PSW - Chapter 61
Chapter 61
"If you don't eat soon, they'll get cold." Zheng Yi sat down with the dumplings. The moment she moved, Yu Yinan withdrew her gaze and looked down at the dumplings in her bowl. But Zheng Yi wouldn't let her off, teasing deliberately, "Jiejie, can you get full just by looking at them now?"
"I'm eating." Yu Yinan picked up a dumpling. The thin-skinned dumpling revealed its soupy filling with just a slight poke of her chopsticks, and the aroma instantly intensified to its peak. Yu Yinan rolled the dumpling in the dipping sauce, blew on it gently, and once it had cooled slightly, took a bite, filling her mouth.
She actually hadn't been fond of dumplings before the apocalypse. She had eaten too many frozen dumplings for too long. If you eat too much of something for a period of time, for all three meals, with no other choice, it becomes a form of torture even before the apocalypse. At that time, she really had no choice—either eat or go hungry. She could only force herself to eat them, since no one cared if she lived or died.
But this time… The rich juices and meat filling mingled in her mouth. The dumpling skin was thin and tender, practically melting on her tongue, leaving only the substantial filling behind. The beef and green onion inside were so fragrant you'd want to swallow your own tongue. And that wasn't all. What amazed Yu Yinan the most was the pickled cabbage and pork dumpling. The pickled cabbage and pork were perfectly integrated—the pork was tender, the cabbage sweet and sour. After a dip in the chili oil, Yu Yinan felt like she could eat three more large bowls. The assorted mushroom dumpling was all about umami. The complex mushroom flavors blended perfectly in the filling. Though it was purely vegetarian, Yu Yinan could have sworn she tasted a hint of meat. After she swallowed, the savory fragrance lingered on her tongue, even leaving a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Could dumplings actually be this delicious?
Yu Yinan had thought she wouldn't be able to finish fifteen dumplings, but it was only after she'd eaten all of them that she belatedly felt full. She put down her chopsticks, too embarrassed to rub her stomach next to Zheng Yi.
Zheng Yi sprinkled some seaweed into the original dumpling broth, added a bit of seasoning, and served a bowl to Yu Yinan. "The original broth helps digest the original food."
Yu Yinan froze, frowning in a bind. She looked at Zheng Yi, only to see Zheng Yi smiling back at her.
Seeing that smile, Yu Yinan guessed that Zheng Yi was interested in her reaction. She shifted her gaze away slightly and picked up the bowl with both hands. "I'm very full. I can't drink much." She said it frankly; perhaps it wasn't something that needed to be hidden anyway. After speaking, Yu Yinan lifted the bowl and took a sip. The hot dumpling broth, mixed with seaweed and properly seasoned, was naturally a delicious seaweed soup.
"Can I drink the rest later?"
"Why are you asking me? Jiejie can decide for herself," Zheng Yi said with a smile. She poured half a bowl for herself and quickly finished it. The rest was still in the pot. "If you want to drink it later, Jiejie, remember to heat it up yourself."
"Okay," Yu Yinan replied obediently. She sat for a while before she couldn't resist standing up and walking slowly around the dumpling shop.
"Zheng Yi, the zombies… there seem to be fewer of them." Yu Yinan had been thinking about this for a long time and finally voiced it. "We cleared out Pujie, so it's normal not to see any zombies there. But here… there are no signs of it being cleared, yet we didn't encounter anything unusual on our way."
It felt less like a zombie apocalypse and more like an extinction-level one.
"Is it that strange?" Zheng Yi glanced at Yu Yinan and said nonchalantly, "The zombies got rained on, so they grew brains."
"Grew brains?" The rain made the zombies evolve again?
Right, if zombies really gained intelligence, they naturally wouldn't wander the streets like walking corpses, throwing their lives away and stupidly chasing after any human they saw. Then humans wouldn't… no, they probably shouldn't worry too much. Even if they evolved, it should only be a small portion of them. The rain was fair; humans got rained on too. The possibility of zombies evolving… probably wasn't that high.
"Will a zombie king appear?" Yu Yinan was a little curious. "Elite zombies, common zombies… could there also be lord-level zombies? Will they build a city of zombies?" Yu Yinan's thoughts were racing. She quickly thought of the mutated plants and beasts and grew increasingly worried about humanity's future. Living in harmony with nature… all the natural creatures had mutated. It would be difficult for humanity to achieve peace.
The temporary disappearance of threats like zombies might just be the beginning of the real danger.
Just then, Yu Yinan suddenly had a thought. "Hangnu has a large wildlife park! With so many animals, some of them must have mutated."
"A zoo?" Zheng Yi nodded. She had Yu Yinan open the atlas and studied the map of Hangnu carefully. "Let's rest for today. We'll go check out the zoo tomorrow."
"There's also an ocean park and an amusement park here? We could check them out one by one."
"Okay!" Faced with Zheng Yi's suggestions, Yu Yinan seemed unable to say anything but "okay." The ocean park… the inside shouldn't have been contaminated by the rain. But those creatures starving for four months in the apocalypse… maybe not many of them would have survived.
Still, they should take a look. They also didn't know where the survivors in Hangnu might have gathered. Thinking of this, Yu Yinan stopped her walk and went straight back to the table. She opened the atlas, took out a pen and paper, and carefully located the local colleges and universities in Hangnu. She pulled out a sheet of paper and meticulously copied the map of Hangnu, marking each location on her hand-drawn version. She also noted the locations of large companies with employee dormitories, as those could potentially be strongholds.
Practice must make perfect. Yu Yinan's efficiency at drawing maps was getting better and better. No matter the map, she could grasp the general layout with just a glance.
Besides her fire ability, it seemed Yu Yinan had awakened a pretty good map-reading and auto-navigation function.
In less than two hours, Yu Yinan had completely drawn the map of Hangnu, marked the key areas, and planned out several routes for Zheng Yi to explore the city as much as possible while ensuring they reached their destinations the next day.
When the sky grew dark and night fell, Zheng Yi shortened the table legs, pushed the tables together, and took out a bedsheet to spread over them. Then, she laid a thick winter down duvet on top of the sheet. A simple, large bed was assembled.
The bedsheet and duvet could be stuffed directly into the car's trunk, making them convenient for next time.
The dumpling shop had a passageway in the back kitchen with a bathroom inside. Further back was a rear door, but it was usually kept closed. Zheng Yi used her ability to take a quick, cold shower in the bathroom. Then, she took out a plastic bucket, placed it on the floor, and filled it with water for Yu Yinan, telling her to use her own ability to heat it and give herself a simple wipe-down.
"Zheng Yi, won't you catch a cold taking a cold shower?" Although it had warmed up, it probably wasn't warm enough to… shower with cold water, right? Yu Yinan changed into clean clothes and sat on the simple bed. If nothing else, the down duvet was truly soft. With it as padding, the tabletops weren't so uncomfortable.
"How could an Ability User catch a cold?" Zheng Yi lay down on the bed. Hearing this, she rolled over to face Yu Yinan. "Or is it that Jiejie wants to shower with me?"
"…" Having just showered, Yu Yinan turned visibly red. She gave Zheng Yi a deep look before finally lying down on the bed, turning on her side to face her. After leaving the shelter, Zheng Yi seemed to enjoy teasing her more and more.
Maybe it was because they were alone, with no one else around?
Yu Yinan thought that it might also be because she had killed someone—killed Yu Yaozu. Perhaps… Zheng Yi was very satisfied with her transformation, or maybe she just found her more pleasing to the eye now. In any case, Zheng Yi now had the spare energy to tease her a little and watch her flustered, shy reactions.
She really was hopeless. She knew this was Zheng Yi's wicked sense of humor, and that every time Zheng Yi called her "Jiejie" it was filled with a teasing, playful tone, but she… she couldn't control her reaction at all.
It was as if she had gotten used to it, as if it had become instinct.
Clearly, she already knew Zheng Yi's true nature. This was all just an act, a facade she deliberately put on.
Yu Yinan didn't know that sometimes, the more you try to define and see a person clearly, the blurrier they become.
"Why aren't you answering me, Jiejie?"
"…Jiejie is sleepy." Yu Yinan didn't know what possessed her to suddenly give that reply. A white candle was still lit in the shop, and by its light, she could even see the flutter of Zheng Yi's eyelashes as she was about to blink.
Zheng Yi didn't say anything more, just watched her with those dark, glossy eyes. Her pupils were like ink or jade, shimmering with a faint light, reminding Yu Yinan of stars reflected on a lake at night—she could try to scoop them up, but she would never be able to touch them.
Yu Yinan's mood suddenly calmed, and she even felt a pleasant sense of tranquility. She and Zheng Yi lay on the same bed in the candlelight, not touching at all, just looking at each other like this.
As she watched, she couldn't help but move a little closer, and she saw the fine, tiny hairs on Zheng Yi's cheeks in the candlelight. She remembered Zheng Yi's age again, recalling that Zheng Yi was still in university when the apocalypse began. Yu Yinan still believed Zheng Yi when she said she hadn't lied about her background. So, was this Zheng Yi's true nature, only revealed now that she could shed her disguise in the apocalypse?
For Zheng Yi, the arrival of the apocalypse must have brought her a lot of fun.
Zheng Yi's expression was gentle right now, a familiar look from the two months Yu Yinan had spent with her. She wasn't apathetic, her features slack as if she had lost all desire.
Yu Yinan's gaze shifted down to the tip of Zheng Yi's nose, and she remembered the soft, gentle feeling of it brushing against her cheek when Zheng Yi was being coquettish.
These thin lips were accustomed to telling lies; coquettish words and gentle words all came from this mouth. But when she pressed them together, there was always an intimidating air about her. Even with a gentle smile, she could present two completely different, extreme faces. Staring at those lips, Yu Yinan recalled the few kisses they had shared. No matter how well Zheng Yi disguised herself or teased her, those lips were always soft.
Even when stained with blood and carrying the heavy scent of it, they were soft. Looking back, they were even a little sweet. Oh, but perhaps there were sour moments, too.
Yu Yinan looked at her, her eyes meeting that pair of pupils again, and suddenly thought: Zheng Yi is a beauty.
"What are you thinking about, Jiejie? You're so captivated." Zheng Yi's sweet, coquettish voice sounded by Yu Yinan's ear. Yu Yinan looked over and could see the smile that didn't reach Zheng Yi's eyes and the slight curve of her lips. Those thin lips parted slightly. "Jiejie, you're so close to me… I'm afraid you're about to kiss me~"
"…" Yu Yinan's heart began to pound violently again, as if regretting that it hadn't been cut out last time, now determined to leap right onto Zheng Yi's face.
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