Qin Zhen was scared out of her wits. Whenever Fu Qi spoke to her, she would squat down with both hands over her head. Whenever he reached a hand toward her, she would obediently hold out both wrists, waiting to be cuffed. She was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.
Fu Qi patiently told her that she didn’t need to go to prison, and that breaking the law wouldn’t affect their relationship as a couple. But Qin Zhen acted as though she couldn’t hear him, concentrating only on making herself as small and harmless as a quail.
It wasn’t until he asked whether she still wanted to kiss him that she shrank her neck and timidly asked, “C-Can I contact Little Red?”
“Who’s Little Red?” Fu Qi immediately became alert.
Well, well. She actually had another zombie she was this close to—one she could still think of even in such a “desperate situation”?
Fu Qi’s expression turned stern as he demanded, “Male or female? What’s their forum ID? Where are they now? What do you need to contact them for?”
The little zombie, crushed by the force of justice, had only a sesame seed’s worth of courage left. Whimpering, she said, “Female. Honghonghuohuo. I don’t know where she is. She’s a lawyer. I wanted her to defend me and see if she could get my death sentence reduced to life imprisonment...”
Fu Qi: “...”
Why had she decided she was definitely going to be sentenced to death?
Why did she think he would personally send her to her death?
And that lawyer...
“Where did she buy her law license?”
Qin Zhen had no idea what Fu Qi had managed to uncover while staying by her side these past few days. When he asked that, she assumed he even knew about Little Red. With a miserable expression, she answered, “...From Little Luo.”
“How come I’ve never seen that ID on the forum?”
“...She recently took on a major case. She’s been working overtime every day and hasn’t had time to go on the forum...”
The little zombie was far too honest. With just a little probing, she had sold out another member of her kind.
Fu Qi nodded, took out a backup phone, and contacted one of his colleagues. He informed them that there was another fugitive still at large and told them to interrogate things more thoroughly. After hanging up, he said to Qin Zhen, “Little Luo’s crimes have just gotten worse.”
Qin Zhen: “...”
She let out a tiny, mournful whimper and wilted again.
Fu Qi laughed once more. Whenever he was with Qin Zhen, he couldn’t seem to stop himself from laughing. Like some kind of lunatic.
He wanted Qin Zhen to raise her head, but she refused, pressing it down with all her strength. Fu Qi had to put in considerable effort to cup her face and lift it up. Looking at her eyes squeezed tightly shut in despair, her cheeks squashed by his hands, he started laughing again.
After laughing for a while, he said, “Didn’t you want to use your beauty-zombie scheme on me? You can do it now. Go on—maybe once you do, I’ll be so smitten that I’ll switch sides and join you zombies.”
Having just witnessed humanity’s treacherous methods all over again, Qin Zhen didn’t believe him. She refused to open her eyes.
Fu Qi leaned closer and said with a smile, “Then how about I use a honey trap on you?”
That was shameless beyond belief!
Qin Zhen opened her eyes. “You’re law enforcement. You have no—”
Her voice cut off halfway through, because Fu Qi was crouching in front of her, gazing at her with a bright smile.
She had meant to say that Fu Qi had no shame. That a dignified, upright law-enforcement officer was actually resorting to such disgraceful tactics as a honey trap—an insult to the nation’s honor, and grounds for stripping him of his citizenship.
But when she saw him smiling at her like that, she inexplicably felt embarrassed, and a little like blushing.
This was all very wrong.
She hurriedly reminded herself that Fu Qi was an enemy of the zombie clan. Forcing herself to recall all those identification papers issued by the national security authorities, she felt a wave of awe rise in her chest, swallowing every disrespectful word before it could leave her mouth.
Not daring to speak ill of a public servant, she could only choke back tears and reflect on herself. “...Romance between zombies and humans never ends well. I knew it. Men are all such scumbags...”
“Hold on. How am I a scumbag?” Fu Qi crouched on the floor, his left hand resting on Qin Zhen’s leg, his right elbow braced on his knee as he held her hand and gave it a few squeezes. “Did I cheat you out of money? Did I trick you into giving me your body or your heart?”
Qin Zhen thought about it, then said timidly, “You cheated me out of one hundred and seventy-two yuan...”
Fu Qi: “?”
You never realized it until you did the math. After being looked after by Qin Zhen for so long, he had apparently spent only 172 yuan in total—including two sets of clothes, shoes, assorted daily necessities, and a pair of slippers that had cost less than ten yuan after the discount...
It wasn’t even a fraction of what he had spent on Qin Zhen, and she still had the nerve to tally every last expense?
But on second thought, calculated as a proportion of her savings, it really was an enormous sum for Qin Zhen.
Fu Qi temporarily talked himself down. He decided that as long as Qin Zhen said he had deceived her heart, he would pretend this petty accounting had never happened.
“I’ll pay you back later,” Fu Qi said, coaxing her along. “What else? What else did this shameless human trick you out of?”
Qin Zhen considered it for a moment, then said mournfully, “You also deceived my compassion for the weak...”
Fu Qi: “...”
That was such an absurd way to put it.
Sometimes, he really found this little zombie rather irritating.
Unwilling to give up, Fu Qi summed it up for her. “So, I cheated you out of 172 yuan and your heart, right?”
Qin Zhen corrected him. “My compassion for the weak.”
“That’s still your heart.”
“My tender heart for the weak.”
After going back and forth several times, Fu Qi finally understood. Holding her hand, he negotiated irritably, “Take the modifier off the word ‘heart,’ and I’ll help reduce your sentence. I’ll even find you a legal, stable, respectable job. How about it?”
“No!” Cowardly as zombies might be, they still had their pride. She would never bow to evil forces!
Qin Zhen squeezed her eyes shut and lifted her chin. Frightened yet brave, she declared, “I’d rather die than submit!”
“You really are...” Fu Qi had no idea what to do with her. After a brief pause, he said helplessly, “It was wrong of me to pretend to be a zombie and deceive you, but I did it out of responsibility to the human race and in the line of duty. You weren’t wrong, and neither was I.”
Then he looked into her eyes and said solemnly, “And there hasn’t been the slightest pretense in my feelings for you. Don’t worry. Even if you don’t agree to be with me, no harm will come to you. You certainly won’t die.”
Yet Qin Zhen still looked like a pitiful little zombie awaiting punishment, clearly unconvinced. Fu Qi felt both annoyed and amused, and he couldn’t help saying something a little harsh.
He said, “Just think about everything I’ve done for you... You really are one bad little zombie.”
Bad Little Zombie still refused to say a word, so Fu Qi had no choice but to take out a pair of gleaming silver handcuffs. He cuffed one end around Qin Zhen’s wrist and the other around his own, then led her out the door. A car was already waiting outside. Once they got in, it headed straight for the headquarters of the Special Enforcement Department.
—They still had to go through the proper procedures.
On the way, Qin Zhen sat in the back seat with her head lowered, playing the part of a criminal under arrest. In her hands were the snacks and drinks Fu Qi had handed her. She pondered earnestly over whether what he had told her was true.
It probably was...
After all, all those illegal acts he’d mentioned—robbery, assault, and the like—had only ever come from Fu Qi’s own mouth. In all the time she’d known him, Qin Zhen had never actually seen him do anything bad.
He had even come clean before she kissed him, telling her who he was and letting her decide whether she still wanted to kiss him afterward... It was as though he took their relationship very seriously, leaving the little zombie’s feelings in a complicated mess...
Ugh, why were humans so crafty? So awful?
As she was thinking this, she overheard Fu Qi talking with a colleague and learned that the entire zombie clan had been rounded up. Qin Zhen felt both guilty and relieved.
She felt guilty mainly because her entire clan had fallen into the hands of the law because she had been tricked into selling them all out without even realizing it.
The traitor had been herself!
But she was also relieved, because she had finally been caught.
As a species that had illegally gained sentience, Qin Zhen had always known that it was only a matter of time before she was arrested. Now that it had finally happened, she unexpectedly felt lighter. And she wasn’t the only zombie to be arrested, which was a real comfort to a zombie.
The zombie clan had never had much sense of unity anyway. Qin Zhen thought it was rather nice that they had all been arrested together. If it had been any other zombie, they surely would have felt the same way.
Besides, at its core, this was all because humans were cunning and deceitful. She couldn’t be blamed!
She was a victimized zombie too!
But after doing something like this, Fu Qi still expected her to admit that she liked him. He really had no shame!
Qin Zhen secretly cracked open one eye to peek at Fu Qi. He was fiddling with his phone, typing something every so often.
Other than Little Luo, the first zombie to be arrested, and that scammer rich-zombie, the only contacts Qin Zhen had added were humans she knew through work. There was no one she really had anything to talk about with.
Qin Zhen guessed that Fu Qi was on the nonhuman forum, sweet-talking her fellow zombies into something.
Just as she was thinking that, Fu Qi suddenly turned to look at her. Qin Zhen hurriedly shut her eyes, pretending she had not moved at all.
She had been deceived and arrested, yet she could still be tempted by that crafty human. This was completely unacceptable. Qin Zhen quickly straightened out her attitude and tried hard to return to her sorrowful state.
Because of its special nature, the Special Enforcement Department’s headquarters was far from populated areas, built on a tightly sealed island.
Once they arrived on the island, Qin Zhen had no mind left for anything else. Trembling with nerves, she followed Fu Qi through the watchful gazes of countless staff members until they reached an interrogation room. Fu Qi said, “Wait here,” and left first.
Qin Zhen waited and waited. After who knew how long, a middle-aged Square-Faced Man entered the room.
Square-faced—he looked righteous at a glance. Frightened, she immediately stood up respectfully.
“Hello,” the Square-Faced Man said kindly. He took the initiative to shake Qin Zhen’s hand, his manner exceedingly solemn, leaving the inexperienced little zombie feeling terribly awkward.
After introducing himself as the head of the Special Enforcement Department, he explained why he had come. “I’m here to discuss the future arrangements for the zombie clan… Fu Qi has an unusual relationship with you, so he needs to avoid any conflict of interest and can’t take part in this.”
Qin Zhen hurriedly withdrew her furtive glance toward the door and said nervously, “I-I wasn’t looking for him.”
The department head did not expose her. “Then shall we discuss business?”
How could Qin Zhen possibly refuse? She put her knees together, laid both hands on them, and nodded obediently like an elementary school student.
The department head was concise and to the point. He briefly outlined the circumstances behind the worldwide revival and awakening of various strange nonhuman races, then directly proposed that they cooperate with the zombie clan and pursue peaceful coexistence.
—This applied only to zombies who had never harmed humans. As for crimes such as forging documents, those could be dealt with at discretion, taking into account racial differences and the potential social impact.
However, to avoid causing public panic, the zombie clan would have to conceal their identities. After registering with the Special Enforcement Department, they would disguise themselves as ordinary humans. Those with strong combat abilities would remain to work for the department, while the rest would be assigned to other departments according to their skills.
At the same time, the department would provide the zombie clan with cover identities and assistance with daily life. They would receive salaries, employee housing, and social insurance. The exact details could be negotiated jointly by the HR departments of both sides and implemented once the zombies had completed their employment paperwork.
But given their racial traits—being difficult to kill or injure, and possessing formidable offensive abilities—they would also have to be strictly bound by the law. If they harmed humans or committed crimes that were not acts of self-defense, their punishments would be more severe: confinement in magnetic-field prisons, punishment with specially modified firearms, or even the death penalty—complete dissolution.
The department head said a great deal, all of it concerning cooperation between the two races. At last, he asked, “What do you think?”
“Yes!”
He had said so much that Qin Zhen’s head was spinning. She had barely retained any of it. All she remembered was that she could go from being a criminal to becoming an employee of the Special Enforcement Department in one leap—and that there would be an official post, housing, and a salary!
She had never expected Fu Qi to have been telling the truth about that. Overjoyed, she agreed without hesitation.
Qin Zhen’s eyes sparkled. After agreeing, Fu Qi’s earlier words flashed through her mind one by one. She quickly and cautiously confirmed with the Square-Faced Man, “So does that mean I’m a c-civil servant?”
She was so excited that she stuttered.
It was far too presumptuous—almost like asking for too much. The moment she finished, she hurriedly added, “It’s fine if I’m not. As long as it’s legal!”
The department head smiled. “Of course you are. Our unit protects the personal safety of the public. We’re paid by the state.”
Qin Zhen was so thrilled that she felt almost dazed, wondering whether she had fallen for another scam.
She had already been uncertain, but the department head’s next sentence left her even more confused.
“Then it’s settled. In my capacity as the person in charge of the Special Enforcement Department, I will sign a contract with you. And you, as the Zombie Queen, will represent the zombie clan in reaching an agreement with humanity…”
“Sure, sure, sure.” Qin Zhen had no objections at all. Then, after agreeing, she asked in confusion, “Me? The Zombie Queen?”
Department Chief: “The zombie clan has unanimously decided to nominate you as the Zombie Queen. You’ll represent the zombies in negotiations with humanity… You really didn’t know?”
Ever since Fu Qi confessed his identity, Qin Zhen’s phone had been confiscated and placed in his hands. She hadn’t even been able to touch it during this time, so how could she possibly have known?
The department chief immediately realized that Fu Qi was involved. The captain was reliable, all right, but sometimes his methods were infuriatingly over the top. Shaking his head inwardly, the chief called someone in to return Qin Zhen’s phone to her.
Only then did Qin Zhen learn the whole story.
The Special Enforcement Department had closed in and captured the entire zombie clan in one sweep. However, humanity’s goal was cooperation. Apart from a few extreme zombies who had resisted and injured people, resulting in them being rendered immobile by specially designed weapons, the vast majority had surrendered voluntarily.
The zombies had suffered terribly under humanity’s high-tech, open-minded, and downright bizarre society. The moment they heard they could become government employees, they scrambled to turn in their own kind, each afraid that another zombie would snatch the position before them.
—The newly appointed Zombie Queen had barely taken office before her fellow zombies had thoroughly humiliated her, completely forgetting that she, too, had been unable to contain her excitement just moments ago.
The other enforcement officers weren’t as ruthless as Fu Qi. They hadn’t confiscated the zombies’ phones and had even thoughtfully created a group chat, asking them to choose an official representative. Otherwise, it would be difficult to sign a friendly cooperation agreement.
The zombie clan had never had any unified administration. Everyone lived in a chaotic mess, and none of them had any experience in this area. Amid the confusion, “Princess Liuli” made her dazzling entrance. She listed a host of issues, from salaries and working hours to triple pay for working on holidays, then proposed such concepts as establishing a foreign affairs department, a legal office for the species, and a development outlook for the zombie population.
The ignorant zombies were thoroughly impressed.
In the end, Princess Liuli successfully ascended the throne with ninety percent of the vote, becoming the first Zombie Queen of the new era.
Qin Zhen finished reading through the entire chat history. She understood what had happened, but her mind was still utterly dazed.
What Zombie Queen?
Zombies had always gone their separate ways. Even if she became Zombie Queen, not a single zombie would be willing to obey her commands in the future.
“You were elected Zombie Queen by the zombies, with both the zombie clan and humanity as witnesses. If unrest breaks out within your clan, then, in the spirit of friendship between our two peoples, we humans will help you suppress the rebellion.”
Qin Zhen understood. “…A puppet Zombie Queen.”
The chief laughed and waved his hands. “Not at all. We humans won’t interfere in your clan’s internal affairs. We’ll only protect you, the Zombie Queen.”
Qin Zhen remained rather confused. She scrunched up her face and hesitated for a while before asking cautiously, “Then… can I use a feudal monarchy?”
The chief nodded with a smile. “Do whatever you like.”
Qin Zhen was delighted. She imagined dozens of zombies kneeling at her feet and shouting, “Long live the queen!” A silly grin spread across her face. She touched her warm cheeks and said shyly, “Never mind. Let’s stick with the path of democratic dictatorship for zombies. Otherwise, we’d be regressing too far and wouldn’t be able to keep up with humanity’s progress.”
The department chief burst into laughter at her words. Afterward, he looked at her with deep affection and said, “No wonder Fu Qi said that you’re the only one who can be this Zombie Queen.”
Qin Zhen’s ears perked up at once. “Why?”
“Because you’re hardworking, brave, righteous, easy to push around, steadfast, kind, stingy, clever, adorable, gullible, straightforward, principled, responsible, and so on. He also said you especially love being in charge—that you have more virtues than anyone could count.”
The praise was so exaggerated that Qin Zhen felt a little embarrassed. She was about to humbly deny it when her brows furrowed. Only then did she realize that several flaws had been slipped into that long list of compliments. She wanted to get angry, but having been praised so lavishly made her too embarrassed to make a scene.
As she wrestled with herself, she thought, Anyone who talks like that must mean the head of this special enforcement department is no good either!
Just as she was silently badmouthing him, the department head looked at Qin Zhen with a cheerful smile and added, “Those aren’t my words. They’re Fu Qi’s.”
Qin Zhen: “…”
Fine. Fu Qi was the bad one. You could barely count as one of the good ones.
Though Qin Zhen was still a little dazed, she remembered her identity as the Zombie Queen very clearly. She knew that being swindled herself was different from leading her entire people into being swindled. She felt she needed to think it over carefully before making a decision.
That was only natural.
The department head nodded. He then had a separate conference room arranged for the Zombie Queen and sent three zombies to meet with her: Little Luo, who forged identification documents; Little Red, a lawyer; and Xu Ying, who had used forged documents to get into the civil service.
The moment the three zombie ladies saw their newly appointed queen, they looked as though they had seen their savior. One saluted, one dropped to her knees and kowtowed while shouting, “Long live the Queen!” and the third bent her knees, lifted her skirt, and performed a thoroughly awkward Western court curtsy. The scene was chaotic for a time.
Still, no matter what, the Zombie Queen certainly had the proper fanfare.
Qin Zhen was quite pleased. Putting on a solemn expression, she granted the three zombies permission to rise.
Most zombies had been dead for many years before reawakening, and their brains generally did not work very well. These three counted as the elite of their kind, but the special enforcement department had frightened them out of their wits, leaving them unable to think straight.
The four zombies shut themselves in the conference room and discussed matters for five or six days before reaching a conclusion: the humans wanted to recruit them because they wanted them to work.
After all, humans had flexible minds and were full of creativity and destructive power, but their bodies were terribly fragile. Zombies, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. They were hard to kill, never got tired, and were perfectly suited for hard labor.
Besides, the two races shared a common origin. In essence, they could be considered one family, so naturally they were more trustworthy than other species.
They could refuse, but there was nothing to gain from refusing. And given the zombie race’s habit of being disunited, they could never possibly stand against humanity.
Little Luo said, “Let’s accept. They said that as long as I lure out all the relevant illegal operations, they’ll wipe the slate clean on my document-forging business. They’ll even place me in the police department, where I can specialize in cases like these.”
Little Red said, “I’m a lawyer. I can’t go to prison. What would my clients think of me?”
Xu Ying said, “Serving the people is our duty!”
Even though these three elite zombies understood humanity’s motives, all of them still supported working for humans.
The Zombie Queen sighed. Zombies truly were a selfish race, she thought. Apart from Xu Ying, the rest only cared about themselves and had no concern for the fate of their fellow zombies… No wonder Xu Ying had managed to become a civil servant.
Only because the Zombie Queen had unknowingly sold out her entire race did she feel guilty toward her people. Firmly resisting the temptation of becoming a civil servant, she declared that humans were far too crafty and ought to show a little more sincerity.
“We could arrange a... cough!” The department head nearly let the words “marriage alliance” slip out.
If that got out and spread around, their supposedly cutting-edge department would become a laughingstock.
He cleared his throat and tried again. “To demonstrate our sincerity, we can send one of our lieutenant-colonel-level captains to be zombified.”
Qin Zhen: “—Huh?”
Every zombie who had entered human society had been exposed to humanity’s ubiquitous advanced technology. It had been a long time since anyone had dared to assimilate a living person. The Zombie Queen was deeply shocked, and she took her three elite subordinates into the conference room once more.
Zombification meant becoming a zombie—ending one’s life and continuing to exist in another form. However, people transformed while still alive retained their memories, unlike zombies formed after death.
The process was irreversible. Though one would gain a longer lifespan and a stronger body, one would also lose many of the wonderful sensations that could only be experienced as a human. Watching blood relatives and friends pass away would be agonizing as well.
Humanity had long used every kind of fantasy to prove that this way of living was painfully miserable.
And looking at it from a darker angle, if one day humans no longer needed zombies and war broke out between them, the position of a zombie who had once been human would be extremely awkward.
Especially since this captain was a genuine young man of exceptional promise—highly educated, with an impeccable record, solid credentials, strong abilities, a bright future, and money besides... To be zombified while he was still alive, his losses would be enormous.
If Qin Zhen were this captain, she definitely would not agree... She would wait until her forties or fifties, after enjoying everything life had to offer, before considering becoming a zombie.
But since the human side had proposed it themselves, the zombie representatives discussed it and nodded in agreement.
With the main business settled, the department head asked Qin Zhen whether she had any special requests. As it happened, she did—but it was a personal matter.
She felt rather embarrassed, but for the sake of the Zombie Queen’s image, she still forced herself to look calm and asked, “Can you make Fu Qi kneel in the pouring rain and cry as he begs me to forgive him?”
“...What?” The department head looked both startled and confused. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “That isn’t one of our organization’s disciplinary measures...”
Seeing that he did not understand, Qin Zhen explained, “Not an organizational punishment—a personal one. You know, crematoriums? The kind you see on television or in novels.”
The department head did not understand, but he was friendly toward the newly allied zombie race. “As long as it doesn’t violate public order or good morals, I won’t interfere in private matters. Once you’ve completed the employment procedures for our department, if you want to use a funeral home or crematorium, you can negotiate with them using your credentials. Our ID is valid nationwide, and every department is obligated to cooperate fully.”
Qin Zhen: “...Ah. Fine, then.”
She shook her head inwardly. Humans were clever, sure, but they aged so quickly. People in their forties or fifties were already this out of touch with the times—unlike zombies. No wonder they wanted to cooperate with them.
But Qin Zhen wasn’t all that angry about Fu Qi pretending to be a zombie to deceive her. Just as she’d said before, they were simply on different sides.
Besides, humans were the rightful rulers of Earth to begin with.
How could they not be?
Their bodies were so fragile, yet they could build skyscrapers that soared into the clouds, construct high-speed railways underground and beneath the sea, fly into outer space, and uncover events from thousands—tens of thousands—of years ago...
When space and time were no longer limitations, they became the masters of the Earth.
Zombies... well, zombies were, at best, expired humans. They were lucky enough not to be hauled off to a dump for centralized disposal.
With a sigh, Qin Zhen said goodbye to the department chief and returned to her office. Over the past few days, the four zombies had been holding meetings together, so the department had specifically arranged an office for her. After all, as the Zombie Queen, she was bound to remain with the Special Enforcement Department. She would need one sooner or later.
When someone knocked on her office door, Qin Zhen was rolling back and forth in her chair. Thinking it was the promising young man who was about to be turned into a zombie, she quickly sat upright, cleared her throat, and put on a stern expression.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and someone walked in.
Qin Zhen took one look at him and said expressionlessly, “Get out.”
“You’re kicking me out already?” Fu Qi placed a box of candy on the desk in front of her. Bracing both hands on the desk, he bent down until they were eye to eye, smiling brightly. “You’re not going to hit me, scold me, thank me, or even kiss me? We should still be in the honeymoon stage.”
So annoying.
Keeping a straight face, Qin Zhen said, “I’m not dating a sinister, scheming, stinking human man.”
“Really?” Fu Qi looked troubled as he leaned even closer. “Then what if I refuse to leave you alone?”
Qin Zhen said, “Get lost!”
Fu Qi did not get lost. Instead, he went on, “What if I try seduction? Baby, do you think that’ll work?”
Qin Zhen still didn’t want to acknowledge him.
Still, she had to admit that, now that he had resumed his real identity, Fu Qi was no longer wearing those clothes he’d bought from a street stall. Dressed in a sharp suit, he looked dashing, handsome, and utterly charming...
Charming enough to ensnare zombies, anyway.
Qin Zhen stole a few glances at him, only to be caught. Fu Qi immediately smiled.
“So even seduction doesn’t work? Then should I try using sex appeal instead?”
Heat rushed to Qin Zhen’s face. Annoyed, she slammed her hand on the desk and sprang to her feet.
“You’re sexually harassing me at work! I’m calling the police!”
Fu Qi: “...”
She was adapting remarkably well.
He raised both hands in surrender. “Sorry, my mistake. I’ll leave right away.”
Qin Zhen wasn’t angry at Fu Qi, but if she let it show that she wasn’t, he’d think she was too easy to push around. She had to make him suffer through a proper chase before she could consider forgiving him.
But what would happen after she forgave him?
She really didn’t want to date a human.
Qin Zhen was feeling a little melancholy. As she twisted the candy box in her hands and sighed, there was another knock at the office door.
This time, it was Little Red, the zombie lawyer, bringing over the drafted contract for the Zombie Queen to review. In a furtive whisper, she also reported, “Your Majesty, the man who’s going to be turned into a zombie is here. He’s waiting outside.”
Qin Zhen hid the box of candy, quickly signed the papers, and instructed Little Red to let the man in on her way out.
The office door opened again. She looked up at him and repeated herself. “Get out.”
Fu Qi gave a little laugh and stepped outside, but he didn’t leave. Leaning against the doorframe, he pulled out his phone and saw the zombies in the group chat howling about the jobs the government had assigned them, their salaries, social insurance, housing fund contributions, and so on. Little Red and Xu Ying, the Zombie Queen’s two temporarily appointed assistants, were busy soothing everyone. One zombie, meanwhile, was furiously swearing, calling the others spineless for not daring to stand up against humanity.
There were only three zombies in the “Alliance to Overthrow Human Tyranny.” Two had accepted the government’s offer, leaving only this troublesome holdout, who was currently locked up in jail.
Fu Qi was scrolling through the chat history when the office door suddenly flew open. Qin Zhen had finally processed it. Looking flustered and utterly stunned, she stared at him.
“Y-you-you-you…”
“Yes. I volunteered to be turned into a zombie.” Fu Qi lowered his gaze to her, gently finishing her sentence for her.
Qin Zhen was dumbfounded. “Zombies don’t—don’t—”
“They have no sense of taste, no pain, no body temperature, their skin tone differs from humans’, and so on. I know everything you want to say. I made this decision with full understanding.” As he spoke, Fu Qi raised the document in his hand for her to see.
It was a Voluntary Zombie Conversion Agreement. It had already been signed and stamped with an official seal. Fu Qi’s conversion was voluntary and state-approved.
“But your f-family…”
“I’ve already talked it over with them.”
Qin Zhen’s feelings were complicated. After silently looking at him for a while, she said, “Even if you become a zombie, I still won’t date you. You’re far too much of a brat. I’ve had enough of acting like both your dad and your mom, taking care of you all the time… You should go home and keep being human.”
Fu Qi: “...You’ve really got some nerve saying that.”
Who, exactly, had been playing both father and mother?
Who had been taking care of whom?
He spared the Zombie Queen’s pride and said, “I’m willing to turn into a zombie, and you still won’t date me? Fine. I’m completely heartbroken. I’ll go become a vampire instead.”
With that, he turned to leave, phone in hand as though he were about to book a ticket abroad that very second.
“...” Qin Zhen said, “Get back here!”
She dragged Fu Qi into the office, cutting off the curious stares from outside. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “Have you really thought this through?”
Fu Qi waved the document in his hand.
Qin Zhen still looked uneasy. She took the document and read through it carefully, then looked at Fu Qi, then back at the document again, repeating the process several times. At last, as if giving up on herself, she said, “Fine. Even if you don’t become a zombie, I’m willing to be with you!”
But Fu Qi wasn’t willing. He turned and started walking away again. “I’ll go find a vampire…”
“Come back!”
Once again, Qin Zhen grabbed him and dragged him back.
His obnoxious behavior made her so angry. She truly couldn’t understand it. She didn’t even care that he was human anymore, so why was Fu Qi still insisting on becoming a zombie? Could it be because he wanted a longer life?
Fu Qi circled around the subject. “Bite me first. Once I’ve become a zombie, I’ll tell you.”
Qin Zhen flipped through his zombie conversion application again. After hesitating for several minutes, she reluctantly nodded.
At her signal, Fu Qi sat down in a chair. Then he started making trouble again, asking, “Where are you going to bite me? Should I stand or lie down? Do I need to take my clothes off?”
Qin Zhen: “...”
He was so annoying.
“Don’t move,” she said.
Qin Zhen had never turned anyone into a zombie before, but she’d heard other zombies say that all it took was one bite.
But no matter where she bit Fu Qi, it would be awkward—especially with him staring at her like that. Even a zombie couldn’t bring herself to bite him.
Qin Zhen decided not to bite him after all. She found a small knife and walked over to Fu Qi. Under his watchful gaze, she took his finger, measured it with a few gestures, nodded, and went straight for it!
Just as the blade was about to cut down, Fu Qi’s eye twitched. He grabbed her wrist, took the knife away, pulled Qin Zhen onto his lap, pinned her arms, and shoved the phone from the table into her hands.
With a sigh, he said, “Maybe you should just call the police.”
Then he tipped his head back and kissed Qin Zhen.
The kiss came at her fiercely, yet landed soft and gentle. Qin Zhen could easily have dodged it, but the Zombie Queen was majestic and formidable—she would never do something so pathetic.
She met him head-on, determined to let this soon-to-be-zombie little human know who was boss!
For two people with no experience, this was far too stimulating. Especially with the back-and-forth between them, it was like pouring oil onto a blazing fire—the atmosphere grew hotter and hotter, until, without realizing it, they had rolled onto the floor in a tangle.
Clatter—
The sound of the phone hitting the floor startled Qin Zhen awake. She abruptly pushed herself up, one hand pressed against Fu Qi’s chest.
Her cheeks were flushed bright red, her lips crimson and damp, with a faint trace of blood still clinging to them. Her expression was dazed.
She had only just realized that the noise had come from the phone when Fu Qi wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back down.
Another sticky, lingering kiss swept over her. Before she was drawn back into the haze, she mumbled, “…Why do you have to… become a zombie…?”
Fu Qi paused briefly. Feeling the blood in his body gradually cool and the changes spreading through him, he cupped Qin Zhen’s face and kissed her again, his voice equally indistinct.
“…I want to be on the same side as you…”
Becoming a zombie would bring enormous changes to his life. It might not even be a good thing—so why did he insist on it?
Because Fu Qi had once had a dream. He couldn’t remember what had happened in it, only that Qin Zhen had suffered greatly because of her unusual identity, while he had been powerless to do anything.
This time, he wanted to stand on the same side as her. Whether everything went smoothly in the future or something unexpected happened, he wanted to be able to stand in front of her and shield her.
But that reason sounded rather inexplicable, and she probably wouldn’t believe it. So when Qin Zhen poked at Fu Qi’s waist and pressed him for an answer, he changed his explanation.
“I’m confessing to you…”
One arm around Qin Zhen, the other hand resting against the back of her neck, he kissed her again and again, whispering, “Because I like you. I want to stay with our precious Qin Zhen forever.”
【The End】
Zombie Diary: Working Arc (7)
That day, Fu Qi kissed her and said, “Baby, baby, I like you.”
So cheesy! [Blush] [Blush]
【The End.】
