Lou Yu

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Lou Yu (楼屿)
Alias(es)	Fox 152 155
Species/Race	Fox Special Person; can assume human, partial-animal, and fox forms 152 163
Gender	Male 151 153
Affiliation	Second Special Person Team; later joins the survivors who escape to W Island 155 161
Occupation/Role	Second Team captain and special operative 31 155
Ability Ranking	Identifies himself as fourth in the overall Special Person rankings 162
Spouse	Lu Yao; their initially forced marriage later becomes a mutually acknowledged relationship 155 160
Family	Song Ting, his sister 32
Status	Alive; living on W Island and continuing to participate in missions 162 164 177
First Appearance	Introduced at the Printing Factory in “An Old Acquaintance” 31

Background / History

Early friendships and overseas missions

Lou Yu has known Ye Ruan, Tang Tang, and He Zhou since childhood, although the Special People were initially scattered across different locations. As adults, he and Ye Ruan repeatedly partner on missions with the Second and Third Teams 151 164.

Three years before the zombie outbreak, the two teams spend a month planning the abduction of Lu Yao, a Huaxia defector working with a foreign research team in Germania. Lou Yu and Ye Ruan descend from a skyscraper roof, seize him during a banquet, and escape by vehicle while their teammates block pursuit with an explosion 151.

Lou Yu repeatedly provokes their captive and underestimates his strength. Ye Ruan saves him when Lu Yao nearly strangles him. Later, Lou Yu’s attempt to prank Lu Yao with excessively spicy food turns into an awkward act of care: he replaces the meal with congee and dumplings and offers stomach medicine. Another confrontation ends with both men tranquilized 152.

Rejected courtship and forced marriage

During the same mission, Lou Yu persistently pursues Ye Ruan, offering roses, diamond rings, and a marriage proposal. Ye Ruan refuses, explaining that he wants a partner he genuinely loves. Lou Yu subsequently drinks alone; intoxicated and affected by his species’ special period, he mistakes Lu Yao for Ye Ruan 153.

Lu Yao takes advantage of that confusion, restrains Lou Yu, and announces that he has made joining the Special Person Base conditional on marrying him. Lou Yu explicitly rejects the arrangement. Despite his anger, he instinctively saves Lu Yao during a mercenary ambush and is badly wounded 153 154.

After their evacuation, Headquarters threatens Lou Yu with ten years in prison if he refuses the agreement. He punches the commander overseeing it, but guards restrain him and force him to sign, including a marriage application. Lu Yao’s subsequent gift of a ring does not reconcile them; Lou Yu regards the marriage as coercion and tells him he hates him 155.

For nearly three years, their relationship remains hostile and controlling. Lou Yu spends long periods away on missions, while reunions bring arguments, violence, and confinement. He repeatedly demands a divorce, yet also stays to nurse Lu Yao when a fever leaves him incapacitated 156 157.

The stolen flash drive

Seeking leverage to escape the marriage, Lou Yu takes a valuable intelligence drive from Ye Ruan. Ye Ruan needs its merit value to help secure treatment and freedom for his mother. The theft destroys their friendship, although Ye Ruan deliberately misses when firing at Lou Yu and allows him to leave 157.

After hearing that Ye Ruan has disappeared during a mission, Lou Yu becomes distraught. Lu Yao’s jealous remarks provoke a confrontation in which Lou Yu accuses him of treating him as an object and never asking what he wants. Lu Yao apologizes and asks to start over, but their relationship initially remains frozen 157 158.

Lou Yu later enters City H without permission, taking Song Ting with him. At the Printing Factory, he helps survivors learn to fight zombies and gather supplies. His reunion with Ye Ruan is violent: Ye Ruan strikes him with a tray over the drive, and Gu Cheng’s team restrains and interrogates him 31 158.

Lou Yu reveals that he has already submitted the drive to Headquarters and expects a merit award. He also explains Ye Ruan’s efforts to free Ye Qingman from compulsory reproductive procedures, noting that Song Ting faces the same fate after leaving service 32.

City H and the mountain exercise

During the attempt to reach City H’s defensive line, Lou Yu and Song Ting narrowly escape an SUV overrun by zombies. At Gu Cheng’s direction, Lou Yu takes over driving the Biohazard Vehicle while the others use bombs and gunfire to open a route 41.

Back at the base, Cai Hao reveals that Lu Yao covered for Lou Yu’s unauthorized trip; otherwise, he would have faced confinement and removal from his captaincy. Lou Yu subsequently joins Ye Ruan’s Third Team in the mountain field exercise, contributing scent-based reconnaissance while the teams cooperate despite old rivalries 56 57 59.

The exercise becomes a real survival crisis when Level Three Monsters appear. Lou Yu shields Song Ting and later mourns Chi Yuan, whose sacrifice makes him regret dismissing the younger operative as foolish 63 64 159.

Choosing Lu Yao

Observing Ye Ruan’s happiness with Gu Cheng prompts Lou Yu to reconsider his own relationship. He remembers Lu Yao checking him for fever and preparing meals, while also recognizing his husband’s vulnerability and difficult upbringing 158 159.

The decisive change comes when Lu Yao chooses to remain with Lou Yu and the teammates excluded from evacuation. Lu Yao acknowledges that forcing him three years earlier was his greatest regret and asks for another chance. Lou Yu responds with tears and a nod 159.

When the base falls, they choose to leave together. Lou Yu admits that Lu Yao has become the person closest to him and later says he fell in love when Lu Yao stayed without hesitation. Their existing marriage becomes a bond he willingly accepts 69 160.

Escape, W Island, and later life

Lou Yu remains active in the escape convoy. Ye Ruan entrusts him with organizing the group’s departure during the Haochuan rescue operation. At the Research Institute, he helps block the pursuing malformed monster behind glass doors, supplies earplugs, and presses the group to collect provisions 82 110.

Ye Ruan’s infection leaves Lou Yu openly distressed. He fears that his friend may never recognize them again, then realizes that Ye Ruan has already forgiven him and still trusts him to lead. His grief coexists with his usual mischief, including teasing the restrained zombie rabbit 117 160.

After reaching W Island, Lou Yu lives with Lu Yao and becomes more attentive to his poor health, bringing hot food to the Research Institute and discouraging him from eating cold meals. He later joins an Arctic data-retrieval mission selected from the ten highest-ranked Special Persons 161 162.

At Ye Ruan and Gu Cheng’s wedding, Lou Yu says he does not regret lacking a wedding of his own: he is content with the life he and Lu Yao share. They exchange declarations of love privately 164.

Appearance

Lou Yu has broad shoulders, a slender waist, and slanted, foxlike eyes. His fitted black combat uniform emphasizes his back and waist; he is slightly shorter than Lu Yao 70 151 153.

• Fox traits: Ears, fangs, and claws emerge in partial transformation 152.
• Left-ear stud: Lu Yao pierces his left earlobe and inserts the stud during a coercive confrontation 156.
• Belly-button ring: Prevents him from changing back into fox form during one rain-soaked encounter 76.

Personality

Lou Yu is flirtatious, vain, and deliberately provocative. He boasts that he is better-looking than Gu Cheng, embarrasses Ye Ruan with old mission stories, and enjoys making Lu Yao jealous. His persistent pursuit of Ye Ruan repeatedly disregards clear rejection 60 77 105 153 160.

His bravado often conceals fear or concern. He talks tougher when frightened, but returns when Lu Yao appears seriously ill and abandons a food prank after noticing genuine discomfort. He can be impulsive and neglectful of preparation, notably failing to read the mission files warning him about Lu Yao 151 152.

Freedom matters deeply to him. Lou Yu resists confinement, forced marriage, and being treated as a possession; his eventual acceptance of Lu Yao follows an explicit apology and a choice to remain beside him in danger. He is also loyal to his comrades, grieving Chi Yuan and fearing the loss of Ye Ruan despite their damaged friendship 157 159 160.

Abilities & Skills

Fox transformation

Lou Yu can shift between human and fox forms and manifest individual animal features 152 163.

• Uses fox form for scouting from a wall 75.
• Claws Lu Yao’s hand deeply enough to expose bone while escaping strangulation 152.
• His ears and fangs can emerge involuntarily when enraged 152.

Heightened senses

His animal senses support reconnaissance and recognition 59 153.

• Identifies Gu Cheng, Fang Ci, and Daniel nearby by scent during the field exercise 59.
• Recognizes Lu Yao approaching from the sound of his footsteps 153.

Combat and infiltration

Lou Yu is a highly ranked operative with experience in overseas abduction and extraction missions 151 162.

• Executes a harness-assisted descent from a skyscraper and carries an unconscious target out through a window 151.
• Uses a tranquilizer gun during confrontations with Lu Yao 152.
• Can reset his own dislocated wrist 151.
• Fought the younger Ye Ruan to a draw 52.
• His repeated weakness against Lu Yao is partly explained by anesthetic packets Lu Yao carries, which weaken people nearby without affecting him 162.

Leadership and survival support

As Second Team captain, Lou Yu contributes both command experience and practical assistance 31 82.

• Teaches civilian survivors zombie defense and supply gathering 31.
• Drives the Biohazard Vehicle during the escape toward City H’s defensive line 41.
• Takes charge of departure arrangements while Ye Ruan conducts a rescue 82.
• Helps distribute compound crossbows and provides earplugs during emergencies 87 110.

Equipment / Items

• Tranquilizer gun — Used during his clashes with Lu Yao 152.
• Retractable safety harness and specially made shoes — Used for the skyscraper abduction 151.
• Diamond rings — Purchased for his rejected proposal to Ye Ruan 153.
• Tracking anklet — Used by Lu Yao to monitor him; Lou Yu unsuccessfully requests its removal before field training 159.
• Communicator — Used during joint field operations 59.
• Cigarettes and lighter — Appears smoking during overseas operations and periods of distress 151 157.

Relationships

• Lu Yao — Husband and former abduction target. Their relationship begins with coercion and abuse, then develops into mutual commitment after Lu Yao acknowledges the harm and chooses to stay with him during evacuation 151 155 159 160.
• Ye Ruan — Childhood acquaintance, frequent mission partner, and rejected romantic interest. The stolen drive causes a serious rupture, but Ye Ruan later forgives him and continues trusting him as a fellow captain 32 153 157 160 164.
• Song Ting — Sister and Second Team comrade. She defends him during the Printing Factory confrontation; he protects her from the earthworm monster 31 32 63.
• Gu Cheng — Fellow captain and frequent verbal rival. Gu Cheng confronts him over his treatment of Ye Ruan, but they cooperate throughout the escape 32 41 87.
• Chi Yuan — Comrade whose death changes Lou Yu’s assessment of him from foolish to courageous 159.
• Yu Jingjing — Shares his enthusiasm for gossip and eavesdropping on Ye Ruan and Gu Cheng 163.
• Cai Hao — Headquarters superior who reprimands him and reveals that Lu Yao prevented disciplinary action after his unauthorized City H trip 56 120.

Notable Quotes

“So... I have to love you? Why don't you ever ask me?” 157

“If you really love me, why do you treat me like this? You've never respected what I want. All you want is a puppet!” 157

“What he thinks of you is what really matters. Don't sell yourself short.” 170

Trivia

• Despite his combat ability, Lou Yu struggles with written language: he has confused the character for “Lai” with “vegetable” and regularly mixes up the characters for “end” and “not yet” 170.
• His haunted-villa story omits the embarrassing fact that he fled in terror 137.
• His joking suggestion that Seventeen join Ye Ruan’s Third Team is subsequently adopted as an actual assignment 177.