Chapter 104, Part 4: Female Supporting Character in a Zombie Novel

"!!!"

Damn Fruit Ninja!

No! They don't want to at all!

"No, you think so."

A weak voice sounded beside me.

Several people looked at the speaker as if they had seen a ghost.

His eyes were filled with condemnation.

Even someone as powerful as him wouldn't go, how dare they!

Xu Qingzhou turned her head to the side, trying hard not to look in that direction.

"Zombies have crystal cores in their heads that can upgrade their abilities."

The group paused, filled with uncertainty.

"Crystal cores? Are they... the kind described in post-apocalyptic novels?"

Xu Qingzhou nodded, his jaw clenched.

"But...isn't that something fictional in a novel?"

"Weren't zombies just fictional characters in novels? Now they've appeared, haven't they?"

The crowd remained silent for a few seconds, unable to refute.

Lang Ge subconsciously looked at the beautiful, cleaned crystal placed in front of Xu Qingning and immediately realized what was going on.

"Is what Ningning is washing the crystal core?"

Xu Qingning glanced at Xu Qingzhou, then at Yu Wanwan, and seeing that neither of them objected, she silently nodded.

A hint of excitement appeared on their faces.

But for the time being, I still can't get over that mental hurdle.

They had spent a long time building up the defenses before they had to resort to killing zombies.

But now, they're being asked to dig out heads...

After much hesitation, no one took any action.

Several girls, in particular, were vomiting uncontrollably.

A boy wearing a baseball cap was the first to come out.

"Since it can enhance my abilities, I'll just have to bear with it!"

The sound was clear and high-pitched, carrying a hint of eagerness.

He suppressed his nausea, took the knife, and found a zombie corpse that hadn't yet been desecrated.

Following Yu Wanwan's example, he carefully cut open a head, stirring the blade inside.

Xu Qingzhou glanced at it only once before quickly looking away.

But that one glance was enough for him to see clearly.

"who is he?"

That boy wasn't in their group.

Lang licked his chapped lips.

"His name is Jiang Yiming. I met him on the road. He has fire-type abilities and is quite strong."

Xu Qingzhou didn't pay any attention and just nodded casually.

"Aren't you going?"

"..."

Lang Ge's face fell, and he looked like he was about to cry but had no tears.

If we don't mention this, they're still good teammates!

"Brother Zhou, aren't you going?"

Xu Qingzhou held his breath for a long while before nodding heavily.

"go!"

With a tragic and heroic spirit as if facing death.

With so many people watching, if he backs down now, how will he ever face anyone again!

His mission isn't just to protect the poor little thing; he also has to clear the scumbag's name and help him reach the pinnacle of life.

Unfortunately, psychological barriers are not so easy to overcome.

As soon as he stepped into the area of ​​corpses, he seemed to be frozen in place.

Staring at the sticky substance covering the ground, they didn't know where to step.

A wave of nausea washed over him again, but he couldn't vomit anything.

He couldn't even vomit up acidic fluid.

A cool, soft hand covered his mouth and nose.

The fresh scent of grass and trees filled the air, dispelling the pungent stench.

Xu Qingzhou lowered his eyes slightly, meeting a pair of gentle eyes.

A faint ripple appeared in his eyes, brewing emotions he couldn't understand.

But by the time he wanted to take a closer look, all the ripples had faded away, leaving only a calm gentleness.

"If you can't do it, don't come here and cause trouble."

It was still her usual gentle and languid tone, tinged with obvious disdain.

Xu Qingzhou's eyelashes trembled, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he spoke with difficulty.

Your hand...

I just ripped a zombie's head out...

Yu Wanwan glanced at him, and he immediately swallowed the rest of his words.

"Xu Qingning!"

"Sister Weiwei..."

"Take this hindrance back with you!"

"..."

Xu Qingning put down her work, avoided the dirt on the ground, and walked shakily to the two of them.

She didn't dare touch him with the hand that had held the crystal core, for fear that he would start to feel nauseous again.

They only spoke softly and gently to persuade him.

"Brother, why don't you come with me to cleanse the crystal core?"

Not everyone can be as amazing as Sister Vivi.

Accept your fate!

Yu Wanwan beckoned, and a vine crawled over.

I casually broke off a branch and stuffed it into his hand.

"Hurry up and get out of the way!"

"..."

In such a big place, with only a few people, whose hands are he getting in his way by standing here?

Xu Qingzhou stared blankly at the branch in his hand.

The smell that had been stimulating his nerves was now suppressed.

The only scent lingering in my nostrils is the familiar fragrance of herbs and trees that I've grown ingrained in my very being.

That was her scent.

He ultimately didn't force himself any further, avoiding the mess on the ground, and obediently followed Xu Qingning back to the base of the wall.

With this branch, he seemed to come alive again.

So he stopped idling and started cleaning the crystal cores with Xu Qingning.

Although it wasn't that uncomfortable, I still felt nauseous when I touched those crystal nuclei surrounded by various brain tissues.

However, this level is barely tolerable.

He himself never expected that his harmless obsession with cleanliness would be provoked to such a severe degree in this world.

This is incredibly embarrassing.

The girls who had been vomiting so badly also came over to clean up after they recovered.

In the spacious area surrounded by vines, the sound of vomiting could be heard from time to time.

When the group finally returned to the small villa, their eyes were vacant, as if they had lost their souls.

But at least, the delivery was significant.

Before they arrived, the three had already killed quite a few zombies.

Later, they even killed the zombies that Lang and his group had lured there.

With so many zombies combined, even if not every zombie evolved a crystal core, it still filled a whole plastic bag.

Unfortunately, this is still in its early stages, and the zombies have only just evolved their crystal cores.

This bag of crystal cores is mostly of the power type.

The other five elements have very few attributes, especially the powerful lightning element.

This group of people had become accustomed to having Xu Qingzhou as their leader, and they all behaved themselves and did not take the crystal cores for themselves.

Jiang Yiming, needless to say, was a latecomer and wisely followed the crowd, raising no objections.

Xu Qingzhou didn't think too much before he had already figured out how to process the crystal core.

However, he didn't make a decision on his own, and naturally asked Yu Wanwan for her opinion.

The answer he received was pretty much what he expected.

Yu Wanwan simply couldn't be bothered to care.

Xu Qingzhou felt helpless, but more than that, he felt a sense of calm as expected.

Without hesitation, he waited until everyone had rested enough before calling a meeting and distributing the crystal cores one by one.

The ability users were assigned according to their attributes. Those without abilities had their crystal cores randomly distributed among those with attributes that were not present in the team.

It was fair and impartial; not a single one was kept for personal gain.

This allocation left the seven or eight young people stunned.

The group exchanged glances, each seeing complexity in the other's eyes.

Lang frowned and pushed the crystal core out, his face serious.

"Brother Zhou, you killed most of these zombies, we can't take so many!"

With Lang taking the lead, the others immediately followed suit.

"Yeah, Brother Zhou! We didn't do anything, we just helped dig a little... that's all. We don't feel comfortable keeping this crystal core!"

Xu Qingzhou sat on the sofa, raised his hand, and stopped them from speaking.

The crowd gradually quieted down, looking uneasily at the young man who already possessed such an imposing presence.

Xu Qingzhou's brows furrowed with helplessness as he glanced at the young yet weathered faces.

"You can't say that. Although Vivi and I killed the zombies before, didn't you also help with the later ones?"

His voice was steady, with his usual gentle tone.

"These crystal cores are what you deserve."

Before Lang Ge and the others could say anything, Xu Qingzhou sighed first, a hint of uncertainty on his face.

"In this world, the road ahead is treacherous and the future is uncertain. We just happen to be alumni and happened to be trapped on the rooftop, which is why we've been on the same path for a while. Whether we can continue on together is anyone's guess. Maybe one day we'll encounter a danger like yesterday and we'll part ways, or maybe we'll find a safer place and go our separate ways."

These words, though reasonable, were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing their sense of security when they met him again.

They have been by his side since the end of the world.

In the beginning, when they were afraid to kill zombies, he was the one who stepped forward and used his powerful abilities to protect them.

Along the way, although he caused them some discomfort.

But it's undeniable that without him, they might not have made it this far.

Aside from Jiang Yiming, everyone felt a sense of panic and confusion rising within them, unable to control themselves.

"Brother Zhou, what are you saying?"

"Yes! We've fought our way through this, how can we not continue together?"

"Aren't we on the same team? You're our captain!"

“Brother Zhou! You said it yourself, these days are tough. Look, you still have Ningning and Weiwei with you. More people mean more strength, right?”

Xu Qingzhou's expression softened somewhat, but he still looked a little troubled.

"This... leading so many people, the responsibility is too heavy, I'm afraid..."

The girls in the group seemed to have thought of something and couldn't help but turn their gaze to Xu Qingning, who was sitting to the side looking lost.

"Ningning, please try to persuade Brother Zhou, we really don't want to leave..."

"Yes, we can cook and take good care of you. Why don't you try to persuade Brother Zhou?"

Xu Qingning was stunned, unsure of what to do.

Before today, she would have agreed without hesitation.

But now...

She couldn't help but look up at the top of the stairs.

Several girls also looked up.

There, Yu Wanwan was leaning on the railing, leisurely watching the farce unfolding below.

A faint smile played on her lips; she appeared gentle and harmless, making it impossible to discern her true emotions.

Upon seeing her face, the girls turned pale.

Then I thought of the scene where she was squatting among the zombie corpses, cutting off heads without changing her expression, or even leisurely.

One of the girls suddenly spoke up as Lang and the others eagerly pledged their loyalty, as if something had occurred to her.

"Brother Zhou, please let us stay! We can help you 'cut fruit'!"

"..."

The lobby on the first floor fell silent, and a strange look appeared on the faces of several boys.

For a moment, he was caught between continuing to speak and stopping, his expression quite interesting.

Without exception, everyone's gaze, tinged with condemnation, fell upon the girl.

Even Xu Qingning subtly shrank to the side.

Yu Wanwan: "..."

puff……

Xu Qingzhou: "..."

What the heck?

He almost lost his composure and vomited on the spot.

The girl who had spoken blushed, lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, and didn't dare to say another word.

"Pfft..."

Jiang Yiming couldn't help but laugh out loud.

As everyone looked over, he decisively placed the crystal core in his hand on the table and pushed it toward Xu Qingzhou.

"Fruit Ninja is quite fun, I've decided to join you guys. This is... um, the membership fee?"