Chapter 3 The Soul is Xu Zhili from the Apocalypse
She fumbled in the corner of a tattered wicker trunk and pulled out patched but dry clothes.
When changing clothes, she was frail, the space was low, and her movements were stiff.
When she tore off the last damp cloth strip, she was exhausted and collapsed heavily onto the "bed" covered with thin straw and a tattered mattress.
She had a headache and dizziness, and drifted into a semi-comatose sleep amidst the cold and exhaustion.
In her deep sleep, her brows were furrowed and her body trembled.
Xu Zhili was startled awake by a cold touch on her face at some point.
It wasn't the putrid slime of a zombie; it was a drop of water.
She suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils contracting sharply in the dim light, a hint of abnormal crimson flashing across them.
It's not a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
There were no broken walls or howling zombies.
What comes into view is a drop of water seeping from a gray wall covered in cobweb-like cracks, cobwebs hanging from the corner of the ceiling, and the air filled with the smell of mildew, dust, and an indescribable sense of antiquity.
Beneath me was a hard, uncomfortable bed, and to my touch was patched, rough, and scratchy fabric.
"To perish together... Gu Cheng and Lin Wei..."
Xu Zhili's fragmented memories exploded with a severe headache, like red-hot irons branding her brain.
She groaned softly, her fingers digging spasmodically into the bed frame.
Then, a completely different torrent of memories, filled with despair and humiliation, swept in forcefully.
Another girl, also named Zhili, but with the surname Lin, is 16 years old.
A life that has been crushed and trampled.
"Oh…………"
A short, hoarse laugh escaped from Xu Zhili's cracked lips, carrying a chilling mockery honed by the apocalypse.
She licked her canine teeth, tasting a hint of the salty, metallic flavor of her own blood on her tongue, which inexplicably stirred a familiar, almost destructive, sense of excitement.
Suddenly, something occurred to me.
Xu Zhili pressed her fingertips against her temples, her consciousness sinking into nothingness.
The next second, her mind jolted—the mental space that had accompanied her through the apocalypse and contained countless resources was now right beside her!
The hemostatic pill appeared out of thin air in my palm, carrying the pungent smell unique to the apocalypse, a mixture of blood and disinfectant.
She swallowed it without hesitation.
The dizziness receded like the tide, replaced by a long-lost sensitivity to pain.
This body is too weak.
Her frailty irritated her.
Fragments of memory surged again, this time the original owner's mother's weary and desperate whispers, like a dull knife cutting flesh.
"Your maternal grandfather used to teach in the city. His family was upright and respected. Your father was initially an ordinary worker in a machine factory. He would always come home under the pretext of admiring our scholarly family background. He said nice things and coaxed me into marrying him."
Then things changed. For his own future, he was the first to step forward, trying to distance himself from the situation and climb the social ladder. I went from being the glamorous Mrs. Lin to a "problem" family member that everyone avoided. That was bad enough... trouble was bound to come sooner or later. But what I never expected was that he would bring that woman, Zhang Jiumei, and that burden, Lin Wanwan, into the house... without a single explanation..."
"Lin Wanwan? Ha... Just like her mother, a born viper. She pretends to be well-behaved on the surface, but behind the scenes... those humiliations... Your father? He doesn't care about my reputation for his own future. My little pear, Mom is leaving soon. Take care."
That night, she was taken away and never returned.
It wasn't until much later that I learned that my maternal grandfather's family had also suffered a misfortune and had been sent to a very far place.
The original owner finally graduated from high school and got a job in the office of a machinery factory. Lin Wanwan schemed against the original owner to grab a spot... and even jumped into the river... 'suicide'...
"Suicide?"
Xu Zhili sneered, a chilling glint flashing in her crimson eyes.
Jump into the river?
No.
This is murder.
A meticulously planned murder disguised as a "suicide".
Lin Wanwan's seemingly pitiful face was twisted into a greedy and vicious ghost face in the original owner's memory.
she--
Xu Zhili —
Having lived through forty years of the apocalypse, the harsh realities of survival had hardened her to a cold and hardened state.
The bloody image of her mother being devoured by zombies became her eternal nightmare and completely reshaped her soul.
What kindness?
What naivety?
She had already buried those betrayals—those who stabbed someone in the back for half a moldy cookie, those who pushed someone into a horde of zombies for half a pot of dirty water—with her own hands.
She was once a delicate pear blossom in a greenhouse, but in dire straits, she transformed into a thorny bramble, clinging only to survive.
Vigilance is her armor, and counterattack is a law etched into her bones.
"If someone offends me..."
Xu Zhili slowly raised her bandaged wrist, facing the dim light of the kerosene lamp, her five fingers slowly tightening as if to crush an invisible throat, her voice as soft as a viper's hiss, "...I will make them pay a hundredfold."
She was tired of it, really tired of it.
At the time of the explosion, she thought she was finally free.
But this damned fate stuffed her into this frail body and threw her into this even more suffocating cage full of disguises!
No zombies?
It doesn't matter.
The "people" in this house were more...almost alarming to her than the zombies.
"Squeak—"
The jarring sound of the old wooden door being pushed open shattered the deathly silence inside.
A deliberately soft, yet undeniably hypocritical and sarcastic female voice came through, carrying a nauseating "concern".
“Xiao Li? Still lying in bed? It’s already dawn, time to get up and get to work. Ugh, what’s that smell in the room… Wanwan, go check on your sister, is she feeling unwell again? That child, really, losing her job is one thing, but why is she thinking of suicide? She’s bringing shame to your father…”
Zhang Jiumei's voice came closer, accompanied by another voice that was deliberately delicate and tinged with tears:
"Mom! Don't say anymore! My sister... she must be so sad... Zhili, don't be afraid, I... I know you're upset, but we can't do anything foolish! Look at you... Ah—!!!"
Lin Wanwan appeared at the door. She was wearing a brand-new floral shirt, her hair was neatly combed, and the worry and tear stains on her face were deliberately displayed. But when she saw Xu Zhili sitting on the bed, she froze instantly and twisted into extreme horror.
What did she see?
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Xu Zhili's slender figure exuded a chilling aura in the dim light.
Those eyes… those eyes were astonishingly bright, like an abyss frozen solid, staring straight at her.
The strips of cloth wrapped around his wrists didn't convey weakness; instead, they exuded a chilling...calmness?
No, it's the stillness before the storm, the focused concentration of a predator locking onto its prey.
What terrified her even more was that Xu Zhili's lips slowly and eerily curled upwards.
That wasn't a smile.
That was a declaration.
A warning from the abyss, the chilling... interest felt upon seeing an "old friend".
Xu Zhili tilted her head, her scarlet pupils locking onto the stunned "sister" at the door. Her voice was hoarse, yet it pierced the oppressive morning air clearly, each word like an icicle striking the heart:
Good morning, dear... sister.
She slowly stood up, her movements carrying a strange fluidity, as if a dormant power was awakening, her bones emitting a faint cracking sound.
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