Chapter 10

That night, they slept in the graveyard.

Each of them, a human and a zombie, slept in the car. They folded the seats flat to make a not-so-large bed.

Xue Ling found it somewhat comfortable lying inside, but for the long-limbed Wen Jiuze, it was quite uncomfortable. He propped his legs awkwardly on the steering wheel and stared up at the ceiling.

Xue Ling noticed that he hadn’t taken any precautions and was casually lying next to her.

Previously, he had at least remembered to tie her up to prevent her from biting him. Now, perhaps he realized that she wouldn’t really bite him and had become more arrogant.

“Xue Ling.” Wen Jiuze suddenly spoke up, “When I broke up with you, it was because…”

Xue Ling perked up her ears to listen.

But Wen Jiuze, that scoundrel, suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

He had started a topic but quickly lost interest: “Forget it. You wouldn’t understand now anyway, there’s nothing to say.”

Xue Ling: “…”

Xue Ling felt a familiar impulse to get angry.

The car was filled with the angry roars of zombies, yet Wen Jiuze calmly shifted his legs into a new position.

Xue Ling wanted to shake him awake and urge him to continue speaking.

Then he said, “Sometimes I think you’re different from other zombies. It seems like you can understand what I’m saying.”

The zombies outside continued to roar, and their noise only grew louder as if they were feeling guilty.

Wen Jiuze rested his head on his arm and muttered to himself, “But how is that possible? Just because I like you doesn’t mean you’re special.”

Xue Ling: “…Ahhhhhhhhh…cough, cough, cough, cough!”

The zombie’s roar stuttered for a moment but quickly resumed.

She never expected Wen Jiuze would suddenly say he liked her. Was this a confession?

When they were dating, he never said a single word of affection. He was more tightly zipped than a stitched-up mouth.

He can come up with ten different ways of mocking and adding fuel to the fire in one minute as if his mouth is filled with poison.

Now that he didn’t say it before, is he saying it now? It’s too late! Don’t you know we’re different species now?

Wen Jiuze turned over, smiling as he watched her howl. He suddenly had a quirky idea:

“Tomorrow, I’ll find some sturdy handcuffs. If I turn into a zombie in the future, we can handcuff ourselves together so we’ll always have each other’s company. What do you think?”

What does Xue Ling think? Xue Ling thinks it’s not good. He runs like a wild dog, and he might be a zombie. She can’t keep up with him.

What if Wen Jiuze caught a whiff of human scent and got excited? If he ran ahead, she would be dragged along the ground.

Absolutely not!

Had he forgotten how they stumbled when they played the three-legged race back then?

But Wen Jiuze seemed genuinely interested. The next day, he drove away from the graveyard, muttering about where to find handcuffs and whether to check the police station.

When he said he was going, he went. He found a police station on the street and parked his car.

As soon as he disappeared inside, Xue Ling spotted a modified electric bike coming around the corner, ridden by a man wearing a mask.

Could it be another robber? When she was still a zombie, encountering a human was so difficult. Now, with Wen Jiuze, humans were coming to her one after another.

Come on, come on, break-in, and I’ll jump out and take a bite!

Hey, this could be fun!

Xue Ling positioned herself in the car.

However, this time, she had no chance to act. The man on the electric bike approached, and Wen Jiuze emerged from the door, holding two silver handcuffs.

He immediately noticed the newcomer, his hand instinctively reaching for the gun at his waist.

The man driving the electric bike was visibly stunned when he saw him, and he stood still with his feet stretched out to the sides.

“Brother Ze?” the man pulled down his mask, revealing a surprised young face.

“Fang Xianwen?” Wen Jiuze recognized him too.

“Damn, it’s really you, Brother Ze. Why are you back? When did you come back? Are you going back to Qiu Village?” Fang Xianwen came over and looked him up and down in surprise.

Anxi City was the territory of the Wen family, and Qiu Village was the Wen family’s base. Seven out of ten households in that village were named Wen, all connected by blood ties, and they maintained their clan customs even before the apocalypse.

Fang Xianwen didn’t have the surname Wen, but he was from Qiu Village. He referred to Wen Xuan’s mother as his aunt and called Wen Xuan his cousin.

Because of this relationship, Fang Xianwen had always been Wen Xuan’s little follower.

After Wen Jiuze was taken into the Wen family, Wen Xuan didn’t like him. Sometimes, when he was too lazy to deal with things himself, he would send Fang Xiangwen to make life difficult for Wen Jiuze.

At first, Fang Xiangwen tries to confront Wen Jiuze, but after getting scared by Wen Jiuze’s strength, he ends up calling him “Brother Ze” and even helps him cover up for Wen Xuan.

To give Wen Jiuze a hard time, Wen Xuan secretly changed his school and major to the same one Wen Jiuze was attending. Fang Xiangwen, who was nominally Wen Xuan’s little brother, willingly went to the same school as well. He was a few months younger than Wen Jiuze and was in the same class, even having been Wen Jiuze’s college roommate.

During their time at the university, Fang Xiangwen and Wen Jiuze had a better relationship compared to Wen Xuan.

Three years ago, when Wen Jiuze left Qiu Village, Fang Xiangwen hadn’t seen him again. Now, seeing him suddenly made him a bit surprised.

However, thinking about the current situation in Qiu Village, he couldn’t help but feel worried for him.

Wen Jiuze could see what Fang Xiangwen was thinking and said, “I’m just passing through and will be leaving soon. I’m not planning to go to Qiu Village.”

Before finding Xue Ling, he did intend to visit Qiu Village, but now he thought it was unnecessary.

Hearing this, Fang Xiangwen relaxed a bit and said, “That’s good. Things have been pretty chaotic in Qiu Village lately. If you went now, it would probably be even more troublesome.”

Qiu Village was currently the only remaining base in Anxi City, with a considerable population. Given the Wen family’s former influence, one of the people managing the base now was Wen Jiuze’s second uncle, Wen Xuan’s father.

“Chaotic?” Wen Jiuze asked.

“In the past few days, a convoy from another base arrived in Anxi City to take some items from the factory district. When someone from Qiu Village found out, they reported it, and my uncle sent people to stop them.”

The factory district… Wasn’t that where Dai Ying’s convoy was?

In the apocalypse, the abandoned and unclaimed items were generally assumed to belong to whoever took them. Items like the machines in the factory district had been left untouched, so why was there suddenly a commotion?

“What’s happening now? Did they end up fighting?”

“I heard there was a gunfight and people on both sides were injured, but no one died. The foreign convoy could not take anything away and was driven away.”

Fang Xiangwen shared what he knew: “That’s why we’ve been sent out to patrol, just to make sure those people have really left.”

Wen Jiuze chuckled and said, “Isn’t Wen Lao’er always saying he’s a magnanimous person? Why wouldn’t he let others take the scrap metal he doesn’t want?”

Fang Xiangwen looked awkward and said, “Well, my uncle doesn’t want to deal with it. This is all my cousin Xuan’s idea.”

“You know how he is, he’s very domineering. He says Anxi City is our territory and that everything in Anxi belongs to us. When outsiders come to take things, it’s considered a provocation. Even if we don’t want something, we can’t let others take advantage. He insists on controlling it, so my uncle has to listen to him.”

“Wen Xuan?” Wen Jiuze suddenly repeated in confusion.

“Ah, yes, it was cousin Xuan’s idea.” Fang Xiangwen was puzzled by the sudden change in Wen Jiuze’s expression.

“How’s Wen Xuan doing now?” Wen Jiuze asked, his demeanor becoming serious as he toyed with the handle of his short knife.

“Not too well. Three years ago, it seems he got injured and hasn’t been in good health since. He looks pale and doesn’t like to come out much anymore. He just stays in his room all day.”

At this, Fang Xiangwen cautiously asked, “Brother Ze, do you still hold a grudge against him? It’s been so long…”

Wen Jiuze gave a faint smile, sending Fang Xiangwen away with a wave.

Watching Fang Xiangwen leave, his nonchalant expression turned thoughtful.

Wen Xuan was still alive.

But that didn’t make sense. Three years ago, when he left Qiu Village, he had seen Wen Xuan get infected with the zombie virus. How could he still be alive now without turning into a zombie?

He tossed his short knife up and caught it, quickly making a decision.

Xue Ling sat in the car and watched as Wen Jiuze finished chatting with someone outside. When he got back in, he said to her, “I have to go out for a bit. I might not come back until night. You stay here and don’t wander too far, okay?”

“If you agree, I won’t tie you up in the car.”

Xue Ling: “…”

If it were an ordinary zombie, how would it understand and agree?

She let out a couple of random shouts.

Wen Jiuze replied, “Alright if you agree, you can’t wander off.”

He parked the car in a secluded courtyard and locked the gate.

He needed to visit Qiu Village, but driving this car would attract too much attention. He planned to find a less conspicuous mode of transport.

In one household, he found a motorcycle that could run on gasoline. Wearing a helmet, Wen Jiuze rode off toward Qiu Village.

He was quite familiar with the area around Qiu Village. After three years, there were many new buildings, and the outermost area had an added layer of walls and fences.

It might stop zombies, but for someone like Wen Jiuze, it wasn’t a problem at all.

Patiently waiting until it got dark, he climbed over the wall and began searching for the Wen family’s location in the changed landscape of Qiu Village.

The Wen family used to live in an expensive, ancient-style villa with gardens in front and back, surrounded by mountains and water, which made for excellent feng shui.

When Old Master Wen was still alive, his children and grandchildren all lived there, and when Wen Jiuze returned to the Wen family, he lived there as well.

Old Master Wen had passed away, and the apocalypse had been ongoing for three years. He never expected they would still be living there.

This actually made things easier for Wen Jiuze, who quickly located Wen Xuan’s room.

In such a large house, with fewer than ten people living there, it wouldn’t be easy to attract attention with any noise, which was good.

Wen Jiuze moved silently like a leopard hunting in the dark. He stood quietly in front of Wen Xuan’s door, which had its light on.

He paused for a moment, listening to the sounds inside the room, then gently knocked on the door with his fingers.

“Who is it?” a hoarse voice came from inside.

At first, Wen Jiuze almost didn’t recognize it as Wen Xuan’s voice. It was rough and difficult to listen to, making it uncomfortable to hear.

There was no response from outside, and Wen Xuan walked over to open the door. His footsteps sounded a bit slow.

He clearly thought that being in the family mansion would keep him safe, so he had no sense of caution.

As soon as the door opened slightly, a strong force suddenly pushed it wide open, sending Wen Xuan crashing to the floor.

His reactions were slow now, and it wasn’t until someone pinned him down that he sensed something was wrong and opened his mouth to curse.

A powerful hand grabbed his jaw, forcing his face down toward the ground, muffling his voice.

As his cheek scraped painfully against the floor, Wen Xuan struggled to turn his head, hearing a crack as he did so, and finally saw who was attacking him.

Seeing Wen Jiuze, his eyes nearly bulged with rage.

Wen Jiuze? How could it be him!

Wen Jiuze held both of his wrists down with one hand, pressing a knee into his back to keep him from moving while gripping a short knife in the other.

Wen Xuan caught a glimpse of the knife glinting and felt a chill on the side of his face. A soft piece of flesh fell to the ground with a thud. That was… his ear!

Wen Jiuze poked the ear with the tip of the knife, examining it for a moment.

The blood of a zombie was dark red, and when a zombie’s body was cut, it only bled a little and would quickly clot.

Suddenly, Wen Jiuze let out a laugh.

“You’re a zombie.” His tone was certain, tinged with curiosity. “Why do you look so different from ordinary zombies?”

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