When Xu Duoduo regained consciousness, she found herself inside a vehicle compartment.

She blinked and stared at the ceiling.

“Qin-ge, are you really bringing the class monitor with us? But she’s already turned into a zombie!”

“White Moonlight will always be White Moonlight. Even as a zombie, you still can’t let go. But I have to say, this class monitor’s transformation is quite unusual.”

“Yeah, since when do zombies sleep? I’ve never heard headquarters mention that zombies can sleep! No, I need to check the survival manual again.”

…

The voices came from the front of the vehicle, slightly distant.

The compartment was dimly lit.

Suddenly, someone moved closer. “No way, it’s been too long since I last saw the class monitor. I need a proper look. I only caught a glimpse earlier, and she didn’t seem much different. What do you think, Qin-ge? Judging by how tightly you’re holding on to her, is she still as pretty as before?”

Before the person could get closer, Qin Luo pushed him away with one hand and snapped impatiently, “Scram, scram, scram!”

The others immediately burst into muffled laughter, shoulders shaking with amusement.

“I told you not to tease him. Our Luo Shen here is practically a monk—he can’t handle this kind of banter. But Qin-ge, they’re not exactly wrong, you know.”

“Come on, did you forget? Who was the one who always admitted during Truth or Dare that the class monitor was his first love?”

“Tsk, you guys are so annoying. Can you just focus on driving?”

Xu Duoduo soon realized she was being held in Qin Luo’s arms, wrapped in a blanket. It seemed that after being teased to the breaking point, Qin Luo had grabbed her and retreated to the very back of the vehicle.

He would rather squeeze in with the supplies than stay close to this group of troublemakers.

A sudden explosion of laughter erupted from the front row, followed by someone teasing, “How old are you, Luo Shen? Do you have to be this cute? Hahahahaha!”

Xu Duoduo found it amusing too. For a moment, she felt like she had traveled back to middle school. The voices were familiar. After matching them in her mind, she realized they belonged to the same group that used to hang out with Qin Luo—Wang Weihu, Bai Shu, and Chen Xiaofei.

She hadn’t expected them to still be together, let alone so close.

“You’re awake?” Qin Luo suddenly lowered his voice. “Don’t listen to their nonsense. That was just me saying whatever to get through Truth or Dare.”

His quiet grumbling was kind of cute. But what surprised Xu Duoduo more was that he knew she was awake?

Maybe her expression was too vivid, because Qin Luo pointed to his own eyes. “Evolution. You read the survival manual, right? I have night vision now.”

He seemed excited to finally have someone to show off to. He snapped his fingers, and faint blue electric sparks crackled at his fingertips.

“See? One of my skill points. It’s still a bit unstable, though.”

Xu Duoduo was genuinely surprised. Reading about these abilities in the survival manual was one thing, but seeing them in real life was entirely different.

But before she could process it, the vehicle suddenly jolted violently. A loud elephant trumpet echoed from outside.

If she weren’t a zombie now, she probably would’ve gotten goosebumps.

Wang Weihu, who was driving, cursed, “Fuck, did the zoo elephants escape?”

Bai Shu immediately asked, “Has it mutated? What level of aberration?”

He grabbed a tablet and quickly started searching.

Chen Xiaofei glanced in the rearview mirror and calmly reported, “Aberration Level 1. Enhanced limbs, increased hair growth—some signs of atavism.”

Qin Luo reached to the side and tossed a sniper rifle over. Bai Shu caught it, popped open the sunroof, and braced himself while Chen Xiaofei held onto his legs for support.

A few gunshots rang out. The mutated elephant let out a pained wail but continued chasing the vehicle, even ramming into the bus behind them.

The survivors on the bus screamed in terror. Luckily, the driver was part of the combat team and managed to stabilize the vehicle despite scraping against a wall for a while.

Bai Shu had excellent marksmanship. A few more shots and the elephant finally went down. “Damn, good thing it was only Level 1. Otherwise, these vehicles wouldn’t have been enough to fill its teeth!”

Wang Weihu, who was still driving steadily, muttered, “So even elephants are turning carnivorous now?”

Chen Xiaofei recorded the information on the tablet. “This is just the beginning. Give it some time, and rabbits will start eating children too.”

Xu Duoduo felt a chill run down her spine. Meanwhile, Qin Luo remained calm, as did the other three once they confirmed the elephant was only a Level 1 mutation.

This world was truly going insane.

“There’s a thunderstorm ten minutes ahead. We should find shelter.”

Qin Luo glanced at his data watch and spoke up. The other three acknowledged him without hesitation. Eight minutes later, they arrived at an abandoned factory district. Wang Weihu and the others went out to clear zombies.

Qin Luo stuffed Xu Duoduo into the back seat before leaving. He even warned her, “The apocalypse is especially dangerous at night. Don’t wander around, okay? If you get caught by a mutant beast, you’ll end up as zombie snacks.”

…

What the hell kind of tone is that? Like scaring a little kid!

Inside her mind, a tiny Xu Duoduo was screaming in embarrassment, wishing she could dig a hole and bury herself.

But in reality—

She silently watched Qin Luo walk away. The door shut behind him, and soon after, the sounds of gunfire and survivors’ terrified screams filled the air.

She didn’t have much of a choice.

She couldn’t make very expressive faces, so all she could do was move her eyes.

Ten minutes later.

Qin Luo suddenly yanked open the car door, leaned in, and picked her up—only to meet her wide, grayish eyes darting around in curiosity.

He paused for a moment, then smirked and scooped her into his arms. “Wow, those little eyes are sharp. When we get back, let’s have Professor Ji check you out. Who knows? Maybe you’re some new species.”

After all, he’d never seen such a clever low-level zombie before. She didn’t bite or growl mindlessly.

Qin Luo adjusted his grip to hold her more securely. Xu Duoduo wrapped her arms around his neck. This was much more comfortable than being slung over a shoulder, so she clung to him tightly.

The factory area had been cleared. Other than the scattered zombie corpses and bloodstains, the place was still habitable after some cleanup.

Wang Weihu was organizing the survivors, telling them to find places to rest. He also assigned a few people who could cook to prepare a simple meal.

“Qin-ge, there’s a lot of canned food in the warehouse. It’s uncontaminated. Should we notify headquarters to send people to collect it?”

Chen Xiaofei had finished scouting and walked over, lowering his voice. In these times, supplies were more valuable than anything.

They had priority in taking what they needed, but their storage cards were limited.

Even combining all four of theirs, they barely had 500 cubic meters—far from enough to take everything.