247: This is not him

She stepped forward and saw that the Third-Tier Zombie was merely frozen in place by the strike, not killed, which relieved Ye Rui.

She ignored the other zombies, grabbed the stunned zombie that couldn't move, and rushed straight toward Ai Yue.

"Sister, quick, look! He, he isn't dead!"

Ye Rui placed the zombie in front of Ai Yue, tears and snot flowing, incoherent with excitement.

Ai Yue was stunned by her actions. Wasn't this just a zombie that had been fried by lightning? What was this talk about dying or not dying?

"Rui Rui, are you alright?" Ai Yue asked anxiously.

"I—I'm fine, Sister, just look again." Ye Rui's eyes were blurred with tears as she spoke, her eyes glistening.

Ye Rui wanted to explain, but she was too excited to speak.

Ai Yue grew impatient listening to her. She decided to stop killing zombies for now, called her parents, and picked up the zombie. "Let's go, Rui Rui, we'll go outside first, and you can tell us slowly."

Ye Rui couldn't speak at this point and just kept nodding.

Under Ai Yue's powerful lightning, the group successfully left the zombie horde and returned to their campsite.

Ai Yue tied the zombie she was holding to a tree before turning back to ask the still crying and hiccuping Ye Rui, "What happened? Tell me now."

Ye Rui stammered for a long time, unable to form a complete sentence, but through her fragmented words, Ai Yue still understood what Ye Rui meant.

"Are you saying this zombie is Mo Li?"

"Mm-hmm... *uh*." Ye Rui quickly nodded.

"That's impossible. Gu Xiheng clearly said they killed Mo Li after he turned into a zombie and burned him afterward. How could this be him?" Ai Yue said helplessly.

"No, he, he is him, look..."

Having no other choice, Ai Yue retrieved a bucket of water from her Spatial Storage and poured it over the zombie's face, revealing a face familiar to everyone.

"Heh... it really is him!"

Ai Yue was now confused. Didn't they say he was burned? Then what was this?

However, whether this zombie was Mo Li or not no longer mattered. He was a zombie now. Mo Li had died the moment he turned into a zombie.

"Rui Rui, he is no longer your Brother Mo Li. Your Brother Mo Li will never come back, and *it* is not Mo Li!" Ai Yue said earnestly.

Upon hearing this, Ye Rui's entire face darkened.

Just then, the zombie finally recovered from its paralysis, bared its sharp teeth, and lunged to bite Ye Rui, who was standing not far away.

Looking at Mo Li, whose eyes were blood-red like a monster's, Ye Rui painfully crouched on the ground, covering her face and weeping bitterly.

He was a zombie; he was no longer her Brother Mo Li!

After Ye Rui finished venting, Ai Yue gently said, "Kill it."

Ye Rui stiffened all over. After a long pause, she shook her head. "I can't bring myself to do it. Just let him live."

Ai Yue sighed inwardly, nodded, and said, "Alright, as you wish."

"In that case, should we release him?" Ai Yue asked again.

Ye Rui shook her head. "Let's keep him tied up for now. I want to spend a few more days with Brother Mo Li. When we leave, I'll set him free."

Ai Yue raised an eyebrow, intending to try and persuade her, but then thought better of it and decided to let her be.

"Alright. You stay here. We're going back to kill more zombies," Ai Yue said.

Ye Rui shook her head again. "Sister, I'll go with you. Just leave him here."

"Then let's go."

The group returned to continue killing zombies until dusk began to fall. Only then did Ai Yue and the others stop and return to the camp.

'Mo Li' was still there, roaring and trying to break free from the ropes.

"Brother Mo Li, we're back! Do you know how many crystal cores we harvested today?" Ye Rui walked up to the Mo Li zombie and said with a smile.

"Roar..."

"A full sixty thousand! Isn't that a lot?"

"Roar..."

"Oh, stop struggling. I'll let you go in a few days. Just stay with me for a few days, okay?"

"Roar..."

"Since you turned into a zombie, what do you eat every day? Do you eat crystal cores?"

"Roar..."

"Zombies are your own kind, so I guess you don't eat them. Never mind. You look quite energetic, so you probably don't need food or drink. Stay put. I'll tidy up a bit and come back to chat with you."

After Ye Rui finished speaking, she sat down next to Ai Yue, warmed herself by the fire, and the group enjoyed a good meal.

Three days later.

"Alright, let's leave this place today. We harvested about two hundred thousand crystal cores over the past few days, which should be enough."

No one objected. Ye Rui walked up to the Mo Li zombie and said, "Thank you for accompanying me these past few days. We are leaving, and you should go too. Goodbye, Brother Mo Li."

Ye Rui waved her hand toward the Mo Li zombie, and a thick bolt of lightning struck its body, freezing it in place.

Ye Rui stepped forward and untied its ropes. "Brother Mo Li, don't blame me. If I didn't paralyze you, you would definitely rush over to bite us the moment I let you go. I can't bring myself to kill you, and you're too tough to drive away. This way, it's good for both of us!"

"Goodbye, Brother Mo Li!"

Ye Rui took one last look at Mo Li's face, imprinted it deeply in her mind, and turned away cleanly, leaving without looking back.

The Mo Li zombie, frozen in place, watched the departing group, and its blood-red eyes flickered once.

After leaving the Yingjin Safety Tower area, Li Shilan asked, "Yueyue, where are we going next? High-level Zombies aren't that easy to find, are they?"

Ai Yue nodded. "Mhm, I don't really have a destination. Let's just wander around for now and try our luck."

"Why don't we go back to our hometown for a visit? It would be a trip down memory lane," Li Shilan suggested, her face beaming.

Ai Yue's expression shifted; that wasn't a bad idea.

Ai Guosheng slapped his thigh. "Great! Let's go back home."

"That works, but before we go, I need to ask Gong Qiuqiu when he plans to Fight the Monster, so we don't miss it," Ai Yue said.

"Good idea. Go ahead and ask him."

Ai Yue took out her satellite phone and dialed Gong Qiuqiu's number.

After quite a while, the other end finally picked up. "Hello, Ai Yue?"

"It's me."

"Did something happen?"

"No, I just wanted to confirm the specific time for Fighting the Monster."

"It hasn't been decided yet, but it looks like it will take at least two or three months at the earliest."

"Got it. I'm fine now, you get back to work. Bye!"

Without waiting for the other party to speak again, Ai Yue casually hung up the phone.

Since she had learned what she needed to know, there was nothing left to talk about. Everyone was busy, so she didn't want to waste anyone's time.

"Gong Qiuqiu said the matter will likely take two or three months to settle, so we have plenty of time. We can set off for our hometown," Ai Yue announced.

Smiles visibly broadened on the faces of Li Shilan and Ai Guosheng.

They had moved to the city where their daughter lived just before the Apocalypse and hadn't been back since. They wondered what had become of the small county town where they planned to retire.

Being able to go back and see it this time would resolve a long-held worry.

Ye Rui was also happy listening nearby. She was quite interested in seeing the place where her sister grew up, even though it might now be a ruin.