Time passed quickly. As darkness fell, Paimon remained hovering within a meter of Lumine, occasionally glancing around nervously.
"Lumine, it's so quiet..."
Paimon pressed close against Lumine's back, feeling a chill in her heart, though she couldn't tell if it was real or just her imagination.
"Shhh..."
Lumine sat on a protruding rock, gesturing for Paimon to be quiet.
Several more hours passed. Just as Lumine and Paimon were starting to feel drowsy, a rustling sound came from the west, in the distance.
Paimon nearly cried out, but Lumine swiftly clamped her hand over Paimon's mouth. After waiting so long, she would be furious if Paimon scared their quarry away with a shout.
Paimon obediently clamped both tiny hands over her mouth and scooted behind Lumine.
The bamboo forest thinned out to the west, transitioning into a more open area dotted with scattered pine trees.
The rustling grew louder. Paimon's heart pounded in her chest, and Lumine felt her own heart drumming in her chest.
Dealing with monsters was one thing, but zombies...
And Hu Tao had warned her that this one was particularly powerful. Let's hope it doesn't look too abstract, Lumine thought.
-
Player World
Chen Xiyao turned on the air conditioner and wrapped herself in a blanket.
It was evening, and she was home alone, streaming her gameplay.
The game's graphics were eerily realistic, and Paimon's terrified reaction had made her tense as well.
"The zombie you've all been waiting for is about to appear," she announced. "Why is the chat suddenly silent?"
Are they all as nervous as I am? she wondered. The chat had been unusually quiet lately.
Her question sparked a flurry of activity in the chat:
[This rendering is genuinely impressive! It feels like watching a horror movie, especially since we're embodying the Traveler. The immersive experience is... shivers]
[Didn't Hu Tao say this zombie must harbor immense resentment or have suffered some great injustice?]
[Could it be someone from the village returning for revenge? That's how these stories usually go, right?]
[Have you guys forgotten the quest's title? Let me remind you: "The Kaiyang's Last Words."]
[Even after Qingge has been buried for so long, those damned writers still won't let her rest...]
[Do you think Qingge might actually be the zombie?]
[WTF, don't make baseless speculations! What resentment could our Grand General Kaiyang possibly hold?!]
[That's unlikely. If Qingge were a zombie, Zhongli would have shown some reaction. Besides, Qingge's grave on Tianheng Mountain is still perfectly intact.]
Chen Xiyao pursed her lips at the viewers' speculations.
How could Qingge possibly be a zombie?
In the bamboo forest, a black figure suddenly burst from the shadows. Lumine's radiant sword materialized in her hand, ready to strike. But before she could, she heard a voice coming from the figure.
A wild boar?
"Ugh, you scared me half to death!" Paimon patted her tiny chest. "Lumine, let's go back and hide... Aaaah!"
Mid-sentence, Paimon spotted a pale, bloodless face in the nearby shadows, its crimson eyes fixed silently on them.
Bathed in moonlight, the figure's mouth was smeared with blood.
Paimon froze in terror, her pupils dilating as she scrambled back several meters.
"A z-zombie!"
The moment Paimon shrieked, Lumine whirled around and slashed her sword, sending a golden blade of energy hurtling toward the zombie.
The sword's strike sheared through a wide swath of bamboo, leaving clean, even cuts.
When the energy struck Qingge, a sharp thwack rang out, and a gash appeared in the fabric over her chest.
A clearing had been carved out of the bamboo forest, and moonlight streamed down, illuminating Qingge's face.
Her long, silver-white hair was stained with blood. Her crimson eyes burned brighter than in life, contrasting starkly against her deathly pale complexion. Most strikingly, her entire left arm was missing.
Lumine stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.
Her lips trembled slightly as she stared in disbelief at the figure before her, her voice shaking as she whispered:
"Qing...ge..."
How could it be Qingge? How could it possibly be Qingge?!
Hearing Lumine's words, Paimon finally looked closer. Overwhelmed by terror moments earlier, she hadn't had time to notice who the zombie resembled. Now, prompted by Lumine, she examined the figure carefully.
This Qingge was nothing like the Qingge she remembered from life, yet she retained too many unmistakable features: white hair, crimson eyes, and a missing arm.
It's... it's really Qingge... How could this have happened? Qingge... how could she have become a zombie?
-
Player World
[No! This can't be real, Mihoyo! Stop messing with us and let my Qingge rest in peace!]
[Ahhhh, it's actually happening... Nooooo!]
[I just checked—the grave on Tianheng Mountain is still perfectly fine!]
[What exactly did Qingge go through?!]
Chen Xiyao stared at Qingge on the screen, her eyes uncontrollably welling up.
"Qingge... sniff..."
Her beloved General... How could she have ended up like this?!
The deeper her love for Qingge, the more her heart ached, overflowing with bitterness.
-
In the bamboo forest.
Hearing the name "Qingge," Qingge froze for a moment, her gaze slowly drifting downward to her right hand, still stained with blood.
Suddenly, she whirled around and fled into the distance, her speed astonishing.
Lumine snapped out of her shock at discovering Qingge was the zombie and immediately pulled the string on the firework in her hand.
Bang!
The firework exploded in the sky, its brilliant display particularly conspicuous at this moment.
Keqing and Hu Tao, who were stationed elsewhere, saw the signal and swiftly made their way toward the explosion.
Lumine gave chase, but no matter how hard she tried, she could only watch Qingge's retreating figure grow smaller and smaller. Her urgency grew with each stride.
"Lumine, to your right!" Paimon, flying high behind her, directed Lumine.
"A little to the left!"
"Lumine, hurry! I'm losing sight of her!"
"Ah! She's gone!"
Lumine sprinted below while Paimon soared above.
As Lumine ran, Paimon's voice grew fainter and fainter. The little companion was actually flying faster than her, despite her crippling fear of zombies. Yet here she was, daring to chase after one alone...
Leaning against a pine tree to rest, Lumine realized she had completely lost sight of both Qingge and Paimon.
-
Paimon chased after Qingge for quite a while, only realizing how far she'd gone when she lost track of her too.
Looking down, she couldn't see Lumine anywhere. Swallowing hard, Paimon immediately flew back.
"Lumine! I lost her! Qingge was way too fast!"
Paimon couldn't understand it. Weren't zombies supposed to be slow and jerky? How could Qingge move so quickly?
Could it be...?
Paimon remembered the bloodstain at the corner of Qingge's mouth. Has Qingge already consumed human blood and evolved?!
Keqing and Hu Tao arrived shortly after. Having seen no zombies on their way, they immediately asked:
"Traveler, where's the zombie?"
"Yeah, we didn't see any signs of it."
Lumine didn't answer. Even now, she couldn't believe that Qingge...
Zhongli was supposed to be guarding this place!
Wait a minute!
Lumine suddenly remembered that Zhongli had recently traveled to Sumeru. Could it have happened then...?
But why would Qingge become a zombie?!