Chapter 13: Reading Books

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The zombie, regarded as the big boss, was in an excellent mood but still spoke very little. Previously, it was because he couldn’t get a word in; now, it was to maintain his mysterious and aloof big boss image.

Qin Zhen had grown more fond of Fan Xu and took the initiative to take out compressed biscuits from her backpack for him.

The backpack had been taken from two A-country people after they emerged from the tomb. It contained all sorts of items, but since Qin Zhen neither knew how to use them nor needed food or water, the backpack had always been managed by Fu Qi. It was the first time Qin Zhen had looked through it and found that the food inside was running low.

Fan Xu noticed this too.

In Qin Zhen’s eyes, the food was enough for two people, but from Fan Xu’s perspective, that small amount had to be shared among three, making him immediately feel embarrassed.

“Eat,” Qin Zhen said with a cold expression, “It’s nothing.”

Her words perfectly fit the reliable big sister image she held in her little brother’s eyes. The little brother was deeply moved, stuffing his stomach while babbling thanks.

Those supplies were originally meant for Fu Qi alone. Since he had brought someone back, he would certainly be willing to share food with Fan Xu. But now that the person was Qin Zhen’s little brother, she had to take responsibility for this matter. So, after Fu Qi finished his bath, she quietly asked him where to find food.

Fu Qi’s lower leg had a scrape infected from soaking in water. Fortunately, there were anti-inflammatory medicines in the backpack. When Qin Zhen asked, he had just finished disinfecting the wound and fell silent upon hearing her question, then glanced at Fan Xu, who was sound asleep on the floor.

Fan Xu hadn’t had a peaceful sleep in who knows how long. Now that he had companions, after stuffing biscuits in his mouth, he immediately fell asleep, still covered by a blanket lovingly placed on him by the big boss Qin Zhen.

“If I had known, I would have held onto your thigh and called you big boss the first time we met,” Fu Qi reasoned for why Qin Zhen treated him differently.

Qin Zhen said, “Can you have a little self-awareness and self-knowledge?”

Her point was that even if Fu Qi had knelt down to call her big boss back then, she wouldn’t have accepted him as a little brother—after all, he was a “grave robber.” But Fu Qi’s focus was entirely on the idiom, which was difficult to pronounce, and the zombie stammered multiple times before saying it correctly.

He chuckled softly.

Qin Zhen knew exactly what he was laughing at and immediately pounced to hit him.

The night had fallen, and the room was pitch black, but Qin Zhen remembered the sofa’s position and pounced precisely. Fu Qi caught her firmly. The sofa was a bit narrow, and after a few scuffles between the zombie and human, they accidentally tumbled down with a “plop,” entangled together.

Fan Xu’s light snoring suddenly stopped.

Qin Zhen couldn’t let her little brother see her like this. She pressed down hard on Fu Qi, forbidding him from making any noise.

Fu Qi cooperated and remained still.

The room was silent except for the pattering rain outside and the scratching noises of zombies clawing at the door.

After a while, Fan Xu’s snoring resumed. Qin Zhen released Fu Qi, climbed off him, and whispered a warning: “I’ll spare you this time.”

Fu Qi rubbed his elbow, which had hit the ground, and asked curiously, “You’re a zombie, so why do you have such a strong vanity?”

“None of your business!” Qin Zhen snapped. Then she asked seriously, “Where do we find food?”

Fu Qi answered, “The city’s food supplies have either been looted or spoiled. To find food, you have to go to remote villages.”

After the zombie virus outbreak, densely populated cities were the most dangerous. The sparsely populated countryside was relatively safer and had plenty of crops. Even if the countryside eventually fell too, food there would be more abundant than in cities.

This was the consensus among all survivors: go to the city for equipment and medicine, and go to the countryside for food and seeds.

Qin Zhen was about to return to bed to look for a map but was stopped by Fu Qi. “A map is useless now.”

The city’s power was completely out, and after sunset, it plunged into darkness. Wherever there was light was the most dangerous place.

“There are many villages here. Once the rain stops, we’ll find a car and follow the road. It won’t take long to find food.”

Qin Zhen nodded. “Once I find food, I’ll leave.”

She didn’t owe anyone anything. If Fan Xu praised her and made her happy, she would help him find food—then it was all even.

As for her and Fu Qi… no matter how she thought about it, Fu Qi owed her more. She was already being charitable by not holding it against him!

She had told Fu Qi before, when angry about returning to the mountain to find the tomb, and now reiterated it. Fu Qi neither agreed nor said anything else.

Qin Zhen thought he might have fallen asleep like Fan Xu.

It was good to be able to sleep. Unlike her, who could only stare at the ceiling, or feel the mattress beneath her, fiddle with her fingers, or turn over to pass the time.

On her third turn, Fu Qi’s voice suddenly sounded: “Is the bed too hot?”

Even if the bed was hot, Qin Zhen was not a pancake.

She curled toward the sofa and whispered, “Fu Xiangxiang, bored.”

“Then wouldn’t it be even more boring to live alone?”

“No… no Taoist.”

“There’s none on the floor either.”

“There is!”

“If there really was a powerful Taoist, would humans be yielding way to zombies?”

That’s different. Real experts wouldn’t bother with small fry.

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Maybe the Taoists were training magical instruments waiting for the zombie king to appear.

Qin Zhen felt zombies and the infected were different. But on the ground, she was easily mistaken for an infected. She could still speak and think. If humans said she was the zombie king and that the virus was her creation to dominate humanity, she wouldn’t be able to explain.

Her speech wasn’t even smooth yet.

“No matter, don’t provoke,” Qin Zhen insisted on her initial attitude toward humans: to not actively provoke them or interfere with their affairs, whether good or bad.

Fu Qi was silent again.

Qin Zhen waited a moment and called out, “Fu Xiangxiang, why aren’t you talking?”

“Thinking.”

“About what?”

“About the bookshelf in the room downstairs. I should have brought back some books for you to pass the time and stop you from bothering me.”

Qin Zhen’s face hardened as she remembered he couldn’t see her. She huffed twice and said, “You first.”

Fu Qi also recalled how he had been the one bothering the zombie during those days in the tomb. He laughed and said, “So petty?”

Zombies like compliments but hate criticism and ignored him.

But the long night was hard to endure. After a short quiet, she couldn’t help but speak again: “Fu Xiangxiang, want to read.”

Fu Qi smiled faintly in the dark and said, “Then read.”

After speaking, he lightly turned over and got up.

Qin Zhen’s eyes lit up, and she hurried to do the same, carefully putting on her shoes.

The room downstairs was not as lucky. The door was broken and connected to the corridor, which was crawling with twenty or thirty infected.

Fu Qi planned to use a rope to descend from the window. He was quick and confident he could escape before the infected gathered.

But maybe because the sneaking around was exciting, Qin Zhen was a bit thrilled and asked if she could go herself.

Of course, she could. She wasn’t alive; the infected wouldn’t bite her, so it would be easier for her.

There was only one problem.

Fu Qi said, “No light.”

Qin Zhen immediately blamed him, “You didn’t let me bring a light bead.”

“If I brought it, I couldn’t bring your husband’s head.”

“Swearing! I’ll shoot you!”

“...”

Fu Qi grabbed her hand shaped like a gun and placed it beside his head. “If you make noise and wake your little brother, your cool big boss image is gone.”

Qin Zhen immediately quieted down and followed him to act like little thieves.

Fan Xu had a rare good sleep. When he was awakened by the bright sunlight, he blinked drowsily and saw a tall, slender silhouette by the window.

Fu Qi was wearing a clean white shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing sturdy forearms. Hearing the noise, he put down his binoculars and said “Morning.”

“Morning,” Fan Xu mumbled, then turned to see Qin Zhen curled up on the sofa reading.

She was so absorbed she nearly buried her head in the pages and didn’t even respond to Fan Xu’s greeting.

This scene made Fan Xu momentarily think it was before the apocalypse and he was dazed for a while before coming to his senses. Then he was shocked. “Where did all these books come from? Sister Ye, Brother Fu, did you two go out to find them this morning?”

Fu Qi had already turned back to observe the street and casually answered, “Your sister Ye went alone last night.”

“This, this...” Fan Xu stammered, staring at the books and clothes scattered on the floor, shocked. “This is amazing!”

At the last exclamation, the zombie lifted her head from the book, dazed for a moment before recalling her persona. She hurriedly put on a cold expression, rehearsed it in her mind, and replied, “I didn’t leave the building.”

“That’s still amazing!”

The books and clothes were part of the supplies each safe base needed. For a girl to find so many in a building full of infected and return safely without making a fuss was incredible!

“You actually went alone, Ye Li! This is the world of the strong!”

The zombie’s face flushed again, this time with guilt.

The infected only ate humans, not zombies. After she went downstairs, it was like no one was there. She turned the place upside down and even beat up the obstructive infected.

If anything went wrong, it was that a piece of clothing dragged on the ground and caused her to fall once while moving stuff last night.

That couldn’t be mentioned.

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She glanced at Fu Qi, the only person who knew. His attention was still outside the window, but his lips were clearly curved upward.

Sure enough, he said, “Such is the strong, the big boss can be capricious.”

Qin Zhen: “... Ahem, going to wash up.”

“Right!” Fan Xu immediately ran to the bathroom.

Qin Zhen was very engrossed in a domineering CEO novel, but the little brother’s loud praise after opening his eyes made her embarrassed to keep reading. Taking advantage of his absence, she quickly hid the book in the backpack.

The previous night’s room’s owner was likely a novel enthusiast. The entire bookshelf was filled with novels, all of which she had brought back and stored with her “treasures” to carry back to the tomb later. She even picked some interesting ones to keep with her for entertainment. Fu Qi had specially found her a dedicated backpack for this.

A cold and aloof big boss couldn’t indulge in novels; she couldn’t let her little brother find out.

“Eh—” The little brother finished washing and came over, exclaiming before sitting down.

The zombie’s heart skipped a beat.

The little brother continued, “How come there’s a tablet too?”

Zombie: “?”

What is that?

Qin Zhen looked at Fu Qi in confusion.

“Maybe it was with the books, the owner didn’t notice and brought it back,” Fu Qi calmly explained to Fan Xu, then to Qin Zhen. “But after so long, the tablet should be out of power.”

The last sentence shocked the zombie, who widened her eyes.

Fu Qi immediately knew she only heard the two words “computer.”

This zombie had come out of the tomb mainly for computers and phones—she was addicted. Hearing that she had brought back her longed-for computer, her expression changed, full of “Why didn’t you tell me?” reproach.

The tablet was mixed with books, and Fu Qi hadn’t noticed it last night. Even if he had, it wouldn’t have helped. He reminded again, “No power...”

Halfway through, Fan Xu shouted excitedly, “It’s on! Full battery!”

Fu Qi: “... No password.”

“Hehe!” Fan Xu chuckled mysteriously and began fiddling with the tablet.

The zombie’s impression of computers was still bulky blocks. She had never seen such a device. After glaring at Fu Qi, she eagerly stood guard beside Fan Xu, watching his every move.

After a few minutes, Fan Xu cheered again, “It’s unlocked!”

He boasted, “Not to brag, I’ve been a wedding host, a beauty blogger, and worked in a phone and tablet repair shop. Unlocking a phone or computer is a breeze!”

Then he handed the tablet to Qin Zhen, asking, “Boss, want to play?”

The zombie definitely wanted to play; it was like she had the words “I want to play on the computer” written all over her face.

If she had known there was a computer among the books, she wouldn’t have read the novels, and Fu Qi wouldn’t have slept at all—he’d have to help her figure out the password all night.

“Okay.” Qin Zhen remembered her persona and suppressed her excitement, nodding with restraint.

Nervously taking the tablet, she turned to find Fu Qi.

She wanted to play but, as a rustic zombie, didn’t know how. She needed Fu Qi, who knew her well, to teach her.

Fan Xu thought she wanted to play with Fu Qi, waved off the idea, and said, “No worries, boss, you play. I have other things.”

He opened the backpack brought back last night, revealing a large bag full of phones.

Fu Qi was speechless. Seeing the zombie’s fascinated eyes and trembling hands, he reminded them, “No internet.”

“True, no internet and no charging, just disposable, but they can take photos, record videos, listen to music, and some even have cached dramas and novels. They’re popular at the base,” Fan Xu said sheepishly. “Don’t laugh, unlocking passwords is my specialty. I do this to trade at the base.”

Fu Qi hadn’t been back to the base for a long time and didn’t know this was a thing now. He was speechless.

Fan Xu generously handed over a phone. “Password 123456, full battery, play as you like!”

Before Fu Qi could move, a gloved hand quickly took it for him. He looked down to see the zombie’s gray-blue eyes sparkling with stars, gazing at him expectantly.

Fu Qi: “...”

Good news: the zombie was firmly hooked and wouldn’t be yelling to go back underground anytime soon.

Bad news: the zombie might soon abandon him and go with someone else.