Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Sun Family Siblings

“Um… Sister,” the speed ability user said, swallowing hard.

“Hm?” Lian Yi’s expression darkened. “Do I look that old?”

He flinched. “W-We pulled the zombies away from the car.”

“And I pulled you out of death’s mouth,” Lian Yi shot back. “So how do you plan to repay me?”

He went quiet, jaw tight. Lian Yi rolled her eyes and climbed into the SUV first. A light press and the engine turned over. She was about to drive out.

The woman stepped in front of the hood.

Before Lian Yi could explode, the woman spoke fast. “My brother and I are willing to follow you. We owe you our lives. Outside is chaos now—no one survives alone. You need help. My brother is fast, and I have perception ability. I sensed we’d meet someone worth following here. That’s why we risked coming tonight.”

Interest flickered in Lian Yi’s eyes. She looked them over once and understood.

They’d likely triggered a second evolution, got sick and weak, and were kicked out. Then, during that vulnerable window, they’d been surrounded. If not for her, they would’ve died here. In another life, maybe they had.

“Get in,” Lian Yi said.

She slid out of the driver’s seat and moved to the passenger side, giving the woman the wheel. The siblings exchanged a quick look—then the woman climbed in front and the boy took the back.

The SUV surged out of the underground garage.

“I’m Wu Lian Yi,” she said.

“Sister Lian Yi,” the boy blurted, eager and nervous. “I’m Sun Wang. My sister is Sun Yi. We’re locals.”

“Lian Yi,” Sun Yi said, eyes forward. “Where are we going?”

Only then did Lian Yi remember the most basic problem.

Gas.

“Around Feng Yuan Bridge there’s a gas station,” she said. “Get on the expressway and fill up. This car’s a brick without fuel. And you two are empty-handed—grab supplies for yourselves too.”

“Got it.” Sun Yi turned the wheel smoothly, ramming a zombie that staggered into their path, then guided them onto the expressway without needing navigation.

“You live nearby,” Lian Yi said after a beat. “How’d you get kicked out?”

Sun Yi stayed calm, but Sun Wang couldn’t help it. “Sister Lian Yi… how do you know?”

Lian Yi’s gaze stayed on the road. “Most people’s safe zone is a one-kilometer radius around where they live. That’s where they move without thinking. I mentioned the bridge, and your sister knew exactly where the gas station was. You two probably got a fever and passed out. People panicked, thought you’d turn into monsters, and threw you out. If you were scavenging, you wouldn’t be carrying nothing. No bags, no weapons. Not even a cleaver.”

Sun Wang’s ears went red. He gave an embarrassed laugh. She’d nailed it.

Their uncle had kicked them out. They’d made their way to the mall by Sun Yi’s perception, hoping to find food and a car. Then they got trapped in the garage—until they ran into her.

A bag of instant noodles and a bottle of water smacked into Sun Wang’s chest. He caught them and stared, eyes bright.

“You’ll pay it back,” Lian Yi said flatly. “I don’t keep freeloaders.”

“Thank you!” Sun Wang split the food with Sun Yi, and the tight hunger in their stomachs finally eased.

They reached the gas station.

Lian Yi stayed in the car. She handed each of them a cleaver. “That’s all you get. The rest is on you.”

The siblings checked their angles, moved fast, set the pump nozzle, then crept toward the convenience store.

Once they were out of sight, Lian Yi slipped out of the SUV and moved toward a fuel tanker parked by the exit. Under cover of darkness, she swallowed the entire truck into her Pocket Space—then returned to the SUV like she’d never left.

Half an hour later, the siblings came back with heavy packs. Zombies were already drifting toward them.

“We’re going to Meteorological Office Community,” Lian Yi said. “There’s a place to hole up.”

Sun Yi floored it. The SUV smashed aside four or five zombies that lurched into their path and barreled back toward the neighborhood.

They parked in a hidden spot, killed two more zombies that wandered too close, and slipped into the building.

From the second floor, Yun Rou watched. Lian Yi was back—alive—and she’d brought two people with her.

Rage burned in Yun Rou’s chest, but her superpower was still too weak to do anything about it.

Why was her entry-level ability so pathetic? She blamed the body—too frail, too soft. That had to be it. Still, the ability itself was useful. Deadly, even.

Up on the sixth floor, Lian Yi opened 601 and pointed inside. “The owner turned into a zombie. You two stay here for now. I’m across the hall. If I need you, I’ll come get you.”

“Thank you, Sister Lian Yi!” Sun Wang said immediately. The siblings stepped inside.

Lian Yi didn’t want anyone learning about Pocket Space too soon. She returned to her own rental across the hall and only brought out a bed and basic kitchen items.

She started making simple rice balls to store away. Power, water, gas—sooner or later it would all cut out. Hot food would become a luxury.

The siblings thought the same way. They cooked rice and made the simplest seaweed rolls they could.

Three days passed.

The zombies adapted to sunlight. They moved freely in daytime now, and civilians grew even more terrified. The government broadcast another notice: people in the city should evacuate to the resettlement camp.

Three more days later, engines thundered through the streets. Army-green trucks rolled into neighborhoods, mowing down the walking dead while loading survivors.

The scene turned chaotic fast. Crowds meant fresh flesh, and that smell drew zombies in waves. Gunfire never stopped, and every shot pulled in more dead from farther away. A vicious loop.

Lian Yi didn’t intend to leave with the military.

But when she looked down from the window, she saw Yun Rou moving with the evacuees. That woman had been hiding in this very building the whole time.

“Smart,” Lian Yi muttered. “Hiding in plain sight.”

She packed the room clean, went across the hall, and called the Sun siblings out.

“Sister Lian Yi,” Sun Wang asked, “are we evacuating with the military?”

“It’s chaos down there,” Sun Yi said, eyes narrowed at the street. “And they’ve already drawn too many zombies.”

“We’ll take our own car,” Lian Yi said. “Follow the convoy. First we get out of here—then we talk.”