The body was torn apart, pain sinking deep into the bones. It felt as if the entire body was being roasted over raging flames—nothing but pain, endless and boundless.
Scenes of being pushed off the truck replayed over and over in his mind. Watching with his own eyes as zombies devoured human flesh, the surging memories were heavy and suffocating.
No one knew when his consciousness finally broke free from the long, sinking darkness. When he woke up, cold sweat covered his forehead.
“You’re awake?”
Liu Ge waved a hand in front of his eyes. “Do you still remember who you are?”
The man didn’t move his eyelids. His throat, long dry, rasped hoarsely: “Clothes.”
“They were burned by you.”
It seemed he still retained human memories. As expected of the future Zombie King.
Her eyes slightly lifted, and Liu Ge pulled out a set of cafeteria staff uniform from the corner.
Xie Zhou silently put it on. Quiet, withdrawn, as if he had become a different person. The warm smile was gone from his face, replaced by a blood-red gaze flickering with a thirst for violence.
“I cooked some porridge. Want some?” Liu Ge pointed at the iron basin on the table.
For the past few days, flames had constantly been erupting from his body. There was no fire-resistant container in the storage room, so they simply moved an iron table over to shield him.
After moving it, she realized it looked like a natural stove, so she put an iron basin on it and turned it into a makeshift pot.
Thanks to him, Liu Ge finally managed to eat warm food again.
Xie Zhou glanced faintly at the half-eaten porridge, showing no emotion at all, and stepped past her.
The second-floor window faced the road outside the school’s east gate. He sat by the window, staring at the road with a heavy expression.
Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, Liu Ge didn’t ask further and continued eating.
Being abandoned by companions and then personally pushed into the zombie horde by Bai Sui, and now even turning into a zombie himself—it was inevitable he would be emotionally unstable. He would understand eventually.
Xie Zhou sat there for a full day and night. Neither angry nor sad, showing no emotion at all—calm to an unbelievable degree.
The captured Zombie King was depressed. That was not what Liu Ge wanted.
She walked over and knocked on the glass.
“How long are you going to stay like this?” she asked. “Don’t you want revenge?”
The man in the cheap work uniform—still strikingly handsome—rested his chin on his hand and continued looking outside the window.
“How much time has passed?”
“October 7th,” she replied.
“Is that so… it’s already been that long.”
A cold smile slowly formed on Xie Zhou’s lips. Suddenly, he grabbed Liu Ge’s neck.
“Tell me—why did you save me? We only knew each other for two days, yet you dared to pull someone out from a zombie horde. What, are you also attracted to my face?”
Her breathing was cut off. Her face flushed red. His movement was too sudden—she had no time to react.
Cursing inwardly, she kept a calm expression.
“First, be clear—I only dragged you out after the zombies around you left. At that point, you were already dead. I’m not that kindhearted.”
“And I don’t chase stars, let alone be attracted to your face.”
“Tch. You think you can fool me?” He tightened his grip, sneering. “If you didn’t like me, you’d be like them.”
His gaze turned mocking. He licked his lips meaningfully, sharp fangs glinting coldly.
“If you like me that much, then stay with me forever.”
Friends and companions meant nothing compared to one’s own life.
Bai Sui, whom he had watched grow up, still pushed him into the zombie horde without hesitation. Let alone someone attracted only to his appearance.
“You’re not my type. I don’t accept men whiter than me.”
Her tone was even more ruthless than her words.
Without hesitation, she grabbed a fruit knife and stabbed toward her own shoulder.
Xie Zhou froze for a moment.
At that instant, the blade twisted midair and aimed straight for his temple.
She was ruthless—but she had no intention of dying for him.
“Tch. You really are ruthless.” Xie Zhou wiped the blood from his face and let go with a cold laugh.
“If I’m not ruthless, I wouldn’t be alive until now.”
“You approached me for a reason. Be careful not to expose yourself, or I’ll eat you.”
“Fine. At least I helped you collect your corpse. Even if you’re not moved to tears, you shouldn’t threaten your benefactor like this.”
“Ha. Do you expect a zombie to repay you with love?” he mocked.
Without another word, he kicked away the table blocking the stairs and walked downstairs.
“Not impossible.”
Liu Ge’s eyes flickered. She tightened her dagger and followed behind.
The zombie she picked up belonged to her.
As time passed, zombies grew stronger. Scratch marks covered the rolling door, and the entire food street looked like a massacre.
The scent of living humans triggered the horde, and a mass of zombies rushed toward them.
Xie Zhou lazily raised two fingers. Flames instantly incinerated the approaching zombies. A crushing pressure spread from his body, suppressing the low-level zombies completely.
“Zombies?” he murmured with a faint laugh. “I guess I am one too.”
He no longer cared about the frozen zombies behind him and walked toward the school teaching building, ignoring Liu Ge.
It had only been a week since the apocalypse began. The rain had only pushed some zombies to level one, yet Xie Zhou already possessed power comparable to level-three zombies. Such growth—how could he not become a king?
Liu Ge followed closely. From any angle, leaving him now was unwise. She looked forward to the growth of the future Zombie King.
At the medical school, laboratories were everywhere.
Xie Zhou descended the stairs, burning every zombie along the way.
In a basement filled with the smell of formalin, he searched room by room until he reached a tightly closed door at the deepest end.
Seeing the plaque on the door, Liu Ge paused—but still pushed it open.
In this chaotic apocalypse, corpses were everywhere. The sky remained bright, but the world was no longer fit for human survival.
It was a storage room. Rows of cold storage lined the walls, shelves filled with bottles and jars above them, and in the center stood a surgical workstation filled with precise instruments.
The man slowly put on latex gloves, casually holding a small scalpel. His grip was unprofessional, almost careless.
Even Liu Ge, who was already used to the darkness of the apocalypse, didn’t want to witness what came next. She turned away at the door, ears filled with the sound of blades cutting through flesh.
Before the apocalypse, he had been a singer—gifted with guitar, a bright future ahead.
But after the world fell, he became a zombie… while still retaining human consciousness.