Arc 1: Mira in a Doomsday World [12]

Xu watched Mira staring at Wei Lin again, and he was immediately filled with unpleasantness.

This has been going on for a while now.

He was sure that Mira didn't care much about Wei Lin before, so why had she suddenly been paying so much attention to her?

Seeing Mira's concentrated gaze, Xu couldn't help but feel redundant... Was he not attractive enough in her eyes? Xu suddenly started to doubt his appearance.

He wasn't someone who took particularly good care of himself. He always liked to keep himself clean, and he was also aware that he had a good appearance, so there would be endless flocks of people lining up to date him. However, since the doomsdays began, he no longer got to take a bath every day. He could only brush his teeth once a day. His hair would also look unkempt at times, and even the clothes he wore were the same four sets that would be rewashed every two days. It was only after he met Mira that he was once again able to keep himself clean regularly. He wore clothes that were provided by her, and he no longer had to worry about water.

Still, they were usually around zombies, fighting and sweating all the time. Getting dirty was inevitable. Xu looked down at his body. He had just taken a bath before they went on the road, and they hadn't encountered anything troublesome, so he shouldn't smell bad yet... right?

Xu, who was lost in thought, almost didn't notice that someone had already appeared behind them.

Sakura originally wanted to pretend to trip and spill the cup of water in her hand to Mira, but just as she planned to fall, Mira was suddenly dragged to the side.

The performance that she wanted to act in turn became a reality—Sakura fell to the ground embarrassedly. The cup that she held in her hand tipped towards Mira's direction, forming a small arc and spilling a bit of its contents on Mira's pants and shoes.

This made Sakura breathe an almost inaudible sigh of relief. According to what Wei Lin advised before, that should be enough.

Xu held Mira in his arms vigilantly, and the eyes that stared at Sakura turned so gloomy that she shook involuntarily.

"S-sorry," Sakura squeaked out, "I just tripped accidentally."

Xu couldn't restrain the murderousness that bloomed as soon as he sensed danger. It was like he was walking on a tightrope. The slightest accidents that Mira could be subjected to made him panic internally—as if his guts were being squeezed and twisted.

Therefore, the look he gave Sakura was not kind at all.

Mira tugged on Xu and said that it was fine.

She bent down and wiped the shoes and pants with her hands, making Sakura's eyes widen in unexpected delight. Mira did not miss the subtle change in her expression, but she still maintained the nonchalance on her face.

Xu moved to hold Mira's hand, planning to wipe away the remaining liquid.

Sakura remembered Wei Lin's previous warnings, so she immediately tried to stand up and stop him, but Mira was already one step ahead of her.

She avoided Xu's hand and used her hand to pat her shirt instead.

"It's fine, I'll get inside the car to change first."

Mira glanced at Sakura meaningfully, and Sakura, who had a guilty conscience, couldn't help but wonder whether her look had a certain meaning. But Sakura quickly denied this idea. How could Mira know anything?

Sakura composed herself within a few breaths, but there was still a lingering fear in her heart. When she fell forward, she actually had the illusion that the captain wanted to rip her apart.

Her method was indeed a bit careless. Among all of them, Xu had the most advanced senses, so his instinctive reactions were naturally faster. If the cup hadn't fallen towards Mira, Sakura really wouldn't have known what to do. Not only would she have to deal with Xu's reprimand, but she would also have to bear Wei Lin's anger.

Thankfully, the plan succeeded, and Xu was now too distracted by Mira changing clothes to pay attention to her.

Xu guarded Mira outside the car as she changed her clothes. He did not think much of Sakura's fall, but it did make him more worried about future accidents.

What should he do if something happens while he wasn't paying attention? He also felt that Mira had a point. How could he keep her if he couldn't even protect her?

Xu had endless worries, but all he could do was stay alert and determined.

°°°

Wei Lin was used to enduring. She was able to endure the long years of contempt, self-loathing, jealousy, and thirst for revenge. She managed to wait until she found a chance to strike, and one by one, she brought down all the people that she wanted to bring down. She was used to hiding in her shell, which made it hard for others to see her true colors. This extreme patience and vicious mind made her a fearsome enemy.

But this time, Wei Lin could only endure Mira's existence and keep a low profile for a few days before finally losing her patience.

City E was a deserted city. Only weak zombies remained inside it, so it would be hard to find an excuse to get rid of Mira. Wei Lin was originally hesitant about using such a precious item, but seeing the 'proofs of love' on Mira and Xu made her lose her rationality.

She couldn't watch Mira 'stain' Xu any longer.

The water-like liquid that she asked Wei Lin to give to Mira was a defective substance produced by City X's laboratory. While they managed to develop a formula that could camouflage humans amongst zombies, they also managed to make a product that achieved completely opposite effects.

As long as this substance comes into contact with human tissue, the presence exuded by that person would be maximized, and zombies within the range of many miles would be attracted.

Sakura diluted this liquid into the water, but this did not reduce its effects.

A lot of it previously touched Mira's skin, so it was estimated that within a few minutes, all zombies within this radius would go crazy and rush towards them. At that time, another zombie tide might be created.

This substance was originally made through an accident. The lab wanted to test it on a deserted land with few zombies, but as soon as the experiment started, a zombie tide was triggered. Only two people lived to tell the story, and since then, the formula has been banned, and nobody was allowed to disclose its existence.

Its use had been forbidden due to the extremely harmful effects, but Wei Lin was armed with a portable space. She was one of the few people who knew that such a thing existed, so before every sample was destroyed, she secretly stole one and decided to keep it for future use.

Sakura had no idea of this, so she wasn't aware that what she had done could potentially harm everybody else's lives.

Although, even if she knew and tried to persuade Wei Lin not to resort to such means, Wei Lin would probably just list her off as one of her new stumbling blocks.

Such a person, her mind has long been corroded by her own delusions. An enemy and a friend would be decided by how many benefits they could give her or whether they agreed with all of her ideas.

Wei Lin listened to Sakura's report, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

She let that Mira dangle in front of her for several days, but now that she had lost her patience, it was time for that obstacle to disappear.

As if echoing her thoughts, the ground suddenly started vibrating lightly. At first, everybody else didn't think that it was a big deal, but as the vibration continued, they gradually felt that something was wrong.

Xu was the first person to react. It had just been less than an hour since they stopped to take a break in City E's outskirts, but his instincts told him that they would all be in danger if they didn't leave immediately.

He quickly started the car and rolled down the windows, shouting to the rest of the group, "Stop resting, drive now!"

The car accelerated, and the others also hurriedly organized themselves and followed Xu's vehicle.

Mira, who was comfortably seated in the backseat, looked back at the line of cars behind them.

If she wasn't wrong, this strange shaking should be caused by the heavy footsteps of a large number of beings—and in this environment, it should be a zombie tide that is causing these tremors.

Mira's eyes focused on a black van, where Wei Lin was occupying the passenger seat. She already had vague guesses as to what that liquid was meant for, but she didn't expect that Wei Lin would actually be cruel enough to resort to these means.

It was actually quite easy to expose this conspiracy, but since Wei Lin had already made her move, wouldn't it be a waste if Mira didn't play with her?

Mira looked at Xu through the rearview mirror, wondering how this man would react to her sudden disappearance.

Would he go crazy with self-blame and despair? Or would he simply move on and continue to focus on his life-long goal instead: to save mankind?

Mira was certain that she already had a special place in Xu's heart, but humans' feelings are ever-changing, and whether Mira's existence could already compete with Xu's ambitions was still unknown.

Well, it seems that all these questions would be answered soon...

×××

Xu: Wife, you're planning to leave me?

Mira: Wife? I don't seem to recall ever having a husband...

Xu: Running away after eating? Oh, maybe my wife would like to be locked up in a little black room huh? ( •‿• )

Mira: *snorts* Many have tried to do just that, but none have succeeded so far <(￣︶￣)>

Xu: ...Many?

Mira: Um...

Xu: How many, exactly?

Mira: (   ._. ) 

Xu: Hm?

Mira: ...not much?

Xu: ( ◉‿◉ )