After Xie Ning took care of the two zombies, she turned to see Song Kexin staring at the back seat. The girl was gripping her long-handled cleaver so tightly her body was trembling.

Xie Ning knew at once what was happening. She walked over and glanced inside. "What are you waiting for, a prize?"

Sweat slicked Song Kexin’s palm as she clutched the cleaver. "Sis."

She stammered, "It’s... it’s a little kid."

"You’re wrong," Xie Ning said, her voice cold. "That’s not a little kid. It’s a little zombie."

In the back seat of the sedan, a little girl with her hair in two braids had her back to them. Now, she was slowly turning her head.

Song Kexin immediately saw that one side of the little girl’s face was a mangled mess of blood and flesh.

Her ashy-white pupils stared blankly at them. Agonizingly slowly, she staggered out of the car, a constant, guttural rattle escaping her throat.

Her gaze was completely unfocused. She was moving on pure instinct, drawn by the scent of Xie Ning and Song Kexin.

Gripping her cleaver, Song Kexin backed away step by step, an indescribable feeling churning inside her.

"Song Kexin, do you want to live?"

Song Kexin nodded fiercely.

"If you want to live, you have to overcome this mental block. The thing in front of you isn’t a person. It’s just a rotting corpse."

"You’ll run into zombies that are even smaller, even more pathetic than this one. Some of them might only be able to crawl."

"Are you going to feel so sorry for them, so full of pity, that you offer up your own neck for them to bite?"

With tears welling in her eyes, Song Kexin silently shook her head. Her grip on the cleaver twisted tighter and tighter.

"The world has gone to hell. You’re walking through that endless hell now, so you have to learn the skills to survive on your own. No one can be there to protect you forever. The only strength you can truly rely on is your own."

"Strike it, Song Kexin! Aim for the head!"

The moment the words left Xie Ning’s mouth, Song Kexin averted her face and brought the cleaver down hard on the little zombie’s head as it shrieked and lunged at her.

Dark red blood sprayed out. Song Kexin almost lost her grip on the cleaver; her palm felt slick, and her arm suddenly went weak.

The little zombie, now right in front of her, shrieked, its mouth stretched grotesquely wide. Its body convulsed, the cleaver still embedded in its head.

Xie Ning watched Song Kexin and the little zombie, her expression tense. She fought back the urge to step in and help, her voice remaining cold as she continued, "Song Kexin, get a good look at the monster in front of you. Does a normal person’s mouth stretch that wide? Strike it! Keep striking, don’t hesitate!"

Song Kexin pressed her lips together tightly, yanked the cleaver free, and swung again. She sobbed as she struck, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry."

THUMP. The little zombie fell backward and lay still.

Song Kexin’s hands were shaking so badly that the cleaver CLATTERED to the ground.

Xie Ning rushed forward, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and patting her on the back. "You did great. You have nothing to be sorry for. You did so well."

"We’re going to face much stronger monsters in the future. If you don’t improve, the only other path is death." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"I might get killed, injured, or crippled down the line. I can’t be with you forever. That’s why you have to be able to protect yourselves, understand?"

Song Kexin’s heart felt as heavy as a stone. She threw her arms around Xie Ning’s slender neck, burying her face in Xie Ning’s messy hair and sobbing. "That’s not true! You won’t die, you won’t get hurt, and you won’t be crippled! You’ll always be okay, Sis."