Chapter 3

On my phone, I came across news that humans were establishing safe zones.

Perhaps because they thought all zombies were mindless, they posted the news openly online and even announced the military’s next plans.

I stared at all this crucial intelligence on how humans planned to deal with zombies, available for anyone to read, and sank into thought.

I felt like a zombie traitor in the human world. Or a human spy in the zombie world.

Half a month had passed since the zombie virus broke out.

Humans had set up safe zones in the east, south, west, and north.

I was currently within the northern safe zone’s area of control.

Unfortunately, the person in charge of the northern safe zone was a hawk.

In an interview, he said troops would begin rescuing trapped civilians in three days.

And bombing the zombies in the surrounding area.

They’d be the death of this poor zombie.

It was daytime now, when zombies were more active.

I brazenly dragged the handsome zombie out on a scavenging spree.

This time, I took him straight to the biggest department store nearby.

As expected, it was packed with zombies.

They were in terrible shape, too. Hardly any were in one piece.

I planned to take the handsome zombie and run for our lives.

But first, we needed supplies.

The thought suddenly filled me with bitter indignation.

Imagine a zombie being reduced to this.

At least I had the handsome zombie to do the heavy lifting.

I picked the biggest backpack and stuffed it with as many power banks as I could.

To stay alive, I had to keep track of what the humans were doing.

Then I picked out some nice, simple clothes at the luxury counters.

Who’d have thought I’d owe my first designer wardrobe to becoming a zombie?

Passing the cosmetics counter, I thought for a moment and grabbed several types of concealer.

Then I filled a big bag with contact lenses.

If I did get caught, I ought to be able to pass as a normal human for a while.

That night, the handsome zombie and I curled up in the department store’s bedding section.

I hadn’t slept in a bed for ages, not since becoming a zombie.

But for some reason, I couldn’t sleep no matter how I tried.

Suddenly, an idea struck me. I took a photo of the handsome zombie and ran it through an image-search app.

Someone that handsome had to have an online presence.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the page filled with handsome pictures of him.

His identity was right there on the internet.

Cheng Rui, CEO of an internet company. At only twenty-five, he’d become a legend in the industry.

I looked at him, and suddenly my eyes stung.

If not for this damned zombie virus, he’d have gone on living as one of life’s golden boys, surrounded by that dazzling halo.

Instead, he was squeezed onto a display bed with me, chewing tomatoes and drooling.

I patted Cheng Rui’s head and silently promised myself I’d keep him alive.

At my touch, he tilted his head toward me. A trace of confusion flickered in his gray-white eyes. He looked so vacant.

In the end, events overtook my plans.

I hadn’t made it far with the handsome zombie before we were caught.

The man who caught me was powerfully built and looked like a leader.

He hoisted me by the back of my collar like a chick, then frowned. “Don’t go running around, young lady. Don’t you know how dangerous it is out here?”

With that, he dumped me behind him. Cheng Rui was caught too, looking completely bewildered.

And so, mistaken for humans in need of rescue, the two of us zombies were taken back to the base.

The safe zone was much smaller than I’d imagined.

It was crammed with survivors. Sobbing and wailing came from everywhere.

Not long after Cheng Rui and I were brought inside, explosions sounded outside.

But the bombing soon stopped.

The humans quickly realized it wasn’t working.

Even when zombies were blasted away, they soon dragged their broken bodies upright again.

Then they charged at the safe zone even more fearlessly.

The bombardment had clearly enraged them.

Hearing the zombies rioting outside, Cheng Rui’s eyes turned blood-red too. Luckily, the colored contacts I’d put on him more or less hid the change.

But his face also grew strained and anguished. Panicking, I pinched his butt hard, trying to quiet him down.

I’d forgotten zombies couldn’t feel pain.

The man in charge soon noticed something was wrong with Cheng Rui.

He walked over, face grim, and stopped in front of us, staring straight at Cheng Rui.

Without a word, he slung him over his shoulder.

Cheng Rui tried to struggle, earning two hard smacks on the butt.

My heart was in my mouth. I was terrified he’d simply bite through the man’s neck.

The leader carried him all the way to the safe zone’s hospital and deposited him there.

Calling it a hospital was generous. It was just the living quarters of a few doctors and nurses, with a piece of red cloth hung outside.

It turned out he thought Cheng Rui was having some kind of episode and had brought him for treatment.

I hurried to stop the doctors who were about to examine Cheng Rui, claiming it was a psychological problem.

Then I pointed at Cheng Rui’s head and put on a pained expression.

Understanding immediately dawned on the doctors’ faces. Their looks at Cheng Rui took on a hint of sympathy.