The cannery complex

When Xu Duoduo regained consciousness, she found herself inside a vehicle.

She blinked, staring up at the roof.

"Brother Qin, you're really taking Little Class Monitor with us? But she's already a zombie!"

"Your dream girl really is your dream girl. She's something special-you can't let her go even after she turns into a zombie. Though Little Class Monitor is a pretty unusual zombie, too."

"Exactly. Zombies can sleep? How come headquarters never mentioned that? No, I need to go through the Survival Handbook again."

The voices sounded somewhat distant, coming from the front seats.

The interior was dim.

Suddenly, someone leaned closer. "No, it's been way too long since I last saw Little Class Monitor. I need a good look. I only got a quick glimpse earlier, but she doesn't seem to have changed much. So, Brother Qin, judging by how you're holding her and refusing to let go, is Little Class Monitor still as pretty as ever?"

Qin Luo raised a hand and shoved him away, snapping impatiently, "Get lost, get lost, get lost!"

The others immediately broke into muffled laughter, their shoulders shaking.

"Didn't I tell you not to tease him? Our great Luoshen, the old monk, can't take it. But seriously, Brother Qin, he wasn't making anything up."

"What, have you forgotten? Who was it that said Little Class Monitor was his first love every time we played Truth or Dare?"

"Tsk, will you guys give it a rest? Can you just drive?"

Xu Duoduo then realized that Qin Luo was probably holding her in his arms, with a blanket wrapped around her. Apparently, his friends had teased him until he bristled. He snapped at them, then carried her tucked against him to the back row.

He would rather squeeze in with the supplies than sit anywhere near those jerks.

A burst of laughter erupted from the front seats, and someone teased him about his age. "Do you have to be this adorable, mighty Qin? Hahahahaha!"

Xu Duoduo found it funny too, and even felt a little dazed, as though she had returned to middle school. Those voices sounded familiar. Matching them to faces, she figured they belonged to the group who had been close to Qin Luo back then.

They were Wang Weihu, Bai Shu, and Chen Xiaofei. She hadn't expected the three of them to still be with Qin Luo, or for them to still be so close.

"You're awake? Don't listen to their nonsense. I only said that stuff during Truth or Dare to get them off my back."

Qin Luo suddenly lowered his voice and murmured this to her. It really was rather cute, but what surprised Xu Duoduo more was that he actually knew she was awake.

Perhaps her expression was too animated. Qin Luo pointed at his eyes. "Evolution, you know? You've read the Survival Handbook, right? I can see in the dark now."

As though he had finally found someone to show off to, he snapped his fingers. Faint flickers of electricity even sparked at his fingertips-the blue, crackling kind.

"Look, one of my skill points. It's just not very stable yet."

Xu Duoduo was genuinely astonished. Reading about it in the Survival Handbook was one thing; seeing it happen right before her eyes was another. Just as her curiosity stirred, something slammed into the vehicle, and an elephant's trumpet rang out from outside.

If she hadn't been a zombie now, she would have broken out in goosebumps.

Wang Weihu, who was driving, swore. "Fuck, did an elephant escape from the zoo?"

Bai Shu immediately asked, "Has it mutated? What degree of mutation?"

A tablet suddenly appeared in his hands, and he began looking it up.

Chen Xiaofei glanced at the rearview mirror and reported calmly, "Level-one mutation. Its four limbs have mutated and strengthened, with increased hair growth and some signs of reversion to ancestral traits."

Qin Luo reached beside him, pulled out a sniper rifle, and tossed it over. Bai Shu caught it and opened the sunroof, while Chen Xiaofei held his legs to steady him.

Several shots cracked out in quick succession. The elephant bellowed in pain as the bullets struck, but it kept chasing the vehicle and even rammed the bus behind them.

The survivors aboard the bus screamed wildly. Fortunately, a member of the Combat Team was driving. Although the mutated elephant knocked the bus off course and it even scraped along a wall for a while, the driver managed to regain control and keep going.

Bai Shu was an excellent shot, and a few more shots finished the elephant off. "Fuck, good thing it was only level one. Otherwise, all our vehicles put together wouldn't even be a mouthful!"

Wang Weihu kept the vehicle steady too. At that, he said helplessly, "Even elephants are eating meat these days."

Chen Xiaofei took the tablet and entered some information. "This is only the beginning. Give it a while, and even rabbits will be swallowing kids in a single bite."

Xu Duoduo listened in horror, but Qin Luo beside her remained composed the entire time. Even the three up front had been perfectly calm once they learned it was only a level-one mutated animal.

This world really had gone mad.

"There's a thunderstorm up ahead in ten minutes. Find somewhere to shelter."

Qin Luo glanced at the data watch on his wrist and suddenly spoke. The other three acknowledged him in easy unison. Eight minutes later, they reached a factory complex, where Wang Weihu and the other two went to clear out the zombies.

Qin Luo left Xu Duoduo in the back seat as well. Before leaving, he warned her not to wander off. "Nights in the apocalypse are dangerous. Don't go running around, understand? If you go outside and a mutant beast catches you, it'll gobble up a little zombie like you in one bite."

What the hell was with that tone, like he was scaring a little kid?!

Her inner self was screaming wildly, so mortified that she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself.

In reality, however...

Xu Duoduo silently watched him turn and leave. As the vehicle door slid shut, fierce noises came from outside, along with repeated cries and screams from the other survivors. They sounded badly frightened.

There was nothing she could do.

She couldn't make much of a facial expression. Only her eyes were still fairly mobile.

Ten minutes later.

Qin Luo yanked the door open and leaned inside to pick her up, just in time to see her cloudy gray eyes darting all over the place. He paused, then reached out and scooped her into his arms. "Well, look at those clever little eyes. I'll have Professor Ji take a look at you when we get back. Who knows, you might turn out to be some new species."

He had never seen such a clever low-level zombie-one who neither bit people nor howled.

Qin Luo lifted Xu Duoduo and held her with an arm supporting her from beneath. She could only wrap her arms around his neck. This was much more comfortable than being slung over his shoulder, so she clung tightly and refused to let go.

The factory complex had been cleared. Apart from the heap of zombies lying on the ground and some bloodstains, the rest could just about serve as shelter after a little tidying.

Wang Weihu was settling the survivors in, telling them to find places to rest. He also picked out a few who could cook and sent them to make something simple to eat.

"Brother Qin, there's quite a bit of canned food in that warehouse, and it hasn't been contaminated. Should we notify headquarters to send people to collect it?"

Chen Xiaofei had finished scouting. When he saw Qin Luo come in carrying Little Class Monitor, he approached and spoke quietly. These days, supplies were worth more than anything.

They had priority access to supplies while out on missions, but they didn't have many Storage Cards.

Even combined, the four of them had less than five hundred cubic meters of storage space. They could only take a small amount.