Chapter 1

The fortress I'd built with all my soul as refuge in the apocalypse was seized on the day of, and by my boyfriend with his childhood friend no less.

Just as a zombie was about to chew through my neck, I suddenly heard his thoughts. "Who would know?! Not all zombies want to eat humans! But it's not like we have chips and cookies to munch on!"

In just a flash, I whipped out the sleeve of Oreos I was carrying around.

The zombie's eyes lit up. "You can understand us?!"

I nodded repeatedly. "Yes! And it's not just Oreos—I have Lay's chips, Reese's Puffs… all the snacks you would want! Just name it, and I'd have it!"

As I spoke, I took out all the snacks I was carrying, and the zombies promptly swarmed forward, munching and tearing up with emotion.

"Argh… It's been so long since I've had these! I miss being a benign human!"

"These chips are great! I could keep munching on them forever!"

That was when the zombie in the lead threw an arm around my neck. "I hence declare that you shall henceforth be the queen of all zombies!"

My eyes widened in shock. "M-Me?!"

Chapter 1

The zombies were nodding as they kept munching.

"Yeah! Nom, nom…"

"You're the boss as long as you can feed us!"

I stared at them warily. "Sure, but I'm not on the menu, am I?"

One of them was bawling out loud right then. "For Pete's sake—do you think we all prefer human flesh?! We won't hurt a fly when we are humans! Sure, we look a little ugly, but we've been starving for ten days! Everyone runs away when they see us, when all we want is food!"

I was at once freaked out and amused just seeing the zombie talk with a disjointed neck, while tears of grief gushed out of those empty eye sockets.

Still, I narrowed my eyes and pretended to snap, "Right, and you weren't trying to eat me just now?!"

The zombie leader scratched his head, embarrassed. "It was just an accident… You're the first person we've managed to catch, but you're also lucky enough to understand us. Well, that's destiny for you!"

I rolled my eyes again—heaven knew if this was luck or something else, but I certainly didn't expect to make friends with zombies.

Still, the snacks were soon finished, and the zombies looked like they wanted more.

"Why don't you guys tell me what you want to eat? I'll get some…"

I regretted it as soon as I made the offer, as the zombies were quickly swarming around me.

"Really?! Let's have some butter chicken from the northeast!"

"I-I want some Turkish delight!"

"Amazing! I'm craving the clam chowder from home myself!"

I stared at them, gulping and bewildered at the grotesque zombies.

That was when someone cleared his throat. "Spaghetti All'Aragosta and foie gras please…"

"Do I look that rich to you?!" I snapped, turning and intent on seeing which zombie had such an appetite.

Still, I was surprised to see that he was well-dressed and wore a mask, while also carrying himself like he was above the rest.

Seemingly worried that I'd keep refusing, he handed me a gold card. "Zach Lowe, founder of Lowe Group. There's no spending limit for this card."

Wait, Zach Lowe?!

Even someone as ignorant as me knew that he made Forbes' rich list despite his youth!

Still, I didn't hesitate to take the card, intent on transferring some money to myself since I had spent everything on the fortress where Max Lyndon and Helen Queen now slept.

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Zach pursed his lips, his embarrassment palpable from behind the mask as he said, "C-Can I owe you for now? I'll pay you back later…"

I rolled my eyes—whatever was he going to repay me with?

Still, glancing at my fortress, I suddenly had an idea. "Deal! All requests will hence be met!"

After all, I had made a hidden tunnel in the fortress aside from the main gates.

And under the cover of darkness, I led a group of zombies, sneaking in.

Max and Helen were sound asleep, and I smacked them on the head as I laughed. "Wake up! It's payback time!"

Chapter 2

Helen jerked awakened, turning pale when she saw the faces of the zombies drooling at her, covered with swelling boils and rotting skin.

Scrambling on all fours to the other side of the bed, she screamed, "S-Stay away from me! Max! Help! I don't wanna die!"

I pushed my way through the zombies to reach Max, greeting them, "It's been a while, guys!"

Seeing me, the horror on Helen's face turned to disgust immediately. "Susan Grant?! You're alive?! How did you get in here?! Did you bring these zombies here too?!"

I shook my head and gave Zach a look. "That one talks too much."

I hadn't even finished, but his hands were already around Helen's neck.

"N-No! I'm sorry… Don't kill me!" she screamed.

Max leaped between them, not hesitating to protect Helen. "Come at me if you have a problem! Don't hurt Helen!"

I watched him as he played hero, suddenly reminded of our relationship.

I hated the fact that Helen clung to him every day, but he insisted that she was just a childhood friend, and that he only saw her as a sister.

That was how we always went on trips, movies, and dates as a trio, until we received word of the apocalypse.

Everyone started to stockpile food and supplies, and I did the same, moving dozens of cartons by myself.

Through it all, Max remained on the couch, watching TV with Helen and not lifting a finger to help. In fact, while I was busy soldering reinforced wards and building a security system, he would yell at me for being too loud and bothering Helen from sleeping.

And after the apocalypse, they had no issue kicking me outside to face the zombie hordes alone while they took over the fortress.

I was furious just remembering all that nonsense and was ready to slap Max!

Bang!

Suddenly, Max pulled out a handgun from under his sheets and fired a shot that sent Zach flying over ten feet away, his blood and guts gushing.

The other zombies were naturally afraid to attack.

"Oh, come on! You said we'd have all the food we want but never mentioned the workplace hazard!"

"Gun! Scared! Boo-hoo!!!"

"Shut up!" I bellowed at them, and they promptly turned silent while shooting each other upset looks.

Max and Helen were both gaping at me. "Did you just order them around?"

I rolled my eyes and went over to Zach's side, my eyes tearful as I watched blood gushing out of his chest. "Yes! And if I give the order, you will both become zombie fodder!"

Max, however, wasn't cowed—he even laughed out loud as he turned his gun on me. "Then I just have to get rid of you… Unless you're going to tell me how you're commanding these zombies!"

I shrugged. "Would you believe it if I told you I can read their minds?"

Max clearly thought that I was lying, laughing coolly as he fired a shot.

That was when Zach suddenly 'resurrected', leaping to grab me and jumping over ten feet away.

"You're alive?!" I exclaimed in shock.

Behind his mask, Zach rolled his eyes at me. "Do all zombies die that easily? After our mutation, our physical attributes were enhanced to the limit. But even if we're fireproof and bulletproof, it still hurts! How could a normal handgun hurt so much?!"

As Zach clutched his chest and gritted his teeth in pain, I scratched my head in embarrassment. "Well, I modified it myself, so that it's five times more powerful than a normal handgun…"

Still, the other zombies were thrilled to see that Zach was alive.

Chapter 3

All at once, the zombies were chattering. "Is Zach serious? We're not going to die?!"

"For real! We have nothing to fear now!"

"We will get even for you, boss!"

I had no idea if they were actually getting even for my sake or just yearning for the snacks stored in my fortress, but the zombies began to swarm Max and Helen.

In no time at all, they were restrained and tied together.

And when that was done, the zombies were all staring at me, rubbing their palms eagerly.

It gave me the creeps, so I quickly pointed at the storehouse. "All the stuff you can eat and drink is in there! The passcode is 54188!"

Once the door opened, they swarmed inside like a horde of hungry rats.

"Coke! Oh, my beloved Coke!"

"Canned sardines! This is definitely heaven!"

Zach held out a chocolate bar at me with his trembling hand, groaning, "You're hungry… Have this…"

The zombies all stopped eating just to stare at us, eager for gossip, with one of them even teasing, "Hey, boss! I think Zach likes you!"

I smiled, but it might have been better if I just cried. "I'm not hungry. It's okay…"

Who would want to date a zombie who couldn't access his own bank account?!

As Zach gingerly withdrew his hand, the zombies started clamoring again.

"So what do we do with these two, boss?"

"Let's just leave them out there to starve!"

Max naturally didn't understand them and felt overwhelmed, bellowing, "What are you people doing to us?! Quit moaning and groaning the whole time!"

In contrast, Helen was unusually calm, until one of the zombies took a good look at her.

"Wait, I know her…"

"Right? I saw her before I transformed. I was at Bonobo's for some burgers…"

"Yeah, I dined at Bonobo's before I transformed too!"

"Me too! I remember now… She was like, everywhere!"

It seemed that the apocalypse was no natural calamity, but a manmade incident instead!

Nonetheless, the front gates of the fortress blew wide open, and a group of men in hazmat suits charged inside.

Their leader flashed his badge at me. "Rafael Federer, WHO. We heard there were zombies here, so we came to help!"

WHO?!

"Thank you, sir!"

I shook his hand enthusiastically as I quickly replied, "These zombies are actually intelligent, and I can communicate with them. I can vouch for them that they are innocent. Also, I can name two suspects responsible for their zombification!"

The leader looked at me suspiciously. "Are you sure? The zombies follow orders?"

I snapped my fingers at the zombie who wanted clam chowder. "Barrel roll!"

Hence, as the humans looked on in shock, the zombies formed an orderly line and started barrel rolling as if they were a circus troupe.

It took a while for Rafael to come to their senses and pat my shoulder. "This is a huge discovery! But we still need further confirmation. Please bring your zombie friends and come with us for further investigation!"

I nodded repeatedly, pointing at Max and Helen who were tied up. "They are coming with us too!"

Then, picking up the PA system microphone of the fortress, I announced, "Follow me! Tonight, we feast!"

However, we were subdued and locked up in the basement holding cells as soon as we arrived.

"What the heck… Did they just take us for a ride?!"

"Starving after I just started eating normally again…"

I smacked him right then. "Patience! This stuff takes time!"

That was when Zach exclaimed in shock, "I got it!"

Chapter 4

Pointing at the guards outside, Zach said, "They're mocking us, calling us morons."

"You know their dialect?"

Zach's look turned grim as he explained, "No, they are speaking in Chillan, which I understand. And they are saying that this so-called apocalypse is just Chilla conducting a bioweapon experiment on Hadonia!

"However, it seems that even they are surprised that the effect of their drug is too weak. It doesn't affect the mind, which is why an exception like you can understand us!"

Pausing, he looked at me as he gingerly continued, "Oh, and he said you're really dumb for leading us straight into a trap…"

Everyone became dead silent right then, while I pursed my lips and wanted to hide in embarrassment. "So we're basically a failed live specimen experiment? Well, is there any way to get us out?"

The zombies shook their heads. "The bars are made of special materials—can't chew through them or pry them off!"

That was when Zach calmly took a grenade out of his pocket. "Perhaps we can try this…"

I was left gaping. "W-Where did you get that?"

"From your fortress, before we came here," he replied, scratching his head in embarrassment.

Still, the zombies were excited to see the grenade. "Well, that works! We can just blow this place open since we're not going to die anyway!"

"Hurray! We're saved!"

I pursed my lips. "Have any of you considered that I might die?"

That was when a guard came, pointing at me as he barked, "You! Come here! There's someone who wants to see you!"

Talk about perfect timing!

Still, I had to hide my smile as I hissed at the zombies, "Wait until I'm gone for thirty minutes, then blow this place up!"

"Yes, boss! We will be there right on time!"

"We will keep it quiet and only get started after you get further away!"

I nodded and was soon taken into a dark room.

Helen sat opposite me at the interrogation table. "Surprise! It's me agin!"

I feigned surprise. "Didn't they get you too?"

She raised a brow, watching me like I had just asked a really stupid question. "You are such a moron! Let me give it to you straight—this place is my turf! And I command everyone here!"

I kept playing dumb to lure her into telling the truth. "What?! No way! You're just lying to steal Max from me!"

"Hah!" She snorted. "You really thought I'm in love with Max Lydon? Hell no—I just want to tear down your fortress! Our great nation of Chilla had been setting up this live bioweapon test for ten years to wipe out all Hadonians in one fell swoop, but you had to butt in!

"Well I guess it's fine—none of you are getting away now! We will now inject you with the new version of the drug so that you will truly be a mindless freak!"

"What?!" I exclaimed. "That means… we walked straight into a trap?!"

Helen laughed triumphantly in turn. "That's right! You idiots walked straight to your own doom! And those zombies were so stupid enough to follow you that it almost makes me want to cut open your skull and see what's inside!"

"Pfft!" I snickered, putting my feet on the table. "Sure, but did nobody teach you this?"

Helen was taken aback. "Teach me what?"

"To never celebrate too early!"

Crash!

Suddenly, hordes of zombies leaped in, crashing through the windows!