I Have a Post Apocalyptic Online Friend C25.1

Hey, first of all, thanks for reading my lousy Machine Translation. To be honest, I’d really like it if you guys corrected the mistakes I made. But please speak nicely and politely. My heart is not strong enough to read your too-harsh comments. Have a nice day. 🙂

Chapter 25. Part 1

Normally, Zhou An’an was rather haphazard in the kitchen.

Since graduating from college, she’d been cooking all her own meals, except for work lunches. She rarely ordered takeout or ate at restaurants.

Now that Doomsday had arrived, with zombies and mutated plants swarming the world, she still had to cook three meals a day. Anyone would get sick of it.

But today, she scoured the car for every usable ingredient, poured all her culinary skills into the task, and spent three hours preparing a feast.

When Lu Yuan, ravenous, approached the table and saw the spread, he exclaimed, “How will we ever eat all this?”

“It’s fine. We’ll just save the leftovers.”

Zhou An’an began introducing the dishes: “This is sweet and sour pork tenderloin, spicy and sour shredded potatoes, hot and spicy soup…”

The table was too small to hold everything, so some dishes were placed near the sink. She turned to continue: “And this is chili-fried small dried fish, salted egg yolk stewed pumpkin, and steamed egg with cured duck legs…”

Her gaze lingered on Lu Yuan’s face for a few seconds before she quickly averted her eyes, turning her head away to hide her swollen, red eyes.

“Alright, eat quickly. Rice wine and egg drop soup is still simmering in the pot; we can have it after the meal.”

Zhou An’an opened the cabinet above her head and stood on tiptoe to reach for a bowl.

The cabinet was too high, and she couldn’t reach it. After several attempts, she finally managed to grip the rim of the bowl and carefully pulled it out, only to drop it, shattering it into pieces.

“I’m so useless.”

She laughed bitterly at the fragments, grabbed a trash can, and crouched down to pick up the pieces.

“Let me do it.” Lu Yuan walked over to her.

She shook her head and dodged his outstretched hand. “I broke the bowl; I’ll clean it up myself. You just go eat.”

Lu Yuan’s lips moved, but he said nothing. He took two bowls from the cabinet, filled them with rice, and set them on the table.

After clearing the shards, Zhou An’an sat down at the table, her eyes redder than before.

She forced a smile and began enthusiastically serving Lu Yuan, urging him to eat. “Eat quickly, before the dishes get cold! You love meat, right? Try my sweet and sour pork—it’s my specialty!”

Lu Yuan frowned at her smile, which looked more like a grimace than a smile. “Are you alright?” he asked.

He knew she’d be upset when he told her he was leaving, given her personality. But he hadn’t expected her to be so devastated; it pained him to see her like this.

Zhou An’an transferred the entire plate of pork tenderloin into his bowl. She set down her chopsticks, rubbed her eyes, and forced a wide smile. “I’m fine, I’m always fine. Are you worried about the bowl I dropped earlier? I’m just clumsy, always messing things up. I’m used to it, it’s nothing.”

Lu Yuan sighed and picked up his chopsticks. “Alright, let’s eat.”

His words were like a starting pistol. Zhou An’an immediately grabbed her bowl and began shoveling rice into her mouth. Despite the abundance of dishes, she didn’t touch a single one. Her bowl remained glued to her hands, its rim obscuring most of her face.

“You should eat some of the dishes too,” Lu Yuan said, feeling guilty. He picked up a small dried fish and placed it in her bowl.

She seemed not to hear him, continuing to frantically shovel rice, her bowl held high.

He reached for the bowl, but it wouldn’t budge at first. With a second, stronger pull, he finally lifted it, only to find her face streaked with tears.

Lu Yuan stood awkwardly, holding the bowl, unsure whether to give it to her or keep it.

“I’m sorry, I…”

Zhou An’an could no longer hold back, burying her face in the table and sobbing uncontrollably.

“Don’t go, please don’t leave… I know I’m useless, holding you back. Just give me a little more time, okay? I’ll work harder…”

Lu Yuan gently set the bowl down, his expression softening into a rare tenderness.

“You don’t need to be like this.”

“Will you stay?”

Zhou An’an looked up, her eyes swollen so much she could barely open them.

He shook his head.

“Everyone has their own path to follow. It was a fateful encounter that we became teammates, but every meeting inevitably ends in parting.”

Everyone has their own path to follow?

Zhou An’an struggled to think, but couldn’t find any goal she had.

To keep living? But what joy is there in living?

She looked around, but found nothing worth clinging to.

Except for Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan continued, “The Apocalypse is dangerous, but you’ve already learned to protect yourself. There’s no point in me staying any longer.”

“No, there is a point!” Zhou An’an shook her head vigorously. “It’s very important to me!”

Without Lu Yuan, on the day the Doomsday broke out, even if she hadn’t mutated into a zombie, she would have committed suicide in her rented apartment. She would have never been able to face the zombies or the Doomsday itself.

Lu Yuan pulled out a tissue and gently wiped the tears from her face.

“But for me, there are more important things to do. If I’m still alive after I finish, I’ll come back for you, okay?”

Zhou An’an stared at him blankly. “Really?”

“Yes. So you need to survive well and wait for me.”

Zhou An’an reluctantly accepted this promise. She washed her face in the bathroom and returned to finish her meal.

As expected, there was a lot of food left. Lu Yuan put the leftovers in the refrigerator while washing the dishes, determined to eat them all before leaving.

First, he might never get to eat this again. Second, he didn’t want to let her kindness go to waste.

After several days of constant driving, both of them were exhausted. After dinner, they quickly washed up and went to bed.

Zhou An’an looked up at the empty bunk frame above, her heart no longer as heavy. Instead, she found herself worrying about Lu Yuan’s safety.

She suddenly asked, “Will you be taking this car when you leave?”

Lu Yuan, who was also awake, replied in a low, clear voice from upstairs. “No, I’ll leave this car for you. I’ll find a smaller one for myself.”

“But regular cars might not be safe. You should take this one instead.”

“Really, it’s fine. This car is too conspicuous. I need something more agile and discreet.”

“Okay…” Zhou An’an turned over and asked, “How far are you going? And roughly how long will it take?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Should I make you some food that will last on the road? Do you like beef jerky?”

Lu Yuan chuckled. “I never knew you had the potential to be a mother.”

So he thinks I’m being annoying…

Zhou An’an pouted and fell silent.

The next morning, after breakfast, they each prepared their weapons and armor.

Zhou An’an grabbed her submachine gun, put on her motorcycle helmet, and, as usual, wrapped the vital parts of her body in thick layers of tape.

Lu Yuan took his rifle, slung a large pack over his shoulder (which he would later use to carry supplies), and secured the short knife he always kept at his waist.

As they opened the car doors, the dozens of zombies that had been lurking around all night turned in unison and charged toward them.

Lu Yuan, uncharacteristically walking behind, told Zhou An’an, “Clear them out.”

Knowing this was an exercise to hone her ability to handle zombies alone, she nodded and opened fire.

She was no longer as clumsy as she had been the first time she fired a gun. Having learned to compensate for the weapon’s recoil, she deliberately lowered the barrel, aiming for the zombies’ chests.

As she pulled the trigger, the recoil forced the barrel upward, raising the trajectory of the bullets just enough to strike the zombies’ heads.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

The submachine gun’s bullets rained down in a dense, relentless volley, instantly felling the front row of zombies.

Zhou An’an adjusted her aim and continued to mow down the ones behind.

Soon only a few stragglers remained. She paused to catch her breath, her hands already trembling slightly from the gun’s weight and recoil.

Lu Yuan finished off the remaining zombies with a few precise shots and said, “Though the gun is powerful, its limited magazine capacity makes reloading a vulnerable moment. If you ever encounter a horde of thirty or more zombies and can’t coordinate with teammates, it’s best to avoid direct confrontation.”

These were lessons he had learned through countless battles. Zhou An’an nodded, committing his words to memory.

“Alright, let’s go in.”

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