The reason Fu Qi started keeping an eye on Qin Zhen was entirely coincidental.
Their special department was mainly responsible for dangerous cases involving nonhuman entities. In this new age, even ghost-hunting had to be approached scientifically, so they naturally relied on technology and often needed the cooperation of ordinary departments.
Once, while tracking down a monster, Fu Qi needed access to the police force’s system. As he was leaving the station, he happened to overhear two officers from the anti-fraud unit grumbling.
One of them said, “Task-order scams have been advertised everywhere, so how are there still so many victims? If only they were all as cautious as that girl last time.”
The other officer said, “She wasn’t cautious. She was just broke. The scammer lowered the amount for the task from three thousand yuan to eighty-seven, and she still couldn’t afford it. She could only do tasks worth two or three yuan. That made it impossible for her to lose any real money in the first place.”
“That’s true… Thank goodness she was poor, or she would’ve been swindled out of a fortune. I still can’t believe she managed to join 467 task-order groups by herself and stay online twenty-four hours a day. Did she not need to sleep?”
The question—Did she not need to sleep?—caught Fu Qi’s attention. He casually asked the officers for some information about Qin Zhen.
It did not take long for Fu Qi to determine that Qin Zhen was not human.
At the time, he had other matters to deal with and did not observe her particularly closely. However, Qin Zhen had so many telltale flaws that it would have been difficult not to notice.
He wanted to use this hidden illegal nonhuman living in human society to track down her kind, so he did not arrest her immediately. Who would have thought that after observing her for a while, he would discover that this nonhuman woman’s life consisted of nothing but work?
Sorting packages, handing out flyers, walking dogs, running errands… She did not even own a little electric scooter, and she was too stingy to rent a shared bicycle. She relied entirely on her own two legs, running nonstop. Yet even in the middle of summer, she never sweated or seemed out of breath.
After finishing her daytime jobs, she would go work as a convenience-store clerk at night.
She juggled seven or eight odd jobs in succession, with no time to rest or catch her breath, and she was always working with remarkable enthusiasm.
Once, during a torrential downpour, she was making a delivery on foot when a speeding car splashed her from head to toe with filthy water. All she did was trudge miserably to the lake in a nearby park, give herself a quick wipe-down, and then hurry back to work without missing a beat.
Fu Qi watched her for a long time. Aside from discovering that she was exceptionally hardworking and remarkably easy to take advantage of, he found no evidence that she had committed any illegal acts, nor did he uncover any clues about other nonhuman beings. As he happened to have several urgent matters to handle, he temporarily set aside this honest, unassuming girl and focused on the more vicious creatures instead.
He was busy for several months. During that time, Fu Qi checked on Qin Zhen remotely from time to time. He discovered that she had found two relatively stable jobs and rented a small attic room. Her life was extremely regular: every day, she diligently followed the same fixed route to work.
She was like a busy little mushroom—quite adorable.
Fu Qi never saw her contact any other species, so he assumed zombies were solitary creatures. That was, until the Man-Eating Zombie appeared.
After the special law-enforcement department eliminated the Man-Eating Zombie, they unlocked his phone and checked his chat history. To their surprise, zombies actually had a communication platform of their own. It was based overseas, extremely well hidden, and left no traces behind, making it impossible for the authorities to locate.
This captured, vicious zombie was completely different from Qin Zhen. Not only did he eat humans and his own kind, he also ran scams. Combining online fraud with murder and corpse disposal was, in its own way, remarkably up to date.
As luck would have it, Qin Zhen was both among the Man-Eating Zombie’s latest scam targets and on his dining list.
The time and place for the meal had already been arranged.
Fu Qi could not possibly allow that. This little zombie was someone he had discovered first, and she was his target.
The special law-enforcement department was responsible for the safety of the public. They had to determine the number and habits of every nonhuman species hiding in human society, then either bring them under unified management or eliminate them. So Fu Qi simply took advantage of the identity fabricated by the Man-Eating Zombie and approached Qin Zhen, allowing him to investigate her at close range.
She was far too easy to deceive. Before long, she had revealed the entire history of the zombie clan to Fu Qi. The special department could now wipe out the zombies in one fell swoop at any time.
“Hurrying won’t help,” the head of the department said. “This is the new age—we don’t do political marriages anymore. You should just give it up. Besides, you deceived that little zombie. Once your identity is exposed, are you sure she’ll still be willing to stay with you?”
“I have my own plan,” Fu Qi said.
Since he put it that way, the department head naturally trusted him. But thinking about Fu Qi’s personality gave him a headache, and he said, “Don’t do anything shameful.”
If Fu Qi embarrassed himself, he would be embarrassing all of humanity in front of the entire zombie clan.
“Don’t worry,” Fu Qi said. “When it comes to shamelessness, they have far more talent than humans.”
The department head had nothing to say to that. He did not even feel like speaking to Fu Qi anymore, so he called someone over to take over the assignment with him.
Meanwhile, Qin Zhen had turned over a new leaf and started working hard again. She could not find a job, and the elderly had blocked off her usual path of collecting discarded paper. After careful consideration, she decided to return to her old line of work and diligently deliver food.
The more deliveries she made, the more likely she was to discover new small restaurants hiring workers. That way, she would not have to keep braving the wind and rain.
There was no such thing as a superior or inferior line of work, and Qin Zhen’s diligent attitude was admirable. But Fu Qi didn’t want her to suffer through exhausting work, especially since the special law enforcement department was about to bring them under its authority.
He snatched Qin Zhen’s phone and dragged her off to buy a lottery ticket. It “won” fifty thousand yuan.
Qin Zhen was overjoyed, but her determination to work for a living remained unshaken. After collecting the prize, she spent thirty-five yuan on a celebration, then went right back to delivering food.
Fu Qi assumed she thought the prize was too small, so he dragged her off to buy another lottery ticket. This time, they hit the jackpot.
Yet even after happily collecting the money, Qin Zhen still wanted to go to work.
“Winning the lottery is only temporary, but having a job lasts a lifetime.” She gave Fu Qi a solemn lecture. “Unmerited gains don’t last.”
Fu Qi: “...Then give back the money you got without lifting a finger.”
Qin Zhen’s expression changed. She declared resolutely, “Never!”
“...”
Fu Qi was at a loss. It wasn’t as though he could arrange for her to win the lottery every day, could he?
Even if her zombie brain hadn’t realized she was being manipulated, the other lottery players would notice something was wrong.
Fortunately, his colleagues moved quickly. Once they confirmed that all the zombies were under the special law enforcement department’s tight surveillance, the department prepared to close the net.
So, just as Qin Zhen was about to go out and deliver food yet again, a post suddenly appeared on the nonhuman forum.
The title read: “[Romance] I’m So in Love with That Pretty Girl with the Ray Gun from the Special Law Enforcement Department!”
Qin Zhen saw it, and her eyes went round. Her gaze stuck to the post at once.
The information revealed in that single title was enough to shock the entire forum. And when they saw who had posted it, they were even more stunned—it was My Head Is a Rubber Ball, who had been missing for a long time.
[Poster ID: My Head Is a Rubber Ball
1st Floor (Original Poster): I still remember that night. It was pitch-black, and an evil zombie lured me out to meet him. He claimed that zombies of the same kind should help one another, but then he bit off half my head. At the critical moment, she descended from the heavens and blasted the evil zombie apart with her ray gun, saving me.
I collapsed at her feet. The instant I saw the determination in her expression, I finally understood why the night sky had been so dark—because the stars had fallen into my eyes.
I love her!
I’m going to marry her!
So, is there any senior who can teach me how to pursue a human?]
The moment the post appeared, the entire nonhuman forum exploded!
Most of the zombies focused on the special law enforcement department, and Qin Zhen was no exception. It never occurred to her that the evil zombie might be the big-shot zombie who had promised to help her make money. She grabbed her phone and exclaimed as she tugged Fu Qi over to look.
“He’s fine with falling in love with a human, but he even wants to date someone from the special law enforcement department! Is there something wrong with his zombie brain?”
Fu Qi squeezed in beside her. In just a few minutes, more than a dozen replies had already appeared beneath the post. Without exception, they were all shocked by My Head Is a Rubber Ball’s behavior. Only two zombies had kept their wits about them and asked how he had escaped from the law enforcement department.
Unfortunately, those two lines were quickly buried. My Head Is a Rubber Ball didn’t reply to them. He only defended his love whenever anyone questioned it, repeatedly insisting that it was true love.
“What incredible nerve! Isn’t he afraid they’ll blast his head apart while he’s sleeping?” Qin Zhen hunched her shoulders, typing a shocked reply while not forgetting to warn Fu Qi, “You absolutely cannot imitate him. Whatever you do, don’t fall in love with a human!”
“...Mm.” Fu Qi nodded in agreement.
He hadn’t intended to fall in love with a human, but...
“Really? You can’t?”
Qin Zhen was startled. She looked up at him and stated sternly, “Absolutely not! Why are you asking? Have you fallen for some little human?”
Ever since Fu Qi had insisted on saving up twenty yuan to enter a lucky draw outside the supermarket, the two of them had gotten into a financial dispute. Their money was now all mixed together.
Financially entangled, living together—and Fu Qi had even confessed his feelings to Qin Zhen a few days ago. In a zombie’s eyes, that meant their relationship was already hopelessly ambiguous.
Qin Zhen felt it was her duty to keep an eye on Fu Qi.
Fu Qi considered his words, then looked at Qin Zhen and answered, “I have indeed been captivated by a certain woman lately. Whenever I see her, I feel warm inside. I always want to stay close to her, hold her, touch her hand, and kiss her cheek...”
“A beauty trap!” Qin Zhen shouted. “It’s a beauty trap! How vicious of that human!”
Did she really have to praise herself so openly?
Fu Qi couldn’t help laughing.
That only made Qin Zhen even more nervous. She cried out in alarm, “I already told you it’s a beauty trap, and you can still laugh? It’s over, Little Qi. Your brain has mutated into a lovesick brain!”
She was extremely tense. She went over every human who had recently come into contact with them, but couldn’t find any woman—or man—whom Fu Qi had treated especially well.
But that still didn’t prove anything. After all, she had been too absorbed in television lately and hadn’t kept a close enough eye on Fu Qi.
He had already confessed to her, so how could some human have lured him away?!
Qin Zhen felt terribly aggrieved. Then she glanced at Fu Qi and saw the smile in his eyes, which only made her angrier. She shoved him down onto the sofa, pressed a hand against his chest, and shouted, “You wanted to date me just a few days ago!”
Fu Qi tried not to laugh. “Wasn’t it you who thought I was too poor and rejected me?”
“I accept you now!” Qin Zhen said.
The words had come out a little too impulsively. She froze for a moment after saying them, but once she had collected herself, she didn’t regret them.
After thinking it over, she slowed her speech a little and said, “I’ve won a lot of money from those prize draws lately… We zombies don’t need to eat or sleep, so we don’t spend much. We have plenty of time, and one zombie can work three jobs. Between the two of us, it shouldn’t take more than a few years to save enough for a down payment on a house…”
She had made herself perfectly clear, but Fu Qi only looked at her with curved eyes and said nothing.
Qin Zhen felt embarrassed, but since she had already gone this far, she might as well finish the job.
She pressed her lips together and said, “Little Qi, don’t fall for some human’s beauty trap. Just stay with me. I don’t mind that you’re poor anymore… Look, I’m pretty cute too…”
As she spoke, she gazed at Fu Qi with complete seriousness, her eyes filled entirely with his reflection.
The look made Fu Qi’s heart itch pleasantly. He reached a hand toward her, but just as he was about to touch her, he drew it back and asked, “So are you trying to use a zombie beauty trap on me now?”
What zombie beauty trap?
Qin Zhen had merely been looking at Fu Qi. Nothing more.
“Why would I use a zombie beauty trap on you?” she asked, baffled. “I’m not interested in using those sinister little tricks humans rely on.”
No need to drag humans through the mud just to say she wasn’t interested.
As a human, Fu Qi felt deeply offended.
“Oh? Then I’ll go find a human to like instead. They’re willing to use beauty traps on me, which means they value me…”
Qin Zhen’s eyes widened and her brows shot up. “What a loser!”
Her emotions had always been written plainly in her actions. As she scolded him, her fist came down with a loud thump against Fu Qi’s chest. Caught completely off guard, Fu Qi was struck so hard that he nearly lost his breath.
Zombies had no sense of pain, and when they fought their own kind, they held nothing back. That punch really hurt.
If it had landed on one of the ordinary humans who had bullied Qin Zhen before, it would have been enough to kill them instantly.
Fu Qi rubbed his chest and quietly took a moment to catch his breath. “I don’t care. Whoever uses a beauty trap—or a zombie beauty trap—on me, I’ll like them!”
What was one supposed to do with a fussy child?
Beat him up, or indulge him?
Qin Zhen leaned toward the former. But considering Fu Qi’s “brat” of a personality, the impending change in their relationship, and her concern that she might be mistaken for a violent maniac, she thought it over carefully and decided to humor him—reluctantly.
After all, she had been out of the tomb longer. She was the experienced one who was robbing the cradle.
“Fine, fine, fine!” she said, pushing Fu Qi lightly. “I’ll use a zombie beauty trap on you, okay?”
For a pure-hearted little zombie, using a zombie beauty trap was rather difficult. Qin Zhen could only take lessons from television shows and novels.
She pictured the kissing scenes between the leads on TV. Then she braced herself against Fu Qi’s shoulders and looked at his dewy lips, feeling her face grow warm.
But zombies feared nothing!
She shut her eyes, lowered her head, and kissed him—
Only to miss.
Fu Qi had pressed his back against the sofa and tilted his face upward, then cupped Qin Zhen’s cheeks to keep her from kissing him.
He gave a low laugh. Perhaps because they were so close, or perhaps because of their position, his voice sounded especially deep. His gaze was gentle as he looked at Qin Zhen and said, “All right, I was only teasing you. You don’t need any tricks. I can’t resist you anyway…”
Qin Zhen was no longer embarrassed. Frowning, she straddled Fu Qi and narrowed her eyes as she examined him.
“You’re the one who asked me to use a zombie beauty trap, and then you’re the one who doesn’t want it. Why are you so troublesome?”
Fu Qi: “…”
Before he could explain, she said suspiciously, “Wait. You like me, but you won’t let me kiss you… You’re still under the spell of that human’s beauty trap, aren’t you? You’re only humoring me because you want to protect that little human’s first kiss, right?”
Fu Qi: “…”
That train of thought… No wonder he liked her.
Just as he was rendered speechless, Qin Zhen seemed determined to find out whether he was really humoring her. She pinned down Fu Qi’s arms and leaned in to kiss him again.
Fu Qi turned his head away to dodge her. As he did, he said, “Wait, I have something to tell you. Once we’ve cleared everything up, you can decide whether you still want to kiss me…”
“Stop talking nonsense! Lie still and don’t move!”
Qin Zhen’s competitive spirit had been roused. The last trace of shyness in her heart vanished completely, leaving only one thought in her mind: pin Fu Qi down and kiss him senseless.
Afraid that he might escape, she pressed her entire body against him. Fu Qi bore the sweet weight of her and found it incredibly difficult to endure. He nearly gave in. But enjoying himself first and considering the consequences later was not his style. In the end, reason triumphed over impulse.
He wrapped one arm around Qin Zhen to keep her from falling, while his other hand slipped inside his clothes. At the same time, he turned his face away to avoid her.
Qin Zhen’s kiss landed on his earlobe.
Qin Zhen felt that officially defining their relationship would be better with a kiss on the lips.
So she rubbed her lips against Fu Qi’s earlobe, lifted her face, and continued toward his mouth. But just as she raised her head, she suddenly saw a pair of bright, gleaming silver handcuffs.
Fu Qi’s flushed lips opened and closed behind the handcuffs. His expression was helpless yet amused as he said, “I’m sorry, Ms. Qin Zhen. Zombie miss, you’re under arrest.”
Qin Zhen froze. Her expression turned strange, and after a moment’s hesitation, she said, “We just made our relationship official, and you’re already playing this game… Isn’t that a little too kinky?”
Fu Qi: “…”
I really never would have guessed it—the little zombie looks so innocent on the outside, but she’s this depraved and violent on the inside…
“Darling.” Fu Qi could only laugh helplessly as he wiggled his leg. Looking at Qin Zhen, who was sitting astride him and stupidly swaying along with it, he said, “Wait a moment. I’ve got a few more things to show you.”
Qin Zhen didn’t want to wait at all, but the silver handcuffs gleamed. Although she was certain they were the kind of adult toy that only appeared in movies, the cold sheen made them look far too righteous and intimidating. The lawbreaking zombie felt her heart begin to panic.
She didn’t dare continue for the moment.
Just as she was feeling uneasy, she saw Fu Qi produce several identification documents from who knew where and display them one by one in front of her.
“Identity card, driver’s license, employee ID from a special law-enforcement department, firearms permit…”
Qin Zhen froze like an overloaded machine.
Fu Qi neither moved nor urged her. He simply watched her and quietly waited for her reaction.
After roughly five or six minutes, Qin Zhen finally reacted. She looked at the documents, then at Fu Qi, and nodded as she commented, “Not bad. They look pretty realistic. Where did you have them made?”
Fu Qi replied, “The identity card was issued by the local police station, the driver’s license by the traffic department of the public security bureau, and the employee ID by the national security department…”
He answered each question one by one. Once he had finished, he looked at Qin Zhen’s silent expression and smiled as he reached for the phone she had set aside earlier.
The phone was a little too far away. Still pinned beneath Qin Zhen, Fu Qi had to stretch out his arm to reach it.
After getting hold of the phone, he opened the post about My Head Is a Rubber Ball. Just as expected, under the questioning of countless zombies, Rubber Ball had already given a detailed account of what had happened—including how he had encountered the rich zombie on the forum, how the special law-enforcement department had rescued him, and how he had spent the past few months recovering under their care.
The zombies were all shocked. Then they began accusing Rubber Ball of betraying his own kind and harming Little Luo, calling him a despicable, shameless traitor and quisling!
Little Luo stated that his old phone had been smashed to pieces when he was injured that time. He had only bought a new one that morning, so there hadn’t been enough time for him to betray his own kind. He reasonably speculated that there must be another mole within the clan.
“Do you understand now?” Fu Qi held the phone up in front of Qin Zhen, letting her read through the comments one by one.
Qin Zhen nodded blankly. After a moment of silence, she said, “I get it. You’re the mole in our clan.”
Fu Qi: “…”
He tried to explain. “The special law-enforcement department developed a drug that can suppress the body’s energy consumption for a certain period of time, making a person appear as though they’re dead…”
“Don’t worry.” Qin Zhen interrupted him, patting him solemnly on the shoulder. “I won’t tell the other zombies. We’re all zombies here—we have to help one another… Are you thirsty? I’ll get you a glass of water. Just lie here and don’t wander off…”
Her voice was steady and composed as she climbed down from Fu Qi. She even smiled at him.
“I’m not thirsty,” Fu Qi said. “I’ve finished explaining everything. You’re not going anywhere. We’re continuing with the Beauty Zombie Plan.”
Qin Zhen’s expression stiffened slightly. “I’m thirsty…”
“You’re not planning to pretend to get water and use the opportunity to escape, are you?” Fu Qi said with a smile, exposing her little scheme.
Qin Zhen’s expression froze for a moment. She said awkwardly, “Of course not. Heh heh…”
As she spoke, she took one step back under Fu Qi’s watchful gaze, then another. After drawing a deep breath, she turned and sprinted for the door!
She had only taken two steps when a gust of wind rushed up behind her. Like a tiger charging down a mountain, it made Qin Zhen’s heart jolt with terror. She stopped instantly, dropped into a practiced crouch with both hands over her head, and shrieked, “I confess! I’m sorry! I’m willing to go to prison! Please don’t kill me! Waaaaah…”
Fu Qi: “…”
She was certainly practiced at that.
