Then it lunged.
Tang Li Yue shrieked.
It was not graceful.
It was not dignified.
It was not befitting the former Saintess of the Tang Clan.
But if you're about to be mauled by an undead, such worries are but fleeting clouds.
And if she still retained some semblance of composure, this former Saintess turned transmigrator would have noticed that the zombie moved with a deadly grace only seen in experts.
Without a doubt, the zombie wasn't someone simple when it was still human.
Except, she had no time to muse about that.
Tang Li Yue stumbled backward, tripping over a crate as the zombie crashed into her.
The vacuum cleaner flew from her grasp. Sir Edmund somehow escaped being crushed in his backpack carrier and leaped aside with a furious hiss.
Suddenly Tang Li Yue found herself pinned beneath a corpse-like man whose breath smelled like several centuries of bad decisions.
Its jaws snapped inches from her face. She pushed against its chest, horror and revulsion boiling into pure rage.
No.
No.
No.
She had survived betrayal.
Transmigration.
Now the apocalypse.
And a rabid chihuahua.
She would not die like this.
Absolutely not.
The zombie lunged for her throat. Tang Li Yue, in a fit of primal fury and entirely irrational vengeance, craned her neck forward and bit it first.
Hard.
Then there was silence.
The zombie froze.
Tang Li Yue froze.
For one horrifying moment, she became acutely aware of what she had just done.
She had bitten a zombie.
The zombie jerked violently.
A sound tore from its throat.
Not a groan but a scream.
Li Yue immediately released it, horrified by her own actions.
"What in every cursed realm did I just do?! Disgusting! Revolting! I need acid! Fire! Divine cleansing!"
She was midway through her personal breakdown when she realized—
The zombie convulsed.
Its body arched and then collapsed off her.
Li Yue scrambled backward, she gagged, coughed, and scrubbed her tongue in violent desperation against her sleeve. Which was a big mistake. Because now her sleeve was contaminated.
"I bit a zombie. I bit a zombie." She muttered like a crazy person, tears lingering in her eyes.
Sir Edmund stared at her from atop a nearby crate, judgment radiated from every whisker.
"I don't need that from you right now, kitty."
The zombie began to shake.
Its limbs twisted unnaturally while its skin rippled like boiling wax.
Li Yue froze at this. This was not normal undead behavior.
At least she assumed so, she wasn't exactly an expert in this field. She only had a day of actual experience.
Past life ones of her current body do not count.
The creature writhed on the ground, clutching at itself as if something beneath its skin was trying to claw its way out.
Its gray complexion began to shift.
Dark veins receded.
Rotting flesh tightened bit by bit.
The sunken cheeks slowly filled.
The cloudy white eyes darkened into clear, vivid color.
It was agonizingly slow and deeply disturbing.
Li Yue watched in horrified fascination.
Because the zombie was turning back.
Into a human.
A real, living, breathing human.
The transformation ended with one final shudder. Then stillness.
A man lay sprawled across the warehouse floor.
Very human.
Very unconscious.
Very... handsome.
Li Yue blinked.
Then blinked again.
The man had a strong jawline, sharp brows, dark hair damp with sweat. He had broad shoulders and ridiculously unfair facial symmetry.
It was a face she recognized.
Her mouth fell open.
"No way," She stepped closer, eyes wide.
It was him, the man from the alley. The one she'd saved from the Spring Gardenpoison days before the apocalypse.
The one with the annoyingly memorable hazel eyes and suspiciously expensive aura. He looked even better without the whole undead complexion.
Which was frankly rude.
Li Yue crouched beside him, utterly baffled.
"What are the odds? Is this some kind of dumb, fucking luck?"
She leaned closer, examining his neck. The bite mark she'd left there was still visible which made her recoil on instinct.
"That statement sounds terrible without context," the man stirred.
Li Yue immediately scrambled back.
His fingers twitched and then his eyes opened.
Hazel, exactly as she remembered. They were sharp and aware despite obvious weakness.
For a moment, the two of them simply stared at each other.
Then his gaze shifted to her mouth, to the blood smeared at the corner of her lips that had gone unnoticed, then back to her.
A very long silence followed.
Tang Li Yue suddenly felt the need to explain.
"Before you say anything, I panicked."
His voice came out hoarse.
"...You bit me."
"Technically, yes."
"You bit me," he repeated.
She crossed her arms.
"Would you prefer I let you eat me first?"
He stared.
She stared back.
Outside, the zombie chihuahua continued scratching at the door like a furry demon denied entry.
Inside, the atmosphere somehow became even more absurd.
The man slowly pushed himself upright, leaning against a crate. His expression remained unreadable.
Then, with a faint furrow of his brow, he asked the question she least expected.
"Why am I not dead?"
Li Yue pointed at him.
"Excellent question. I would also like answers."
He looked down at his hands, flexing them.
At his chest. At his now fully restored body.
His face darkened with realization.
"I was infected."
"Very much so."
"And then..."
He touched the bite mark on his neck. Everything else looked flawless, unmarred except for it.
The bite mark ended up looking like a permanent brand.
His gaze lifted to hers.
Li Yue immediately raised both hands.
"I refuse responsibility until proper evidence is presented."
For the first time, something flickered in his eyes.
Amusement.
Actual amusement despite everything.
Despite the absurdness of the apocalypse.
Despite having recently been a zombie.
The man laughed, a low, disbelieving sound.
Li Yue stared at him like he'd lost his mind. Which, admittedly, was possible. After all, a few moments ago, he was still a zombie.
Then the warehouse door dented inward with a violent slam.
Both of them turned.
Another hit followed which made the metal groan.
The chihuahua was still trying, relentlessly.
The man rose to his feet in one smooth motion. He was steady and dangerously composed.
It was as if turning into a zombie and back again had merely inconvenienced him.
He glanced around the warehouse, located a crowbar nearby, and picked it up.
Tang Li Yue narrowed her eyes.
"You know, for someone who was dead five minutes ago, you're recovering suspiciously well."
He looked at her. That familiar intensity returned.
"Perhaps we should discuss that after we survive."
Fair point, Tang Li Yue thought.
The door buckled again.
Li Yue retrieved her battered vacuum cleaner. Her heart aching once again at its pitiful state.
The man gave it a brief glance and then looked at her.
She lifted her chin defiantly.
"It has history."
"...I can see that."
Outside, the barking escalated along with the banging on the metal door.
Inside, two very confused survivors prepared to fight a zombie chihuahua.
Tang Li Yue exhaled sharply.
What a ridiculous life.
Then again, it had never exactly been ordinary.
She tightened her grip, desperately missing her beloved baseball bat. Tang Li Yue couldn't exactly take out another one with the newly humanized zombie guy around.
"Fine," she said with eyes gleaming.
"Let's go hack that annoying zombie dog."