The zombie regarded as a big shot was in an excellent mood, yet she still spoke very little. Previously, it was because she couldn’t get a word in, but now it was to maintain her mysterious and aloof boss persona.
Qin Zhen found Fan Xu much more agreeable now and took the initiative to dig into her backpack to hand him some compressed biscuits.
The backpack had been "borrowed" from two Americans after leaving the tomb. It was packed with all sorts of things, but since Qin Zhen didn’t know how to use most of them and didn’t need to eat or drink, Fu Qi had been managing it. This was the first time she rummaged through it, only to realize the food inside was running low.
Fan Xu noticed it too.
In Qin Zhen’s eyes, the remaining food was enough for two people, but to Fan Xu, it had to be split among three. He immediately felt awkward.
"Eat," Qin Zhen said with her usual indifferent expression. "It’s fine."
Her words perfectly matched the reliable image she had in her underling’s eyes. Deeply moved, Fan Xu stuffed his mouth while babbling endless words of gratitude.
That food was originally meant for Fu Qi alone. Since he had brought Fan Xu back, he would’ve willingly shared it. But now that Fan Xu was Qin Zhen’s underling, she had to take responsibility. So, after Fu Qi finished showering, she quietly asked him where they could find more food.
The scrape on Fu Qi’s calf had gotten infected from being soaked in water. Fortunately, there were anti-inflammatory meds in the backpack. When Qin Zhen asked her question, he had just finished disinfecting the wound. He paused, glancing at Fan Xu, who was snoring loudly on the floor.
Fan Xu hadn’t slept soundly in who-knows-how-long. Now that he had companions, he wolfed down the biscuits, tilted his head, and immediately passed out. The blanket covering him was a thoughtful gesture from Boss Qin to her underling.
"If I’d known, I would’ve hugged your leg and called you ‘boss’ when we first met too," Fu Qi remarked, attributing Qin Zhen’s preferential treatment to this.
Qin Zhen retorted, "Could you, have some, self-aw— self-aware— self-awareness?"
Her point was that even if Fu Qi had knelt and called her "boss" back then, she would never have accepted a "tomb raider" as her underling. But Fu Qi’s attention was entirely on the tongue-twisting idiom, which the zombie stumbled over several times before getting it right.
He chuckled softly.
Qin Zhen didn’t need to ask to know what he was laughing about. She immediately pounced on him to deliver a beating.
Night had fallen, and the room was pitch black, but Qin Zhen remembered the sofa’s position and lunged accurately. Fu Qi caught her just as steadily—except the sofa was a bit narrow. After a brief tussle between zombie and human, they lost balance and tumbled to the floor with a loud thud.
Fan Xu’s light snoring abruptly stopped.
Qin Zhen couldn’t let her underling see her like this. She pressed down on Fu Qi, warning him not to make another sound.
Fu Qi obediently stayed still.
The room fell silent, leaving only the pitter-patter of rain outside and the eerie scratching of zombies at the door.
After a while, Fan Xu’s snores resumed. Only then did Qin Zhen release Fu Qi, climbing off him with a quiet warning: "Let—let you off this time."
Fu Qi rubbed his elbow, which had taken the brunt of the fall, and mused, "You’re a zombie—where’d you get such a strong sense of vanity?"
"None of your business!" After snapping at him, Qin Zhen returned to the matter at hand. "Where to find, f-food?"
Fu Qi answered, "Cities are either looted or the food’s spoiled. We’ll have to go to remote villages."
After the zombie virus outbreak, densely populated cities became the most dangerous, while sparsely inhabited rural areas were relatively safer. With abundant crops, even if villages eventually fell too, they still had more food than cities.
This was the consensus among survivors: go to cities for equipment and medicine, but head to the countryside for food and seeds.
Qin Zhen was about to fetch a map from the bed when Fu Qi stopped her. "Maps are useless right now."
With the city’s power grid completely down, darkness swallowed everything after sunset. Any visible light would mark the most dangerous spots.
"There are plenty of villages around here. Once the rain stops, we’ll find a car and drive along the highway. We’ll hit one in a few hours."
Qin Zhen nodded. "After finding f-food, I’ll leave."
She didn’t owe anyone anything. Fan Xu had praised her, making her happy, so she’d help him find food—then they’d be even.
As for her and Fu Qi… by any measure, Fu Qi owed her far more. If she didn’t hold it against him, she was practically a saint!
She had already told Fu Qi about her plan to return to the mountain and find her tomb back when she was still angry. Now, reiterating it, Fu Qi neither agreed nor disagreed, offering no further comment.
Qin Zhen figured he might’ve fallen asleep like Fan Xu.
How nice it must be to sleep. Unlike her, left staring at the ceiling, fidgeting with the mattress, picking at her fingers, or rolling over to pass the time.
On her third turn, Fu Qi’s voice suddenly cut through the dark: "Is the bed burning you?"
Even if it were, Qin Zhen wasn’t a pancake.
She curled up toward the sofa and muttered, "Fu Xiangxiang, bored."
"Then wouldn’t going back to living alone be even more boring?"
"No—no Taoists."
"None down here either."
"There are!"
"If there really were powerful Taoists like you say, would humans have had to yield to zombies?"
That was different. Real experts wouldn’t waste their time on small fry.
Maybe the Taoists were busy crafting magical tools, waiting for the Zombie King to appear.
Qin Zhen believed zombies and the infected were different. But on the surface, she could easily be mistaken for one. She could speak and think—what if humans accused her of being the Zombie King, claiming she unleashed the virus to conquer humanity? She wouldn’t even be able to explain herself properly.
Her speech still wasn’t smooth.
"Whatever. Don’t provoke," Qin Zhen stuck to her original stance toward humans—no unnecessary involvement, good or bad.
Fu Qi fell silent again.
After a pause, Qin Zhen called out, "Fu Xiangxiang, why aren’t you t-talking?"
"Thinking."
"About what?"
"That bookshelf in the room downstairs. Should’ve brought back some books to keep you busy. Save me from your pestering."
Qin Zhen’s face stiffened before remembering he couldn’t see it in the dark. She huffed, "You started it."
Fu Qi recalled how he’d been the one bothering the zombie back in the tomb. He laughed. "Holding a grudge?"
Zombies loved praise, not criticism. She ignored him.
But the endless night was too hard to endure. Before long, she cracked again: "Fu Xiangxiang, want to read."
Fu Qi smirked in the dark. "Then let’s go read."
With that, he smoothly got up.
Qin Zhen’s eyes lit up. She hurriedly followed suit, carefully slipping on her shoes.
The room downstairs wasn’t as lucky as theirs—its door was broken, leaving it open to the hallway, where twenty or thirty infected roamed freely.
Fu Qi’s original plan was to use a rope to descend from the window. He was fast enough to escape before the zombies could swarm him.
But perhaps because sneaking around felt thrilling, Qin Zhen grew excited and asked if she could go alone.
Of course she could. She wasn’t alive—the infected wouldn’t bite her. Her going would simplify things.
There was just one problem.
Fu Qi said, "No light."
Qin Zhen immediately accused him, "You didn’t let me b-bring the glow pearl."
"If you’d brought it, you couldn’t have carried your husband’s head."
"Swear again and I'll shoot you!"
"..."
Fu Qi pulled down her hand, which was shaped like a gun and pressed against his head. "...Keep talking and wake up your little brother, and your cool, aloof image will be ruined."
Qin Zhen immediately quieted down and followed him like a sneaky thief.
Fan Xu had finally managed to get a good night's sleep. When the glaring sunlight woke him, he groggily opened his eyes and saw a tall, slender figure standing by the window.
Fu Qi was wearing a clean white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his toned forearms. Hearing movement, he lowered the binoculars and turned around, greeting Fan Xu with a casual "Morning."
"Morning," Fan Xu mumbled in response before turning his head and spotting Qin Zhen curled up on the sofa, engrossed in a book.
She was so absorbed that her head nearly drooped onto the pages, completely oblivious to Fan Xu's greeting.
The scene was so peaceful that Fan Xu almost forgot they were living in a post-apocalyptic world. He stared blankly for a while before snapping back to reality—and then his jaw dropped. "Where did all these books come from? Sister Qin, Brother Fu, did you two go out this morning to find them?"
Fu Qi had already turned back to observing the streets outside and replied offhandedly, "Your Sister Qin went out alone last night."
"This... this... this..." Fan Xu stammered, staring at the piles of books and clothes scattered across the living room. "This is insane!"
The last exclamation finally pulled the zombie's attention from her book. She blinked in confusion for a moment before remembering her persona and quickly schooled her expression into one of aloofness. After mentally rehearsing her lines, she replied, "Didn’t leave the building."
"Still insane!"
Books and clothing were among the essential supplies needed in safe zones. For a girl to venture alone into a zombie-infested building at night, haul back this much loot without a scratch, avoid detection, and make no noise—that was next-level skill!
"And you did it at night! Alone!" Fan Xu was in awe. "Is this what the world of the strong looks like?!"
The zombie's face grew warm with guilt.
Zombies only ate humans, not other zombies. Once she got downstairs, it was like walking through an empty field. Not only had she ransacked the place, but she’d also beaten up a few troublesome zombies along the way.
If there was any real trouble, it was when a piece of clothing had slipped to the floor, making her trip.
But that was definitely not something she could admit.
She glanced at Fu Qi, the only one who knew the truth. His attention was still on the window, but the corner of his mouth was unmistakably curled up.
Sure enough, he chimed in, "Such is the power of a true boss. She does as she pleases."
Qin Zhen: "...Ahem. Go wash up."
"Yes, ma'am!" Fan Xu immediately scurried off to the bathroom.
Qin Zhen had been thoroughly engrossed in that domineering CEO novel, but her little brother’s endless praise had made her too embarrassed to keep reading. As soon as he was out of sight, she quickly stuffed the book into her backpack.
—The owner of the room she’d raided last night must’ve been a novel enthusiast. The shelves were packed with fiction, and she’d hauled every last one back, stashing them with her "treasures" to eventually move back to her tomb. She’d even picked out a few interesting ones to carry around for entertainment, prompting Fu Qi to find her a dedicated backpack.
A cool, aloof boss couldn’t be caught obsessing over novels. No way her little brother could find out.
"Whoa—" Fan Xu gasped as soon as he returned from washing up, before even sitting down.
The zombie’s heart leapt into her throat.
Fan Xu continued, stunned, "There’s even a tablet here!"
Qin Zhen: "?"
What thing?
She turned a puzzled look toward Fu Qi.
"Probably got mixed in with the books. Boss didn’t notice and brought it back by accident," Fu Qi smoothly covered before explaining to Qin Zhen, "But after all this time, the tablet’s battery should be long dead."
The last sentence made the zombie’s eyes widen in shock.
Fu Qi took one look at her expression and knew she’d only registered the word "computer."
This zombie had left her tomb in the first place for computers and phones—her internet addiction was severe. The moment she heard that last night’s haul included the very thing she’d been dreaming of, her face twisted into an accusatory "How could you not tell me?!"
The tablet had been buried under the books, and Fu Qi genuinely hadn’t noticed it last night. Even if he had, it wouldn’t have mattered. He reminded her again, "No power—"
Before he could finish, Fan Xu cheered, "It turned on! Battery’s full!"
Fu Qi: "...No password, though."
"Heh!" Fan Xu smirked mysteriously before fiddling with the tablet.
The zombie’s idea of a computer was still those clunky old boxes—she’d never seen anything like this. After shooting Fu Qi another reproachful look, she hovered eagerly beside Fan Xu, eyes glued to his every move.
A few minutes later, Fan Xu cheered again, "Got it!"
He grinned proudly. "Not to brag, but before all this, I wasn’t just a wedding host and makeup blogger—I also worked at a phone and tablet repair shop. Cracking passwords? Piece of cake!"
With that, he handed the tablet to Qin Zhen. "Boss, wanna try?"
Of course the zombie wanted to. She might as well have had "I WANT TO PLAY WITH THE COMPUTER" written across her face.
If she’d known there was a computer hidden in the books she’d brought back, she wouldn’t have wasted time on novels. Fu Qi wouldn’t have gotten any sleep either—she’d have made him help crack the password all night.
"Fine." Qin Zhen remembered her persona and nodded with forced composure, though her excitement was barely contained.
She accepted the tablet with trembling hands and immediately turned to Fu Qi.
She wanted to play—badly—but she was a rustic zombie who had no idea how. She needed Fu Qi, the only one who knew her inside out, to teach her.
Fan Xu, however, assumed she meant to share it with Fu Qi and waved it off. "No worries, Boss, you take it. I’ve got more."
He unzipped the backpack he’d brought back last night, revealing a pile of phones inside.
Fu Qi was speechless. Watching the zombie’s starry-eyed fascination and her hands shaking with excitement, he reminded them, "No internet."
"Yeah, no internet, and no way to charge them either. They’re basically one-time use. But you can still take photos, record videos, listen to music—some even have cached shows or novels. They’re pretty popular in the safe zones." Fan Xu scratched his head sheepishly. "Don’t laugh, but unlocking passwords is my specialty. I trade this service for supplies back at base."
Fu Qi hadn’t been back to a safe zone in ages and had no idea this was a thing. He was momentarily at a loss for words.
Fan Xu had already generously handed over a phone. "Password’s 123456, full battery—have fun!"
Before Fu Qi could react, a gloved hand shot out and snatched it. Then his sleeve was tugged. He looked down to see the zombie’s gray-blue contact-lensed eyes sparkling with anticipation, staring up at him pleadingly.
Fu Qi: "..."
Good news: The zombie’s greatest weakness had been exploited. She wouldn’t be clamoring to return underground anytime soon.
Bad news: She might ditch him for someone else any second now.
