Chapter 8: Gifts—Fortune Favors the Bold

A female zombie let out a shriek and staggered toward Bian Changxi.

Bian Changxi took a deep breath and tilted her neck. “That slow speed, that pure, mindless expression… I almost missed it.”

Muttering to herself, she strode forward, circled to the zombie’s side, and slashed at its arm. With a metallic clang, it felt like chopping at a stone club. The impact left her arm numb, but she quickly yanked her blade back and retreated. The zombie’s arm was only cut about a third of the way through.

Her straight sword was too light—if she’d had a heavy axe, the arm would’ve come off in one blow.

The zombie, now enraged, let out an even louder roar and lurched toward her again. Bian Changxi repeated her move, striking the same wound.

That’s the problem with low-level zombies—they’re just too dumb. Even after being hit again, it didn’t adapt, just kept reaching for her. Bian Changxi hacked at its arms over and over. Several times, her blade nearly got stuck, or its long, sharp nails grazed her face, but eventually, she managed to chop off both of its claws.

Panting heavily, she shook out her aching, numb arms, keeping a safe distance from the zombie as she muttered, “Once I kill you, you’ll become the energy to unlock my farm.”

Suddenly, she sprang into action, darted behind the zombie, raised her sword high with both hands, and brought it down on the back of its neck.

The blade stuck halfway through.

The zombie staggered. Bian Changxi took the opportunity to kick it hard. It fell face-first to the ground, and the sword popped free. She pressed down on its back, pulled a backup straight blade from her thigh, and sliced into the cut at its neck. With one clean motion, the zombie’s head rolled away.

Bian Changxi stepped aside, bracing herself on her knees as she caught her breath.

Too… too weak!

Her hands were trembling so badly she could barely hold her sword. She’d overexerted herself.

A whistle sounded from the building across the street. Bian Changxi looked up to see a man on the second floor whistling at her. “Hey, girl, you’re pretty tough! Nice work!”

She shot him a cold look, noticed more people peering out, then picked up her sword and retreated inside the apartment building’s glass doors, sitting down against the wall to rest.

“So weak… With skills like this, it’s no wonder I didn’t kill a single zombie in the first month of my previous life.”

She’d always been frail. When her parents died in a plane crash, the grief overwhelmed her, and a horde of relatives descended like debt collectors to fight over the family shares. The anger and sorrow left her gravely ill. If not for Bai Heng’s careful nursing, she might never have recovered. For the past two years, she’d been plagued by illness, until she awakened her wood-type ability. The wood element’s unique, gentle energy slowly nursed her body back to health.

That was one reason she focused on cultivating the healing branch of the wood element. In fact, wood abilities could also be offensive, controlling, or plant-based, just as the other five elements had their own branches. It all depended on personal development.

She needed to awaken her wood ability as soon as possible—but who knew if she’d still be wood-type in this life?

She picked up something she’d retrieved from the zombie—the severed arm.

Rotting flesh, exposed pale bone, long, sharp nails like steel spikes, capable of piercing right into bone.

“A gift from the first victim…”

But what if it didn’t work this time? What if there were side effects?

Countless thoughts flashed through Bian Changxi’s mind, but her actions didn’t hesitate. She used the zombie’s claw to cut a gash in her left forearm. It hurt—a lot. Bright red blood welled up, and the flesh around the wound began to yellow and rot before her eyes, looking truly horrifying. Bian Changxi took a bandage from her backpack, wrapped the wound, let her sleeve fall, and sat with her knees drawn up, staring at the blank white wall.

Fortune favors the bold. Good luck never falls from the sky for no reason. To gain something, you have to take risks. If the worst happened, she was mentally prepared—she’d end things herself before it got too bad.

~~~~~~

A matte-gray motorcycle cruised steadily down the deserted street.

The low, steady rumble of the engine didn’t attract much attention. Suddenly, something up ahead caught her eye: three zombies were surrounding a convenience store, pounding the glass doors with their hammer-like fists and slamming their heavy bodies against it. No doubt, someone was trapped inside.

Bian Changxi slowed down, approaching cautiously as she observed.

They were all male zombies—probably movers or laborers before the apocalypse—big, burly, and strong. She wouldn’t stand a chance one-on-one. Still, lone zombies were hard to find, and the street was otherwise deserted. This was as good an opportunity as any.

She touched the wooden box at her waist containing the jade bracelet, then glanced at the fire axe strapped to her bike, hesitating.

The people trapped inside the convenience store heard the motorcycle and shouted in relief, “Hey, friend, help us out! We’re trapped by these three—if you can lure one or two away, we’d be so grateful!”

It was already the second day of the apocalypse. People were starting to venture out for food or to scout the situation. Bian Changxi had run into quite a few on her way from the apartment complex. The group inside looked to be four men and two women, all in their early twenties, disheveled and desperate—probably college students. The fact that they’d chosen this run-down commercial street instead of rushing to big malls or supermarkets showed they had some sense.

Bian Changxi glanced at the hammers, iron rods, and kitchen knives in their hands. Maybe they could work together.

Suddenly, one of the six called out excitedly, “Changxi, is that you? Changxi! It’s Yuwen!”

Bian Changxi frowned slightly and looked at the man. She didn’t recognize him.

“Changxi, help us! I’m Wang Yan—we’re classmates!” another girl shouted.

Bian Changxi paused. Classmates? She thought for a moment—there really was someone by that name. And “Yuwen” sounded familiar too—wasn’t that her last boyfriend, Zhang Yuwen?

After her parents’ plane crash in her senior year, the fight over the family shares brought unprecedented pressure from her relatives, especially her “dear uncle.” There were even hints of being framed for murder. She’d had to drive Bai Heng away and act like a heartbroken, reckless delinquent.

Over the past two years, she’d dated a lot of guys.

Changing boyfriends every month or two, hanging out in shady places, making herself look like a total troublemaker. Looking back, it was all so childish and absurd.

If that was Zhang Yuwen and Wang Yan, then the others must be students from S University—maybe even people she knew.

That made her even less inclined to stop. She looked away and revved up her bike.

“Changxi, don’t go! You can’t just leave us!”

“Is that really Bian Changxi?”

“She’s leaving? How could she!”

An unopened soda can flew out from the broken glass door, aimed at Bian Changxi. She tilted her head and dodged, but the clatter of the can hitting the ground caught the attention of the three zombies. They turned to look at her, and the one at the back began to shamble in her direction, drawn by the scent of fresh prey.

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