Chapter 12: The Graceful Qi Fang

“Do you know about the Hunters?” Ye Yang squinted as he asked.

“The Hunters? What are those? No idea.” Qi Fang, as usual, knew everything she was supposed to and nothing she wasn’t.

“Hmm… they’re pretty incredible. Supposedly, they have superpowers! Even your most admired Uncle Zheng looks up to them a lot!” Ye Yang was already grinning slyly like a cunning fox.

“Really?” The girl’s interest piqued immediately.

“Hehe, they’re right next door! But nobody’s allowed inside. So, what do you say? Once they leave, shall we sneak a peek?” Ye Yang’s expression was that of a mischievous uncle trying to lure a little girl.

“Sure! Let’s go check it out. I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.”

And so, the odd uncle succeeded. Let’s have a moment of silence for this little girl’s impending misfortune.

Ye Yang was following these three Hunters not just to investigate strange bodily changes, but for a more pressing reason: Uncle Zheng had told him these guys were from Yanjing, affiliated with the China Alliance. He wanted to see if there was a way to sneak into Yanjing himself.

He really didn’t intend to abduct Qi Fang, but he had to act this way—he had no motorcycle. Running? Looking at the super convertible sports car parked outside the bar, he gave up the idea completely. Even if he were Ultraman, there was no way he could catch up.

As Ye Yang had predicted, the three Hunters didn’t stay long. At dawn the next day, they set off. Though Qi Fang wanted to hang around the bar for a few more days, her curiosity about the Hunters was stronger—of course, spurred on by Ye Yang’s enthusiastic embellishments.

Most importantly, Uncle Zheng had left early, handing Qi Fang everything she asked for, with a careful reminder to stay safe before heading back out to continue his wanderings.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep a close eye on her!” Ye Yang assured confidently, though inwardly he sighed—if lying brought down lightning strikes, he’d be twisted into a pretzel by now.

“Keep your distance and tail them. Uh, can your bike keep up?” Ye Yang worried slightly. One convertible sports car, one dump-truck-style motorcycle—there was no comparison.

Qi Fang waved him off nonchalantly, boldly declaring, “Pfft, my ride’s specially modified. As long as we’re in the desert, nothing can outrun me!”

Qi Fang wasn’t bluffing. Ye Yang finally witnessed the legendary super dump-truck motorcycle’s prowess. Speeds hit two hundred kilometers per hour like it was a game. That was because the car ahead wasn’t driving full throttle. Qi Fang said she could push it beyond three hundred easily. The wanderers often raced like that—they were the desert’s undisputed kings.

Of course, the key was that there were no patrols or traffic lights in the desert.

The Hunters ahead seemed to have no special agenda, or perhaps they knew someone was tailing them, as they meandered aimlessly through the desert. Qi Fang was exhausted, tongue hanging out, and Ye Yang was sleepy.

“Where are they going? What are they doing?” Qi Fang asked with a frustrated expression. The girl really didn’t want to follow anymore.

“Don’t know…” Ye Yang yawned.

He was also somewhat ready to give up but his instincts told him this was a rare opportunity. If he wanted to witness those so-called superpowers, he had to keep up.

With a screech, the convertible sports car ahead stopped. Ye Yang was eager to see some superpowers. Suddenly, a figure dashed rapidly toward the motorcycle. The speed seemed impossible—more like flying.

“What now? Run! They’ve spotted us!” Qi Fang tensed up, but Ye Yang shook his head. No escape! The person’s speed was far too great.

A snow-white figure descended gracefully, landing steadily in front of them. Qi Fang began to play the ostrich, probably realizing that tailing people wasn’t exactly proper. Ye Yang, however, was indifferent—this was the cold girl he disliked.

Despite his dislike for her icy demeanor, the girl was truly beautiful. In the dim bar light, he hadn’t looked closely before, but now, he was momentarily stunned.

The term “fairy” had long fallen out of use—too old-fashioned, too exaggerated—but Ye Yang found it perfectly fitting for her. She exuded an ethereal aura. Her exquisite face bore no makeup, only a natural pale complexion paired with that cold expression. Calling her stunning would be an understatement.

Qi Fang was pretty and cute, but compared to this girl, she was just a quirky little brat.

“Glacial fairy”—just the thought of this description made Ye Yang feel a little queasy, yet it perfectly matched the girl, without a hint of exaggeration.

“Don’t follow us.” Her voice remained icy, and her gaze held a trace of disgust directed at Ye Yang.

Ye Yang looked up at the sky, ignoring her. Pretty or not, he disliked girls with such a cold attitude.

“There’s danger ahead. Don’t follow us!” Her tone grew colder.

“Huh? Danger? Are there zombies?” Suddenly, a small head popped out—Qi Fang’s ostrich instinct awakened. Her eyes widened as she scanned around.

Ye Yang admired her in a strange way. After their recent life-and-death battle, she was still fearless and even put curiosity first. What a peculiar girl.

But that was fine—he didn’t have to worry about arguing with the ice queen.

“The area ahead is zombie territory. You can’t enter.”

“Why not? Does entering zombie territory count as trespassing? Is it illegal?”

“…Then don’t follow us.”

“Pfft, this is a big road. Only you can walk here but we can’t? Who said we’re following you?”

“You! …Suit yourself.” The girl snapped coldly and turned away.

Round one: Ice queen versus quirky girl. Qi Fang won decisively.

“Aren’t you afraid at all?” Ye Yang frowned. He remembered Qi Fang was usually scared of zombies. Her behavior today was unusual. Had she taken some strange medicine?

“Of course I’m scared! But not today.” Qi Fang smiled happily, pointing at the convertible ahead. “You said these guys protect humans and kill zombies. If danger comes, I’ll just hide behind them.”

“…What if they don’t care about you? You were so arrogant just now.”

“Isn’t there you? You’re my number one bodyguard! No worries. You can even kill mutants!” Qi Fang was carefree. “Come on, keep up! If we get left behind, we’ll miss the superhuman zombie showdown!”

Ye Yang broke out in a cold sweat, silent. He realized she wasn’t fearless—she’d just offloaded responsibility for her life onto others.

The so-called zombie territory wasn’t what Ye Yang imagined. It wasn’t crawling with zombies everywhere. This wasn’t a movie, after all; zombies didn’t wander about in daylight.

After rounding a mountain pass, Ye Yang began to see solitary ghosts and zombies here and there. Not many—on average, one staggering creature every few hundred meters. He understood why Qi Fang wasn’t afraid. As long as they weren’t cornered in city alleys, these zombies posed no real threat—they were just too slow.

The convertible ahead showed no intention of stopping to eliminate zombies. They even detoured around them. Ye Yang couldn’t make out their purpose, only that they frequently got out to check something.

“So boring. When are these superheroes going to fight zombies?” Qi Fang grumbled as dusk approached. Ye Yang ignored her. Did she have any other hobbies besides watching excitement? Didn’t she wonder what these people were really doing?

“Oh, right! Want me to perform a trick for you? Learned it from Uncle Zheng!” Qi Fang suddenly remembered something. Without waiting for Ye Yang’s reply, she gleefully sped off toward a distant zombie, the motorcycle accelerating to its limit.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Ye Yang frowned. This girl had forgotten past scars—didn’t she remember how close she came to dying? How dare she provoke zombies on purpose?

“Just watch!” Qi Fang laughed, speeding up even more.

Five hundred meters… three hundred meters… a hundred meters… closing in.

Fifty meters… thirty meters… ten meters… Ye Yang’s heart tightened. Was she planning to crash into the zombie? If she got caught, they didn’t have any serum!

Five meters! This was the most dangerous distance. Then, something Ye Yang never expected happened—Qi Fang suddenly slammed on the brakes. She wanted to stop!

The zombie roared and lunged. Ye Yang broke out in cold sweat. Instinctively, he wanted to pull this reckless girl behind him immediately. Even that close, he couldn’t strike back in time, but at least he wouldn’t risk infection.

“Don’t move!” Qi Fang shouted sharply, pressing the gas and brake simultaneously. The motorcycle screeched and shook violently, skidding sideways, kicking up huge cracks in the sand.

A whirlwind of dust and sand swirled toward the zombie, enough to blind and disorient it.

A rifle flashed out quickly from her gun holster, sparkling golden in the sunset. The barrel spun fast in her hand before plunging directly into the sandstorm.

The wind blew the dust away. The zombie froze in shock, the rifle pressed to its forehead. Just as it opened its mouth to roar and lunge, Qi Fang’s lips curved into a brilliant smile.

“Get lost, trash!”

Bang! Blood and flesh exploded. The zombie’s skull shattered completely. Before the blood could even fall, Qi Fang smoothly re-holstered her gun and roared away on her motorcycle.

Thud. The zombie fell on its back, motionless—game over.

“How’s that? Pretty cool, huh? Haha, I’ve practiced this move for a long time! I’ve got others, but this one’s my best.” Qi Fang beamed, clearly very pleased with herself.

Ye Yang was utterly dumbfounded. Cool? More than that! At that moment, he almost thought she was possessed by Stallone or the reincarnation of Schwarzenegger. Who would’ve guessed she could do that?

“You… didn’t learn that from Uncle Zheng, did you?” Ye Yang asked, half laughing, half crying. There was no way she invented this on her own—it was definitely the handiwork of those biker gangs.

“Yeah, yeah! But mine’s cooler than his! Haha, too bad he didn’t see it.” Qi Fang was as happy as a child, and in truth, just a mischievous kid.

Watching Qi Fang’s hair fly in the sunset, Ye Yang couldn’t help feeling a stir in his heart. She was quite something—quirky in personality but also a bit endearing.