Chapter 4

The safe zone was on the outskirts of my city. A few military veterans had happened to be nearby when the outbreak hit.

They’d quickly organized the local residents to save themselves.

Being out in the suburbs had helped preserve as much of the area as possible, too.

All these safe zones had been spontaneously organized by ordinary people.

Cheng Rui and I spent a nerve-racking week here. Mostly, I was the one with the nerves. He was thriving.

He was handsome and not too bright, which made all the young women here like him. They were always teasing him, too.

Who didn’t like a handsome idiot?

Watching other people play with Cheng Rui made my chest tighten. It felt as though someone had snatched away my favorite toy.

And he was so easy to fool.

At first, whenever those young women came to see him, he’d look fierce, ready to bite.

Then, somehow, they heard he liked watermelon.

And started using it to tempt him.

Cheng Rui was a zombie with no backbone. Half a watermelon was enough to lure him away.

I knew he didn’t understand anything, but I couldn’t help getting mad at him.

So whenever he ate watermelon, I stood beside him crunching furiously on tomatoes.

At night, he always wanted to sleep beside me. Nothing could drive him away.

Cheng Rui never strayed more than five meters from my side.

And at night, he kept climbing into my bed in the dark.

If he hadn’t been so brainless, I’d have thought he was playing dumb to get his hands on me.

But faced with those looks, I could never help softening.

Then I’d remember him surrounded by all those pretty young women during the day, and I kicked him off the bed anyway.

There was a crack.

I looked down. Cheng Rui’s arm lay behind him at a horribly twisted angle.

I’d kicked him hard enough to break it.

I’d forgotten how stiff and fragile a zombie’s body was.

I scrambled out of bed, tears pouring down my face.

Fortunately, Cheng Rui’s body was easy to put back together. I soon fitted the displaced bones back into place.

I was sobbing so hard I could hardly breathe.

Then something cool touched my face.

Cheng Rui wiped away my tears with his fingertip.

His hand was cold, and his expression was as vacant as ever.

But his eyes were bright, full of feelings I couldn’t read.

I blinked at him and suddenly realized I’d picked an exceptionally pretty pair of colored contacts today.

It was as though something had suddenly clicked inside this zombie.

He began showing many more human emotions.

For instance, if you stole his watermelon, he’d bare his teeth like a dog.

“Nian, taking Ruirui out for some sunshine again?”

It was Granny Lin next door greeting us. Her son and daughter-in-law had both become zombies protecting her. Later, she and her little grandson had been brought to the safe zone.

Granny Lin was very kind. Whenever she saw me, she’d greet me with a smile. Sometimes she’d slip me a tomato, too.

I loved Granny Lin.

After more than ten days in the safe zone, nearly everyone here treated me well.

Except…

A sudden pain stung my head. I turned angrily.

A teenage boy with tan skin was flashing his big white teeth and grinning as he pulled a face at me.

“Huo Xiaoyi!”

I charged at him, arms flailing, ready to hit him.

He took off in a flash.

Huo Xiaoyi and I had a bit of a history.

On our first night in the safe zone, Cheng Rui and I had gone to the melon patch to steal watermelon.

We’d been happily munching away when Huo Xiaoyi caught us.

He marched us over to Brother Li, the man in charge, practically demanding credit for his good work.

The result was that Huo Xiaoyi and I each got a flick on the forehead.

Indignant, I pointed at Cheng Rui and asked why he wasn’t getting hit.

Brother Li flicked my forehead again.

Then, looking utterly benevolent, he said, “Rui isn’t well. If he’s doing this sort of thing, it’s because you’ve led him astray.”

As for why Huo Xiaoyi got hit…

Maybe he’d been too eager to distinguish himself so he could join the defense team.

The safe zone’s adult men could join the defense team, go out searching for supplies, and receive weapons to fight zombies.

Huo Xiaoyi’s greatest dream was to join them and protect his home and country.

His eyes shone when he said it.

That was also why he looked down on Cheng Rui and me, a pair of freeloaders. He thought we were completely useless.

Pah. What did a little brat like him know?