CH 7

Hao Jian walked carefully towards her home with Lian Ru Ning. Along the way, they also spotted some people hiding in their houses while looking at her through their windows. Not only did they not make a sound, they also hurriedly closed the windows.

After arriving home without accident, Hao Jian took a careful look in the yard before closing the door of the yard. She locked the door from the inside so she isn’t worried about zombies breaking into her home.

Walking all the way from the village entrance, Lian Ru Ning felt like she was underwater, heavily breathing. When she got into Hao Jian’s house, she finally let her guard down and catch her breath at the same time.

“The owner of the car you were talking about is that guy named Hao Fang?” Lian Ru Ning suddenly asked.

“Yeah.” Hao Jian had no intention of hiding it.

Lian Ru Ning wanted to ask something but had no idea how to. From Hao Jian’s attitude, she clearly knows about the village situation, but why didn’t she notify the others in the village?

She wasn’t her mother but she had a feeling that Hao Jian was not the kind of person who wouldn’t save those in need. She was had become quite interested in this stranger.

“You’re probably thinking that I’m not the kind of person who wouldn’t save those in need. Why don’t you try informing the people in this remote village that Hao Fang turned into a zombie?” Hao Jian blinked before going to kitchen and use the kettle to boil water.

When she tried to use the kettle, she realized that the electricity in her house was still uninterrupted. She felt that the power supply bureau was different from the communications bureau that there is still flowing electricity despite the chaotic times. She also didn’t want to experience a sudden power failure during live broadcasting while playing and scolded people multiple times in her heart.

“Uncle of the power supply bureau, you have to stay strong, don’t lose your momentum during these hard days like the network department!” Hao Jian prayed in her heart this nonsense that would only be useful when playing games.

Lian Ru Ning stared at Hao Jian strangely after hearing her complaints. Hao Jian is like a roundworm, she tries so hard to hide something but still fail in hiding it.

“In the present, there are TVs at home and the messaging apps in mobile phones are also advancing with the times. People living in this village aren’t isolated from the world. Though the news they receive are better than mine.” Hao Jian said.

People like her who don’t rely on TV and the Internet will eventually live in isolation. People in this village don’t have much for entertainment. They watch TV every day and don’t miss the broadcasting news. Those who hide in the house and run away when they see her, aren’t they the ones who are innocent?!

In this case, if it weren’t for the system’s reminder, she would’ve been the one who should be bitten by the zombie. Though it’s important to escape in the morning, how can she not think about it?

When Hao Jian mentioned it, Lian Ru Ning remembered the news she received from her mobile phone then suddenly became a little worried,

I don’t know how my parents and Ru Meng and Ru Ji are doing.

Hao Jian took out the tea leaves from her hiking bag, took out a bowl and made a bowl of tea for Lian Ru Ning. Lian Ru Ning looked at the porcelain bowl, a little surprised then gave Hao Jian a weird look.

“Except for my cup, there are no other cups intended for guests in the house.” Hao Jian added with a smile.

Lian Ru Ning looked around the house and realized that it was so empty. Since they went inside the empty hose, she wondered if it was really Hao Jian’s home.

But she quickly thought about the conversation Hao Jian had with the village uncle and the information she obtained from Hao Jian when she came over. Hao Jian must have rarely come here often, she isn’t that familiar with the people in the village and she mentioned about her paying respects. Her mother probably passed away.

“Thank you.” Lian Ru Ning wasn’t picky. When the tea got cooler, she took a big gulp to quench her thirst.

Hao Jian then boiled the instant noodles she brought. She looked at Lian Ru Ning and resigned herself to cooking Lian Ru Ning’s portion of the instant noodles. She doesn’t think that there is enough food left for her to be picky about.

Lian Ru Ning knew that there was nothing left to eat in her back back during these hard times. It was a bust. She thought for a while, took out a stone from her backpack and handed it to Hao Jian.

Hao Jian took a look at the stone and found that it had a two-centimeter diameter with a small sculpture that looked a little bit like a lucky cat. It had no traces of carving.

“I picked it up during our geological survey. I think the natural shaping is beautiful so I brought it back.” Lian Ru Ning said while showing that the stone had a natural appearance and that it wasn’t carved.

“This is a natural gift. Wouldn’t it be too bad to exchange this for a bowl of instant noodles?” Hao Jian asked with a smile.

“You can have it if you like.”

Hao Jian kept the stone and went upstairs with Lian Ru Ning once the instant noodles were cooked. She didn’t bother to turn on the lights and Lian Ru Ning didn’t care. She asked if she could borrow a place where she could charge her phone. She couldn’t wait to contact her parents but she still couldn’t get in touch that continued to make her a little anxious.

There was some noise behind the house, Lian Ru Ning’s heart would always be on edge as she shrank up and listened to the movement. Halfway through the cold bath, Hao Jian heard the said movement and came out. The two met eye-to-eye and without talking, came to a tacit understanding.

The noise gradually disappeared. Hao Jian made sure that there were no more movements before turning to Lian Ru Ning, “I’m tired already. Go and take a bath, I’ll keep a lookout for you.”

Lian Ru Ning was still on edge so she carefully went inside the bathroom. She did not dare to turn on the lights nor did she date to make a lot of noise so, she quickly and quietly washed her body and came out.

Hao Jian was using her laptop to serve as the light source of the room, she had no plans to use the light in the room that would reflect to the outside. Lian Ru Ning didn’t really understand why Hao Jian didn’t turn on the lights, a lot of people saw them when they came from the village entrance after all.

“Sleep with me for the night?” Hao Jian gave some space on the bed.

Lian Ru Ning thought that there should be no other beds in the room and she didn’t have the courage to sleep alone this time, so she thanked Hao Jian softly and sat down by the bed. Her mind was still a mess and she had many questions that haven’t been solved. She wanted to ask but she doesn’t know if Hao Jian would have the answers.

Thinking about it, everything had to wait until they could leave tomorrow and look outside to figure it out. Even if she was in a hurry, it would still be useless. In order to relieve the anxiety in her heart, she asked Hao Jian to borrow the light coming from the laptop, she took out a book from her bag and began to read.

Hao Jian admired her assiduous behavior, focused on her reading while stealing the light. After girls who study in geological schools are used to hard conditions.

” ‘The Little Wife of the Domineering President’s Family’. . . What is that?” Hao Jian muttered as she saw the book cover on the back through the faint light, suddenly realizing that she was looking too hard.

Lian Ru Ning was reaching the climax in the story when she felt Hao Jian’s intense stare. She looked at her and asked in a low voice, “What’s the matter?”

“Don’t read too late.” Hao Jian shook her head and turned around to rest.

She seemed to understand why Lian Ru Ning was chosen to be the partner the system wants to bind her to, it was because Lian Ru Ning had the same interests and hobbies as those who programmed the system.

Lian Ru Ning slept uncomfortably, she dreamt that she was being chased by people endlessly.

All of a sudden, her original body felt something, forcing her to break free from her dream. As she slightly opened her eyes, she saw Hao Jian, who was next to her, tiptoeing off the bed.

Her heart started to beat faster as she saw Hao Jian inching closer. She didn’t know what she was going to do, so she could only watch her actions quietly.

Hao Jian went over Lian Ru Ning and walked to the window before returning to the bed, ‘waking up’ Lian Ru Ning.

Just as she was about to talk, Hao Jian whispered a ‘hush’ and said, “You hide in the empty room next door and don’t make a sound.”

Lian Ru Ning’s heart jumped wildly and asked quietly, “Are there zombies?”

The two deliberately lowered their voices, and their words floated out like the wind. While Lian Ru Ning was whispering in Hao Jian’s ears, Lian Ru Ning’s breath tickled her ears, making her to feel a little uncomfortable itch.

“Someone came in over the wall and was planning to pick the lock.” Fortunately, Hao Jian was very vigilant and locked the main door long ago. The windows on the first floor were closed and only the window in their room was opened for ventilation.

Lian Ru Ning was on the edge upon knowing that there was an enemy already. Following Hao Jian’s instructions, she went to the next room that was in the dark, but she opened a little gap to observe the movement outside.

Hao Jian was holding a flashlight as she went down to the first floor, and through the window, she was a tiger-backed strange person standing by the window while peeping. If she hadn’t prepared and was used to these kinds of scare while playing gamed, she would definitely be scared to death.

Fortunately, she didn’t bring Lian Ru Ning down with her, otherwise she would not be able to remain calm and silent like Hao Jian.

Hao Jian already knew who the man was. Silence echoed the room for a long time until the man outside grabbed the anti-theft net on the window, knocking and pounding it. Hao Jian had no plans to open the window, but seeing that she had no intentions of doing so, the man called out, “Hao Jian!”

“Uncle Hao Quan.” Hao Jian didn’t remember his name at first, thankfully the uncle village they met earlier reminded her.

“You’re at home, open the door for me!”

“Uncle Hao Quan, it’s already late at night, what is this for?” Hao Jian looked at the lock on the door and found that it had been broken. Fortunately, the upper and lower door bolts and ground locks were still fine. It seems that Hao Quan has also learned the unlocking technique from the aunt of the house next door.

“You open the door and I’ll tell you, I can’t tell you through this thing!” Hao Quan was also starting to calm down.

Hao Jian shook her head, “It’s not appropriate for us to be alone. Besides, why can’t you just say it tomorrow?”

Hao Quan saw that she was determined to not open the door and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t dismantle the anti-theft net with his bare hands. Once Hao Jian became suspicious, she took out a knife, Hao Quan realized that we will lose more than what he can gain if he continued.

Before leaving unwillingly, he looked back and left another sentence, “Then I will come back tomorrow, I need to tell you something important!”

Hao Quan’s movements when climbing over the wall when he left were very nimble, and it seems that he was quite experienced when climbing walls of the house next door. However, Hao Jian wasn’t too interested in how many walls he had climbed. She turned off the flashlight and returned upstairs, staring at the disappearing figure for a while.

Lain Ru Ning came out a few minutes after Hao Jian came upstairs. She returned to Hao Jian’s room and saw her lying back on the bed.

“What’s the situation?” Any movement in the dark night is amplified so Lian Ru Ning also heard the conversation between Hao Jian and Hao Quan.

“He wants to pull me together with him and die.” Hao Jian lightly responded.

Lian Ru Ning shuddered immediately. Hao Jian’s words were light and calm, but the meaning of those words were also very obvious; Hao Quan knew that he was infected so he was going to harm Hao Jian!

“He is. . .” Why? Figure how?

Hao Jian pulled her back to the bed saying, “While it’s still early, take a break.” In the future, she will have to strengthen her nerves at any time, or she will be feel unstable when she sleeps.

Lian Ru Ning laid back, but the knot in her heart remained unsolved and she couldn’t sleep for the night.

When Hao Jian saw that she wasn’t sleeping well, she explained, “My zombie neighbor was released by Hao Quan. I was at the scene at the time.”

“So he won’t give up, what should I do if he comes over tomorrow?” Lian Ru Ning had even more trouble sleeping.

“We’ll just squat in the corner. We’ll get caught by him if we went out now.” Hao Jian sneered, “Once bitten, the zombie virus will have different zombification rates according to the physique of each person. It’s basically between 12 to 48 hours. It has been 17 hours since he was bitten and I have seen symptoms of nausea. According to the appearance of the first symptom of zombification, the time of the other symptoms appear will only decrease. In less than six or seven hours, he will become a complete zombie.”

Sometimes, a powerful zombie is better to deal with than an unarmed human.