(Lirean Province- Capitol City)
(Eastern District- Sunshine Gated Community)
"Eve are you okay? You've been pretty quiet…" Qin Lan whispered softly as she tried her best not to wake up the kids sleeping in the back.
Liu Yifei was the first to fall asleep, but she was quickly joined by the other teenagers who could not resist the urge to rest after spending hours walking non-stop.
"I… I haven't seen the stars for a long time…" Eve replied gently as a sweet smile flashed across her face.
Eve was leaning against the window and staring at the night sky where thousands of bright stars winked and blinked in the distance.
Qin Lan stared at the beautiful girl who seemed both close and far away at the same time.
It was like there was an invisible aura around Eve that should not be disturbed.
She could feel her heart skip a beat as the gorgeous woman turned her attention away from the stars and looked at her directly.
Qin Lan gripped the steering wheel tightly and narrowly avoided a flipped over car on the road as she continued on to their destination.
"Tell me about yourself," Eve suddenly spoke in a calm tone.
Qin Lan accessed the original host's memories and then replied,
"Well, there isn't much to say… I used to be an office worker well at least before all this craziness happened…"
"I like to read… but I didn't have much time for any other hobbies when I worked at my old job. Honestly… it was a bit of a black company."
"Long office hours… no overtime but… I think I would wish for those days back in a heartbeat if it meant that the world would remain safe."
Eve hummed a strange tune and listened carefully to Qin Lan's words.
The zombie empress stretched out her hand and gently played with Qin Lan's hair as she drove the van.
Eve did not know what a 'black company' was, but she did not interrupt Qin Lan to ask the meaning of the phrase.
"Oh… looks like we're here…" Qin Lan exclaimed in surprise as she saw two large metallic gates up ahead.
The metallic gates were severely damaged, and one was loosely hanging off the rail. Behind the gates was a series of luxurious villas with large expansive lawns.
This was the richer part of the capitol city where the powerful families would reside.
Qin Lan drove the van through the damaged gates and headed for the interior.
The population in the suburbs was naturally much lower than the surroundings areas so they only saw a few zombies wandering aimlessly in the distance.
Some of the villas had lights that were on which indicated that the backup generators were still working which was a good sign.
Qin Lan continued driving for around twenty minutes before she reached the heart of the gated community.
There was one villa in particular at the end of the street that caught her attention.
Its doors were wide open and there were a few zombies moving around outside but for some reason none ventured in.
Clearly the original occupants were already dead which meant that the building was available.
She could have also chosen a villa that was already occupied but Qin Lan didn't want to steal or rob unless it was a last resort.
"Be careful Eve… if you need help then just call me," Qin Lan spoke with concern as she held Eve's hand for a moment.
"Do you see that villa over there? I was thinking that we can rest there for the night and continue our journey to the neighbouring province tomorrow."
Eve looked in the direction where Qin Lan was pointing to and nodded slowly. She leaned forward and surprised Qin Lan by pressing her lips against her cheek.
Qin Lan felt as though her body was frozen in place and it was fortunate that none of the teenagers were awake to see that the tips of her ears had turned red.
Eve opened the van door and jumped outside.
Her fingernails slowly extended outwards into black claws and a bloodthirsty expression surfaced on her face.
Qin Lan took in a few deep breaths to calm herself down but the crazy thoughts running through her mind refused to stop.
Why did Eve suddenly kiss her? Was it some kind of good luck kiss?
No… no… surely it was friendship thing? Fuck… why would she do that?
Did it mean something more? What did it mean?!
Qin Lan nervously fidgeted in her seat for a few minutes before finally relaxing enough to wake up the sleeping teenagers.
"Guys we're here… wake up… wake up!" Qin Lan called out loudly to the teenagers as she drove the van closer to the villa.
Liu Yifei opened her eyes and yawned sleepily. She felt a heavy weight on her shoulder and discovered that Gong Li was still asleep with her mouth open.
Loud snores were coming out of her mouth which caused Liu Yifei to giggle as she shook her friend awake.
"Where… where are we?" Gong Li hoarsely asked as she rubbed her eyes and snuggled closer to Liu Yifei.
"Come on boys! You have to wake up as well!" Qin Lan turned around and lightly tapped her brother's shoulder.
Qin Wei stirred from his rest and shot a look of annoyance at his sister before realising that his expression could be seen under the light.
He hurriedly fixed his face into a gentle smile and turned his attention to the class monitor Chen Xiao to wake him up.
Qin Lan saw that everyone was awake and looked outside to see Eve smashing two zombies' heads into bloody pulps using her bare hands.
Eve hoarsely growled in the darkness and for a split-second Qin Lan could have sworn that her eyes turned a different colour.
But obviously that must have been her mind playing tricks on her…
Eve cleared out the remaining zombies with ease and gave a thumbs up signal to Qin Lan with blood still dripping from her fingertips.
Qin Lan drove the van into the driveway and parked the vehicle. She opened the doors, and everyone slowly walked out.
The scent of blood filled the air as the scattered remains of the zombies lay on the ground in barely recognisable condition.
Eve walked over to Qin Lan and handed over a few purplish- black crystals with a proud expression on her face.
"Thank… thank… thank you…" Qin Lan stuttered awkwardly as she stared at Eve's plump lips that looked so seductive and kissable.
She cleared her throat twice and only her brother seemed to notice the strange atmosphere between the two women.
Qin Lan locked the van behind her, and the group made their way to the villa whose doors were already broken.
They entered through the door and saw a living room that had been completely destroyed.
The television screen was cracked, lamps were strewn across the floor and paintings had been ripped from the walls.
Several bodies of middle-aged women wearing expensive evening dresses could be found as they wandered through the interior of the mansion.
The expressions on their faces were either terror or despair as if something had hunted them down and killed them one by one.
Strangely enough their bodies were left almost completely intact but that made no sense…
There were dozens of zombies outside and yet not a single one wanted to taste dead human flesh that was just within walking distance.
Something was wrong…
Qin Lan knelt down and examined the nearest corpse and discovered that there were several circular puncture wounds on her neck.
Inside each wound was a tiny seed. A brown circular seed with roots that were already beginning to grow…
These roots dug into the exposed flesh as if the pinkish red meat was the most fertile soil in the world.
Shivers ran down Qin Lan's spine as she witnessed the strange sight.
She opened her mouth to warn the others of the peculiar situation when a child-like scream came from the other side of the villa.
"Help! Help! Please come and rescue me!"