Chapter 25: I’m Afraid I’ll Get Slapped
After putting Shi Changyuan to bed, Lin Ling hummed a tune and went back to the bathroom to shower, completely unaware of the sound of running water that started almost simultaneously in the other bathroom.
By the time the little zombie had leisurely finished his shower and dried his hair, he even made a special trip to Shi Changyuan’s room to check on him.
Good, no more shenanigans.
Lin Ling stood at the door, opened it just a crack, and peeked in to observe.
The position seems to have changed.
At first, the little zombie had placed Shi Changyuan on the right side of the bed, closer to the door. Now, Shi Changyuan was lying on the left side, closer to the inside.
But that’s normal.
Lin Ling, once again judging others by his own standards, thought, I also like to roll around when I sleep. As long as I don’t fall off the bed, it’s fine.
After confirming again that Shi Changyuan hadn’t been killed by his care, the little zombie hummed a tune and went back to his room.
The next day, when Lin Ling woke up, Shi Changyuan was just serving the pre-ordered lunch, looking nothing like he had a hangover.
“After lunch, we’ll get ready to leave.”
“Okay.”
Lin Ling stared blankly at the now-normal Shi Changyuan, for a moment not knowing whether to be relieved or to reminisce.
After all, that side of Shi Changyuan was rarely seen. Although he didn’t want to see it often either.
“Why is Lingling looking at me like that?”
The corners of Shi Changyuan’s lips curved up. He deliberately brought up the sore subject. “Did I do something after I got drunk yesterday?”
“N-No.”
For some reason, the moment Shi Changyuan asked this question, Lin Ling’s first reaction was to hide it, to play dumb.
Nothing happened. Nothing happened at all.
“Really?”
Shi Changyuan chuckled and pressed.
“Fake.”
The little zombie splashed cold water on his face, and his head instantly cleared.
After washing up and wiping the water from his face, he sat at the table and began to spout nonsense, his face animated.
“After you got drunk, you sang and danced, and even wanted to perform a backflip for everyone. Old Duan couldn’t stand it and kicked you out.”
“I kindly brought you home, but you wanted to bite the hand that fed you and almost got arrested as a zombie. I had to go through a lot of trouble to rescue you.”
“I recorded all of this on my phone. If you bully me again in the future, I’ll send it to everyone!”
This story became more and more outrageous. The little zombie had to try hard not to laugh out loud and maintain a serious face, looking at Shi Changyuan with pleading eyes.
He just didn’t know if the other would believe it…
The human, listening to these “slanders,” had no reaction. He just reached out and pinched Lin Ling’s cheek, saying, “You’ve learned to be bad.”
“I learned it from you.”
The little zombie fiercely speared a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth, retorting unceremoniously.
“Are we leaving the city directly later?”
“Mm, we’ll meet up with them outside the city. Lingling can eat first. I have some things to take care of.”
“Okay~”
Watching Shi Changyuan make a call and methodically arrange the work for his lab and this house, which would be vacant for who knows how long, the little zombie finally felt a sense of departure.
He looked at the familiar living room. Some things had been packed away by him, but many more could not be taken.
The various dolls he had bought with Shi Changyuan at the market, the carefully selected cups and bowls, the fluffy slippers prepared for the winter, the pajamas that were a few sizes too big, the bedroom that had been decorated to be completely different from the one in City B…
Those things were quietly placed in the most familiar and convenient places, waiting to be used.
A feeling that even Lin Ling himself couldn’t describe welled up in his heart.
“Will we… come back later?”
The little zombie subconsciously asked Shi Changyuan, but the words got stuck in his throat before he could finish.
“Hmm?”
Shi Changyuan heard Lin Ling’s voice but didn’t get a complete sentence.
“My lab will be temporarily managed by Old Duan. A housekeeping robot will come to collect the keys to the apartment later.”
Hearing the words “collect the keys,” the little zombie’s grip on the string of keys around his neck tightened.
The string of keys, hung around his neck and hidden under his clothes, had gone from one key to two.
One was bronze, with some rust.
The other was silver-white, brand new, and had only been used a few times.
“What will happen to this house?”
Lin Ling looked at the human in front of him, his tone carrying a reluctance he himself hadn’t noticed.
“What does Lingling think?”
Shi Changyuan didn’t answer directly. He just said, “After the apocalypse, human resources are limited. Once an allocated apartment is confirmed to be vacant due to the user’s death or exceeding the idle period, it will be reclaimed and reassigned to someone else.”
“Actually, it doesn’t matter if you hand over the keys or not.”
Shi Changyuan looked at the nervous little zombie in front of him, ruffled his head as if in comfort.
“Giving the keys is just to let the robot come and take care of it regularly. Maybe we’ll have to come back and live here again someday.”
“Don’t you think so, Lingling?”
Hearing this, Lin Ling looked at Shi Changyuan, met his deep eyes, and then gently, slowly, almost imperceptibly, nodded.
In the last ten minutes before leaving, the little zombie personally checked every corner of the house, just like anyone leaving for a long trip. He locked the doors and windows, turned off the water and electricity, and finally closed the main door.
He hung the key around his neck.
Along with the other one.
**
“You’re here? Over here!”
Just as the two drove out of the city gate, they saw a fleet of vehicles parked together in twos and threes.
As Shi Changyuan’s car slowed down, Miao Xue grabbed onto the side of the car, used the external running board for leverage, and jumped in through the open window.
“How about it? My skills haven’t gotten rusty, have they?”
The little zombie was dumbfounded, even forgetting to applaud.
So everyone is this amazing!
“So many people?”
Shi Changyuan scanned the area. Including his own, there were a total of seven cars, which he roughly estimated to be twenty to thirty people.
“Hey, not all of them are ours.”
Wu Zhou’s way of getting into the car was simple but clean and efficient. He explained, “We only have two cars. There are four of us here, and three came in the other car, all of them are attack-type ability users.”
“The other cars are just following us for a while. They’ll split off at the A19 national highway. They’re going to the seventh base for trade. Although there are many people, there are only two ability users, and neither of them are attack-type. Even if they have some tricks up their sleeves, they can’t cause much trouble.”
Shi Changyuan nodded slightly.
“That’s for the best.”
“Let’s go.”
Listening to the two of them communicate, talking about a bunch of things he had never heard of, the little zombie was extremely curious. He would look at Shi Changyuan, then turn around to peek at the two people in the back seat.
Shi Changyuan had changed out of his lab coat and was not wearing the loose, comfortable casual clothes he wore at home. He was in a black combat suit he had never seen before, with a military knife and a gun at his waist, and wearing sunglasses, which made him look particularly sharp. He didn’t look like a researcher at all. Even his expression and tone were completely different from when he was at the research institute.
He… was quite handsome.
The little zombie looked at himself, in a white sweater and snow boots, and felt a bit out of place.
Damn it, someone secretly changed into cool clothes and didn’t tell me!!!
“What are attack-type ability users?”
Miao Xue and Wu Zhou were extremely enthusiastic. The two of them were chatting away, asking Lin Ling a lot of questions, almost to the point of investigating his entire family history.
To avoid being passive, the little zombie could only take the initiative to ask about things he was curious about.
“It means their abilities are very offensive, with attack as the main focus.”
“For example, those who can control electricity, control fire, control ice blades, control metal, or have super strength. These abilities are top-notch in a fight.”
“The other three members of our team are metal, fire, and ice blade.”
Miao Xue was happy to clear up the little zombie’s confusion and immediately took over Shi Changyuan’s job, explaining in detail.
“For example, my ability is to create a defensive wind field, a bit like a barrier in a novel, which can block all physical objects.”
“But in theory, all abilities can be used for both offense and defense, or in combination with teammates for support. It’s just that the difficulty is too high, and no one can use them yet.”
The little zombie had a vague understanding of these classifications. He had seen some high-tier zombies use special abilities, probably also wind control, which allowed them to jump very high into the air.
“So, even an attack-type ability, before it has matured, is not as good as someone with good marksmanship.”
“Good marksmanship plus an attack-type ability is the kind of talent the military focuses on cultivating and can rise to a high position.”
After all, among those who awakened abilities, there was no shortage of weaklings who couldn’t even hold a gun.
While the three were chatting, the vehicle sped along a narrow path, and the scenery outside the window gradually became desolate.
“There are patrols within three kilometers of the base, so there are basically no zombies. But we’ve already driven thirty kilometers, so why haven’t we seen a single one?”
“In the past, if we didn’t take a detour for thirty kilometers, we would have fought several waves already.”
“This isn’t right.”
Wu Zhou opened the car window and looked through a pair of binoculars. He could see two or three zombies wandering in the distance, but when their convoy drove past, even with the noise, they couldn’t attract those zombies.
“Something’s not right, Professor Shi. It’s getting dark now. Why don’t we set up camp here for the night? I need to go and check the situation.”
“Alright.”
Shi Changyuan had no objection.
After making the decision, the convoy found a place with a good view and began to set up camp.
This was the first time Lin Ling had ever slept in the wild.
He watched as everyone parked their cars in a circle and then began to set up tents, gather firewood, and the cooking team began to prepare pots and pans.
The little zombie observed for a while and found that he was the only one who seemed to be idle. He quickly returned to Shi Changyuan’s side and imitated the others in setting up a tent.
“How can I help you?”
Lin Ling followed behind Shi Changyuan, watching as the tent was already being set up, and he had no idea where to start.
“Lingling, help me hold this rope. This is very important. Don’t let go.”
Shi Changyuan assigned a task to the little zombie.
Very important!!
The little zombie immediately nodded, perked up, and held the rope tightly, not daring to be careless for a moment.
“Alright, Lingling can go inside and try it out, see if there are any drafts.”
“For me?”
Lin Ling blinked and looked at Shi Changyuan. “What about you?”
Hearing this, the human in front of him smiled. “Is Lingling so greedy that you want to have a whole tent to yourself? I’m afraid even if Lingling’s General brother came, he wouldn’t have this treatment.”
“I’ll have to trouble Lingling to squeeze in with me.”
Squeeze in with Shi Changyuan, okay.
The little zombie thought for a moment and had no objection.
“What about this rope? Where does it get tied?”
Lin Ling saw that Shi Changyuan was done and quickly brought the rope in his hand to him, looking worried, as if he were afraid he had forgotten a step and the tent would collapse in the middle of the night.
“Right, there’s still a rope.”
With that, Shi Changyuan rolled up his sleeves, untied the knot on his wrist, and then slowly reeled it in, until he reached the part that Lin Ling was holding tightly.
The little zombie was stunned. He looked at the rope, with one end in his hand and the other in Shi Changyuan’s. He really couldn’t imagine what was so important about this rope.
“You’re teasing me?”
Lin Ling was about to get angry. He glared at Shi Changyuan, waiting for an explanation.
“I’m not teasing Lingling.”
Shi Changyuan patted the little zombie’s head and said with a smile, “When I’m busy, I need to make sure Lingling is by my side and hasn’t run off.”
“From my perspective, the rope is tied to Lingling.”
“Isn’t that important?”
Lin Ling: !!!
“A-Are you afraid I’ll run away?” The little zombie stammered, his tone a bit confused. “Of course not…”
“No.”
Shi Changyuan interrupted Lin Ling, his tone gentle.
“Just to make sure Lingling is safe.”
Whether it was because the bonfire over there was burning too brightly, Lin Ling suddenly felt his ears getting a little hot, and there was a faint tendency for it to spread to his cheeks and eye sockets.
“That’s not necessary either.”
Lin Ling muttered in a low voice, “These little zombies outside aren’t even as strong as the lowest-tier zombies in City B. They’ll just turn and run when they see me.”
Hearing this, Shi Changyuan seemed to understand something. He lowered his head and leaned close to Lin Ling’s ear.
“Did Lingling drive those zombies away?”
“Uh-huh.”
The great Zombie Emperor lifted his chin, looking proud, as if waiting for Shi Changyuan’s praise.
Shi Changyuan chuckled softly, moved a little closer, and, following Lin Ling’s wish, praised him.
“So amazing, Lingling.”
“Of course!”
The little zombie, who had gotten what he wanted, habitually shook his head. But as he turned his head, he felt something warm and soft brush past the tip of his ear.
The place that had been brushed was hit with a tingling sensation that spread from the tip of his ear to the back of his head, and then it felt like it was on fire, so hot it was scary.
Lin Ling jumped back abruptly, his gaze unconsciously falling on Shi Changyuan’s thin lips.
And Shi Changyuan was still in the same position, just looking at the young man, his eyes curved, and said with great insincerity, “Sorry, it was an accident.”
“I know!”
The great Zombie Emperor’s fur was all on end, but a certain evil human was not willing to let him go and continued to ask, “Is a zombie’s body still so sensitive?”
Lin Ling almost flew back, covered Shi Changyuan’s mouth, not knowing if it was because he was afraid of exposing his identity, or because of a certain word in that sentence.
“You’re not allowed to talk anymore, you hear me!”
The little zombie was anxious. He ground his newly grown fangs and threatened expertly, “If you talk again, I’ll crawl out in the middle of the night and chew on your head!”
Shi Changyuan lowered his gaze, feeling the soft palm of the young man who had never done any rough work. He suddenly thought, a bit distractedly, that if he were to lick it now, he would probably get slapped.
Can’t scare him.
The moment he looked up, the emotion in his eyes was instantly concealed. He looked at the young man in front of him, looking very easygoing.
“Alright, I’ll listen to Lingling.”
***
Author’s Note:
Here! [Pitiful]
