Chapter 7: The Three Dumplings
Chaolu and Chaoyang’s parents divorced; Chaolu stayed with their mother, while Chaoyang stayed with their father. The siblings weren’t very close and only saw each other a few times during holidays.
“Chaoyang, up ahead…”
“Shh.”
The handsome little boy put on a serious face and made a quieting gesture, then took a couple more cautious steps forward.
Chaolu was puzzled but still followed her “bonus” little brother.
With her brother’s weak build, if she didn’t watch out, those two mouths would be zombie snacks in no time.
A few seconds later, the boy who had been listening intently finally looked up at his “bonus” sister. “Someone’s singing.”
Chaolu: ?
Chaolu: “It’s early morning, and it’s the apocalypse—who’s got the leisure to be singing now?”
“It’s a kid,” Chaoyang said after carefully listening. “Should be just around the corner on that street… and there are a lot of zombies.”
“Your hearing’s really that good?” Chaolu looked at Chaoyang in surprise. “Dad sending you to study finance was such a waste.”
At such a young age, he was already reading those dense, difficult finance books. Chaolu often thought their dumb dad was crazy—obsessed with money.
Her little brother was only eight years old, after all.
She didn’t doubt Chaoyang’s words though; after all, last night they had slipped through a dense swarm of zombies to get out of their neighborhood, thanks largely to Chaoyang’s keen hearing.
Saving a life is worth more than building a seven-tier pagoda. If it were an adult, maybe she’d hesitate—but if it’s a child… she had to save them!
The big sister, caught up in her chuunibyou phase of “saving the world,” eagerly grabbed her little brother’s hand and ran toward the source of the singing.
…
At that moment, Mibao was trembling as she stared at the zombies outside the glass door, who kept howling incessantly. Summoning her courage, she continued singing.
“The dark, dark sky hangs low~ The bright stars accompany~ Insects fly~ Insects fly…”
[Come on, Mibao! Just attract two more and you’ll complete the task!]
System Xiaonian cheered her on inside her mind.
Mibao nodded and sang even more energetically.
Thanks to her efforts, finally another zombie staggered closer from afar. Just one more to go…
Whizz!
A sharp arrow cut through the air, piercing the head of the zombie that had just reached the clothing store’s entrance with precise accuracy.
The sudden change scared Mibao so much she stopped singing altogether.
W-what’s going on?
What just happened?
The next second, more arrows flew out, each shot extremely accurate—every single arrow hitting its mark with a clean headshot.
The zombies searched frantically for the source of the arrows, only to find the archer standing on the second floor across the street. Instinctively, they gathered beneath the building, but could not reach the girl who had drawn her bow once again on the second floor.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Almost all the zombies were drawn to the girl’s position. Only one hesitant zombie remained by the clothing store’s door.
Then…
It suddenly got slashed in the stomach by a blade appearing out of nowhere nearby.
There was no helping it—Chaoyang was quite short, just 1.25 meters tall. For an eight-year-old kid wielding a sword nearly as tall as himself, hitting a zombie was already a great feat.
Zombies could only be killed by destroying their heads, so stabbing the stomach wouldn’t bring it down.
Seeing the zombie struggling yet slowly advancing toward him, Chaoyang didn’t panic. Instead, he calmly picked up a spare knife from the ground, stepped onto a stool, and waited for the zombie to come closer.
The zombie was coming closer…
Puff.
The knife went in.
Thud.
The zombie fell.
Chaoyang stepped down from the stool, pulled the knife out of the zombie’s body, and walked to the clothing store entrance.
Through the glass door, he saw a cute little girl who was about half a head shorter than him, staring at him in a daze.
Probably scared stiff, he thought.
Singing… most likely because she was too frightened and was trying to comfort herself.
That fit how kids usually behaved.
So Chaoyang gently tapped on the glass door and tried to soften his voice.
“Hello, I’m here to save you. Open the door.”
Chaoyang: “…”
Mibao inside: “…”
Wuwuwu… This very handsome little big brother was so fierce.
[Mibao, open the door. He’s not a bad person.]
The system’s voice suddenly spoke.
Originally, Xiaonian thought he alone was enough for Mibao, but when Chaoyang and Chaolu showed up, he felt Mibao should interact with kids her age.
Humans are social creatures—being alone all the time… wouldn’t be good for Mibao’s mental or emotional health.
He had already scanned the boy outside and the girl across the way—simply put, they were a pair of genius siblings.
The older sister was outgoing, the younger brother introverted; one skilled in combat, the other in intellect.
They were close enough in age to Mibao to get along well.
Letting Mibao travel with this sibling pair would put him at ease.
…
Mibao first met Chaolu on an abandoned refrigerated truck, parked one street away from where she had been before.
Although system big brother told her these two siblings probably weren’t bad people, Mibao was still a little nervous.
She might be young, but she understood that a child like her would likely be considered a burden to adults. She didn’t know if these brother and sister would dislike her because of it…
“Wow! What an adorable little sister!”
The moment Chaolu saw Mibao, her eyes lit up. She tried to hold back but couldn’t resist cupping Mibao’s snow-white, chubby cheeks in her hands.
Mibao stared blankly at Chaolu, still processing the sudden warmth and enthusiasm.
“Hello, cutie! I’m Chaolu—you can call me Sister Chaolu or just Sister. I’m twelve years old. How about you? Are you in elementary school yet?
Cutie, what’s your name? Are your mom and dad still alive?”
Uh…
So… so many questions.
That rapid-fire barrage left Mibao completely confused.
What was the first question again?
Which one was she supposed to answer first?
Chaoyang, standing to the side, couldn’t watch anymore. He tugged on his older sister’s sleeve. “You talk too much.”
“Hey, what do you mean I talk too much? Who are you calling out, you little brat? You act like a mute all day, and now you won’t let anyone else speak?”
Chaoyang: “…”
Was his sister the reincarnation of a machine gun?
Every word was like a bullet.
“M-my name is Ji Xiaomi. My nickname is Mibao,” Mibao blinked rapidly and hurried to answer, afraid the brother and sister might start arguing. “I’m five and a half years old.”
Sure enough, Chaolu’s attention shifted. “Mibao? What a cute name! Mibao, then your mom and dad…”
“My mom passed away when she gave birth to me.” Mi Bao’s mood sank. “Dad… Dad probably doesn’t want to see me either.”
She knew her dad didn’t like her, but she really, really missed him…
“Huh? Your dad’s that much of a jerk?” Chaolu looked surprised, then cheerfully patted Chaoyang on the shoulder. “Just like our dad—not a good person either.”
Chaoyang: “…”
Seriously, does she even hear herself when she talks?