Chapter 74: Hello, Mr. Dragon

When Colette's high fever receded, Mr. Hank was very happy.

Because this meant that the little girl would very likely not turn into a zombie.

But at the same time, he was also a little scared, afraid that the little girl would, just as he worried, undergo a transformation like his own, and eventually become a monster!

At that moment, he even wished Colette wouldn't wake up; it would be better if she just kept sleeping like this.

Several hours passed, and Colette still woke up.

When Colette woke up and heard sounds by her ear, she instinctively turned her head and saw Mr. Hank, who had his face hidden beneath a hood.

However, Mr. Hank hadn't hidden enough, because his claws, gripping the steering wheel, were exposed.

These scaled claws, with sharp nails at the fingertips, Colette could surely see them if she wasn't blind.

Colette stared blankly at the figure driving the car in front of her, tears welling up in her "Eyes".

She covered her "Eyes", not letting the tears fall.

"Thank you for saving me. My name is Colette."

"No—no problem, as long as you don't blame me."

"Blame you?"

Colette didn't understand Mr. Hank's words, but—"You still haven't told me your name?"

—

Mr. Hank didn't speak, appearing very silent.

When Colette said her name, Mr. Hank remembered who this little girl was.

There were only a few dozen people in his base in total, and they had lived together for so long that even if they didn't interact much, everyone knew who everyone else was.

At the same time, Mr. Hank also remembered Colette's mother.

It was very difficult for a mother with a child to survive in such an environment, especially without a man's protection.

Therefore, Colette's mother had ambiguous relationships with many people in the base.

In fact, most of the women in the base survived this way, and coupled with the open customs there, no one looked down on anyone else.

But what embarrassed Mr. Hank was that he didn't know about others' relationships with Colette's mother, but he could confirm that he had once been with Colette's mother.

Or rather, Colette's mother was one of the women he had been with.

In the past, this was capital for men to joke and show off, but now he only felt awkwardness.

What should he do? How should he communicate with this child?

If there was even one more person around, or another animal, he wouldn't be so awkward.

"Mr., I remember I had a fever. Was it you who saved me?"

Seeing that Mr. Hank didn't say his name, Colette didn't mind, surveying the desolate land around them, now that they had driven out of the jungle.

After just two glances, Colette lost interest; she turned to Mr. Hank, looking for a topic.

"Ah? Uh, yes, that's right."

Mr. Hank nodded; no matter what Colette said, it was always these few words.

This left Colette speechless.

Then the car fell silent.

Mr. Hank was driving "single-mindedly."

And the little loli Colette, after calming down, her brain started working, and she realized details she hadn't noticed before.

"Mr., you're amazing! You killed so many zombies! I saw them; none of the zombie bodies were intact. You must be very strong, right?"

The little loli said with a look of admiration.

"Mm, that's right, I'm very strong."

Mr. Hank nodded, then, as if possessed, spoke without thinking.

"Your mother was among them. You don't mind?"

—

Only after speaking did Mr. Hank realize what he had said. At that moment, he wished he could slap himself.

"—It's okay. That's not my mother anymore."

When her father turned into a zombie, crashed through her bedroom door with his head, and was killed by her mother when his head got stuck in the door.

At that time, her mother had already told her that family members who turned into zombies were no longer her family.

They were monsters with no relation to her.

Even if she turned into a zombie, she had to be killed without mercy.

She had remembered this sentence until now, but she had never been sure if she could truly bring herself to do it.

However, at this moment, Mr. Hank also realized that he might have been exposed.

It wasn't that he noticed his sharp claws were exposed; he hadn't realized that even now.

Rather, he thought that killing so many zombies was indeed not something a normal person could do.

"You—you're not afraid of me?"

"Mr., are you the evil dragon who captured the princess?"

Instead, Colette asked a question that made Mr. Hank freeze.

Because Colette's question left him somewhat bewildered, making him instinctively look at Colette.

This glance also allowed Colette to see Mr. Hank's appearance.

Colette's body trembled; even though she was mentally prepared, only after truly seeing Mr. Hank's face did she realize how—frightening—Mr. Hank looked.

But Colette still gathered her courage and looked directly into Mr. Hank's "Eyes".

"Hello, Mr. Hank, my name is Colette, though I'm not a princess. What is your name, please?"

Colette asked Mr. Hank's name again.

Mr. Hank suddenly turned his head, so quickly that Colette vaguely saw a few strands of hair float past her "Eyes", then blown away by the wind to who knows where.

"You—you're not afraid of me?"

"Mr. Hank wouldn't hurt me, so why should I be afraid?"

Mr. Hank felt a stinging in his "Eyes"; he blinked them, then said in a hoarse voice, "My name is Hank."

"Hello, Mr. Hank."

—

Mr. Hank didn't reply, because he didn't know what to say.

And Colette didn't continue asking anything else, because she was processing the information conveyed by that name.

As mentioned before, that base only had a few dozen people.

Even if they didn't interact much, everyone remembered each other's names.

What's more, Mr. Hank often came to her house.

Every time Mr. Hank came to her house, her mother would tell her to go out and play.

Although she was very young, she knew what this meant.

Then, Colette also felt awkward.

After a long while, Mr. Hank spoke again.

"I'm sorry."

"Hm?"

Colette looked at Mr. Hank with a puzzled expression.

"Before, you were infected with the zombie virus. To save you, I fed you my own blood."

???

Colette's "Eyes" were still bewildered.

It took her a few seconds to process it.

Only then did she notice that her elbow was injured, but it felt itchy to the touch and was healing rapidly.

"It's okay, Mr. Hank. I'm very grateful to Mr. Hank for not letting me turn into a zombie."

/111/