Chapter 48: Boarded a Sinking Ship
The college student was very confused. He felt like being chased by zombies and then running into a wrinkled monster must have all been just a dream.
But when he woke up and found that same wrinkled, eyeless face less than ten centimeters away from him…
The college student promptly fainted again in dramatic fashion.
Ah~
So it really was a dream after all.
He must not have fully woken up yet.
Jiang Nianwan: “…”
This person was way too fragile.
What a hassle.
She wanted to eat him.
But she couldn’t—she still needed him to drive a car for her.
So Jiang Nianwan had no choice but to pick up the crispy college student with one hand and toss him into the driver’s seat, before hopping onto the car roof herself to sit there in a daze.
After dazing off for more than ten minutes, the crispy college student finally woke up again.
He looked around, saw no trace of that terrifying wrinkled face, and instantly let out a sigh of relief.
“I really was dreaming just now… wait, why am I outside?”
The college student froze in bewilderment.
“Did I sleepwalk?”
Maybe he had been too hungry, so he lay down, fell asleep, and then wandered out in his sleep—dreaming along the way of zombies chasing him?
Ah… if he came out alive like this, wasn’t his luck off the charts?
Could he really be the chosen one of destiny?
Feeling smug at the thought, the college student stepped out of the car, planning to find a safe place to hide.
“You… drive… car.”
A raspy voice suddenly sounded above his head, making his body stiffen instantly.
He wanted to turn his head but didn’t dare; his whole body felt as heavy as if it had been filled with lead.
“No… fainting… or else… I’ll eat… you.”
From her perch above, Jiang Nianwan looked down at the crispy college student and threatened him.
Fainting all the time was far too troublesome.
If this person was really so easily frightened, maybe she should just go find someone else.
The crispy college student was terrified, but he barely managed to understand what the figure above him was saying.
Gulp…
Oh my god, it can talk.
Had zombies evolved to this point already?
Uh… or maybe, was it actually a person? Did his bad eyesight trick him?
So the college student forced himself to turn around, lifting his head as he did—only to lock eyes with Jiang Nianwan’s hollow sockets.
College student: “Aaaaahhh!”
He fell straight onto his butt in fright, but grabbed at his own thigh with all his strength to stop himself from fainting.
After all, the other party had just said that if he fainted again, he’d be eaten!
The images he thought were dreams flooded back into his mind—ah, no, not dreams, they had really happened!
This dried-up monster in front of him was a hundred times scarier than any zombie!
“Noisy…”
Jiang Nianwan spoke.
The college student instantly clamped both hands over his mouth.
Wuwuwu… so scary.
Seeing that he was finally quiet and hadn’t fainted, Jiang Nianwan jumped down from the roof of the car and stood in front of him.
“You… can… drive?” Jiang Nianwan asked.
College student: “…Huh?”
“If not… then… I’ll eat you.”
“Yes! I can drive!” the college student shouted immediately. “I just got my C1 license last year!”
Jiang Nianwan didn’t understand what “C1” meant, but since he said he could drive—
She gave him a smile.
But to the college student, it looked utterly terrifying, and he almost fainted again on the spot.
To avoid being eaten, he forced himself to endure it.
He couldn’t faint! Fainting meant getting eaten!
…
…
By the time Xiao Hei returned to the cave, Mibao and the other two were nearly asleep.
Since it had already been more than an hour since Xiao Hei went out, the three little ones were wondering if they should just give up and go to sleep.
Then, Xiao Hei came back, face dark, with a big fat fish clamped in his mouth.
“Plop!”
He dropped the fish onto the ground.
The fish gave a couple of weak flops.
“Waaah~!”
The three kids gasped in unison.
“Xiao Hei, you’re amazing!” Mibao clapped for him.
Ye Duo and Chaoyang also joined in, applauding.
You could say they gave Xiao Hei all the emotional value he could ask for.
This soothed his dark mood a little—though, of course, no one could really see that he had a dark face.
[Hmph, I’m a Beast Taming System! Even a starving camel is still bigger than a horse!]
Sure, he might be down and out right now, but taking down a measly fish was still no problem!
So Ye Duo took a stick, skewered the fish, and was about to roast it right then and there.
“Wait, you’re not going to scale it?” Chaoyang was shocked.
Ye Duo blinked, a little confused: “I don’t know how. Besides, what do we use to scale it?”
“A knife works.” Chaoyang said as he pulled out their one and only military knife, took the fish, and said, “I’ll try.”
He didn’t know how either, but he had seen the aunties at the market scaling fish before.
But… seeing it and actually doing it yourself were two completely different things.
The once whole fish was now covered with random slashes in every direction. Hardly any scales came off, and Chaoyang nearly cut his own hand.
Chaoyang: “…”
Chaoyang: “Sorry.”
He wasn’t even sure whether he was apologizing to Mibao and Ye Duo, or to the poor fish itself.
After all, it could’ve at least died looking decent, but now even its “corpse” had been ruined.
It honestly felt like desecrating the dead.
Poor little fish. Amen.
“W-Well… let’s just make do and eat it.” Ye Duo scratched her head. “Better than nothing.”
After all, she’d known what it was like to go hungry. As far as she was concerned, if it was edible, that was enough.
Chaoyang nodded silently, but in the end he still slit the fish open and tossed out the guts.
That was his last shred of dignity.
The grilled fish didn’t taste great—without salt, there was barely any flavor.
But at least it was meat. Once in their stomachs, it warmed the three of them considerably.
Outside, the sky was pitch-black, the wind was howling, and it looked like rain was coming.
The three kids curled up in a corner together, hugging each other to stay warm as they drifted to sleep.
Just as Mibao was about to nod off, Xiao Hei’s voice piped up.
[Hey? What the hell is going on? Why are the rats here so huge—and so weird?]
Mibao yawned and mumbled automatically, “Because it’s the apocalypse…”
Chaoyang, half-asleep and holding Mibao: “What?”
Was she… talking in her sleep?
Mibao jolted awake.
Uh oh…
She scratched her head, turned around, and locked eyes with Chaoyang. She was just about to explain when—smack!—Ye Duo slapped the back of Chaoyang’s head.
“Go to sleep. Mibao was obviously sleep-talking.”
Mibao must have been talking to Xiao Hei.
Ye Duo mulled it over and came to her own conclusion: Mibao definitely had some kind of powerful, invisible, magical pet. Xiao Hei must’ve just been the “little brother” she picked up today.
Mm…
She had to protect this secret. She couldn’t let anyone else find out.
And Chaoyang, after being smacked, finally caught on—Ye Duo was right there. If he asked anything now, she’d hear it.
So he grunted an acknowledgement instead, pressed a finger to his lips, and gave Mibao a quiet shhh gesture.
Mibao nodded slightly, then closed her eyes to sleep.
But… Xiao Hei was still being noisy.
[The apocalypse?! What the hell—how did it suddenly turn into the apocalypse?!]
Didn’t that mean his brand-new host was in serious danger?
Damn it!
Why didn’t anyone tell him earlier?
He’d boarded a sinking ship!
