Into The Sea

“We’re out of gas again.”

“What do we do now?” Lan Wu glanced ahead at the abandoned cars scattered across the wide overpass, then back at the silent, undulating town standing in the pitch-black night. “There’s no place to rest here either.”

Ji Lingyue fanned herself with her hand. “We’re only a few hours away from Huaguang City. My home is there. If we walk…”

“Nope,” Lan Wu said warily. “Don’t even think about it. I’m not walking that far.”

“I wasn’t suggesting we walk now. Besides, I’m tired too.” She twisted her neck wearily. “I’ve been the one driving and riding this whole time. You’ve just been sitting there and you didn’t help at all.”

Lan Wu didn’t like that. “If I’m so useless, why are you dragging me along?”

Ji Lingyue glanced at her. “Because you’re cute.”

“I knew it! You…” Lan Wu started fiercely, then stopped, confused. “Wait, what did you say?”

Ji Lingyue walked over to an abandoned car and peered inside through the window. “What did I say?”

Lan Wu hurried after her. “What did you just say about me?”

The girl looked up blankly, stared at her for a few seconds, then smiled. “I said you’re cute.”

Visibly, the vampire puffed up with pride. Before she could gloat, Ji Lingyue added, “Since you’re so cute, can you help me open the car door?”

“Is that all?” Lan Wu strode forward, chest puffed out. She grabbed the car door and ripped it off with a snap. “Anything else you need? Just ask.”

“Can you keep watch while I sleep in the car?”

“Of course.”

Ji Lingyue smiled slightly and climbed into the back seat. “Thank you, cute vampire lady.”

Lan Wu plopped down by the car door, crossing her arms with a satisfied air. “You’re welcome.”

Ji Lingyue glanced at her back, amused, then lay down, curling up and slowly closing her eyes.

Soon, the empty overpass fell silent again. Lan Wu sat upright, her red eyes glowing like tiny light bulbs, scanning the surroundings with sharp vigilance.

Gradually, the softly glowing moon was obscured by thick clouds. The parked cars nearby resembled slumbering metal monsters in the darkness, their empty windows radiating a chilling, dangerous aura.

Lan Wu narrowed her eyes and yawned sleepily.

“Haaa…”

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. She slapped her cheeks, struggling to stay awake, and stared blankly at the dark night beyond the overpass. A pale hand suddenly reached up from below, gripping the metal railing.

Lan Wu: !

Startled, she gaped at the hand, wondering if she was hallucinating. Soon, another hand appeared, and the owner used their strength to pull themselves up from below, kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath.

Lan Wu: …This overpass is at least twenty meters high, right?

Finally, the person caught their breath and wearily looked up.

A pair of red eyes stared straight at her.

“…”

After a long, awkward silence, Lan Wu shifted uncomfortably and ventured, “Hello, are you a vampire?”

The girl frowned. “Are you a vampire?”

“Of course.” Lan Wu examined her closely and noticed someone clinging to her back, making her appear taller. “What’s wrong with her?”

The girl hesitated, then snapped, “None of your business!”

Lan Wu sniffed the air. “She’s human, isn’t she? Is she your food? I smell blood…”

Suddenly, the vampire lunged forward with incredible speed. Before Lan Wu could react, she heard a rustling sound behind her, and a hand landed on her shoulder.

Bang!

A silver bullet pierced the girl’s leg. Ji Lingyue lowered her gun, her expression cold, and aimed it at the vampire’s head. “Be polite, or I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

The gunshot still ringing in her ears, Lan Wu turned to look at the person leaning on her shoulder, dumbfounded. “When did you wake up?”

“When you said the first sentence.”

The girl, sweating and in pain, gritted her teeth. “Are you a vampire hunter?”

“I’m not.” Ji Lingyue gestured with her chin. “Didn’t you want to ask her questions? Go ahead.”

Lan Wu was taken aback. “You shot her because of that?”

Ji Lingyue frowned. “What else? Wait for her to pounce on you?”

Wow… she did it to protect me!

Lan Wu blinked, her heart fluttering. She bashfully said, “You… you’re actually pretty nice.”

Ji Lingyue: ?

Under her puzzled gaze, Lan Wu leaped out of the car, only to see the vampire flinch and shield the person behind her. Lan Wu stopped, surprised. “You don’t think I’m going to hurt her, do you?”

“What else am I supposed to think? I’m a vampire; I know how vampires are!”

Lan Wu was even more astonished. “But isn’t she your food?”

“She’s not my food. She’s my best friend.”

“A vampire being friends with a human?” Lan Wu said in disbelief. “You’re the first one I’ve ever met.”

The other vampire snorted. “You’re also the first vampire I’ve met who’s friends with a vampire hunter.”

“Vampire hunter? You mean her? Ah, no, no. She’s not. And we’re not friends, we’re… we’re…”

Lan Wu stumbled over her words, glancing back at Ji Lingyue, who leaned against the doorframe, raising an eyebrow with a teasing smile. “What are we?”

Lan Wu blinked and said, “Master and servant, that’s right! I’m the master, and she’s my blood slave.”

Ji Lingyue was speechless.

She narrowed her eyes, about to utter a word that felt like a curse, but Lan Wu quickly wrapped her arms around her waist, whispering, “Please, just give me some face, okay?”

Ji Lingyue paused, then crossed her arms. “Yes, we’re master and servant.”

Lan Wu sighed in relief, she turned back, speaking with newfound confidence. “See? I’m not hungry, and I have plenty to eat. Why would I hurt your friend? Besides, I’m a friendly vampire. I never bite anyone randomly. Tell me what happened to your friend. Maybe I can help.”

The girl clearly didn’t believe her, still shielding the person behind her. Ji Lingyue sighed and jumped out of the car. “Let’s get the bullet out first. I have a first aid kit. If your friend is injured, I can help bandage her.”

“No, don’t come any clo-“

“Yao Zhu…” A weak voice spoke from behind her. “They don’t seem malicious. Don’t be so tense.”

The girl, Yao Zhu, froze and looked back in surprise. “You’re awake? When did you wake up? Are you thirsty? Hungry? Does it still hurt?”

“I’m okay…”

Ji Lingyue stepped forward with the first-aid kit. “Where are you hurt? Let me see.”

Yao Zhu glanced at her quickly, hesitated, and then moved aside. “Her head hit something while we were running. She has a big gash.”

Ji Lingyue squatted down to examine the wound, opening the first-aid kit. “Where did you come from?”

“Huaguang City.”

Ji Lingyue froze. “Huaguang City?”

Lan Wu also reacted. “Huaguang City? Hey, isn’t that your home?”

“It is.”

“What, are you going to Huaguang City?” Yao Zhu frowned, scanning them. She shook her head. “I wouldn’t. It’s a zombie nest. Vampires can come and go as they please, of course, but for humans… I’d advise you to stay away.”

Ji Lingyue’s lips tightened, and she said nothing as she cleaned the girl’s wound. Lan Wu stood there, anxious, glancing at Ji Lingyue’s back. “What about the people there…”

“What people? Even if there were any, they’d be dead by now. I barely managed to escape with Xuan Yu. As for ordinary people…” She suddenly stopped as the person beside her grabbed her wrist. Xuan Yu’s face was pale. “Yao Zhu, stop.”

Yao Zhu paused, her gaze falling on Ji Lingyue. She obediently shut her mouth.

In the dark night, only the girl’s pained whimpers could be heard until the wound was bandaged. Ji Lingyue didn’t say a word. Lan Wu watched her pack up the first-aid kit, biting her lip, feeling a strange sense of frustration for the first time.

After the bullet was removed from her leg, Yao Zhu tested her leg and re-shouldered Xuan Yu. “Thank you.”

Ji Lingyue replied indifferently, “No need.”

“We’re going to keep heading south. You…” She hesitated. “You should go south too. There are too many zombies to the north.”

Ji Lingyue didn’t commit to anything. “I’ll consider it.”

Yao Zhu opened her mouth, as if to say something more, but then swallowed it down. She adjusted Xuan Yu on her back and limped off into the darkness.

Soon, only the two of them remained.

The wind howled. Ji Lingyue silently climbed back into the car, using her arm as a pillow and curling up into a ball.

Lan Wu stood outside the car, restless. “Hey,” she said tentatively.

The girl didn’t answer, only showing her back.

Just then, a raindrop landed on Lan Wu’s nose. She looked up at the sky, only to be met with more rain. She quickly squeezed into the cramped car, pressing against Ji Lingyue.

“Get out.”

“It’s raining. I’m not getting out.”

She scooted closer to Ji Lingyue, carefully pressing against her back. As if to confirm her words, the rain intensified, crashing down like a waterfall, splashing water everywhere.

Lan Wu instinctively curled up, hesitating before asking softly, “Are you sleepy again?”

“No.”

Lan Wu nodded, staring at the back of her head, finally mustering the courage to say. “You… don’t have to be sad. Maybe your mom is okay. Maybe Yao Zhu was exaggerating, and the situation in Huaguang City isn’t that bad…”

Ji Lingyue cut her off. “You don’t have to comfort me. I’m not sad.”

“How can you not be sad?”

“I’m really not sad because I…” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I already knew my mom was dead.”

Lan Wu was speechless.

Now it was Lan Wu’s turn to be dumbfounded. “What?”

The girl’s voice was hoarse. “When the virus broke out, I was on the phone with her. I heard… the sounds on her end.”

Lan Wu stared at her blankly.

“”I heard it, but… I could only listen.” Ji Lingyue bit her lip, wiping away a tear, her voice turning cold. “So, I already knew she couldn’t still be alive, that she couldn’t be waiting for me to come home.”

Lan Wu frowned. “Then why are you going home?”

“Maybe because I don’t want her to be like that,” Ji Lingyue whispered. “Like a walking corpse, wandering the streets, never finding peace.”

A bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the world for a brief moment. The girl sighed, turning over in the pouring rain, her thin body almost entirely buried in Lan Wu’s arms. “So I have to go home. I have to find her, and then… and then…”

Lan Wu’s eyelashes fluttered. “Kill her.”

The girl in her arms trembled, clutching her waist tightly, a muffled sob escaping her throat. Lan Wu suddenly understood something and hugged her. “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid.”

Ji Lingyue choked out, “What if I can’t find her? What if she’s not there? I… I don’t know if I can… What if I turn into one of those monsters too…”

“You won’t turn into one of those monsters,” Lan Wu said firmly, gently patting her back. “I’ll help you. I’ll go with you to find her. We’ll find her, and when we do, we’ll let your mom rest in peace, and then… you’ll come home with me.”

Ji Lingyue sniffled, her voice choked with tears. “To your home?”

“Yeah.”

“As your family’s blood slave?”

Lan Wu quickly shook her head. “No, no. Just mine is enough.”

“…”

Ji Lingyue closed her eyes, feeling even more miserable.