The mission team from Country A was fully equipped. Besides the essential food and water in their backpacks, Fu Qi's favorite item was the paraglider, which would allow him and Qin Zhen to leave these remote mountains as quickly as possible.
Qin Zhen had long been eager to experience the rapidly advancing human civilization, so she agreed without hesitation. However, before setting off, there were two matters to address.
"Pants." This was Qin Zhen's request.
The zombie never forgot her original goal—she was still fixated on Fu Qi's pants.
Fu Qi, true to his word, immediately told her to turn around. But Qin Zhen had a last-minute change of heart.
"N-new ones!"
She saw Fu Qi pull out a sealed set of clean, fresh clothes from his backpack. With these, who would still care about Fu Qi’s damp, soggy outfit?
"No, a promise is a promise."
Fu Qi pretended to refuse, prompting Qin Zhen to argue with him. After their debate, he relented, then melodramatically sighed, "Kindness invites bullying—even from zombies."
Qin Zhen couldn’t even be bothered to look at him.
The two changed into their clean clothes. Fu Qi’s fit reasonably well, but Qin Zhen’s were far too big.
The sleeves could be rolled up, and the oversized shirt wasn’t a problem, but the pants were baggy and too long. Even with the belt tightened to the last notch, they kept slipping down. In the end, Fu Qi had to weave a makeshift belt out of grass to secure them.
When the wind blew, Qin Zhen’s shirt and pant legs billowed out, making her look short and pudgy—like a clumsy little penguin.
Fu Qi laughed, and Qin Zhen glared at him, which only made her appear even cuter, stripping away any semblance of zombie intimidation.
The second matter was raised by Fu Qi. "Are you planning to carry your 'husband' around with you?"
Qin Zhen hadn’t actually considered it.
Her original plan was to leave the tomb, earn money, buy modern entertainment gadgets, and leave her "husband" behind to guard the tomb. But then the tomb was blown up. With the collapsing ruins threatening to crush the bones to dust, she had instinctively grabbed them and fled.
There was no way she could bring her "husband" into human society—it would be inconvenient, attract police attention, and land them both in trouble: her in jail, and him in a crematorium. That would be beyond humiliating.
"Let her rest in peace," Fu Qi suggested. "This is the northern forest—a place of textbook-worthy beauty, untouched by humans. Leaving her here won’t dishonor her origins, and no one will disturb her."
Qin Zhen hesitated, but then she heard a faint "chittering" sound. Looking up, she spotted a squirrel leaping between branches nearby.
The scenery here was indeed breathtaking. On their way up, they had encountered snakes, a fox-like creature, and several vividly feathered birds—one of which Fu Qi recognized as a formerly classified first-grade protected species.
Compared to the gloomy, sunless tomb, this vibrant forest was infinitely better.
After just half a minute of contemplation, Qin Zhen agreed. After all, she knew the location—she could always dig him up later if she prepared a new tomb.
Fu Qi helped her dig the grave while she arranged the bones. She noticed he had wrapped them in the tattered burial clothes from the tomb—he had brought every scrap of fabric with him.
The cloth had faded to a dull brown, its patterns barely discernible.
Qin Zhen picked up a few pieces, trying to distinguish which were hers and which belonged to her "husband." She couldn’t remember what she had been wearing when she first awoke.
Her memories were a jumbled mess—perhaps her brain had gone moldy from being sealed away for so long.
But it didn’t matter.
She bundled everything together and buried it alongside the bones beneath a fiery red maple tree.
Once the grave was concealed, Fu Qi made sure no traces remained. Then, the two strapped into the paraglider.
This was Qin Zhen’s first time using such a contraption. The setup was rudimentary, with minimal safety measures. Worried she might fidget and fall, Fu Qi secured her tightly to himself.
This was entirely unnecessary—Qin Zhen wasn’t about to move. Not because she was obedient, but because she was afraid of heights.
Falling from thousands of meters wouldn’t kill her, but admitting to acrophobia? That was mortifying. A zombie could never confess such weakness. Instead, she pretended to be mournful about leaving her "husband," hiding her fear from Fu Qi.
Climbing onto the glider, she stiffened at first. But as they soared smoothly above the forest, she gradually relaxed.
The weather was perfect—golden autumn sunlight, a cloudless sky, and crystal-clear visibility.
Qin Zhen gazed ahead at the rolling green waves of distant forests. A flock of white birds, startled by something unseen, took flight, their silhouettes resembling seagulls skimming the ocean’s surface.
Following their path upward, the vast blue sky stretched so low it felt within reach, as if she could touch it with an outstretched hand.
Qin Zhen took a deep breath—despite not needing to breathe—and imagined the crisp air filling her lungs, lifting her spirit.
This, she realized, was the taste of freedom.
"Having fun?" Fu Qi glanced back at her.
"Fun!"
"I think so too." His voice was light with amusement, his face turned slightly as if looking behind them.
Qin Zhen twisted to follow his gaze and saw her rolled-up pant legs flapping wildly in the wind, fluttering like the tail of a kite.
Laughing at her again!
She wanted to be angry, but instead, she giggled.
As the glider ascended, a winding river reappeared below. Qin Zhen’s sharp eyes caught movement along the banks—tiny black dots shifting about.
"People!" she blurted.
"Don’t worry, they’re far away." Fu Qi adjusted their course, and the glider veered effortlessly in the opposite direction, carried by the wind.
He was so dependable.
Every past grievance was erased by Fu Qi’s reliability since leaving the tomb. In this moment, Qin Zhen felt he was utterly trustworthy—the best human she had ever met.
"You’re really great."
The exhilaration of freedom went to her head. In a burst of impulsive honesty, she confessed, "Fu Qi, when you die… can you be buried next to me? In my tomb? I’d want to play with you again."
"..." Fu Qi politely declined. "Thanks for the offer, but I’m not planning to die anytime soon."
"You’ll die eventually," Qin Zhen insisted.
"That’s beyond my control. It depends on national burial policies and my descendants."
Qin Zhen gasped. "You have a partner?"
"No."
Figures. Qin Zhen mentally scoffed but patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Don’t worry. You’ll find someone."
Fu Qi: "...You don’t have to say it like you’re consoling me."
"Yes, I do!" Qin Zhen doubled down. "No matter where you’re buried, I’ll dig you up! We’ll be neighbors!"
Such zombie admiration was more than any human could handle. Fu Qi sighed. "Fine. Just don’t use me as a clothesline."
Qin Zhen: "..."
Better pretend she didn’t hear that.
Gazing at the sprawling landscape below, she asked another question that had been on her mind. "Aren’t you afraid of causing panic, bringing a zombie into human society?"
She had wanted to ask earlier but held back, fearing Fu Qi might reconsider.
"No," Fu Qi replied simply.
No way, because I’m a good zombie.
Qin Zhen thought to herself, then added preemptively, "Then, if a Taoist priest tries to capture me, you have to vouch that I don’t... eat people."
Not only did she not eat humans, but she hadn’t even retaliated after being shot three times!
A law-abiding zombie like her deserved a medal.
"Overthinking it."
This was the umpteenth time Qin Zhen had brought up Taoist priests. Fu Qi didn’t understand her fixation and asked, "Are you really that scared of them?"
Qin Zhen gave him a look as if he were clueless. "Haven’t you watched movies? Zombies and Taoist priests are mortal enemies!"
Fu Qi had never actually seen a zombie movie, but he was grateful for the genre—their ridiculous tropes had turned this zombie into such a gullible fool that it made his life easier.
"I told you, it won’t happen. Relax." He spoke sincerely, but Qin Zhen just shook her head, lamenting his ignorance about the age-old feud between zombies and Taoist priests.
Fu Qi noticed Qin Zhen was unusually chatty and studied her for a moment. "Is this nerves? Getting cold feet now that we’re close?"
"...A little," Qin Zhen admitted.
She hadn’t been nervous when they first left the tomb—back then, the place was collapsing, and chaos drowned out everything. She hadn’t been nervous after emerging either, since she’d barely stuck her head out before being "killed" by gunfire.
But now, with the glider speeding through the air, the view was clear, and she could faintly make out scattered structures ahead—maybe a ranger’s cabin or a forest watchtower.
Human civilization was right there, and she was just a stowaway zombie, hopelessly outdated. She didn’t even have an ID, making her an illegal resident. One wrong move, and the police would haul her in.
A criminal record would ruin her chances of finding work.
And what about helping Fu Qi distract those two foreigners? That made her an accomplice to murder...
Her skin tone was all wrong too. How was she supposed to blend in with humans?
Her worries left Fu Qi speechless. He studied the zombie’s gloomy, anxious face and felt a rare flicker of guilt.
But guilt didn’t suit him, and it vanished the next second.
"Try to look on the bright side," Fu Qi said, his voice softening, just like when they’d first met in the tomb. "Maybe things won’t be as bad as you think?"
"...I wasn’t sure before, but now that you’re using that fake-nice voice, I’m certain." Worry snapped Qin Zhen out of her spiraling thoughts. She steadied herself and declared, "Things are going to be terrible!"
This was a lesson she’d learned from dealing with Fu Qi.
"Since when did you get so sharp?" Fu Qi sounded surprised.
Qin Zhen waved him off. "Don’t interrupt. I’m mentally preparing myself!"
She closed her eyes, steeling her nerves. As long as human society wasn’t crawling with Taoist priests and cops, she could handle anything else.
There had to be a way. Worst case, she’d just cling to Fu Qi—he was the one who dragged her out, so he was responsible.
Qin Zhen kept her eyes shut, so when the glider crossed the forest’s edge and passed over a human settlement, she missed the collapsed houses, overgrown fields, and the staggering figures wandering the dirt roads.
Which meant that when the glider finally landed and she eagerly opened her eyes, what she saw hit her like a punch to the gut.
