Chapter 84

Xue Ling was already an expert at handling zombies. Based on her experience, she knew that a zombie’s strength was related to its physical condition before it turned, but after becoming a zombie, it often had the potential to unleash even greater strength than it had in life.

Every time she had to subdue a zombie, she used all her strength.

However, this time, her ex-boyfriend, who used to be very good at fighting, was subdued with just one quick strike. He didn’t even struggle and didn’t make a sound.

Was this normal?

Xue Ling’s first thought was: Is he faking it?

He hadn’t really turned into a zombie; he was just pretending to scare her. After all, she was still alive, so how could Wen Jiuze possibly be a zombie?

Confused, Xue Ling loosened her grip on the riot stick, and Wen Jiuze, whom she had pinned, began to move like a malfunctioning robot.

Although his movements were slow, they still made Xue Ling uneasy.

Seeing him stand up again, swaying toward her like a vengeful spirit, Xue Ling quickly jabbed the riot stick into him, sending him crashing onto a nearby heavy wooden sofa. She swiftly and silently tied him down.

While binding him, Xue Ling felt like he only half-heartedly struggled, his movements seeming entirely dismissive.

He really is faking it, right?!

Filled with suspicion, Xue Ling grabbed her flashlight and shone it directly in Wen Jiuze’s face.

His red eyes didn’t react like a normal person’s eyes would when exposed to light.

He’s even wearing red contact lenses to deceive me!

Xue Ling pulled out a small towel from her pocket and wiped his pale face with it. After a few vigorous rubs, nothing resembling makeup came off. She then moved to his hands, wiped his hands back several times, and even checked his pulse and chest.

Eventually, she had no choice but to believe: Wen Jiuze was truly a zombie, not someone pretending to scare her by painting himself.

Warm tears suddenly fell onto Wen Jiuze’s dark, bluish hand.

Xue Ling abruptly squatted down, grabbing her head and muttering, “Why am I crying? Why am I crying?!”

She spoke softly to herself, repeatedly bumping her forehead against her knees.

Wen Jiuze, whose features were sharply defined under the light, looked down at her. He saw her round head and the way her shoulders trembled as she fought to suppress her sobs.

When they had broken up, he thought she would mock him for dying and then happily stab him again. He never expected her to cry.

In the apocalypse, how could she still have such a soft heart? Wouldn’t she be taken advantage of like this?

His bound, bluish hands moved slightly, as if he wanted to break free and gently touch her head.

But if he did that, she would probably be terrified and run away.

He shifted slightly but then leaned back again.

Xue Ling quickly suppressed her sudden surge of sorrow. She raised her head, her eyes red, and took out the knife she always carried.

Reason told her that with zombies nearby, she needed to take care of them immediately for her own safety.

This was the way everyone did it. Once a loved one or friend turned into a zombie, they were truly gone. They weren’t the same person anymore, and killing them was the only way to release them from their misery.

Xue Ling moved the knife closer to Wen Jiuze’s neck.

He didn’t move at all. He simply stared at her, completely still. Despite being a zombie, he seemed to retain a bit of human understanding in this moment. He knew what she was about to do, and his eyes held calm acceptance.

That gaze was so familiar that Xue Ling couldn’t help but recall many past moments with him.

Even when he was human, he had been strange. Now, as a zombie, he was still a strange zombie.

Why wasn’t he struggling?

Wen Jiuze leaned back against the old, heavy wooden sofa, not minding the knife inching closer. He simply looked at her face, preparing to take one last look before he died.

Although he could easily untie the ropes and leave, he felt that dying here wouldn’t be so bad.

His family and enemies were all gone. Wen Jiuze, with nothing left to hold him back, didn’t have any particular wishes.

Turning into a zombie had been an accident. The only reason he had come from Anxi all the way to Yu City was because he couldn’t stop worrying about Xue Ling. He just wanted to check on her.

Now that he saw she was with her family and being taken care of, he didn’t feel anxious anymore.

To be honest, Xue Ling wanting to kill him actually made Wen Jiuze feel a bit relieved.

He never expected his ex-girlfriend to be so decisive and strong.

If he could speak, he might have whistled mockingly, then smiled and given her a thumbs up, encouraging her to keep it up.

— If you can kill me, then don’t hold back with the other zombies.

Xue Ling raised the knife again, then hesitated and lowered it.

She sat down next to Wen Jiuze, ignoring the dust on the sofa. She placed a safe distance between them and squeezed her trembling arm tightly.

When she first realized he was a zombie, the right thing to do would have been to immediately call her stepfather and the others, so they could deal with the danger together.

But instead, she had kept silent, afraid of being noticed. Even now, she was subconsciously trying not to make too much noise.

Doubting that he was faking it, wiping his face, and getting so close—those were all absolutely careless mistakes.

But she still did them.

She didn’t want to kill him. The thought of cutting off Wen Jiuze’s head felt like cutting off a part of the happier, safer time they once shared.

Wen Jiuze watched her movements, suddenly wanting to laugh, but more so to sigh.

She had such a strong sense of morality, struggling to kill her long-lost zombie ex-boyfriend.

He tilted his head, looking at her as she breathed deeply, staring up at the ceiling.

Wen Jiuze knew she was adjusting her emotions. Whenever she felt nervous in the past, she used to sit quietly and take deep breaths.

In the beginning, when he upset her, she would do deep breathing exercises. But later, she would just clench her fists and hit him.

“Xue Ling, where have you been for so long? Are you okay?”

Xue Ling was startled when she heard her mother’s voice outside. She quickly wiped her eyes and stood up, nervously glancing at Wen Jiuze. “It’ll be fine, Mom. I’m okay,” she said, trying to reassure her mother.

Standing in front of Wen Jiuze, Xue Ling tightened her grip on the knife handle. In the end, she didn’t strike him with the knife. Instead, she slapped him hard across the face.

After striking him, she didn’t look at him again. She grabbed the flashlight, took the knife and the riot stick, and left the room.

Once she left, the dim room was still. Wen Jiuze slipped his hands free from the ropes, lazily sitting back and touching his cheek where she had slapped him.

Xue Ling had quite the nerve. She didn’t even wear gloves when she hit him, not even worrying that his teeth might hurt her hand.

She didn’t respect her ex-boyfriend, but at least she should show some respect for his zombie status. After all, it could be contagious.

However, she seemed to have grown stronger than before.

The footsteps outside came and went. Wen Jiuze hurriedly grabbed the ropes to make it seem like he was still tied up.

Fortunately, the light was dim, and Xue Ling was distracted, not noticing anything out of place.

She returned because she remembered something she hadn’t done yet.

Xue Ling stuffed a piece of cloth into Wen Jiuze’s mouth.

“Don’t growl. If anyone finds out and you get killed, I won’t care about you.”

Xue Ling suspected he didn’t growl like other zombies. Maybe it was because he had been mute from speaking harshly when he was alive. Even after turning into a zombie, he still couldn’t make a sound.

But just in case, she blocked his mouth.

She hurried off again. Wen Jiuze removed the cloth from his mouth, finding it was an old t-shirt. It clearly belonged to Xue Ling. He sniffed it—it had a faint scent of soap. She had even gone as far as to get him a clean piece of clothing. How considerate.

Xue Ling hadn’t rested well that night, constantly thinking about Wen Jiuze, who was tied up in the backyard room.

What if he broke free and hurt someone?

What if he made a noise and her stepfather or uncle found out?

She tossed and turned, unable to sleep, straining her ears for any sound. Her mom asked, “What’s wrong, Ling Ling?”

Xue Ling hesitated, “It’s nothing, just a little stomach ache… I’ll go to the bathroom.”

She quietly got up and sneaked over to the room where Wen Jiuze was tied up. Seeing his shadow sitting on the sofa, still and unmoving, she felt a little more at ease before returning to bed.

But the restlessness made her feel exhausted the next day. She went out with her stepfather, stepbrother, mom, and uncle, collecting supplies on the outskirts of Xinyan City.

They didn’t usually stay in one place for more than two days when zombies were nearby, as staying in one spot for too long would attract zombies due to the stronger human scent.

The next day, they moved to a nearby small building. Xue Ling took advantage of the daylight to quietly check on the room where Wen Jiuze was tied up.

In the daylight, she could see him more clearly.

She didn’t do much, just sat on the threshold with her anti-zombie weapons, staring at him for a while.

Wen Jiuze wanted to ask her: “Aren’t you going to kill me today?”

But what he really wanted to ask was: “Are you exhausted, too? Sweating like that.”

While Xue Ling was out killing zombies and moving supplies, Wen Jiuze wasn’t idle. He was watching from a nearby rooftop.

He watched as Xue Ling skillfully decapitated zombies, her movements sharp and practiced, unlike the hesitant way she had once handled him.

Her brother, on the other hand, was clumsy, too afraid to approach zombies. He missed every strike, needing several attempts to land a blow, all while complaining that Xue Ling wasn’t helping enough, calling her useless.

After two nights near Xinyan City, they were preparing to return to the base that afternoon. They packed up and got ready to leave.

Wen Jiuze was sitting on the rooftop again when he saw Xue Ling rush out of the car toward the yard.

He casually walked down the stairs, sitting back in his original position just in time, remembering to stuff the cloth from his pocket into his mouth.

Xue Ling, panting, rushed into the room. She quickly pinned him down with the riot stick, tied his hands, and dragged him into a more secluded room.

Wen Jiuze felt the ropes loosen around his wrists and was pushed against his back. Then, the door slammed shut and locked from the outside.

Without saying a word, Xue Ling left quickly.

What did this mean? Was she locking him up in a small dark room?

Xue Ling returned to the car, closed the door, and the vehicle started.

Her mother asked, “Why did you rush back to the yard? Did you forget something?”

Xue Ling mumbled something vague.

As the car drove on, Xue Ling glanced back out the window.

She couldn’t bring herself to kill Wen Jiuze, but she didn’t want him, a disabled zombie, running loose. However, locking him up in such a secluded room still didn’t sit well with her.

Maybe she was too worried. As she dozed off in the car, she had a dream, one from when they had lived together.

There had been a time when she forgot her keys inside the room, and the locksmith couldn’t be reached. Wen Jiuze had suggested he take care of it, and he just ripped the lock off the door. At the time, she had been amazed, asking him, “How did you do that?”

He had answered, “Isn’t it just a matter of having hands?”

The latter part of the dream shifted to her locking her zombie ex-boyfriend in a room, but he broke down the door, holding the broken lock, and said, “You think you can lock me in? It’s easy to break it if you have hands.”

Then he charged into the crowd like a wild dog.

Xue Ling woke up in a cold sweat.

Her mother looked at her worriedly, “Ling Ling, have you not been sleeping well these past couple of days? You were even talking in your sleep.”

“Ah? What did I say?” Xue Ling was still disoriented.

“You kept saying something like ‘Wen… Wen Jiuze’?”

“…” Xue Ling calmly responded, “I used to eat at a hotpot place a lot. I guess I was dreaming about craving hotpot.”

“You also said, ‘Come back, come back soon.'”

“…Because the owner went bankrupt, the hotpot place closed down. I haven’t eaten such good hotpot since, so I wanted him to come back.”

———

🙂