Back then, Xie Dong had nothing inside his body except the energy provided by the zombie virus. Therefore, his body absorbed the energy of the lake water after being drained, and he woke up soon after.
If the vine plant hadn't removed the zombie virus from his body, and if the lake water hadn't changed his body condition, he surely wouldn't have become what he had—a zombie who looked like a human being.
Except for that bad-tempered vine plant, nobody knew about that; neither Lin Qiao, nor Xie Dong himself. Xie Dong didn't even remember how he became a zombie.
Junjun opened her mouth toward Lin Qiao, yet didn't utter any sound. However, Lin Qiao had already heard what she wanted to say. So, she wrote on the clipboard, 'I need to talk to it about that. But, to restore your bodies and voices, it will require energy. We can use energy nuclei of human beings, zombie nuclei, or those of mutant plants.'
Lin Qiao wasn't sure if the lake could heal other zombies. With that thought, she continued writing, 'I need to ask it if it can fix your voices.'
Then, she turned and flashed into her space.
…
On the other side, Lin Feng and the others had started talking about Lin Qiao's handwriting after she had left. "Yesterday when she wrote on the paper, I already felt that her handwriting was familiar," said Mrs. Lin. "Now, I think her handwriting is exactly the same as Qiao's."
Lin Wenwen nodded and said, "Not everyone can write with sharp and bold strokes like my sister. Even if that zombie was imitating, her handwriting should not be exactly the same as my sister's. But, I've been watching her the whole time just now. She wrote pretty casually, yet her handwriting was just the same as my sister's."
Lin Feng pondered for a short while, then joined the conversation, "Her vibe, her sitting posture, and her little habits are all similar to Lin Qiao's. And earlier on when I focused on her face, I found that her expressions were familiar as well. All in all, her behavior, looks, the way she talks and thinks, are all quite alike to those of Lin Qiao. What do you think, Tianxing?"
While finishing talking, he turned to look at Yuan Tianxing, who was wearing a bland look. The latter had a faint smile on his face, but his blinking eyes had told everyone else that he was considering something.
He had noticed all that was mentioned by Lin Feng and the others. He was secretly in love with Lin Qiao for years, so he surely knew almost everything about her, not to mention the fact that he was around her all these years.
However, the zombie named Lu Tianyu was so strange that he couldn't tell a thing about her.
As a zombie, she came all the way to save Lin Feng and his people. Perhaps, she did that to serve a particular purpose. But, what purpose could a zombie possibly have? Did she want to eat their flesh? Their heart? Or their energy nuclei?
If she wanted to eat them, why would she pretend to be a good one and save them?
Besides, she looked like a male yesterday. But after one single night, she turned into a female, and her appearance had changed thoroughly! That was so confusing!
…
Lin Qiao entered her space, leaving Junjun and Xie Dong in the room with the little boy. Junjun stared at Xie Dong a nervously. She had sensed something not quite good from him, something a little like the thirst for blood, and also ferocity.
However, it wasn't the kind of ferocity that a zombie could have after it had killed many human beings, but like…
Junjun couldn't explain her feeling, but Xie Dong did make her feel danger.
Both Lin Qiao and Qiu Lili had made her feel the kind of pressure from higher level beings, but unlike them, Xie Dong was a predator in her eyes.
Xie Dong knew that Junjun was nervous because of him, so he had tried his best to restrain his vibe. But, she was still afraid, and he didn't know what to do to help her.
He looked around, then sniffed at the air. After that, he walked to the door and sniffed through it.
He had sensed human beings outside, a dozen of them.
He was curious about who these people were, and why Lin Qiao and Junjun were with them. Were these people the ones that Lin Qiao had been looking for? Did they know that the ones staying in this room were all zombies? And, where did Lin Qiao find Junjun and the little boy?
Before, Lin Qiao would only act alone. But now, she was with another female zombie and a little boy.
Xie Dong also wondered where Wu Yueling had gone. Had Lin Qiao sent her back? Didn't she go to the South? Did she head back to send the little girl to her father? Or, did Chief Wu catch her?
Nothing made sense to him. If those human beings out there weren't the ones that Lin Qiao was looking for, who were they?
With lots of puzzles in his head, Xie Dong turned back to look at Junjun and Tongtong with confusion.
Why did fate always bring kids to Lin Qiao?
…
After entering the space, Lin Qiao glanced around, still not used to the changes that had happened to her space. It had become a lot bigger than before, but somehow, she felt that she wasn't able to control it.
Was she the owner of this place? Or, was she just an outsider who happened to borrow it? Was the vine plant in the lake the real owner of this space?
With that thought, she walked to the lakeside to observe the water surface. In fact, she was trying to sense the vine plant in the lake, wondering if it would help her to heal her zombie friends.
A few vines slowly showed up, as if the plant had sensed her presence, sticking out of the water while wriggling. Lin Qiao looked at them with surprise, then raised a hand to wave at them.
But then, she began struggling, because she didn't know how to communicate with these vines. She was able to communicate with human beings and zombies, yet she had never tried to talk to plants.
She felt that this vine plant was rather smart, as it had thrown the large turtle back out a couple of times.
Where was this vine plant from? Could mutant plants become conscious after the apocalypse?
Last time, Lin Qiao had felt that the vine plant was like a wilful child as it slapped the water in protest. Recalling that, Lin Qiao even wanted to laugh. Moreover, when the vine plant asked her for the kernel, it was also like a child who was begging for candy.
As Lin Qiao waved, a long vine reached out of the water toward her.
'Eh? So obedient!' Watching the vine send itself to her, Lin Qiao was quite surprised. 'How should I tell it that I want it to heal my friends too?' She took it as healing, but in fact, she felt that it was more like upgrading. After all, every time she was healed a little, she became stronger than before.
'Should I write? Can this vine read? Should I talk? Maybe. But I don't know if it can understand my language either!'
But then, Lin Qiao thought that the vine plant might prefer telepathy as a way of communication, because she had suddenly recalled that for the last two times, the vine coiled around her wrist or ankle to send messages to her brain.
It seemed that in order to communicate with it, she needed to make direct physical contact with it.