Let's Go Boom! Boom!

Everything starts with death.

As curious as humans are about whatever it is that follows after death, there has never been a clear answer. Because those who could answer the question are... dead. Then again if one thought about it, death is also a kind of ending. And endings are merely another form of beginnings.

This was the core principle of Gongsun Fei's life.

Everything started with her death.

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"Master, I told you this was a bad idea. I told you we should have just stayed put in the hideout. But no, you just had to court death. How many times has it been this week?"

Gongsun Fei rolled her eyes in contempt at the stupidly adorable gold fluff hanging on her shoulders. The almost human-like expression on its face just proved that it was far from being an ordinary feline. Well, it wasn't anyway. What kind of cat has gold fur capable of withstanding a rocket launcher? What kind of cat is capable of clawing through metal like it was butter? What kind of cat could talk?

To explain the current situation, Gongsun Fei was currently running away from a mob of highly evolved undead with her partner, the ever-cute and deadly ball of fur named Jin. As for those disgusting things that feast solely on human flesh that were chasing them, yeah, it was none other than zombies. The number one cause of most cliché apocalyptic stories. Only, there came a time when it was no longer just a story. It's now the sixth year since they came into being and the world is almost, if not completely, ravaged. Aside from the powerful ability users left awaiting death by hunger, most humans have already upped and gone straight to the afterlife.

Where else?

"Shut up, Jin. I can't even hear myself losing the will to live with all the racket you're making. Besides, this apocalypse itself is death. Might as well fucking court it."

She retorted while channeling all her energy to her legs. Truth be told, she doesn't know why she's even running. What's the point? If she survives, she'll live but then she would most probably die of starvation in the end.

Sigh.

Why is living so hard?!

"Gong! Sun! Fei! Damn it. We're about to die here and you're spacing out. What an unreliable master!" Xiao Jin grumbled, interrupting her internal lamentation.

Tch. Spoilsport.

Gongsun Fei's eyes darted back to her pursuers. Alright, they're still disgusting. No signs of change there. Still persistent, too. Damn zombies. The stench from their rotting bodies was something that Gongsun Fei had long gotten used to. But it was also this unbearable fume that made her blood boil. An irresistible urge to slaughter started to consume Gongsun Fei's mind.

These were highly evolved zombies capable of tearing her apart as easily as tofu. Blame her bad luck for encountering them while scavenging for some rare canned goods. Which were most probably rotten already. Still, can't a girl dream?

On an average day, she could probably kill off two at the same time. But with a mob of them, her skills alone wouldn't cut it. She'd need about a whole team of ten to barely survive the onslaught.

Except, there were so few surviving people these days that they were all scattered to god knows where. They were not here, that's for sure.

Might as well go berserk and succumb to self-implosion. Well, as if she has a choice at this point. Either that or she becomes one of them.

That'll be a no for her.

"Jin, baby. I think I'm going to die today." Gongsun Fei said as she took the soft ball of fluff into her arms. The edges of her eyes crinkled with her joking smile.

The cat sneered mockingly at her words but nudged Gongsun Fei's face, nonetheless. Jin, this feline, was still capable of being endearing despite acting like a brat to his master most of the time.

"Sigh. You can die, but not at the hands of these dirty things. Go wild, stupid master." The cat replied in an exasperating manner. His pink paw pads waving cutely to her face resigned.

"Oooh. You bet I will~ Let's go boom boom, shall we? After all, explosions are an art." A beautiful grin spread across Gongsun Fei's alluring face. Excitement was all too obvious in her demeanor. Jin couldn't help sighing again. Why was his master so joyous at the thought of blowing herself up? Is self-implosion even qualified as an achievement? Is it too late to refund a master?

"My baby Jin, find yourself a better master in the next life." The fluffball whipped his head and stared at his master's face which was turning redder every second. He slapped her cheek.

"Can we just stay dead, instead?" Jin answered tiredly but Gongsun Fei knew all too well about her beloved cat's underlying meaning. Her expression froze. Which afterward thawed to a gentle one. A flutter of a kiss landed on Jin's nose.

"Yes. Let's stick to being dead, baby Jin. Living is so troublesome." She murmured. Her beautiful voice turned raspy with an unknown emotion and melded into the breeze like a farewell caress. If anyone heard it, they'd probably feel the relief it carried indistinctly.

What followed afterward however was a deafening sound that signaled destruction. Everything within a thousand-mile radius was engulfed in the chaotic and burning energy. It razed every single thing to ash which eventually scattered with the wind. It took half a day before everything returned to its eventual peace.

There was no longer any trace of a fleeing lady with her snarky golden cat nor was there any evidence of the relentless undead in their tail. What was left was just scorched land and an empty crater devoid of any signs of life. And then there was nothing.