“You’re the first one to survive here.” A teenage boy suddenly popped out of nowhere, sitting on a tree not far from Yang Zhang’s position.

He had dark hair and tattered clothes and looked to be around 15-16 years old. But what surprised Yang Zhang was the boy's physique. Unlike the typical teenage boy in the apocalypse, this child was vigorous and robust. 

“Who are you?” Yang Zhang asked cautiously. The last thing he wanted was another enemy after so much had already happened today. 

“I’m the only living human in this village. I don’t know how you were able to come to this village alone, but you’re the only one who survived the villagers’ ambush.”

“The only living human in this village?” Yang Zhang frowned. He also felt wronged because he expected a living human to have helped when the zombies attacked him. “And you hid the whole time while I was one inch away from death?!” 

“Hey, you’re fighting a literal village of zombies,” the kid complained. “Do you think I can just jump in and go full Rambo?”

“At least you could have warned me before I entered this damned village ah!” Yang Zhang yelled back bitterly.

“Warning people is how I got my little sister killed,” the teenage boy shouted. 

The surprising dark turn caught Yang Zhang off guard. He didn't know the story behind it, but out of respect he bowed his head slightly, “I—I apologize for bringing it up.”

“No, it’s fine,” the teenager brushed off Yang Zhang’s apology. He looked tough, though even Yang Zhang could see the flash of sadness in his face. “It wasn’t your fault anyway. It’s those ability user bastards.”

“Anyway, I can tell you the story behind this village and why those zombies acted that way. But I have a request for you.”

Yang Zhang cocked his head curiously, “Eh? What request?”

“… you will know later. Please follow me.” The teenage boy walked ahead deeper into the village. 

Yang Zhang hesitated. He could turn around and get the fuck out of this damned village as soon as possible, but he was curious about what that kid wanted him to do, and he wanted to know what happened here. 

Thus, following his instinct, Yang Zhang followed the teenage boy walking through the empty street. Keeping his guard up, he looked around warily, just in case a zombie would suddenly jump out of nowhere and attack him.

The teenage boy chuckled, “Don’t worry, those zombies only attack when you’re in the middle of town by the bronze cow statue. Now that it’s gone, I’m not sure what they’ll do next, but I’m sure they won't do anything right now.”

“You’re safe.”

…

Yang Zhang knew it was a bit ridiculous to trust someone younger than him about this, but he seemed to have a lot more experience than the sheltered Yang Zhang. 

So he just followed the teen boy until they were at the South Gate of the village and left the town.

The teen boy stopped in a cave not far from the village. He invited Yang Zhang to enter the cave and lit the candle on a stone table. 

“This is the place where I live,” the teenager said.

Yang Zhang was quite impressed by how this young man could survive by himself, “Are you an ability user?” 

“I’m just a regular human,” the teen boy replied. “I’d rather die than become an ability user. They’re no better than the zombies.”

Yang Zhang was surprised by the sharp remark. Then he remembered the head of that ability user under the bronze cow, and he cautiously asked, “Why do you hate ability users so much?”

“Because they’re the one who killed my sister,” the teen boy stared emptily at the wall and sighed, “I’ll tell you a story.”

Yang Zhang was all ears when the teen boy started telling the story of this village. 

“This village was a closed community that had almost zero interaction with outsiders. Only the village chief and a select few others could leave the village. Honestly, it was a peaceful place.”

“The villagers mostly live off farming and cattle. That’s why they worshiped a cow god. The bronze statue in the middle of the village is their offering statue. They would usually offer the head of their livestock, like cow, lamb, pig, or chicken by burning it under the bronze cow.”

“My dad was the son of the village chief, so he had the privilege to study in the big city and married my mom, who was a city woman.”

“But my parents were divorced when I was ten, and my sister was only four years old. Then when my grandpa passed away, Dad returned here to be the new village chief.”

“All was good until the virus reached the village. Everyone in town was infected and turned into zombies. Only my sister and I were spared.”

“But then, after a while I realized that my sister’s skin started rotting, and in only ten days, she also turned into a zombie. But she wasn’t hostile. All she did was sit all day long outside or near the river. That’s why I kept her around.”

“She would constantly follow me when I was checking around the village, and those zombified villagers weren’t hostile to me either. Although I was devastated, I was trying to survive alone with my zombie sister in this secluded village.” 

“The zombies stayed inside their houses most of the time, only coming out when stray animals entered the village. They would gang up on that animal and eat everything raw until there is only the head.”

“They will then throw the head under the bronze cow as an offering. I don’t know why they act differently than other zombies, though….” 

“Then… about eight months ago, four people driving two motorcycles suddenly reached the village and I met them at the gate. I told them not to enter because the zombies here are different. But they boasted that they were ability users, and they could handle a few zombies just fine.”

“They shoved me away and walked brazenly into the village. When they saw my zombie sister, they…” Up until this point the boy had been able to relay the story with a calm and even tone, as if it had nothing to do with him, but when he came to this part he choked up before continuing, “They cut her head off with their ability and then walked to the bronze cow.”

“And they got ambushed and eaten by the zombie villagers?” Yang Zhang asked. 

“Yes…” The boy looked grim and there was an angry fire in his eyes, “I feel no remorse, though. They are so arrogant, and… and they killed my zombie sister…”

Yang Zhang took a deep breath. This stuff was seriously heavy. Unexpectedly this teen boy’s life was so miserable.

He was also mystified by the zombie villagers' and the little sister's behavior.

It seemed the zombies could retain their memories from when they were human, although it seemed to be mostly instinctual. 

The zombies in the village had their belief deeply rooted inside their subconsciousness, so even after turning into zombies, they still retained that consciousness to make offerings to the bronze cow as part of their religion. 

Yang Zhang stared at the teen boy pitifully, but he said nothing, waiting until the teen boy spoke up about his request.

“I know this might be weird, but can I ask you a question?” The teen boy said, and Yang Zhang nodded. 

The teen boy looked at Chestnut, who was resting on Yang Zhang’s jacket, and Little Ivy, who was also resting on Yang Zhang’s palm.

“Your pets are mutated, right? I saw plenty of mutated animals and plants in the forest, but I never saw any of them follow a human command. And I saw you collecting those Brain Beads after that explosion."

"So, may I ask, are those Brain Beads used to mutate your pets?"