Chapter 46: To Kill or to Save

“Ah!” Am I about to die? Du Yun felt as if the leader’s arm was about to crush her waist, the grip so tight it seemed it might snap her in two. Dizzy and disoriented, tears streamed down her face even more fiercely. Was her journey through time, which had hardly begun to shine, about to be cut short? Her budding first love, her dreams of building a prosperous life—would all of this end here? Du Yun was filled with despair, resigned to await the final moment.

The wind howled past her ears, but the pain she expected never came. Instead, she felt herself being rocked back and forth in the leader’s embrace, a sensation that made her question her own assumptions. She hesitantly cracked open one eye.

“Ah!” The moment she opened her eyes, a zombie’s claw was already swinging toward her. Terrified, she instinctively tried to dodge backward, feeling the leader’s arm tighten around her waist before yanking her out of harm’s way, narrowly avoiding the attack.

So, the leader hadn’t wanted to kill her after all—it was because a zombie had attacked. A surge of hope flared in her heart, but just as quickly she snapped back to reality, ashamed that she would even consider relying on a man’s mercy to get by.

Still, survival was the most important thing. Du Yun relaxed a little, and as the zombies charged, she found a bit of courage welling up inside her.

She still had Douzhi and her bow and arrows.

Lack of a weapon in her hand was no matter—she had Douzhi. Within a fifty-meter radius, anything could be summoned to her. A bow and arrow was certainly within reach.

In a flash, she was gripping the bow and arrow. With a zombie’s claws slashing toward her, it was impossible to nock an arrow while on the move, but wielding the bow as a club would do just as well.

Without thinking, her body moved before her mind caught up. As the leader dragged her swiftly along, she raised the bow high and brought it down hard on the zombie’s outstretched hand.

She didn’t hold back—her blow was fierce. The sturdy wooden bow cracked instantly, and the zombie’s hand hung at a twisted, unnatural angle.

The leader, who was maneuvering her out of danger, witnessed this astonishing scene. Seeing the bow suddenly appear in Du Yun’s hands, his eyes darkened slightly. This little woman in his arms certainly had many secrets she was keeping from everyone.

Crippling the zombie’s hand wasn’t enough; there were countless ways a zombie could attack. Not daring to relax for an instant, Du Yun watched as the zombie lunged forward to bite her. She swung the bow again, smashing it against the zombie’s head.

The zombie reeled and collapsed. The leader, now with a free hand, produced a short knife and, seizing the moment, slashed the zombie’s neck.

A spray of scarlet gushed forth, but the leader dodged in time, so Du Yun remained unscathed, avoiding the risk of infection. He set her down gently, but Du Yun’s waist and abdomen ached from the pressure, and her whole body felt limp and powerless from tension and exertion.

“I didn’t expect one to slip through the net,” said Dazhuang, arriving breathlessly with Skinny Monkey. They stared in surprise at the convulsing zombie on the ground.

“This one’s like the little zombies—it’s an enhanced type.” Dazhuang rushed over in three strides, finished off the zombie, and looked at its twisted hand, still shaken.

Only now did Du Yun realize why the leader hadn’t immediately engaged the zombie in a fight, but had instead kept her close. He’d been protecting her life. With her own reflexes, she might have managed an ordinary zombie, but a second-tier zombie with enhanced speed and strength was far beyond her.

Thinking this, her guard against the leader eased a little, though it did not disappear entirely.

People are strange creatures. When she first met the leader, Du Yun could trust and follow him unconditionally. But once a crack forms in that trust, it can never be completely restored.

“We’ll rest for today,” the leader said, suppressing the questions in his mind as he noticed her dazed expression. He pointed to a nearby house, telling her to go rest.

Du Yun nodded, dragging the splintered bow behind her as she stumbled inside. Her head was pounding, and she had no energy to care about anything else—she collapsed onto the kang and fell asleep.

When she woke, the moon was already high in the sky. She sat on the edge of the kang, hugging her knees, lost and uncertain.

“I wonder what Mother and the family are doing right now,” she murmured, idly sifting through the items in her storage space. When she saw the large slab of pork she’d stashed away, she suddenly sat upright.

Though she was now in a world overrun by zombies, where human order had collapsed, there were still plenty of resources left behind by society—like the little warehouse they’d visited during the day.

Her family had always struggled. Her mother wore patched, threadbare clothes. Her sister, soon to be married, had nothing but a wedding outfit and a single blanket. Her younger siblings were so malnourished their faces were sallow and thin.

“This is too good an opportunity to waste!” Du Yun slapped her thigh and leapt up from the kang. She crept to the door and listened carefully—no sounds, and not a single red dot on the mini-map to indicate zombies. She decided to make a trip to the small warehouse.

It might not be the most honorable thing to strip a zombie’s home of its goods, but at least her family would have a better life. After all, the leader and his group couldn’t take everything from the warehouse—better it benefit her.

With that thought, Du Yun slipped quietly out the door, hugging the wall as she headed toward the warehouse. The night was dark, the wind high, and there were five zombie corpses strewn across the courtyard. The setting was undeniably terrifying, but no matter how scared she was, she had to secure those supplies.

Her heart thudded in her chest as she reached the warehouse door, the darkness inside and out making her tremble.

“Go in, just go in. Everything here is ownerless now,” she whispered to herself, trying to summon courage. She glanced around; no one in sight. Taking a deep breath, she was about to push the door open when footsteps sounded behind her.

Her heart leapt into her throat. This was bad.