Cloud Raising Little Zombies: Chapter 12

ZOMBIE EMPEROR CULTIVATION

12. “I won’t eat you, so why are you crying?”

【The little brother is going to be scared out of his wits.】

【This is terrifying; one moment, they’re loving brothers, and the next, the tone shifts to horror.】

【Is it happening? The choice of humanity! Will it be love turned into enmity, or will they fall together into darkness?】

【Will it be “I love you, but I must kill you,” or “Even if the whole world is against us, I’ll still stand by your side”? Stay tuned to today’s You Zai live stream.】

“…Ge, what are you talking about?” Su Zi’an forced a stiff smile.

He gently placed Ye You’s hand back under the covers, holding it tightly against his chest, which trembled slightly.

“You know what I mean.” Ye You calmly looked at Su Zi’an, who was avoiding his gaze.

Su Zi’an had seen his decaying, mottled hands when he was treating him with his abilities, and he had cried the entire time.

Su Zi’an was smart—he couldn’t possibly have missed the signs. Either he was deliberately ignoring them, afraid to think too deeply, or he already knew but was purposefully suppressing it without bringing it up.

“Ge!” Su Zi’an called out, his voice slightly panicked. He looked up and met Ye You’s eyes, then froze.

The dormitory lights were off, but the bright moonlight streaming through the window illuminated every detail, even the lashes on his eyes.

A human’s pupil normally measures 2-4 millimeters, and from a distance, it’s barely visible. But right now, he was very close to Ye You.

Those crimson, pupil-less eyes were right in front of him—calm, eerie, and far from human.

“…Ge, just go to sleep,” Su Zi’an forced a smile and covered Ye You’s eyes with his hand, saying, “Look, your eyes are all red.”

【Face the reality, who pulls an all-nighter and ends up with bloodshot eyeballs?】

【Ai, suddenly feeling distressed.】

【Aren’t protagonists usually orphans or have terrible relationships with their families? What kind of dog developer would put in a sibling relationship? So angry!】

Ye You stayed silent for a moment and obediently closed his eyes.

Zombies don’t need rest, but whether he waited with his eyes open or closed until Su Zi’an recovered, it didn’t seem to make much difference.

Su Zi’an slowly removed his hand, looked at Ye You for a while, then turned over, facing away from him.

Not long after, Ye You heard Su Zi’an’s breathing become rapid and shallow, followed by the sound of heavy sniffing.

Ye You didn’t understand.

He opened his eyes and stared at Su Zi’an’s trembling shoulders, confused, and asked, “I won’t eat you, so why are you crying?”

Su Zi’an paused.

He raised his hand and wiped his face twice, his voice slightly nasal as he said:

“I was betrayed by a roommate I’ve lived with for over two years and almost died. Is it not okay to feel sad?”

Ye You lowered his gaze, took out the last remaining crystal nucleus from his pocket, and reached across Su Zi’an’s body to place it in his hand.

Su Zi’an wiped his eyes, seemingly unable to see clearly what was in his hand, so he held it up to the moonlight.

The ash-colored crystal appeared translucent and radiant under the moonlight, and Su Zi’an could vaguely feel the powerful energy contained within.

Su Zi’an’s eyes were still swollen. He didn’t dare to turn around, continuing to face away from Ye You as he asked in a slightly hoarse voice, “…What is this?”

“Xiao Ren’s crystal nucleus, the source of his power.”

Another crystal nucleus was gone, and Ye You felt quite frustrated. Not wanting to look at Su Zi’an any longer, he also turned his back and muttered angrily:

“Counting the one I fed you while you were unconscious, you’ve already taken two of my crystal nuclei. Hurry up and recover so you can go with me tomorrow to find more crystal nuclei. You have to get me double the amount!”

Ye You hadn’t spoken such a long sentence in a while and felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

Su Zi’an looked at the tiny grain-sized crystal in his hand in surprise, then turned and asked in a hoarse voice, “So, what is this for?”

“Food,” Ye You replied reluctantly.

But with that hardness, it didn’t seem like something edible at all.

Suddenly, Su Zi’an thought of something and held his breath as he asked, “Ge, is this your food?”

Ye You: “Mm.”

Su Zi’an grasped the crystal nucleus in his hand, leaned out of bed, and pulled out a drawstring cloth bag with a safety charm from his suitcase.

He put the crystal nucleus into the cloth bag and tightened the red string.

Su Zi’an then gently placed the small cloth bag holding the crystal nucleus back into Ye You’s school uniform pocket, pursed his lips, and said:

“I will become stronger and find many crystal nuclei to take care of Ge.” Even if it means getting blood on my hands.

Feeling the crystal nucleus return to his pocket, Ye You’s expression softened significantly.

He turned around and gently ruffled Su Zi’an’s smooth short hair, saying, “Good boy.”

【I’m crying; this is such a beautiful brotherly bond.】

【Wuwuwu, I also want to take care of Zai Zai, and I want him to pat my head too.】

【As cloud players, we have no crystal nuclei, so we’ll just send him some lollipops.】

….

The night passed peacefully, with no zombies banging on doors and no plant attacks.

Su Zi’an, with a piece of sandwich biscuit in his mouth, changed into clothes and shoes suitable for going out. He also stuffed clothes, medicine, and a few bags of biscuits into his backpack.

Su Zi’an zipped up his backpack and slung it over his shoulders.

Feeling the weight of the backpack, he turned around and noticed that Ye You hadn’t touched the cakes or biscuits in his hands. After a brief pause, he asked, “Ge, aren’t you going to eat these?”

Ye You nodded, handing the snacks that didn’t spark any appetite in him over to Su Zi’an. “I only need crystal nuclei.”

“Then let’s go find some crystal nuclei. Hmm… let’s check other dorm rooms first and see if we can find some weapons.”

Su Zi’an stuffed the biscuits into the side pocket of his backpack and immediately tore into one of the small cakes, eating it on the spot.

These snacks were all things Su Zi’an had found in his roommates’ lockers.

He figured those roommates probably wouldn’t be returning to the dorm anymore. Rather than letting the food sit there to rot, it was better that he put it to use.

Ye You walked ahead to open the door.

As the door opened, Su Zi’an had just swallowed the last bite of his small cake. When he looked up, he saw several zombies with ashen-gray skin standing outside.

Su Zi’an froze for a split second, then he lunged forward, pulling Ye You—who was just about to step out—back inside, slamming the door shut with a loud bang, and quickly locking it.

Su Zi’an leaned against the door, breathing heavily as if he was about to collapse.

Ye You watched Su Zi’an for a moment, determined that he could still move, and then pulled him aside, reaching to open the door again.

“Ge?!” Su Zi’an exclaimed, grabbing Ye You’s arm in shock. “There are zombies out there!”

And not just one—there were at least five, maybe more.

“I’m a zombie too,” Ye You said calmly as he glanced at Su Zi’an’s hand. “If you stay close to me, you’ll be fine.”

Upon hearing this, Su Zi’an bit his lip, quickly grabbed a dumbbell from the floor beside him, and stood by the door.

He positioned himself slightly ahead of Ye You, shielding him.

Clutching the dumbbell tightly, Su Zi’an thought to himself, if the zombies attack, I can at least smash a few of them to death, right?

When the door opened, the zombies’ murky eyes focused on Su Zi’an, and they let out low, suppressed growls, but none of them attacked.

Su Zi’an cautiously stepped out of the dorm room. The zombies remained still. He turned to look at Ye You, who was right behind him.

As they walked down the stairs, Su Zi’an noticed that the zombies weren’t following them. He bent down and set the heavy dumbbell on the ground.

“Ge, do they think I’m your food?” Su Zi’an asked softly, glancing at Ye You, who was standing straight beside him.

“I don’t know,” Ye You replied indifferently.

The white mist in the zombies’ minds only ever screamed “hungry.” How would he know what else they might be thinking?

The two of them—one human, one zombie—continued walking outside. As they left the dormitory building, a thought struck Su Zi’an, and he asked with a hint of confusion:

“Why were there so many zombies at the dorm entrance? Were they drawn by the noise we made last night?”

Ye You rubbed his ear, feeling that Su Zi’an was getting a bit annoying. “I had them fetch some things. I forgot to tell them to leave.”

“Ge can command zombies?!” Su Zi’an asked in surprise, his face lighting up.

“More or less,” Ye You replied coolly.

He hadn’t even figured out his past from Su Zi’an yet, and here Su Zi’an was, almost uncovering everything about him.

“Ge is amazing,” Su Zi’an said, genuinely impressed.

Ye You quickened his pace, ignoring Su Zi’an.

【Zai Zai is being tsundere.】

【Zai Zai is getting shy.】

【A new day, wishing Zai Zai can hunt down double the crystal nuclei.】

As they walked out of the school gates, Su Zi’an paused, stunned by the sight of the chaotic and desolate streets.

Although he had mentally prepared himself when zombies first appeared at the school and no police ever showed up, actually seeing the aftermath, which resembled a war-torn scene, still left him feeling a bit melancholic.

Noticing the change in Su Zi’an’s expression, Ye You said, “The entire city has fallen.”

Ye You didn’t know what the situation was like outside of this city, but based on what he had observed since leaving the apartment, it was clear that human society’s order no longer existed in this city.

Su Zi’an grabbed Ye You’s hand. “Ge and I are still together.”

Even though one of them was a human with powers and the other had turned into a zombie, they were still together.

And they would stay together, Su Zi’an silently vowed to himself.

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