Chapter 53

The camp had RVs and tents. Xue Ling and Wen Jiuze were assigned a tent, set apart from others for safety.

On the way back from Wen Yi’s car to their tent, Xue Ling noticed a lot of people in the camp.

Most were soldiers, still very young, wearing uniform outfits and holding weapons. When they saw them, they nervously watched them, as if on guard, worried that they might suddenly attack.

The researchers in the team stared at them with even more curiosity and excitement. Even when Xue Ling and Wen Jiuze walked or made simple gestures, they showed clear signs of interest.

If one word had to be used to describe most of them, it would be “excited at the sight of a hunt.”

With these intense gazes fixed on them, Xue Ling almost had the feeling that the roles of humans and zombies had switched.

Of course, there were some who were frightened by their zombie appearance and kept their distance. However, these “normal people” were rare here.

It seemed that Wen Yi had given strict instructions. Whether it was the cautious soldiers or the researchers driven by curiosity, none of them approached them directly. Instead, they kept a restrained distance.

After walking outside for a while, Xue Ling was ready to return to the tent. She didn’t want the nearby soldiers to remain on edge, and the various stares made her uncomfortable.

But Wen Jiuze grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the activity area, which had the most people in the camp.

There was a comedy show playing on a screen in an open space. People were sitting around tables, eating and chatting, while others were exercising nearby.

As soon as they entered, the noise in the area instantly lowered. Everyone’s attention was drawn to the two unusual figures.

But Wen Jiuze, just like before, didn’t care at all about the surrounding gazes. He nonchalantly pulled Xue Ling through the space where people made way for them.

Xue Ling, originally uncomfortable, suddenly remembered all the times she had been dragged into social awkwardness by him in the past. She couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t so bad now.

Wasn’t she supposed to have gotten used to it by now?

She was different from the people around her, but there was still Wen Jiuze, who was the same as her.

Wen Jiuze led Xue Ling to the best spot in front of the screen, where someone had just vacated their seat. Like a bully, he took the spot and let Xue Ling sit down.

The two of them sat next to each other and started watching the comedy show.

Thanks to Wen Jiuze’s natural ease, Xue Ling gradually relaxed and began to focus on the program.

The show was quite interesting, and before she knew it, she had become engrossed in it.

Aside from not being able to laugh freely at the funny moments, there were no other issues.

They were so natural that, even though the people around them may have had thoughts in their minds, they didn’t make a scene. Gradually, they resumed eating, exercising, and chatting, though their eyes often wandered toward the two of them.

“Zombies… they watch the show too. They look just like humans.”

“Didn’t you follow Dr. Wen for an experiment and meet her boyfriend? I heard he’s a special zombie too. Are they the same?”

“I don’t know. The last time I saw Mr. Zeng, he was lying down and completely still.”

“I’ve been with the team for so long and only heard rumors about Dr. Wen’s special zombie subject, but I’ve never seen one before. I didn’t expect to see two of them suddenly.”

“How did these zombies come about? Are they failed products of some new vaccine experiment?”

“Forget about it, we’re not allowed to talk about such things!”

“Yes, Captain.”

…

Amid the whispers, Xue Ling sat in the crowd and finished watching the comedy show.

However, the next program was a drama that didn’t interest her. Her attention was caught by two people nearby playing badminton.

Badminton, she hadn’t played that in a while.

Back in her university days, when there were no classes in the evening, she used to go to the sports field to play badminton. Wen Jiuze had joined her a few times.

Xue Ling’s skills were decent, but Wen Jiuze, his skills were impossible to judge—they were simply chaotic.

When Xue Ling played with others, she would make sure to hit the shuttlecock so they could return it. It was all about getting a good workout and going back and forth.

But Wen Jiuze wasn’t like that. He played as if he were hitting a person—hitting with great force and aiming to make sure the opponent couldn’t hit the shuttlecock. His shots were sharp and unpredictable.

Xue Ling couldn’t hit his shots in a row for two hours, and in frustration, she slammed her racket and shouted, “Stop hitting like that!”

Her yell made everyone on the field think they were having an argument.

While Xue Ling was reminiscing, Wen Jiuze took her tablet, walked up to the badminton players, and stood in front of them.

Wen Jiuze, even before turning into a zombie, had an intimidating physique, but now, as a zombie, he looked even more terrifying.

The young man saw him approach, holding a racket with a stiff expression. He couldn’t help but take a step back, almost stepping on the shuttlecock lying at his feet.

Wen Jiuze’s tablet suddenly emitted a female voice: “Lend me your racket, brother.”

The stranger, still stiff, handed over the racket and immediately retreated into the crowd, visibly relaxing once he was far enough away.

Wen Jiuze took the racket and waved at Xue Ling, signaling her to come play.

Xue Ling shook her head.

Wen Jiuze tapped the tablet, and a voice urged, “Come on, come on, come on…”

The persistent and almost hypnotic urging finally got to Xue Ling. She walked over and typed, “Your skills are too poor. I’m not playing with you.”

Wen Jiuze replied, “I’ll play seriously this time.”

Half-believing, Xue Ling picked up the racket, walked to the other side, and got into position.

Someone in the crowd said, “Holy crap, zombies playing badminton!”

Realizing they had spoken too loudly, they immediately quieted down. However, that shout attracted almost everyone in the camp who wasn’t busy to come over and watch.

Wen Jiuze served. When he tried to play properly, Xue Ling quickly realized that his skills were genuinely poor.

Even when he didn’t intentionally hit it off, his shots were messy.

Xue Ling, now not as fast as before, had to run left and right to return his shots, and soon, she wasn’t enjoying the game.

“How about I play with you?” A young girl from the crowd dared to speak up.

Wu Ying was a badminton expert. She couldn’t stand watching the poor gameplay, and playing badminton with a zombie was a new experience she wanted to try.

As soon as Wu Ying spoke, the tall, fierce-looking zombie walked towards her with a racket.

Everyone standing around her quickly stepped back, and Wu Ying’s heart rate spiked with fear.

When he handed her the racket, Wu Ying hesitated, her hand trembling slightly as she reached for it.

By the time she regained her composure, she found herself already standing on the court.

The tall zombie standing off to the side of the court watched along with the others, while the female zombie across from the net held a racquet, patiently waiting for the serve.

Wu Ying took a deep breath and served the shuttlecock—

Wen Yi got out of the car and was heading toward the activity area for lunch. As she approached, she noticed a lot of noise. When she got closer, she found the tables and chairs empty, with everyone gathered in a tight circle around an open space.

Through the sea of heads, Wen Yi could only see the occasional shuttlecock soaring into the air.

So many people were watching a game of badminton?

Wen Yi noticed that the cooks, holding ladles and wearing aprons, were peeking over the crowd in the back, trying to catch a glimpse. The large pot of soup was left unattended, and it was about to boil over.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Wen Yi was the decision-maker in this group, and her cold demeanor made both the soldiers who protected them and the researchers a bit afraid of her.

When they saw her approach, the crowd slowly parted, revealing two people playing badminton in the middle.

One was Wen Jiuze, and the other was the camp’s guard leader, Captain Yao.

The shuttlecock, nearly bald from use, was flying back and forth between them.

The area had turned into a “zombie badminton experience” venue. With Wu Ying leading, some of the girls had taken turns playing with Xue Ling.

The main reason wasn’t necessarily to play badminton but rather out of curiosity about the zombies, who appeared almost human.

As time passed, many soldiers also wanted to join, but they were hesitant to challenge Xue Ling. So, Wen Jiuze took to the court again.

“I didn’t expect you guys to adapt so well,” Wen Yi commented as she sat down at a table with her meal.

Wen Jiuze had always been a lone wolf, never caring about the people around him or whether he could blend in. His willingness to be so active was obviously to cheer someone else up.

Xue Ling, having played with several people, was in a good mood. She sat down at Wen Yi’s table and pulled Wen Jiuze down with her.

The others who had been watching or playing badminton started eating, and the scent of food filled the air. Only Xue Ling and Wen Jiuze had no food in front of them.

“Move to the side. I’m not hungry, but seeing you makes it worse,” Wen Yi said to Wen Jiuze.

Wen Jiuze sat down with his legs crossed, arms folded, and ignored her comment, asking flatly, “You research zombies. Do you know if zombies eat anything other than humans?”

If there was something zombies could eat, it might ease Xue Ling’s cravings. Her eyes were practically glued to the food in front of others.

Wen Yi gave him a side glance with her chopsticks. “You’re really ignorant.”

“The zombie’s digestive system doesn’t function anymore. How could they eat?” she explained.

“‘Zombies eat humans’ is a common misconception. In reality, zombies don’t eat humans. They only have an impulse to infect humans. They attack by grabbing and biting in order to infect.”

“If zombies ate humans, the cities would be full of bones left behind by zombies, not an endless swarm of zombies.”

“So, if someone got eaten by a zombie, it only means they were unlucky. The infection in their body progressed too slowly, and there were too many zombies around. The zombies, noticing the person hadn’t been infected yet, each took a bite and finished them off.”

Wen Yi took a sip of soup. “You’ve been out there for so long, and you haven’t noticed such an obvious fact?”

Wen Jiuze had never paid attention to such details. When ordinary people saw zombies eating humans, they would either kill them or run away. They wouldn’t stand there watching to see if the zombies actually finished the person.

Xue Ling felt a little reprimanded too, since she hadn’t paid attention either.

Wen Jiuze, used to her personality, didn’t even raise an eyebrow. He picked up the key point: “So, even if zombies bite someone more times, they’ll still be hungry. Eating anything won’t help, they just have to endure it, right?”

Wen Yi sighed lightly and put down her nearly untouched meal. “Actually, my teacher believes the zombie virus is an unknown organism that resides in the human body. Strictly speaking, it’s not really a virus.”

“It parasitizes the human body, causing death, and drives the body’s movements in order to reproduce. The ‘infection’ is how they propagate.”

“The ‘hunger’ of zombies is also an illusion created by this organism to drive the parasitic body to seek out a suitable breeding ground.”