Chapter 20

In an instant.

Night fell, and the wind died down.

The entire world seemed to grind to a halt.

Everyone instinctively paused in their actions and lifted their heads, staring blankly at the scene unfolding before them.

A tall, burly man stood quietly at the edge of the darkness.

The night shrouded his face, and the mist concealed his form.

He had nearly melted into the shadows.

Even Lin Zao, who was closest to him, could make out only one hand.

A broad, powerful hand with prominent knuckles, like the claw of a demon.

It emerged from the darkness and clamped down on Baldy’s head.

Sticky, crimson blood trickled down the man’s fingers, mingling with the chicken blood and feathers smeared across Baldy’s face.

A faint, nauseating stench wafted through the air.

Baldy, who had been acting like he owned the world just moments ago, now trembled violently under that hand’s grip. He couldn’t even cry out.

Shivering, Baldy raised his head and met Lin Zao’s gaze.

Lin Zao lay sprawled on the ground, staring ahead in shock.

He remained frozen, unable to process what he was seeing.

Of course, Lin Zao wasn’t looking at him.

Lin Zao’s eyes were fixed on the man standing behind Baldy.

Baldy didn’t understand.

Was it Fu Cheng?

Was this the person pinning him down—Fu Cheng?

But Fu Cheng had been bitten by a zombie. He’d seen it with his own eyes!

How hadn’t Fu Cheng turned into a zombie? How was he still here?

Terror toward Fu Cheng surged through him once more.

Back in school, Baldy had only insulted Lin Zao a couple of times, and Fu Cheng had beaten him senseless for it.

Now…

He’d chased Lin Zao and attacked him. Fu Cheng would surely kill him this time!

With zombies overrunning everything and the police station abandoned, Fu Cheng was nothing but a rabid dog!

What should he do? What could he do?

No… it might not be Fu Cheng…

Fu Cheng had been bitten. He should be out there now, shambling around with the other zombies.

There was no way he could still be here.

It had to be someone else. Someone else…

Clinging to that thought, Baldy mustered his courage. He furtively rolled his eyes, trying to sneak a glance backward.

But that single glimpse terrified him to his core. He nearly fainted on the spot.

“Ah—”

What kind of person was this?

The man loomed behind him, his frame towering like a small mountain.

Deep, gaping wounds marred the man’s face, shoulders, and arms.

One wound stretched from his left shoulder across to his waist, slicing through his entire chest.

Blood oozed from it, soaking his clothes through.

Even more horrifying, the man’s other arm dangled at his side at an unnatural angle.

No human arm could bend like that!

No human could contort that way!

He… he wasn’t human at all!

Baldy’s fear intensified, his screams growing more shrill.

In the next moment, a gust of wind swept in.

At the same time, the streetlights on Happiness Street flickered to life.

The wind blew, and the lights came on.

The hand gripping Baldy’s head tightened abruptly.

Baldy felt a searing pain explode across his scalp, his vision going black.

Just as he thought his head would shatter like a braised egg in the man’s grasp, an anxious voice cut through the haze—

“Brother Cheng…”

Lin Zao propped himself up on the chainsaw and struggled to his feet.

“Brother Cheng!”

He wasn’t worried about Baldy, of course. He was worried about Fu Cheng!

Baldy’s head was already crushed that badly under Fu Cheng’s grip. There was no way he’d survive.

Why had Fu Cheng come here?

Wasn’t he in the utility room?

How had he gotten out? How was that even possible?

Was he still human now, or a zombie? Did he retain any human awareness?

Was he protecting him and Little Bao? Or was this just a zombie’s instinctual slaughter?

No, he couldn’t let Fu Cheng kill anyone.

At least…

Lin Zao glanced back at the neighbors behind him.

At least, not here.

Disposing of the body would be a hassle, and what if…

What if Brother Cheng started killing and couldn’t stop himself?

What if the neighbors saw him, got scared, and tried to drive him away?

Sure, Brother Cheng had saved them, but…

People always feared the unknown.

Even if he swore to keep Brother Cheng locked up tight, they wouldn’t trust it.

—He couldn’t let anyone find out about Brother Cheng!

In that instant, Lin Zao made up his mind.

He hefted the chainsaw and hurried forward.

“Fu Cheng! That’s enough! Let him go!”

Lin Zao positioned himself in front of Fu Cheng, using his slender frame to block the neighbors’ view.

He looked up and said softly to Fu Cheng, “It’s okay. You’ve already caved his head in… You can’t kill here.”

Fu Cheng noticed Lin Zao approaching and couldn’t help but quirk the corner of his mouth, flashing him a stiff, zombie-like grin that was meant to be endearing.

His expression radiated delight, his eyes full of innocence.

But his hand remained ruthless!

“Ah! Ah…” Baldy couldn’t hold back his screams.

A second later, his cries cut off. His body went limp like a sack of mud, and he lost consciousness.

Fu Cheng didn’t react, simply staring fixedly at Lin Zao. A cheerful rumble escaped his throat.

—Little Zao, he bullied you, so I got revenge for you!

—Am I awesome? Do you like me?

Even as a human, Fu Cheng had always protected Lin Zao.

Now as a zombie, he handled it effortlessly.

Protecting Little Zao was etched into his very soul.

No training needed—he just did it.

Seeing Baldy on the verge of death, Lin Zao glanced back at the crowd. He couldn’t delay any longer and reached out to pry Fu Cheng’s hand away.

In a low voice, Lin Zao said, “Fu Cheng, do you understand? You can’t kill here…”

Fu Cheng, of course, didn’t understand.

He thought Little Zao was reaching out because he wanted to try crushing a head himself.

Grinning, Fu Cheng shifted his hand aside, making room for Lin Zao.

—Come on, Little Zao. Give it a try. It’s fun.

Seeing that Fu Cheng hadn’t understood a word, Lin Zao grew anxious and yanked harder at his hand.

“Let go! Fu Cheng, let go!”

“Do you hear me? You can’t kill here!”

“I’ll be scared…”

At those words, Fu Cheng suddenly reacted.

Lin Zao seemed to catch on. He blinked rapidly and squeezed out a couple of tears.

“I’m scared, got it?”

Lin Zao stopped trying to pry his hand away. Instead, he clasped it, pressing his warm palm against Fu Cheng’s knuckles.

He glanced toward home.

“Brother Cheng, I’m a little scared, and I’m still hungry. Can we go home? Little Bao’s waiting for us at home. Let’s go home.”

Home…

The moment the word left his lips, Fu Cheng released his grip.

Baldy, already unconscious, slumped softly to the ground.

Lin Zao clung tightly to Fu Cheng’s hand, refusing to let go.

He turned and said coldly to the robbers, “Why are you still here? Get lost!”

It wasn’t that Lin Zao was going soft or letting them off easy.

They’d only gained the upper hand in this brawl by sheer luck.

Happiness Street was full of the elderly, weak, sick, and injured. If they tried to wipe out these able-bodied thugs completely and cornered them into a desperate fight, the outcome wasn’t guaranteed.

The neighbors understood this too, so they didn’t protest. They simply gripped their weapons, stood together, and glared daggers at the robbers.

The thugs froze in place, too frightened to move for a long moment.

Lin Zao barked again, “What are you waiting for? Want to die here?”

The neighbors chimed in: “Get out! Scram!”

“Don’t you ever come back to Happiness Street! Show your faces again, and we’ll beat you every time!”

Only then did the robbers snap out of it. They scrambled away on hands and knees.

“Wait!”

They flinched and froze again.

Lin Zao kicked Baldy on the ground.

“Take him with you!”

“Okay, okay…”

They shoved each other until two of them stepped forward. One grabbed Baldy’s shoulders, the other his feet, and they hauled him off.

They were about to toss him into the minivan when a voice rang out from behind—

“Hold it!”

That was Grandpa Zhang.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Grandpa Zhang held out his hand, his expression stern. “Hand over the minivan keys. Leave the vehicles!”

Right—the crowd suddenly remembered. The robbers had two minivans!

These guys had come to rob them. Since the robbery had failed, shouldn’t they leave something behind?

The neighbors raised their weapons, backing Grandpa Zhang. “Hurry up! Fork over those keys!”

“Can we at least drive one away ourselves?”

“There are some things in the cars—can we grab them?”

The robbers tried to haggle, but the neighbors shut them down fast.

“No way! Hand them over!”

“Fine… fine…”

They considered playing dumb, but one glance at Fu Cheng standing beside Lin Zao made them give in.

The group surrendered the keys, hoisted Baldy, and fled without looking back.

Picking up their lives was victory enough.

Happiness Street’s residents had won their first battle!

They seized two minivans and two sets of keys.

Conveniently, both vehicles were parked right in front of Grandpa Zhang’s house. With night fallen and no other spots to move them, they left them there as a makeshift barricade.

Grandpa Zhang took custody of the keys and inventoried the supplies inside for distribution.

Lin Zao had no interest in that. He kept Fu Cheng behind him and tugged him toward home.

“Thanks for the help today, everyone. We’re heading out first. Brother Cheng… Brother Cheng’s hurt. I’m taking him back to bandage him up.”

Lin Zao pulled Fu Cheng along, sticking to the shadows along the wall to avoid the streetlights, hurrying toward home.

He didn’t dare say much, afraid of drawing the neighbors’ attention.

Fu Cheng obediently trailed behind Lin Zao, letting him lead. Joy bubbled inside him, a smile on his face.

They were holding hands. He and Little Zao were holding hands.

After being cooped up in the utility room for so long, he’d finally gotten to hold Little Zao’s hand.

The neighbors watched their retreating figures, brows furrowing.

“Don’t you think…”

Before anyone could finish, Grandpa Zhang cut in.

“Thanks for the help today, everyone. If you trust this old man, I’ll sort out the stuff from the vans and divvy it up.”

“It’s dark now, and we made a racket earlier. There’s blood everywhere. Those things will come sniffing around sooner or later.”

“Nothing else? Head home, then. Don’t linger outside.”

At his words, they snapped back to reality.

Right! Besides the robbers, the real terror was the zombies!

They forgot all about Lin Zao and Fu Cheng, exchanged a few quick words, and hurried off.

“Go, go.”

“Call if anything comes up.”

The group scattered like frightened birds, each returning home.

Soon, the clouds parted, the moon shone bright, and Happiness Street returned to its usual quiet.

Night had fully descended.

Lin Zao pulled Fu Cheng through the alley at a brisk pace, reaching the small back door of their home.

This was the door he’d used to slip out.

Lin Zao stood on tiptoe, reached up, and pried loose a tile from the wall.

Behind it was the key to the back door.

Little Bao had obeyed him and hidden in the closet, so he couldn’t have opened the door.

Lin Zao had stashed the key here on his way out, ensuring he could get back in.

He snapped the key free from the cement, replaced the tile, then unlocked the door with one hand while gripping Fu Cheng’s with the other. He feared Fu Cheng might wander off.

Fu Cheng followed docilely, gazing at Lin Zao’s focused profile with a perpetual smile tugging at his lips.

They were going home. Little Zao was taking him home.

Perfect.

Lin Zao pulled Fu Cheng inside, spun around, and swiftly locked the door again.

He scanned the house quickly.

The doors and windows were intact, no signs of tampering.

So…

Even knowing Fu Cheng couldn’t understand, Lin Zao couldn’t help asking.

“Brother Cheng, did you sense I was in danger and come to protect me?”

“How did you get out? The door was locked, the windows too. You…”

Lin Zao led him back to the utility room and had him sit on the bed.

“Stay here for a minute. I’ll check on Little Bao upstairs, grab some medicine and bandages, then come back to patch you up. Just wait here, okay?”

Lin Zao let go of his hand and turned to leave.

But the moment Fu Cheng saw him go, he stood up to follow.

“Sit!” Lin Zao grabbed his arm and pushed him back down. “Sit! Stay seated!”

Fu Cheng rose again, looking at him with righteous stubbornness.

He didn’t get it!

Lin Zao explained, “You’re covered in blood like this—you’ll scare Little Bao! Little Bao!”

He pointed at Fu Cheng, then at himself. “Our Little Bao!”

At the mention of Little Bao, Fu Cheng seemed to half-understand.

Little Bao was important too.

So he sat back on the bed, watching Lin Zao like a big dog—docile and obedient.

“I’ll be right back down. Don’t wander off, got it?”

With that, Lin Zao dashed upstairs.

As he left, he steadied himself against the iron door.

After a moment’s hesitation, he just pulled it shut without locking it.

He trusted Brother Cheng not to harm him or Little Bao.

Fu Cheng sat on the bed, watching Lin Zao depart.

He stared in the direction Lin Zao had gone for a long while before slowly looking away.

Fu Cheng turned, reaching for the heart-shaped lunchbox on the bed.

Little Zao had brought him dinner. He hadn’t taken a single bite yet.

Now he could eat.

He reached with both hands to pick it up.

Only then did he notice his left arm wouldn’t lift.

He looked down. His left arm dangled from his shoulder, useless.

The bone must have dislocated.

Fu Cheng glanced at it impassively, gripped his dislocated left arm, and shoved it back into place.

With a couple of clicks, he flexed it.

Good as new.

Meanwhile, Lin Zao raced up the stairs to the third-floor security door.

He knocked lightly and called out, “Little Bao? Little Bao!”

Lin Zao had originally thought that Little Bao, whom he had hidden in the closet and fitted with headphones, might not be able to hear his voice at all.

He had even steeled himself for the possibility of having to climb through the window to reach his son.

But to his surprise, after he called out just twice, there was immediate movement from inside the door.

“Dad! Is that you, Dad?”

“It’s… me…”

“I’m opening the door for you right now!”

“Little Bao, the code…”

Lin Xiaobao had completely forgotten about the code. The moment he heard Lin Zao’s voice, he started fumbling with the door lock.

The next second, the security door swung open, and there stood Lin Xiaobao on the inside, perched atop a small stool.

Lin Zao squatted down, and Lin Xiaobao leaped off the stool, hurling himself straight into his dad’s arms.

Feeling that familiar warmth and scent, Lin Xiaobao finally lost his composure. With a loud wail, he burst into tears.

“Dad! I was so scared! I was scared to death!”