The old radio crackled and occasionally glitched while playing, making a hissing sound.
"Hiss, hiss..."
"Hiss, hiss..."
The electrical noise became increasingly grating, and Jian Yi reached out to turn off the radio. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as the eerie silence was finally broken.
Zhao Na signaled to her son, and they both headed toward the shelves. Seeing this, Hao Zhenzhu looked at Jian Yi's group and then at Zhang Ming, motioning for him to join her. Zhang Ming licked his dry lips, noticed Chen Junsheng's gaze drifting over, and quickly lowered his eyes before turning to follow Hao Zhenzhu toward the shelves.
Hao Zhenzhu had a car parked inside the gas station. When the zombies had been outside, she had never dared to leave the safety of the iron gate. But now, she ventured outside, opened her car door, and parked the vehicle in front of the large camper.
She then went in and out of the store, starting to load water and food into the car.
Zheng Lanxin, who was watching this, felt anxious. She glanced at her son and stepdaughter, quietly asking them what to do and whether they should stop these people from taking their supplies.
Jian Yi gently shook her head and sat down. Seeing her stepdaughter's calm demeanor, Zheng Lanxin, though still pained, decided to endure it. She led Tuantuan to pick out some snacks, and they deliberately selected only snacks.
Chen Junsheng stood beside Jian Yi, and when she turned her gaze toward him, he felt his heart skip a beat. However, she withdrew her gaze and focused on resting against the wall.
Zhao Na and Long Xiaohu had gone to refuel their car and even brought an extra fuel canister as a backup.
Unexpectedly, the fuel pump broke down, and Zhao Na was in a hurry. Long Xiaohu, on the other hand, remained calm. He went back to his own car, took out a toolbox, and asked Zhao Na to step back a bit. He would fix it.
"Can you fix it?" Zhao Na asked uncertainly.
Long Xiaohu inspected the clogged pump nozzle and nodded, "It should be fine. You go wait over there."
"Alright, but let me know when you're done," Zhao Na said, concerned. She didn't want to linger around the gasoline fumes, so she moved away.
The smell of gasoline wasn't pleasant, and Zhao Na stepped outside for some fresh air. Her eyes fell on the melancholic teenager standing on the mound, and she walked over to him.
"Did you have a fight with your sister?" Zhao Na asked playfully, as if teasing a child.
Chen Junsheng turned his head to look at her, and his eyes showed a hint of annoyance.
He didn't reply, but Zhao Na thought it was just typical sibling conflict and didn't mind. She smiled and consoled him, "Even real siblings fight and argue all the time. It's normal. Don't take it too seriously."
"But..." She glanced at the store and saw the short-haired girl leaning against the wall, eyes closed, as if napping. She shook her head and said, "Your sister is so lazy, not doing anything and relying on you for everything. If I had such a pampered sister, I wouldn't like her either."
Zhao Na didn't notice the sudden darkness in the young man's expression. She looked at the sturdy camper with envy and continued, "You must have rented that camper, right? Well, it's the end of the world now, but if you take someone else's car like this, the owner will definitely come after you for trouble."
Hearing this, Chen Junsheng finally understood why this older woman had approached him out of the blue. She had her eyes on their camper.
Chen Junsheng let out a cold laugh in his mind. He replied in a calm tone, "You said it's a pity. Well, it's a pity... No matter what I do now, no one will come after me for trouble."
Emerald-green sprouts emerged from the mound, trembling gently as they stretched out. They quickly grew into robust vines. A strange red light spread from their roots, and the thick tendrils suddenly split into eight separate ones. The red, vein-like patterns covered the vines, emitting a eerie crimson glow.
The vines shot up like a blooming flower, appearing behind the two people engaged in conversation.
Zhao Na was still puzzled by the young man's attitude when she suddenly felt a sharp pain. The vines, radiating a bizarre red light, pierced through her body. The intense pain caused her to let out a piercing scream.
Crimson fluid rained down like a storm, splattering onto Chen Junsheng's snow-white fingertips.
The vines burst open, tearing Zhao Na's body into pieces like paper. Even as her life came to an end, her eyes remained fixed on the young man's slender and beautiful hands, filled with disbelief and terror.
"Those who speak ill of their sisters deserve to die."
Chen Junsheng looked at the vines, now tainted with flesh and blood and appearing even more eerie. He disdainfully shook his hand, flicking away the red fluid. In a low voice, he said, "