Tang Li Yue awoke to a tragedy.
It wasn't the grand kind, involving betrayal, poison, or qi deviation. She survived all that.
No, this was worse. Far worse.
She had slept on cardboard, a flattened cardboard.
The realization struck her the moment her consciousness surfaced and her cheek peeled off the rough surface with a deeply offensive scraping sound. Her entire body stiffened as she stared at the ceiling of the warehouse in complete disbelief.
For a long moment, Tang Li Yue did not move.
Then she slowly lifted a hand and touched the corner of her lips. It was wet, slightly sticky.
Her soul nearly left her body. Not only did she sleep on cardboard, apparently, she slept so well that she even drooled.
Tang Li Yue sat upright with the speed of someone escaping execution.
"This world is barbaric to fragile beauties."
Her voice echoed softly between shelves of canned goods and stacked boxes. Rows upon rows of preserved supplies surrounded her, enough to sustain several families for months, and yet none of that mattered.
She had drooled.
The former Saintess of the Tang Clan, once admired, revered and feared throughout Murim, had spent the night sleeping on flattened cardboard in a dusty warehouse like a discarded merchant.
And drooled.
She buried her face in her hands.
"This humiliation is too much."
Across from her, Sir Edmund yawned from atop a folded jacket that had apparently been arranged into a luxurious little nest for him.
Tang Li Yue looked at the cat, and then at his bedding.
Then back at the cat.
"…Life is unfair."
Sir Edmund blinked. Tang Li Yue narrowed her eyes.
Without a word, she reached into the backpack on her side and pulled out a can with an imported label and gold embossing.
It was clearly expensive, obscenely so. Any qualified poop-shoveling officer would recognize the brand.
She set it down in front of the fluffy creature enjoying a luxurious existence in the end of the world.
"Here. Premium cat food. For your spoiled, aristocratic tongue."
Sir Edmund sniffed the can and meowed, as if reluctant.
Tang Li Yue folded her arms and glared at him.
"Some of us slept on cardboard, Your Grace."
From several feet away, a low chuckle broke the morning stillness.
Tang Li Yue turned to the source of the sound and found her dezombified companion sitting on a crate.
Lu Chengran was already awake.
Of course, he was.
He sat on a wooden crate near the warehouse entrance, posture relaxed, sleeves rolled slightly above his forearms, as if this were some ordinary morning instead of the second day of the apocalypse.
He was infuriatingly composed.
Tang Li Yue squinted at this former undead.
"How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough."
"That tells me nothing."
"It tells you enough."
She clicked her tongue and stood, brushing imaginary dust from her clothes. Tang Li Yue didn't want to deal with his curt replies.
Lu Chengran watched her with quiet amusement.
He had been awake for nearly an hour, long before dawn had fully broken. He used the silence of dawn to examine his own condition. And what he discovered was impossible.
Lu Chengran had a high fever that night. For a while, he thought that the virus was coming back. Now, the fever was completely gone.
He had checked repeatedly, with a level of caution bordering on obsession. There were no signs of infection remaining or even returning. His pulse was steady and his body temperature was back to normal.
Instead, his physical state had improved beyond normal. His muscles felt denser and sharper.
Every movement carried an ease Lu Chengran had not possessed before.
His senses had heightened even more though he had already noticed that earlier. He could distinguish the faint rustle of rats somewhere in the far end of the warehouse. He could smell the metallic trace of blood long dried on concrete.
And beneath it all…
There was something else.
Something strange.
There was a current of unfamiliar force beneath his skin, coiled and dormant but undeniably present.
Lu Chengran lacked sufficient knowledge to determine what it was. It had no scientific explanation or rational framework.
But he knows it existed, only waiting for some sort of catalyst.
Lu Chengran knew exactly when it had begun. It was after he had come back from being a zombie after Tang Li Yue bit him.
The thought should have sounded absurd.
But instead, it felt like a simple fact.
Her bite had done even more than just bringing him back to life. Yet Lu Chengran said nothing.
He surmised that for now, observation was better than confrontation.
Especially since the woman in question was currently pacing in front of a shelf of instant noodles, muttering unintelligibly about the injustice of civilization collapsing before she had the opportunity to experience luxury memory foam mattresses.
"I survived assassination attempts, sect wars, and spiritual backlash only to lose to substandard sleeping arrangements."
Lu Chengran rested an elbow on his knee, an amused smirk in his lips.
He found himself thinking, with alarming seriousness, that once they secured a stable location, he should probably procure her the best bedding available.
Preferably king-sized. With proper pillows.
Tang Li Yue spun toward him suddenly, catching him off-guard.
"You're smiling," she said accusingly.
"I am not." Lu Chengran denied without effort.
"Yes, you are," Tang Li Yue insisted.
"I'm simply observing."
"That is suspicious."
He inclined his head. "You grumble quite a lot in the mornings."
She gasped in offense.
"I do not grumble. I make accurate assessments."
"Such as?"
She gestured broadly. "That humanity has failed."
Lu Chengran nodded thoughtfully.
"Hmm. Because of zombies?"
"Because I slept on cardboard." Tang Li Yue answered, deadpan.
He laughed, the sound was quiet, genuine.
And somehow, in the middle of a ruined world, it felt almost… domestic. If his subordinates had seen such a scene, they would probably claw their eyes out.
Tang Li Yue grumbled to herself, resolutely deciding to ignore the incorrigible, dezombified companion of hers.
Mostly because she couldn't really do anything about it.
To distract herself, she turned toward the warehouse inventory once more.
Tang Li Yue's eyes swept over shelves of canned food, bottled water, medicine, fuel canisters, blankets, batteries, tools. They gleamed with obvious greed.
She had already known that this place was a treasure trove. It was enough to make any apocalypse survivor weep with gratitude.
Tang Li Yue's heart broke when she thought of leaving most of it behind.
Her heart clenched, thoughts churning in her head as she went over possibilities.
Actually…she doesn't have to leave them.
She turned toward Lu Chengran.
He looked up, feeling her gaze.
Tang Li Yue clasped her hands behind her back, adopting a casual expression so artificial it fooled nobody.
"I have something to tell you."
Lu Chengran's eyes narrowed faintly.
"That sounds ominous."
"It is not."
"When people deny such things, it usually is."
Tang Li Yue ignored him.
"In the future, many people will awaken special abilities."
He said nothing, waiting for her to proceed with whatever was in her head.
She continued smoothly.
"Since I am clearly exceptional, I happened to awaken one early."
"And that would be?"
She lifted her chin, proudly, "A space ability."
Silence. Tang Li Yue waited in anticipation.
He blinked, then nodded.
"Understood."
Tang Li Yue stared, mouth agape.
"That's it?"
"What reaction were you expecting?" Lu Chengran asked, confused.
"At minimum, surprise or disbelief."
"Did you forget? You've bitten an infected man back to health. I don't think anything could top that at the moment."
Tang Li Yue pursed her lips. "That is fair."
He folded his arms.
"So, you can store things?"
She nodded.
"How much?"
"Substantial enough."
"That remains impressively vague."
She smiled sweetly.
"Details are for trusted allies."
Lu Chengran almost laughed again. In fact, it seems like he couldn't help but do so.
Tang Li Yue eyed him suspiciously.
Why was he accepting this so easily? Had he lost his sense of self-preservation when he became a zombie?
Or was he hiding something?
Oh well, Tang Li Yue thought that if he became troublesome, she could always poison him. She was the Sichuan Tang Saintess. She still knows her way around daggers and poisons even if she has the fighting power of a noodle.
Then she would toss him toward the zombie chihuahua.
Tang Li Yue felt proud of this practical contingency plan. Murim has a way of teaching efficiency.
"Since we are discussing future plans," she said, "we should leave this warehouse."
He looked around.
"Why?"
She looked at him as if he was being stupid.
"Because while this place is secure, it is no longer ideal. Too exposed. Too static. I have a farmhouse."
"A farmhouse."
"Yes."
"I'm guessing you've apocalypse-proofed it?"
She crossed her arms.
"You guessed right. You don't get a prize, though."
Lu Chengran gave her a long look. Doubtful of where her courage to be so upfront was coming from.
"Fine. I won't ask."
"Good. You're a sensible guy."
After a pause, he added, "But I would like to make a few detours."
Tang Li Yue narrowed her eyes, questioning.
"For?"
"Other warehouses."
Her heart leaped. There were more of these warehouses? What a jackpot!
She pretended to consider it.
"And perhaps…" His tone shifted. "A chance to locate some of my men."
Tang Li Yue raised her brow. And there it was, she knew there was still something more to it than just warehouses.
She seized the opening.
"What exactly do you do, Lu Chengran?" She asked curiously.
He met her gaze. This look of hers was quite similar to the fluffy creature on her lap.
Lu Chengran smiled.
"I work in logistics."
Tang Li Yue stared, and then made a face.
"That is the most evasive answer I have ever heard."
He shrugged. "It is also technically true."
She clicked her tongue.
Lu Chengran was a suspicious man. Very suspicious. But even so, he was still useful.
So, Tang Li Yue allowed it.
Preparations began quickly. Of course, she swiped the warehouse clean, not even leaving imaginary crumbs. Lu Chengran just looked on with no words to contribute. Not that he needed to.
Tang Li Yue kept her beloved vacuum cleaner she had accidentally used as a weapon and changed it to her spare baseball bat.
Similar to the first one, it was also wrapped in barbed wire.
She swung it once. The whistle through air was deeply satisfying. No heartaches there even if she ruined it.
"Excellent."
She turned to retrieve Sir Edmund.
The cat, however, had other opinions.
As she lifted him, he lashed out indignantly and swiped her wrist with a claw.
Tang Li Yue hissed.
Beads of blood welled and dropped directly onto the crumpled corpse of the zombie chihuahua.
For one terrible second, nothing happened.
But then the corpse twitched.
Tang Li Yue visibly froze, heart lurching in her throat.
Lu Chengran looked over.
The chihuahua's body jerked upright. Its limbs cracked unnaturally before straightening.
Gray flesh rippled, then darkened into sleek obsidian fur threaded with glowing red veins.
Then its eyes opened. Still red and still horrendously horrifying.
The only difference was it was even more disturbingly alert.
It stood. Very much alive.
And somehow even uglier than before.
Tang Li Yue pointed at it.
"Oh no. No, you don't."
The chihuahua barked.
The sound echoed like a tiny demon announcing its return. Tang Li Yue took three steps backward, hiding behind Lu Chengran.
"I killed you. We killed you."
It wagged its tail.
"We killed you repeatedly."
It trotted toward her. She raised the bat, threatening.
"Do not test me."
It sat at her feet.
Then sneezed. Lu Chengran rubbed his forehead.
Tang Li Yue looked at him in conviction.
"We are leaving it."
The chihuahua barked.
"We are absolutely leaving it, you hear me."
It followed when she turned.
She spun around Lu Chengran. It spun around with her.
She stopped. It also stopped.
She moved again. It followed.
Tang Li Yue looked genuinely betrayed.
"Why is this happening to me?"
Lu Chengran crouched and studied the creature.
Its condition resembled his own.
It was like a mutation. A transformation triggered by Tang Li Yue's blood that dripped on it.
Interesting and potentially valuable.
"We should take it."
Tang Li Yue stared at him, incredulous.
"Why?"
"Because it resembles what happened to me, abandoning it would be unwise."
"It is a demon in rodent form." Tang Li Yue insisted vehemently.
"It may be useful."
"It may eat us."
"It seems attached to you."
"That is not comforting."
The chihuahua barked twice, as if agreeing.
Tang Li Yue groaned.
"Ugh! Fine. But if it goes rabid, I am throwing it out."
"That's reasonable."
She muttered curses under her breath and finally stepped toward the gate.
Lu Chengran followed.
"So," he asked, "how do you propose we travel?"
Tang Li Yue smiled. It was dangerous, smug little smile.
Then she lifted one hand, waving it lightly.
A second later, a full-sized luxury RV appeared in front of the warehouse.
It was pristine and massive, but looked haphazardly armored.
The armor was obviously an afterthought addition. It looked fine but the durability remains to be seen.
It was completely absurd.
Silence swallowed the place. Even the mutated chihuahua looked impressed.
Lu Chengran stared at the vehicle and then at her, then back at the vehicle. He wondered just how much of a preparation Tang Li Yue did.
Tang Li Yue placed both hands on her hips.
"Can you drive?"
He exhaled once. Exasperated.
"Yes."
"Good."
She marched toward the passenger side.
"Then let us depart before this world becomes any more ridiculous."
Behind her, Lu Chengran opened the driver's door.
The chihuahua leapt inside after them.
Sir Edmund claimed the nearest cushioned seat like a seasoned monarch.
The muted roar of engine echoed in place, then an apocalypse convoy unlike any other left the warehouse with barely a trace of smoke.
In it was one former Saintess, a dezombified man, an aristocratic cat, and a chihuahua that simply refused to die.