Chapter 12
Tang Man was well-prepared. One of her Pothos vines swiftly wrapped around Sheng Yao's arm, preventing his escape.
"You're wearing thick clothes, so you won't get hurt. Go ahead," Tang Man said calmly.
Despite her words, another vine stood ready to save him at any moment.
Sheng Yao swallowed hard, his mouth dry with fear, but he had no choice but to steel himself and step forward.
"Ahhh!!!"
With a loud yell, Sheng Yao charged forward, swinging wildly with his blade. The zombie was chopped into a dozen pieces.
Tang Man: "..."
"I told you to kill it, not dismember it." She took a few steps back, disgusted by the spilled intestines and organs on the ground.
"I'll be more careful next time," Sheng Yao panted, leaning on his knees.
"Don't worry about 'next time.' Just focus on the next one." Tang Man turned her gaze toward the Sunset Tour Group bus.
Sheng Yao: "!!!"
"Sis—my dear sister—can we focus on collecting gasoline first before worrying about killing more zombies?"
"Pumping the gas will take time. I can handle it alone. You go deal with the zombies." Tang Man was determined to train him properly—all that strength shouldn't go to waste.
No one noticed the Level 1 Zombie crystal in her hand turning to dust.
"Hello, my name is Zhang Tao. I’m the general manager of Haili Cosmetics. May I ask your names?" A middle-aged man in a black suit, carrying a black briefcase, introduced himself with a smile.
"What do you want?" Sheng Yao barely glanced at him.
"Well, I’d like to hire this young lady as my bodyguard to escort me home. Here's an advance..." He took off his diamond-studded watch and pulled out several stacks of cash from his bag, holding them out to Tang Man.
Sheng Yao scoffed. "That wouldn't even cover a pair of shoes! You think you can hire me as a bodyguard with that? That's chump change!"
Zhang Tao’s smile stiffened. "I only intended to hire the young lady."
"If you hire my sister, you’re hiring me too—"
"Not interested. Go home by yourself." Tang Man cut in and headed straight into the store.
The people trapped inside were greedily hoarding supplies. They had already learned from the internet how bad things had gotten and how crucial supplies were now. Tang Man ignored them, snagging some empty gas cans before returning to fill them.
"M-miss... my granddaughter and daughter-in-law turned zombie and are trapped in the car... C-could you kill them for me? I... I just can’t bring myself to do it..." An elderly woman suddenly rushed over and knelt before her.
"Get another car," Tang Man warned herself again—no good deeds. In the apocalypse, people were the real danger. She'd learned her lesson.
"No! That car was bought with my son’s hard-earned money. He took out a loan for it!" the woman shot back.
So she wanted Tang Man to kill her zombified daughter-in-law and granddaughter just to save her son’s car? Tang Man lost all sympathy for her.
"How about I give you a quick cut instead? Then you won’t have to feel guilty about killing them, and your son won’t blame you for not bringing the car back." Tang Man’s tone was casual, as if discussing the weather, but her eyes were icy and emotionless.
She took the machete from Sheng Yao and pressed it lightly against the woman’s neck. Black zombie blood dripped from the blade onto the woman’s knees.
The woman shrank back in terror, scrambled up and waving her hands frantically. "N-no need! I’ll find another car, another car!"
Other onlookers with similar ideas quickly averted their eyes.
Zhang Tao, who had been following Tang Man, immediately shut his mouth and reluctantly went into the store to grab supplies.
"S-sis, w-were you serious just now?" Sheng Yao stammered, still rattled by her icy tone.
"What do you think?" Tang Man gave him a look before switching to another oil drum.
Once done, she used a Pothos vine to lob a rock at the tour bus’s door.
"Miss, what are you doing? If those zombies get out, they’ll attack people!" the kneeling woman objected feebly, her voice fading under Tang Man’s gaze.
Seeing the zombies about to escape, the people in the gas station ditched their supplies, grabbing what they had and peeling out in their cars.
The station was soon empty.
After smashing the bus door open, Tang Man used her vines to fish out a zombie before blocking the broken door again.
The zombie immediately lunged toward Sheng Yao, drawn by his scent.
"Go on," Tang Man tossed over her shoulder before returning to filling the oil drums.
Left with no choice, Sheng Yao steeled himself and faced the zombie.
While Tang Man handled the gasoline, Sheng Yao spent the entire morning grinding through the zombies in the bus. Tang Man bailed him out a few times during critical moments. By the end, he no longer froze at the sight of zombies.
"Sis, should we transport some of the gasoline back first?" Sheng Yao asked, panting.
"No need. We can haul it all at once." Tang Man turned her gaze to the bus with its shattered rear window.
"Our car can’t fit—Sis, you can’t be serious! That death trap reeks of blood and rot. You’ll puke—"
"Who said I’m driving? The bus is yours. I believe in you!" Tang Man smirked, giving him a mocking thumbs-up.
Sheng Yao: "..."
They spent some time tearing out the bus seats of their covers and tossing them out. After a hasty wipe-down with water from the store, they began loading supplies.
Aside from gasoline, they took all the bottled water. Despite the haul, Tang Man still felt it wasn’t enough—they were burning through water too quickly. Just yesterday, cleaning meat and fish had used up a significant amount. She wondered if there was a water-type superpower user in their community.
They left most of the food, only taking junk food snacks. They weren’t short on supplies, so the rest could stay for others in need.
Even with three masks, Sheng Yao could still smell the zombie stench. He drove the bus like a bat out of hell, making the twenty-minute trip in ten.
By the time they got home, it was past 2 PM. The air carried a floral scent, and the zombie pile outside had been cleared. Sheng’s mother was watering the vegetable sprouts, while Tang Teng was patching the fence with the metal they’d brought back. Zhongqiu dozed under the drying cured meats, guarding her "food reserves."
To conserve his superpower, Tang Teng had simply pieced together the metal scraps, resulting in a very "abstract" fence.
Seeing it, Tang Man realized she’d forgotten to teach him how to use the crystals properly.
"You’re back! Hungry? There’s food on the table—should still be warm. Go eat!" Sheng’s mother greeted them warmly before wrinkling her nose. "Son, why did you bring a bus back? And why do you smell so awful? Xiao Teng just cleaned up the zombies outside. I used a whole bottle of perfume to cover the stench, and now you’re back reeking of zombies again?"
She took a few steps back in disgust.
"Mom, I’ll explain later. I need a shower first." Sheng Yao bolted inside.
"Auntie, I’ll go eat too." Tang Man smiled before calling out, "Xiao Teng, come inside. I discovered a trick for using superpowers today. I’ll teach you."
"Okay." Tang Teng set down the lock he’d been about to install on the fence.
On the table were plates of exquisite dishes, arranged in a style that suggested foreign cuisine, though Tang Man couldn't pinpoint which country they were from.
After sitting down, Tang Man immediately stabbed a big chunk of deep red beef with her fork. The chunk was as long as her little finger and two fingers wide, stewed to such tenderness that the fork sank right in. The sweetness of carrots and onions had fully infused the beef, complemented by the rich aroma of red wine and the meat's natural savoriness—just incredible.
That huge hunk of beef was so damn satisfying.
The food was clearly just made, as it was still warm and just right for eating.
She couldn’t help herself, Tang Man scooped a spoonful of the sauce onto her plate and dipped a piece of baguette into it.
"This is freaking delicious! What’s this dish called?" she asked Tang Teng across the table.
"This is red wine beef stew made by Aunt Wang. This is all French food. You’ve never had them before, right? This onion soup is the appetizer, this herb-butter roasted chicken is the main course, and this cheese soufflé is the dessert..." Tang Teng introduced each dish one by one. "Oh, by the way, sis, what did you want to talk to me about?"
That got her attention. After ladling herself a bowl of onion soup, she pulled out a handful of cleaned crystal cores from her pocket and handed them to him.
"First, thread your superpower into hair-thin strands, then use your energy to connect with this crystal core..." After explaining the key points, she left him to figure it out on his own while she focused on her meal.
To Tang Man’s surprise, the onion soup was made with broth—the white onions weren’t spicy at all but instead delightfully sweet, with a hint of caramelized flavor. Paired with toasted baguette and melted cheese, it was next-level good.
The soufflé was incredibly soft; with a single scoop, it wobbled delicately on the spoon, its sweetness perfectly balanced.
The roasted chicken had crispy skin and tender, juicy meat. Tang Man couldn’t stop eating it with the bread.
Across from her, Tang Teng was studying the crystal cores; he kept bending his fork into weird shapes.