Thread Title: [Experience Sharing] One Year and Three Months After Leaving My Tomb: I’ve Got a House, a Car, and 5.72 Million in Savings. How Did I Do It?
Poster ID: Tycoon Among the Dead
1F (Original Poster): Just got off the plane and am waiting for my private ride. I was bored, so I took a look at the forum and noticed that quite a few of my zombie buddies have no idea how to make money legally in human society. I thought I’d share my experience.
The most important thing when it comes to making money is having a good head on your shoulders. Spot the right opportunities and act on them precisely, and it’s hard not to get rich.
Take me, for example. After leaving my tomb, I didn’t immediately start thinking about making money like the rest of you. I spent two months observing humans, identified the right opportunity, and made my move. By the third month, I was living in an apartment. In the fourth month, I bought a computer. In the fifth month, I used my connections to get all my documents in order. After that, I bought a house and a car… Now I’m looking at villas.
Personally, I think that if your finances allow it, nonhuman species like us are better off living in villas. They’re far from crowds and very comfortable.
But I’m getting off track. What was I saying?
Oh, right. Financial savvy. That’s very important, but a lot of humans don’t have it. It’s even harder for us zombies. So don’t blame yourselves for being useless.
What if you don’t have a head for business?
That brings me to my second point, which is more suitable for ordinary ghosts and monsters.
2F Glass Princess: Big Boss! Take me with you! Waaaaah! I got my wages docked again today. I never want to work at that restaurant again!
3F My Head Is a Rubber Ball: Saving my spot.
4F Zombie Alliance to Overthrow Human Tyranny: What’s the use of making money? Wiping out humanity and becoming the boss—that’s the real long-term goal!
5F Can't Stand Show-Offs: You wrote a whole bunch and didn’t say a single useful thing. You’re probably a scammer.
6F Drunkenly Watching Fools: That Glass Princess—why do you show up in every thread?
7F Glass Princess: @Fool, because I really, really want to make money!
8F Drunkenly Watching Fools: You’re the fool!
…
27F (Original Poster): I just got back from a business call, and someone actually accused me of being a scammer?
Heh. No good deed goes unpunished.
Forget it. I’m not updating this anymore.
28F Glass Princess: No! Big Boss, I believe you! Don’t go—please teach me!
29F Glass Princess: Big Boss! [Crying hysterically.jpg]
30F Glass Princess: Waaaaah, I’m so miserable! I really don’t want to be a waitress anymore! Today another customer yelled at me. He said he couldn’t eat spicy food and asked why I hadn’t warned him that the dish was spicy. I told him it might have been because our restaurant is a Sichuan restaurant and he ordered spicy diced chicken. Then he said I was disrespecting him!
He filed a complaint against me!
My heartless boss docked two hundred yuan from my pay…
I’ve had enough!
I don’t want to be a waitress anymore!
…
57F Glass Princess: Big Boss, come back! Please teach me how to make money!
58F (Original Poster): Oh, you posted all that by yourself… I’d be happy to take you under my wing, but some people on this forum clearly don’t welcome me, and I’m not interested in doing good deeds only to get cursed at. How about this: if you really want to learn from me, let’s exchange contact information. I’ll teach you privately later.
59F My Head Is a Rubber Ball: Count me in. My contact info: 625…
60F Glass Princess: Aaaaaah! Thank you, Big Boss!
Qin Zhen quickly left her contact information. Just as she finished, she heard her boss call out, “Little Qin! We’re locking up!”
“Coming!” Qin Zhen called back. She grabbed her bag and hurried outside. As she passed her boss, she heard him instruct her, “Come in early tomorrow and wipe the windows.”
Qin Zhen muttered a quiet protest. “That’s not my job…”
Her boss raised his voice. “It’s just something you can do while you’re at it. You’re young, but you have no education, no connections, and you’re still this lazy. What kind of future do you think you’re going to have?”
“…All right, all right.” Qin Zhen agreed meekly before rushing out of the little restaurant and hurrying home.
It was already past eleven. It wasn’t especially late, but because the little restaurant was in a remote area, the surroundings seemed rather eerie. The narrow alley she had to pass through on the way home looked like the perfect setting for a horror movie.
Qin Zhen, however, was completely unfazed. She wasn’t afraid at all.
After all, she wasn’t human.
Qin Zhen was a zombie. Zombies had never been afraid of the dark or of ghosts. The only thing she was afraid of was people.
Humans were devious, mean, and fond of taking advantage of others—just like the restaurant owner and the woman who washed vegetables. Even worse, they were smooth talkers. Qin Zhen knew that much of the time, they were trying to profit by putting her down, but she had no way to refuse.
After all, nonhumans were a minority, and it wasn’t easy to find a paying job while hiding in human society.
Lost in thought, Qin Zhen quickened her pace and headed home. She climbed five flights of stairs and arrived at the attic room she rented.
After unlocking the door and turning on the light, she looked around the cramped attic and its shabby furnishings. She remembered the big-shot tycoon on the nonhuman forum who was planning to buy a villa, and couldn’t help feeling envious. She took out her phone and checked it again.
The big boss had already accepted her friend request.
Big Boss: [You’re in City C? Perfect. I have a meeting there this weekend. I can teach you in person then. I’ll also pass on a few notebooks about making money.]
Qin Zhen: [Waaaaah, Big Boss, I’m in City C, but the woman who washes vegetables is going to have to take care of her sick child on Saturday, and I promised to cover her shift. I can’t get away that day, waaaaaah. I have work on Sunday too, so I can’t get away then either, waaaaaah.]
Big Boss: [Evening works.]
Qin Zhen: [I have a part-time job at an internet café in the evenings…]
The big boss seemed speechless. He asked:
[Then when are you free?]
Qin Zhen: [I can get half a day off on the fifth of next month!]
Big Boss: [Fine. I’ll come find you on the fifth of next month.]
Qin Zhen: [Thank you, Big Boss!]
After arranging a meeting with the wealthy big shot, Qin Zhen was thrilled. She indulgently opened a bottle of cola and gulped it down. Then she washed her hands and feet, wiped her face, and curled up on her bed to browse the forum.
She had learned about the forum from a kind female zombie she met after leaving her tomb. The woman told her that their zombie clan had once produced a legend who had thrived in human society. To make communication among their kind easier, this legendary figure had spent a great deal of money hiring someone to create an overseas website.
The site was anonymous, had no entry requirements, and had no administrators. It didn’t leave behind any traces.
Because the forum was set to erase itself automatically, all information was reset at midnight every day. Everyone had to register again the next day to post. Even if humans discovered it, they would have no way to track them down.
It was precisely because of this zombie-clan legend who was so good at making money that Qin Zhen firmly believed the wealthy big shot who claimed to earn five million a year was the real deal.
At present, the forum was made up almost entirely of zombies, though it was also possible that humans, demons, ghosts, vampires, or other creatures were hiding among them. Everyone had to be careful and judge for themselves.
This was the only lawless place where Qin Zhen could speak freely.
She quickly browsed through the posts and noticed that an elder had updated a thread, warning all zombies that evil cultivators and vicious monsters who devoured their own kind and humans had been causing trouble recently. Quite a few members of the zombie clan had already fallen victim to them. The humans’ special department was also stepping up its efforts to hunt the culprit down, so everyone who was still alive was urged to be careful.
Glass Princess: Bumping this! Everyone, please be careful!
After bumping the thread, she continued browsing. The next post was an advertisement for making fake identification documents. After reading it, Qin Zhen left another comment.
Glazed Princess: I can testify! Xiao Luo’s ID may be fake, but it’s fully certified and guaranteed genuine—no one, young or old, will be cheated!
After that came a series of everyday posts from the zombie clan: how hard it was to find a job, things new zombies needed to know, whether they should date humans, and so on.
Qin Zhen replied to each one in turn. After reviewing the clan’s important affairs for the day, she checked the time, packed up, and headed off to her night shift.
Every night, she worked part-time at an Internet café until eight in the morning. Then she would go home, wash up, and head to a small restaurant for another shift. Her days repeated themselves in an utterly dull cycle.
But today was different. Today, she was filled with hope.
The big shot on the forum had agreed to teach her how to make money. Once she earned enough, she would be able to buy a computer and move into a luxurious villa.
The future looked bright!
Qin Zhen worked with tremendous enthusiasm for two days. Every now and then, she took out her phone to look at her chat history with the big shot. She even wanted to send him morning and evening greetings to express her gratitude for his selfless instruction. But after considering that he probably earned tens of thousands every minute, she didn’t dare disturb him.
On the third day after adding the wealthy big shot’s contact information, Qin Zhen once again took a moment to look through their chat history and daydream about her wonderful future.
Unexpectedly, she discovered that the big shot had sent her a message.
Big Shot: I have a friend near you. I’d like to trouble you to look after him for a while.
Below that was a pending money transfer—an entire ten thousand yuan!
That was more than Qin Zhen had in savings!
She hurriedly replied: All right, all right!
Then, she cautiously asked: Is this friend of yours also a zombie?
The big shot replied only after a while: Yes. He just came out of his tomb last night and doesn’t know anything yet. I’ll have to trouble you to teach him. Also, I have to go abroad on business, so I won’t be able to teach you how to make money until a month from now.
That was no problem at all!
She only had to take care of a clueless little zombie who had just emerged from a tomb. A little scare here and there would do the trick. It would be easy. At most, she might have to spend some money buying it clothes and a phone.
Qin Zhen promptly accepted the money and replied: All right, all right! We’re all members of the same clan, so of course we should help one another! You take care of your business, Boss. There’s no rush about the money-making lessons!
The big shot replied with a smiling emoji. Qin Zhen guessed that he agreed with what she had said.
Qin Zhen was in an excellent mood.
The fact that the big shot was entrusting a newly unearthed little zombie to her care meant that he trusted her. If she taught that little zombie well, wouldn’t that bring them closer?
Afterward, the big shot would surely give her extra consideration when it came to making money.
With those expectations in mind, Qin Zhen specially asked for an hour off work. Though her heart ached over the two hundred yuan deducted from her wages, she still went to meet the wealthy big shot’s newly unearthed friend.
The agreed meeting place was at the last stop of a bus route. It was a remote area, and hardly anyone was around.
When Qin Zhen arrived, she saw only three people.
The most eye-catching was a man in a leather jacket and sunglasses. He was very tall, with long legs accentuated by his leather boots, and looked incredibly cool. His sunglasses covered most of his face, making his features difficult to see, but she could vaguely tell that he was handsome—like a male celebrity on television.
He was far too stylish and conspicuous. He didn’t look like a country bumpkin who had just emerged from a tomb and knew nothing about the world.
Qin Zhen looked at the second person.
The second was a young woman who was looking down at her phone. Her jet-black hair fell forward, covering most of her face.
Behind her stood an elderly man who looked to be in his fifties. He was leaning on a cane with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing into the distance.
All three looked human on the outside. Qin Zhen guessed that they might be like her, wearing the artificial skin invented by humans. She really had to thank humans for all their strange and ingenious inventions. Without them, she wouldn’t have been able to work among humans with any peace of mind.
Unfortunately, the artificial skin was also causing her trouble at the moment.
It made telling them apart quite difficult.
After hesitating for a moment, Qin Zhen sent the wealthy big shot a message to ask. Just after she hit send, she heard a phone notification sound. She looked up and saw that it had come from the man in sunglasses.
The man seemed to have genuinely received a message. His long fingers quickly tapped out a few words, as if replying to someone. Qin Zhen’s phone, however, remained silent.
It was probably just a coincidence.
Qin Zhen didn’t pay it much attention. She waited a while longer, but still received no reply from the big shot. She guessed he must be busy.
She only had an hour of free time and couldn’t afford to keep waiting. After thinking it over, Qin Zhen decided that the little zombie was probably the young woman. With her long hair covering her face, perhaps she was afraid that people would discover her true identity.
Qin Zhen stood beside the long-haired woman and remained silent for a while. Then she began edging toward her one tiny step at a time.
When the woman finally noticed and turned around, Qin Zhen lowered her voice and asked, “Do you prefer burial or cremation?”
The woman looked her up and down, took three steps back, turned around, and hurried away from her.
Wrong person.
Qin Zhen rubbed her nose and shifted her target to the elderly man. She crept toward him step by step and asked him the same question.
The old man raised his cane and snapped, “I’ll bury you first!”
Terrified, Qin Zhen turned and ran. In a panic, she hid behind a pillar at a gas station and didn’t dare show her face for a long time.
Patting her little racing heart, she took out her phone to check whether the wealthy big shot had replied.
Suddenly, a voice filled with amusement came from beside her.
“I prefer burial.”
Qin Zhen jumped in fright and turned to see the stylish man in sunglasses.
“You’re the senior who came to pick me up, right?” The man pulled his sunglasses down slightly, revealing a pair of smiling eyes. “Hello. My name is Fu Qi. I’m a newly unearthed little zombie.”
“…”
What part of him was little?
Qin Zhen tilted her head back to look at his flashy leather jacket and sunglasses, then glanced down at her own plain, washed-out trousers. She recalled what had happened at the bus stop and fell silent for a moment before saying, “Hello. Goodbye.”
She turned and walked away.
Fu Qi chuckled and caught up with her. “You said you’d look after me for a month. You’ve already accepted the money, so how can you go back on your word, Senior?”
Qin Zhen: “…”
That was true.
The most important thing for a zombie was keeping one’s word. Otherwise, she would never get rich in her entire life.
She stopped and gave Fu Qi another once-over. “Are you really newly unearthed?”
Fu Qi countered, “Do I not look like it?”
Not in the slightest!
Could a little zombie who had just emerged from a tomb have a phone and know how to use it? Could he dress this flamboyantly? Could he stroll openly through human society?
Even if the wealthy big shot had sent him a helicopter loaded with cash, there was no way he could have adapted so quickly!
Qin Zhen asked, “Where did you get your phone?”
Fu Qi replied, “And where did you get yours?”
This zombie had a truly irritating personality!
Still, Qin Zhen answered him. Her phone had come to her completely honestly, so she had nothing to hide!
“I worked hard for three months and bought it with my own money!”
Fu Qi asked again, “What about the SIM card? You shouldn’t have an ID, right?”
Qin Zhen wasn’t the least bit intimidated. She answered frankly, “I saved money from working for a year and got a fake ID!”
“A fake ID?” Fu Qi raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. “Our zombie clan has learned that quickly? We even have an entire fake-ID industry chain now?”
He knew far too much. He was definitely a con artist!
Qin Zhen didn’t answer. She glared at him and said, “It’s your turn. Where did you get your phone?”
Fu Qi said, “I stole it.”
“…”
Qin Zhen narrowed her eyes. “Impossible. You just came out of a tomb. Even if you stole the phone, you wouldn’t be able to unlock it!”
“All right.” Fu Qi sighed, sounding like someone who had been caught and had no choice but to confess. “Actually, I stole it. After I took it, I forced the guy to teach me how to use it. These clothes are his too.”
Qin Zhen still didn’t believe him. She was sure he was lying.
Human society was so advanced these days, with security cameras everywhere. Even if there happened to be one stretch of road without surveillance and Fu Qi had managed to pull off the theft, the young man he robbed would have reported it after leaving.
Once he reported it and had his ID card registered as lost, the phone would be useless. There would be no way to use it.
And yet she had clearly heard a message alert from Fu Qi’s phone just now.
He was definitely lying.
“What happened to the person you stole the phone from?” Qin Zhen pressed.
“Hmm…” Fu Qi pondered for a moment, then said solemnly, “I ate him.”
“…”
It was an absurd answer, yet it made perfect sense.
Eating people was a zombie’s instinct. He had only just crawled out of his tomb and still didn’t know how frightening human society was. After robbing someone, it was perfectly reasonable for him to eat the victim.
Qin Zhen stood there with her mouth open. She wanted to say something, but had no idea what. After a long moment, under Fu Qi’s keenly interested gaze, she managed with some difficulty, “Oh.”
“‘Oh’?” Fu Qi lowered his head. His eyes, visible above his sunglasses, looked straight at Qin Zhen. He repeated her word and asked, “What does ‘oh’ mean? Do you still have questions?”
“N-no, I don’t.” Qin Zhen stammered a little.
After a brief silence, she pointed toward a convenience store diagonally across from the gas station and said, “I don’t have any extra slippers at home. I’ll go buy you a pair. Wait here for me.”
After Fu Qi nodded, Qin Zhen headed toward the convenience store.
She crossed the road with her arms and legs moving almost in sync, like a badly wound-up puppet.
Once she reached the other side, she turned around and saw the cool, handsome “little zombie” she had just met watching her leave.
The “little zombie” was very tall, with an outstanding presence, broad shoulders, and long legs. He looked remarkably fit. From a distance, he was so handsome that he could make one dizzy.
Qin Zhen was indeed dizzy, but not because of his looks. She felt as if she were being watched by a powerful, mindless wolf, and her heart was in a panic.
Forcing herself to stay calm, she raised an arm and waved at Fu Qi.
Fu Qi smiled and waved back.
Just as the two “zombies” were waving at each other, a huge truck came rattling along. The instant it passed between them, Qin Zhen lowered her hand, turned around, and bolted as though her life depended on it!
Just as truly giving up meant neither crying nor making a scene, a zombie who genuinely intended to leave would never say goodbye.
Never see you again, you cannibalistic law-abiding zombie!
Qin Zhen had spent all these years obeying the law. Aside from illegally becoming a supernatural being, obtaining a fake ID, and running two red lights, she had never done anything else illegal or disorderly. And now they expected her to take in a walking time bomb like this?
Absolutely not!
She would go back and return the money!
She would rather work diligently for another three hundred years than be hunted down by some special human agency…
That would be far too terrifying!
