Chapter 11: Fragrance

Cosmetics are part of technology, rapidly evolving, and many products Qin Zhen had never even heard of, let alone used.

Fu Qi didn’t know how to use them either, but no matter how inattentive one might be, in this era of the internet, one would unknowingly pick up some knowledge—more than what a tomb zombie could know.

Therefore, Fu Qi ultimately took on the role of makeup artist.

His makeup skills were lacking, but fortunately, the model’s needs were simple—just covering up the skin tone was enough.

The overall process was straightforward, and progress went fairly smoothly, except for a small unexpected issue during the selection phase.

As soon as he started, Fu Qi sensed something was off. Glancing at the nearly untouched foundation in his hand, he suddenly understood and said, “No wonder there’s still so much left.”

There was no mirror in the room. Qin Zhen didn’t know what was going on and asked him what was wrong. Fu Qi hesitated briefly, then said, “Nothing, I’m just amazed by this foundation’s effect. It’s really good—you can’t see your original skin tone at all.”

The zombie was curious but knew that for now, concealing her skin tone was most important. Though skeptical of Fu Qi’s words, she said nothing in the end.

After spreading the foundation evenly and checking in the bathroom, Qin Zhen realized Fu Qi hadn’t lied. Now, not only was her original skin tone unrecognizable, but it was easy to mistake her nationality—the pale, bluish complexion had turned into a dull bronze, as if she’d been sun-tanned.

This wasn’t entirely Fu Qi’s fault; both of them knew only a little about these things. The reason he chose that shade was purely because there was a lot left—enough for the zombie to use many times.

His reasoning was sound, but Qin Zhen hadn’t fully recovered from feeling tricked by him and suspected he was toying with her. She severed ties with him for the second time.

Outside, the rain poured relentlessly, the murky yellow puddles on the street had overflowed onto the steps of nearby shops, dirty and grimy. The zombies outside the apartment, attracted by Fu Qi’s flesh, were still tirelessly scratching at the door.

Since there was no way out and Qin Zhen didn’t want to engage with Fu Qi, she washed her face and tried again by herself little by little, gradually finding some enjoyment. But soon, a faint smell of smoke interrupted her.

Sniffing, Qin Zhen turned her head and saw Fu Qi, who had found a map somewhere, studying it intently. The key point was that he had a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth.

Qin Zhen was shocked.

She wanted to say something. Her mouth opened, but thinking of their now neither-friend-nor-foe relationship, she said nothing.

She tried to ignore the smell, but the more she did, the stronger it seemed to impose itself, as if it was forcing its way into her lungs.

Finally unable to bear it, Qin Zhen shouted at Fu Qi, “Smoking is harmful! Harmful to health!”

Fu Qi looked up from the map, pinched the cigarette between his fingers, and asked, “Harmful to whose health?”

In the room were only two species—one a zombie, for whom health was irrelevant; the other, a human whose homeland had been lost, constantly hunted as food by monsters, and infected with a mutating virus. Compared to existing survival conditions, the harm from smoking was negligible.

Qin Zhen hesitated, then after two seconds replied, “Mine. My health!”

Fu Qi raised an eyebrow.

Qin Zhen declared firmly, “My mental health!”

Fu Qi chuckled and shook his head, returning to his map.

This was clearly a sign to ignore Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen was frustrated, feeling the pungent smoke cling to her, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

Her attention was completely drawn to the annoying smell, and she lost interest in the makeup she had just begun to experiment with.

She endured and endured until she couldn’t anymore. She stood up and shouted, “I might be triggered—triggered by the smoke—to release raging factors inside me! I’m going crazy! I’m going to… I’m going to eat someone!”

With that, she lunged at Fu Qi, aiming straight for the cigarette in his hand.

Fu Qi reacted swiftly, dodging to the side, circling behind her, then wrapping his arm around her neck and holding her tight against his chest.

The cigarette, still glowing with embers, was right in front of Qin Zhen.

Her eyes widened, she reached out to grab it, but Fu Qi caught both her wrists simultaneously, crossing and pinning them in front of her.

The zombie was utterly defeated!

This was a new tactic Fu Qi had devised after yesterday’s scuffle. Being tall and sturdy, he could use his size advantage to restrain her rather than defend head-on, which was much easier and effectively prevented her from biting.

“What a fierce zombie, you scared me,” Fu Qi’s voice sounded above Qin Zhen’s head.

She was held tight and couldn’t move, watching the light smoke drifting toward her face. She tilted her head back to dodge but accidentally bumped her head against Fu Qi’s chin.

She was both anxious and angry. “Let go! You stink! You stink to death!”

Fu Qi realized she disliked the smell of smoke.

He didn’t like it either.

Fu Qi had never smoked before. After the apocalypse, when human civilization was destroyed, many tried smoking or drinking to reminisce about the long-lost prosperous past—after all, even the dregs of civilization were part of it.

This zombie loved human civilization so much yet was so averse to smoke.

Fu Qi thought if her memories of human society came from when she was alive, her original environment must have been quite good.

With that thought, he flicked the cigarette out the window into the rain and looked down with a smile. “I don’t stink anymore, right?”

Qin Zhen glared at him, pulled away his arm, dusted off her clothes, and went back to fiddling with the cosmetics.

These things weren’t as impressive as electronic devices, but for a clueless zombie, they were quite interesting.

Qin Zhen had been forced to accept the reality of humanity’s regression. Yet even so, human life was still much richer than that of zombies.

Since she was out anyway, she wanted to bring back as many things as possible to the new tomb.

Makeup and clothes were packed, along with pencils, notebooks, bed sheets, and a drying rack. A basin too—this would be used to wash her “husband” so he wouldn’t sink.

The more Qin Zhen looked, the more she found everything in the apartment useful, including the trash can and a squashed little toy on the floor. Passing by Fu Qi, she even snatched the map from his hand.

Fu Qi looked puzzled.

Qin Zhen was lost in thoughts of arranging the new tomb, her mood lifting the more she imagined it. Happily glancing outside, she suddenly caught sight of a plume of black smoke rising from the rain-drenched ruins on the other side of the city.

According to Fu Qi, this city was near the northern border, known as the Forest City and a popular summer resort. When the zombie virus broke out in the scorching August heat, many tourists were present, and the city quickly fell.

It had been five years since then. Even if there were survivors, they should have fled to villages or human-built bases long ago. Besides Fu Qi, there should be no other humans in this city.

“Fu Lao Qi!” Qin Zhen called out.

The burly young man, about 1.88 meters tall with a scruffy beard from a few days ago, was counting guns and magazines. Without looking up, he replied, “Don’t call me Fu Lao Qi. Call me Princess Xiangxiang.”

Qin Zhen: “...Fu Xiangxiang, a person!”

Fu Qi suddenly stood up, not to look outside but to pull Qin Zhen into the shadows.

Away from the window, he said, “There shouldn’t be anyone here. Most likely, those people from Country A have tracked us down and tricked me into coming.”

Despite this, he peeked through the curtains with binoculars and still decided to go.

“Isn’t it a trap?” Qin Zhen asked.

“It is, but we can’t rule out someone accidentally trapped,” Fu Qi said, putting on his coat, stowing his guns, and grabbing a slender katana. “Stay put and don’t run around.”

Qin Zhen had never seen any humans besides Fu Qi—the two from Country A didn’t count. Hearing there might be other humans, she was both nervous and excited, nodding vigorously. “Okay, okay!”

Fu Qi was about to leave but stopped when he saw her eyes enhanced by colored contacts and her face painted stark white. He said, “One more thing... Do you know the story of the White Snake?”

Qin Zhen: “What about it?”

“Humans are fragile. Extreme fright can kill them,” Fu Qi tapped lightly on the thick layer of foundation on her face and said, “So if one day you want to fall in love with a human, remember, never show your bare face in front of him.”

“Got it, thanks,” Qin Zhen replied. “You should remember, when you’re in love, don’t, don’t—”

Before she could finish, Fu Qi leapt out the window and vanished into the gloomy rain.