Yu Qingxian looked at the message her mother had sent her years ago, in the early hours of the morning.
That was also the last message her mother had ever sent.
'Baby, your mom and dad are going to watch the earliest sunrise. We'll take some photos for you.'
Yu Qingxian rarely went through these chat logs.
She was born with a detached personality, her emotions towards even her parents felt alarmingly thin.
Just as her parents' relatives had said, it would have been better to raise a dog than to give birth to her.
And she agreed with that sentiment.
After her parents passed away, she stopped associating with those relatives.
She didn't even know if any of her parents' relatives were still alive.
Pulling her thoughts back, Yu Qingxian decided to go and see the earliest sunrise that her parents had wanted to witness.
With a newly determined goal in mind, she felt relaxed again.
Before, it had always been her parents taking photos of scenery to show her.
Now, it was her turn to capture scenery for her parents to 'see'.
She wanted to witness the sunrise her parents never got to see, and to visit the places they had been.
Yu Qingxian also wanted to try to understand the love her parents had for her and to love them in return.
With her destination set, she was in no hurry now.
She opened the map her boss had given her and activated the navigation.
This map had an unusual power source, as she couldn't find any charging port on the thin sheet that was even slimmer than her tablet.
She entered her destination, which showed a distance of 3,000 kilometers.
Yu Qingxian had to double-check the map, making sure she wasn't mistaken.
3,000 kilometers - at her current pace of traveling day and night, it would take her at least a month.
Adding in her recent sluggish movements, it might even take over a month.
Her previous quick progress was all thanks to Shi Xingyu.
Now alone, she was bound to meander and join in the festivities along the way.
No need to rush on a leisure trip.
That would defeat the purpose of relaxation.
Of course, rushing for transportation like cars or planes was an exception.
Her own mother often told her about missing flights because she couldn't wake up early.
Yu Qingxian had suggested booking afternoon flights instead of early morning ones.
But her mother had insisted on those specific flight times.
Yu Qingxian couldn't understand why she had to take flights at particular times.
It was a sentiment she felt she might never comprehend in her lifetime.
Her luggage trundled along the roadside, heading north.
She had no intention of taking the most direct route.
While a straight line would be faster, she planned to follow the outskirts.
That way, she could avoid encountering humans.
It was already March, and she and Shi Xingyu had planned to visit Autumn Lake in the fall to admire the scenery.
So she couldn't afford to waste too much time.
Otherwise, the lake might freeze over by the time she got there, ruining her plans.
At that thought, Yu Qingxian increased her luggage's speed by a notch.
What Yu Qingxian didn't expect, however, was how puzzling the prices were in this post-apocalyptic world.
A box of medicine could get her a brand-new phone with enormous storage capacity. Even if she took a thousand photos every day, she could keep shooting for six or seven years straight.
Though she had a camera, so she didn't need to use her phone for photography.
Yu Qingxian opened her camera app, but it was the front-facing one.
Suddenly seeing her own reflection in the viewfinder was a surprise.
Her phone contained tens of thousands of photos, all taken by her parents.
She rarely took photos herself, let alone selfies.
Although she had taken plenty of photos of Shi Xingyu, they never had any pictures together.
Well, he had pulled her luggage for three months. It would only be fair to take a selfie with him when autumn came.
With that thought, Yu Qingxian flashed a V-sign at the camera and snapped her first selfie in over 28 years.
Looking at her reflection, her ashen skin and those pupil-less eyes devoid of any moisture were unsettling.
She had previously considered wearing colored contacts to conceal her strange eyes.
But she found the contacts would dry out within minutes in her eyes.
So she abandoned the idea of using contacts to decorate her eyes.
Otherwise, she'd have to apply eye drops every five minutes.
Besides, she had no need to doll herself up since she wouldn't be living among crowds.
One important thing, however, was to never let flies land on her body.
Flies were incredibly resourceful in finding crevices to deposit their eggs.
Even living creatures weren't safe, as flies would lay eggs on animals, let alone her corpse.
Especially worrying was her inability to feel any pain. She might not even notice if her body was crawling with maggots.
At that thought, Yu Qingxian wondered if she should take a medicated bath, just in case.
She detoured into town, found a bathhouse, and then headed to the hospital for insecticides.
All kinds of insect-killing chemicals.
Then Yu Qingxian fully submerged herself in the medicated water, leaving only her head above the surface.
Along the shore were oral insecticide pills.
Although these anti-insect medications would undoubtedly damage a living body, they posed no real threat to Yu Qingxian.
After all, she was essentially just a corpse now.
The zombie virus only prevented her from decaying like a normal corpse.
But insect eggs were a different story.
Even zombie bugs wouldn't withstand such a massive dose of insecticides, would they?
After downing two large bottles, Yu Qingxian sank into the bathwater and slept for half an hour.
Yet no insect eggs or maggots floated to the surface, reassuring her.
Thank goodness her body was clear of eggs and maggots.
After leaving the bathhouse, Yu Qingxian also washed her hair, using buckets of water, of course.
She had feared her hair might come off with a tug, but thankfully, it remained firmly attached to her scalp.
Still, she would need to be more careful and keep flies away from her body.
Having taken her insecticide bath, Yu Qingxian left the bathhouse carrying the strong scent of pest killers.
As the weather grew warmer, flies began to swarm around the zombies.
It was unclear whether these were zombie flies or ordinary houseflies.
But either way, flies were universally despised creatures.
Not to mention mosquitoes.
Perhaps due to the potent smell of insecticides still lingering on her, the flies covered in the stench from other zombies simply flew around Yu Qingxian.
Noticing the flies avoiding her, Yu Qingxian felt a sense of shock and moved closer to observe.
Indeed, it wasn't her imagination - the flies were actively steering clear of her.
Yu Qingxian ran back and forth, watching the flies evade her, a smug expression on her face.
At least she wouldn't have to worry about flies swarming her now.
However, her smug display caught the attention of another zombie.
That zombie stood at the intersection, staring at Yu Qingxian.
Sensing the gaze, Yu Qingxian whipped her head around.
There, at the crossroads, stood a zombie in a green tracksuit stained with what appeared to be dried blood.
Its high ponytail was disheveled.
Most notably, this zombie also had red eyes.
Red eyes...
An advanced zombie...
