Chapter 25: Come with Me
“What do you think?”
“Do you hope I exist?”
Fang Yue’s low voice fell near his ear, flowing smoothly like a soothing, crystal-clear stream.
Chi Xiaoxian reached out, grabbing hold of Fang Yue’s shirt and giving it a gentle twist—the cotton-linen texture felt unmistakably real.
“…Feels like you’re real,” he murmured.
“If you don’t believe it,” Fang Yue paused slightly, “I can scold you a bit to make it feel even more real.”
“.”
Although Chi Xiaoxian didn’t want to get scolded, he was still genuinely glad to be reunited with Fang Yue.
He had assumed he would never see Fang Yue again. Just like the countless people who passed briefly through his life—perhaps exchanging a few words, only to turn into water droplets in the end, flowing into their own separate rivers.
And so, he couldn’t resist breaking into a smile.
“Still laughing… even after turning into a zombie yourself.” Fang Yue was thoroughly helpless with him.
“When living in this world, what matters most is one’s attitude,” Chi Xiaoxian said open-mindedly. “No matter what you encounter, stay optimistic. That’s the only way to turn the bad into good.”
“Given your current situation, how are you going to turn things around?”
Chi Xiaoxian blinked his gray eyes without missing a beat: “Take recent events as an example. I was supposed to have final exams in two weeks—four closed-book exams in total, and I hadn’t even started reviewing for a single one. Now that I’ve turned into a zombie, the school surely can’t demand that I sit for exams in the computer lab anymore.”
“…”
Chi Xiaoxian stared unblinkingly at Fang Yue with light gray eyes. “Aren’t you afraid of me? What if I suddenly go crazy and lose my mind—”
“I have complete confidence I can knock you out cold before you go crazy,” Fang Yue interrupted him. “Even if you turn into a zombie, you’d likely still be a frail one.”
*Listen to that—is that how a human talks?*
While Chi Xiaoxian was complaining inwardly, he suddenly realized Fang Yue was still holding his jacket up to shield him from the sun.
Looking up, a bead of sweat rested on Fang Yue’s jaw, sliding slowly down his slender neck and vanishing into his collar.
“Zombies might not get heatstroke, but normal humans definitely will,” Chi Xiaoxian said at a measured pace.
Fang Yue’s gaze fell softly upon him: “And yet you were sleeping at the top of the mountain?”
Chi Xiaoxian shook his head.
“Let’s head down to the factory area below,” Fang Yue said. “I’ll find you a bed to rest on.”
The words “factory area” seemed to snap Chi Xiaoxian awake all at once, his eyes widening immediately.
“How did you get here? Was that truck—”
“You only thought to ask now?”
“The Lord didn’t give zombies particularly agile minds, it seems,” Chi Xiaoxian said, looking innocent.
Fang Yue briefly explained how he ended up here.
On the night Chi Xiaoxian left, a massive horde of zombies broke through the convenience store’s glass doors. After breaking out with everything they had, the group got scattered. Fang Yue fled all the way out of the school and encountered a Zhifang Pharmaceutical truck on the highway, hitching a ride all the way here.
Upon arriving, he surveyed the surrounding terrain and inadvertently spotted a figure moving at the top of the mountain. Sensing the figure looked strangely familiar, he grabbed his crowbar and hiked up to take a look.
“I saw your truck on the road earlier!” Chi Xiaoxian remembered. “I even wondered back then why a cargo truck would be driving out toward the border at a time like this.”
“It is quite strange,” Fang Yue nodded. “However, the factory area here is indeed an asset held by Zhifang. To be precise, this plot of land originally belonged to Zhifang to begin with.”
“Isn’t it outside the Highlands’ administrative zoning, though? Doesn’t that count as illegal landholding?”
Fang Yue nodded: “Anything outside the domain constitutes illegal landholding.”
“Then why build a factory here in the first place? There’s no running water or electricity here; building a factory area leaves you with nothing more than an empty shell—it serves zero purpose.” The economics knowledge Chi Xiaoxian had studied told him this completely defied economic logic.
“This plot of land was incorporated into the administrative zoning when the United Government was first established. Later, for unknown reasons, it was abandoned by the government again.”
“So Zhifang staked a claim on the land first to make a grand move, only to toil away for half a day and wind up right back at square one overnight?”
Chi Xiaoxian’s description was vivid, and Fang Yue raised an eyebrow slightly: “Correct. Although this place isn’t responsible for production, it can serve as a temporary warehouse to hold goods.”
“Did the driver tell you that?” Chi Xiaoxian asked in confusion. “How do you know so much?”
“My father is one of the co-founders of Zhifang Pharmaceutical,” Fang Yue said nonchalantly.
Chi Xiaoxian stood flabbergasted. *A wealthy heir to a corporate empire was right by my side all along!*
“So this factory area belongs to your family?”
“Mm.”
Thinking carefully, Fang Yue choosing a biology major and wanting to pursue research in the future turned out to be following in his father’s footsteps after all.
“If you’re going to become a university teacher later, though, who’s going to inherit the company?”
“I have older brothers and sisters.”
It was Chi Xiaoxian’s very first time interacting with a classmate from such an elite family background. Filled with curiosity, he wanted to ask a few more questions, but sensing that Fang Yue didn’t seem particularly keen on dwelling on the topic, he dropped it.
Since the factory area down the mountain belonged to Fang Yue’s family, he no longer had any misgivings. When Fang Yue suggested going down the mountain, he thought it sounded great as well—at the very least, staying on this sweltering mountain any longer was impossible.
As long as he wasn’t discovered by anyone else, it would be fine.
Chi Xiaoxian buckled his hat, pulling the brim down to its lowest point to avoid anyone spotting his eyes. Propping his arms against the ground, he tottered to his feet.
Glancing at the path down the mountain, a touch of awkwardness flushed his face. Turning to Fang Yue, he said, “Would you perhaps like to watch a zombie performance? The kind with frantic hands and dancing feet—”
“?”
“My walking posture is very weird right now. I’m a bit embarrassed to walk in front of people,” Chi Xiaoxian said dryly.
“Walk a few steps and show me,” Fang Yue stood with his arms crossed, saying flatly. “I don’t mind watching a free performance.”
Chi Xiaoxian choked on his words.
“How about I just roll down instead? Conserves energy too,” he said huffily, his ears turning bright red.
The two stood staring at each other for a moment, neither moving a muscle.
“Didn’t you say you were going to roll down?”
“I was just saying it.”
“It’s fine. Take it step-by-step. I can wait for you,” the corner of Fang Yue’s lips curled up in a tiny arc.
“…You are not kind in the slightest.”
“I am, however, rigorously inquisitive,” Fang Yue said calmly. “I want to observe the movement patterns of different types of zombies.”
Chi Xiaoxian’s expression collapsed completely. For a split second, he even felt that Fang Yue seemed to be serious.
Chi Xiaoxian flopped right back onto his rear, rolling the bedsheet up to bundle himself in, even covering his head inside.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting ready to roll down.”
“…”
In the next second, Chi Xiaoxian suddenly felt himself lifted airborne from where he sat.
A corner of the bedsheet covering his face fell away, exposing Chi Xiaoxian’s eyes.
Immediately after, his eyes widened in shock—he caught sight of Fang Yue’s sharp, clean jawline.
He had been picked up by Fang Yue in a princess carry.
“I was just joking with you,” a light phrase drifted near his ear.
“How are you still this weak after turning into a zombie? You won’t even be able to snatch any meat in the zombie world later.”
That voice pushed the banter even further.
“You’re mocking me!” Chi Xiaoxian muttered indignantly.
“I am not,” Fang Yue said without batting an eye.
“Liar! From this angle, I can see you smiling!”
Fang Yue froze for a second. His gaze dropped, sweeping lightly over Chi Xiaoxian’s face like a dragonfly skimming water, before continuing to look straight ahead, speaking no further.
—
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, the factory guard happened to be stepping out the door. He was just about to help the driver unload goods when he raised his head and caught sight of Fang Yue on the hillside—and the strange person wrapped in a bedsheet cradled in his arms…
“What’s this?” he asked suspiciously.
“A personal matter. You don’t need to worry about it,” Fang Yue said calmly.
Having heard from the driver that this young man was the son of a major shareholder, the guard didn’t dare pry further, opening the door to let them into the factory area.
Peering out through a gap in the bedsheet, Chi Xiaoxian surveyed the factory.
The factory interior featured only two colors: blue walls and white floors, evoking an atmosphere of extreme cleanliness and a dust-free environment. It stood in stark contrast to the SpongeBob-printed bedsheet wrapped around him…
The factory seemed to store a large quantity of medical equipment, which accounted for the stringent hygiene requirements.
They passed in succession by the cleaning room, storage room, ingredients room, tableting room, and liquid preparation room… Chi Xiaoxian surveyed the names on these rooms with curiosity before they finally came to a stop outside the packaging room.
Fang Yue set him down gently on the floor. Prying open the bedsheet, Chi Xiaoxian looked around.
“This is the packaging area. There are no expensive instruments here, and the guard doesn’t usually come by,” Fang Yue explained. “You rest here for now.”
“What are all these?” Chi Xiaoxian looked at several tall and short machines beside him.
“This is a sealing machine, this is a labeling machine, and that one over there is a packaging machine…”
After finishing the introductions, Fang Yue fetched a few cardboard boxes used for packaging, laying them on the floor to make a crude mattress, then spread Chi Xiaoxian’s SpongeBob bedsheet over it.
“You like this kind of bedsheet?” He poked the sheet with his finger. “What is this cheese-like thing?”
“It’s SpongeBob, a cartoon character,” Chi Xiaoxian scrambled to clear his name. “This is a package I picked up in the guard booth. My own bedsheets are nowhere near this childish.”
Fang Yue gave an “Oh.”
Chi Xiaoxian scrambled onto that crude mattress, lay down sluggishly, and closed his eyes.
In the darkness, he felt a burning gaze beaming down upon him, carrying immense intensity.
Opening his eyes, sure enough, Fang Yue was staring straight at him.
Fang Yue didn’t shy away from meeting his gaze, continuing to stare at him until Chi Xiaoxian felt an uneasy flutter in his chest, yet sensing that this gaze seemed somewhat familiar.
“Why are you staring at me…?”
Chi Xiaoxian finally spoke up, breaking the eerie atmosphere.
“I just feel—” Fang Yue cleared his throat softly, shifting his gaze away, “—you seem to be a rare and perfect subject for experimentation.”
At that moment, Chi Xiaoxian finally recalled where he had seen this expression before—it was unmistakably the gaze Fang Yue wore when engrossed in reading research papers!
That bright, unblinking gaze, remarkably filled with radiance and enthusiasm!
After turning into a zombie, it was Chi Xiaoxian’s very first time feeling this nervous. He wrapped his little bedsheet tightly around himself.
A series of lab scenes from science fiction movies he had watched in the past flooded into his mind.
The test subject’s hands and feet bound to an icy iron bed, tubes of all kinds inserted across their body. Several doctors wearing masks, holding dripping syringes and various scalpels, surrounding them with ill intent.
“What do you want to do?” Chi Xiaoxian’s voice trembled slightly.
“I won’t use knives on you or anything like that; I just want to keep records,” Fang Yue explained.
Chi Xiaoxian remained unmoved, continuing to tremble.
Fang Yue took hold of his bedsheet, softening his voice: “Then let’s make a trade.”
“I have a residence in District Six with a simple laboratory inside. Why don’t you come back with me first?”
Chi Xiaoxian’s mind echoed wildly with phrases like “laboratory” and “come back with me.”
“Then what do you give me?”
The instant Chi Xiaoxian asked this question, his head throbbed violently out of nowhere, his temples pounding like mad.
It felt as though several airplanes were taking off and landing inside his brain. A massive roaring sound echoed in Chi Xiaoxian’s ears, and Fang Yue’s voice became intermittent and muffled.
“Don’t you want to get a good sleep?”
“My residence is in an upscale community with great decor, very comfortable to live in…”
“I can take you back to sleep…”
The airplanes in Chi Xiaoxian’s brain exploded suddenly.
“…What?”
He said with great difficulty and sheer disbelief, “I… I have to sleep… sleep with you too?!”
“…”
The expression on Fang Yue’s face froze, his reaction stalling for a second.
He hadn’t anticipated that this guy could be groggy enough to interpret his words like that.
“No,” Fang Yue knit his brows. “What I mean is, since as a zombie you’ll be wandering the streets with no fixed abode, and if you run into tough humans you’ll be in mortal danger, you might as well come back with me—”
“Room and board included?” Chi Xiaoxian’s reaction suddenly sped up a notch.
“…If you want to understand it that way, that’s fine too.” Fang Yue felt somewhat conflicted.
This proposal of his was indeed tempting, easing even Chi Xiaoxian’s headache a bit.
Rubbing his head, he asked, “How big is your apartment?”
“Two hundred square meters.”
“…”
“Does your place have one of those big bathtubs? The kind where you can take a soak?”
“Yes. My place also has floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto the community garden.”
“Say no more, I’m coming with you,” Chi Xiaoxian thought with a mix of agony and sweetness. *”You can even make me sleep… over, who’s taking advantage of whom isn’t even settled yet.”*
Thinking this, he blurted it out word for word by accident.
“Don’t be so frivolous,” the space between Fang Yue’s brows pinched tighter bit by bit.
“That’s human propriety,” Chi Xiaoxian fell into slacker mode, saying weakly. “I am a zombie; don’t use human morality to kidnap me.”
“…” For a moment, Fang Yue was actually left speechless.
Finding some foam paper, he folded it up to make a simple inflatable pillow, placing it under the back of Chi Xiaoxian’s head.
“Get some sleep first.”
“Mm.”
Chi Xiaoxian adjusted his pillow position, but a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
His grandmother was still in District Ten, and he had zero news about her. A few days ago, he could still make a daily phone call, but now his phone had completely lost signal.
If possible, he really wanted to go back and check on her. Since he was a zombie now, however, what if he infected his grandmother?
If she knew he had turned into a zombie, who knew how terrified she would be…
Yet he didn’t seem to have fully turned into a zombie right now—what if he maintained this state forever?
Chi Xiaoxian’s thoughts churned wildly, but overwhelming fatigue soon cut off his train of thought, and he fell into a deep slumber before long.
—
Fang Yue closed the door gently, stood in the factory corridor for a moment, and then opened the room doors one by one along the path they had come.
Although the rooms had originally been designed for varying purposes, they were currently all utilized for unified merchandise storage.
Solar generators supplied electricity to the refrigeration units. Through transparent windows, rows of pale blue nutritional supplements rested inside the cold storage, resembling a sheet of glowing seawater from a distance.
Fang Yue pulled open a cold storage door and retrieved a bottle of nutritional supplement from inside.
Holding it up, he scrutinized the liquid against the overhead lighting.
A string of code and a production date were affixed to the bottle. Fang Yue estimated this was likely the latest nutritional supplement developed by Zhifang. It hadn’t been released onto the market yet, but the moment news of it was announced, Zhifang’s stock price hit the daily upper limit that day.
After the post-cataclysm Highlands were constructed, nutritional supplements became a high-demand commodity. Due to a drastic reduction in arable land and extreme climate conditions impacting crop growth, both food variety and yield had decreased significantly compared to pre-disaster times, pushing food prices up to historical highs—a single egg cost fifteen dollars.
To supplement essential minerals, proteins, and vitamins, consuming nutritional supplements became a popular choice. Zhifang foresaw market trends early on, developing nutritional supplements in advance and adopting a low-price sales model right from the start. This flattened the nutritional supplement market directly, turning the company into a dominant monopoly leader.
Who wouldn’t want to gain health at the lowest price? Especially for low-to-middle-income groups, it was the option with the highest cost-performance ratio.
After capturing the nutritional supplement market, Zhifang began shifting its strategy, segmenting the market into different tiers by developing upgraded versions, high-end versions, natural extract versions, infant versions, and launching various fruit flavors.
From then on, nutritional supplements became wildly popular across all social strata, with small blue bottle billboards outside virtually every drugstore. Government agencies and large enterprises began purchasing nutritional supplement packages for employees as a demonstration of great benefits.
Profits from nutritional supplements accounted for nearly 30% of Zhifang’s total operating profit.
With zombies running amok, food would become even scarcer. Transporting so many nutritional supplements at this juncture allowed anyone to guess Zhifang’s motive.
Fang Yue did a rough count: a single refrigeration unit could hold roughly 1,000 bottles, and this room alone housed twenty refrigeration units—meaning twenty thousand bottles.
This version of the nutritional supplement was not the basic model. Fang Yue vaguely recalled its main selling points were pure natural extraction and richness in dietary fiber, one bottle equivalent to the dietary fiber content of 750 grams of celery. Priced at 75 dollars a bottle, it was three times the price of the basic version.
Calculated at this price, this single room held 1.5 million dollars’ worth of nutritional supplements—not even accounting for price hikes brought on by high demand during the zombie disaster.
Once the opportunity arose, Zhifang could announce to the public that basic nutritional supplements were entirely sold out due to the zombie crisis, leaving only various upgraded versions in stock. Even if the price were several times that of the basic version, people would grit their teeth and buy them.
Fang Yue found a medical kit with a built-in test tube rack, loading twenty bottles of nutritional supplements inside.
In truth, they didn’t have the habit of drinking nutritional supplements at school, but the current situation was exceptional after all.
Previously, Highland University had also purchased nutritional supplement packages from Zhifang, but someone reported it later, revealing that procurement personnel had falsified prices to line their own pockets, resulting in the firing of three school staff members.
From then on, the purchase plan was repeatedly shelved, eventually fading away into nothing. Moreover, as the top university in the Highlands, the government placed great importance on student meals, providing daily meals that were nutritionally rich and well-balanced, rendering additional purchases of nutritional supplements unnecessary.
—
Stepping out of the room, Fang Yue ran into the guard. Seeing him carrying a box in his hand, the guard didn’t pry, merely nodding at him politely.
Fang Yue used a conversational tone to ask: “Hey, how long have you been working here?”
“Not long,” the guard rubbed the back of his head, saying truthfully, “Just came in April this year, about half a year.”
“Must be pretty boring working here, right?” Fang Yue smiled faintly.
The guard was only in his early thirties. Seeing that although Fang Yue was born with a silver spoon, he could empathize with a worker’s mind, he opened his heart: “This factory has only two people in total. The other guard and I took turns on shift, but he resigned last month, so I’m the only one left now.”
“It’s a desolate, wilderness area out here—you don’t see a soul all day long, enough to bore someone to death,” the guard let out a sigh. “The only noise comes from that small generator next to the guard room, humming day in and day out—sounding by day, sounding by night. I can’t even get a deep sleep.”
Fang Yue stared at the guard’s slightly flush nose tip: “Perhaps drinking a bit of alcohol before bed would help you sleep better. Nobody comes to this factory area usually anyway; hiring a guard is just for show, so nothing will go wrong…”
The guard’s eyes lit up suddenly: “How did you—”
“Ah, no…” He interrupted himself, quickly changing his tune, “I feel this factory area is still quite important, so I can’t get myself drunk and confused, right? I just take a sip or two occasionally to pass the time.”
“No need to feel apologetic, it’s only human nature,” Fang Yue offered a faint smile. “If my stomach hadn’t been acting up recently, I’d want a bit too.”
“Ah!” the guard said with regret. “I was just about to invite you to join! I bought a case of Erguotou liquor just last week.”
Fang Yue acted as if he suddenly remembered something: “On my way here, I actually heard the driver mention he’s quite fond of drinking usually.”
The guard clapped his hands: “Then tonight’s going to be lively! I’ll go invite him!”
Fang Yue nodded slightly, watching his cheerful receding figure walk away.
—
Returning to the packaging room, Chi Xiaoxian was already fast asleep.
Likely to better preserve the pharmaceuticals, the temperature inside the factory area was somewhat lower than outside, which allowed Chi Xiaoxian to fall asleep quickly.
His facial expression was serene, carrying a relaxed composure between his brows. His long eyelashes cast a small, fan-shaped shadow, like a nest for returning birds. His even, shallow, tide-like breathing made one sense he was in a deep sleep.
Fang Yue sat beside him with his back against the window, pulling out a notebook from his bag to flip through and read page by page. Just like those nights in the dorm room previously—where he read books while Chi Xiaoxian turned in early.
Fate echoed with subtle resonance.
Two hours later, Chi Xiaoxian finally woke up. Adopting a zombie’s posture, he executed a far from standard stretch, raised his head, and caught sight of Fang Yue sitting by the window.
The setting sun rested on his shoulder, plating his outline in a layer of pale gold.
“Listening to you turn pages really is more hypnotic,” Chi Xiaoxian said sluggishly.
Fang Yue raised his eyelids and cast a cool glance at him: “Now that you’re awake, get ready. We set off tonight.”
Chi Xiaoxian hesitated briefly, “On foot?”
“Can you walk on foot?”
“Not particularly well,” Chi Xiaoxian admitted honestly.
Fang Yue closed his notebook and glanced out the window: “We’ll take that truck.”
“Isn’t that a delivery truck? Can we just drive it away like that?”
“It’s just borrowing something from my own family; not a big problem.”
—
Come nighttime, Chi Xiaoxian finally understood what kind of “borrowing” he meant.
Fang Yue had him wait behind the truck’s cargo container while he entered the guard room himself. Taking advantage of the guard and driver getting drunk, he unhooked the key from the driver’s belt loop.
How did Chi Xiaoxian know the key had been unhooked surreptitiously?
Because hanging on that key ring was a plastic charm featuring a skimpily dressed, fine-waisted sexy lady. Watching that lady sway back and forth on the key ring like she was dancing, Chi Xiaoxian found it hilarious in his heart.
Fang Yue was ruthless indeed—siphoning away the driver’s dream girl right along with the key…
Noticing his gaze, Fang Yue turned his head to ask: “You like this type?”
“Not at all,” Chi Xiaoxian retracted his vision immediately. “I am a person of deep substance.”
“Oh?”
Fang Yue raised an eyebrow slightly, saying neutrally, “Then your self-positioning is quite unique.”
Chi Xiaoxian: “.”
Forget it; he couldn’t win a verbal battle against this guy anyway.
Fang Yue examined the truck cab, familiarizing himself with the controls. Fortunately, the truck was an automatic rather than a manual transmission; he had never learned manual.
“How are your driving skills?” Chi Xiaoxian asked, seeing him delay starting.
“I only hold a sedan driver’s license.”
“Do you drive often normally?”
“This is my first time after passing the exam.”
“…” If the person speaking weren’t Fang Yue, Chi Xiaoxian would have wanted to jump off the vehicle on the spot.
Fang Yue finally turned the key to ignite the engine. The truck’s engine began rumbling with vibration.
“Fasten your seatbelt,” Fang Yue reminded Chi Xiaoxian.
Chi Xiaoxian turned his head to search for the seatbelt mechanism, pulled the strap across his body, and was just about to click it into the buckle when his arm suddenly went limp, the seatbelt snapping back with a loud *swoosh*.
“…”
No wonder Fang Yue called him weak; he truly was a useless zombie.
This time, however, Fang Yue didn’t say a word. Unbuckling his own seatbelt, he leaned over, propping one hand against Chi Xiaoxian’s seat cushion while yanking the seatbelt with force using his other hand, a sharp *click* sounding as the latch engaged the buckle.
For a brief second, the two were exceptionally close. Chi Xiaoxian even caught sight of a tiny mole on Fang Yue’s neck near his collar…
*A bit sexy, actually,* Chi Xiaoxian thought inexplicably.
After fastening the seatbelt, Fang Yue revved the accelerator.
Just at that moment, someone suddenly burst out of the guard room—it was the drunk security guard.
He had been sound asleep in his drunkenness, but was instinctively startled awake by the roar of the engine. Seeing a bright light outside, he ran out to check, only to find someone had started the truck.
The headlights shone right into his face, making it hard to see the person inside the vehicle clearly, so he leaped around waving his hands while barking loudly, “Get out of the truck right now!”
Standing directly in front of the truck, Fang Yue’s brows couldn’t help but knit together.
Suddenly, a face pressed against the car window.
The skin on that face was deathly pale, its gray eyes wide open, exposing blood-red eyelids.
A flashlight beam shone upward from below onto the face, looking thoroughly terrifying.
And then, that mouth opened wide all at once…
With a heavy *thud*, the guard collapsed onto the ground, fainting from sheer terror.
Chi Xiaoxian released the fingers pulling his lower eyelid, letting out a chuckle.
