PSW – Chapter 8

As soon as they arrived at the gas station, they found it in a state of chaos. Fortunately, there hadn’t been any horrific car crashes in the immediate vicinity after the chaos began.

“There’s a car right here,” Zheng Yi said, pleasantly surprised to see a small car with its door half-open and bloodstains on the ground. Although the front was a bit dented and the windows showed signs of being smashed, it was generally in decent shape.

“Jiejie, you just focus on filling up the motorcycle. Leave the zombies here to me. I told you I’d protect you!” Zheng Yi was eager for action. She let go of Yu Yinan’s waist, reached back for her backpack, slowly stood up, and turned around. “Oh, right~ Jiejie, you have to keep your emotions stable, okay? It wouldn’t be good if you accidentally used your fire ability~”

“You…” Yu Yinan seemed a bit skeptical of Zheng Yi’s abilities, but she quickly noticed that Zheng Yi was still eager to jump off the bike, so she had no choice but to slow down. “Don’t jump yet. I’ll stop. Be careful.”

The bulging hiking backpack was unzipped. Zheng Yi pulled out a fire axe, then zipped the bag back up. She effortlessly slung the backpack onto her back again. The moment Yu Yinan stopped, she used one hand to vault off the back of the bike.

The zombies wandering near the gas station had already been drawn by the sound and were heading toward Zheng Yi. Some wore employee uniforms, others regular jackets, but regardless of their attire, when Zheng Yi charged at them, their reactions and biting attacks were no match for an axe splitting their skulls.

As for the abandoned car, the key was still in the ignition. There were no zombies locked in the back seat. The interior was slightly messy but not spattered with too much blood, a clear sign that the fight, and likely the biting, had happened after the occupants got out.

With a soft snap of her fingers, a jet of water appeared from thin air and quickly began to wash the car. As for the seats inside, Zheng Yi diverted a bit of her focus, covering them with a thin layer of water. With a slight vibration, she removed the stains, then directed all the dirty water to spill onto the ground.

[…Doesn’t this behavior conflict with your Saint persona?]

‘Why would it conflict? People are complex. Does a Saint have to be compassionate to all and not even have a hint of germaphobia? My dear Zero One, don’t get bogged down in the details. There’s no fixed, perfect template for development.’

Zero One was speechless. It looked behind Zheng Yi. [It won’t be easy to stuff the motorcycle into the trunk, and the zombies that heard the noise earlier are still closing in.]

“Jiejie, go inside the gas station and look for a metal drum for gasoline! I remember they used to sell them before the apocalypse,” Zheng Yi called out. She then quickly unzipped her backpack, pretending to search for something while actually having Zero One give her a bundle of thick hemp rope directly from the truck inside her pack. “This car works, I gave it a quick clean! Jiejie, I’m going to tie your motorcycle to the car first!”

[Tie it?]

Just as Yu Yinan, following Zheng Yi’s instructions, finished refueling and hurried into the gas station, Zheng Yi rushed to the motorcycle, hoisted it onto her shoulders, stepped onto the car’s hood, and laid it flat on the roof. Then, she threaded the hemp rope through the windows and tied it down securely on top of the car.

[…When Yu Yinan gets back, how are you going to explain the footprints on the hood?]

‘It’s the apocalypse. Who needs an explanation?’

Just then, Zheng Yi heard the roar of a zombie from inside the gas station. She hurried over and, upon entering, saw Yu Yinan tossing aside a fire extinguisher stained with some unknown fluid.

“Just one. It’s taken care of.” Yu Yinan picked up the metal drum and walked quickly toward Zheng Yi. “We need to hurry. Those other zombies will probably surround us soon.”

“It’s fine. Let’s refuel first. We have a car, we can break through,” Zheng Yi said, unconcerned. “Once we’re away from the gas station, if there are too many zombies, we can just blow this place up.”

When Yu Yinan came out with the metal drum for gasoline, she was clearly taken aback for a moment to see her motorcycle tied to the roof of the car. But she didn’t say anything, simply hurrying to fill the drum. Zheng Yi got into the driver’s seat, drove the car over to Yu Yinan, and had her fill up the car’s tank as well, then put the full drum in the trunk.

Fortunately, there were only two of them, so it didn’t matter that the rope blocked the rear windows and they couldn’t open the back doors. The extra space could be used for Zheng Yi’s bag.

“There were no other supplies inside.” The gas station had clearly been looted before. Once everything was ready, Yu Yinan got into the driver’s seat. After Zheng Yi was settled, she quickly started the car. She took a moment to pull a strip of lollipops from her pocket—the kind that cost one yuan each. A quick glance showed there were about four of them. “These were on the floor. They didn’t pick them up.”

“Are these all for me, Jiejie?” Zheng Yi asked with a smile as she took the candies.

“Mhm.” Yu Yinan skillfully turned the car around, then slammed on the gas, driving straight out of the gas station. “I don’t like sweets.”

‘Zero One, why didn’t you bind with her instead? She seems far more qualified to be a Saint than I am,’ Zheng Yi couldn’t help but muse. Whenever Yu Yinan lied or felt awkward about a topic she didn’t want to discuss, her eyes would dart away. If she got too nervous, her ears would even turn red.

Besides, Yu Yinan had clearly eaten her chocolate.

Zheng Yi unwrapped a lollipop, pushed it out of its wrapper, and stuck it in Yu Yinan’s mouth. “If Jiejie isn’t willing to share with me, then the candy won’t be sweet anymore.”

“I’m driving, don’t-” Yu Yinan tried to dodge, but before her scolding tone could become firm, the lollipop was already in her mouth. Her words stopped abruptly. After a moment’s pause, she continued, “Don’t do that…”

“I still have some food in my bag, Jiejie. You don’t have to save things for me,” Zheng Yi said from the passenger seat, putting on a well-behaved yet slightly wronged expression. Her voice grew even sweeter and softer. “Besides, you’ve been the one driving this whole time. I don’t even know the way… I can’t help you with anything.”

“No, you’re very capable.” Yu Yinan hesitated, her gaze fixed on the road ahead. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, as if she didn’t quite know what to say in this situation. “You have a lollipop too.”

“Okay~ Jiejie, focus. There are zombies ahead, be careful not to hit them~”

And so, Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan officially began their journey to Genbin.

They would stop whenever they came across a small convenience store on the road. Zheng Yi gave Yu Yinan a fire axe, and while Yu Yinan stood guard by the car, Zheng Yi would quickly go into the store to scavenge further. She always managed to find some water or other supplies that people hadn’t had time to take, like essential feminine hygiene products or various sauces that others had left behind.

How to put it… hot sauce with crackers was actually pretty good. At least it gave their mouths some flavor.

[Isn’t Yu Yinan at all curious about what you’ve stuffed into that packed-to-the-brim hiking bag?] Zero One was rather speechless. Hemp rope, snacks, compressed biscuits, and mineral water were one thing. But Zheng Yi had even managed to pull out another fire axe to give to Yu Yinan! Solid alcohol fuel, a lighter, even a plush blanket for warmth at night—that hiking bag was practically a bag of holding.

‘She trusts me.’ Sitting in the passenger seat, Zheng Yi dipped a compressed biscuit in black bean sauce and held it to Yu Yinan’s lips. “Jiejie, open up, ahh~”

“…You don’t have to do this. I can eat by myself. It’s too much trouble…”

“Ahh~”

“…”

“Jiejie, have some water~”

“Really, you don’t have to. I’m just driving, not doing anything special…”

“Jiejie, drink it!”

Yu Yinan: “…”

Yu Yinan’s face was bright red. She tried her best to maintain a calm, straight face and focus on driving, but she couldn’t resist Zheng Yi’s persistent feeding and ultimately had to give in.

[…But still, being a Saint isn’t about taking care of one person’s every single need, is it? You’re acting like a personal nanny!]

‘Well, she’s the only one I’ve run into.’ Zheng Yi didn’t think it was a big deal; her Saint persona was very stable. Didn’t the system award her Saint Points every time she fed Yu Yinan with her own food? It even gave her points for not letting Yu Yinan face danger while scavenging and charging ahead herself.

“By the way, Jiejie, how come you’re not curious about what else is in my bag?” Zheng Yi asked, as if making casual conversation while feeding her, directly posing Zero One’s question to the person herself.

“They’re your things, after all. It doesn’t matter what you have, and you don’t have to share them with me.” Yu Yinan grew even more embarrassed talking about this. “With you like this… I’m taking too much advantage of you.”

“You’re being too formal, Jiejie! We’re partners fighting side-by-side against the apocalypse. There’s no such thing as taking advantage.”

“You’re always like this…” Yu Yinan had almost no resistance to such direct kindness and affection. She didn’t fight back; she just silently committed everything Zheng Yi did to memory.

---

Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi took turns driving, though Yu Yinan, wanting to take care of Zheng Yi as much as possible, would extend her own driving shifts to give Zheng Yi more time to rest.

When night fell, it wasn’t suitable for travel. The car’s high beams were too conspicuous, and while the low beams were usable, the road conditions were far from ideal. There were crash sites in many places, and driving at high speed in the middle of the night would be very dangerous.

So they generally tried to find a safe place to stop. Although the rear windows couldn’t be closed, they were only resting briefly in the front seats and didn’t recline them too far back.

At first, Yu Yinan didn’t dare to sleep too deeply, but eventually, she became so exhausted that she fell asleep without realizing it and was dead to the world. Zheng Yi was fine; she was naturally alert. Besides, with Zero One in her mind, she might need sleep, but Zero One didn’t.

Zero One would keep watch for them for free.

Scavenging as they traveled, they finally entered the Genbin area after two days.

Zheng Yi’s Saint Points had also risen to 16.

Although it was relatively easy to earn Saint Points from Yu Yinan, she was only one person. Compared to the five zombies from before, the efficiency of farming Saint Points was a bit lower.

Of course, that wasn’t a big problem. Because-

Zheng Yi looked at the man-made roadblock ahead, sat up straight in the passenger seat, and grew a little more serious.