Chapter Twelve: The Working Man

Bang! The door to the cold storage slammed shut.

The girl had just reached the entrance, and like someone possessed, she desperately pounded on the door.

“Open up! Hurry, open the door!”

No matter how her fists throbbed with pain, there was not a sound from within, not the slightest indication that the door would be opened. Despair gripped her heart, and she knew she would never forget the ferocious look on her boyfriend’s face as he closed the door. Just moments before, he had sworn to protect her.

Scum!

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept behind her. She turned to look, and her expression transformed into utter terror.

The female zombie was already upon her, less than five meters away.

In the next second, she would pounce.

In a flash of panic, the girl reached out and shoved Su Xiaorou forward, hoping to buy herself some time.

“Ah—!”

Su Xiaorou cried out as an immense force struck her, sending her sprawling onto the ground.

The female zombie sprang, landing squarely atop her, pinning her wrists firmly to the floor with her claws.

No matter how Su Xiaorou struggled, it was futile.

“Hehehehe~~” The female zombie laughed, perhaps because she had followed Lin Dong out hunting and feasted on flesh and blood, her mood was especially euphoric today—she laughed at every human she saw...

But the eerie laughter was truly horrifying.

Su Xiaorou stared at the face hovering mere inches from her, madness etched in every feature. Terror filled her heart; all hope was gone.

Now, she only wished for a quick, painless death.

She ceased struggling and simply closed her eyes, waiting for that monstrous mouth to tear into her.

Yet, after the laughter faded, the female zombie did not attack. Instead, she released Su Xiaorou, leapt forward, and pounced on the girl who had pushed her.

“Ah!” The girl shrieked as sharp pain shot through her neck.

The zombie had bitten down, the agony so intense her body convulsed uncontrollably.

Her eyes widened, filled with utter despair.

She could not fathom why the zombie had ignored Su Xiaorou and chosen to attack her instead...

But soon, her screams ceased abruptly, and consciousness slipped away.

Meanwhile, Su Xiaorou lay on the ground, eyes still tightly shut.

Strange… Why wasn’t it hurting?

Had she already died?

Yet something felt off—she was quite sure she was still alive...

Tentatively, she opened her eyes. As her vision cleared, she saw a tall, slender figure standing before her.

His skin was pale, his features strikingly handsome, and he gazed down at her.

“Boss…?” Su Xiaorou’s eyes widened in disbelief. She recognized him instantly—it was Lin Dong, her boss from the supermarket where she had worked.

She never imagined she would encounter him here!

Lin Dong tilted his head, sizing her up.

The reason he hadn’t killed Su Xiaorou had little to do with their previous acquaintance.

He simply found the girl quick and efficient, with nimble hands. And he happened to need a servant—to clean, do laundry, wash dishes, and such.

To treat her as mere flesh would be a waste.

He had no shortage of food, after all.

She could be kept for now.

“Get up,” Lin Dong ordered gruffly.

Su Xiaorou sensed something was amiss. Lin Dong seemed to have become a zombie as well—and the towering Tank stood obediently at his side.

Her legs weak, Su Xiaorou leaned against the wall, trembling as she stood.

“Boss, are you… are you alright?”

“Mm.” Lin Dong nodded. Perhaps because he’d killed Xu Shan today, he was in a particularly good mood, so he asked, “Would you like to come back and work?”

“I… I would! Of course I would!” Su Xiaorou was no fool; she realized instantly this was her chance to live. She nodded rapidly, like a chick pecking at rice.

She was terrified that a single ‘no’ would mean instant death.

Though she didn’t understand everything, preserving her life was paramount.

Once she had worked for Lin Dong to earn tuition money; now, working for him meant earning her life.

After receiving her answer, Lin Dong paid her no further heed, walking past her with Tank in tow.

They arrived at the cold storage door.

The supplies Lin Dong needed were inside.

Tank strode forward and raised his massive fist, hammering at the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each punch was like a heavy sledgehammer.

The ground trembled.

Dust fell from the walls.

But the cold storage door didn’t budge; instead, Tank’s arm grew numb from the impact.

Inside, three people pressed their backs against the door.

Their nerves were taut as bowstrings, breath held, barely daring to exhale.

“This zombie… How is it so strong?” the young man muttered, brows furrowed.

The chef still had some confidence. “Don’t worry, the cold storage doors are made of five-centimeter stainless steel panels. Not even a truck could break them down. No matter how strong the zombie is, it can’t get in.”

“Oh…” The other two relaxed a little.

Outside, Tank kept pounding the door, but after a while, there was still no progress.

“Roar—!” Tank let out a furious bellow, growing increasingly agitated.

He imagined that once inside, he would pulverize those people and feast on their flesh!

But with his current strength, he truly could not get in.

Behind him, Lin Dong watched intently.

Since Tank was useless here, he’d have to do it himself.

Just as Lin Dong was about to act, Su Xiaorou approached, her bright eyes filled with resolve.

She harbored deep resentment toward the three who had locked her out.

“Boss, I have the cold storage key!”

“Oh?” Lin Dong raised an eyebrow, pleased. This saved him a lot of trouble.

She truly was the most capable worker—she’d barely joined the team and already made herself useful.

As the warehouse manager, Su Xiaorou naturally had the key to the cold storage. It was too large to carry around, so it always hung on the wall in the adjacent room.

She retrieved the key and handed it to Lin Dong.

Lin Dong ordered Tank to step back, then took the key and approached the door himself.

Tank, of course, didn’t understand.

His fists were the size of sandbags and couldn’t break it—how could that tiny stick do the job?

Inside, the three heard the sudden silence outside and were overjoyed.

“Hmph! I told you the zombie couldn’t break in. It must have given up,” the chef said with satisfaction.

The young man nodded, “Yeah, just wait a bit longer and the zombies will disperse. We can go back to the warehouse.”

But just as he finished speaking, a clicking sound came from the lock on the door.

The mechanism was turning.

“What…???” The chef’s eyes widened in horror, as if he’d swallowed a dead fly. He realized—the zombie was unlocking the door!

The young man was equally incredulous, his face ashen.

“How is that possible?”

“W-what do we do?” The girl trembled, sobbing softly.

No matter how hard they thought, they could not comprehend why a zombie would know how to unlock a door.

As the lock turned, the door was about to open.

“Quick, move things to block the door!” the chef shouted in desperation—the only action left to them.

Of course, it was all futile.

The moment the lock was undone, Tank surged forward, and with a crash flung the door open. Everything piled against the entrance was sent flying!

...