Chapter 2: A Guide for a New Little Zombie at Home
…Pet rearing?
Lin Ling looked at the hamster cage he had been locked in, then at the evil man in the white coat before him. His pretty eyes widened again as he stressed, “I am the Zombie Emperor!”
“Alright, Zombie Emperor.”
Shi Changyuan’s reply was swift this time. As he spoke, he summoned a robot to clean up the room.
“What do you mean, ‘alright’? I am the Zombie Emperor! Such audacity from a mere human! Hurry up and release me!”
At first, the little zombie had been nervous around the evil man in the white coat, but after a few interactions, he hadn’t sensed any malice. Even after he had wrecked the lab, the man hadn’t gotten angry, which was truly strange.
“Please—lift—your—foot—”
Just as Lin Ling was about to speak again, a mechanical voice interrupted him. A cleaning robot had bumped into his feet, its little lights flashing cheerfully.
The little zombie glanced at the harmless robot, politely stepped back to give it space, and then resumed his vigilant watch on the human.
A moment later, the little robot’s voice came from his feet again.
“Please—lift—your—foot—”
Shi Changyuan watched as the ferocious Zombie Emperor was chased around the room by a cleaning robot, finally cornered in a small nook. He found it rather amusing and was about to go rescue him.
But the moment he took a step, the little zombie held up the pet-rearing guide like a weapon and hissed, his fur on end.
“Don’t come any closer! If you do, I’ll bite you!”
Shi Changyuan looked at the little zombie, who had all his quills raised, and a thought came to him. He chuckled softly and said, as if he had nothing to fear, “I got vaccinated in advance.”
He even held out his palm, deliberately tempting him. “Want to try a bite?”
He’s provoking me again!
The little zombie ground his teeth in frustration, but he was afraid it was a trap. Humans who pretended to walk right into your hands were the most cunning of all!
Besides, biting just because he was told to? Did he think he was a dog?
Seeing that the other had finally quieted down, Shi Changyuan spoke in a tone that was half-soothing, half-threatening. “If you don’t want to be sent for a real dissection, you’d best behave.”
Shi Changyuan’s attitude wasn’t particularly harsh. After saying this, he went back to his own work.
Lin Ling watched as the lab was restored to its original state. After testing the waters for a while and confirming that Shi Changyuan had no intention of locking him up again, he decided to gather some information.
When the little robot had come in earlier, he had caught a glimpse of the scene outside the door—a corridor connected to another corridor, like a giant white maze.
Without a map, he would never be able to escape.
The little zombie observed that more new items had been brought in than before; there was bound to be useful information among them.
The place with the most reports and books was the evil man’s lab bench.
Lin Ling looked at his target, then at the evil man busy with something at the bench. He held his breath, slowly crouched down, and began to move like a secret agent.
The lab bench was taller than a regular desk, so crouching down hid him completely. He reached his destination with almost no effort.
“…A newspaper?”
After sneaking over, Lin Ling began to blindly search through the items. After fumbling with a few incomprehensible drafts, he finally found a piece of valuable information.
“New Era, Year 04. Serum to suppress the zombie virus declared a success… Professor Shi… The Zombie Virus Terminator.”
Seeing this bad news, the little zombie’s eyes drooped.
Ruling the world is so hard.
But this Professor Shi… he felt like he had seen that name somewhere before.
“Where have I seen it…”
“Looking for this?”
As Lin Ling was muttering to himself, a work ID was held out next to him. It had a photo, a name, and a job title.
So the evil man in the white coat was this professor named Shi Changyuan.
“Thank you.”
The next second after instinctively thanking him, Lin Ling practically shot up, putting distance between himself and the human. He backed into a corner, accusing him fiercely, “You said vaccine when you meant serum! You did that on purpose!”
Shi Changyuan looked at the little zombie, who was on high alert but actually had no defenses against humans. A guess suddenly formed in his mind. He took two steps forward, testing the other’s limits. Even when he had closed the distance more than ever before, the other still made no move to attack.
“You’ve lived with other humans before?”
“None of your business!”
The little zombie’s answer was evasive, but Shi Changyuan just clicked his tongue and spoke in an unreadable tone.
“Oh? In that case, it’s probably better to lock you up, just to be safe. What do you think, little zombie?”
“No! I refuse!”
Lin Ling had no idea how things had taken such a turn. They were going to lock him up again, just like that. He could only protest frantically.
“Beep beep—”
As the atmosphere grew tense, a sound came from the main door. A robot entered, carrying a tray.
“Professor Shi, this is the meal you requested.”
The smell of food made the little zombie’s stomach rumble loudly.
Lin Ling: “…”
Useless!
He scolded his stomach and, just as he was preparing to endure hunger, he heard Shi Changyuan tell the delivery robot to place the food in front of him.
“What are you doing?”
Lin Ling was on full alert, staring at the meal before him without even lifting the cover.
“Your lunch.”
The delivery robot left after setting down the food, while the instigator himself looked as if he didn’t care whether he ate it or not.
The little zombie agonized for a long time, his gaze shifting back and forth between the meal and Shi Changyuan. Finally, he decided to take a look.
At the very least, I need to figure out what this evil man is up to!
When he lifted the lid, he found a large plate of beef strips, all cooked medium-rare with a hint of red, seasoned, and drizzled with a sweet sauce.
A small floret of broccoli sat in the middle as a garnish.
“This is for me?”
The little zombie stared blankly for a moment. Forgetting all about plots and schemes, he looked at Shi Changyuan and asked directly.
“Zombies prefer raw meat, but eating too much can make them feral and difficult to train. This is the most suitable for you.”
Lin Ling looked at the food in front of him. It was fine before he lifted the lid, but now his stomach was growling even louder, and his desire for the food was swelling rapidly.
“…But this is all meat.”
The little zombie picked up the fork beside him, stabbed a piece of meat, and then pulled it out, pretending to be ruining the food even though he was dying to eat it.
“Malnourished.”
Seeing that the other was, for once, not hissing and spitting, Shi Changyuan explained patiently, “Your stats are half that of other zombies.”
But Lin Ling didn’t like hearing that. He retorted stubbornly, “I am not malnourished.”
“Auntie Man said you need a balanced diet of meat and vegetables to grow tall!”
Hearing the name “Auntie Man,” Shi Changyuan raised an eyebrow. He didn’t argue, but simply asked with a rising inflection, “Do you see any other zombies on the street eating grass?”
The phrase “eating grass” struck a chord with the little zombie. He wiped away non-existent tears and decisively speared a piece of meat, stuffing it into his mouth.
The moment he tasted the semi-raw meat, Lin Ling felt a sense of pure bliss, as if every gene in his body had been reactivated, screaming for more.
Human seasonings were a wonderful thing; even a zombie’s natural instincts found them hard to resist. After all, it’s hard to go back to simple living after experiencing luxury.
This was the first time the little zombie had eaten his fill of meat. He patted his stomach, exceptionally satisfied.
You know, researchers really are meticulous.
The great Zombie Emperor thought magnanimously.
I’ll never discriminate against people in lab coats again.
***
Author’s Note:
A guide for a new cat at home: First, leave it alone and let the kitten explore on its own, then feed it from a distance. [Laughing hard] [Laughing hard]
