Chapter Ten: Uncovering the Cause

ps: During the release of this new book, the author really needs your support. The story is still in its infancy and not yet substantial enough to ask for recommendations, so I simply hope for a bookmark. If you find the book enjoyable, just tap to add it to your shelf—it’s truly easy, I’ve tried it myself. If you don’t believe me, try it out?

The heavy wooden door creaked open. Li Qianqian, her eyes swollen and red, peeked her head out. When she saw Ke Bei standing at the threshold, she froze for a moment, then rushed forward and threw herself into his arms.

“I thought you—I thought you wouldn’t come back. Father abandoned me, and I don’t want to be without a home…” Li Qianqian buried herself in Ke Bei’s embrace, sobbing uncontrollably, her words choked by tears.

For a fragile woman, survival in the apocalypse is nearly impossible. Having finally found someone to rely on, Ke Bei’s absence the previous night had filled her with dread, making her fear the worst. Thus, upon seeing him return, she lost all composure.

“I’m fine, really, I’m perfectly fine.” Ke Bei was flustered by her sudden action. Feeling the softness in his arms, his cheeks flushed, and he found himself in an awkward position—unable to push her away, yet unable to hold her close.

“I—I’ll go make you something to eat…” After crying in Ke Bei’s embrace for a while, Li Qianqian gradually regained her composure, realized her impropriety, and shyly slipped away, her face burning red.

Watching her retreat in embarrassment, Ke Bei couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“Ah, looks like trouble will be unavoidable from now on,” he mused, glancing at the only large bed in the room. He scratched his head, sighed, and considered whether it was time to find a new place.

Previously, he’d shared the room with his bearded father—two men, and it never felt odd. Now, with a girl suddenly in the household, Ke Bei felt a bit uncomfortable.

After a simple meal of two pieces of black bread and a bowl of hot soup, Ke Bei took his saber and reclined lazily in the makeshift chair by the door, basking in the sunlight. He pondered the details of yesterday’s desperate battle with the zombies, hoping to uncover the reason for his saber’s newfound sharpness.

“What exactly happened?” He furrowed his brow, recalling every moment, but still could not identify anything unusual.

“The situation was so dire then; I wasn’t thinking at all, just desperate to survive…”

He flicked the broad blade of his saber and shook his head in defeat. He simply couldn’t fathom why it had suddenly become so keen.

“Wait, desperate…?” Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Ke Bei.

“Desperate! Desperation means blood! Could it be…” He sat up abruptly.

“Could it be because my blood stained the blade?” Ke Bei examined the rusted saber, hesitant and uncertain.

“Let’s try it!” He picked up the saber and lightly drew it across his arm. Fresh blood welled up, dripping onto the blade like a crimson plum blossom.

With a swing, Ke Bei brought the saber down on the iron tripod supporting his chair. Sparks flew, a clear metallic clang rang out, but the chair was untouched.

“Strange, nothing changed. So it isn’t my blood—then what is it?” Ke Bei racked his brains, but no answer came.

A cloud of frustration settled over him. He sat in silence, his mind racing, replaying the scene in his head. He failed to notice that a drop of blood had trickled from the wound on his arm, flowing down to his palm and finally seeping into the wooden handle of the saber.

“Damn it all, what’s going on here!” He thought it over again, meticulously, but still found nothing. In annoyance, he swung the saber down with force.

“Thunk—thud!”

Two distinct sounds echoed almost simultaneously: the first was the saber striking the iron frame, and the second was the collapse of the chair.

“Hahaha, so that’s it! I understand now!” The chair suddenly gave way, dust billowing as Ke Bei found himself crowned with straw and his face smeared with dirt, looking rather disheveled. Yet, oblivious to his appearance, he raised the saber and laughed heartily.

“So my blood really does work—the handle, the handle is the key!”

Ke Bei stared at the wooden hilt of the saber, his eyes ablaze with excitement.

The mystery of the saber’s sharpness was finally unraveled. Eager to hunt zombies, Ke Bei felt he could now swiftly fulfill the task of slaying the red-haired undead and earn another chance at drawing martial skills.

“I’m off! Take care of yourself!” Ke Bei shouldered his saber, shouted to Li Qianqian, and hurriedly strode out of the city.

…………………………

This time, Ke Bei didn’t head for Chen Village—the zombie density there was too low. Previously, his strength was insufficient, and he didn’t dare approach areas swarming with zombies, but now things were different!

For ranged attacks, he had his throwing knife technique; for close combat, a razor-sharp saber. As long as he wasn’t surrounded by dozens of zombies, there was nothing to fear.

“To the Burial Grounds!”

He patted the saber slung across his back and left Lingfeng City, heading south.

The Burial Grounds were similar to Chen Village: both were gathering places for low-level red-named zombies. The difference was the sheer number there, though higher-level zombies rarely appeared.

So long as he avoided the green-haired undead, the ordinary red-haired zombies posed no real threat to Ke Bei now.

“Roar—roar—”

It was already afternoon, the sun sinking in the west, and zombies appeared ever more frequently. Ke Bei was unfazed by their growls—he’d grown accustomed to the cacophony.

On a narrow path through the withered grass, Ke Bei walked calmly forward, ignoring the occasional howls that echoed around him.

“Snarl!”

Suddenly, less than three meters away, a roar erupted. Three red-haired zombies lunged from the grass, drawn by Ke Bei’s scent.

This time, Ke Bei hadn’t sprinkled any powder to mask his odor—there was no need until he reached the Burial Grounds.

Seeing the terrifying, fanged zombies, Ke Bei sneered disdainfully. A willow-leaf throwing knife appeared in his hand; he made a small cut, and a drop of fresh blood fell onto the saber’s hilt.

“Awuu—”

The three zombies howled in unison, their black, sharp claws slashing toward Ke Bei.

“Die!”

Ke Bei’s saber swept out in a horizontal slash, its blade tinged with a faint silvery glow, cleaving through the zombie’s arm with no resistance. The limb was severed instantly. He stepped sideways, swinging the saber upward in a slant, beheading one of the monsters. Dark green, foul-smelling blood sprayed out.

With a single stroke, Ke Bei had effortlessly killed a vicious zombie!

The other two rushed forward, their fangs aimed at Ke Bei’s throat.

“Slash! Slash!”

Ke Bei rotated his body, deftly employing his saber technique to deflect their pouncing force. Then, with a swift upward motion, his saber glided across their necks, sending two jets of blood spurting into the air.

In just two breaths, Ke Bei had decapitated all three zombies with ease!

“Ah, nothing beats having a good blade… But damn, having to wound myself every time is truly frustrating.”

He tore a strip from his shirt to bandage the small cut on his palm, sighing helplessly.

There was no other way—without the saber’s sharpness, he couldn’t break through the red-haired zombies’ defenses. Unless he used the throwing knife to strike the weak spot between their brows!

“I must complete the task quickly. Once I draw another martial skill, my strength will soar, and I won’t have to endure this anymore.”

Ke Bei gazed resolutely at a small hill in the distance, clenching his fist. That was his destination—the Burial Grounds!