Upstairs, the sound of heavy kicks against doors and gunshots rang out, mixed with the agitated voices of survivors.

Xu Duoduo sat in the wardrobe, staring blankly. Her sluggish mind struggled to process—she… wasn’t dead? Her old classmate hadn’t shot her on sight?

The little zombie didn’t quite understand.

She glanced down at the thick blanket wrapped tightly around her, wriggled a little, and found it was bound too securely. In the end, she gave up struggling entirely.

Flopping sideways inside the wardrobe, Xu Duoduo blinked, waiting for time to pass. She wasn’t sure how long it had been when noises finally came from outside again.

“Everyone, head downstairs in an orderly line! A bus will be here soon to take you to the survivor base.”

The voice was unusually strict, devoid of its usual careless tone. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was leading a military training session.

Lost in thought, Xu Duoduo heard someone ask him where he was going. Qin Luo, who had single-handedly cleared out an entire building full of zombies without even breaking a sweat, had already become the backbone of the group—their source of security.

She heard him coldly and mercilessly reply, “You go on. I have something to retrieve.”

The “thing” left behind—Xu Duoduo stiffened. Her expression darkened slightly.

So when Qin Luo strode in, grumbling to himself, and pulled open the wardrobe door, the first thing he saw was a pair of murky gray eyes staring at him. Zombie eyes, devoid of human light—but still strangely expressive.

“Heh, little class monitor, as expected of you. Even as a zombie, you’re smarter than the rest.”

No need for such a compliment, thanks.

Seriously.

Xu Duoduo’s gaze was full of disdain. If she could speak, she’d have a few choice words for him.

Qin Luo, as if he’d found a new toy, untied the knots binding her, then wrapped her back up in the blanket. “Can you understand me? If you can, nod. I’ll take you with me. Have you read the apocalypse survival guide that headquarters sent out? Normally, early-stage zombies have no rationality at all, but you’re strange—you seem to have some consciousness left?”

He reverted to his usual carefree demeanor, smirking in that familiar way that revealed a single sharp canine tooth on his right side.

That familiar smile made Xu Duoduo momentarily dazed, as if she had returned to those carefree three years of middle school.

Seeing her space out, Qin Luo frowned slightly. “Don’t tell me you’ve completely lost your mind? Hey, hey, hey! Look at me. I’m asking if you want to come with me. If you go back to the base with me, there’s a chance you could be cured. Professor Ji at our research institute is pretty amazing. Or do you want to stay here?”

What a joke.

Who in their right mind would choose to die if they didn’t have to?

Xu Duoduo shuddered at his words and quickly nodded obediently.

Her stiff neck suddenly felt much more flexible.

Qin Luo smirked again, revealing his little sharp tooth. Satisfied, he nodded and hoisted the blanket-wrapped Xu Duoduo over his shoulder like a sack of rice before striding out.

“Alright then! Let’s go. Who would’ve thought, huh? One day, you’d end up in my hands.”

“Right, class monitor?”

Xu Duoduo had no desire to respond. She buried her face in his shoulder, playing dead.

If she weren’t a zombie, she would’ve definitely thrown up from being carried in such a brutish, unromantic way. Who the hell carries a zombie like a sack of potatoes?!

Her expression was utterly lifeless.

Qin Luo, on the other hand, seemed quite excited, bouncing down the stairs in just a few steps.

Only then did Xu Duoduo realize something was off. Sure, Qin Luo was part of a combat team, but his physical abilities were terrifying.

Not only had he wiped out an entire building of zombies without panting, but now he was effortlessly leaping down entire flights of stairs. It was unnerving.

Her sluggish brain conjured up a single word—evolution.

And then there was a delayed realization—hadn’t Qin Luo said the survival guide was sent out by headquarters? That meant she wasn’t the only one who received that message that night, and Liu Jie from her company wasn’t the only one who turned…

This was a disaster that had been foreseen.

The thought made her body tremble, and she finally understood—there was no going back. Things would only get worse from here.

Just then—

Qin Luo, tired of taking the stairs, leapt out of a third-floor window, landing steadily on the ground floor.

Xu Duoduo’s face was turned to the side, and she caught a glimpse of the sky—gray and misty, as if the sun hadn’t been seen in a long time. Occasionally, colorful flashes of light streaked across it, flickering unpredictably.

The residential complex below was no longer clean and orderly. The ground was littered with zombie corpses, and the walls were stained with filth.

Even the greenery was covered in dust, lifeless.

The survivors huddled together in a relatively clean area, trembling. They were both relieved and terrified.

More and more survivors were trickling in from other buildings. Everyone gathered in one place, putting aside past conflicts over resources—none of that mattered anymore.

Then, from the distance, a series of reports came through:

“[3A Special Operations Team – Wang Hu reporting, Green Garden Residence, Building B, cleared.]”

“[3A Special Operations Team – White Rat reporting, Green Garden Residence, Building C, cleared.]”

“[3A Special Operations Team – Falcon reporting, Green Garden Residence, Building D, cleared.]”

…

Xu Duoduo dazedly turned toward the voices, and then—

A deep, confident chuckle rang in her ears.

Qin Luo spoke: “[3A Special Operations Team – Luoshen reporting, Green Garden Residence, Building A, cleared.]”

…Huh??

So lame!!

What kind of cringey codename was that?!

Xu Duoduo squirmed, feeling secondhand embarrassment on Qin Luo’s behalf. She wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and disappear.

And yet, despite the ridiculousness of the words, they reassured everyone present.

Those reports meant no one had been abandoned. No one would be left behind.

Some survivors finally broke down in sobs, their delayed emotions bursting forth. People clung to each other, wailing for their lost loved ones.

Xu Duoduo felt a mix of bitterness and confusion. She had no idea what her future held. The only thing she knew was the warmth of the shoulder she leaned against and the body heat of her old classmate.

It was… surprisingly warm.

Her consciousness quickly grew fuzzy.

In her half-asleep state, she heard several people crowding around, exclaiming things like “Holy shit!” and muttering about a “class monitor,” “rescue mission,” and “survivor supplies.”

But she drifted off before she could make sense of it all.

In her dream, she returned to middle school.

That year, a reckless transfer student had arrived.

In less than a day, he became the most handsome boy in school.

In less than a month, he had earned the title of school tyrant, becoming every teacher’s worst nightmare.

And later—

He became her deskmate.