Transmigrating into a Wasteland Cannon Fodder Slag A [GL Yuri] - Chapter 27.1

The group of four quickly reached the third floor. Several zombies, frenzied by the alarm, saw them and charged. The noise seemed to interfere with their hearing, but in exchange, their speed and vision had improved. It seemed that in extremely noisy places, zombies entered a state of madness, with all their senses heightened. Yan An and Gu Xia reacted instantly, raising their guns and shooting the zombies down.

The two female betas, following them, were armed with a wrench and a badminton racket they had grabbed from the control room. There were steel forks and one-meter-long axes, but the women couldn’t lift them, so they would have been more of a hindrance. They chose something lighter as a weapon. Whether it would be useful or not, it at least gave them a sense of security.

Yan An led the way toward the long corridor connecting to Building B. There were no zombies in the long hallway, but she knew that the alarm in Building A was loud, and the zombies in Building B would surely be drawn over. At least some of the zombies on the third floor would come, but since there weren’t many, they could handle them. She turned to Gu Xia, who looked serious, and said softly, “Be careful.”

“Okay,” Gu Xia nodded.

Yan An then stepped into Building B, cautiously observing her surroundings. They were on the third floor of Building B. The center had restrooms, a fire escape, and an elevator bank, like a huge cylinder. Offices circled the cylinder. There were only two companies on the third floor, one on each side. Through the glass doors, they could see zombies wandering aimlessly, which meant the soundproofing was good. This meant only the zombies in the hallway could hear the alarm from Building A. As they entered Building B, the alarm was much quieter, indicating that the sound didn’t travel far. This was good news, as it meant they were under less pressure.

“Let’s go to the second floor,” Yan An said.

One of the betas asked, “Why aren’t we going to the first floor?”

Gu Xia let out a small huff. “You can go try if you want.” She was inexplicably annoyed by these two betas. From the beginning, they had been sticking close to Yan An, as if Yan An could protect them. Oh, Yan An could protect them, but they didn’t have to stand so close!

Yan An looked at Gu Xia, surprised. She was usually a bit cold, but not snarky. What was wrong with her today? Had these two betas done something to upset her?

Gu Xia knew her tone was bad. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but seeing them so close to Yan An just made her feel bad. She quickly suppressed her annoyance and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Yan An tilted her head, thinking, Something’s not right. It’s really not right. She glanced at the two betas and saw them sandwiching her, one on each side, so close that she could easily touch them. Gu Xia was two meters away from them, making it look like they were isolating her.

Yan An immediately walked to Gu Xia and took her hand. “Stay closer to me. If we run into zombies later, I won’t be able to protect you.”

The corner of Gu Xia’s mouth curved up, and she quickly forced it back down. “What about them?”

“Them?” Yan An was confused. She didn’t understand what Gu Xia meant. The two betas had insisted on following, so it wasn’t her job to protect them. She didn’t say anything, but her expression was enough to convey the question.

“They can follow if they want to, but please, don’t get so close to me. In the apocalypse, we are all strangers. You don’t trust us, and we don’t trust you. We won’t hesitate to help when we can, but you two need to know that in the apocalypse, you have to rely on yourselves.” Don’t get so close. If a zombie attacked, they might grab onto her arms, leaving her with no way to escape. They weren’t that close.

Yan An held Gu Xia’s hand and walked ahead. “You can follow us if you want, or you can find your own way.” She didn’t care what they thought and pulled Gu Xia to the second floor, whispering, “Thanks for the reminder, Sister. If they’d stayed on either side of me, I’m afraid a zombie really could’ve gotten me.” Their positioning was honestly a hindrance. If a zombie attacked, they would be in the way unless she pushed them in front of her to block it, and she would never do that. It was better to clarify things now. Just because she agreed to let them follow didn’t mean she had agreed to protect them.

Gu Xia: “…” 

Was she just trying to remind her? But Yan An was right. These two women had to protect themselves, or they would be a liability. It was fine to help when they had the extra capacity, but they wouldn’t be soft-hearted otherwise.

Yan An leaned into Gu Xia’s ear again. “Give them two pieces of bread. I’ll be the bad cop; you be the good cop.” In the apocalypse, giving two pieces of bread was already a sign of great kindness.

Gu Xia smiled helplessly. She had been a little jealous earlier, and it was a bit awkward that she had almost been caught. Luckily, Yan An hadn’t noticed. But now that she thought about it, she was a little disappointed that Yan An hadn’t. What was she thinking? They were in a difficult situation, and she shouldn’t be thinking about such things.

Gu Xia took two pieces of bread from her backpack and handed them to the betas. “Eat. You can decide for yourselves whether you want to stay or go.”

Yan An lowered her eyes, her expression turning cold. She didn’t say anything, but it was just a pretense to make sure the two women didn’t think she was a pushover. It was fine if they asked a few questions, but she was afraid that in their panic, they would do something that would harm everyone. Zombie movies had left a lasting impression on her, especially the scene where a weak man screamed and clung to a woman’s leg, begging for protection. The result was that both of them were eaten by zombies.

Although there was no way to be sure if these two women were the type to do that, it was better to be safe than sorry. Yan An’s cold expression was enough to pressure them. As expected, the two women looked at her fearfully, then quickly opened their bread and began to eat it ravenously.

For days, the only food they had was a few small snacks they had on them. The supply was already low, and they would have to leave every now and then to find food. They got water from the bathroom when they were thirsty, which was how they had survived for so long. They wouldn’t have left the control room if they weren’t at their wits’ end and if the water had not developed a strange taste. The room itself was safe. Once the door was locked from the inside, it would take immense power to break in. As long as the zombies didn’t find them, they would be fine. But in the apocalypse, the biggest shortage was food. Hiding was useless without anything to eat.

Yan An turned back to the two women and exchanged a look with Gu Xia. Gu Xia stood shoulder to shoulder with her, forming a triangle. They had each other’s backs and were on guard for any zombies that might jump at them.

The two betas finished their bread and followed behind them cautiously, gripping their makeshift weapons tightly. They had decided to follow them. Despite Yan An’s cold words, how truly ruthless could someone be if they were willing to share bread?

Yan An didn’t pay them any mind. She stepped out of the second-floor fire escape first. The moment she did, she came face-to-face with a zombie. It let out a roar and lunged at her, attracting several others nearby. 

“Gu Xia!” she yelled. In an instant, they both fired, and the zombies fell to the ground. Yan An let out a sigh of relief. There weren’t many zombies in Building B. Most were likely drawn to Building A.

She chose an office with a view of the mall. Inside, there were over a dozen zombies still in their work uniforms—a group of people who were still working when the apocalypse hit, only to become zombies and be trapped in their office. Yan An raised her gun to put them out of their misery. Two zombies took advantage of the moment she fired to rush toward her, reaching her in a flash. She fell back, landing hard on the ground, and kicked one zombie with her foot while simultaneously pulling the trigger. The zombie fell to the ground. Taking advantage of the brief opening, she quickly got up. Just as she was about to shoot again, the other zombie suddenly dropped to the floor with a bullet straight through its forehead.

Yan An loved these kinds of sports. She was a member of both a paintball club and a shooting range. Her aim was good, and in her previous life, she could hit nine out of ten shots. In this life, her shooting skills were even better—she could hit every time. However, the zombies weren’t targets. They moved, making it much harder to hit them. Gu Xia, on the other hand, was a good shot and knew a lot about guns. This must have been the result of her school’s military training, where they trained with live ammunition, even if it was just blanks. It was no wonder Gu Xia was so good with a gun. Of course, even with training, not everyone was a natural. Gu Xia was among the talented few.

Yan An gave her a thumbs-up. “Your aim is amazing, Sister.”

“I practiced,” Gu Xia said without changing her expression. But a hint of pride shone in her eyes. After military training, she had wanted to improve her skills. Sometimes, she even combined horseback riding with shooting. She wasn’t just some delicate socialite like Yan An had thought. She also had some experience in sports like kickboxing and judo, though she wasn’t a master. She had been learning for seven or eight years on and off and had never used her skills in a real fight. 

But after a few days of fighting zombies, the things she had learned came back to her. While she still wasn’t an expert, she didn’t need Yan An to protect her all the time. She had learned a lot of different things, and her knowledge of kickboxing and judo wasn’t focused. It was probably because of her awakened ability that her body had changed, improving her past skills. So, there was nothing wrong with her saying she had “practiced.”

Yan An looked at Gu Xia with a new curiosity. “Sister Xia! How many more surprises are you hiding?”

Gu Xia: “?” Sister Xia? What the hell is that? She just made me ten years older.

But Yan An’s praise was genuine. Abilities were amazing and powerful, but they took a lot of energy. Once that energy ran out, they would be at the mercy of others. On the other hand, guns and other skills didn’t require any energy. Yan An believed that a combination of different methods and abilities was the best way to protect themselves. If you had power but lacked the physical strength and quick reflexes, it was like having a pistol you couldn’t aim. It wouldn’t do you much good. She and Gu Xia were partners, and the stronger her partner was, the higher their chances of survival.