Chapter 76 – Apocalypse Arc: Zombie Siege: Rebirth in the Apocalypse—My Secret Lover (14)
As time passed, those who had failed to awaken were the first to rise. The zombies moved stiffly, sniffing out the scent of the living. Their throats emitted eerie, wheezing “hiss” sounds. The moment they spotted those still in the process of awakening, they excitedly lunged forward…
Shao Licang preferred peace and quiet, so the villa was located in a sparsely populated area. Looking out the window, Bai Tang occasionally saw a few zombies in suits wandering aimlessly across the lawn. The stench in the air grew stronger, making Bai Tang sneeze multiple times before quickly shutting the window. Zombies looked way too disgusting—his Ah Cang was much better-looking.
In the bustling city streets, horrifying screams echoed relentlessly.
Meanwhile, inside the villa, Shao Licang’s body began to emit intertwining black and white light. The glow intensified, growing brighter and brighter before slowly receding back into his body.
“Qiu’er, how is Ah Cang?” The strange sight made Bai Tang hesitant to approach. He only dared to ask the system for a diagnosis after everything returned to normal.
After scanning the male lead’s body, the system couldn’t help but marvel—he truly was the chosen one. Though the world was full of inconsistencies and loopholes, Shao Licang hadn’t awakened the lightning ability as originally scripted. Instead, he had gained something far more powerful—Creation.
Creation represented both life and death. Simply put, it granted the ability to heal others—the power of life. At the same time, it also had a devouring aspect, capable of consuming anything, much like a black hole.
“Don’t worry, Tang Tang. The male lead has awakened an even stronger ability.” The system explained Shao Licang’s newfound powers, and Bai Tang instantly felt relieved.
“Tang Tang…”
Shao Licang had been unconscious for two days, and his ability awakening had drained an immense amount of energy. Yet the first thing he did upon waking was search for Bai Tang, only to find that he wasn’t by his side.
“Ah Cang, eat.”
Bai Tang had already prepared food in advance. He helped Shao Licang drink a cup of water before hurrying downstairs to fetch the meal he had heated in the microwave.
After finishing the food and learning about what had happened over the past two days, Shao Licang instinctively pulled Bai Tang into his embrace. “I left you alone for two days… I’m sorry.”
Bai Tang didn’t mind at all. “It’s okay. But I wonder how my sister, Grandpa Zhang, and the others are doing.”
Earlier, when he went downstairs to get the food, he passed by the other rooms—they were all eerily silent. Bai Tang hadn’t dared to open any doors without knowing what lay behind them.
Shao Licang agreed with Bai Tang’s caution. If someone had truly turned into a zombie and ended up hurting Bai Tang, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.
“I’ll go with you to check.”
Shao Licang carried Bai Tang downstairs.
A door was violently forced open. He Lang dusted off his clothes—though there was no dust to begin with—and strolled out with a satisfied expression.
“Awake?” Shao Licang raised an eyebrow.
He Lang responded with a smile, though his eyes gleamed with barely contained excitement.
“There’s food in the kitchen, Brother He, take whatever you want.” Bai Tang nestled in Shao Licang’s arms, his curious eyes peeking out. He wondered what ability He Lang had awakened.
He Lang was starving, and hearing Bai Tang’s words made him like the little one even more. What a sweet and considerate kid. He reached out to ruffle Bai Tang’s hair, but Shao Licang swiftly dodged, pulling Bai Tang away.
“Boss, you’re so stingy.” He Lang grumbled, quietly complaining about Shao Licang’s overprotectiveness toward Bai Tang.
“I heard that! Ah Cang isn’t stingy at all~” The little squirrel had sharp senses and immediately picked up on He Lang talking behind Shao Licang’s back.
“Right, right, Little Cutie’s Ah Cang isn’t stingy at all~” Just stingy with us. He Lang waved Bai Tang off and turned toward the kitchen.
Over the next few hours, the others gradually woke up, all having awakened supernatural abilities.
The group of grown men excitedly paced around the villa’s living room, eager to head outside and test their powers on a few zombies.
Bai Yun had awakened a water ability, He Lang had enhanced strength, while the others had abilities like fire, earth, and even hypnosis. The most unexpected case was the elderly housekeeper—despite his age, he had awakened a speed ability. While the others were still discussing their powers, he moved like the wind. Before they had even exchanged five sentences, he had already brought out all the food from the kitchen and neatly arranged it on the table.
“What about Little Cutie? What’s his ability?” A man named Hei Zi asked.
Bai Tang was momentarily stunned, his expression turning dejected. “I don’t have an ability.”
The man beside Hei Zi elbowed him hard—why bring that up? Did he even have a brain? If Little Cutie had awakened an ability, then who was the one who locked all the doors and windows and prepared food while they were unconscious?
In reality, the food had been collected by the system from a previous world and stored in a small spatial pouch, keeping it fresh and warm. But now, the system was displeased—how dare someone make its host upset?
“Tang Tang, don’t listen to them. Who said you don’t have an ability?”
Bai Tang’s eyes lit up, his voice filled with anticipation. “I have one too?”
The system responded with a proud tone, “Of course! My Tang Tang is the best. Because you’re a squirrel, you can sense nature and command the plants of the natural world to serve you.”
In terms of ability classification, it would fall under wood-based abilities, but it was distinct from standard wood abilities—it was far more versatile and powerful.
Bai Tang was no longer upset. Facing the group, he followed the system’s instructions and tried to accelerate the growth of a fruit. Within about two minutes, a lush potted plant was brimming with ripe fruit.
He Lang plucked one and took a bite—surprisingly sweet.
The group’s eyes shone with excitement. D*mn, this is incredible! With this ability, they’d never have to worry about food again.
“Tang Tang is amazing!” Bai Yun straightened his back with pride—Let’s see who da res to look down on our Tang Tang now.
“Tang Tang is incredible.” Shao Licang was even more straightforward—he leaned in and planted a kiss on Bai Tang’s cheek. He didn’t care whether Bai Tang had an ability or not. Regardless, he would protect his precious treasure with everything he had.
…
Having abilities alone wasn’t enough; without actual combat experience, they would be useless.
After finishing their meal, Shao Licang took the lead as the group headed out to hunt zombies and gather supplies.
“But… don’t we already have plenty of supplies?” Bai Tang asked in confusion from inside the room.
As he changed clothes, Shao Licang explained, “They can’t always rely on the spatial storage. Sooner or later, those resources will run out. The only way to truly be fearless is for them to become strong themselves.”
Bai Tang nodded in understanding. But just as Shao Licang was about to leave, Bai Tang hugged his leg, making it clear—he wanted to go too.
“Tang Tang, be good. Stay home and wait for us. It’s dangerous outside.” Shao Licang didn’t want to take Bai Tang with them—who knew what the situation outside was like?
The group of men all agreed, voicing their objections in unison. Taking such a delicate little thing outside? Wouldn’t that just be serving him up as zombie food?!
In the end, Shao Licang made the final decision—Bai Yun, Bai Tang, and the old butler would stay behind at the villa, while the others would venture out on the first day to assess the situation.
Bai Tang, eyes brimming with tears, looked at Shao Licang and repeatedly reminded him, “Be careful, watch the road, stay observant.”
The rest of the group couldn’t help but feel jealous—Why wasn’t Little Cutie worrying about them too? Didn’t they also deserve some love and concern? Boohoo~
After they left, the old butler, following Shao Licang’s instructions, locked the doors and windows, sent Bai Tang upstairs to watch TV, and went to prepare afternoon tea.
Seizing the rare opportunity to be alone with Bai Tang, Bai Yun sat down beside him on the floor.
“Tang Tang, can I talk to you for a bit?”
Bai Tang hugged the squirrel plushie Shao Licang had bought for him, dimples appearing on his cheeks. “Sure~”
“Tang Tang, about Shao Licang…”
“I like Ah Cang.” Bai Tang seemed to know what Bai Yun was going to ask and answered before she could even finish. “Ah Cang likes me too. We’ve already done the most intimate things, so you can’t break us apart, okay?”
Bai Yun felt stifled. She had originally thought that if Bai Tang’s feelings were just a passing whim, she could take him away when the female lead appeared later. But now, that plan was out the window.
“Sigh~ Alright, as long as Tang Tang is happy.” Bai Yun half-heartedly accompanied Bai Tang in watching a nature documentary.
For selfish reasons, she hadn’t told Shao Licang everything during their last conversation. She had kept the female lead’s rebirth and the later developments of the apocalypse a secret.
That was her biggest bargaining chip.
If Shao Licang decided to drive her and Bai Tang away for the female lead’s sake, at least she could rely on the storyline to avoid disaster.
…
On the other side, Shao Licang’s team was making good progress.
They arrived at a shopping mall and swiftly dealt with the zombies wandering aimlessly outside.
“Hey, this ability is insanely useful.” One of the men stared dumbly at a zombie he had just set ablaze with his fire ability.
“Quit daydreaming and get inside.” He Lang opened the side door of the mall and motioned for the others to enter.
The mall was in a relatively quiet district, so even after the outbreak, the number of zombies wasn’t too high. However, what they didn’t expect was that another group had beaten them to it.
The floor was littered with zombies whose heads had been brutally separated from their bodies. Most of their skulls were shattered, as if someone had been stirring around inside them in search of something—some even had small fragments of ice still clinging to the wounds. A few corpses had injuries from blunt force or blade weapons.
“D*mn, this is disgusting.” Hei Zi clamped a hand over his nose and mouth. The gruesome scene nearly made him retch.
Shao Licang remained the most composed. From Bai Yun, he had learned that inside a zombie’s head was something called a ‘crystal core,’ which could enhance a person’s ability level.
“Search for supplies first.” With that command, Shao Licang sent He Lang and the others off to gather resources separately.
Shao Licang himself wasn’t particularly lacking in supplies, but he headed straight to the frozen foods section. Opening a fridge, he carefully stuffed all of Bai Tang’s favorite yogurt into his bag.
Just as he was finishing up, a gust of bloody wind whooshed toward him from behind.
Shao Licang bent forward instinctively and countered with a swift back kick.
His attacker dodged in a hurry, flipping away toward the wall.
“Swish, swish, swish—!”
A series of ice blades sliced through the air, aimed directly at Shao Licang.
The commotion in the frozen foods section was too loud, drawing the attention of both teams. Chaotic footsteps rushed toward them from all directions.
Just as the attacker seemed to be losing ground, getting kicked to the floor by Shao Licang, a man suddenly stepped forward and shoved over a refrigerator—separating Shao Licang and the woman.
Only then did the two sides cease fighting.
Tan Qingqing pushed away the man who had stepped forward to help her, suppressing the unwillingness in her expression. When she stood up, she exuded the pride of a queen—if only there weren’t two footprints on her shoulders, it would have been even more convincing.
“Who are you, and why did you attack our boss?”
Facing the furious men behind Shao Licang, Tan Qingqing spoke coolly, “Sorry, I thought he was a zombie.” That was all the explanation she gave.
Shao Licang observed her for a moment before suddenly smiling. “It’s fine. May I ask your name?” Not that he needed to ask—he already recognized her as the woman who had harmed Tangtang last time.
Tan Qingqing assumed that Shao Licang hadn’t recognized her, and a flicker of delight flashed in her eyes. On the surface, however, she maintained her cold and aloof demeanor. “Tan Qingqing.”
Tan Qingqing was not only beautiful but also possessed outstanding ice-based abilities. Her team believed that the other side was trying to recruit her. If she left, their squad would lose a powerful asset, so they all glared angrily at Shao Licang and his men.
However, those who knew Shao Licang understood that his smile was not one of goodwill—it was the kind of smile that came from extreme anger.
Author’s Note:
The female lead has appeared~ In the next chapter, Tang Tang is about to turn into a jealous little lemon~