Yun Qingyue had no knowledge of the male lead’s storyline. In her hands, she only possessed the plot involving herself and the antagonist.
And even that plotline was super bare-bones.
When the System provided her with the story, it hadn’t even told her how to survive the years before reaching the Base. It felt like in the narrative, characters like her—cannon fodder—were akin to stage actors. They went on stage when they had a scene, and when they didn’t, they were offstage cracking sunflower seeds, with no need to think about daily life.
But life wasn’t a stage play.
Yun Qingyue knew this well, so she still had to rely on herself to properly plan out the parts that had been glossed over.
At the time, she had also inquired with the System about the male lead’s side of the story. After all, knowing the details of the overall grand project would make it easier for her to manage her own little sub-project.
And honestly, she had genuinely considered that if her sub-project didn’t go smoothly, if her work buddy had issues and refused to become the Zombie King…
She had truly contemplated taking on the role herself. After all, the plot dictated she’d be killed by zombies anyway. And she wouldn’t truly die—she’d return to her own world after death.
She figured that with some practice, becoming a Zombie King wouldn’t be a big problem. So far, she hadn’t sensed any insurmountable gap between herself and her colleague.
So, she felt that if she could know the male lead’s storyline, if she could grasp the entire plot, she could then completely adjust the direction of her small project to ensure the male lead ultimately became the overlord.
Back then, the System hadn’t given her the information. At that time, the System, existing as a small document, stated: “No. The male lead’s information is top-secret. Cannot be disclosed to you.”
Thus, Yun Qingyue knew nothing about the male lead. She didn’t know his past, his appearance, his personality, nor his experiences after the apocalypse arrived.
Yun Qingyue only knew that under her leadership, her small team had developed well on the first day.
In the morning, she’d gone out and picked up two kids, plus a sedan.
The sedan would be very useful. Going out to scavenge for supplies later would be much more convenient.
In the afternoon, she and No. 59 had worked together to separate the Zombie Dogs and pen them up in different corners of the gravel yard.
The two children hadn’t caused any trouble either.
The first day of formal work ended at five o’clock. After five, Yun Qingyue returned to the RV.
But for her, this was also a new life. Before, she had lived alone. Now, she had one more colleague and two children.
Yun Qingyue had a strong sense of boundaries. After work, everyone ate dinner together, then did their own thing.
The two children quickly fell asleep. They had slept too little before, and now, feeling safe, they continued catching up on rest.
Her colleague buddy was spacing out.
Yun Qingyue was summarizing the day’s work, seeing where improvements could be made.
She finished writing her work summary and sent it to the System. Her communication with the System didn’t use this world’s network, so even without a signal on her phone, she could send it to the System.
After sending the summary, she wanted to play on her phone for a bit before bed, as usual.
Only then did she remember—no network again. Nothing to play.
She wondered what the situation was like in the city right now.
Yun Qingyue pondered. Although the apocalypse had just started, many people’s Esper powers were about to awaken. The various overlords should soon begin emerging, cutting a swath through the chaos. The male lead was probably among them.
As Yun Qingyue contemplated this, she saw No. 59 on the other side take out a small bag of peanuts and start shelling them.
Yun Qingyue didn’t think much of it and fell into a deep sleep.
After she fell asleep, No. 59 finished shelling the peanuts. He also slept for a little while.
During that short sleep, he had a dream.
It was the first time Experiment Subject No. 59 had ever had a dream like this. He’d had various dreams in the past, but almost all of them involved killing those researchers.
Every dream was filled with satisfaction in the moment.
But upon waking, there would be a stifling sense of loss.
This time, however, he’d had a very ordinary dream. No unnecessary content, just building a doghouse.
Upon waking, he felt as if his heart had been filled with something soft. This unfamiliar thing occupying his heart left him completely at a loss.
And this bewilderment made him want to run.
He was very familiar with running away. In the past, he’d wanted to run every moment of every day.
Back then, he couldn’t escape because he was locked in a cell made of special materials.
Now, it was just an RV.
His leg was already healed. Even though many of his abilities hadn’t recovered, he could still run away.
He got up from the sofa, quietly and carefully opened the RV door.
He paused for a moment at this action, but still, silently, he went out.
He left the RV. A cool breeze greeted him outside.
He kept walking and soon passed the Zombie Dogs.
The Zombie Dogs were now locked in cages nailed together from wooden planks, a cage he was very familiar with.
He kept walking forward, passing through the pile of crushed stones outside the gravel yard where he had scavenged for wire just today.
And then, he saw the zombies on the other side.
Experiment Subject No. 59 looked at those zombies and silently turned back.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to leave; he couldn’t. There were too many zombies out there.
He hadn’t recovered his abilities yet. Going out meant feeding the zombies. Yes, he felt a wave of relief.
He’d wait a bit longer.
So, early the next morning, what Yun Qingyue found upon waking was her colleague, who couldn’t cook, standing at full battle readiness with eggs and noodles.
Today, it was that colleague’s turn to cook.
Yun Qingyue didn’t interfere. She got up to wash up, but when she opened the drinking water barrel, she discovered the water was nearly at the bottom.
How was it used up so fast?
Yun Qingyue pondered. Once work started today, they’d first go out to find a water source. It was perfect now that they had the sedan. They could head up the county road; there were houses there, so finding clean water should be possible.
When she finished washing up and came out, what she saw was a bowl of noodles for each person, topped with a fried egg.
The fried egg wasn’t broken, slightly crisp around the edges, looking very good. The noodles beneath also appeared properly cooked.
Better than she’d imagined.
She sat down, picked up a mouthful of noodles, and hey? It was actually quite good.
“This is delicious. First time making this? You’ve got some talent.”
Yun Qingyue was full of praise. This was the first time she’d encountered such a reliable colleague.
She had originally been fully prepared for today’s breakfast to be inedible.
Yun Qingyue bowed her head and ate earnestly, the joy of carbs and a fried egg putting her in a fantastic mood.
Experiment Subject No. 59 had also been eating noodles, but soon he stopped. Something light and warm was lapping at him.
Eating the noodles he’d made, her stomach filled early in the morning, Yun Qingyue naturally generated a feeling of recognition for her colleague buddy.
Experiment Subject No. 59 didn’t know why he was using his perception ability.
Another wave of light, warm emotion washed over him.
He could feel the sludge-like substance that had been clogging his heart being gently washed away.
His heart suddenly felt empty. He couldn’t adapt to this sensation. His mind began recalling the feeling of a scalpel slicing through flesh.
A dark, gloomy thing started coalescing, rapidly turning back into thick sludge, once again clogging his heart.
And beside him, Yun Qingyue merely ate her bowl of noodles with focus.