(Xyrean Province- Inner Regions)
(The Mermaid's Lake- Forested Outskirts)
"Gong Li! If you keep splashing me, I swear I'm going to…"
"Catch me if you can! I'm too quick in the water!"
"Grr… get over here… I'm coming to get you!"
Qin Lan leaned against a nearby tree and watched as the two young teenagers splashed and played in the lake.
It was around the evening time and the sun was now just barely visible over the horizon. This was the best time to take a bath and get clean.
Liu Yifei snapped her fingers and two bars of soap materialised out of thin air.
She handed one to her best friend who smiled sweetly at her before splashing her with some water.
Qin Lan absentmindedly glanced at the nearby surroundings for any threats before turning her attention to the small fire that was crackling on the side.
A pot of hot water was slowly boiling over the fire and Qin Lan had already sprinkled some brown sugar inside the mixture.
It was her time of the month and the cramps from her period were very painful.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtFortunately, she had the foresight to pack feminine hygiene products before the end times.
Qin Lan winced as she felt another painful cramp in her lower body. Sometimes she wished that she was a man so that she didn't have to deal with this shit.
Liu Yifei and Gong Li continued to play around in the water under the watchful eye of their protector who was in a great deal of pain.
Qin Lan did not dare to relax her vigilance even for a second ever since they had discovered Chen Xiao's corpse.
She could not deal with another death…
Qin Lan felt as though she would go crazy if she had another death on her hands. She had rescued five teenagers from the supermarket and now only two remained.
More than half of the group were dead which included… her own brother…
The young woman's fingers curled up into a tight fist as she took in a few deep breaths and tried to calm down her restless thoughts.
Something rustled in the nearby bushes, so Qin Lan immediately reached for the knife that was strapped to her hip.
A small adorable wild boar stumbled out of the bushes, and it stared at Qin Lan with a serene expression on its piggish face.
Qin Lan waved her knife in its direction but made no attempts to actually stab the animal.
It was too small for eating and most likely there was a mama boar who would be furious that her cub was missing.
The wild boar squealed in fear and then trotted away as fast as its stubby little legs could take it from this dangerous situation.
Qin Lan put away her knife and stared up at the sky where stars were clearly visible.
She did not know why she found herself drawn to those beautiful celestial bodies but looking at them always made her feel at peace with the world.
The multiverse… there were an infinite number of realities and worlds.
It was mind boggling to think about and sometimes Qin Lan suspected that her experience may just be a dream.
Perhaps she would wake up one day to find herself in a psych ward or a mental hospital screaming about the Time Space Administration.
Qin Lan walked towards the edge of the lake and knelt down. She scooped up a handful of water and drank some of the crystal-clear liquid.
Well, if this was a dream then it was an extremely realistic one. Qin Lan waved her hand and gestured for the two teenagers in the water to swim over.
Liu Yifei held Gong Li's hand and the two girls quickly made their way over to the shore. Liu Yifei snapped her fingers and two large white towels appeared in mid-air.
Qin Lan quickly caught them using her sharp reflexes before they hit the ground. Liu Yifei smiled sheepishly as she took one of the towels from Qin Lan.
It was getting late, and a cold wind was already beginning to blow from the northeast which caused some goosebumps to appear on the young girls' arms.
"Come over to the fire and get some warmth," Qin Lan gently spoke as she led the girls over the roaring fire.
She moved the pot away from the flames and picked up the small bowl and spoon that was on the ground.
Qin Lan scooped up some of the brown sugar mixture in the small bowl and began to take tiny sips.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Do you need anything big sis?" Liu Yifei asked with concern evident in her voice.
"No… I'm fine… don't worry about me. It usually only lasts for a few days so I should be better by this weekend," Qin Lan replied warmly.
Actually, she wasn't sure if a few days from now was the weekend or not.
Time had lost all meaning since the end times had begun and ever since arriving at the lake, each day had kind of blurred into one.
It was basically impossible to remember the day or the month without a calendar.
Qin Lan was mostly relying on the condition of the trees of the forest to tell when autumn or winter would arrive.
Qin Lan enjoyed the sweet taste of the mixture as she watched the two girls dry their hair.
"I sometimes wish that we had an outlet…" Gong Li grumbled as she picked up a brush to untangle some knots out of her hair.
She tried her best to fight with the curls, but nothing seemed to work.
She placed down her brush and was about to give up when a soft pair of hands touched her upper back.
"Let me try…" Liu Yifei whispered softly. The beautiful teenage girl picked up the brush and began to carefully run it through Gong Li's hair.
Liu Yifei was incredibly gentle as she treated her best friend's hair as if it were a piece of expensive artwork at a museum.
Gong Li could feel her face begin to heat up as she blushed furiously.
Liu Yifei's pleasant scent lingered around her nostrils, and it took all of her willpower not to turn her head and kiss her luscious lips.
It had never been a good time to confess her feelings towards her best friend, but Chen Xiao's death had really made an impact on Gong Li's emotions.
It was a sobering reminder that in the end times death could come without warning and every day could be your last.
She needed to tell Liu Yifei how she really felt before it was too late.