(Lirean Province- Capitol City)
(Inerean Highway)
A group of zombies roamed the city and desperately searched for new victims to devour. Their bodies had already begun to rot, and their eyes were a pitch-black colour.
Whatever mysterious power that had transformed this world did not discriminate.
Zombies could be created from the very old to the very young and all genders as well.
In fact, in the zombie horde was a tiny six-year-old girl whose pigtails were stained with blood and pieces of flesh.
Her once rosy and healthy skin was now a pale white colour, and one could see dark fingerprint marks around her neck.
"Urghhh…." one of the zombies stopped in place and looked up to see a shadow rapidly approaching from the air.
He did not have any time to warn his companions before a car slammed into the zombie horde and instantly turned their bodies to squashed chunks of meat.
Around five hundred meters away was a red van that was parked along the side of the road.
Qin Lan sat in the driver's seat and stared in complete shock as she witnessed Eve pick up another car and fling it at the surviving zombies in the group.
She… she was strong… really strong…
Eve turned around and smiled brightly at her as if what she had just done was something completely normal.
Qin Lan could do little except return her smile since she was honestly a bit terrified of this mysterious woman.
Eve appeared to possess dual abilities which was unbelievably rare.
She was able to enhance her strength tenfold and her sense of smell was also vastly improved.
She could sniff out zombies in places that would be impossible to spot using just the naked eye.
Qin Lan quickly searched the original Qin Lan's memories for any mention of Eve who should have become a powerhouse during the last days.
She furrowed her brows as she discovered that a certain memory was locked behind a fuzzy white wall.
There was a memory about Eve, but it was hidden.
Qin Lan tapped the sides of the steering wheel using her fingers while feeling a bit irritated.
It was bad enough to be sent to a world with bloodthirsty monsters, but her host had just made things so unnecessarily difficult by sealing her memories.
Well… there was no use complaining.
Qin Lan knew that this was the hand of cards that she had been dealt so there was nothing to do except accept it and move on.
She lightly tapped the accelerator and the van moved towards the crushed bodies in the distance.
Eve jumped on the roof of the vehicle and curiously looked around at the city.
It had not been long since she had escaped from the military base and she still felt a sense of wonder as she looked at her surroundings.
The zombie empress could not believe how different the city looked from the one in her memory.
There were enormous skyscrapers that seemed to tower towards the heavens and sleek modern buildings with glass exteriors.
Qin Lan drove the van towards the bodies and got out. She let out a heavy sigh and reluctantly walked towards the messy remains to pick up the crystals.
This was the most unpleasant part, but she was slowly getting used to it.
In fact, she didn't even gag this time!
Qin Lan managed to pick up seven crystals that were varying sizes. She took out a bottle of water from her pocket and washed the mysterious jewels.
"Here you go Eve," Qin Lan spoke quietly as she stretched out her palm.
Eve jumped down from the vehicle and walked quickly towards her. She gently took three crystals and closed Qin Lan's palm on the remaining four.
"I… I… don't need all," Eve whispered sweetly as her fingers lingered on Qin Lan's palm a bit longer than necessary.
She didn't know why she did that, but the warmth of Qin Lan's hand was a temptation that was impossible to resist.
"Okay then you will get a bigger share from the next batch of crystals," Qin Lan replied seriously as she raised up her palm and pushed the crystals into her mouth.
Eve copied her action and a small grimace of disgust flashed across her face that was too fast for Qin Lan to detect.
Qin Lan doubled over in agony as the familiar pain coursed through her body once more.
It was as though something was burning in her chest while hundreds of tiny needles poked different parts of her skin.
She let out a small cry of pain before hurriedly muffling herself so that she wouldn't scream louder as the pain got worse.
Eventually the process ended, and Qin Lan could feel that her mysterious gift had gotten stronger once more.
She was not level three yet but had at least crossed the halfway point. Qin Lan felt a warm pair of hands embrace her body as Eve hugged her fiercely.
"Are you okay?" Eve asked with an expression of concern on her face.
"Yes… just give me a moment… I'll be fine…" Qin Lan replied breathlessly.
Her new companion was a bit… overly touchy but Qin Lan had never minded the company of a beautiful woman, so it really wasn't an unpleasant experience.
She felt safe in Eve's arms as if this was an act that they had done together numerous times before despite only meeting earlier today.
Qin Lan tossed that ridiculous thought to the back of her mind as she gently broke away from the hug.
Her little brother still needed to be rescued and then they would head out of the city towards a more rural area.
The early stage of the apocalypse had just begun and over the coming days more zombies would be created.
Remaining in a crowded city at that point would be suicide unless you joined a base or hid in a secure building.
Qin Lan walked towards the van and pulled out her phone. The screen turned on and the battery life indicated that the phone had about eighty percent left.
She checked the map that she had installed and discovered that her brother's school was about three kilometers north from their current location.
"Who are you looking for?" Eve asked curiously as she stepped forward and glanced at the contents on Qin Lan's phone.
"My little brother… he should be in the dorms at his school," Qin Lan explained as she checked the map to make sure that the route was correct.
Eve remained silent but approached Qin Lan and sniffed her body twice.
She took in a few deep breaths and turned around.
Qin Lan could not see Eve's appearance since her back was turned so she had no way of knowing that Eve's eyes were briefly transformed to a pitch-black colour.
Eve inhaled the air and smelled a scent familiar to the woman whose body she had just sniffed.
It was coming from a nearby location but not in the direction of the dorms that Qin Lan had assumed.
The zombie empress clenched her fist and retracted her ability. Her eyes returned to their normal colour and now she was indistinguishable from an ordinary human.
"Qin Lan… I used my gift to track scents similar to you…. your brother should be in that direction," Eve confidentially spoke as she pointed towards the west.
"Are you sure? Is your nose that accurate?" Qin Lan hurriedly asked.
Eve nodded and continued to point towards an unknown location in the west. It was where the entertainment district in the city was located.