Into The Sea

Lan Wu still ignored her. After entering the bathroom, her eyes darted around and landed on Ji Lingyue, who was standing by the window. She flashed an excited grin and strode toward the girl.

This infuriated Lan Yuan. She grabbed Lan Wu’s collar, slamming her against the wall without a shred of gentleness.

“What’s your problem? Didn’t you hear me talking to you?”

Lan Wu bared her fangs, snapping back in annoyance.

“Aaaargh —”

Slap.

A crisp sound echoed, and the vampire froze as if choked, her pale face gradually turning red. Lan Yuan, fuming, held her by the collar, her other hand still raised in the air. “Who are you growling at? If you want me to slap you, just say so.”

“…”

In the dead silence, Lan Wu pressed her lips together, glaring at Lan Yuan with resentment, tears welling up in her eyes. Ji Lingyue, hiding on the side, hesitated to speak, but seeing this, she was oddly relieved…

Lan Wu had found a new target.

But Lan Yuan clearly hadn’t caught on yet. “What’s with that look? You want me to hit you again?”

Lan Wu’s breathing grew heavier and more erratic. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she lunged at Lan Yuan’s waist, slamming her into the wall with such force that the wall nearly cracked.

Ji Lingyue, terrified, glanced at the scene and cautiously edged toward the door, only to have her wrist grabbed by Meng Changge.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Ji Lingyue looked back at her. The woman looked much more haggard than when they first met, her lips pale, clearly having suffered greatly at Lan Yuan’s hands. But now wasn’t the time for the two humans to fight among themselves. While the out-of-control vampires were busy brawling, they needed to seize the chance to escape.

That’s what she thought and said. But Meng Changge narrowed her eyes and sneered. “I don’t trust you. You just want to run off on your own, don’t you?”

Ji Lingyue lowered her voice. “I know what I did before wasn’t fair, but if you want payback, pick a better time. Right now is our best chance to get out.”

With that, she shook off Meng Changge’s grip and hurried out of the wrecked bathroom.

Meng Changge hesitated, glancing back at Lan Yuan. The volatile vampire was pinning her own sister to the ground, landing a couple of punches to the head, then yanking hard on her ear. “What the hell is wrong with you? Snap out of it!”

Seeing that Lan Yuan was fully occupied, Meng Changge took a step back, retrieved her iron chain, and followed Ji Lingyue out.

She was greeted by an even more chaotic living room. She scanned the room, her eyes catching a glimpse of a dark figure lunging towards her. She quickly rolled forward, grabbing a steel shovel off the floor and swinging it at the creature’s head.

With a sickening thud, the thing collapsed to the ground without a sound. Meng Changge breathed a sigh of relief, turning back to examine her handiwork.

“A zombie?”

Why the hell was there a zombie in here?

Before she could dwell on it, Ji Lingyue hurried out of the bedroom, shouting, “Stop!”

Her body reacted before her mind. She froze.

From the bathroom a few meters away, angry yelling and the sound of crashing continued, the commotion as loud as a warzone. Ji Lingyue tried to ignore the noise and calmly said, “She’s my mom.”

“She’s a zombie!” Meng Changge retorted.

“I know.” Ji Lingyue said, stepping forward to shield the creature on the ground. “But believe it or not… I think she still has some awareness left.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Once someone turns into a zombie, they completely lose their human emotions and intelligence. They’re nothing but walking corpses. The virus has been around long enough, you should know that by now.” Meng Changge frowned, eyeing Ji Lingyue’s outstretched hand. “What are you doing?”

Ji Lingyue said, “That’s my shovel.”

Meng Changge paused before handing back the shovel.

Suddenly, another explosion echoed through the apartment. They thought the floor beneath their feet vibrated. Lan Yuan’s voice, strained with exasperation, pierced through the air. “Enough already!”

Ji Lingyue stole a quick glance at the smoke-filled bathroom. “It hasn’t actually been that long,” she said.

Meng Changge blinked. “What?”

“The virus outbreak… it hasn’t even been a year yet.” Ji Lingyue lifted her gaze, meeting Meng Changge’s with a steady intensity. “So we have no idea where this virus is leading humanity. We don’t know if losing our emotions and reason to become a zombie is the final stage of evolution. If zombies can retain awareness, then maybe they could gradually revert to their original forms, or even evolve into something else…”

“Wait,” Meng Changge made a stopping gesture. “Are you just spouting sci-fi nonsense to stop me from killing it?”

Ji Lingyue bit her lip and suddenly crouched down, extending her hand toward the zombie’s mouth. Meng Changge gasped, reaching out to pull her back, but Ji Lingyue shook her head, stopping her. “Things have been weird since tonight. We didn’t make any noise, but she came back and started banging on the door, like she recognized her home. And ever since then, except for when I stopped her from biting Lan Wu, she hasn’t attacked me once. In fact… she helped me.”

Under Ji Lingyue’s nervous gaze, the zombie raised its cloudy eyes and stared at her for a few seconds, gurgling in its throat before turning its head away.

Ji Lingyue let out a sigh of relief, tears even welling up in her eyes. “See? She didn’t attack me.”

Meng Changge raised an eyebrow in surprise, glancing between them. Just then, a voice coldly interjected, “What did you just say? She bit Lan Wu?”

The two of them jumped, turning to see that the sounds of fighting had ceased for a while. Lan Yuan, her face dark, kicked aside some debris on the floor and dragged Lan Wu out by her legs.

A nasty scratch marked Lan Yuan’s cheek, while Lan Wu lay limply on the floor, her eyes tightly shut, her long hair disheveled, her face bruised and swollen. She looked utterly pathetic.

Ji Lingyue gasped and rushed over. “What did you do to her?!”

“You’re seriously asking me?” Lan Yuan snarled. “She’s never talked back to me like this before. You said she was bitten? How is that even possible? She’s a vampire. How the hell does a vampire get bitten?!”

Ji Lingyue carefully cradled Lan Wu’s head in her lap. “Believe it or not, it happened. She got bitten, and after that she started acting like this. Just like last time, when she got hit in the chest with a silver bullet… she lost control…”

Lan Yuan, who had been about to pull Ji Lingyue away from Lan Wu, froze mid-motion. Her voice rose sharply. “What? Shot in the chest? When? By who?!”

Meng Changge blinked and casually turned her head away, trying to make herself invisible.

Ji Lingyue shook her head, continuing, ” She went back to normal after drinking my blood last time. So I think, if we let her drink my blood…”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

Impatiently, Lan Yuan shoved her aside, grabbing Lan Wu’s head and shaking it vigorously. “Stop faking it! I didn’t even hit you that hard! Wake up and drink some blood!”

After a moment, Lan Wu groaned, wrinkling her nose in discomfort. Lan Yuan ceased her shaking and said without any kindness, “Are you awake yet? If not, I’ll keep going.”

Lan Wu gasped for breath, then seeing who it was, she bared her fangs in a snarl. Lan Yuan clicked her tongue in annoyance, raising her hand menacingly. The vampire’s eyes widened in terror, and she let out a whimper like a wounded animal, burying her face in the nearest person’s embrace.

Ji Lingyue instinctively hugged her, feeling her trembling body and softening as she gently patted the back of Lan Wu’s head. “Don’t be so harsh on her.”

The anger Lan Yuan had been suppressing surged to the surface. “And who are you to tell me that? I haven’t even gotten started with you!”

Her raised voice sent another shiver through Lan Wu, who clung tighter to the girl. Lan Yuan, her patience exhausted, bent down, hauled Lan Wu up, and dragged her over to Meng Changge. “Hand.”

Meng Changge hesitated before obediently extending her arm.

Lan Yuan then commanded, “Drink.”

Lan Wu, held by the scruff of her neck, curled up like a kitten, tears welling in her eyes as she stubbornly pursed her lips.

“Come on, drink.”

Ji Lingyue whispered, “Lan Wu only drinks from the neck.”

Lan Yuan was speechless.

Expressionless, she dragged Lan Wu over and pressed her to Meng Changge’s neck. “Drink.”

“Ugh…” Lan Wu blinked back tears, desperately trying to pull away. Meng Changge, equally tense, wished she could be anywhere but there.

Lan Yuan was completely baffled. “Why won’t you drink? Aren’t you hungry?”

Forcing the issue clearly wasn’t working. Seeing that Lan Wu refused to feed no matter what, Lan Yuan reluctantly let go.

But the moment Lan Wu was free, she darted back to Ji Lingyue, burying herself in her arms.

Her clinginess surprised Ji Lingyue. She patted Lan Wu’s back, asking gently, “Aren’t you hungry?”

After a moment, Lan Wu sniffled. “I am.”

Ji Lingyue thought for a moment, then asked, “Do you want to drink my blood?”

Lan Wu nodded. “Yes.”

Lan Yuan stared, her eyes wide with disbelief. “What the hell? I offer you blood, you refuse. But hers? Why? I’m your sister! Why would I hurt you?”

Lan Wu looked wounded, “You hit me.”

“You hit me first!”

Amidst their squabbling, Ji Lingyue gently guided Lan Wu’s head to her neck. Cold fangs quickly pierced her skin. A familiar sting, and she angled her head, shooting a provocative smile at Lan Yuan. “Sorry, looks like you won’t be getting your revenge any time soon.”

Lan Yuan was taken aback, frowning at her.

The girl’s eyes curved into a smile as she affectionately pressed her cheek against Lan Wu’s head, like a cunning little fox.

“Because… she really needs me right now.”