Chapter 18: Liu Mengchao’s Teammates (5/5)

Everything unfolding before Liu Mengchao’s eyes seemed like a film deliberately slowed down. He watched as the doctor—this mother—struggled to turn and cast one last glance at her child, left behind in the room. Then, her strength failed her, and she collapsed to her knees before Liu Mengchao.

A cough—blood spilled from her lips.

She lifted her head, and only then did Liu Mengchao notice her eyes: a mesmerizing shade of pink. But now, those pink eyes brimmed with supplication.

“You don’t want to become a zombie in front of your child, do you?” Liu Mengchao’s lips barely moved, his words almost inaudible. Yet the mother seemed to understand. Tears welled in her pink eyes.

“Is that not so?” Liu Mengchao frowned faintly. He had thought this mother wished to end her life herself, sparing her child the trauma of witnessing her transformation. But perhaps things were not as he assumed?

His thoughts were interrupted as the female doctor collapsed entirely; blood gushed from her mouth in torrents. Yet her hands—she was cramming them into her own mouth.

Liu Mengchao suddenly understood her intention.

He crouched down, his voice a near-whisper by her side. “You’re still worried about your child.”

She gave no answer, but with her last shred of reason, she blinked rapidly—her eyes moved swiftly, speaking her resolve.

“I promise, I’ll take her out alive—no matter what.”

At his words, magic seemed to lift the shackles from the woman’s soul. The corners of her eyes crinkled with a faint smile.

Liu Mengchao knew she was smiling happily.

“May death bring you peace. Rest now.”

He leaned down, and under her yearning gaze, flicked out the blade hidden in his sleeve—a glint of silver, like the first ray of dawn. The light was faint, illuminating her face, and along with her smile, a crimson blossom opened upon her forehead.

A soft sound—his blade slid free.

He knelt, closing her eyes that death had forced open in her final moments.

“You were a great mother. Even in hell, you could bring your child a little paradise.” As he spoke, Liu Mengchao unclipped the name tag from her chest.

“Hiri Caina?”

He turned the tag over in his hand, examining it. The name ‘Hiri’ stirred something in his memory—where had he heard it before?

As Liu Mengchao contemplated the name, approaching the daughter left behind, the corpse of Hiri Caina, lying on the floor, began to tremble uncontrollably.

A sickening crack—the woman’s neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Her body convulsed, rising unsteadily like a broken doll, swaying as she stood. Her bloodied hands pulled free from her mouth, tearing her lips apart in the process, for reason had long left her.

“The word ‘mother’—how beautiful it sounds,” Liu Mengchao murmured, as though oblivious to the horror behind him. The zombie that Hiri Caina had become tottered closer.

“So, once you’ve turned, don’t wear your daughter’s mother’s face before me again. Otherwise, I might truly be sick.”

Without turning, Liu Mengchao swept his arm back. The hand bearing the sleeve-blade sliced between the zombie’s arms, cleaving her skull in an instant.

A dull thud—her skullcap hit the floor like a battered bowl smashed to the ground.

Liu Mengchao did not pause. Behind him, the zombie stilled. The woman named Hiri Caina had now died twice by Liu Mengchao’s hand: once as a mother, departing with a smile; once as a zombie, felled in a blink.

“What a pity.” Shaking his head, Liu Mengchao pinned the name tag onto his own chest and gazed ahead.

“This must be the Chinese medicine dispensary, then.”

Before him was a door, left slightly ajar, through which peered a pair of pink eyes and a head of pink hair.

“You must be Hiri Caina’s daughter,” Liu Mengchao began, but then he froze. In his ear, Baiya’s prompt sounded:

“Executor, all seven story characters have been located. Please confirm if you wish to activate the pairwise team system.”

Pairwise team formation?

With a swift motion, Liu Mengchao pulled the door wide open. Before him stood a small girl, shrinking back in fear.

The image in his mind was clear now: the little girl with the pink hair from Highschool of the Dead—Hiri Alice.

“The resemblance is perfect.”

A gentle smile suddenly spread across Liu Mengchao’s face.

“Are you Alice?”

“Mm… Big brother, where’s my mom?”

“Your mom?” Liu Mengchao forced a smile, showing her the name tag he’d taken.

“Your mother asked me to take you away from here.”

“And what about her? Isn’t she coming with me?” Alice asked. She had no idea that her mother had become a zombie, her head now split and ruined. But if Liu Mengchao didn’t tell her, who would? And who could bear to tell a little girl of her mother’s fate?

“Your mom—no, Aunt Hiri—she said she’s waiting for Mr. Hiri over there. She told me to take you out first.”

As he spoke, Liu Mengchao closed the door behind him. In the instant before it shut, he noticed more and more zombies converging on their position.

“Baiya,” Liu Mengchao said calmly in his mind, addressing the main system secretary, “activate the pairwise team system with the story characters.”

“The condition?”

“To stand beside the nearest story character for ten seconds,” Liu Mengchao replied, glancing down at Alice, who clung to his pant leg in fear.

“So, is this the character to be exempted?”

“Yes, the seventh protagonist, Hiri Alice, who only appears in episode five of Highschool of the Dead.”

As Liu Mengchao finished speaking, a cascade of system notifications rang in his ear, and a smile crept onto his lips.

Though events were playing out differently than he had planned—bringing the little girl, Hiri Alice, into the battlefield of the reincarnators much earlier than her episode five debut—Liu Mengchao studied the fine lines in his palm, his understanding of the other reincarnators as clear and comprehensive as the lines themselves.

Prize pool: 180,000.

Don’t get too excited, reincarnators. Your team competition is just beginning. Through his palm, Liu Mengchao could almost see the faces of the reincarnators turning pale as the team notifications reached them.

Gazing at the team roster that appeared before him, Liu Mengchao shook his head and laughed wryly.

“Team Notification:
Saeko Busujima and Qi Xiaoxiao have successfully formed a team.
Current master points: Qi Xiaoxiao and Saeko Busujima, 200 points.
Reincarnator Qi Xiaoxiao’s points: -100.
River crossing status: No.”

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Phew… today’s ten-thousand-character update is done…

Remember to call me the ever-diligent author (ˉ﹃ˉ) drool

Also, last chapter was supposed to be released at ten… scheduled updates are so annoying… I always just habitually hit upload new chapter…

Thank you to Barthomeloi, that oh-so-silly 13, and Gray Sky for your rewards!