Raising The Zombie King

[Day 1

I’ve forgotten a lot of things.

The place I woke up to was the school lab, surrounded by ice cubes that hadn’t completely melted. I don’t remember anything and I don’t know why I was here. The strangest thing is that there is no one anywhere. As if I’m the only one left.]

[Day 2

I’ve walked a long way. no matter where I go, there was no sign of human habitation for a long time and many plants along the road have produced wonderful mutations.

I haven’t eaten, drunk, or stopped to rest during the day and night, but I don’t feel any discomfort. I felt unfamiliar with my own body, and I can’t even control it flexibly.]

. . . . . . . . . . . .

[Day 54

I met a group of people, three men, and two women, on my way to see the soft-leaved cedar mutant A2

Before this, I thought the human race went extinct.

They seemed to have just gone through a battle. The younger girl of the team produced a beam of light on her hands and she took turned to treat the other’s wounds. The wounds touched by the light would soon heal.

I wanted to communicate with them, but when I stepped out, their expressions immediately distorted.

Someone broke down and let out a scream before unleashing flames at me, while another, who could manipulate the wind, tried to escape with his companion.

Flames of that level couldn’t hurt me, but I didn’t go after them.

They seemed to be scared of me. . . or my appearance.]

. . . . . . . . . . . .

[Day 67

I found a human gathering place.

After I covered up my obvious physical features, I was able to communicate with them without any problems, but when I revealed my appearance, they immediately took a guarded fighting stance against me.

I was right. They did feel terrified and hostile to my appearance.

I didn’t want to get into a fight with them, so I left.]

. . . . . . . . . . . .

[Day 325

A group of people came to town and there was a young boy in handcuffs among them. Almost all of them were abusing him.

I didn’t like it.

When they were resting, I let the boy go, He followed me and said that he wanted to live with me, but when he saw the crystal on my forehead, he showed a scared expression again.

I thought he just needed a safe place to live and sent him to a nearby human gathering place.]

. . . . . . . . . . . .

[Day 328

I can probably understand now why the others are afraid of me.

The boy came back, saying that he was infected with the virus and didn’t want to become an irrational monster. He begged me to help him.

But I didn’t know how to help him. He transformed into a similar creature that looks a little bit like me.

After becoming like that, he seemed to have lost his reasoning, or rather lost his ‘intelligence’ as a human being and the only instinct left is to feed. Even if I linked to his spirit, I can only ‘hear’ the words of wanting to be full.

Was I like this before I became conscious?]

[Day 329

I tried to feed him.

He wasn’t interested in any food that I could eat and would spit them out even if I pour them in. He was only attracted to the crystals in the mutant’s body. But these crystals can only enhance his abilities, but cannot nourish him.]

. . . . . . . . . . . .

[Day 350

He wandered around town all day and I could feel his powers getting stronger, but he is always hungry.

I tried to explore the origins of the difference between us but made no progress.

Maybe one day he will die like this.]

. . . . . . . . . . . .

[Day 751

The evergreen tree E13 is starting to bud.

A group of people came to town. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen anyone else in over a year.

The girl in their group seems to have been left behind. It’s strange, I can feel an aura around her. It’s unlike everyone I’ve seen and I can’t help but be drawn to her.

Maybe it would be better for me to stay away from her. . . but I want to stay by her side.

I like the way she smells.

Not to mention, she cooks deliciously.]

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[Day 756

She invited me to stay with her.

I like it here. There are a lot of things that can grow in the yard at the entrance.

What I like most is staying with her.]

The handwriting on the notebook was stiff and messy at first, like a child who just learned how to write. But it soon became fluent and smooth, like Xiao Xiao’s words that Lin Yuzu first saw.

There was no doubt that this was Xiao Xiao’s diary.

Seven hundred and fifty-six days. The thick book was about to be filled. During this period, it didn’t only consist of Xiao Xiao’s experiences and mood, it also included frequent stick figures of various things and observation records of mutant plants.

Rather than a diary, it was more like Xiao Xiao’s memory carrier for the past two years ever since she woke up.

‘And she just showed me. . .’

Lin Yuzu sighed and looked at the dark ceiling.

‘Can’t sleep. . .’

It wasn’t all because of Xiao Xiao’s diary. It was more about not being used to having people around her. Lin Yuzu turned her face sideways, seeing Xiao Xiao lying beside her sleeping on her side. Her hair scattered around her cheeks, her beautiful face facing her direction, and her soft exhale brushing against her shoulder.

Probably because she’s a zombie, Xiao Xiao’s body temperature and breathing were also slightly cold.

Lin Yuzu rationally understood that she was a companion that could be trusted, and if she wasn’t going to trust Xiao Xiao, she wouldn’t have brought her back. But with the unfamiliar scent around, her body subconsciously raised her vigilance and it is difficult for her to fall asleep.

Xiao Xiao slept soundly. Lin Yuzu looked at her calm sleeping face and could only regard this unguarded state as her confidence in her strength.

Lin Yuzu tucked her under the covers and gently got up.

She really couldn’t sleep, instead, the more she laid down, the more awake she became, so she went outside to sit on the veranda.

The night was quiet, and even the mutant plant that Xiao Xiao brought back had closed its petals and wrapped itself in thick leaves, and curled up, seemingly resting. The weeds in the courtyard haven’t been pulled yet, so with the mottled walls and scattered stones, the yard looks bleak and dilapidated.

Lin Yuzu looked at the desolate scenery in front of her, but slowly felt settled down.

She raised her head and the dark blue night sky was full of stars. Before the apocalypse, this kind of scenery is usually invisible. Instead of a starry sky, it was the dappled neon of the city.

Lin Yuzu still remembers that she and her classmates would lament about the air pollution and became nostalgic for the time when she could still see the stars whenever she would raise her head when she was still a child. At the time, she couldn’t imagine that she would be here again after a few years to reminisce about the city’s nightscape.

Lin Yuzu subconsciously felt the harmonica in her pocket. As soon as she took it out, she remembered Xiao Xiao who was sleeping in the room, so she didn’t blow on it. Instead, she just rubbed on the lettering engraved on it with her hand.

But her worries seemed to be redundant.

The door of the house was pushed open again, and when Lin Yuzu looked back, she saw Xiao Xiao come out of the house with hazy drowsiness on her face.

She walked into the night and the soft moonlight poured down on her. Her long snow-colored hair was plated with a later of silver, her pale blue skin and pointed ears made her look like something born out of a fantasy story like fairies or elves.

Lin Yuzu smiled apologetically, “Did I wake you up?”

Xiao Xiao seemed to be not fully awake as she was sluggishly shaking her head as she sat next to Lin Yuzu.

What are you doing outside?

Xiao Xiao’s question was obvious on her face and Lin Yuzu could see through her in a glance.

“Can’t sleep, so I came out to watch the stars.” To keep Xiao Xiao’s focus away from why Lin Yuzu couldn’t sleep, she paused for a moment before talking about her barren astrological knowledge, “Do you know about the Great Spring Arc? It’s from the Ursa Major, that is, among the seven stars in the Big Dipper. . . “

Lin Yuzu got stuck.

When she tried to point it out to Xiao Xiao, she realized that she couldn’t even find the Big Dipper. . .

Xiao Xiao silently sighed as if speechless and sat a little closer. She then held Lin Yuzu’s outstretched hand and drew a curve.

It was the Big Dipper. The shape was so special that Lin Yuzu immediately recognized it, and then the hand followed the previous curve, leading her to slowly draw a gentle arc on the sky.

This should be the location of the Great Spring Arc. . . Although lin yuzu did not find those stars at all.

Lin Yuzu coughed dryly and said sincerely, “You know so much.”

Xiao Xiao ignored her, her eyes fell on the harmonica she was holding on her other hand.

“Are you interested in this?” Lin Yuzu noticed her focus, hesitated for a moment before handing her the harmonica.

A small harmonica with a few small flowers scribbled crookedly on the wooden casing, and a smiling sun lord resembling a child’s immature strokes. It also had the words engraved in the lower right corner—-

“Sòng, gěi, yòu, zi, jiě, jiě.” 1

Xiao Xiao slowly read it out loud, her voice clear and her pronunciation crips. Although it takes a lot of effort for her to say each word.

Facing Lin Yuzu’s surprised gaze, Xiao Xiao blinked innocently, not knowing why she showed a happy expression for some reason. She then repeated her nickname, “Yuzu” This time, it was a little smoother.

Lin Yuzu was deeply fooled, “You can talk. . .”

Ordinary zombies would only be able to make grunting sounds from their throats, and she thought that Xiao Xiao was the same. Not speaking because of the loss of language function, otherwise, why else would she use writing to communicate?

‘. . . . So why is she using writing to communicate?’

Xiao Xiao didn’t care about her complicated expression. She held the harmonica and asked, “Like?”

“. . . I can’t say I like it. It’s just a habit.”

Suddenly being asked about this, Lin Yuzu paused. Perhaps she was influenced by Xiao Xiao showing her her diary without hesitation, or perhaps people are prone to sentimentality at night that her long-lost desire to talk suddenly surged up.

“I used to have an older sister,” Lin Yuzu organized a few words and said slowly, “She was very powerful and after the apocalypse, she built the largest base in the north. My abilities are not very offensive and are not suitable for battle, so I spent most of my time helping out in the logistics department.”

The initial chaos of that period has subsided, and the survivors have adapted to the line during the apocalypse whether they were forced to adapt or not. Those with supernatural abilities rallied and went out to round up zombies and hunt mutant creatures, while those with weaker combat abilities stayed behind for support.

Considering the long-term problems, the base will give more benefits to families with children, and there is no shortage of people giving birth to this. When life gradually calmed down, there was also a group of developing children at the time that needed to be taught.

A large part of Lin Yuzu’s job was to be their preschool education teacher, and she spent most of her time with them.

“This harmonica was a birthday present from them.”

Xiao Xiao listened quietly. Her ice-blue eyes reflecting the appearance of the person in front of her, including the light smile that emerged as she recalled those old events as if melting into the moonlight.

Lin Yuz said, “My sister told me when she passed the harmonica to me, ‘in such a world, thinking too much and becoming too tense is not okay, but you don’t want to think about anything. No, people always need to have something to hold onto to survive’. . . I actually don’t understand her words.”

“But maybe because of that, when I carry it around, I can always feel that the feelings entrusted on it will support me. . .”

Lin Yuzu was silent for a while and then smiled again, “Sorry for saying something weird.”

Xiao Xiao shook her head and returned the harmonica to her, “Important, some, thing.”

“Yeah, but it’s okay. It’s not like you were going to break it.”

Lin Yuzu guessed her meaning and replied, but this time, she probably misunderstood what Xiao Xiao meant.

“Good, learn.” Xiao Xiao looked at her with a little hatred, “Listen, bad.”

Lin Yuzu, “. . .”

Lin Yuzu took a deep breath and stood up, “Go back to bed. It’s the middle of the night.”

Xiao Xiao raised her head and followed her movements, Lin Yuzu’s figure and the stars of the sky reflected in her eyes.

“Your eyes are so beautiful. . .” Despite being criticized for her poor playing skills, Lin Yuzu still listened to her heart and uttered the compliment that flashed in her heart many times.

Xiao Xiao blinking slightly and suddenly pulled her back, as if to express her disapproval, and firmly shook her head.

She raised her hand and pointed her index finger at Lin Yuzu’s eyes.

The tip of her slender fingers touched Lin Yuzu’s eyelashes. She had been taught a long time ago that she should instead open her eyes wide to clearly see while in the face of danger. And even though she wasn’t in danger, she habitually did not close her eyes and looked at Xiao Xiao.

“Pretty.” Xiao Xiao’s face showed a pleasant smile, “Like, the color of the aurora.”

“. . .”

When the fingertips fell, Lin Yuzu closed her eyes.

In the gentle night-like darkness, she felt the soft fingertips gently grazed the corner of her eyes.

The author has something to say:

Xiao Xiao hasn’t spoken for a long time and has practiced for a long time to speak accurately.

“Sòng, gěi, yòu, zi, jiě, jiě.” (Give, to, you, zi (Yuzu), elder sister)