Chapter 62: The Little Silver Bell

"Captain, there's no one here. There are only three zombies inside. Let's spend the night here, what do you think?" Wen Ling rubbed her temples; she felt a bit dizzy from using her superpower for too long.

"This place looks good. Stop using your superpower and rest in the car first. We'll go down and check it out." Lin Qingqing parked the car at the entrance, told Aunt Zhang and Wen Ling to stay inside, and then led Lei Min and Yue Xuanxuan inside to clear out the zombies first.

This small farmhouse courtyard featured a two-story building. The courtyard was well-constructed, complete with a grape trellis, a cowshelf by the entrance, and a van parked outside.

"Here, use this first!"

The machete previously given to Zhao Na was a bit too heavy for Yue Xuanxuan, so Lin Qingqing had found him a fire axe at the gas station.

Yue Xuanxuan took the axe and nervously bit his lip.

"Don't be afraid. Your sister went through the exact same thing back then."

Thinking of his sister, Yue Xuanxuan's gaze turned much firmer. "Mm, whatever my sister could do, I can definitely do too!"

"Well, this kid looks quite confident," Lei Min yawned as she followed behind; she wanted to see how he would kill a zombie.

Prying open the door, Lin Qingqing led him into the house. There were two bedrooms on either side of the first floor, and all three zombies were inside.

Following the same teaching method used for Yue Tingting and the others, and considering Yue Xuanxuan's height, Lin Qingqing first brought down the tall male zombie to the ground.

"The weakness of a zombie is—Yue Xuanxuan?"

Before she could finish her instruction, the boy rushed forward with the axe and began hacking wildly at the zombie.

"Ah! I'm going to kill you!" Yue Xuanxuan screamed, putting every ounce of his strength into each axe swing.

Neither Lin Qingqing nor Lei Min stopped him. They simply watched as he hacked the zombie into a pulp before finally speaking up to halt him.

"Alright, you've already killed it!" Seeing the zombie reduced to such a state, Lei Min pinched her nose in mild disgust and said.

Having vented his emotions, Yue Xuanxuan collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. His sister's harrowing experience replayed endlessly in his mind, and he had projected the image of Dragon Brother onto this zombie, only stopping when it was mutilated beyond recognition.

"What do we do now?" Lei Min pointed at the pile of minced flesh with some difficulty; they still needed to live here for the night.

"Forget it, if worst comes to worst, we'll just stay upstairs," Lin Qingqing shook her head.

Seeing that Yue Xuanxuan had rested enough, she lured another zombie over to him. This time it was the slightly shorter female homeowner, whose arms had been broken before being presented to him.

As for a boy, and an Awakened one at that, Lin Qingqing didn't have as much patience, so she directly handed him a fully mobile one.

Yue Xuanxuan did not disappoint. After dodging left and right a few times, he chopped the zombie to death. This time, he didn't vent his emotions on the zombie; instead, he remained silent and kept his eyes on Lin Qingqing.

Finding his serious little expression rather amusing, Lin Qingqing pointed at the final zombie and said, "That one, kill it directly!"

Knowing this was meant for Yue Xuanxuan to practice on, Lei Min had already frozen this zombie in place with her superpower.

By the time he finished off the other two, this one was just about able to move again.

Having killed two zombies, Yue Xuanxuan had gained some experience. However, when he saw that this final zombie was actually just a little girl around his own age, he froze in place.

"Why aren't you moving yet? Does a zombie stop being a zombie just because it looks different?"

Lin Qingqing's cold voice snapped Yue Xuanxuan out of his daze. He clenched his teeth, raised the axe, and brought it down right between the zombie's eyes.

Compared to Zhao Na and Yue Tingting, thirteen-year-old Yue Xuanxuan had a more agile build, and as an Awakened one, he also possessed greater physical strength than the two girls.

The half-height little zombie was struck in its vital spot by his second swing, and with one final follow-up blow, it stopped moving completely.

After finishing off the zombie, he wiped the stains off his face with his sleeve and stood there rigidly.

Lin Qingqing looked at the boy before her. The original innocence and delicate spoiledness were completely gone from him; the current Yue Xuanxuan resembled a newly unsheathed dagger, its cold light piercing and sharp.

"Alright, you've learned how to kill zombies. Get some early rest today," Lin Qingqing said, extracting the crystal cores from the three zombies right in front of him and placing them into his hands.

"From now on, you must strive to live on!"

"Mm... Thank you! I will definitely repay you in the future!" Yue Xuanxuan emphasized once again.

"Alright, I'll remember that," Lin Qingqing smiled noncommittally.

The first floor had been left in shambles by Yue Xuanxuan, and they had no intention of cleaning it up. They simply closed the door and headed to the second floor.

The stairs to the second floor were located on the outside of the building, leading directly to three rooms: two bedrooms and a storage room. Judging by the bedroom decor, this household likely had more than one child, who simply hadn't been home when the apocalypse broke out.

Leaving Aunt Zhang to cook in the courtyard kitchen, Lin Qingqing and Lei Min took Wen Ling to inspect the surrounding area.

"Wen Ling, your superpower is truly useful. You can know the situation inside without having to risk going in. It's just like a little alarm bell that can warn us. I'll just call you Little Alarm Bell from now on, haha!" Lei Min clapped her hands and instantly gave Wen Ling a nickname.

"My Ling is the Ling from exquisite, not the Ling from bell," Wen Ling retorted.

"Haha, it's fine, it's fine. I think Little Alarm Bell suits you very well," Lei Min laughed.

"Captain, does Minni always like giving people nicknames like this?" Ignoring her, Wen Ling turned to Lin Qingqing to complain.

"You should call me Elder Sister, don't be so informal. Only the Captain is allowed to call me Minni," Lei Min countered, refusing to back down.

"No way! You call me Little Alarm Bell, so I'll call you Minni. Or should I call you Deputy Captain Lei instead?" Wen Ling protested.

Lei Min: "..."

She was speechless. She had merely given her a nickname—was it necessary to use such a distant and formal title like Deputy Captain Lei? Why were kids nowadays so difficult to deal with?

"You don't like others calling you that?"

"It's not that, it's just that calling me Little Alarm Bell feels like teasing a child."

"Aren't you a child? If I called you Lingling, Lingling all the time, wouldn't it feel like I was calling a dog, haha!"

"You! Then why don't you give the Captain a nickname?"

"She wouldn't dare!" Lin Qingqing chuckled softly.

Lei Min didn't refute this statement and even nodded with a calm and natural expression.

"So you just think I'm easy to bully?" Wen Ling puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

"Alright, Little Alarm Bell, don't be upset. Minni was just joking with you!" After enjoying the show long enough, Lin Qingqing stepped in to smooth things over, inadvertently cementing the nickname "Little Alarm Bell."

A girl in her early teens was at a lively and active age. Despite having been through hardships, Lin Qingqing hoped to frequently see this kind of vibrant energy in Wen Ling from now on.

Wen Ling wasn't truly angry; she genuinely liked these two elder sisters and this team. After Lin Qingqing officially accepted her, she felt a long-lost sense of relaxation and unconsciously displayed a little girl's spoiled petulance. It didn't feel like anger at all, but rather like acting coquettishly.

"Hmph! Then I'll call you Minni from now on, and I won't accept any objections!"

"...Fine, I won't argue with you!" Lei Min rolled her eyes helplessly at Lin Qingqing's teasing expression.

When the three of them returned to the small courtyard, Aunt Zhang had already cooked a fragrant pot of white rice.

The rice had been found in the courtyard's kitchen. Steamed right along with the rice was a link of Chinese sausage, which, paired with a large platter of stewed dried vegetables, provided the five of them with a genuinely comforting and satisfying hot meal.

After finishing the meal and clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, the group drew water from the well in the corner to wash their hands and faces before heading upstairs to get ready for sleep.

"I'll take the first watch tonight!" Before Lin Qingqing could speak, Yue Xuanxuan volunteered.

"No need. Both you and Wen Ling go to sleep. You're a child and you're at the age to grow—what are you staying up for?" Lin Qingqing flatly rejected his request.

"I'm already grown up!" Yue Xuanxuan persisted with a stubborn look.

Looking at the boy's lean and straight back, Lin Qingqing realized that in the future, it would just be him and Aunt Zhang, meaning night watches would be a necessity. In the end, she agreed: "Then I'll take the first half of the night, and you can take the second half."

"Alright!"