Before witnessing human cities turn into ruins, Qin Zhen had been somewhat afraid of humans because of their limitless potential—not just in technological inventions but also in their study of mystical arts.
That’s why, no matter how powerful zombies were in movies and TV shows, humans always ended up defeating them.
This made it impossible for zombies not to fear them.
But after realizing humans had gone mad, she grew furious and disappointed, deciding to return underground and wait a few decades—or centuries—until this disaster passed before resurfacing to experience their technological advancements again.
However, leaving just like that would mean her entire tomb was wasted, all that frustration endured, and her arduous journey aboveground rewarded with nothing but encounters with Fu Laoqi and two ruthless foreigners. It felt like a terrible bargain.
It was like a human spending a fortune to visit the world’s largest wildlife sanctuary, only to have their backpack stolen by mischievous monkeys and then spotting nothing but a couple of toads. The sheer thought of it was enough to induce a heart attack.
That was exactly how Qin Zhen felt, which was why she desperately hoped Fu Qi would bring back a few normal humans for her to observe.
From anticipation to boredom, from day to evening—the sky was nearly dark, and Fu Qi still hadn’t returned. Qin Zhen even began to worry whether he had run into those A-countrymen and been captured.
Should she go out and look for him?
And if he really had encountered them, should she intervene to help? Assisting him would mean harming humans, and zombies who harmed humans never met a good end.
Just as she was agonizing over this, she suddenly heard restless noises outside the door. The zombies wandering the hallway seemed to have become unusually active.
The apartment was luxuriously decorated, with a sturdy door and excellent soundproofing. As a zombie, Qin Zhen couldn’t make out the sounds clearly. Unaware that the door had an electronic lock and display panel, she fumbled around looking for a peephole when—bang bang bang—someone started pounding on the door.
"Help! Help me!" a voice screamed in terror. "Brother Fu sent me! Big sis, please—"
Before he could finish, Qin Zhen yanked the door open.
Outside stood a young man, slashing wildly with a knife at the zombies surging toward him while pressing his back against the door. When Qin Zhen opened it, he yelped and tumbled inside.
Qin Zhen dodged just in time to avoid being knocked over, but the drooling zombies behind him had no manners—they forced their way in uninvited. One of them grabbed the young man’s leg and pinned Qin Zhen’s foot under its weight.
Zombies were fastidious creatures. The sight of that filthy, stinking black hand made Qin Zhen’s scalp crawl. Instinctively, she kicked the zombie back out.
No sooner had she shoved one out than another squeezed in, nearly pressing against her. The overwhelming stench was so foul it nearly suffocated her.
She immediately kicked that one away too, then glanced at the dim hallway packed with reeking zombies. Shuddering, she quickly tried to shut the door.
The young man, still shaken, scrambled up from the floor to help.
Human and zombie worked together, pushing with all their might to keep the zombies out.
Once safe, the young man collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath before hurriedly rolling up his pant leg to check for bites.
"Holy crap, that was close! Thank goodness my pants are thick!" He exhaled in relief. "Bless my ancestors, bless the Three Pure Ones—I’ll burn more incense for you later. And thank you, big sis! You’re a real lifesaver, just like Brother Fu. Damn—!"
As he turned to thank Qin Zhen, his words cut off with a strangled yelp.
He recoiled so violently that his head smacked against the door with a loud thud, riling up the growling zombies outside even more.
Qin Zhen froze, startled. Had he figured her out? She didn’t dare move.
This was the first human she’d met in disguise.
She wore long sleeves, pants, and sneakers, her face and neck slathered in thick foundation. Her hands were gloved—Fu Qi had specially found them for her—and she even wore colored contacts. There shouldn’t be any visible flaws.
None at all.
Qin Zhen mentally reviewed her disguise. Fu Qi had left her alone for hours, and she’d checked herself in the mirror repeatedly.
So why had he been so frightened? Did this young man have some special ability to see through her?
"Sorry!"
While Qin Zhen stood stiffly, the young man snapped out of his daze, awkwardly lowering his head. "Sorry, big sis! The lighting’s terrible—I thought you were a ghost! I didn’t realize it was makeup…"
His apology quickly turned into a critique. "Who did this for you? The foundation’s way too pale, and the eyeshadow—if I hadn’t looked closely, I’d have thought they were empty sockets! Even I could do better!"
Qin Zhen: "…"
She’d nearly died of fright!
But was her foundation really that bad? It was definitely better than what Fu Qi had picked.
The young man kept rambling. "Sis, want me to redo it for you? Don’t let the fact that I’m a guy fool you—I’m pretty good at makeup. In college, I did my own makeup for hosting gigs and background acting. I even taught online tutorials—kind of a part-time beauty blogger…"
His words came rapid-fire, leaving Qin Zhen no room to interject. After listening blankly for a while, she stood and turned to walk away.
"Ah, sorry! That was out of line!" The young man scrambled up from the floor. "Sorry, sis! I talk too much—teachers always punished me for chattering in class. Anyway, thanks for saving me! I’m Fan Xu. What’s your name?"
Qin Zhen: "…"
She had too many names and wasn’t sure which to give. Besides, he spoke so fluently, while she stumbled over words.
Not wanting to embarrass herself, she paused before answering curtly, "Fu Qi."
"Oh, Brother Fu! Damn, I got so scared I forgot about him!" Fan Xu smacked his forehead. "Brother Fu said this place has been empty too long—wherever zombies gather, there’s bound to be survivors. Those foreigners might use that as a clue to track people down, so someone had to lure the zombies away from the building…"
Fan Xu was a chatterbox. Without Qin Zhen needing to ask, he launched into the whole story.
He said he was from the Dawn Base, where they’d developed fast-growing crops and high-efficiency water filters. Food and water weren’t an issue, but supplies were still scarce. He’d joined a scavenging team but got separated and was nearly done for when a group of foreigners captured him to guide them using a map.
After meandering for half a month, they reached this city. They were supposed to head north into the forest, but the foreigners suddenly received some message, decided they didn’t need a guide anymore, and tried to kill him. He took a desperate chance and escaped through a window.
Trapped in a ruined house surrounded by zombies, he ran out of food and water within days. As a last resort, he burned some items to send a distress signal—if the foreigners found him, he’d die; if rescuers came, he’d live. He left it to fate.
Luckily, it was Fu Qi who found him.
As the two were leaving, they spotted some foreigners who had noticed their signal and were heading their way, so Fu Qi had to stay behind to cover their retreat.
"Afraid they'd spot me, I climbed up the back wall. Couldn't use the window, had to take the hallway—almost got torn apart by zombies. Thank god you opened the door for me. Seriously, sis, if it weren’t for you and Fu Qi saving me, I’d be a goner today!"
"Those foreigners, I swear—what’s the point of infighting at a time like this? Every death just swells the zombie horde. What’s the point of all this scheming? Zero vision. Don’t you think so, sis?"
Qin Zhen stayed silent.
Fan Xu scratched his head awkwardly. "Sis, why aren’t you saying anything? Am I being too loud?"
Not just loud—painfully loud.
And not a single stutter in his endless chatter!
Qin Zhen was thoroughly annoyed.
But he kept calling her "sis" and was polite, so snapping at him would make her seem petty.
After a brief silence, she pointed at the window and said, "Fetch water. Bathe. Change."
Fan Xu had arrived drenched from the rain, shivering and looking like a drowned rat. He quickly nodded. "Oh, right! Thanks, sis! I’ll get extra so Fu Qi won’t have to bother when he’s back."
He dropped his backpack and hunted for a container, only to find a basin on the bed. When he picked it up, a pile of crushed hairpins, broken combs, and shattered mirror shards spilled out.
"Who the hell dumps trash on a bed?" he exclaimed. "Don’t move, sis—I’ll clean this up after I wash."
You’re the trash!
Qin Zhen nearly choked.
Those were her carefully gathered treasures, meant to be taken underground!
"No," she said coldly, barely holding back her irritation.
"Don’t be shy, sis! You saved my life—I’ll do anything. Seriously, I’m used to chores at the base. In times like these, survivors gotta help each other. No need to stand on ceremony!"
Qin Zhen: "…"
She missed Fu Qi. So much so that she’d brave the filthy streets to fetch him right now.
"Sis, you—"
"Dirty," Qin Zhen cut in, unable to stand his voice any longer. She pointed at the rainwater outside. "Wash."
"Got it!" Maybe her glare was too intense, because Fan Xu stiffened and saluted like a soldier.
He obediently carried the water to the bathroom. After a brief, blessed silence, he emerged in fresh clothes, immediately reviving his mission to clean up the "trash" on the bed.
Qin Zhen was on the verge of ordering him to shut up when Fu Qi finally returned.
He leapt through the window, dripping wet, hair plastered to his forehead. The moment he landed, Qin Zhen rushed over eagerly.
Fu Qi blinked. "Not disgusted by me anymore?"
"You. Best," Qin Zhen said.
He didn’t get it, but he agreed. "Damn right. Still the apocalypse’s number one nice guy."
Before they could exchange another word, Fan Xu bounded over. "Fu Qi! Thank god you’re back safe. I was worried sick—oh, hey, sis, what was your name again?"
Qin Zhen ignored him. Fu Qi, after a pause, answered for her, "Meng Xuefeiye."
He glanced down at Qin Zhen. "Right, baobei?"
Qin Zhen: "…"
Right your head!
Before she could protest, Fan Xu gasped. "Baobei?"
He clearly misunderstood the term, but a second later, it clicked. A young man and woman surviving together in this hellscape? Obviously a couple.
Beaming, he turned to Qin Zhen. "Sis Meng—no, wait, Sis Ye? Your name’s four characters! I knew a guy in school with a four-character name—Du Li’aizi. Sounded like a girl’s, but he was a dude."
"Still, our baobei’s name is prettier," Fu Qi said, not bothering to correct him, instead praising the name he’d "remembered" with great effort.
"Totally! Sis Ye’s name’s way classier, super elegant."
Qin Zhen couldn’t get a word in. Frankly, she didn’t want to.
How had she forgotten Fu Qi was just as insufferable?
Forget it. Humanity was a mistake. Two specimens were more than enough. Once the rain stopped tomorrow, she’d head straight for the mountains, find a new tomb, and sleep underground until these two kicked the bucket.
The zombie was done with life. But the humans weren’t done talking.
Fan Xu barreled on. "And Sis Ye’s name’s kinda Mary Sue, but she’s tiny, with that adorably weird makeup, yet so compassionate, so icy, so cool, so badass, so domineering!"
"…What?" Fu Qi rarely sounded confused.
Qin Zhen had never been described like this. She wondered if she’d misheard.
"Facing a hallway of zombies, no weapons, just bare hands—kicking them aside like it’s nothing, zero fear. Coolest thing ever!" Fan Xu gave a thumbs-up, eyes shining with admiration. "Totally unshakable, speaks in killer one-liners, ultimate boss vibes!"
"…" Fu Qi was at a loss for words.
The "icy, cool, badass, domineering" zombie felt her cheeks warm. It was absurd, but… weirdly satisfying.
She discreetly patted her sides, searching for pockets to strike a pose, but found none. Resigned, she lifted her chin and commanded coolly, "Enough."
"Sir, yes sir!" The lackey snapped his mouth shut.
The zombie then scowled at Fu Qi, still dripping. "You. Wash."
Fu Qi: "…Baobei, whatever makes you happy."
He turned toward the bathroom, then paused. "Wait, no."
Spinning back, he corrected himself with a grin. "Boss, whatever makes you happy."
