Chapter Thirteen: Blocking the Path

When the door opened, a young man stood in the doorway. He wore a spotless white shirt, and a trace of coldness lingered on his handsome face. The three chefs stared at him with wide, terrified eyes.

“What… is he a man or a ghost?”

Behind the young man stood Tank, the female zombie, and the others, all exuding a menacing aura that filled the space with an overwhelming sense of oppression. As the chefs glanced around, they noticed a girl among them—it was Su Xiaorou, the one they had locked outside earlier.

The three were stunned, unable to believe their eyes.

“You… you’re not dead?”

“Yes, surprised, aren’t you?” Su Xiaorou’s pretty face was filled with resentment; she was furious at these three for locking her out. Luckily, she had encountered her boss—otherwise, she really would have died because of them.

At that moment, the three zombie minions began to surround the chefs. Tank remained violent, growling continuously, though he admired Lin Dong—this boss of his had managed to open the door with just a small stick, with seeming ease. Tank had already been thinking, when they were outside, that if he got in, these three would not fare well.

The female zombie was still feverish with excitement, her pale, terrifying face twisted into a strange, uncanny smile.

“Please, Xiaorou, save me! I don’t want to be eaten by zombies! I don’t want to die!” the girl cried, falling to her knees and begging for her life, all her earlier resolve gone. In truth, she and Su Xiaorou had known each other before, even getting along fairly well.

Su Xiaorou shook her head. “It’s not up to me to decide if you live or die. That depends on my boss.”

The three chefs turned their eyes to Lin Dong—the clean, fair-skinned, and handsome young man, who was clearly the leader of the zombies.

“Please don’t kill me! Spare my life, I’ll do anything you ask!” the girl sobbed.

The chef chimed in. “Boss, I can cook! I can help you prepare food—I’m very skilled, I even won the city cooking competition.”

They realized that appealing to Lin Dong’s mercy would be futile; they had to prove their worth, or there would be no hope at all.

But Lin Dong glanced at the chef and spoke calmly. “No need for all that trouble. Let’s begin the meal.”

“Huh?” The chef’s eyes widened as he seemed to grasp Lin Dong’s meaning.

With a roar, the three zombie minions lunged at the chefs, who barely had time to scream before it was all over. In mere seconds, their cries were silenced, replaced by the gruesome sounds of tearing flesh and ravenous feasting.

Amid this horrifying spectacle, Lin Dong remained immaculate, strolling through the cold storage as if he were taking a leisurely walk, inspecting the stored goods. The supplies here were abundant—beef, lamb, chicken, duck, fish—everything one could want, and in great quantity. With a wave of his hand, Lin Dong swept it all into his storage space, replenishing what he had consumed over the past two days.

He was quite pleased with the haul.

Meanwhile, the three zombie minions were feasting voraciously. Tank and the female zombie devoured their meals whole, the scene bloody and ghastly. The zombie “Doctor,” however, was the oddest of them all. He methodically opened up the bodies, removing the organs one by one, dissecting them as if performing an autopsy before swallowing each piece. Though the Doctor appeared more refined than Tank and the others, he was even more unsettling—a zombie that could dissect bodies was a horror beyond words.

Of all present, Su Xiaorou suffered the most. As the only normal human in the room, she felt her stomach churn violently at the sight of the zombies feeding, barely able to stifle her retching. She clamped her hand over her mouth, forcing herself not to vomit.

She understood Lin Dong well enough to know that he was fastidious—if she made a mess and displeased him, he might kill her on the spot.

Fortunately, Lin Dong soon finished gathering up the goods—not just the fresh meat from the cold storage, but also the rice, flour, grains, and cooking oil from the storeroom. In addition, the canteen housed a small convenience store. Beer, cigarettes, seeds, drinks, bottled water, instant noodles, sausages, and all sorts of snacks—all went into his storage space.

These were rare resources, after all. Outside, people might kill each other over a single piece of bread. Lin Dong’s storage space had ample room, so he packed away everything—he might need it in the future.

Once everything was sorted out, the three zombie minions finished their meal. Now they circled around Su Xiaorou, sizing her up. The female zombie smiled, patting her on the head every now and then. She seemed to find it amusing that the boss had picked up this little pet, and wanted to play with her like a kitten or puppy.

Su Xiaorou curled up into a ball, shivering like a chick in the wind, her face ashen with fear. She had never imagined she would one day be surrounded by zombies for their entertainment.

“Let’s go,” Lin Dong commanded.

The female zombie gave Su Xiaorou’s head one last pat before turning away. Su Xiaorou was so frightened she was on the verge of collapse.

The thought of having to live among these zombies from now on filled her with deep anxiety.

“B-boss, you’re not really going to kill me, are you?”

“Mhm.” Lin Dong nodded, feeling in a playful mood today. “Did you forget? I used to run a livestock farm.”

“Huh??” Su Xiaorou was baffled. What did he mean by that? Did he think of her as livestock?

……

Soon after, they left the campus.

On the way back, Su Xiaorou drove the van herself, volunteering as the driver to prove her usefulness and avoid being killed by the boss. She had driven this type of van before when working at the supermarket, and was quite skilled behind the wheel. The ride was smooth and steady. Tank, sitting in the back, gave her a five-star review for her driving.

The streets were still in chaos, scattered with wandering zombies, but none posed a threat to the van.

However, at a certain intersection, a heavy truck was parked. Two middle-aged men sat atop it, both gaunt from hunger. One, bearded and unkempt, held half a cigarette in his hand, sniffing it repeatedly, unwilling to light it.

“Damn it! Wasn’t Wang Cong out looking for supplies? Where the hell did he go?”

“Probably ended up in a zombie’s belly. He’s been gone so long, he’s surely dead,” the thinner man replied gloomily.

The bearded man frowned. “No way! Brother Long said he got through to him on the phone, but Wang Cong didn’t say anything and hung up. Maybe he just ditched his wife and ran for it!”

“Forget it. Let’s just find something to eat. I’m starving to death here!” the thin man groaned.

The bearded one kept sniffing his cigarette. “There’s nothing left to eat. Everything’s been scavenged already!”

“Wait… hold on…” As they spoke, the sound of a roaring engine reached their ears. From the side street, a van appeared in the distance.

…