The Mad Scientist’s Domesticated Little Zombie 16

Chapter 16: Is This a Foodie Movie?

“This!!!”

The little zombie’s eyes widened. He tried to argue, “How am I not clingy?”

The moment he said it, Lin Ling immediately realized, “Wait.”

“I’m not a real pet! I can’t possibly be all kissy-kissy, huggy-huggy, and lift-you-up-high with you, can I?”

When Lin Ling went to hold the kitten today, he had seen the cat’s owner interacting with her kitten just like that.

Hearing this, Shi Changyuan suddenly smiled. There was something in his eyes that Lin Ling couldn’t understand. He ruffled the young man’s head again. “Lingling has gotten smarter.”

“But there are many other ways to express affection.”

“Like…?”

The little zombie asked with the most sincere inquiry.

Shi Changyuan smiled and pointed at the kitten in Lin Ling’s hands, gesturing. “Lingling can learn a thing or two.”

The little zombie looked down. The moment the kitten felt his gaze, it let out a couple of “mews” and even proactively nuzzled against his neck.

“You… I…?”

Lin Ling imagined it, and his expression instantly froze like stone. The tips of his ears inexplicably grew hot.

“You’re not serious, are you?!!”

The little zombie instantly took a large step back and even tried to intimidate the human. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll take a bite?”

This was the first time Shi Changyuan had seen Lin Ling’s fair face flushed with a normal person’s rosy color. His eyes also seemed much more lively.

He looked so alive.

He looked at the little zombie, whose neck was also gradually turning red. For a moment, he didn’t know if it was because Lin Ling was too shy, or if he had teased him too much.

“Let’s go, let’s return the cat.”

He smiled, deciding to let the little zombie off the hook, and went to open the main door.

“What?”

“Return the cat.” Shi Changyuan stood at the door and turned to look at the person before him. “I have no intention of keeping two cats.”

The kitten in his arms, as if it knew it was about to be sent away, started meowing incessantly again.

Hearing the kitten’s trusting purrs again, the bond that had been established for less than fifteen minutes already made Lin Ling feel a bit reluctant.

“I…”

He looked at the kitten in his arms, his heart softening.

“Lingling wants to keep it?”

Shi Changyuan saw the young man’s conflict and took the initiative to ask.

But Lin Ling shook his head, his tone and expression firm.

“I can’t keep it.”

“I saw in your pet-rearing guide before that small pets can bring a lot of trouble.”

“If you can’t be responsible or don’t have the ability to be responsible, it’s best not to keep a pet.”

Lin Ling looked at the kitten and scratched its chin. “I’m not afraid of the trouble the kitten might bring. I just don’t think I can take good care of it.”

After all, he would be returning to the city ruins soon. It wasn’t safe there, and there was no stable food source.

He felt it was better to find a long-term owner for the kitten who lived in the human base.

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

But Lin Ling didn’t explain further. He held the kitten in one arm and pulled Shi Changyuan out the door with the other.

“Come with me.”

“Alright.” Shi Changyuan didn’t press further. He ruffled the little zombie’s head, his tone gentle.

“Lingling will be a responsible owner.”

The original cat owner seemed surprised that the kitten was being returned in less than a day, but when she heard Lin Ling’s reason, she completely agreed.

“It’s okay. If you miss the kitten, you can just come over to my place to see it.”

“The kitten and I will always welcome you~”

The cat owner smiled and waved the kitten’s paw, saying goodbye to Lin Ling.

“Then bye-bye.”

Lin Ling also waved at the kitten.

Although the “surprise” was a blunder, the time off Shi Changyuan had approved was still valid.

“Doesn’t that mean I’m free this afternoon?”

“Mm, then I’ll skip work too.”

Shi Changyuan stood in the elevator with Lin Ling, speaking as if it were the most natural and righteous thing to do.

“Don’t you need to go help Old Duan?”

The little zombie peeked around, checking on Shi Changyuan’s schedule, looking as if he were afraid he would be idle.

“Not going.”

Shi Changyuan said as he pressed the button for the apartment floor in the elevator.

“Going back to rest.”

**

A leisurely afternoon with nothing to do, no work, no studying, and past nap time. Back in the apartment, Lin Ling was a bit at a loss, not knowing what to do now.

“Under these circumstances, how do you humans pass the time?”

The little zombie asked humbly.

“Many ways.”

This answer was also a bit vague, probably because Shi Changyuan himself, besides reading books, reviewing reports, and teasing Lin Ling, couldn’t find any other hobbies.

He rummaged around the house for a while and found many things humans used to pass the time.

Like the projector and some game consoles.

“Then before the apocalypse, what did Lingling do to pass the time?”

Shi Changyuan returned the question out of courtesy.

“Think.”

The little zombie blurted it out almost instantly.

“I also think about many things every day.”

“Like what?” Shi Changyuan raised his eyes slightly, guiding the conversation.

Lin Ling stared at Shi Changyuan and blinked. After a few seconds of hesitation, he held up his fingers and counted, “At first, I would think about why I was different from other humans.”

“Think about how to hide my identity.”

“Think about when the zombie virus mentioned in my inheritance would break out.”

“Think about how to rule the world and make zombies the new masters of the earth.”

The little zombie spoke very naturally, without any reservation in front of the human.

Perhaps it was because the human in front of him knew his true identity, or perhaps it was the first time someone had asked him what he thought about before the apocalypse, or perhaps it was because no matter what he did or said, the human in front of him always had an indulgent expression.

Sure enough, Shi Changyuan had no extra reaction. His expression was as natural as if they were discussing what the weather would be like today. He could even ask what the highest temperature would be.

“How did Lingling know there would be a zombie virus outbreak?”

“My genes told me.”

His genes, his instincts, his inheritance would tell him what to do and when, similar to an animal’s primal instincts, but more advanced.

“But I always feel like my genes are making things difficult for me. All of this is so hard.”

At this point, the little zombie seemed to have opened an emotional floodgate, pouring out all the frustration he had been holding in.

“And many humans always try to teach me the rules of human society.”

“I was very puzzled at the time and didn’t want to learn, because my genes said that the rules of human society would completely collapse on the day the virus broke out, and the zombies would establish a new set of rules through survival of the fittest.”

Shi Changyuan gently ruffled Lin Ling’s head.

“I understand.”

Under those circumstances, Lin Ling couldn’t say or do anything, because the survival of the fittest in his genes told him he was the weaker party now and had to learn to lay low.

He learned the rules of human society but could never truly fit in.

“It seems the Zombie Emperor’s way of passing the time is not a good reference. Let’s use the human way instead.”

Shi Changyuan smiled and changed the subject, placing the projector and game console in front of the little zombie again.

“Watch a movie first or play a game first?”

Lin Ling immediately grabbed the game controller, looked at Shi Changyuan proudly, and said, “I’ve played this before. I’m really good at it.”

“Before Auntie Man confiscated it, I always held the high score!”

As he spoke, Lin Ling glanced at the human, his face clearly saying, “You should choose this,” and “I’m already prepared.”

“Then…”

Meeting his expectant gaze, the corners of Shi Changyuan’s lips curved up. He changed his tune and deliberately said, “I choose to watch a movie.”

The little zombie, who had already warmed up: !!!

“Alright.”

The little zombie reluctantly put down the game controller.

He was a very democratic Zombie Emperor and would fully respect his roommate’s opinion. Since he had asked for Shi Changyuan’s opinion, he would accept it.

“Can we play games tomorrow then?”

Lin Ling was still very easygoing. He knew that humans also found many things to do after work.

“We can.”

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Shi Changyuan agreed readily.

“Then it’s my turn to decide what to watch.”

One person chooses the activity, the other chooses the content of the activity. Very fair.

To this, Shi Changyuan had no objection.

“What genre does Lingling want to watch?” Shi Changyuan asked.

After the apocalypse, some forms of entertainment had completely disappeared. Even movies and games were products from before the apocalypse, and very few had been preserved until now.

“Movies have genres?”

The little zombie was a bit confused. “I’ve seen seven movies. I remember all their names!”

“You’ve only seen seven?”

Shi Changyuan turned on the projector and introduced to the little zombie, who was completely immersed in his own world and paid no attention to human society, “Movies are divided into many genres, like comedy, action, horror, suspense, sci-fi, and so on. These are the genres of movies.”

“Most people have their own preferences for movie genres.”

“What genre do you like?”

Lin Ling peeked over, seeing Shi Changyuan scrolling quickly on the tablet.

“Sci-fi.” Shi Changyuan smiled. “But some people find it boring.”

With that, Shi Changyuan thoughtfully laid out all the movie genres in front of the little zombie, letting Lin Ling choose for himself.

The little zombie swiped through the major categories, eliminating them one by one.

“Is an action movie just watching humans jump from the fourth floor?”

“I can jump back and forth a hundred times in two hours.”

Hearing this, Shi Changyuan, as an ordinary person, took a moment to react. He said with some helplessness, “After the apocalypse, everyone’s physical fitness is completely different. There are even ability users. Naturally, they look down on the old action movies.”

“Comedy. The little zombie doesn’t find it funny. Next.”

Lin Ling had heard jokes before, but the sense of humor of humans and zombies seemed to be different. There was nothing to be done about that.

So the little zombie flipped to the next page, and his gaze was instantly captured.

Almost every poster was dominated by red and black tones, and the font of the movie titles was rendered with bloodstains.

The little zombie poked Shi Changyuan’s arm and asked in a puzzled voice, “Is this a foodie movie?”

“You humans film this kind of thing?”

***

Author’s Note:

Here! [Panda head]