The Puppets: Secrets of the Maternal Body

"Boss, think it through again—what exactly happened?" A soldier asked, glancing at Kelly who was silently smoking in the back seat of the vehicle. "The organization wants an immediate report."

Kelly closed her eyes, took a deep drag from her cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke. After a long pause, the voice of the man echoed in her mind: "Your survival... does it go against your so-called persistence?"

Does it go against my persistence?

She flicked the cigarette butt angrily, then spoke in a low voice, "I don't know. I was knocked out... all I saw was a blurry figure of a corpse. When I woke up, everything was gone."

The soldier stared at Kelly in disbelief, "It knocked you out? It didn't... eat you?" He lowered his communicator, astonished.

Kelly glared at him coldly. "Didn't hear me clearly? Should I repeat it?"

"No! I got it," the soldier stammered, quickly resuming the report to the base.

The team was silent, except for one soldier who paused for a moment while cleaning his gun, his eyes flashing briefly before returning to his task as though nothing had happened.

"Is this how it's done?" Daphne struck a pose, holding a submachine gun in each hand. She looked completely different from the tearful girl from last night, radiating confidence.

Yang Tian shook his head when he saw Daphne's stance. "You can barely hold one gun steady, how do you expect to handle two?"

"But the people in the movies look so cool doing it!" Daphne's eyes sparkled as she continued adjusting her stance.

Yang Tian continued packing his bag, casually offering advice, "You're not them. When you fail, it means death, or becoming one of the undead."

Daphne pouted, stowing the MP7 and switching to another gun, striking a proper pose. "Is this better?"

"Yeah, looks like I didn't waste my time teaching you last night," Yang Tian nodded. "Once you're good, you can try dual-wielding."

Daphne winked playfully. "What else did you take from her?"

"Nothing much, a dagger, a submachine gun... She wouldn't have had much on her during combat. I didn't dare take the watch, it might have a tracking system in it," Yang Tian replied, adjusting his bag.

"Also the lighter and the cigarettes... that made you cough last night," Daphne teased with a grin.

Yang Tian scratched his head awkwardly, remembering the discomfort from last night.

"I'm glad you're back to normal today! But we need to leave. Normally, we could get to Los Angeles in a day by car, but in this world, who knows what will happen. It could take two or three days, even a week, or we may never get there at all."

Daphne snorted, displeased. "You shouldn't say things like that."

She hopped onto the motorcycle and started it up effortlessly, calling back over her shoulder, "Get on, 'bicycle guy!'"

Yang Tian felt embarrassed. He'd never ridden a motorcycle before. He could drive a car, but motorcycles were a completely new challenge.

He remembered how they had tried several cars, only to find them all wrecked before finally discovering the motorcycle. As he hesitated, Daphne had already picked up the fallen bike and started it up.

When she learned that Yang Tian couldn't ride, she was both surprised and amused, with a playful smirk that made Yang Tian shrug in defeat.

The wind howled past their ears as Yang Tian held onto Daphne's shoulders, keeping a respectful distance. Close? Yes, of course he wanted to be closer, but Daphne's alluring, flesh-and-blood body was an irresistible temptation that made it hard to control his impulses.

"Is this the right direction?" Daphne asked loudly, glancing back.

"Yes, it's this way. But please watch the road!" Yang Tian shouted back, "I don't want to be the first zombie to die in a motorcycle crash!"

"Relax, I'm better at this than driving a sports car!" Daphne smirked, flooring the accelerator. The engine roared to life, seemingly driven not just by their need to travel, but by some suppressed emotion she was eager to release.

"What? That zombie is called 'Puppet'?" A middle-aged man in a suit looked at the soldier in surprise, sitting in his office.

"Yes, I overheard some conversation. Kelly referred to the mother zombie as 'Puppet,'" the soldier reported.

The middle-aged man immediately grabbed his communicator and dialed a number.

"Hello? Who's this?" A lazy voice answered on the other end.

"Dog, did your original squad have a temporary member called 'Puppet'?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Dog replied lazily. "Spit it out, I'm busy here."

"A soldier reported that the mother zombie is 'Puppet.' It can speak, and it's very strong."

"What?" Dog stood up suddenly, bumping into a woman who was kneeling in front of him. She immediately wrapped her arms around his waist, continuing to move energetically.

"Soldiers overheard some conversations. Puppet is now within your jurisdiction. This is beyond what ordinary mercenaries can handle," the middle-aged man said seriously.

"Haha, sounds like good news!" Dog laughed, hanging up. He needed to confirm the news himself.

The woman, still kneeling, wiped her mouth and snorted. "A newly formed special forces team is being deployed? What's the mission?"

"Baby, we'll talk later!" Dog patted her head, quickly fixing his clothes and leaving the room.