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“Your Highness, perhaps it would be better to arm ourselves first, then consider other plans.” Lixiang quipped, unusually helpful for once with her suggestions.

She was right. The zombies transmitted their virus through wounds and ingestion. Normal people like us would get injured easily if we fought them unarmed and without protection.

“Lixiang’s right. We should procure some weapons for ourselves first.” I wholeheartedly agreed with her suggestion. I had Icy Inferno with me, so I was fine for the most part, but the girls were different.

The ‘Antidote’ sold on the marketplace could cure them, but how could I ever allow my girls to get hurt like that?!

Unlike Lixiang, however, Jiaojiao was of a much timider mindset. “Big brother… I’m scared… can we just stay here instead?”

Not going out… wasn’t possible.

The inn was definitely the safest option right now. But while communications remained shut off, and without knowledge of the outside world, staying in the inn wouldn’t work out in the long term.

Putting aside all other issues for now, the food in the inn wasn’t going to replenish itself, so how long could those stores last?

“It’s okay, Jiaojiao, your big brother will protect you.” I said as I ruffled her long hair. I knew she wasn’t being willful, but rather she was afraid of the zombies, thus I explained our situation to her.

Finally, I ended as such. “If everything were to proceed smoothly, we might even be able to fight our way out of this city.”

Hearing that, she immediately perked up. “You mean we can leave Southern Plains?”

“Of course. Just trust in your big brother, he will get you out safely…” I leaned in and kissed her gently on her forehead, then turned to Bitong and Lixiang. “There’s still your big sisters over here as well, everyone is getting out of this safely, I promise!”

At that, the two girls lowered their heads and shyly nodded, ears slightly red at the corners.

Hmm? Did I say something wrong, why is the mood so strange all of a sudden?

Yet just when I was about to ask, I heard a set of heavy footsteps echo from a distance away. They were familiar… Where have I heard them before?

“Exosuits… those are police exosuits!” Lixiang was the first to react. She ran out of the kitchen and stuck her head out of the nearest window.

Police exosuits? She can distinguish that just from those footsteps? No way.

I did not have long to doubt as Lixiang soon turned around, eyes sparkling with hope and excitement. “It’s the police, they are here!”

The police are here?!

This sudden news seemed to have stimulated the flagging morale of the girls as well. Both Bitong and Jiaojiao immediately jumped to their feet in a most unlady-like fashion and ran as fast as they could to the nearest opening to have a look for themselves.

By now, Lixiang had exited the inn and was waving furiously. “Over here! We are here!”

Bitong was a lot more composed than her, though her face clearly showed her relief and happiness.

Even if there was a zombie apocalypse happening, the fact that basic order was still functioning was a relief.

In actuality, as long as people still had faith in society, it would never collapse. Hope was the key. The true danger was losing sight of hope entirely.

Even though we had lost connection to the web at large, my guess was three hours or so had passed since the zombie outbreak started.

The fact that all civilian communications had been halted meant that this was a planned disaster. The mastermind of all this probably would not have been able to interrupt the military-use airways, so the police and the army should still be functioning.

With trepidation in heart and Icy Inferno in hand, I walked out of the kitchen, just in time to see a stark white contraption walking up to the inn. It was similar to a knight in full plate armor, but it was probably three meters tall and could be easily seen across the restaurant hall.

On the left of its chest was a black insignia with the words, Southern Plains 4511, embossed on it. As the machine walked towards us, it spoke into its communicator, “ 3007, I’ve discovered some survivors in a restaurant. Four in total, all young girls.”

Based on the pilot’s voice, he was most likely a young male, suave, and perhaps almost flippant.

He stood there for a few seconds, probably listening to his colleague’s reply. “In that case, maybe you should meet up with me instead. The inn has already been searched, these are most likely the only survivors.”

Having said that, 4511 hung up on his colleague.

4511 first swept his eyes over the restaurant then finally landed on me. “Hey there, I’m officer number 4511 from the Southern Plains Police Department (SPPD), a pleasure to meet someone as beautiful as you, my lady.”

Bitong boldly stepped in front of the officer and said, “Greetings, officer, could we leave this area first?”

“Mhm, I agree. This area isn’t suitable for ladies such as yourselves.” 4511 pointed at the headless zombies at that point. “Before that however, would you mind me asking what happened to those zombies?”

Throughout all that, 4511 kept his eyes glued to me. Even through his exosuit, I could feel that his gaze wasn’t right… How did I know that? Because I’ve received that look more often recently!

Such a distasteful look! I was clearly packing something down there, so why did I always end up treated like a girl?!

“I was the one who took care of them. Using this.”

I raised Icy Inferno up high at that point. As if in response, it gave out a mist of both red and blue, a typical sign of its dual nature. Mysterious yet beautiful.

“Such a graceful lady. Truly a sight to behold…”

Hey now. Shouldn’t you be saying, beautiful sword, instead? Or at least, impressive skills?

And what do you mean by lady? Do I look like a girl to you? You’re clearly looking at the wrong things here!

“Don’t call me lady. I’m a man!” I forcefully interrupted him and emphasized, “We should leave. Now. There’s no time for idle chat.”

“Oh. Right, right. Once my colleague arrives, we can leave this place.” 4511 immediately answered, as if afraid of displeasing me further. “Definitely. Only a place of fresh flowers and rich wines would fit someone of your beauty.”

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE