“How about you, Ash Ketchup? Why are you alone in the forest? You’re not here to kill me, aren’t you?”

“Eh?” Yang Zhang was confused by that question. Because that was definitely unexpected.

Why would he want to kill her? 

“Why would you say that?” Yang Zhang asked confusedly.

“Just say yes or no. Are you here for my head?”

“Um… no, I guess?” Yang Zhang got even more confused when Katarang looked so solemn. “Why are you asking that, seriously? Why would someone try to find and kill you?”

“Because I’m an ability user, obviously,” Katarang replied. “They want my head.”

“I’m not catching anything, but that sure sounds creepy….” Yang Zhang said. He never heard an ability user get hunted. In his previous shelter, the ability users were the soldiers, the lifeline of the shelter. They are treated better than regular humans with immunity like Yang Zhang. 

It was fair since the lifeline of a shelter was the ability users who constantly went out to find supplies or kill zombies that approached the shelter. 

Katarang sighed full of relief, “Well, I’m just glad that you’re not here to hunt me down.”

“No, seriously, what do you mean that someone is after your head? Why are you here in the forest alone?” Yang Zhang asked.

“You don’t need to know, but since you’re an ability user as well. Just make sure to stay guarded, okay?”

…

“O—Okay,” Yang Zhang nodded reluctantly, still with plenty of questions in his head. “At least, tell me, why are you here in this forest alone?”

“I ran away from my shelter because of something. The forest is the safest place for us because there is no way those people would walk through the forest full of unknown danger, and there are no zombies as well.”

‘So she is basically a fugitive in hiding,’ Yang Zhang concluded in his head. 

“How about you, Ash Ketchup? Why are you in the forest?”

“Oh… Uhm… I got kicked out of my shelter because of a clash between me and someone,” Yang Zhang said. He was too embarrassed to say that he accidentally offended a petty young master and got kicked out.

“I see, so we’re not so different, huh?” Katarang smiled mysteriously. “This conversation is nice, Ash Ketchup. But I need to go now. I can’t stay here for long.”

“Eh? So quick? I thought we could have more conversation here,” Yang Zhang asked. “Is it because you want to keep your secret to the grave, and talking to me will only make you feel vulnerable?” Yang Zhang asked bluntly.

Katarang gave Yang Zhang an annoyed look and clicked her tongue, “What kind of high school imagination was that?! I need to return to my hut because my body is freezing! I need to dry up quickly, and I’m damn hungry. You literally tied me up for three hours!”

“Ah—“

Yang Zhang was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t some dramatic secret that Katarang tried to hide from him. 

“My hut isn’t far from the lake. Since we’ve known each other, you’re free to take a dip or drink in this lake. Don’t worry, I cleaned it every day with my power. It’s probably the freshest water you can find in the forest,” Katarang fixed the towel wrapping around her body and asked, “Where do you live?”

“Um, somewhere quite far from here, I traveled around to find food most of the time,” Yang Zhang replied. 

“Well, you’re free to come here whenever you want. Just make sure nobody is trailing you from behind when you’re on your way here, or we will be in danger.”

“WE?”

“Yeah, we, us, you and I. That’s why you got to be careful,” Katarang said.

“Why do I have to get involved there?”

…

Katarang decided to zip her mouth and walked away, leaving Yang Zhang questioning what the well that blue-haired girl was hiding.

But he got one more priority question before Katarang truly left his line of sight, “Wait! About your hair! Did you dye your hair?!”

“It’s natural, idiot!” Katarang yelled out loud before disappearing into the woods.

**

Yang Zhang wore his boxer again, and he was ready to continue his journey to the east. The sun was already shining bright, so he guessed that it was probably around 1 P.M.

“Good thing I didn't bring my phone today,” Yang Zhang mumbled. Since the junglefowl incident, he was afraid that his precious phone would get destroyed. 

“Alright, gang, let’s go east. We can’t delay more time,” Yang Zhang said.

“Vii!”

“Squeak, squeak!”

“Chirp!”

The pets gathered on Yang Zhang’s body, ready for another journey. Yang Zhang looked at the dark lake and then the direction where Katarang left.

He had a feeling that they would meet again soon. At least Yang Zhang wanted to meet with that girl often because he was all alone in this forest in the apocalypse era. It would be nice to have a human friend that he could visit often. 

“We’ll come here again later!” Yang Zhang opened his palm, and Little Ivy stretched two vines to start swinging from one branch to another, he didn't want to delay his time because it was already noon. He might have to stay somewhere for the night because the trip was quite long.