Ksshh—
Li Miao'er awoke, rubbing her bleary, sleepy eyes.
"Brother, you're still deep asleep…"
Turning her head to gaze at Chen Yi, peacefully lost in slumber, the haze of drowsiness on her face gradually gave way to a flicker of excitement.
Reaching out a small hand, she gently traced the warm contours of his face. After a moment, she could no longer restrain herself—she leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his tender cheek.
Sweet… and fun.
Sitting up on the bed, she carefully straddled her brother's waist, then settled onto his chest. This position, at least, wouldn't be too uncomfortable.
Staring down at his lovely, serene face, her small hands unconsciously slipped beneath his shirt—
Mmm…
Feeling the soft, smooth skin beneath her palms, Li Miao'er's breathing noticeably quickened.
Haaah…
Ultimately unable to suppress the impulses in her heart, she leaned down once more, capturing his cool, thin lips with her own. Savoring the sweet tenderness, the movements of her hands grew even bolder.
"Mmph?!"
Chen Yi jolted awake, pushing away the delicate form of his little sister and fixing her with sapphire-sharp eyes.
His glare seemed to say: If you don't give me a reasonable explanation right now, I'm going to be really upset.
"Brother… what's wrong?" Li Miao'er innocently licked the corner of her mouth, shrugged her delicate nose, and pressed her soft body closer, feigning complete ignorance.
"Li Miao'er! What were you doing just now?!"
Chen Yi pursed his lips and pushed her small hands away. Recalling the scene moments ago, he truly hadn't expected to be forcefully kissed… again.
"Brother, I was sleepwalking earlier… I don't really remember what happened just now," Li Miao'er explained pitifully.
Her bewildered, beautiful eyes now glistened with unshed tears, radiating an aura that begged to be pampered and protected.
Chen Yi rubbed his temples helplessly. Meeting his sister's lovely gaze, he spoke seriously, "Miao'er, you have to remember—we are siblings. You can't have those kinds of thoughts about me."
"Brother, we're not blood-related! Why can't we be in love?!"
Li Miao'er pounced forward, tightly wrapping her arms around his. Her cute little face puffed up in a semblance of anger.
"Does brother want to fall in love with some other woman instead?"
"Or… do you already have someone you like?"
Hmph! If that's really the case, then I'll just have to eliminate that wretched woman—show her what true cruelty is.
"Meow, in my heart, you've always been my real sister."
Chen Yi gently pried her arms loose and softly pinched her little face.
Such an adorable girl… if only we weren't family.
"Hmph! I won't listen! I don't want to hear it! Anyway, I just like you! You have to accept it, whether you want to or not!" Li Miao'er surged forward again, clinging tightly to his arm as she whispered her declaration.
Before, she had worried that confessing might lead to him casting her out. But now, in this apocalyptic world, she had to lay her heart bare—she had to make him hers. Otherwise, if death came, she'd have no chance for regrets.
"No! Meow, let go now. Stop fooling around, or I'll really get angry."
Chen Yi struggled earnestly but found, to his surprise, that her grip was incredibly strong—he couldn't free his arm at all.
"Hmph! Getting angry won't help. Brother, tell me—do you already have a girl you like?"
Li Miao'er stared at him with dangerously narrowed eyes.
If brother already has someone he likes… then I'll just have to make him mine right here, right now. Win back his heart—he will always belong to me! She thought to herself, a faint trace of pink brushing her lips.
"No. Meow, stop messing around. We still have a lot to do."
Chen Yi finally extricated his arm and gently stroked her hair.
How do I make her go back to being the cute, sweet little sister she used to be?
"Mm." Li Miao'er pursed her lips thoughtfully, then softly and coquettishly proposed, "Brother, promise me one thing—from now on, you can't like other women. You can only like me. If you promise, I'll let you go. Okay?"
"Alright, alright… I promise I won't go looking for a girlfriend in the future. Happy now?"
Chen Yi nodded, inwardly exasperated. Not looking for a girlfriend doesn't rule out finding a wife directly someday.
"Yay! Brother, let's go downstairs and fight some zombies! Mwah~"
Overjoyed, Li Miao'er hugged Chen Yi and planted another kiss before finally releasing him.
Sigh…
Chen Yi glanced at his sister's slender figure and sighed inwardly. Our builds are almost the same, save for those two delicate little "white rabbits" of hers… so why is her physical strength so much greater than mine?
He picked up his phone to check the time—exactly 2:00 PM. It would be too risky to tackle zombies with just the machete; better to modify the spears first.
"Meow, after I finish modifying the weapons, you go wash your face and change clothes."
Chen Yi straightened his clothes, got up to splash some water on his face in the bathroom, and then headed to the storage room.
He recalled there was still a coil of steel wire in the storage room, and his adoptive mother's toolbox should be there too. He'd bring everything to the living room.
The machete and scimitar didn't need modifications. But for the daggers—they'd have to be fastened to the spear shafts. Steel wire for binding, then wrapped with cloth strips to prevent slippage. That should do it.
Chen Yi looked over the weapons laid out on the floor and pondered. If only we had a couple of light-energy pistols… or even nuclear-energy ones. Well, a man can dream.
"Brother, how are we going to modify these two spears?"
After washing up, Li Miao'er bounded over enthusiastically. She picked up a red-tasseled spear and gave it a few practice swings, buzzing with excitement.
"Fix the daggers as spearheads. We'll use this steel wire to secure them."
Chen Yi found a small cutting tool in the toolbox, but its battery was rusted and long dead from disuse. Instead, he'd have to use a small hacksaw to cut off the original spearheads attached to the wooden poles.
"Brother, you hold the dagger in place—I'll tie the wire."
Li Miao'er cut a long strand of steel wire with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Holding the wire in one hand and the pliers in the other, her fair little hand soon sported a smudge of black grease.
Such a delicate girl, yet eager to do this rough work… it really makes you want to protect her.
"Meow, be careful twisting the wire. Those pliers can easily pinch your fingers."
Chen Yi gave a wry smile and nodded in agreement. Given his physique—weaker than a girl's—a pinch from those pliers would leave him sore for ages.
"Don't worry~"
Li Miao'er replied confidently. She positioned the dagger and began twisting the steel wire with the pliers effortlessly—
"Oww!"
She hadn't expected the steel wire to be so stubborn. After just two twists, the pliers clamped down hard on her delicate index finger, instantly painting her adorable face a shade of crimson.
"Hmph! These stupid pliers are impossible to use! Might as well just use my hands!"
Flustered and embarrassed, she tossed the pliers aside and resorted to twisting the steel wire around the dagger with her bare hands.
"Pfft—" Chen Yi couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Meow, you wrap the wire first. I'll tighten it later and tie it off."
He still remembered, back in his previous life, when he first tried fixing a garden fence with this kind of needle-nose pliers and steel wire.
Two huge blood blisters had formed on his index finger right then and there. Since that day, he'd sworn off this kind of manual labor for good.
Hmph!
With a disgruntled pout, Li Miao'er wrapped the steel wire securely, then flopped comfortably onto the sofa.
"These kinds of melee weapons are way too primitive. Firearms are much simpler and more direct."
"Brother, what if we go to the nearby police station and grab a couple of machine guns? Find an armored vehicle, drive it to a military base, load up on ammo… Using tanks and cannons against zombies would be a breeze. What do you think?"
Li Miao'er blinked her beautiful eyes, sparkling with excitement.
"Uh…"
"Meow, think about it for a second—how many zombies do you think are between here and there? The roads are all blocked with abandoned cars. We can't even drive. Do you really think we could make it there alive?"
Chen Yi pursed his lips and looked at his sister. It wasn't a bad idea… just wildly unrealistic.