(Xyrean Province- Inner Regions)
(The Mermaid's Lake- Forested Outskirts)
The moon was still drifting lazily in the sky above the forest as bright moonlight streamed down through the treetops.
As Qin Lan approached the rest site, she could gradually hear the sounds of laughter coming from one of the tents.
The roaring fire crackled in the middle of the campsite and provided a source of heat as well as preventing any predators from coming too close.
Qin Lan walked about one hundred meters away from the fire pit and placed the corpse of the boar on the ground where it fell with a heavy thump.
The scent of blood lingered around her nostrils and Qin Lan had to take a few deep breaths in order to calm down her agitated mood.
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Eve looking at her with concern evident on her face.
Qin Lan smiled sweetly and then leaned forward to press a light kiss against the side of her cheek.
She wasn't sure why she decided to randomly kiss Eve, but it definitely helped to make her feel more confident about the upcoming conversation.
Qin Lan had actually practiced a few times during the walk to the camp site and had used Eve as a practice audience.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtCuriously enough, whenever she tried to mention anything about the original timeline, the villainess of the plane or her status as an agent, no words would come out of her mouth.
Clearly, she was forbidden from talking about certain matters or perhaps there was a taboo put in place against exposing her true identity.
Qin Lan was not too pleased to discover this ban, but she took it in stride and decided to change her planned speech.
Of course, when the moment came to actually talk to the two young girls about these serious matters, she wasn't sure if her practice would really be useful.
Qin Lan let out a heavy sigh before steeling her nerves.
She motioned for Eve to stay where she was and then walked over to the tent.
She knocked against the flap twice and the voices inside the tent were immediately silenced. Qin Lan nodded in approval since that is what she taught them to do.
Hopefully Gong Li was already reaching for her gun and Liu Yifei would take out weapons from her storage space.
"It's me… the bird is flying from the west," Qin Lan spoke clearly and could hear sighs of relief coming from the other side of the tent.
The second part of her sentence was the code phrase that they had decided on using to confirm the identity of anyone who entered the camp.
The reason for this extra security measure was due to their encounter with the shape shifter that took on Chen Xiao's form.
The monster did not speak so it was impossible to know if it was capable of mimicking the tone of the person that it disguised itself as.
Obviously, the creature was dead, but Qin Lan knew that there would be others during the end times who would gain shape shifting abilities.
The original Qin Lan had even encountered a male shapeshifter who operated as a high-end prostitute in one of the bases.
He was able to change his age, gender, and appearance so he able to cater to any desire that his clients had… not matter how depraved…
The sound of the tent slowly unzipping shook Qin Lan out of her daze but a small frown still lingered around her lips.
"Sister Lan! How did your hunt go? Did you get anything?" Liu Yifei asked excitedly as she stumbled out of the tent.
"Watch your step!" Gong Li spoke up as she rushed forward and stopped her friend from tripping over an exposed root.
Liu Yifei turned around and shot her a look of gratitude which made a fiery red blush spread across Gong Li's face.
"Girls… I have something important to tell you…" Qin Lan's serious tone interrupted the sweet mood that was beginning to form.
"What is it? Wait… who is that?" Liu Yifei asked in confusion as she pointed at Eve who stood a fair distance away.
"That's Eve… she isn't dead. It's a long story…" Qin Lan spoke while nervously rubbing her fingers together.
"Wait… how are you sure that she's the real one?" Gong Li interjected with a wary look on her face.
Her encounter with the fake Chen Xiao and the men inside the supermarket had led to invisible scars on her psyche and now she was very distrustful of strangers.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmGong Li refused to let anyone hurt or threaten Liu Yifei again.
She may not have an ability, but she was working very hard on her marksmanship in order to hold her own in a fight.
Eve raised up her right hand and her fingernails extended outwards into black claws. She picked up a heavy boulder near the camp site and casually lifted it above her head.
Gong Li relaxed her guard a little bit as she saw Eve display the powers that she had seen before but was still feeling slightly cautious.
"Come let's sit down by the campfire and I will explain what is going on," Qin Lan spoke calmly as she led the two girls over to the crackling fire.
She sat down on one side and the two girls sat down on the opposite.
Eve walked over and casually sat down next to Qin Lan before using her palm to gently hold her favourite human's palm.
There was a brief moment as silence as Qin Lan struggled to find the right words to say.
It was easy to say that she would be one hundred percent honest but there were certain things that she was unable to mention.
Finally, she just took in a deep breath and stared at the two young teenagers with a solemn expression on her face.
"Gong Li and Liu Yifei no matter what decision you make after hearing this… I want you to know that I will not let any harm come to you," Qin Lan promised seriously.
"Sister Lan… what's going on? You are kind of scaring us…" Liu Yifei hesitantly spoke as tiny sparks from the fire fell on the ground.
Qin Lan felt Eve's hand squeeze her palm as she opened her mouth and began to tell the girls about what she had learned,
"Eve is not a normal human. She was a test subject at a military complex where the zombie apocalypse most likely started."
"She was a victim of those monstrous scientists who dissected and tortured her for an unknown number of years. They are the ones responsible for the end of our world."
"Unfortunately, she was not the only one who was experimented on…"