Chapter 1: The Little Zombie Who Drops Cans
“Awoo~”
Down the ruined street of the deserted town, a little zombie sprinted in sheer panic.
He was small and thin, coated in layers of grime, with messy light brown hair falling across his forehead. His face was completely bloodless, and his wide, round apricot eyes were filled with terror.
He wore a blue-and-white tracksuit that had clearly seen better days, riddled with holes and frayed threads. On his feet was a pair of sneakers so filthy their original color was unrecognizable; two toes poked through the front, the soles were almost worn through, and one shoe was only half-hooked onto his slender ankle.
As he ran, he kept dropping supplies behind him—sausages, canned meats, compressed ration biscuits, and other packaged goods, leaving a messy trail scattered across the pavement.
A moment later, Pei Zhi emerged at the other end of the street, leading a small team of ability users.
“Boss, this zombie was actually hoarding all these supplies!” Shen Qing called out, his voice tinged with disbelief. “Is he… is he really a zombie?”
Pei Zhi’s sharp, phoenix-shaped eyes narrowed slightly. He raised a hand, calling forth his ability. A thin current of electricity sparked and crackled in his palm before shooting straight toward the running figure.
Crack!
In an instant, the little zombie was blasted into a frazzled afro. His entire body turned pitch-black from the scorch marks, leaving only two round, bewildered eyes blinking in a daze.
Pei Zhi stepped forward in his heavy combat boots, remarking calmly, “He is a zombie, but he has retained some of his human consciousness.”
Pei Zhi was the captain of the squad and the only known person in the Western District Base to have awakened dual abilities. He commanded both lightning and water. The explosive power of his lightning ability was especially terrifying, making him an invaluable asset to the base leadership.
The man walked up and loomed over the little zombie, his deep, dark gaze enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
The little zombie was terrified out of his wits, but he still tried his best to muster some courage. Baring his little fangs at Pei Zhi, he put on a fierce face: “Awoo, awoo, awoo…”
The man looked down at him coldly, his gaze completely devoid of warmth.
Inwardly, the little zombie was already shrinking back. But knowing he couldn’t outrun the man, he could only push forward, craning his neck and growling even harder: “Awoo, awoo, awoo…”
To sound more intimidating, he even dragged out the final note: “Awoo, awoo, awoo, wuu—”
“Awoo—”
The air around them grew chillier by the second, and the man’s oppressive aura bore down heavier and heavier. The little zombie could no longer keep up the fierce facade. His voice shrank bit by bit, until all that came out was a faint, trembling whimper: “Wuu…”
His large, innocent eyes looked up pitifully at the man, his face a picture of utter helplessness. “Ying…”
Pei Zhi’s cold expression didn’t soften in the slightest. At any second, another bolt of lightning might just fry the creature’s small head to ash.
Scared half to death, the little zombie hurriedly and tremblingly pulled out his very last can of meat. Holding it out with both hands, he presented it to the man, then turned his trouser pockets inside out with a weak, pitiful squeak: “Awoo…”
There’s nothing left. I gave you everything…
Pei Zhi’s eyebrow twitched slightly. He reached out to take the can, paused, and handed it straight back, commanding in a low voice, “Put it away.”
The little zombie didn’t quite understand what the man wanted, but he cautiously peeked at his stern face and obediently followed the order.
The moment he stuffed the can into his pocket, it vanished into thin air. A pocket that small couldn’t possibly hold so much food; it was obvious the can hadn’t just been slipped inside. A flicker of genuine interest crossed Pei Zhi’s lips.
“A spatial ability…”
“Interesting.”
In the apocalypse, spatial abilities were extraordinarily valuable. Time stood still inside a storage space, preventing food from rotting and making it infinitely easier to haul supplies.
Pei Zhi stepped forward and hoisted the little zombie up by the scruff of his collar. “Be good. Come with me.”
The little zombie shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum, howling and squirming in frantic protest.
This man just zapped him with lightning!
He didn’t want to go anywhere with him!
Kicking his short legs with all his might, the little zombie surprisingly managed to slip free from Pei Zhi’s grip. The moment his feet hit the pavement, he took off running, intending to vanish without a trace.
He hadn’t made it two steps when a cold voice drifted from behind: “What, looking to get struck by lightning again?”
The little zombie froze instantly. He turned his head around by inches, shooting Pei Zhi an aggrieved, resentful glare. “Awoo…”
The man watched him coldly, sparks of electric current dancing across his palm with a quiet, menacing sizzle. “Hmm?”
The little zombie let out a soft whimper. The corners of his eyes and mouth drooped into an unhappy pout, and he dragged his feet reluctantly back to the man’s side.
He couldn’t actually feel physical pain—the lightning strike hadn’t hurt—but he knew he had been attacked, and the terror was very real. If a zombie’s head was smashed or blown off, that was the end.
To keep his little zombie life safe, he shuffled close to Pei Zhi, making sure to stay glued to his side.
Meanwhile, the other squad members gathered up all the dropped supplies. After counting everything, they were amazed to find enough goods to fill an entire truck. That was equal to a full month of dangerous scavenging for the squad, and that was on their luckiest days.
Shen Qing handed the last package over to the little zombie and glanced toward Pei Zhi. “Boss, are we really taking this little zombie with us?”
“Yes,” Pei Zhi replied calmly. “He’s useful for carrying things.”
Shen Qing snapped his fingers in realization. “That’ll make our future missions so much easier! We won’t have to risk hauling massive crates of supplies back and forth anymore.”
The little zombie’s ears twitched. He stole a timid glance at Pei Zhi, then lowered his head quickly with a tiny whine, looking just like an obedient, captured puppy.
Still slightly worried, Shen Qing added, “Boss, he seems well-behaved right now, but he’s still a zombie. If he gets hungry later and takes a bite out of one of us, things could get ugly…”
Pei Zhi stopped in his tracks, waited for the slow-moving little zombie to catch up, and casually raised a hand to release a blast of lightning. A ruined stone pillar in the distance took the direct hit, collapsing into rubble with a deafening crash.
“If you dare bite anyone, that’s what happens to you.”
The little zombie’s eyes flew wide with horror, his pale face turning completely stiff. Shaking his head frantically, he clamped both hands over his mouth to conceal his little zombie fangs, letting out a terrified whimper to promise he would never, ever bite.
Satisfied, Pei Zhi turned around and led Shen Qing and Lin Feng back toward their military vehicle, where several rescued survivors and supplies were waiting.
The little zombie trailed quietly behind them, moving at a snail’s pace. Every few steps, he would deliberately stumble, taking an agonizingly long time to push himself back up.
Seeing the gap between himself and Pei Zhi widening, the little zombie beamed internally and prepared to sneak away.
The second he took a step to the side, a crackling sphere of lightning rolled past his feet. It buzzed across the pavement before exploding with a sharp bang, blasting a small crater into the concrete.
The shock sent the little zombie tumbling straight onto his bottom.
Scrambling to his feet in a hurry, he turned on his heel, dashed forward, and threw his arms around Pei Zhi’s thigh. Tilting his soot-smeared little face up, he tilted his head to the side and gave the sweetest, most flattering cry he could manage: “Awoo…”
I didn’t run away, really! There’s nothing I love more than following the big boss!
The Food-hoarding Zombie Was Kidnapped by the Apocalyptic Boss
