It's Hard to Be the Female Lead's Best Friend (Apocalypse) GL - Chapter 20
Dark clouds pressed down, and heavy rain poured. Faint lightning flashed in the sky, and raindrops drumming on the roller door like a drum made it difficult for everyone to sleep.
Cheng Ziyu rubbed her eyes. The roller door had been raised, and a downpour was sweeping indoors, wetting the floor. She got out of bed, shaking her awakening head: “Artificial rain again?”
Gu Qingli held out her hand, letting the rain fall into her palm. The tiny raindrops moistened her tender white skin, creating a beautiful tableau: “It’s just ordinary rain.”
Cheng Ziyu’s eyes were drawn to the scene before her. It wasn’t until the other person spoke that she felt it was impolite to keep staring: “The rain is so heavy, do we still need to go to the gas station?”
“Of course. The heavy rain will interfere with the zombies’ hearing and smell,” Gu Qingli withdrew her hand, gently shaking off the water droplets. “Qingyan and I will go. You two stay here and wait.”
Separated from the female lead, Cheng Ziyu immediately felt uneasy: “Can’t we all go together?”
Gu Qingli’s lips curled into a slight smile, and she gracefully took a long stride, arriving in front of her. Cheng Ziyu, being slightly shorter, stood with her, and a faint, indescribable atmosphere spread between them.
This unknown feeling, like a sudden shock, made Cheng Ziyu’s heart race.
Gu Qingli reached out and gently stroked her head to comfort her, her voice soft and magnetic: “You’re injured. Be a good girl and stay here and wait for me to come back, okay?”
Facing the female lead’s gentle side, Cheng Ziyu’s startled heart gradually calmed.
She had finally latched onto the big thigh. It wasn’t easy.
Her mind, like an old computer with no memory, was incredibly sluggish. She nodded blankly in agreement: “Mm.”
“Good girl!”
Gu Qingli chuckled, then left with Qin Qingyan.
Cheng Ziyu watched her until her silhouette disappeared into the rain before finally revealing a triumphant smile.
Shu Jingyun shook her head helplessly and nudged her: “They’re gone. Stop grinning like a fool.”
“I wasn’t grinning like a fool! Didn’t you see how gentle she was to me just now?” Cheng Ziyu’s heart felt sweet, and she said, covering her face slightly shyly.
“Haven’t you seen clearly yet?” Shu Jingyun rolled her eyes. “This is one of Gu Qingli’s usual tactics, specifically for dealing with disobedient people.”
“Huh?” Cheng Ziyu thought back carefully and felt that Gu Qingli’s changes were indeed too fast, her heart filled with trepidation: “So… she… wanted the two of us to stay… because she… wanted to shake us off?”
“I don’t know, but her not trusting us is true. Anyway, the gas station isn’t far from here, so let’s wait here for a while,” Shu Jingyun recalled that when they left the school, Gu Qingli never denied wearing a mask all the time.
Cheng Ziyu was frustrated. After all this hard work, she still wasn’t trusted. She must be the most useless transmigrator.
No, she had to change her strategy.
She needed to be as persistent as Qin Qingyan.
••••
Gu Qingli bravely endured the heavy rain. She drove directly over the cars at the entrance and out of the residential area. The two of them switched to another small car and headed for the gas station.
Zombies swayed by the roadside. The small car drove directly over them, and they only shook their heads, shaking off the rain, without chasing the car.
The shower lasted only a moment, and the rain gradually subsided, pattering on the car windows, making the visibility much clearer.
There were quite a few zombies at the gas station, and many vehicles were lined up in a semicircle, blocking the entrance. The glass walls of the convenience store entrance were all obstructed by shelves.
Gu Qingli stopped the car far away: “Someone’s there.”
“Then are we still going?” Qin Qingyan gripped her dagger, raising her guard, fearing that group of survivors would be as bad as the ones from the day before yesterday.
Gu Qingli pondered for a long time, shook her head, and drove back: “These cars are neatly arranged; these are people with survival experience.”
“The road we came through earlier is blocked, but if we want to switch gas stations, we’ll have to take a detour.”
“Let’s go back first.”
Gu Qingli didn’t explain much. She stomped on the gas pedal, and the small car sped off. Because of the high speed, the drizzling rain intensified.
The deep puddles on the ground splashed like giant waves onto the zombies.
Gu Qingli still stopped the car far away.
After waiting for a while, she didn’t get out of the car.
Qin Qingyan was puzzled, “Not going back to the community?”
“Wait.”
Qin Qingyan didn’t ask further, obediently waiting.
She waited and waited, and after a long time, she lost her patience again. Just as she was about to ask again, she saw Cheng Ziyu and Shu Jingyun emerge from the community. One held a cleaver, and the other a dagger.
The car blocking the entrance had little gasoline left, but it was still too dangerous for them to walk to the gas station. Cheng Ziyu’s right hand was injured, so she could only use her less flexible left hand: “Should we find another car?”
“I can’t drive.”
“Alright!”
Because of the rainy weather, even with zombies shuffling about, they didn’t suffer any attacks. Occasionally, a zombie would block their path, but Cheng Ziyu could easily deal with it with one hand.
The two passed by the small car.
Gu Qingli pressed Qin Qingyan’s head down.
“Sister Qing?”
“Shh, I want to see Cheng Ziyu’s ability.”
Qin Qingyan nodded; she was curious too.
The rain was getting lighter and lighter. Although the dark clouds were still in the sky, they had thinned a lot, and the two had to quicken their pace.
A few zombies shook their heads. They slowly turned around, staring at the two moving figures. Suddenly, one of the zombies let out a “hungry” sound.
Immediately!
All the zombies chased after the two.
“Run!”
Shu Jingyun looked back, flames igniting in her hand. With a wave, a small fireball flew towards the zombie. The moment it touched, the flames exploded, and the zombie was engulfed in fire.
“Roar—”
Another furious roar echoed through the lifeless street, gradually spreading to several intersections. Those zombies seemed to have heard the call and rushed over.
“Damn it!”
Cheng Ziyu stopped. Zombies emerged from the intersection ahead, and zombies were chasing from behind. She pointed to a narrow alley: “Go this way.”
There were fewer zombies in the alley.
The two made a turn. Shu Jingyun took the lead, throwing another small fireball. The zombie burned, running around haphazardly. As she passed, she easily finished it off with a swift knife.
Cheng Ziyu took a breath and sped up. As she closed in on the zombie, she stabbed it in the forehead with her knife. The female zombie beside her was rather plump, and the sagging flesh on its belly slowed its movement.
Because there were too many zombies behind her, she pulled out her knife and ran.
Though there were few zombies in the alley, one would occasionally pop out, always catching Shu Jingyun off guard. Fortunately, she had become an ability user, and her nerve reflexes had improved considerably. She easily dealt with a zombie with a quick strike.
The road ahead became increasingly remote. Shu Jingyun’s stamina gradually decreased: “No, we can’t go to the gas station.”
Cheng Ziyu followed far behind, her stamina clearly inferior to the other’s, already panting: “Then… where… do we… run?”
“I don’t know, just run first.” She turned a corner, and the distance between them imperceptibly widened.
Cheng Ziyu wanted to scream, “Wait!”
But what right did she have to make the other person turn back?
[Fragrant… eat…]
The zombie sounds behind her were noisy; but undoubtedly, they all wanted to eat Cheng Ziyu, this “fragrant” one. She ran slower and slower, her heart growing more anxious: “I’m not… fragrant…”
She looked back and saw a thin zombie with no intact flesh on its body, which also made it the fastest of all the zombies, closely following her.
“Roar!”
Cold light gleamed in the zombie’s eyes. It desperately stretched out its hands, its fingertips almost able to hook her.
“Oh my god… stop chasing…”
A streak of flame brushed past Cheng Ziyu’s ear, leaving a faint smell of burnt hair. The flame hit the thin zombie directly, and it fell to the ground, tripping the other pursuing zombies.
“Quick, this way,” Shu Jingyun pointed to the corner. “We’ll run into the small woods and cut back to the community.”
Cheng Ziyu’s heart filled with gratitude, and she ran with all her might.
The two rushed into the woods. The muddy ground was somewhat damp, making it difficult to run. When the zombies charged in, one of them slipped carelessly, buying the two some time to slowly widen the distance between themselves and the zombies.
Even though there wasn’t much air in their chests, they didn’t dare to be careless. Both of them continued to run at high speed.
Cheng Ziyu tried to keep pace with Shu Jingyun as much as possible. She was afraid of being left alone; even in peaceful times, she wouldn’t dare to enter such a small forest by herself.
Because she had no sense of direction!
Suddenly, Cheng Ziyu’s foot slipped, snapping a fallen branch. As she fell, her right hand hit the ground, causing her wound to burst open and bleed.
She rolled once, covered in mud.
“Hiss!”
Despite the pain, she endured it and quickly stood up, fearing being left behind. But looking around, Shu Jingyun’s figure was already gone.
“Shu… Jingyun?” Cheng Ziyu shouted!
“Roar—” The only reply was from the zombies.
Cheng Ziyu silenced herself, looking left and right. She vaguely saw footprints, but they were a bit scattered. She didn’t know which way to run first. Hearing the gradually approaching zombie sounds, she could only randomly choose a direction and run.
She ran for a while, but still saw no one, not even footprints. Cheng Ziyu knew she had chosen the wrong direction. She stood there helplessly, her voice tinged with a sob: “What do I do…”
[Where’s the fragrant one?]
Cheng Ziyu heard the sound, suppressing her panic, and started running again. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, ready to overflow at any trigger.
The dark clouds seemed to be dispersing. A faint light shone into the forest. Ahead, a large tree, its branches forming an arrow, seemed to be guiding Cheng Ziyu, the brainless person with no sense of direction.
As she passed, she uttered a thank you!
Then…
She froze on the spot, her whole body stiff.
She didn’t understand how the branches could grow like that.
Cheng Ziyu’s heart kept pounding. She slowly looked back, and there was no arrow at all; it was just an ordinary, lush green tree.
“Am I seeing things?” Cheng Ziyu hesitated, unsure whether to follow this path. The surrounding leaves swayed in the wind, looking like a chaotic dance of demons.
The sun gradually emerged, its light dispelling the coolness after the rain; but the chill in Cheng Ziyu’s heart did not diminish, but increased. She randomly chose a path and jogged along, still seeing no sign of living people.
“Gu Qingli, where are you?” She looked around in confusion, and a familiar figure flashed in her vision.