Xu Duoduo was just teasing him. She casually pulled out an orange-red insulated cup from her space and handed it to him. It was the same as the ones Chen Xiaofei and Bai Shu had.

All of them had preserved egg and lean pork congee.

Only then did Qin Luo take it with satisfaction. To be honest, it had been nearly a month since the apocalypse started, and he hadn’t had a proper meal since.

It was either dry rations or a couple of bites of an energy bar—just enough to stave off hunger.

Nothing enjoyable.

Now, with all three of them holding steaming hot congee, it finally felt like they were alive again.

Chen Xiaofei was the first to dig in, pouring the congee into the lid and blowing on it before eating. After just one sip, his stomach, which had been in discomfort, felt much better.

“Ahh, this feels amazing. My god, this moment is pure bliss. Squad Leader, are you some kind of immortal? You actually still have hot congee!”

Xu Duoduo, fully committing to the “immortal” title, swiftly pulled out another serving of hot congee for Wang Weihu, along with four wooden spoons, four tea eggs, four large meat buns, and a box of cherry tomatoes.

Wow.

Meat, eggs, and fruit—all present! Nutritious and delicious!

Bai Shu swallowed a mouthful of congee and looked at Xu Duoduo with admiration. “How long did you have to prepare all this, Squad Leader? I bet among everyone at HQ, only you actually took that early warning message seriously, huh?”

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stocked up on so much food—and now they were the lucky beneficiaries.

Chen Xiaofei peeled a tea egg and took a big bite. As he happily chewed, he mumbled, “Mmph, now for the real question—what does Squad Leader eat? She can’t be like a plant, absorbing sunlight for sustenance, right? And who knows if we’ll even see the sun again, look at those thick clouds overhead.”

Qin Luo glanced down at Xu Duoduo and saw her squatting there, hugging her knees—alone. Oh, no, not alone. A zombie, lost in thought.

“So pitiful,” he concluded.

Chen Xiaofei and Bai Shu nodded along. So tragic. She prepared so much food, only to end up as a zombie.

Xu Duoduo saw their gazes and felt even more helpless. Come on, she was already miserable enough, and they had to rub salt in the wound? Waaaah!

The little zombie’s face was covered in imaginary tears.

Oh, fake ones. She didn’t actually have tears—just a thoroughly aggrieved expression.

Qin Luo quickly finished his dinner, then took off his gloves and ruffled her hair. “Look how wronged you are. Tell me, what do you want to eat? Meat is probably out of the question—bloody and messy, not something a girl should be doing. If you need blood, though, we can always sacrifice ourselves and let you drink ours.”

Bai Shu, mid-bite into a bun, chuckled. “That would make it a closed loop—Squad Leader gives us food, and we give it back to her. Does that mean she’s technically eating her own supplies?”

Chen Xiaofei burst out laughing, shoulders shaking.

Xu Duoduo looked at them speechlessly and swatted Qin Luo’s hand away. She wasn’t hungry right now, nor did she have any craving for blood or flesh.

Qin Luo, however, was flipping through documents, realizing that ordinary zombies were known to crave blood and raw meat. But there was no mention of special cases like Xu Duoduo—zombies with abilities. That was very unusual.

Even in later stages, when evolved humans had bizarre mutations, they still had heartbeats. But there was nothing on record about cases like hers.

Bai Shu soon joined in researching, and so did Chen Xiaofei.

Unfortunately, they found nothing reliable.

Meanwhile, Xu Duoduo was curious about their tablets and the watches they were using.

After finishing up with the survivors, Wang Weihu walked over. “What are you guys eating? I could smell it the moment I got here.”

It smelled amazing.

He glanced back to check on the survivors. Fortunately, they still seemed wary of their group and didn’t come too close—otherwise, their secret stash would have been exposed.

Chen Xiaofei immediately handed over the food Xu Duoduo had saved for Wang Weihu. “Hurry up and eat, then shut up. Squad Leader got this for us, and I’m telling you—it’s delicious!”

Wang Weihu was stunned, then glanced at the survivors. They were all eating instant noodles, which had a much stronger smell. Plus, with the distance between them, it was unlikely they’d notice. Still, these guys were bold.

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll cause trouble? Accuse us of favoritism?”

That being said—

Wang Weihu couldn’t resist the steaming hot preserved egg and lean pork congee. He took it and started eating.

Much better. It was way tastier than dry rations and those sickly sweet energy bars.

Qin Luo and Bai Shu kept researching but found no guidelines on how to “raise” a zombie. For now, they’d have to take things one step at a time and figure it out as they went.

Wang Weihu glanced at Xu Duoduo. He was more thoughtful than the other three. “Are we just going to bring the Squad Leader along like this? What will others think?”

Before Qin Luo could respond—

Chen Xiaofei exploded, “What? Old Wang, let me tell you—you’re holding the Squad Leader’s congee in your hands! Don’t you dare complain while eating it!”

Bai Shu shot him a glance.

Qin Luo, on the other hand, looked delighted and completely unbothered by the fact that Xu Duoduo was a zombie. He defended her immediately. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Isn’t Xu Duoduo perfectly fine? She’s not rotting or smelly. How could you dislike her?”

Saying that, he scooped her up like a giant doll and hugged her in his arms.

Wang Weihu nearly lost his appetite. He sighed. “I’m not against Squad Leader. What kind of person do you take me for? It’s just that aside from her eyes, she looks normal. Maybe she should wear colored contacts or something, so we don’t attract unnecessary attention.”

A true “dad” personality.

Bai Shu and Chen Xiaofei were impressed. “That actually makes sense.” “Mhm, solid solution.”

Qin Luo immediately started wondering where to get colored contacts. He looked down at Xu Duoduo. “Do you have any?”

Xu Duoduo did. She hesitated before pulling out a box of amber-colored contact lenses. But this was delicate work, and she couldn’t do it herself. She glanced at the three of them.

Bai Shu immediately declared, “Whoever’s first love she was has to help her put them in. We’re staying out of it.”

Chen Xiaofei nodded in agreement.

With no other choice, Qin Luo grabbed the contacts and started examining them. “Wait… how do you even put these on?”

Bai Shu and Chen Xiaofei gave in and huddled together, three clueless guys trying to figure out how to put contacts on a little zombie.

Wang Weihu watched them with an exasperated expression.

Honestly, the only reason they dared to keep Xu Duoduo with them was because they were strong enough to control her if she lost herself. If she went feral, they could prevent her from hurting other survivors.

Also, zombies like her—with lingering consciousness—were incredibly rare. Special cases like hers were usually taken to research facilities to see if they could be saved.

So, bringing her along was part of their mission.

In the end, Qin Luo clumsily put the contacts in. With amber-colored eyes, she looked much better than before. The three of them gasped in unison.

“Wow.”

“So pretty!”

“Perfect!”

Alright then.

Just another day in the apocalypse.