Pho Noan Yi stared blankly at her wrist, which was being tightly gripped by Xu Chi.
Black mist crept along her wrist, spreading upward and rushing straight into her head.
A wonderfully comfortable sensation filled her entire body, even easing the heavy, muddled feeling in her head.
Warm and satisfying.
Pho Noan Yi liked this feeling immensely. She placed her hand over his, refusing to let him go, wishing only for more of that black mist.
But then—she saw her own hand.
It was bluish-purple, as if it had been lying in a morgue for half a month.
Huh?
What's a morgue?
So ugly.
She stared dazedly at the bluish-purple hand resting on the back of his pale one.
Xu Chi's Dark Ability could, with just a touch, spread into a zombie's brain core and directly control it from within.
But it consumed an enormous amount of power.
Sometimes, even when drained completely, he could only control an ordinary zombie.
His power had only recovered a little, not enough to fully control the strange little zombie before him. But… he could gamble on it.
He had to survive.
Suppressing the disgust of having a zombie press down on his hand, he did not let go.
Except…
Wait! Why did this little zombie seem to be absorbing his power?
Xu Chi's eyes widened in shock, but he couldn't pull his hand free from Pho Noan Yi's grasp.
The precious bit of power he had painstakingly saved up was being drained clean.
Xu Chi's head spun, his strength slipping away once more, and he collapsed backward.
Pho Noan Yi felt less hungry. The gnawing emptiness in her body eased, and she even felt a bit lighter.
She tried moving her hand.
Huh?
It didn't seem as stiff as before.
Tilting her head, she stared at Xu Chi and rasped out, "More!" The food was delicious—comfort spreading through her whole body.
Xu Chi, weak but still sharp-tongued, glared at her with pure loathing. "More, my ass!"
Pho Noan Yi felt wronged and wanted to pout.
But her face was too stiff to move.
This candy figurine was too fierce. Maybe she should just eat him instead.
She lunged forward, the cat ears on her helmet nearly poking out Xu Chi's eyes.
He leaned his head back to avoid them, but still got hit—blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
Suppressing the pain, his mind worked furiously to find a way out of this dangerous situation.
The clacking of zombie teeth echoed right against his chest. As long as she didn't bite his heart, he still had a chance.
[Don't eat humans!]
Xu Chi froze. It was that soft voice again.
Was this the little zombie's inner voice?
Pho Noan Yi reluctantly pushed herself up using her hands on his chest, making him cough up another mouthful of blood. The candy figurine smelled even sweeter now.
But… it seemed she couldn't eat him.
Why not?
Her stiff face showed no expression, but her whole body radiated disappointment.
Xu Chi began to suspect she might still have a shred of humanity. Carefully, he called, "Pho Noan Yi?"
[Pho Noan Yi? Who's that? Sounds familiar.]
Pho Noan Yi tilted her head in thought, but the cat-eared helmet was heavy, making her sway.
[So hungry… I want to eat! Just one bite!]
Xu Chi suddenly wanted to laugh. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at the zombie before him. "Little zombie, biting again is rude, you know."
[What's 'rude'?]
"You're Pho Noan Yi! And Pho Noan Yi should know manners. Manners means no eating humans."
[I'm Pho Noan Yi? And not eating humans is 'manners'?]
Pho Noan Yi's face was still expressionless, but doubt flickered in her big eyes.
Xu Chi took in the sight of her.
Small frame, wearing a tattered, cheap office suit with canvas shoes.
The cat-eared helmet made her face look tiny and her eyes even bigger.
When alive, she must have been a soft, adorable girl.
Even with bluish-purple skin, she was easier to look at than most zombies—perhaps because the helmet had protected her head.
Unlike other zombies, her face still had intact skin instead of being mangled.
If not for her slightly skeletal frame and corpse-colored skin, she wouldn't look like a zombie at all.
Thin, skin and bones, helmet on her head—she looked almost like a stick figure. It was a little funny.
Xu Chi couldn't help but laugh.
Pho Noan Yi still had no expression, but her big eyes now shone with confusion and wounded pride.
She rasped again, stubbornly, "More!"
Xu Chi no longer feared for his life. Maybe this little zombie really did have some humanity left—at least she didn't eat humans.
Feigning superiority, he leaned his head back against the sofa, tilting his head toward her. "Didn't anyone teach you about give-and-take?"
[What's 'give-and-take'? Sounds strange.]
Ignoring the blood at the corner of his mouth, Xu Chi laughed.
The specks of blood on his face did nothing to diminish his handsome features; instead, they lent him a strange, bewitching charm.
He tilted his head, the small gold bell on his earring brushing his cheek, casting a soft glow over his smiling eyes.
Light flickered there—focused on Pho Noan Yi, at once affectionate and seductive.
"It means before you get full, you have to feed the chef first."
Pho Noan Yi blinked, staring at the candy figurine in front of her—the more she looked, the more beautiful, the more delicious.
[What's a chef?]
Xu Chi pointed to himself. "That's me. If you want food like before, you have to feed me first."
He was starving. After lunch, he had come straight here, spent enormous energy and power, killed eight ability users, and taken heavy injuries.
Then this little zombie had carried him on her shoulder all afternoon, jostling him painfully while he starved.
If zombies were edible, he would've eaten her raw!
Pho Noan Yi didn't quite understand.
But… maybe she did a little. To get food from him, she had to give him her own food first.
The only food she saw right now was him.
She understood.
Pho Noan Yi stepped forward, grabbed his hand, and brought it to her mouth.
This time, she rasped aloud, "Eat."
Xu Chi clenched his fist to keep her from shoving his hand into his mouth with that inhuman strength. "You want me to gnaw on myself?!"
He didn't seem to like this dish.
Pho Noan Yi awkwardly let go, disappointment radiating off her once more.
She thought hard.
Then remembered—the black mist from his hand earlier. She might… know how.
Pho Noan Yi grabbed his wrist again.
Xu Chi tried to dodge, but had no strength left.
He gave up, turning his head away to avoid having his mouth mangled.
From her hand came a gentle white light. The small wounds on Xu Chi's wrist slowly healed.
As the pain faded, the injuries in his palm also mended.
Feeling the comfort spreading through him, Xu Chi turned to look—
And was stunned once more.
This little zombie… had a Light Healing Ability?!
A zombie, aligned with Darkness… one whose thoughts he could hear…
And she had the healing power of Light.
Xu Chi stared at her blankly.
A healer.
He was saved!
Pho Noan Yi kept radiating gentle white light, but gradually she felt hungry again.
Feeding him made her hungry.
So unfair.
She didn't want to.
Pulling her hand back, she stood in front of him and demanded her reward, rasping again like an emotionless recorder: "More!"
Xu Chi looked at her, hearing the mock threat in her voice, though it carried no real force.
He lifted his fully healed hand, turned it over, and smirked.
Ignoring the pain in the rest of his body, he said, "I'm human. I need human food. Once I'm full, I'll feed you."
[That much and you're still not full? I'm hungry now!] Pho Noan Yi was displeased.
Xu Chi patiently explained, "Human food—not this. Once I'm full, you'll be full."
Pho Noan Yi didn't know what human food was.
She looked around, spotting a crowd of zombies pressed against the restaurant's glass door.
They were staring hungrily inside—or more precisely, at Xu Chi.
Pho Noan Yi had to find food for the candy figurine. She couldn't leave him to be taken by those who would steal her meal.
Bending down, she prepared to carry him again.
Xu Chi, seeing this, immediately stepped back in alarm. "This is a restaurant. Look around here."
But the apocalypse had been going for a month already. Could a little zombie find food?
He doubted it.
Xu Chi sighed, extending his healed hand toward her. "Carry me."