“It’s been thirty-one days since I gained consciousness.”
As she spoke, Ling Jiujiu pointed at the wall.
There were several rows of scratches on it, apparently used to mark the passage of time.
Lu Chen began taking notes again:
“Zombification for at least thirty-one days, memories from before death lost, mind not very sharp.”
Hearing the last part, Ling Jiujiu scrunched up her little face, twisting her head with great effort to defend herself:
“I’m not like those Mindless Zombies. My mind is very sharp.”
Lu Chen glanced up at her and changed “not very sharp” to “not very clever.”
Although it seemed unlikely given the little one’s timid rabbit-like nature, he decided to ask just to be safe:
“Have you ever killed a person?”
Ling Jiujiu shook her head.
Only humans had chased her, wanting to blow her head off. She wouldn’t dare get close to humans.
“Then have you ever killed a zombie?”
Ling Jiujiu still shook her head.
Humans killed zombies because zombies posed a threat to them.
But zombies didn’t harm her, so she had no reason to go looking for trouble.
After recording this, Lu Chen took a set of clothes from the wardrobe, placed them on the bed, and began negotiating with her:
“I’m going to borrow your place to stay for a while. Is that okay?”
Ling Jiujiu was very afraid of the man and didn’t want him to stay.
But seeing the gun at his waist, she could only nod reluctantly.
Seeing this, Lu Chen untied her while introducing himself:
“My name is Lu Chen.”
Ling Jiujiu silently memorized the name.
As soon as she finished putting on the clothes, her stomach betrayed her again with an embarrassing “gurgle.”
“Hungry again?” Lu Chen raised an eyebrow, looking at her with amusement.
Her little belly was flat and soft; it was unclear where all the meat she ate went.
Ling Jiujiu rubbed her sunken stomach, feeling rather embarrassed.
Lu Chen walked over to the wooden table, where two bowls were placed upside down.
“Jiujiu, come eat some meat.”
Hearing there was meat to eat, Ling Jiujiu mustered her courage and slowly approached.
Lu Chen lifted one of the bowls, revealing a plate of roasted meat inside.
Ling Jiujiu leaned in to sniff it. It smelled a bit strange, not quite like the meat she usually ate.
Just as she was about to reach for it, she noticed Lu Chen’s probing gaze.
Ling Jiujiu quickly withdrew her hand, looking at Lu Chen with pleading eyes, seeking his permission.
The little one’s obedience was almost pitiful.
“Go ahead.”
Lu Chen tore off a piece of meat and held it to her mouth.
Ling Jiujiu’s eyes lit up, and she lowered her head to eat from his hand.
“Grrr—”
She was starving and opened her mouth wide to take a big bite.
Lu Chen felt a sharp pain in his finger and immediately reached for the gun at his waist.
Sensing the texture was a bit off, Ling Jiujiu didn’t bite down hard. Instead, she slowly loosened her grip, confused.
When she saw the faint tooth marks on Lu Chen’s two fingers, she immediately took a step back, crouched down, and covered her head with her hands.
“I didn’t mean to!”
Seeing her practiced movements, Lu Chen felt an inexplicable pang of pity and silently moved his hand away from the gun.
Ling Jiujiu’s teeth were different from those of fully zombified zombies. Although her teeth had sharpened points, they were far less sharp than a real zombie’s.
Moreover, she had bitten very lightly, and his fingers weren’t bleeding.
“I’m fine. Get up,” Lu Chen said calmly.
Ling Jiujiu rose hesitantly, examining the tooth marks on his fingers from left to right, her eyes filled with unconcealed worry.
“Will you turn into one of those brainless zombies?”
Lu Chen shook his head. “As long as there’s no bleeding from the bite, there won’t be an Infection.”
Hearing this, Ling Jiujiu patted his chest and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness—he hadn’t killed anyone.
“However, I was scratched by other zombies, so zombification is still possible.”
Ling Jiujiu fell silent.
After a while, a lightbulb went off in his head, and he cautiously suggested:
“How about… you let me bite you? Maybe you’ll turn into a smart zombie like me.”
Lu Chen: “Have you tried it before?”
Ling Jiujiu shook his head. “No, but since you’re already infected, it’s worth a shot.”
Lu Chen: “…”
Wasn’t this just wishing him a quicker death?
Lu Chen looked at him seriously. If not for the kid’s clear yet foolish gaze, he would have smashed his head without a second thought.
“Sit down and eat the meat.”
Ling Jiujiu gave up on the idea of biting him and obediently sat down.
But after sitting, he didn’t start eating right away.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Lu Chen asked.
Ling Jiujiu looked at his hands.
Lu Chen was speechless. “You still want me to feed you? Can’t you do it yourself?”
Before death, he must have been a useless young master who needed help even with dressing and eating.
Ling Jiujiu silently stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
A moment later, he returned with his small meat plate and knife and fork, placing the plate neatly on the table.
Lu Chen couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. This young master was quite particular about mealtime rituals.
Ling Jiujiu picked up the knife and fork, cut a small piece of meat from the large chunk in the pot, and placed it in his mouth to savor slowly.
After just two chews, Ling Jiujiu’s face scrunched up, his mouth opened, and his tongue stuck out.
He spat the meat back out.
So disgusting!
Why did this meat taste like chewing on tree roots?
Ling Jiujiu pouted and looked at Lu Chen, his resentful little eyes seeming to accuse Lu Chen of feeding him such awful meat.
“Don’t you eat cooked meat?” Lu Chen silently noted this.
“What’s cooked meat?” Ling Jiujiu looked utterly confused, unfamiliar with the term.
After a pause, Lu Chen continued recording: “Zero common sense, poor self-care skills.”
Once done, he explained to Ling Jiujiu: “Cooked meat is meat that changes color after being roasted with fire.”
Ling Jiujiu nodded to show he understood.
He had seen some humans using fire to burn things before.
Back then, he thought they were disposing of garbage—he never imagined it was for eating.
“You should be more used to eating this.”
With that, Lu Chen opened another small pot that had been placed upside down, revealing a plate of raw meat.
The blood on it had already been fed to the unconscious Ling Jiujiu earlier, so there wasn’t much blood left on the meat now.
After the earlier tasting, Ling Jiujiu didn’t fully trust his judgment and didn’t immediately dig in.
He racked his brains, and his not-so-bright little head lit up with a tiny lightbulb.
He had an idea!
Ling Jiujiu stole a glance at Lu Chen with his Rabbit Eyes, then pushed the plate toward him.
“You eat first.”
Lu Chen looked at the plate of raw rabbit meat: “…”
The kid was a bit clever, but not much.
Lu Chen picked up the plate of roasted rabbit meat and took a bite, signaling to him: “I’ll eat this, you eat that.”
Seeing him enjoy the tree-root-flavored meat so much, Ling Jiujiu was shocked.
But he quickly understood.
After all, everyone has their own tastes, and Ling Jiujiu wouldn’t discriminate against him for eating tree-root-flavored meat.
The raw meat still had traces of blood on it. Ling Jiujiu was a clean zombie and didn’t pick it up to gnaw on directly.
He picked up the knife and skillfully cut the meat into small, bite-sized pieces.
Lu Chen watched with amusement, devouring his own portion in large bites while observing Ling Jiujiu slowly and meticulously chewing each small mouthful.
The bloody, raw meat was somehow transformed by him into something that seemed fit for a high-end Western restaurant.
Still a Refined Zombie.