Rebirth before Apocalypse: My Whole Family are Bigshots!-Chapter 82: Evolution

The black motorcycle sped along the road.

The zombies drifting on the road sluggishly moved away, and after the motorcycle passed, the zombies resumed their aimless wandering.

Zhang Yiming’s fingers tightly gripped the motorcycle’s handlebars, exerting great restraint over himself.

Leave here, do not let go.

This filthy body of his was not worthy of that light.

A violent aura emanated from Zhang Yiming, his entire being steeped in a state of fury and madness, on the brink of collapse.

Destruction.

The thoughts in his mind prompted him to destroy everything.

This was the instinct that belonged to the zombie group.

Bloodthirsty, violent, frenzied.

A gentle face flashed through his mind, and Zhang Yiming gradually calmed down.

He knew clearly how painful it was to become like this.

Purgatory on earth, nothing more.

He was already in purgatory, so how could he drag her down?

Zhang Yiming turned back to look gently in the direction of D City, and his thoughts settled into peace.

The motorcycle sped forward until it left the urban area, and only then did Zhang Yiming slow down.

Occasionally, there were zombies ahead, but from afar, they gave way.

The usually violent zombies did not howl; instead, they seemed a little fearful, avoiding the motorcycle.

Zhang Yiming glanced calmly at the zombies ahead, continuing on his way.

"Hey, you, come here!"

Zhang Yiming suddenly stopped the motorcycle, his voice cool, his cold eyes looking at the zombies by the roadside.

This zombie had the same decaying face as the others, exuding a nauseating stench.

The only difference from the other zombies was—its eyes.

Its eyes were not as dull as the other zombies’.

Its eyes seemed to dodge, avoiding Zhang Yiming’s gaze.

It seemed very afraid of Zhang Yiming, yet it still moved slowly towards him.

This was a zombie of a middle-aged man, dressed in a suit, suggesting that he used to be someone who paid attention to appearance.

After becoming a zombie, his body became filthy, the large patches of rotten flesh emitting suffocating odors.

One look and it was clear this was a zombie.

Zhang Yiming took out a Second Rank Crystal Core from the cloth bag hanging on the motorcycle and handed it to the suited zombie.

The zombie looked down at the ground, its rotten hands slowly reaching out to take the crystal core from Zhang Yiming’s hand.

The Second Rank Crystal Core emitted a faint blue light in the sunlight, extremely enchanting.

The rotten hands holding the bewitching crystal core created an indescribable discord.

A seemingly sunny boy.

A rotten zombie.

The zombie stood fearfully in place, not daring to move.

The fair-skinned boy remained calm.

This scene might appear bizarre to outsiders, but it was real.

Zhang Yiming said nothing more to the zombie, started the motorcycle, and it surged forward on the road once again.

The suited zombie glanced at the crystal core in its hand, then at the speeding motorcycle, its steps quickened.

It tightly followed its king.

Zhang Yiming glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing the zombie trailing behind.

His mind was filled with countless thoughts.

Yes, even though he outwardly resembled a human and his body was not decayed, it still couldn’t change his essence.

He was a zombie.

He yearned to become human, to rid himself of this filthy body.

He hated being a zombie, yet he continued to search for those unusual zombies.

If those zombies had a chance, they would be like him, also having thoughts.

For this, he observed many zombies.

Some zombies lacked thoughts, possessing only the bloodthirsty instinct.

When zombies evolved to a certain stage, they would possess a little human instinct.

So, wouldn’t it be possible that when zombies evolved to a certain stage, they could become human?

Zhang Yiming’s expression showed a hint of pain.

He clearly had thoughts.

Why was his blood black?

Why did his sense of smell and taste, other than for flesh and blood, fail to perceive any other flavors?

He wanted to become human, even without any superpower.

He desperately searched for High Rank Zombies, just hoping to help them evolve.

Maybe, one day, he would find a way to become human through them.

All he longed for was merely to return to a body of flesh and blood as it was before the apocalypse.

Even if he couldn’t be with her, as long as he wasn’t filthy, that would be enough.

Then he could openly shake hands with her using his clean flesh and blood.

Zhang Yiming took a deep breath, returning from his beautiful fantasy to reality, a bitter smile on his lips.

Besides taste, smell, and blood, he differed no more from humans.

On the surface, there seemed to be no difference, yet in reality, there was a chasm.

Behind the motorcycle, more zombies gradually pursued Zhang Yiming.

Zhang Yiming did not look back, letting them follow him.

The Low Rank Zombies were too slow to keep up and were left behind.

Only the High Rank Zombies could catch up to the motorcycle, their bodies agile, not as sluggish as Low Level Zombies.

――――

A family had spent a whole day crazy outside before they returned to the safe base.

In the evening, the stars were scattered in the sky.

The three uncles were playing "Fight the Landlord" outside the bus, Old Wang’s face covered with strips of paper.

"Old Bai, we’re all peasants here, and I only have one card left. Playing a six really puts me in a tough spot!" Uncle Wang grumbled.

"That’s my smallest card," Bai Zhengxuan said while rubbing his forehead.

"You’re so bad at this!" Uncle Wang held a three, full of disdain.

Bai Zhengxuan: ...

Old Wang was the kind who, despite being bad himself, still called others bad playfully!

Such people are most annoying, and what’s worse, they are exceptionally good at arguing and have incredibly thick skin, making it hard to win in words!

"Bomb!"

Uncle Liu leisurely tossed down his last two cards.

Another strip of paper was added to Old Wang’s face full of white strips.

Bai Zhengxuan touched the green glistening bracelet and slyly winked at Uncle Liu.

Next time, let’s make Old Wang the landlord and cheat with Mutated Plants to swap cards!

Old Liu: Got it!

Inside the bus.

Leng Yebai carefully washed the vegetables, chopping them finely and mixing them with minced meat, then frying them in the pan.

Xiao Niu didn’t particularly like eating vegetables.

Every time, Leng Yebai unwearyingly chopped the vegetables finely and mixed them with minced meat to make patties.

Leng Yebai wore a faint smile, radiating a sense of joy called happiness.

He was an orphan, and in the Bai Family, he experienced the warmth of family for the first time.

Leng Yebai even felt a slight twinge of regret.

If only the apocalypse hadn’t happened, how wonderful it would be.

No matter what it took, he wanted to be part of the Bai Family household registry.

He was up for being a live-in son-in-law!!

He’d even agree to change his surname, let the kids take the surname Bai, have the house and car under Xiao Niu’s name, do all the housework, eat leftovers, take the kids to and from school, help them with their homework, and support his brother-in-law—all of it he had no issue with!!!

Bai Xiqin and the others, holding Crystal Cores to enhance their superpowers, did not notice Leng Yebai’s eyes shining brightly, almost glowing.

"Uncle Wang, Uncle Bai, it really is you! When I saw the bus and garbage truck this afternoon, I was sure it had to be you!"

A hearty voice rang out.

Bai Xiqin glanced outside through the car window; it was Captain Zhu.

He had led people from S City to escape to the wind power plant, but due to a massive outbreak of mutated rats, everyone was forced to flee separately.

"Yo, Xiao Zhu, what a coincidence, you’re at this base too!" Uncle Wang cheerfully looked at Captain Zhu.

Captain Zhu was a great public servant of the people!

Back in S City, he devoted himself to organizing people’s evacuation. Had it not been for the mutated rat outbreak, everyone might still have been doing well under his management.