The girl in the moonlight was so beautiful. Looking into her eyes, Li Ke took a deep breath and finally decided not to leave.
He gently sat down in the corner, and the girl immediately nestled into his arms, burying her head in his chest. She had been through so much shock.
Li Ke gently held the girl, letting her lean against him. He could easily feel the warmth of her body and her very attractive fragrance… Although some of it was replaced by the smell of blood, there was no doubt that this scent was a significant test for him at this moment.
Not to mention that the girl's body was so plump and soft, not at all like a typical young girl. To be precise, she was more like a ripe peach.
"Come to think of it, was 'Food Wars!' a fan service anime? And wasn't she a blonde tsundere?" Li Ke gently stroked the girl's back, comforting her while recalling the details. If he remembered correctly, she was definitely a tsundere. But from their meeting, she was anything but; she was a classic delicate young lady. Although she was a chef, she was indeed a high-class young lady, a super young lady who ruled the food industry in Japan and could make the heir of a major meat corporation her follower.
"If I were in her world, I probably wouldn't have a chance to even interact with her, right? But speaking of which, I actually liked the girl named Ikumi Mito more…"
The influence of the environment was so striking, turning a proud person into such a fragile one. As Li Ke recalled the anime, he suddenly remembered that he actually preferred the purely fan-service character, the blonde gal who was always talking about A5 meat. He didn't know why, except that she was big and showed a lot of skin, which made him…
"Ugh…"
Erina Nakiri's soft gasp brought Li Ke back to reality. He remembered that in his arms was a teenage girl with a figure that didn't lose to Ikumi Mito's, and in her current position, she could feel his "change" with the inside of her thigh.
Li Ke awkwardly coughed twice, but to be honest, he had no interest in that right now since he was feeling feverish. What surprised him was that even after feeling his "change," the girl, who was only wearing a shirt, didn't seem to want to leave. Like an ostrich, she clung tightly to Li Ke's neck, not wanting to pull her head out and face this cruel world.
Li Ke could only sigh. He pulled the blanket from the bed and covered both of them. They slept on the floor in each other's arms.
Li Ke was the first to wake up in the morning, not because of anything else, but because his bladder was about to burst. While Erina Nakiri was still asleep, Li Ke carried her to the bed. He then rushed into his own room and used an empty plastic bottle to relieve himself. When he put his pants back on and came out, he saw Erina Nakiri, only wearing her shirt, holding onto the door frame, blushing as she looked at him.
When she realized he had seen her, Erina Nakiri instinctively turned her head and whispered, "I wasn't… I wasn't worried about you…"
This tsundere behavior was truly pleasing, especially when he was about to embark on an adventure again.
By the time Erina Nakiri had put her clothes back on, Li Ke had also walked over with the remaining food from yesterday and gave her a can of Spam.
"We don't have much food left, so we have to go find some today. We also need to find a safer place or get new tires for this car." Li Ke hadn't expected the zombies to be so formidable at night. Their speed, strength, and even their ability to track were all enhanced. And the wolves at night were a big problem as well. If the zombies hadn't driven the wolf pack away, the first thing they would have faced today would have been an attack from the wolves.
"Okay." Erina Nakiri looked at the scarce food and nodded. She knew why there wasn't much left, and it was her fault. Li Ke had obviously been looking for food yesterday before she interrupted him. And with her here, the food consumption had doubled. So, she had no objection to going with Li Ke to find more food.
"So, in a moment, put on some thick clothes that are easy to take off but don't hinder your movement. I'm worried there might still be wolves nearby, and wait for me to say it's safe before you get out." Li Ke continued to give instructions as he ate his Spam. He finally saw how Erina Nakiri ate the Spam.
"Got it." Erina Nakiri took a deep breath. Under Li Ke's gaze, she cut the Spam into small, neat pieces, poured a large amount of honey over them, and then swallowed them like medicine, not chewing at all, not even wanting the food to linger in her mouth.
This behavior was incredibly wasteful compared to Li Ke's slow eating. So when she saw him watching her, Erina Nakiri lowered her head nervously. "I… I can only eat it this way."
Li Ke didn't mind. He could sense her resistance to the food, especially her instinctive retching. It was not fake.
"It's okay. People always have to go through a process of adaptation." He smiled, put the last few pieces of Spam in his mouth, and took out the last two bottles of water. He gave one to the girl and poured his own into his honey jar.
Erina Nakiri held the bottle, unable to muster the courage to drink. So she spoke in a low voice. "Someone like me, burdened with a curse, must be useless, right?" This was the first time she had hated her own tongue so much. If it weren't for it, she wouldn't have been discovered so easily by the zombies. Her meeting with Li Ke would have been much more graceful. Instead, she was just dead weight, and a picky one at that.
"Maybe. I don't have your tongue, so I can't feel what you feel. I'm not in a position to comment on that. But what I do know is that the most important thing for us right now is to survive." Li Ke didn't make a judgment. They might not even have a tomorrow.
Erina Nakiri still didn't understand where Li Ke's calm attitude in the face of despair came from, but she nodded seriously. "Okay."
Once Erina Nakiri had finished eating and they had both rested for a couple of minutes, they put on the coats they had found in the RV and started their search for food for the day.
"If there are any wolves, protect yourself first. Don't worry about me." Before opening the door, Li Ke took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if there were any zombies or wolves left outside, so he had to be prepared for the worst.
Erina Nakiri, who was also holding an axe and had a sharp kitchen knife, nodded, a serious expression on her face. "Okay, I'll do my best."
"Alright, let's go!"
Li Ke's heart began to beat fast. He opened the door and darted out. The sound of his landing wasn't very loud, but it was enough to alert zombies. However, nothing bad happened. It seemed there were no zombies or wolves nearby. They seemed to have all left.
They cautiously explored the area around the RV. Only after confirming there were no zombies or wolves did they relax. Li Ke naturally looked at the houses next to the RV. Before, he hadn't dared to scavenge here for a simple reason: the zombies. There were a few zombies at the entrance to the town, and all the rooms were filled with signs of them. If a fight broke out, it would attract zombies from half the town, and that would be a disaster.
But now it was different. Most of the zombies inside had been lured away, and Li Ke also needed to confirm something. Most importantly, a supermarket was very close to the RV, and yesterday's wolf pack had attracted all the zombies out of it. If possible, Li Ke wanted to see if there were a lot of supplies in the supermarket.
He and Erina Nakiri carefully trod through the grass, approaching the house closest to them. Li Ke peered through a broken window, checking the decayed floor and the surroundings, before he and Erina Nakiri entered through the already-broken door and cautiously began to scavenge.
There wasn't much food left in this room. Li Ke and the girl only found some vitamin tablets and a few candies. But they were surprised to find a box of gold bars on a table. Normally, Li Ke would have been very happy, but in this world, he didn't know what use gold bars would be. So Li Ke only took one as a keepsake, then left the room with Erina Nakiri and moved on to the next one.
The second house was also very smooth; they didn't encounter any zombies and the harvest was great. They found three cans of chicken and some well-preserved ham.
But…
"This is weird." Li Ke looked at the empty nightstands and cupboards and spoke with a sense of frustration.
"What's wrong?" Erina Nakiri, who was searching for edible seasonings, looked at Li Ke in confusion.
"They say every American has a gun, so why isn't that true for me?" Li Ke was very confused by this. It wasn't because they weren't thorough in their search. To find useful things, they had opened every drawer. But they had been through two houses now and hadn't even found a single pistol, not even a bullet casing! This was just illogical!
"Maybe… maybe their original owners were holding onto them?" Erina Nakiri didn't know what to say. She could only laugh awkwardly and offer a possible explanation.
"Maybe." Li Ke shook his head. He really wanted a gun, especially a submachine gun. With one, he would have the confidence to make a last stand even against a large horde of zombies, or at least die with some dignity. Unfortunately, he hadn't found a single gun so far, which made him feel uneasy. Although he would never use it, having one and not having one were two different concepts. And what if there were other survivors…
Taking a deep breath, Li Ke pushed these thoughts aside. Last night, when he was holding Erina Nakiri, he noticed that she, like him, had a fever. So there was a high chance they wouldn't have to worry about other survivors.
"Okay, let's go to the next room. We'll check the supermarket last…"
He put the food the girl had packed into his backpack, turned to leave with her, but at that moment, both he and Erina Nakiri heard a broadcast from behind them.
"The shop is open!"
Along with the voice, a sound like an unlocking door rang out. Li Ke and Erina Nakiri looked in shock at the direction of the sound. They saw a building with a strange flag fluttering in the back, obscured by the house. The voice came from there.
They looked at each other and nodded. If there were other survivors here, that would be the best thing. If they were open for business, it meant that human order still existed! As for why they both instinctively thought it was a human broadcasting? The reason was simple. This town had been without power for a long time. Not to mention a broadcast, even the lights didn't work!
"Let's check it out carefully. If it's just a timed broadcast and there are zombies nearby, we'll run away quickly." Li Ke whispered instructions. The two of them tiptoed toward the source of the broadcast. They saw a fortress surrounded by countless barbed wire fences and walls. The main door was clearly fortified with metal sheets and other sturdy materials. It was a perfect shelter for the apocalypse!
Inside this fortified area, in a metal hut with bars on the windows, a woman with a stethoscope around her neck stood quietly behind a counter. Her body wasn't rotting at all, and she was breathing normally. The reason Li Ke was so sure was because she was "big!" Her chest jiggled as she breathed! And most importantly, there were no traces of zombies inside!
"A living person!"
Surprise flashed in both Li Ke and Erina Nakiri's eyes. The next moment, they both moved toward the place with the living person. As he got closer to the shop, Li Ke specifically checked for any zombies hidden behind the door, but there were none. There wasn't even a second person there!
However, Li Ke also noticed something was off. The merchant inside… didn't seem to notice them.