Chapter 45: Shock

Out of sight, out of mind—this old saying proved true once again. As Xiao Guang bent over stacking firewood, he quickly forgot the scene he had just witnessed.

Not everything in this world demands a clear cause or answer. Minzhou, though timid and soft by nature, was undeniably the best at tattling. Fortunately, she hadn’t secretly dragged him into any complaints, and Xiao Guang had no intention of interfering. He focused on organizing all the firewood he had brought back in one go. As he straightened up, he could almost hear his bones sighing under the strain.

Rubbing his lower back, he had to admit that after half a year into this apocalypse, he had grown considerably stronger. Indeed, labor was the true engine driving human health. Leaning against the villa’s outer wall, he surveyed the arrangement of the estate once more, a small smile playing on his lips.

Though it appeared chaotic—with cars parked haphazardly and tall grass growing wild in places—it was all the product of his careful planning. Whether it was effective or not, Xiao Guang sincerely hoped never to find out.

Returning to the living room, he found that although the running water had stopped, thanks to the previous owner’s secret underground water system, a large bucket of water was still stored in the washroom daily to meet their basic needs. Washing his hands was a habit hard to break, and as for other water usage, that was the private business of the three zombie girls. In any case, every morning they had to run water into the bucket by dragging the hose.

The TV program was no longer “Coffee Prince No. 1 Shop” but had switched back to the SBS Music Festival. Xiao Guang dusted himself off and sat beside Bae Joohyun, looking at her profile and gently pinching her toes.

Bae Joohyun didn’t pull away; instead, she turned to look at Xiao Guang and pressed her foot against his palm.

Her toes had become plump, the pads now rounded and full, no longer the shriveled appearance from before. Xiao Guang fiddled for a moment, then thought back to the scene he had seen earlier. Turning his gaze to Minzhou, who sat on the floor, he noticed that Hyewon was asleep, reclining with a large pillow beneath her. Minzhou sat beside her, holding one of Hyewon’s hands in hers, intently watching the TV.

“Thinking of something again?”

“That person is me,” Bae Joohyun said, pointing at the screen. Xiao Guang nodded.

“The ones beside you are your teammates: Kang Seokgi, Wendy, Joy, and Yeri. You remember their names.”

“Seokgi… I remember Seokgi.”

Xiao Guang stroked Bae Joohyun’s long hair. His handiwork was decent; he had cut their hair yesterday. It had seemed odd at the time, but now it looked much better.

“You’ll remember more as time goes on. Anything else? Family, perhaps?”

“No.”

Xiao Guang made it a point to talk with Bae Joohyun daily, though the topics often repeated, mostly revolving around her past. He believed that awakening memory should start with the people she knew best and felt closest to.

“Don’t rush. Take your time. You’ll remember.”

“That triggers memories,” Bae Joohyun suddenly said, pointing at the walkie-talkie on the floor. Xiao Guang was momentarily stunned.

He glanced at her, but she kept staring intently at the device. Just as he was about to ask, she continued, “You can’t hear it.”

“What do you mean? I can’t hear it? But you can?”

Bae Joohyun nodded and said again, “That… triggers memories.”

“No, your memory is coming back not because I’m feeding you information—it’s my credit, right?”

Xiao Guang’s thoughts were jumbled. That wasn’t quite what he meant. He had many questions but instinctively only voiced this statement.

Bae Joohyun looked back at him, her eyes red, holding his gaze for about ten seconds before nodding.

“It’s your credit.”

Hearing that, Xiao Guang wasn’t pleased; it wasn’t what he intended. What he really wanted to know was what those walkie-talkies were for.

As he stared at the device, Bae Joohyun’s voice came again from beside him.

“Searching for humans.”

“What?”

“It says, searching for humans.”

Xiao Guang had to accept a harsh reality: the human rescue team he awaited had not arrived, but the zombies had already received vague orders.

Bae Joohyun was different. After hearing her, Xiao Guang picked up the walkie-talkie and then looked at Minzhou.

“Is this fun?”

“Fun,” Minzhou replied.

“What does it say inside?”

“Fun.”

Xiao Guang glanced back at Bae Joohyun, who looked at Minzhou and said, “She doesn’t understand.”

She didn’t understand, but you do. Xiao Guang felt he could accept that. He sensed that Bae Joohyun was like an older child, while Minzhou and the others were slower to regain their wits.

Playing with the walkie-talkie, Xiao Guang couldn’t help but ask, “So, the previous zombie invasion was aimed at me?”

It was a rhetorical question, and Bae Joohyun nodded.

This answered many of his doubts: why zombies that usually wandered the streets at random suddenly gathered en masse and even began climbing over walls.

If that was true, what should he do? He felt as if an invisible net had trapped him. Considering Seoul’s population, he was likely facing countless invasions ahead.

“There’s me~”

Xiao Guang turned to Bae Joohyun, who pointed at Minzhou and Hyewon.

“Two idiots.”

At this point, debating whether they were idiots was irrelevant. His own life was clearly hanging by a thread.

His mind was in turmoil. What was the situation outside? If the other side was transmitting messages via broadcast, how many zombies could actually receive it?

If, as Bae Joohyun said, it was just the pure infected zombies, that was one thing. But if zombies like Bae Joohyun herself or that big fat one were involved, his life truly seemed to be counting down.

Just moments ago, he had been in high spirits, thinking he was living relatively easily and happily in this apocalypse. Now, a heavy stone pressed down on his heart.

“I’m very powerful. They’re afraid of me.”

Bae Joohyun, sitting on the sofa, spoke again, as if trying to calm Xiao Guang’s mood. He looked at her, his gaze complex.

“But we just faced an invasion.”

“That big one isn’t afraid of me.”

Xiao Guang’s ability to understand was sharp, honed by living with them. Thinking carefully, since that big fat zombie wasn’t afraid of Bae Joohyun, that was why the other zombies dared to climb over the wall. That was likely what she meant.

Xiao Guang said nothing but slowly exhaled. It wasn’t that he was weak-minded or easily discouraged by news. Rather, this information shattered his understanding.

All apocalypse literature he knew depicted humans as protagonists fighting adversity, with zombies mostly portrayed as frenzied, chaotic, and disordered.

But who knew what kind of apocalypse he had encountered? Before receiving any human rescue news, the zombies were already ahead.

“What’s the purpose of searching for humans?”

Xiao Guang asked, staring at Bae Joohyun. She seemed reluctant to answer, silently meeting his gaze.

“I’m asking you—what’s the purpose of searching for humans?”

Suddenly standing, Xiao Guang raised his voice. It was loud enough to wake Hyewon, who immediately embraced Minzhou.

“Become like us.”

Bae Joohyun finally gave the answer. Xiao Guang nodded in understanding. It was the expected answer; why had he even bothered to ask?

So, he was doomed. Xiao Guang now knew his fate.