Zombie Queen transmigration into a book-Chapter 159: What are you two doing?

That one monkey’s action was like flipping a switch — the other monkeys started throwing the pods at them.

Some pods were knocked open, and a light yellowish liquid spilled, intensifying the wine’s aroma.

Ethan shook his head, forcing himself to stay clearheaded. He wasn’t worried about the monkeys; he sensed they were only playing with them, not launching a serious attack.

"We need...hicc...to leave here," Eva whispered with confusion on her face as she tried to remember where this was again.

She stared at the three Ethans in a daze as she stretched her arm out to hug all the Ethans.

"Hicc... there are three Ethans? Woah, ＼⁠(⁠◎⁠o⁠◎⁠)⁠／ it’s raining Ethans...." Eva giggled as she tried to hug him.

Julian would have laughed at her drunken words if the trees around him hadn’t kept spinning.

He shook his head and patted his beast’s head to rush forward; they needed to leave quickly before facing a much more dangerous enemy, which would be suicide given their current state.

Aaron gathered the pods that had piled up around him in a heap and tossed them into his space ring—feeling he would need them.

His crow caught up with the rest as they hurried forward, with the monkeys’ throwing pods at them.

They traveled through the forest feeling disoriented; their beast was pretty much doing all the work to get them out of there.

Ethan was sprawled on his beast’s back with Eva on top of him, giggling with a flushed face. He could no longer bear the spinning around him and closed his eyes for the rest of the journey, relying on his ears to detect if there was danger nearby.

Julian and Aaron were no better; they lay face down on their beasts—their beasts weaved through the trees, dodging the pods thrown at them with ease. The smell overwhelmed their senses, and they could do nothing but keep moving forward with their owner on their backs.

What felt like a century but was only two hours, they reached the edge of the forest. The pod trees were thinning, leaving only normal trees with orange-yellow leaves around them.

Their beasts regained their senses and slowed to a stop when they sensed no danger nearby. Ethan and the others were still out of it; their minds were clouded by wine, leaving their faces permanently flushed.

Ethan was the first to pull through; he inhaled the fresh air greedily to clear his mind. Minutes passed, and he opened his eyes without his surroundings spinning, though a pounding headache made him grimace.

"Are we out?" Julian asked in a slurred tone, turning to his side to look around.

"I think so... um," Aaron responded with a groan, holding his forehead and showing an expression of pain.

"Hic..." Eva made these sounds, clutching Ethan’s hands as she continued sleeping. Ethan could only place her on his beast to sleep comfortably.

"We should make camp here for the night. We aren’t in a good state to keep going," Ethan decided, massaging his forehead with eyes closed, hoping to ease his pounding headache.

He received only murmurs in return; no one could summon the strength to talk or argue. Julian felt nauseous and sick to his stomach, while Aaron was plagued by a pounding headache — they weren’t in any shape to fight a beast right now.

The sky darkened, and Ethan, whose headache had ended, brought out tents from his ring and set up camp. Julian, with a pale face, climbed down from his ring and started the fire with the dried twigs and branches Aaron had gathered.

They all worked together to set up the camp, leaving only the food, which Eva was supposed to get from the chef in her space.

Ethan spread out a fur on the ground and carried the sleeping Eva, who began to stir, showing signs she was about to awaken.

"Mm...where are we?" Eva asked softly, her voice thick with sleep as she cracked open her eyes to see her surroundings.

Ethan almost missed what she said if not for his sharp hearing.

"We’re in a different part of the forest. Are you okay?"

He noticed her furrowed brow and wondered if she was battling a hangover headache.

"I feel sick...ugh..." Eva covered her mouth as an urge to vomit took hold of her.

Ethan set her down beside a tree, steadying her by the waist as she hunched over and heaved.

"Don’t hold back, let it all out," he muttered in concern, rubbing her back as she started throwing up what she had eaten throughout the day.

Eva felt worse; she had a splitting headache, and her stomach churned painfully as she threw up.

She took the water Ethan offered, rinsing her mouth as she leaned weakly against his chest.

"Are you feeling better now? I’ll give you some calming potion after you have dinner," Ethan asked with concern as he gently cleaned her face, showing no sign of disgust.

Eva couldn’t do anything but hum in response, weakly wrapping her arms around his neck as he carried her to the camp.

Julian had relaxed into his fur blanket when he saw Ethan taking care of Eva.

He wasn’t new to drinking or getting drunk, but this experience topped everything. He felt like he had drunk fifty gallons of wine, and the worst part was that he hadn’t even taken a sip.

He could imagine how strong the wine would be—though tempted, he had forgotten to bring some along.

"Here, a souvenir to remind us of our embarrassing moment and pain. Catch." Aaron tossed three pods toward him.

Julian caught it reflexively, almost thinking his mind had been read. He regretted not picking a pod—now he had one.

His mind brimming with curiosity and anticipation of the wine’s taste, he pried the cork loose. Instantly, the familiar, rich scent rushed into his nose, making him pale slightly.

Aaron moved closer with a cup, signaling Julian to pour some for him.

Julian humored him, knowing Aaron would have enough but still wanted to cut his own ration.

A light yellow liquid was poured into the cup, and Julian immediately stopped once a quarter of the cup was filled.

Aaron gave him a bland expression, almost calling him out on his stinginess, before he brought the cup to his lips.

He carefully took a sip, and as the liquor went down his throat, a wave of spicy heat burst through his stomach.

"Damn." That word slipped out of his lips, his expression filled with appreciation for a fine wine.

Julian was tempted by Aaron’s expression, mirrored Aaron’s action, and took a sip.

"Damn. It’s too strong." Julian carefully pressed the cork and the hide pod into his ring.

"How many did you get? Can we trade?" he asked, with an eager, fawning smile on his face as he turned to Aaron.

Julian’s question hadn’t even lasted a second when Aaron backed away with a guarded look that was practically shouting ’No!’

Julian’s smile faded as he looked back to where they had escaped from with a grateful smile. If he had known earlier, he would have taken some with him; now he has to manage and ration the three pods he was given.

"Don’t even think about it," Aaron quickly dissuades him, assuming he planned to go back to get more wine pods.

"Then give me a pod or two," Julian shot back, pretending he was genuinely entertaining the idea of going back.

"Ha! Go ahead, then. I won’t stop you; instead, I’ll celebrate my sister having one less husband... I really shouldn’t have spoken earlier, my bad." Aaron’s tone was filled with so much regret, as if he wished he could turn back time and stop his past self from talking.

Julian rose to his feet and snatched the cup from Aaron’s hand, lifting it to his lips. He downed the remaining wine in one swift motion—Aaron was too stunned to react.

"Then you would have to keep on dreaming...I won’t be dying anytime soon." Julian refuted with a cold sneer and quickly dodged Aaron’s punch before it could land on his face.

Aaron reacted quickly, restraining Julian’s shadow, which was lit by the campfire, and his next punch slammed into Julian’s jaw.

Julian slammed his forehead into Aaron’s in a counterattack, and they both hissed in pain—Aaron’s eyes watering from biting his tongue.

"What are you two doing?" Eva asked weakly, her voice freezing them in place. At that moment, Julian’s fist aimed for Aaron’s face while Aaron’s targeted his stomach, making their sudden halt look both comical and awkward.

Eva finally got a clear look as Ethan moved closer. "Oh, you’re fighting. Carry on, don’t mind me." Eva turned with sparkling eyes, eager to watch the show, mentally betting on who would win, and her headache eased.

Aaron and Julian looked at each other awkwardly. The anger had eased a little after her interruption, and they weren’t sure whether to keep fighting.