The Goddess Is Kissing Her Best Friend

Lan Ran, burning up and half-delirious herself, had come around at some point without anyone noticing.

She forced her eyes open with great effort. Everything in her vision was blurred, every shape doubled.

She blinked. Blinked again. And then she saw something extraordinary.

Jin Zhaoye was kissing her best friend.

What a shameless dream this was — why would her goddess be draped over Xie Li like that, the two of them locked together so deeply, and her goddess the one who had leaned in first?

She shifted her gaze and swept it around the space. She found herself lying in a strange iron room; outside the windows was pure darkness, nothing visible at all, only the sounds of insects and birds drifting in.

It sounded like the middle of nowhere.

Right. She was definitely dreaming. The fever had cooked her brain and she was hallucinating.

She closed her eyes and silently told herself three times: I am dreaming.

Before she drifted off again, the very last thought that surfaced in Lan Ran's mind was: this dream feels awfully real.

She could even hear the wet, sticky sounds.

A soft, smacking sound — like watching her mother stir syrup on the stove when she was little, the sugar water bubbling in the pot, thick and clinging, stretching into long golden threads, sweet on the tongue.

Behind the front seats, Jin Zhaoye straightened up after finishing off an entire bottle of Mineral Water and looked down at Xie Li.

Xie Li's lips were faintly flushed, soft and damp, thoroughly wet. Jin Zhaoye stared at the trace of moisture left at the corner of her mouth for two seconds, then reached out and wiped it away with the pad of her finger.

Xie Li's skin was still burning hot, but thankfully her breathing had steadied a little, and the tight furrow between her brows had eased.

Jin Zhaoye let out a small breath of relief. She braced her hands on her knees and stood, steadied herself against the back of the seat for a moment, then slowly made her way to the driver's seat and turned to check on Lan Ran.

Lan Ran was running a fever too — her cheeks were as red as tomatoes, her lips dry and cracked, her breathing somewhat more stable than Xie Li's, though still not quite right; her breaths came fast and shallow.

Jin Zhaoye opened a fresh bottle of water, rummaged through her pack for cotton swabs, pulled one out, dabbed it in the water, and pressed it gently to Lan Ran's lips to moisten them.

As for feeding her water mouth-to-mouth — that, Jin Zhaoye had not considered.

She gave Lan Ran a little water, screwed the cap back on, and leaned against the seat back, staring out at the pitch-black night beyond the windows.

The train had stopped after leaving Nancheng. The old locomotive made far too much noise when it ran — in the silence of the night it could be heard for miles, a beacon for anything that might be listening.

Stopped here now, in the middle of nowhere, dark mountains and fields stretching away on both sides, there was no immediate danger — but Jin Zhaoye still didn't dare let herself relax enough to sleep.

After resting in the cab for a while, she grew uneasy about the people in the back. She picked up her flashlight, opened the door, and stepped out.

The night breeze carried the smell of open fields. Jin Zhaoye walked a circuit around the locomotive, then jumped down and made her way to the rear carriages. Inside, the survivors were sprawled every which way in sleep.

The flashlight swept over them — every face flushed red with fever, not one of them conscious. Thankfully, she found no signs of mutation in any of them.

Jin Zhaoye opened the rear carriage door and went down the row, splashing a little water on each survivor's face to bring their temperatures down even slightly.

When she was done, she returned to the cab, locked the door, walked to Xie Li's side, and bent down to lift her into her arms.

Xie Li was burning and barely conscious, her body radiating heat. Her scorching forehead pressed into the hollow of Jin Zhaoye's neck, her breath gusting out — wet and hot.

Jin Zhaoye held her there for a moment, then bent and settled her into the driver's seat, adjusting the angle so she could sleep more comfortably.

She herself leaned back against the iron wall of the cab, drew her knees up, and closed her eyes to rest.

She didn't know whether it was because of the fluid she had exchanged with Xie Li, but her own head was beginning to feel heavy.

The summer insects were relentlessly loud. Jin Zhaoye listened to them, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier, and though she had meant to keep watch through the night, she drifted off without realizing it.

......

When the sky was just beginning to lighten, Xie Li regained consciousness.

It took considerable effort to get her eyes open. She lay in the seat for a while, letting her mind catch up, before she remembered where she was.

Her body seemed to have stopped aching and gone numb. Xie Li pushed herself upright and stretched.

The wound on her arm had been itching. She unwound the bandage and looked — the wound had already scabbed over, the edges lifting away to reveal the tender new skin underneath.

'Already healed this fast?' Xie Li was a little startled by her own recovery speed.

To avoid anyone noticing, she rewrapped the bandage and tied it back in place. Once she had tidied herself up, she glanced over at Jin Zhaoye, who was sitting on the floor.

Jin Zhaoye was leaning against the iron wall of the cab, her head tilted to rest on her own arm, her long hair spilling down to cover half her face. The half that was visible looked faintly flushed.

Xie Li moved quietly, walked over, bent down, and lifted her into her arms, settling her into a seat. She reached out and pressed her hand to Jin Zhaoye's forehead — it was blazing hot.

She instinctively went to reach into her Space for a fever patch, then remembered Lan Ran was right there, and glanced back.

She was met with a pair of bright, gossip-hungry eyes. Lan Ran grinned at her.

Xie Li's hand paused. She reached into her backpack instead, pretending she had taken the fever patch from there, peeled open the packaging, and pressed it to Jin Zhaoye's forehead.

The sleeping woman seemed to sense the coolness against her skin. She let out a soft sound, showing faint signs of waking.

Xie Li patted her gently, the way you would soothe a child back to sleep.

Lan Ran watched the whole sequence of actions and couldn't help baring her teeth in a grin. 'Gift, you have absolutely no idea what dream I had last night.'

'Did you dream you went to the underworld?'

Lan Ran shook her head. 'No — come on, guess.'

Xie Li wasn't particularly interested in what she had dreamed. Seeing that Lan Ran still looked a little pale, she asked with concern, 'How are you feeling?'

Lan Ran flexed her arm. 'I feel... actually really good? The wound doesn't hurt much, and I think I'm stronger — I feel like I'm full of energy.'

'Let me look at your wound.'

Xie Li reached over to unwrap her bandage, wanting to confirm whether her own recovery was due to those green points of light inside her body, or something else entirely.

Lan Ran obediently held out her arm and watched Xie Li peel back the bandage.

When the bandage came away, the wound beneath was revealed — it had healed considerably. Not as dramatically fast as Xie Li's, but it didn't look like an injury from yesterday either.

If she had to estimate by how far along the healing was, it looked more like a wound that was already a week or ten days old, well into the recovery stage. Xie Li couldn't be precise; she didn't have a strong enough frame of reference.

'It's not fully healed yet — keep it wrapped.' Xie Li rewound the bandage and tied it back.

'I feel like this is healing kind of fast.' Lan Ran held up her hand, bundled in bandages like a rice dumpling, and said with a wild gleam in her eye, 'Gift, do you think I might have turned misfortune into a blessing and gained some kind of superpower?'

'What superpower would you want?' Xie Li asked.

Lan Ran hummed thoughtfully. 'Now that's something I'd need to think carefully about......'

She hadn't finished thinking when Jin Zhaoye, in the seat beside her, also woke up.

Xie Li noticed immediately. She leaned in close to Jin Zhaoye's face, eager as a puppy welcoming its owner home.

'Jin Zhaoye!' She crouched down to meet her eye level and fired off a rapid string of concern: 'Are you cold? Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Does your throat hurt? Do you want some cold medicine? Did you know you had a fever?'

'Why did you sleep on the floor last night? You didn't even think to take Lan Ran's jacket to put under you — the floor is so hard and cold, sleeping there all night, of course you'd catch a cold.'

Lan Ran: ???

Thinking of the dream she'd had last night, she quietly turned away and silently recited in her heart: I have sinned. How could I have such disrespectful thoughts about my own goddess.

Jin Zhaoye looked at the chattering little Alpha in front of her, and a flicker of amusement passed through her eyes.

You silly dog. Back to full energy already.

Xie Li waved her hand in front of Jin Zhaoye's face. 'Did the fever fry your brain?'

Jin Zhaoye pushed her hand aside and said in a hoarse voice, 'You're too loud, Xie Li. Get me a bottle of water.'

Xie Li took a bottle of Mineral Water from her bag, twisted off the cap, and held it to Jin Zhaoye's lips.

Jin Zhaoye declined the hand-feeding service, took the bottle herself, and poured several mouthfuls down her throat.

The cool liquid soothed the dryness, and the burning sensation that had been smoldering through her body finally began to recede.

She drank about half the bottle, screwed the cap back on, set it on the dashboard, and adjusted her seat to sit up properly.

She slipped the black hair tie from her wrist, held it between her lips, raised both hands, and gathered her loose hair. Her slender, pale fingers threaded through the strands, and in a few deft movements she had swept it all back, wound the hair tie around it, and twisted it into a neat bun.

A few loose strands fell from behind her ears and lay against her cheeks; she tucked them back with a casual hook of her fingers.

Xie Li watched the line of the woman's long neck, the curves shifting beneath her fitted tank top, the ridge of her shoulder blades...

Her throat moved almost imperceptibly. How was it possible to look this good while sick? That had to be against the rules.

Jin Zhaoye finished tying her hair and touched the fever patch on her forehead. Without needing to think about it, she knew Xie Li must have put it there.

She checked her temperature, confirmed the fever had broken, peeled the patch off, and dropped it into the small bin in the cab.

'When did you wake up?'

'Around six, I think,' Xie Li said.

Jin Zhaoye glanced at her watch. 'Have the people in the back carriages woken up?'

'I'll go check now — wait for me.' Xie Li stood and jogged out of the cab to the rear carriages.

She looked through the carriage window. Most of the people inside were still asleep; only Bai Jingning and Ning Meng had woken up.

Xie Li gave them a wave in greeting, then turned and ran back to the cab to report what she had seen.

Jin Zhaoye listened, nodded, checked the instrument panel, pressed a few buttons, and pulled the control lever.

The locomotive, silent all night, began to rumble again. The carriages shuddered slightly and rolled forward along the tracks.

'Lan Ran, is your family in Lingxi County? How far is it from the station?' Jin Zhaoye asked.

Suddenly called on by her goddess, Lan Ran stopped playing dead.

'Yes... in Lingxi County. From my house to the train station, if the roads are clear, it's about ten or fifteen minutes by car.'

'The next stop is Lingxi County.' Jin Zhaoye rested one hand on the control lever and read the signal marker on the track. 'We won't pull into the station — I'll stop outside. I'll go to your house and bring your mother out. Give me the exact address.'

'Ah?' Lan Ran was taken aback. 'That doesn't feel right — I should come with you.'

'Your leg,' Xie Li said, looking at the bandage-wrapped limb with concern. 'Can you walk?'

Lan Ran braced herself on the seat back and took a few steps around the cab, baring her teeth in a grin. 'See that? I'm tough.'

'Besides, there's no navigation now. If no one leads the way, won't you be working twice as hard for half the result?'

Jin Zhaoye glanced at Lan Ran's leg and didn't refuse. What she was thinking was: whatever the situation with Lan Ran's mother, she deserved one last chance to go back and see.

The train clanked and rattled forward. The three of them ate a simple breakfast, and then Lan Ran fell quiet, leaning against the window, staring out at the passing scenery in a daze.

Now that home was almost within reach, the old feeling of trepidation had finally set in.

When the disaster first began, she had called her mother every day. Then communications went down, and naturally all contact was lost.

So many days had passed since then — she had no idea whether her mother had listened and stayed home.

Xie Li sat down beside Lan Ran and gave her shoulder a gentle pat. 'Don't worry. We made it out of Nancheng. Your auntie is in a small county town — lower population density, definitely safer.'

Lan Ran nodded hard, her mood lifting at once. 'You don't know — my mom is such a good cook. When we get there, I'll have her show off for you properly.'

'I'd love that,' Xie Li said with a smile.

The train clanked and rattled on, carrying a wanderer's longing homeward, rushing toward a nearby hometown. The scenery outside kept changing — open fields gradually giving way to houses, houses giving way to streets.

When they were two or three kilometers from the station, Jin Zhaoye brought the train to a stop.

'Wait here — I'm going to the back carriages for a moment.' She left them with those words, grabbed her iron hammer, jumped down, and headed to the rear.

Ning Meng and Bai Jingning were both awake. Jin Zhaoye opened the carriage door and went in, telling them where they were going — she and Xie Li needed to make a trip into the county town to see if they could find supplies and medicine to bring back.

Bai Jingning's injuries weren't too serious, but more than a dozen others were gravely hurt and clearly fading. If Jin Zhaoye could bring back medicine, that was a good thing. She nodded her agreement and told Jin Zhaoye not to worry.

With that settled, Jin Zhaoye returned to the cab and waved the two of them over. 'Let's go.'

Xie Li and Lan Ran jumped down from the cab and followed behind her, walking slowly along the tracks. The wild grass on either side had grown taller than a person, providing good cover for their figures.

Two or three kilometers wasn't far. The three of them walked at an easy pace and arrived in just over half an hour.

As they neared the station, Jin Zhaoye led Xie Li and Lan Ran off the tracks, skirted around the station building, and came out directly onto the Square outside.

The Square was a mess of abandoned vehicles, and a few Zombies wandered aimlessly among them.

Jin Zhaoye observed for a moment, then waved back at her two little followers. 'Wait here — I'll go see if there's a car that still runs.'

'Be careful,' Xie Li said.

'Stay safe, goddess,' Lan Ran added.

Jin Zhaoye gave a nod and walked out, hammer in hand.

The Zombies drifting across the Square spotted a living person and converged on her.

Jin Zhaoye went to meet them — one swing, one kill, every blow a headshot.

Since waking up that morning, she had felt as though her strength had grown considerably and her body had become lighter. Now that she was actually fighting, she confirmed it wasn't her imagination.

Her strength really had increased. Before, it had taken some effort to crush a Zombie's skull; now a casual swing was enough to pop one open.

Thinking of Xie Li and Lan Ran, who had both been full of life and energy from the moment they woke up, she suspected all three of them had undergone some kind of change — though she didn't yet know whether it was connected to the mutated rat from yesterday. All of that would need to be examined back at the Base, with blood samples drawn and analyzed.

Jin Zhaoye walked and hammered her way across the Square, leaving a trail of fallen Zombies in her wake.

Her gaze swept over the abandoned vehicles scattered across the Square. She passed over the newer models and fixed on a battered, dark-blue pickup truck.

The truck was very old — its body caked in dust, the bed loaded with a few bags of cement, the annual inspection sticker so faded it was barely legible.

Jin Zhaoye walked up to it and pulled the door handle. It opened without resistance.

The area around the ignition lock was scratched and pried at, the plastic casing cracked, the wiring inside yanked into a tangle.

Someone had tried to start this truck before, and failed.

Jin Zhaoye climbed in, pulled two wires from the bundle, stripped back a little of the insulation on each to expose the copper.

She touched the two bare ends together. A sharp crack — a small shower of sparks — and the truck shuddered once, then went still.

She tried several more times. Finally the engine roared to life. She gripped the steering wheel, released the handbrake, pressed the accelerator, and drove toward Xie Li and Lan Ran in the distance.

Xie Li and Lan Ran jogged over and climbed in. The pickup rolled smoothly out of the station Square and turned onto the main road leading to Lingxi County.

Lan Ran sat in the passenger seat and directed Jin Zhaoye.

Perhaps because the county town had a smaller population, the roads were in far better shape than Nancheng. There were some blockages, but traffic could still get through.

Jin Zhaoye gripped the wheel and navigated the old pickup through turn after turn, arriving before long at the mouth of the alley not far from Lan Ran's home.

Her family's house was self-built. The lane normally allowed vehicles through, but it was now completely blocked by abandoned cars.

Jin Zhaoye parked at the alley entrance, picked up her hammer, and said, 'Just this short stretch — we walk.'

'Let's go!' Xie Li picked up her own cleaver, pushed open the door, and got out.

She and Jin Zhaoye went one in front and one behind, keeping Lan Ran between them, clearing the Zombies from the alley, and arriving safely at Lan Ran's front door.

Lan Ran's home was a three-story building with a sizable courtyard out front. The courtyard wall stood about two meters high, and near the left side was an iron gate — the way in and out. It was a house that looked solid and reassuring.

The iron gate was shut. Inside the courtyard, rows of common vegetables grew in neat beds, thriving and lush. You could tell Lan Mama had tended them with care — she was clearly a woman who loved her life.

On the other side of the yard was a chicken pen, fenced in with wire mesh, a few hens strolling about inside at their leisure.

Xie Li's eyes lit up at the sight of those chickens. Chickens meant eggs — an endless supply of both going forward. She made a mental note: when they left, those chickens were coming with them.

Lan Ran walked to the gate and called out softly toward the closed iron door: 'Mom? Are you there?'

The house was quiet. No one came to the door.

Xie Li and Jin Zhaoye exchanged a glance, a bad feeling settling in both their hearts.

Lan Ran crouched down and felt around in the flower bed beside the iron gate until she found the spare key kept there.

She held it out to Xie Li, her voice unsteady: 'Gift... open the door for me.'

Xie Li took the key, slid it into the lock, and opened the iron gate. She bent down and helped Lan Ran to her feet. 'It's okay, don't panic — your auntie might just be napping inside. Let's go in and look.'

'Mm.' Lan Ran leaned on Xie Li's support and walked into the courtyard.

Jin Zhaoye was the last one in. She turned and locked the iron gate behind her, then stepped toward the house.

The ground-floor sitting room was dim, all the curtains drawn, only a little sunlight filtering in through the open front door.

Standing in the middle of the room, Lan Ran called out for her mother again. Still no answer from inside the house.

But from upstairs came a faint sound of movement.

'She's upstairs.' Xie Li pressed a hand to Lan Ran's shoulder and caught Jin Zhaoye's eye. 'Lan Ran, wait here — let me go up and check first.'

Jin Zhaoye took hold of Lan Ran's hand. 'Your leg makes the stairs difficult. Let Xie Li go.'

'Right — you wait here. I'll go call your auntie down.' Xie Li gripped her blade, crossed the sitting room, and ran up the stairs to the second floor.

The layout upstairs was much like downstairs — a sitting area at the top of the stairs, then several bedrooms with closed doors.

On the sofa in the sitting area sat a small child, who looked about three or four years old. She had two little pigtails, somewhat disheveled by now, and wore a pink dress that left two chubby little arms bare.

The child heard footsteps, turned around, and saw Xie Li charging up the stairs with a blade in hand. She let out a startled wail, buried her face under the sofa cushion, and left nothing but a round little bottom pointed at Xie Li.

Two short legs dangled over the edge of the sofa, kicking nervously, trying to hide herself away.

Xie Li blinked, caught off guard by the presence of a child.

She put the blade behind her back, walked over, crouched in front of the sofa, and lifted the cushion off the child's head.

The child turned her head and buried her face under a different cushion instead, like a little ostrich.

Xie Li lifted that cushion too. The child immediately burrowed under the next one.

'Little one, big sister isn't a bad person — lift your head up, I'll give you candy.' Xie Li coaxed her gently.

At the mention of candy, the child turned her head out from under the cushion, one eye peeking out to study Xie Li.

Xie Li fished a milk candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and held it out.

The child's hand shot out and snatched the candy from Xie Li's palm, popping it straight into her mouth.

Her soft little cheek bulged with the candy. She spoke around it in a muffled voice: 'Who are you? Are you here to rob us?'

'Big sister is Lan Ran's friend. Who are you, and why are you here?'

The child sucked on her candy and answered obediently: 'My name is Xiaobao. Lan Auntie is in the room — she told me to stay here and not wander off.'

'Which room?' Xie Li asked.

Xiaobao pointed at the closed door behind Xie Li.

Xie Li turned, stood, walked over, and knocked lightly on the door.

From inside came an immediately recognizable sound — a frenzied, inhuman howl. The last thread of hope snapped. Lan Ran's mother had met with an accident after all.

Downstairs, Lan Ran and Jin Zhaoye had waited long enough. They came up together.

The moment they reached the top of the stairs, both of them heard the howling coming from behind that door.

Lan Ran stared at the closed door. It was her mother's bedroom. On it still hung the drawing she had made in kindergarten — herself and her mother, hand in hand, walking at sunset.

Now, the sound of a Zombie was coming from behind that door.

'Gift......' Lan Ran's voice broke into a sob. She turned to look at Xie Li, clutching at her like a last lifeline, and asked with desperate hope, 'Who's in there? Why are they in my mom's room?'

Xie Li's throat felt as though something had lodged in it — dry and raw.

She looked at Lan Ran's reddened eyes and told a small, gentle lie: 'Maybe... someone from outside took shelter in there. Lan Ran, let's look around nearby — your auntie might have gone out.'

'Right, she probably went for a walk — my mom loves going out for strolls, she can never sit still.' Lan Ran wiped the tears from her face and turned to go back downstairs.

Xiaobao, recognizing a familiar face, jumped down from the sofa and ran to Lan Ran, tugging at the hem of her clothes and looking up. 'Ranran jiejie.'

Only then did Lan Ran notice there was someone else in the room.

She looked down at Xiaobao, crouched down, and pulled the child into her arms, her voice trembling as she asked: 'How did Xiaobao end up at Ranran jiejie's house?'

Xiaobao blinked, working hard to remember. 'Xiaobao's tummy was hungry. The food Grandma left was all gone.'

'Mm, and then?' Lan Ran asked.

'And then, Xiaobao's tummy was hungry, so Xiaobao went outside. There were lots of ugly monsters outside, trying to catch Xiaobao.'

The child's voice was utterly innocent; the words she spoke were devastating. 'Lan Auntie saw. Lan Auntie ran outside and brought Xiaobao home. She told Xiaobao there were bad things outside and not to go out — just stay home.'

She scratched her cheek, trying to remember. 'Right — Lan Auntie said Ranran jiejie would come back. She told Xiaobao to be good and wait at home......'

Xiaobao hadn't finished speaking before Lan Ran was already weeping.

She crouched on the floor, holding the little girl tight — so tight that Xiaobao began to squirm.

'Ranran jiejie, you're hurting Xiaobao.' The little one wriggled in her arms, her voice carrying a note of grievance.

'I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry......'

Lan Ran loosened her hold and knelt on the floor, her voice shaking as she apologized.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry — I came back too late. I'm sorry......'