Chapter 136: Can Humans and Zombies Be Friends?
Lily Hart was taken aback by the word "employee." ’Boss Leo is surprisingly self-aware.’
Come to think of it, she had a fair number of employees under her now: Frost Shaw, Roman Rowe, Leo Colby, Easton, Diana Sharp, Tina Jacobs, and the two boys.
The Zombie King could barely be counted as one, which, including Lily Hart, made for exactly ten people.
"It’s free. Just go mention my name to Owen Warren—that is, the Zombie King," Lily Hart said magnanimously.
Roman Rowe was instantly on board. "Me, me, me! I want to go too."
Lily Hart waved her hand. "Go on, then. All of you. It’s just a shower, what’s the big deal?"
When he heard it was just for a shower, Roman Rowe lost interest. He could do that on the second floor of the convenience store, and he’d have the place to himself.
Leo Colby shot him a glance and chuckled to himself. ’This kid still doesn’t get it.’
Everyone sat down and began to eat. Frost Shaw, with his keen senses, felt a pair of eyes on his back. He turned around, bowl in hand.
The Zombie King was standing at the entrance of the bathhouse, his back ramrod straight, with a pitch-black space behind him.
The faint black disguise in his eyes faded away, revealing crimson irises that seemed to be born of bloodlust.
He kept his gaze fixed on Lily Hart inside the RV, only occasionally sweeping his eyes over the others before quickly looking away.
Over there, the lights were bright, the glow soft and warm. A table of people was happily eating dinner, their cheerful laughter drifting over from time to time.
He tilted his head, looked into the pitch-black lobby, and let out a silent sigh. He turned, closed the door, and returned to his lair.
Lily Hart hadn’t paid much attention to the commotion over there; her mind was filled with thoughts of food. It wasn’t until after she finished eating that she glanced at the bathhouse.
Only then did she realize all the lights were off. It didn’t look like anyone was inside. ’Could he be hungry, too? Did he go look for food?’
The thought flashed through her mind and was gone. A call from Frost Shaw pulled her back to the present, and the group once again fell into lively conversation.
「In the sprawling industrial district.」 The Zombie King took a few turns, navigating the area with familiarity before entering a building.
To the left of the entrance were two iron cages. If Lily Hart had been there, she would have recognized them at a glance.
One held the little zombie that had thrown a rock at her that day; the other held the little boy she had failed to catch on several occasions.
The human and the zombie were locked in separate, cramped iron cages, their mouths stuffed with rags and their limbs tightly bound.
Unable to speak, they could only make muffled sounds. "MMPH MMPH MMPH."
The moment the little boy saw a zombie enter, his groggy mind snapped awake, and he began to struggle with all his might.
He made a huge racket. The Zombie King’s eyes swept over him, and the little boy froze for a second.
But this was followed by even louder, more violent struggling. The iron cage rattled and clanged, making an annoying racket.
The Zombie King strode over, yanked the rag from his mouth, and sliced through the ropes with his fingernails.
The little boy coughed a few times, shook his arms and legs, and roared, "Let me out! What gives you the right to capture me?!"
"Because you leaked our plans," the Zombie King said, his sharp fingernails lightly scraping the boy’s cheek.
With just a little more pressure, he could have left bloody scratches on the boy’s not-so-delicate skin.
The little boy clenched his jaw, his temper as hard as nails. "You were going to kill her anyway, so what does it matter if I leaked your plan or not!"
"Oh?" The Zombie King raised an eyebrow. How odd. He remembered his subordinate telling him about the relationship between those two.
They weren’t exactly at each other’s throats, but their relationship was definitely not harmonious; they had even clashed before.
’This little brat switched sides awfully fast, and he even brought one of my own kind with him. How strange.’
"If you’re so tough, why did you cooperate with our operation?" The Zombie King sat down cross-legged, bringing him to the same height as the standing boy.
The little boy tossed his head and snorted coldly. "I never would have listened to you if you hadn’t threatened me with Zom!"
Zom was the little zombie in the adjacent cage, scrawny and small, looking quite young.
Upon hearing the little boy mention his name, Zom began to ram his head against the iron cage in response.
"You two?" The Zombie King’s gaze shifted between the human and the zombie, his mind running through various possibilities—brothers, relatives, and so on.
"He’s my friend!" the little boy said proudly.
Speaking of which, he and the Zombie King had crossed paths a few times before, but they had always kept their distance and never had a direct confrontation.
And in his eyes, while the Zombie King was brutal, he wasn’t entirely unreasonable or impossible to communicate with.
That was why he dared to speak so defiantly.
The Zombie King was speechless. ’Can humans and zombies actually be friends?’
Moreover, the Zom he spoke of was just an ordinary First-rank Zombie, as common as they come. Logically, it shouldn’t have a mind of its own.
But the two of them could clearly communicate, and Zom was even very obedient to the little boy.
Seeing the Zombie King fall silent, the little boy started ramming the iron cage again, making a racket while yelling, "Let me out!"
The little zombie beside him started ramming its cage as well, feeling neither pain nor fatigue.
"Stop ramming it! Stop! Are you stupid!?" the little boy hastily tried to stop him, looking with heartache at the green blood trickling from its forehead.
Zombie blood was green. If a human came into contact with it, they would almost certainly be infected.
The little zombie slowly stopped, green blood continuing to stream down, covering its entire face in gore.
"Does it hurt? I told you not to be so impulsive! You have to listen to me!" the little boy said, both heartbroken and angry, not watching his words.
The little zombie shook its head, grinned, and casually wiped the blood from its face, a gesture that only made it look more horrifying.
The Zombie King watched the two interact as if no one else was there. He could see their relationship was genuinely strong, and the boy’s concern was real.
’How rare. A human befriending a zombie, and the zombie accepting it?’
The little boy then forcefully tore off a piece of his hem, tossed it to the little zombie through the gap between the cages, and said urgently, "Quick, wipe it off."
The two cages were close enough that they could reach each other. The little zombie picked up the torn cloth and gave its face a couple of perfunctory wipes.
The Zombie King didn’t want to watch anymore. It all felt too absurd. He stood up, his gaze sweeping over them as he said coldly, "I’ll release you, or I’ll release him. Decide amongst yourselves."
A secret, malicious thought surfaced in his mind. He wanted to see just how strong the bond between a human and a zombie could be.
The little boy asked anxiously, "Can it only be one of us?!" His hands unconsciously tightened on the bars of the cage.
The Zombie King gave a soft "Mm" of affirmation, crossing his arms over his chest, perfectly at ease.
Both the little zombie and the little boy fell silent. They looked at each other, and then, at the exact same moment, one shouted, "Me!" and the other shouted, "Him!"
The little boy pointed to himself, and the little zombie pointed to the little boy.
The Zombie King let out a cold sneer. ’And here I thought their bond was so strong. Is this all it amounts to? Everyone caves in the face of death, don’t they...?’
He tried to sow discord once more, speaking to the little zombie with mock regret. "Well then, you just stay here and watch your dear friend go live it up outside~ But don’t worry, I won’t keep you for too long."
’I just can’t stand seeing a human and a zombie getting along, so what!’
’It’s an impossible fantasy! Humans are nothing but food for zombies!’
The little zombie paid him no mind, and even the little boy didn’t bother to argue, simply urging, "Hurry up and let me out!"
The Zombie King slowly crushed the iron chain, opened the door, and said from on high, "You are free."