Chapter 150 Zombie Empress (81)
(Xyrean Province- Inner Region)
(Unnamed Road- Abandoned Small Town)
Qin Lan walked towards the car and lightly tapped on the window to get Liu Yifei and Gong Li's attention.
She opened the door and looked at both girls with a serious expression on her face.
Liu Yifei could tell that something was wrong, so she immediately stopped talking and listened.
"Girls as I'm sure you've figured out… there is something strange about this town," Qin Lan softly spoke as she glanced at a certain building.
"Eve has tracked down the source of the weirdness to that shop over there and we are going to investigate."
"I'm not sure what is inside so Gong Li, I want you in the driver's seat so you can immediately flee the scene if something goes wrong… is that clear?"
"But Sister Lan… we can help!" Liu Yifei exclaimed loudly as she snapped her fingers and weapons appeared out of thin air.
"I know you can, but I don't want to risk your safety against an unknown threat," Qin Lan gently explained as she tried her best not to let her fear show.
After losing Liu Tao and Chen Xiao, it would be a lie to say that Qin Lan had been unaffected.
There was a small part of brain that blamed herself for what had happened to the two young teenagers who were in her care.
The last thing that she wanted was for something to happen to Liu Yifei and Gong Li as well, so she refused to put them in harm's way.
"But…" Liu Yifei opened her mouth to protest but Qin Lan shook her head and stopped her from complaining.
"You aren't ready yet, but I promise that I will keep training you over the next few weeks until you are," Qin Lan solemnly pledged.
Liu Yifei was still feeling a bit unhappy, but a soft palm gently grabbed her hand and gave it two tight squeezes.
Gong Li comforted her girlfriend with a small smile and then nodded at Qin Lan. The young girl crawled from the backseat and sat down in the driver's chair.
She was not the best driver in the world but had gotten her learner's permit a few months before the apocalypse.
Qin Lan walked away from the car after she saw that both girls had heeded her warning not to get involved.
"Ready to go?" Qin Lan asked Eve who was standing in front of the car and looking off into the distance.
"Yeah… I can still smell it…" Eve softly replied. The zombie empress sniffed the air twice and the scent lingered in her nostrils.
It was hard to describe what it smelled like, and the closest approximation would be burning rubber mixed with the fragrant odour of freshly cut grass.
A peculiar mix to say the least.
Eve and Qin Lan had only fought together for a few weeks and yet they were perfectly in sync as they slowly approached the mysterious building.
Qin Lan's hand was steady as she held the gun in her palm and pointed it in the direction of the building.
The warm feeling in her chest got even stronger as if her ability was being affected by the tense atmosphere and was struggling to get out.
Eve's fingernails grew in a matter of seconds until they became sharp jagged black claws that gleamed under the moonlight.
Neither one of them knew what was inside the building where Eve had sensed the source of the threat was.
The building where the threat resided was an abandoned shop with a wooden door that was barely hanging on to its hinges.
A cold breeze brushed against Qin Lan's face, and she could feel goosebumps rise up along the sides of her arms.
There was something dangerous inside that building…
Qin Lan's instincts screamed at her to turn around and run and yet she continued to walk forward with no trace of fear or hesitation on her face.
Eve followed closely behind, and her pitch-black eyes scanned the nearby surroundings for any threats.
The seriousness of the situation made Eve unleash her monstrous true appearance.
Her body stretched and extended until she was over seven feet tall.
Her face was now little more than skeleton with a layer of skin stretched tightly over her skull and lean powerful muscles could be seen on her arms and legs.
Qin Lan glanced at her companion before turning her attention back to the building that was in front of them.
She walked through the entrance, and something rustled inside the darkness of the abandoned shop.
One could see a large wooden counter on the far side of the room with a metallic cash register that was covered in rust.
This shop had clearly been some kind of general convenience store since Qin Lan observed canned goods, bread, basic hygiene products and other everyday items on the shelves.
The cold metal of the gun in her palm reminded her not to get distracted. Eve sniffed the air and her pitch-black eyes gleamed with an unknown emotion.
She headed towards the back of the room where several thick wooden planks had been bolted over a door.
The faint rustling noises got even louder as the two women approached the mysterious door that had been boarded up for some unknown reason.
Qin Lan and Eve exchanged glances and without saying a word they both knew what message the other was trying to convey.
The zombie empress kicked the door and it immediately shattered under the force of her casual blow.
Eve's enhanced strength could not be underestimated, and she was capable of breaking doors made from reinforced steel, so the wooden door never stood a chance.
Beyond the broken door was a set of stairs that led down to a basement or some type of cellar.
Eve walked through the gap first and Qin Lan followed behind while cautiously looking around for anything suspicious.
The women walked in complete silence as they descended the stairs and found themselves in a storage room where meat hung on racks.
The room was incredibly cold, and Qin Lan could see a faint white mist whenever she exhaled.