It's Hard to Be the Female Lead's Best Friend (Apocalypse) GL - Chapter 3
Cheng Ziyu ate a few slices of bread and drank some water. She put on a mask to prevent zombie bl00d from splashing into her mouth, then prioritized packing chocolate, compressed biscuits, and similar foods into her backpack.
Cheng Ziyu looked at the several boxes of mineral water on the floor, her brows furrowed: “Water is too heavy, but I can’t not bring water. I can only take two bottles and drink sparingly.”
“Wait… and sanitary napkins!”
Being a girl is inconvenient here. If she didn’t bring sanitary napkins, bl00d would pour everywhere, making it hard not to attract zombies.
“Ah, how annoying.”
Oh my goodness, why do girls have periods?
And have periods in a zombie apocalypse.
Cheng Ziyu thought about it and decided to bring two packs. There was still a little space in her backpack; she ultimately decided to bring underwear and bras. She looked at the identical photo frame and couldn’t help but sigh: “Should I be glad this novel was written with a real-world setting?”
The current feeling was more like her original world had been hit by a zombie virus outbreak, leaving Cheng Ziyu feeling a bit unreal even now.
She took out the photo and put it in her pocket, recalling various past events. There was the pain of separation, the disgust at the ugly faces of relatives, and the sadness of being betrayed by a friend. She couldn’t help but sigh: “Don’t worry, Dad, I’m not afraid.”
As for outerwear, it wasn’t needed. For a girl in the apocalypse to dress fashionably would be asking for trouble!
She picked up the manuscript, hesitated for a moment, then walked into the kitchen and burned it all. Flames slowly burned in the iron bucket, reflecting her lingering uneasy eyes.
She turned and picked up the watermelon knife.
Cheng Ziyu tucked it into her waistband. It was still very dark outside, and human eyes weren’t suited for night travel.
She simply sat on the ground, leaning against the wall for a nap, trying to conserve as much energy as possible.
Although it was meant to be a short rest, Cheng Ziyu fell asleep.
She had a nightmare, perhaps because she was startled by the sudden apocalypse. In her dream, she was chased by a group of headless ghosts.
Surrounded by a dense jungle, no matter how fast Cheng Ziyu ran, the jungle remained the same. She seemed unable to move, and when she looked back, the headless ghosts were getting closer.
They were covered in bl00d, and bl00d continuously flowed from the empty hollows of their necks, like dark specters, luring onlookers. If one was careless, they would fall into an abyss.
She was chilled to the bone. When she turned back again, a familiar house appeared before her eyes; it was also the house she didn’t want to recall or even return to.
But her feet disobediently stepped inside, as if mocking her futile struggles. Her aunt and uncle were preparing food, and her cousin threw small pebbles at her.
This scene was truly her nightmare. Although she had only lived with them for two years, it was unforgettable for life.
Cheng Ziyu’s head nodded, and she finally woke up with a start.
Her hands and feet were cold, and the recent nightmare lingered, unable to dispel the fear in her heart: “Don’t be afraid… don’t be afraid, I can’t go back there anymore.”
Outside, the sky gradually brightened.
Cheng Ziyu leaned on the wall, stood up, and walked to the bathroom.
She wasn’t taking a shower.
Instead, she looked at her face in the mirror, pale, with fear in her eyes that wouldn’t disappear just by saying so.
She washed her face with cold water and slapped her cheeks, which finally brought a faint blush to her pale complexion.
Cheng Ziyu wasn’t an astonishing beauty, but she was quite pleasant to look at, though her appearance seemed a bit childish.
But her face was comforting to behold.
Cheng Ziyu touched her cheek: “I wonder if the original female supporting character looked like me.”
Cheng Ziyu wasn’t one to judge by appearance, but who wouldn’t want to be prettier? Anyway, she always considered herself a peerless beauty and always found joy in suffering.
“What a shame, what a shame. I’m so beautiful, but I transmigrated into the apocalypse. How great would it have been to transmigrate into an overbearing CEO novel instead?”
“Roar—”
Cheng Ziyu snapped back to reality.
She tiptoed to the bathroom window, pulled back the shower curtain, and saw a woman below whose stomach had been hollowed out.
There was still some intestine exposed from her bloody abdomen. The woman staggered, seemingly aimless, but Cheng Ziyu knew that if anyone made the slightest sound, the woman would move like lightning, opening her bl00d-filled mouth.
Looking at the still intact face of the woman, Cheng Ziyu recognized her as the girl who had called for help last night: “Just as the novel described, the corporealization is so fast.”
In the original text, when living people were infected, it generally depended on their individual resistance and the strength of the zombie’s toxins. People in the later stages of the novel would turn into zombies at the latest within half a month, and at the fastest, within a few hours.
As for dead people, it was instantaneous.
Cheng Ziyu returned to her room, grabbed the alarm clock, adjusted the time, then went back to the bathroom, opened the window, and threw it with all her might into the distance.
She returned to the living room, moved the table and chairs, and peered through the peephole. Seeing that the scary zombie gentleman from yesterday seemed to have left, to be safe, she still waited quietly by the door.
“Beep-beep…” The alarm clock ringing outside the bathroom attracted nearby zombies.
“Roar!”
The formerly limping woman heard the sound and ran straight towards the alarm clock; but when she reached her destination, she merely circled the alarm clock, seeming somewhat agitated.
Cheng Ziyu quickly exited at this moment, closed the door, and rapidly ran downstairs. She didn’t lock the door, and even left the key on the door. Zombies couldn’t unlock doors, which was actually convenient for later survivors to escape into, and there was food too, enough for several grown men for three days.
Cheng Ziyu cautiously peered out. Seeing no zombies down the stairs, she quickly ran down. Her residential area was a small, civilian neighborhood with only two buildings side by side.
Immediately outside the building was a small path, and there were also small shacks built by others along the roadside, so not many people lived here. This also meant that even if there were zombies nearby, there wouldn’t be too many.
She walked slowly along the path towards the street, observing her surroundings, so she didn’t walk fast.
“Hungry!” A low growl.
Frightened, Cheng Ziyu tiptoed past a crossroads. She glanced sideways and saw two zombies with their backs to her, squatting and lowering their heads.
“Smack, smack…”
Since they were facing away, Cheng Ziyu naturally couldn’t tell if they were feeding. In any case, she should find the female lead first!
Cheng Ziyu quickly ran onto the street and saw a zombie wandering in the distance; this zombie was missing most of its leg, with only bare bones connected by a shred of flesh, so its movements were slow, and it was looking around.
“Beep—” A car, packed with luggage, sped by, directly hitting and sending the zombie flying, then running over its head. It was truly dead beyond dead.
She steadied her mind.
“Heaven helps me.” Cheng Ziyu ran quickly. Along the way, she saw many people also running out of their homes, backpacks on, heading straight for the supermarket.
Some brave ones were wielding wooden sticks, viciously striking at zombie heads; but that person had bite marks on their arm, so they’d likely turn into a zombie soon enough!
Inside the supermarket, many people were fighting over food, some even resorting to blows. The police, with their firearms, found it difficult to calm the crowd, and some even started snatching guns.
Clearly, law enforcement was beginning to collapse.
Cheng Ziyu ran breathlessly. She stopped to catch her breath for a moment, and then her body was tackled to the ground. A low “roar” from a zombie sounded in her ear!
She turned her head and saw a bloody, foul-smelling maw biting down. She raised her arm, and the zombie bit into the pre-prepared cardboard box.
Facing the zombie’s small, bloodshot pupils, Cheng Ziyu’s heart pounded “thump-thump” in terror. Her mind realized that she only had one life.
Although the cardboard box was wrapped thickly, the zombie’s biting force was astonishing. Cheng Ziyu felt her arm being squeezed, like a factory worker whose arm was accidentally caught in a machine.
The pain made Cheng Ziyu scream: “Ah—”
If she didn’t break free, her arm would definitely be ruined!
“Get away!”
Cheng Ziyu began to struggle, using both her hands and feet; but the zombie’s strength was immense, like a tireless bull, and human stamina simply couldn’t keep up.
“Ah—” The pain was excruciating.
Cheng Ziyu had some regrets. Why did she look for the female lead? The world wouldn’t be destroyed in a short while anyway. She should have waited for the plot to unfold, waited for the male lead to rescue her.
But there was no “but”!
“Crunch!”
The cardboard box was bitten through, and Cheng Ziyu felt the zombie’s teeth about to puncture her skin. She cried out in fear: “No, no, I don’t want to be bitten!”
Was she going to experience being bitten like the female supporting character in advance? Was she going to be cannon fodder early?
She couldn’t think that way. If she couldn’t even survive the early stages, wouldn’t it be even harder later?
Cheng Ziyu strained against the zombie, her other hand reaching for the watermelon knife at her waist, aiming it at its head and stabbing directly. One strike, hitting the skull, but the zombie still held on.
She pulled out the knife and stabbed again.
A heavy blow, and with a “thud,” although it was a bit off target, the zombie stopped struggling.
“Hungry!”
Cheng Ziyu turned her head and saw another zombie running towards her. She quickly pushed away the zombie pinning her down; but it was too heavy, and the other zombie had already lunged.
Cheng Ziyu’s eyes narrowed. She only heard a “bang,” and the zombie’s head exploded, brains splattering all over her face.
Smelling a fishy, foul stench, Cheng Ziyu almost vomited; but she was wearing a mask, so if she did vomit, she would truly be disgusted to death.
A police officer ran towards her: “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Cheng Ziyu finally pushed the zombie away. Before she could thank him, she shouted: “Look out!”
Two zombies ambushed the police officer from behind, accurately biting his neck: “Ah—”
Bl00d gushed from the wound!
Flesh was torn open, and his eyes dimmed.
Cheng Ziyu’s face was pale, but she couldn’t help at all. She had no abilities, and her combat power was trash. She couldn’t help with anything.
“I’m sorry!”
Cheng Ziyu pursed her lips, then bypassed the police officer and quickly fled. She often saw people being bitten around her, but she was powerless. Just surviving was already taking all her strength.
“Huff, huff…” She saw a bicycle lying on the roadside and immediately righted it and rode off.
Although cycling was faster than running, after a short while, her thighs felt numb, and she struggled to exert force.
Cheng Ziyu gritted her teeth and pedaled.
Suddenly, a small zombie darted out of an alley. The little zombie looked about ten years old. Despite its short legs, it ran faster than adult zombies.
Cheng Ziyu was closely pursued by it.
If she relaxed even a little, the small zombie would catch up, and the outcome was unimaginable.
“Roar!”
The small zombie leaped, closing the distance by a few inches. It stretched out its hands directly, almost reaching the back of the bicycle each time.
“Ah!” Cheng Ziyu turned her head. Forced by the small zombie, she burst forth with potential. Her legs pedaled at high speed tirelessly, and she sprinted forward in an instant, shaking off the small zombie.
Her leg muscles clearly felt strained and somewhat painful, causing her to wobble as she rode.
The small zombie gradually stopped, then switched targets.