Chapter 31: Summary: Taken Hostage by Zhang Hu

There were four or five zombie corpses lying on the ground, and another five or six zombies wandering in the distance on the road—probably the ones that chased Liu Meng and the others out and then stopped there. Judging by this, she was likely the only living person left in the gas station.

The zombies’ heads were all intact. Her eyes lit up. She tiptoed over, chopped off the heads with her axe, then used a small knife to dig into the foramen magnum, extracting four white cores and one blue water-element core.

Not a bad haul!

She tossed all the white cores to the farm for processing and stored the blue one in her warehouse. Glancing around, she saw quite a few abandoned cars. It would be a waste not to take one, but only the Sagitar was in good condition. She went over and found the key still in the ignition.

She murmured an apology, dragged the owner’s corpse—head still attached and in a tattered suit—out of the driver’s seat. Her hand brushed against something hard. She fished it out: a black remote key. Seeing there was already a key in the ignition, she pocketed the spare, removed the seat cushion, cleaned up a bit, and expertly filled the gas tank to the brim. Then she got in.

She started the engine, tested forward and reverse, and was just about to step on the gas when she saw zombies drawn by the engine noise. Suddenly, her expression froze as if she’d seen a ghost.

Two men flung open the doors and climbed in. The one in the passenger seat pressed a cold gun to her temple and swept her knife aside. “Drive!”

Bian Changxi glanced sideways at him.

Zhang Hu!

So he hadn’t left after all. Lying in wait?

She pressed her lips together. The zombies were closing in. She floored the gas, yanked the handbrake, and drifted around, knocking down two zombies that tried to cut them off, then sped onto the road.

“Head for the old city,” Zhang Hu ordered.

He was surprised by this girl’s driving skills—she was no amateur.

He kept his eyes on her and tossed her backpack to the guy in the back seat. “Check it.”

The henchman rummaged through it quickly. “Just food.”

Zhang Hu was surprised again. Not a single weapon?

He glanced inside, grabbed a carton of milk, and had his man open it. He gulped it down, sighing inwardly. He hadn’t had milk like this since the apocalypse began. Liu Meng was always strict about food, though who knew how much he snuck for himself.

He asked, “You came out of the convenience store, but I searched it several times before and never saw you.”

Bian Changxi focused on driving.

The gun pressed harder against her head, making the car swerve. She quickly steadied the wheel, face blank. “My ability is invisibility.”

Zhang Hu’s eyes lit up. “An ability? You have powers too? Invisibility? You can really turn invisible?”

Bian Changxi looked at him with contempt.

Zhang Hu seemed to realize he was acting like an idiot and cleared his throat. “Why were you hiding?”

“You guys have numbers and don’t look like good people. I just wanted to find some food, not cause trouble.”

“I saw someone ride a motorcycle into the gas station earlier. Was that you? Where’s your bike? And what about the two missing fuel trucks?”

“That wasn’t me. I was in the convenience store the whole time. I saw someone come down from the road, but they disappeared in a blink. As for the fuel trucks, I have no idea. Why would I care about things you can’t eat?”

“What did that person look like?”

“Didn’t see clearly. The bike was too fast.”

Zhang Hu looked at her backpack and suddenly sneered, jamming the gun under her chin. “If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable! When did you enter the convenience store? Why didn’t the zombies eat you? And if you were there, why do you have so little food?”

Bian Changxi’s head was forced back painfully, but she kept her eyes on the road, the car weaving. “I’m driving!”

“Stop the car!”

She stopped. Zhang Hu’s henchman dragged her into the back seat and took the wheel. Zhang Hu grabbed her short hair, yanked her close, and pressed the gun to her temple again. “Tell the truth. If you lie again, I’ll blow your brains out!”

Blow your brains out, my ass!

Bian Changxi was furious, but also blamed herself for being careless.

Stealing the fuel truck was one thing; walking out of the convenience store so openly was another. She’d underestimated her opponent’s patience and cunning, and assumed too much just because she was reborn.

Still, she was glad she hadn’t taken anything from the farm in front of Zhang Hu. Otherwise, the farm would be exposed… Well, maybe not. She could always claim to have a spatial ability. But then the fuel trucks and motorcycle would be at risk.

She gritted her teeth. “I got to the convenience store just before the person on the motorcycle. I went in invisible, so the zombies didn’t notice me. Why didn’t I take more food? Because you guys showed up right after. I had no time.”

Zhang Hu seemed to accept this explanation. He asked, “What were you digging out of the zombies’ heads?”

Bian Changxi swallowed. Holding her head up like this was unbearable. “I saw someone do it before and wanted to try it myself.”

“What did you find?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Where is it?”

Bian Changxi reached for her jacket pocket.

“Don’t move, I’ll get it!” Zhang Hu barked.

Get lost! I already put it in the farm.

Items could only be moved in and out with her left hand, and she couldn’t do it in plain sight. She turned her left palm backward and, with a thought, dropped a plain white core onto the seat. Zhang Hu found nothing in her pocket and snapped, “Where is it?”

Bian Changxi put on a nervous, confused look. “How could that be? Maybe it fell out somewhere. My pockets are shallow.”

Zhang Hu eyed her. “Move over.”

The white core was now visible.

Zhang Hu stared at it. He’d never seen anything like it before—something like a gemstone from a zombie’s brain? It had to be valuable. “Quick! Give it to me!”

He snatched it from her and examined it under the light, turning it over and over. Then he glanced at her suspiciously. “Five zombies, but only three of these?”

“Two of them didn’t have any.”

His henchman craned his neck to look. “Brother Hu, what is that thing?”

“Just drive!” Zhang Hu pocketed the core. “We’ll show it to Meng-ge and see what he says.”

As if Liu Meng was some kind of elemental analyzer. But Bian Changxi knew Zhang Hu would definitely keep it for himself. She rubbed her bruised forehead, hiding the cold glint in her eyes.

Should she take them out?

Neither of them seemed to have powers. She could use her vines to grab the gun and tie them up, then finish them off—shouldn’t be hard. The only risk was if they struggled and caused a crash.

She flexed her fingers, but just then, a truck appeared around the corner. Two men were in it. The Sagitar stopped, and the two men got out. “Brother Hu, you’re here.” They glanced at Bian Changxi. “You waited all this time just for this chick?”

She didn’t look like anything special. Well, she was pretty, but barely had any meat on her bones.

Zhang Hu grinned at Bian Changxi. “Don’t underestimate her. She’s got powers.”

“A powered one? Really? Like Meng-ge, who can make earth walls?” The men were instantly excited and awestruck.

Zhang Hu felt a pang of jealousy. Earth walls, big deal. One day, he’d be even stronger.

He said, “She’s not earth, she’s invisible. Right, what was your name again?”

“My surname is Li. Li Xin,” Bian Changxi lied.

“Oh, Miss Li.” Zhang Hu turned to his three men. “We’ll need her help when we go looking for supplies. Miss Li, you’ll help us, right?”"