Zombie Queen transmigration into a book-Chapter 163: I’m going to suffocate to death

"Are you guys deaf? Of course I succeeded. I went back to Oasis City and even met Aunty Grace," Adrian responded rudely, not understanding why they were so slow to catch on to what he was saying.

"Smack!"

Daniel slapped Adrian on the back of his head and said, "Watch your tone. I don’t know why you keep calling Oasis City ’that place.’ Do I look like a mind reader?!" Daniel snapped, annoyed by Adrian’s attitude.

"Who knows whether you were stuck in the dungeon depths or worse. But why are you back so soon? We expected you to return in two days or more." Alex muttered, genuinely curious as he looked at Adrain.

The others nodded in agreement, finding it strange.

"If I stay there any longer, I’m going to suffocate to death." Adrian shuddered, then froze when his gaze fell on everyone’s stunned, scared faces, and he realized he had misspoken.

"Everyone is safe, the oxygen is working fine, just that I couldn’t get used to the underground city after experiencing the clear skies." He quickly explained before everyone’s imagination ran wild.

Marvin patted his chest in relief before kicking Adrain in the side. "For fuck’s sake, complete your sentence! I nearly had a heart attack."

The others weren’t much better. Zoey nearly teared up when she imagined her friends and relatives suffocating to death.

"Ow!" Adrain cried out and quickly moved away from them before suffering another attack. "Don’t worry, Aunty Grace and the others are talking about how to move to the surface as we speak. You don’t know how close to death I was until you experienced that uncomfortable, scary feeling." Adrain grumbled as he rubbed his side.

They ignored him, feeling relieved and happy to hear the good news. After getting a full account of what happened, they went to bed, hoping to get enough rest since they would be leaving here tomorrow.

...

Eva jumped over a puddle of muddy water on the ground. The morning sun shone through the leaves; the ground was covered with mud, fallen branches, and leaves.

Her feet slipped on the slick mud, and she quickly grabbed a tree for support. "I don’t think we should keep moving forward. The ground is too slippery." Eva frowned, wiping the excess mud from her feet on a fallen branch, and her steps felt lighter.

Julian turned at her words, the back of his pants stained with mud spots. He teleported to her and carried her into his arms, "It’s better I carry you, you won’t have to fall, and we can’t hang around for the ground to dry up."

Eva let out a surprised cry before wrapping her arms around his neck for balance. "You could have given me a heads-up. Thank you." She pecked his cheeks in gratitude.

Julian pointed to his lips with his free hand. "Hmm, you missed a spot."

Eva pinched his cheeks before lightly kissing the corner of his lips in response.

"Look where you’re going, or you’ll both fall!" Aaron yelled at them through gritted teeth, feeling Julian’s smile was an eyesore.

"Guys! We have a situation here!" Ethan called out, staring ahead with a stunned expression. His shout got their attention. Julian teleported forward with Eva on his back, while Aaron walked in hurried but careful steps.

They were astonished to see the vast ocean stretching out before them—no land in sight, only the shimmering blue surface.

Eva’s words about having a diverse teleportation system flashed through Julian’s mind, and he now realized just how crucial it was—no car, bus, or train could cross this.

"What should we do? Should we go back the way we came?" Eva asked, voicing the question weighing on everyone’s mind. They had traveled for two days to reach this place after the heavy rain; going back meant either returning to the desert or surviving in the forest.

Aaron wasn’t bothered by the situation; he ruffled Eva’s hair in a reassuring way. "Did you forget my beast could fly?’’

At his words, their expressions brightened. They felt relief and were glad Aron had airborne beasts—otherwise, they would be stuck here or forced to return through the desert once again.

But we can’t go now; I don’t know if we’ll see dry land in days or hours. Tomorrow is the third day my space will evict everyone," Eva reminded them, and they decided to camp in the forest for now.

"Sigh... I hope we find a safe enough place for the stronghold... those people are becoming a pain in the neck," Julian complained as he looked for dried branches around him.

Aaron looked at the wet mud around him and didn’t want to camp here. He rubbed his crow beak. "Search for dry land across this sea." The crow followed it’s master’s command, took to the sky, and, without transforming into its larger form, flew over the water and disappeared from view.

Ethan noticed his action and said nothing, though he hoped it wasn’t a whole day’s journey, just a few hours.

"Let’s wait before we set camp," Eva muttered, taking out chairs from her space.

Julian returned with two semi-dried logs. He heard her words, and his gaze briefly met Aaron’s empty shoulders—the bird was gone.

He quickly activated his powers, causing a blurry ticking clock to appear midair. Julian left it floating there, took a seat, and drew it closer to Eva.

"What do you think could carry someone over this ocean? I can’t imagine cars running on this." Julian asked, genuinely curious.

Ethan was about to sit when he heard Julian’s words. "Maybe a waterborne beast could transport through the vast sea."

He guessed randomly; he couldn’t imagine anything else.

Eva almost felt smug about their cluelessness, thinking she knew something the world doesn’t realize—but she couldn’t underestimate the thinking mind.

Given enough time—months or even a year—a genius could easily craft a boat, just as they can produce cars and trains.

’OvO sigh... I can’t let what I know get to my head...but I could at least brag a little.’ Eva thought to herself, her shoulder raising a notch.

"Ahem." She loudly cleared her throat, ensuring she gained everyone’s attention before speaking.

"Since we have cars that run on land, why not build something that could float and move on water while carrying many people... my thoughts, of course, not that I have any idea how to build one of those (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)," Eva finished shyly under their praising gaze.

Julian gave her a sidelong, suspicious look, feeling she knew more than she was revealing, but he said nothing.

"Hmm. Mum should be able to research this when she surfaces. Your idea was brilliant... My baby sister is so wise." Adrian praised with a closed-eyed smile, his expression affectionate, like a father watching his daughter take her first steps.

Eva’s face reddened under his gaze. She buried her face in her arms and let out a groan of embarrassment. She shouldn’t have spoken.

Ethan looked at Aaron’s hand on her head, feeling a flicker of annoyance.

"Can your beast fly back and forth without rest?" he asked, changing the subject as he took Eva’s hands in his.

Aaron withdrew his hand, distracted by his thoughts, and didn’t notice Ethan’s small scheme.

"Hmm, I haven’t noticed yet. We’ll only know if it comes back today," Aaron responded with a shrug; he stared ahead into the vast water, a bit worried for his beast.

The gentle wind caused ripples on the water, leaves rustled, and the air carried a salty scent along with the smell of wet earth.

Eva leaned her head against the tree, enjoying the soft breeze and peaceful surroundings.

She wondered if the space users had informed her mother about the space; she missed her, even though it hadn’t been long since they had recognized each other.

She was so grateful to whatever powers had transmigrated her into this world. ’I still hate the author, though,’ she whispered inwardly—she was no longer alone, she had family, and she no longer felt hungry.

Eva felt nostalgic about her previous life of loneliness and boredom.

"What do you want to eat for dinner?" Ethan asked abruptly while gripping her hands tightly.

For a moment, he feared she might slip from his grasp. Her expression seemed distant, and a profound loneliness radiated from her, making his heart falter and tighten without warning.

Eva was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts. She blinked dazedly at Ethan before what he said finally registered in her mind.

"Meat. Lots of it. Is it dinner time already?" Eva looked up at the sun high in the sky, uncertain, before glancing over at the hovering clock to check the time.

"It’s still earl—"

"My beast is back!" Aaron’s surprised shout interrupted Ethan’s words.

Julian, having finished easing himself, broke into a jog, his eyes immediately fixed on the clock.

"Four hours. We can make the journey today," Julian announced to everyone.

"What are we waiting for? Let’s go!" Eva jumped out of her chair with a bright smile lighting up her face.

Ethan’s gaze lingered on her expression for a moment, his heart easing as he hummed in response.