Chapter 40: Achievement Unlocked +1

Xiao Guang slept poorly, unaccustomed to the unusual lack of crowding around him. Opening his eyes in the dead of night, he looked at Bae Joo-hyun lying across his arm, then lifted the blanket to check—Min-ju was gone.

Extricating his arm gently and tucking Bae Joo-hyun back under the covers, Xiao Guang decided to go outside and take a look. Things were much as he had anticipated: Min-ju was squatting in front of a chair, holding Hye-won’s hand in complete silence. It was a sight that made it hard to feel any joy.

Kang Hye-won stared fixedly at Min-ju just as she had earlier in the evening. After observing them for a moment, Xiao Guang turned to boil some water.

He didn’t know what to say, nor how to express his urge to help. He scooped some milk powder; since Bae Joo-hyun and Min-ju liked it so much, he figured Hye-won would too.

Xiao Guang purposely prepared a new cup, cutting the spout open in the same manner. He handed Min-ju’s portion to her first, then looked at Kang Hye-won.

"I hope you understand that I am trying to help you."

Min-ju made a soft sound toward Hye-won, then knelt right where she was, tilted her head back, and began to drink.

Understanding that Min-ju was demonstrating for them, Xiao Guang picked up the cup and held it gently against Kang Hye-won’s lips. Her purple eyes met his, and for the first time, her gaze lacked its usual sharp vigilance.

Xiao Guang poured very slowly. Once the milk flowed into her mouth, Kang Hye-won’s two tense arms finally relaxed. With her mouth about half full, she even attempted to swallow.

After feeding her a little, Xiao Guang thoughtfully paused. To his surprise, Kang Hye-won twitched for the first time and thrust her head forward. Seeing this reaction, Xiao Guang chuckled; although he didn't quite understand it, zombies truly loved drinking milk.

With no other choice, Xiao Guang had to go mix another bowl because Bae Joo-hyun had also emerged, blinking and walking in a straight line. Reaching the dining table, she groped for her own milk cup, discovered it contained milk, and immediately knelt, tilted her head back, and followed the routine.

Xiao Guang felt somewhat grateful that he had habitually filled Bae Joo-hyun’s cup as well, otherwise she definitely would have thrown a little tantrum. This was a recent development—both Bae Joo-hyun and Min-ju were exhibiting more and more emotional expressions, evolving from their initial numb apathy into something increasingly vivid.

Waitressing three zombie girls with their milk in the middle of the night, with one of them still tied to a chair—it was a complicated emotion to describe, yet as Xiao Guang watched the milk powder steadily vanish from the cups, his mood was remarkably bright.

When people are alive, they always want to do something to prove their existence has some meaning. Lazily lying flat and drifting through the days wasn't a choice; it was sheer helplessness.

Watching Bae Joo-hyun finish her cup of milk, slam it down onto the dining table with a clatter, and shuffle back toward the bedroom, Xiao Guang suddenly felt a twinge of regret. Hopefully, this wouldn't turn into a habit of drinking milk in the middle of the night.

Min-ju had finished one cup, while Kang Hye-won had consumed two. Xiao Guang admittedly played favorites because after the first cup was gone, the anticipation in Hye-won’s purple eyes had become almost tangible.

Unable to resist that look, Xiao Guang muttered under his breath while dumping the remaining milk powder into the cup to feed Hye-won once more.

"Min-ju, Hye-won is new here. Her body is severely lacking in nutrition, so we're taking care of her this time."

Without answering, Min-ju licked her lips and walked back toward the bedroom. Watching her retreating figure, Xiao Guang couldn't help wondering: could it be that a single cup of milk had cured Min-ju of pitying Hye-won?

Once feeding time concluded, Xiao Guang locked eyes with Hye-won again.

"I'll do my best to help you from now on. That's that."

"Ah~ Th-thank... thank you~~"

The first two syllables were disjointed, but the final "thank you" was quite coherent. Xiao Guang looked at Hye-won, thought for a moment, walked over to the sofa, picked up a blanket, and draped it around her.

"No need to thank me. I tied you up for the night just to help you adapt to the environment here. If you don't run around or attack me tomorrow, I won't tie you up anymore."

Whether Hye-won understood or not, Xiao Guang turned and headed toward the bedroom. His schedule was strictly regular, and at this hour, exhaustion was catching up with him.

Bae Joo-hyun and Min-ju had left space for him. As Xiao Guang lay down, a sudden question popped into his mind: once Kang Hye-won got used to things, where was she going to sleep?

~~~~

Relying solely on milk was definitely out of the question, especially since she had only had one round the previous night—they needed some solid food. Xiao Guang couldn't be entirely sure if his approach was right, but he had the right to make the decision.

Even if Bae Joo-hyun and Min-ju stood before him looking pretty while clutching their cups, it wouldn't change his mind.

"We're having dough-drop soup for breakfast. Well, fine, torn noodle soup. I admit I actually wanted to make hand-pulled noodles, but I don't know how. Alright, stop making a fuss, you can drink more at noon."

The idea was lovely, but reality was harsh; culinary skills couldn't be summoned through imagination alone. Having found two large bags of Korean chili paste, Xiao Guang had initially hoped to make hand-cut noodles, which somehow devolved into torn noodle soup.

Clatter, clatter~~

The sound alone told him it was Bae Joo-hyun putting down her cup, immediately followed by Min-ju copying her. Shaking his head, he checked the boiling dough lumps in the pot, saw they seemed done, and scooped them all into a nearby basin.

Displeased, Bae Joo-hyun began vigorously scratching the flesh behind her thigh. Smiling, Xiao Guang tipped some soup into her mouth—this was fine; at least it showed obedience.

He didn't demand much: just a small bowl per person. Min-ju still struggled a bit, but her behavior today was exemplary; Xiao Guang suspected she wanted to show off in front of Hye-won.

It was a bizarre sensation, but every time Min-ju swallowed a bite, she would glance at Hye-won and make a small noise, confirming Xiao Guang's suspicion.

After feeding the other two, Xiao Guang hesitated as he looked at Hye-won, still bound to the chair. Since she was the newcomer, should he show some extra care and feed her a bit more milk powder? After all, Hye-won was visibly thinner than Bae Joo-hyun and Min-ju, and her curves were sagging slightly.

Looking back and forth, Xiao Guang decided to feed Hye-won actual food instead. Sensing that Bae Joo-hyun’s red eyes looked somewhat dangerous, Xiao Guang figured that if he mixed milk powder for Hye-won right now, Bae Joo-hyun might just snatch it away.

After all, Hye-won had once headbutted Bae Joo-hyun right over. Bae Joo-hyun had thrashed her short little legs in struggle at the time, taking two tries to get back up. Glancing at the lingering red mark on Hye-won’s body, he decided on the noodle soup instead—at least it counted as solid food.

Hye-won ate the torn noodles with a tragic air of determination. To call it that was only fair, given that Hye-won possessed a resilience entirely distinct from Bae Joo-hyun and Min-ju.

Eating was a strenuous task for her, and swallowing posed a major problem, yet she clearly refused to give up. Not until Xiao Guang finally removed the small bowl did she lower her head and fall into a fit of coughing. Observing her condition, Xiao Guang went to fetch a set of clothes—another animal onesie, which he had specifically scavenged because Bae Joo-hyun seemed to like them.

"Alright, I'm untying you now. Don't crash into anyone, don't attack me. Just like that."

Looking at the three zombie girls on the sofa: Bae Joo-hyun in a light brown and pale yellow cat onesie; Min-ju still in tight yoga attire because Xiao Guang liked the look of her legs; and now joined by Hye-won in a black-and-white panda suit.

Xiao Guang couldn't help laughing. The fact that Hye-won was able to walk over and sit down next to them on her own accord likely signaled her acceptance. How should he put it—Xiao Guang adored this scene, his heart swelling with a deep sense of accomplishment.

"Sit tight, play nicely, don't fight, I'm going to farm. What a hard-luck life!"

Despite saying that, Xiao Guang didn't feel that way inside. If it were still just him alone as before, perhaps that truly would have been a hard-luck life. Though he was tired now, he had already accumulated six cute companions.

Thinking this way was shameless, but Xiao Guang hoped he would be forgiven. A person needed to grant themselves rewards to keep persisting as a good guy—someone willing to save zombie girls.

As for whether he would ever rescue any male zombies, Xiao Guang hoisted his newly scavenged hoe, thought about it for a second, and then decisively shook his head.