The Mad Scientist’s Domesticated Little Zombie 22p1

Chapter 22: Can I Call You Brother? p1

As soon as Miao Xue left, Lin Ling sat in the lab, waiting for Shi Changyuan to return. Then, he walked up to him proudly and announced, “I’m not fighting with you anymore.”

“I’m still going to City B.”

Seeing the chestnut-colored, long-haired kitten full of fighting spirit again, Shi Changyuan raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with amusement as he deliberately said, “Didn’t you say I broke my promise?”

“I’ve decided not to leave the city.”

Hearing this terrible news, the little zombie was both anxious and angry. He lunged forward, ready to bite.

“You can’t!”

“You promised me.”

Seeing the little zombie pounce, Shi Changyuan didn’t dodge. He let him open his mouth and bite down on his shoulder, and instead, he laughed out loud, pulling Lin Ling into a tight embrace.

He stroked the short hairs on the back of the little zombie’s neck, his tone intimate.

“I promised Lingling. I won’t go back on my word.”

“Lingling can bite as much as you want.”

Shi Changyuan’s tone sounded as if he were more than happy to be bitten, which made Lin Ling grind his teeth again, but he never really bit down.

In the winter, even indoors, people wore thick enough clothes. Fangs without force might pierce through a sweater, but they would never penetrate the tightly woven fabric of a lab coat.

Realizing this, the smile on Shi Changyuan’s lips deepened. He gently patted the little zombie’s back.

“Don’t grind your teeth on the lab coat. It’s dirty.”

“Then you have to keep your word.”

The little zombie was completely unaware that he had fallen into the other’s embrace, held tightly, and was still relentlessly pressing for a definite answer.

“I will.”

“I will take Lingling to City B, back home.”

“Even if Lingling has some plan, I will turn a blind eye.”

Shi Changyuan preemptively said what Lin Ling wanted to say. “As for the final result, it will all depend on our own abilities?”

“Right!”

“That’s fair, isn’t it!”

The little zombie was very honest and laid out his plan, looking full of confidence.

“Very fair.”

Shi Changyuan smiled.

So fair that no matter what, he wouldn’t lose.

The young man would still be his alone.

“Then you really have to take me back to City B. I have something very important to do.”

“Rule the world?”

“That’s just one part of it! I’m still in the stage of recruiting troops. By the way, do you really not want to join our zombie camp? I can make you a king of a different race…”

“That’s called a king with a different surname.”

“It means the same thing.”

The little zombie had gotten used to the human’s body heat. It was warm in the cold late autumn. When he pulled away, there was even a faint reluctance.

He wrapped his coat tighter and followed behind Shi Changyuan, muttering to himself, as if to make up for all the words he had held back during his one-sided cold war with him.

“So, should we go pack our bags now?”

“Now?”

“You don’t understand. This is called being eager to return home.”

“Mm, before we leave, we have to go to the military to go through some procedures.”

“We have to go again?”

“The procedure for applying for military supplies is rather complicated. Lingling can wait for me at home.”

“No, I want to go with you.”

The two walked out of the lab, one after the other. The atmosphere was nothing like they had just had a fight. In fact, there was a faint trend of it being even more intimate than before the fight.

After the itinerary was confirmed, the military sent someone to notify Shi Changyuan to go through the procedures not long after, clearly giving him priority.

The last time, Lin Ling and Shi Changyuan had turned back before even entering the military’s main hall. This time, the little zombie had plenty of time to look around.

Compared to the research institute, the military had more people, but they basically all knew each other.

The young man, a new face, and a very pretty one at that, attracted the attention of almost everyone present.

If it weren’t for the strict discipline in the military, the number of people coming up to chat would have probably created a bottleneck.

Shi Changyuan clicked his tongue, looking at the little zombie who wasn’t following closely behind him but was lagging behind, looking here and touching there. He deliberately threatened, “Be careful you don’t get arrested.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Lin Ling immediately retorted.

He had observed that when he and Shi Changyuan came in, they were registered together. If he were arrested, Shi Changyuan would definitely be arrested too.

The little zombie quickly walked to Shi Changyuan’s side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. He tilted his head, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, “If I get arrested, you’ll be an accomplice.”

“No, the mastermind.”

“I’ll just say you made me do it.”

Shi Changyuan grabbed the young man’s wrist, then let out a couple of low laughs, going along with Lin Ling’s words. “How could I possibly order the great Zombie Emperor around?”

The military clerk leading the way in front, although she couldn’t hear what the two were saying, could already feel the sour taste of love from the cheap smile on the man’s face.

Sigh, a young couple.

And it’s Professor Shi’s partner.

The female clerk now just wanted to take out a megaphone and tell all the onlookers who were trying to find an opportunity to back off. Don’t block the way, you have no chance!

Although the application procedure was complicated, Shi Changyuan’s contribution to the military was great, so there was basically someone dedicated to helping him with the process. All Shi Changyuan had to do was come and sign a few times to confirm his identity.

Shi Changyuan checked the supplies he wanted and signed the registration book, while Lin Ling wandered around the office. He would look at the posted rules and regulations, then the scenery outside the window, then the bulletin board on the wall.

There can’t be any secrets in a public reception room like this, can there? Let’s see how Shi Changyuan can scare me now.

The little zombie was so proud his tail was practically wagging. He glanced at Shi Changyuan before slowly moving his gaze back to the bulletin board on the wall.

On this bulletin board, the most conspicuous things were a few photos, neat headshots, with names and positions written below them.

Before the apocalypse, the little zombie had seen this kind of bulletin board. It was usually one of two things: a board of honor or a wanted board. Clearly, this was a good board.

The little zombie’s gaze fell on the photos, scanning them one by one, committing them to memory.

After returning to City B, he would tell all the zombies to steer clear of these people!

Suddenly, Lin Ling’s gaze froze. He saw a particularly familiar human in the photos.

He instantly stiffened, his mind went blank. He didn’t even dare to look at the name to confirm, and subconsciously wanted to turn and run.

“You know him?”

Shi Changyuan appeared behind Lin Ling, his hand resting on his shoulder. He followed the little zombie’s gaze to the photo of the young general in the middle.

Name, Song Jing.

“General Song’s ability is very strong, so he’s often out on missions and not in the military.”

The female clerk thought the two were looking for Song Jing for some reason and made a special point of explaining, “If you want to find General Song, you’ll probably have to wait until the end of the year.”

Whether it was hearing that the other person was not at the base, or the hand Shi Changyuan had on his shoulder, the little zombie’s tense body instantly relaxed.

“…I don’t know him.”

In front of the female clerk, Shi Changyuan heard the little zombie’s weak, soft denial.

He didn’t say anything, just finished the application and then pulled the young man back to the car.

Back to a sealed, safe, private space.

He pulled the seatbelt over, helped the little zombie buckle up, and averted his gaze to avoid the pressure of eye contact on Lingling. He asked casually, “Is this Song Jing also an acquaintance from City B?”

“…Mm.”

Lin Ling’s reply was a bit slow, not because he didn’t want to answer, but because his brain was still in a state of shock and hadn’t reacted yet.

“Brother Song Jing… is Auntie Man’s biological son.”

Hearing the words “Brother Song Jing,” Shi Changyuan’s hand, on the contrary, paused.

“When Auntie Man brought me home, Brother Song Jing was in college and didn’t come home often. He didn’t contact Auntie Man much either.”

“He would occasionally come back during the holidays, but he would never stay for more than half a day. He would have a meal with Auntie Man and then leave.”

“I-I’m not very familiar with him. We haven’t spoken much.”

Lin Ling lowered his eyes in recollection, his fingertips unconsciously twisting the corner of his clothes, curling up in the fabric.

“Auntie Man told me to call him brother. After the first time we met, every time Brother Song Jing came back, besides buying flowers for Auntie Man, he would also bring me a gift.”

Hearing this, Shi Changyuan seemed to finally be unable to hold back. He let out a sneer and pinched the little zombie’s cheek.

“She told you to call him that, and you did? So obedient?”

Lin Ling’s face was pinched again. He looked up at Shi Changyuan, his eyes filled with confusion.

“In terms of human social kinship, I am Auntie Man’s adopted child. Calling her other older child ‘b…'”

The little zombie had just uttered one syllable when Shi Changyuan interrupted him.

“And then?”

“Why don’t you know him now?”

At this, Lin Ling’s eyes drooped. His eyelashes trembled uneasily, looking pitiful.

“I just didn’t expect to run into him here.”

“Brother Song Jing doesn’t know my identity.”

“From a human’s perspective, both Auntie Man and I were in the epicenter of the zombie outbreak. But now I’m here, perfectly fine, in one piece, in front of him, but Auntie Man is not.”

“No matter what the reason, what the excuse, it was me who didn’t protect Auntie Man well.”

The little zombie pressed his lips together and finally said what was on his mind.

“…I don’t want him to hate me.”

The moment he said it, Shi Changyuan also fell silent.

After a long while, he finally concealed the emotion in his eyes, sighed, and ruffled the little zombie’s hair, comforting him as usual.

“Auntie Man raised Lingling well.”

“He won’t hate you.”

Lin Ling felt the human’s body heat and rubbed against Shi Changyuan’s palm, comforting himself with Shi Changyuan’s words. “He won’t hate me, as long as I can get back in time.”

The little zombie pressed against the human’s palm, completely unaware that his own secret had been revealed.

“Auntie Man was one of the first to be infected.”

“I brought Auntie Man home, locked the door, and hunted for her. After this winter, when Auntie Man evolves into a high-tier zombie, she’ll be able to come back.”

“That way, Brother Song Jing will have a mother again.”

**

This little zombie, who had lived in human society for ten years, was really well-raised.

Even though he was naturally aloof at first, with the aggression carried in his genes and a completely opposite identity, he was still taught empathy and compassion.

Shi Changyuan lowered his eyes, looking at the lazy, obedient young man leaning against him, looking completely harmless.

But no one had taught him how to balance his budding emotions with the instincts of his opposing genes, so Lin Ling could only self-exile himself in human society.

But this was no longer human society.

“Isn’t Lingling the Zombie Emperor? Why are you still afraid of this?”

The moment Shi Changyuan teased him, the faint gray haze that had covered the little zombie’s beautiful eyes was washed away.

“I’m not afraid! I just don’t want to!”

The great Zombie Emperor was determined to protect his face. His voice instantly rose several decibels.

“I didn’t expect Brother Song Jing to be so powerful, to have an ability, not to have turned into a zombie, and to be an official in a human base.”

“I was originally planning to wait until Auntie Man had completely evolved into a high-tier zombie and could take care of herself, then I would go out and find Brother Song Jing and reunite them.”

“I am the Zombie Emperor! I’m going to rule the world!”

Hearing the word “reunite,” Shi Changyuan let out a “heh” and pinched the little zombie’s cheek again, a bit forcefully, leaving a faint red mark.

“Lingling is in such a hurry to go back.”

“It’s not just to reunite with your Brother Song Jing, is it?”

The little zombie didn’t quite understand.

He had never said he wanted to reunite with Brother Song Jing. How did Shi Changyuan come to that conclusion?

Unreasonable!

But before the little zombie could speak, he heard Shi Changyuan say again, “Lingling, listen carefully.”

“In this game, there can only be me and Lingling. No one else is qualified to enter.”