such a priceless treasure while searching for her brother.