Are you coming with me?

Before long, a series of doors being kicked in and gunshots rang out upstairs, along with the excited voices of survivors.

Xu Duoduo sat in the wardrobe in a daze, her sluggish brain trying to process it all. I'm... not dead? My old classmate actually didn't shoot me?

The little zombie didn't quite understand.

After a while, she looked down at the thin quilt wrapped tightly around her. She struggled a little, found herself firmly bound, and simply gave up.

Resigned to her fate, Xu Duoduo slumped sideways in the wardrobe, blinking as she waited for time to pass. She had no idea how long it had been before she finally heard movement outside again.

"Everyone, head downstairs and line up! Buses will be here shortly to take you to the survivor base."

His voice was surprisingly stern when he barked orders, all his usual flippancy gone. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought he was running military training.

Xu Duoduo's mind was wandering when she happened to hear someone ask him where he was going. Qin Luo had wiped out all the zombies in the building without even getting winded. He had clearly become the person everyone relied on, the source of their sense of security.

Then she heard him coldly tell them to mind their own business. "Just keep going. I'm picking something up."

The "something" he had left behind-Xu Duoduo-suddenly froze, then looked a little disgruntled.

So when Qin Luo strode in, muttering to himself, and pulled open the wardrobe, he found himself staring into a pair of cloudy gray eyes filled with a hint of resentment. They were zombie eyes, stripped of their human luster, but the look in them was remarkably expressive.

"Hey, that's our Little Class Monitor for you. Even as a zombie, you're smarter than everyone else."

I could do without that compliment, thanks.

Seriously.

Xu Duoduo's eyes were full of disdain. If she could still speak, she would have loved to give him a piece of her mind.

Qin Luo looked as though he had found a new toy. He untied the knots around her, then wrapped her in the quilt again. "Can you understand me? Nod if you can. I'll take you with me. Did you read the Doomsday Survival Manual headquarters sent out to everyone? Early-stage zombies generally have no reason left at all, but you're strange. You seem to have some awareness remaining?"

In front of her, he reverted to his usual carefree self, occasionally curling his lips into a mischievous smile that showed the pointed tooth on the right side of his mouth.

That familiar smile was so dazzling that, for a moment, Xu Duoduo felt as though she had returned to those three carefree years of middle school.

Seeing her stare blankly, Qin Luo frowned a little. "Don't tell me you really have lost your mind completely? Hey, hey, hey! Look at me. I'm asking if you want to come with me. There might still be hope for you if you come back to the base. Professor Ji at our research institute is pretty amazing. Or would you rather stay here?"

What a joke.

Who would want to die if they could live?

Startled into alertness by his words, Xu Duoduo quickly began nodding obediently.

Even her previously stiff neck seemed to have loosened up considerably.

Qin Luo's lips curved into another sunny, handsome smile, exposing his little pointed tooth. Satisfied with her answer, he nodded, hoisted the caterpillar-like bundle that was Xu Duoduo onto his shoulder, and strode out.

"All right! Let's go. Never thought you'd end up in my hands one day, did you?"

"Did you, Little Class Monitor?"

Xu Duoduo had no intention of answering. She buried her face against his shoulder and played dead.

If she hadn't turned into a zombie, this utterly thoughtless way of carrying her would have made her throw up. What kind of person slung a zombie over his shoulder like a sack?!

Xu Duoduo looked utterly done with life.

Qin Luo, on the other hand, was rather excited, bounding downstairs with her over his shoulder.

Only then did Xu Duoduo notice something was wrong. Sure, Qin Luo was now a member of a combat team, but wasn't his physical prowess a little too terrifying?

He had swept through the entire building alone without even getting out of breath?

And no ordinary person could match his speed going downstairs. He could even leap down a whole flight of stairs with ease. It was downright frightening.

One word came to Xu Duoduo's sluggish mind-[evolution]. Then another realization belatedly struck her. The Doomsday Survival Manual Qin Luo had mentioned had actually been sent out by headquarters to everyone? That meant she hadn't been the only person to receive the message that night, and Sister Liu from her company hadn't been the only one to fall ill...

This was a disaster that had been foreseen long ago. The thought sent a shudder through her entire body. Once again, she understood that the future might no longer be changeable, and things would only get worse.

Just then.

Qin Luo decided he couldn't be bothered with the stairs anymore. Still on the third floor, he leaped out a window with her over his shoulder and landed steadily on the ground below.

Xu Duoduo's face happened to be turned to one side. She looked up at the hazy sky. It felt as though she hadn't seen the sun in ages, and brilliant streaks of light occasionally flashed overhead.

The residential complex below was no longer as clean and tidy as before, either. Zombies littered the ground, and all kinds of filth were splattered across the walls.

Even the plants seemed coated in dust, looking utterly lifeless.

The survivors huddled together in a relatively clean spot, trembling. They were both happy and afraid.

Groups of survivors trickled out of the other buildings too, all gathering in the same place. Whether they had fought over supplies before or not, nobody had the attention to spare for that now.

Just then, several reports suddenly came from farther away. [3A Special Operations Team-Wang Hu reporting. Building B of Qingyuan Residential Complex has been cleared.]

[3A Special Operations Team-White Mouse reporting. Building C of Qingyuan Residential Complex has been cleared.]

[3A Special Operations Team-Flying Eagle reporting. Building D of Qingyuan Residential Complex has been cleared.]

Xu Duoduo looked toward the voices in a daze. Then an absurdly sexy chuckle sounded beside her ear, and Qin Luo spoke. "3A Special Operations Team-Goddess of Luo reporting. Building A of Qingyuan Residential Complex has been cleared."

Huh??

Lame!!

What kind of cringe-worthy nickname was that?!

Xu Duoduo couldn't stop squirming, mortified on Qin Luo's behalf. She wished she could get down and dig an entire two-story, five-bedroom villa out of the ground with her toes.

Yet those very words, ridiculous as they were, put everyone present at ease.

Each successive report proved that no one had given up on them, that no one would be abandoned.

As the realization sank in, many survivors began to sniffle, then burst into sobs. Some held one another tightly, while others cried out the names of their loved ones.

Xu Duoduo felt a pang of sadness and confusion. She had no idea where the future lay. Only the shoulder beneath her felt dependable, along with the warmth coming from her old classmate.

It really was a little warm.

Xu Duoduo's consciousness soon began to cloud over. In her haze, she heard several people gather around, exclaiming "Holy shit!" in astonishment. After that, there was talk of the Little Class Monitor, rescue efforts, survivors' supplies...

But then she fell asleep. As she slept, she dreamed of her middle school days. That year, a thoroughly unruly transfer student had joined their class and claimed the title of the school's hottest boy in less than a day.

Within a month, he had also taken the throne as the school's top delinquent, becoming the teachers' number-one headache.

And later.

He became her deskmate.