Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Lin An, with his severe obsession for cleanliness, had prepared himself for a life of solitude, but then unexpectedly ended up adopting a little dog by a twist of fate.

In the early days, Lin An had to suit up completely to interact with Xiao Fu, and the little puppy's random urination and defecation were his worst nightmare.

From initially training Xiao Fu to use a designated spot for toileting, to later, when the puppy grew up and learned to use the toilet on his own, even flushing after use, Lin An's life became much easier.

Whether before or after the apocalypse, Xiao Fu conscientiously used the toilet every day. But today, with no water, his waste couldn't be flushed away. Seemingly aware of his mistake, he pressed his head against the security door, reflecting on his actions, occasionally sneaking glances at his master's expression.

Zombie An only glanced into the toilet before being driven out by the stench, keeping his distance.

He stared at the bathroom door with a grave expression, as if facing a major dilemma. After a while, he reluctantly entered the bathroom.

He awkwardly picked up a plastic basin and placed it under the tap, then turned it on.

Time passed, so long that Xiao Fu, hearing no sound, crept over for a peek. Lin An was still standing there, holding the basin, waiting for the water to flow.

Where's the water?

Lin An stared blankly at the faucet, puzzled by the absence of water.

After standing in the same pose for a long time and realizing that no water would come, he finally left the bathroom with the basin.

Xiao Fu, who had been peeking, immediately crouched back against the wall to continue his reflection.

His brain a mess, Lin An stood in the living room holding a pink plastic bowl, his vacant gaze falling on the light brown sofa.

A beam of sunlight streamed in from the balcony, illuminating dancing dust particles in the air, settling on various parts of the sofa.

His gaze slowly shifted elsewhere, and with his excellent vision, he noticed fine dust on the table and floor, even though they were cleaned just yesterday.

It's time for cleaning.

The current Zombie An, unable to think about two things at once, put the basin back in its place, picked up a striped, dry, and soft cloth from the rack, and placed it under the tap, turning it again.

But no matter which faucet he tried, no water flowed out.

After trying all the taps in the bathroom and stumbling into the kitchen to try the kitchen faucet, the result was the same.

Still, no water.

The stench from the bathroom continued to linger, and dust swirled everywhere in the room. Panic finally appeared on Lin An's previously expressionless face.

The comfortable and natural environment was disrupted, like a little fish once again deprived of its vital water, struggling to breathe, nearly withering away.

Water...

Lin An was distressed; he had no water.

A normal person might have sought other solutions in such a situation.

But Lin An, transformed into a zombie, was exceptionally fixated. Obsessed with finding water, he couldn't think of any other solution and could only pace anxiously around the house.

Water...

Unnoticed by him, the dry, striped cloth in his hand was gradually becoming damp.

Drops of water began to materialize from Lin An's pale grey fingertips, slowly soaking the cloth.

After pacing anxiously around the house for a long time, Lin An looked down and noticed the cloth, now drenched.

Lin An: ???

Unsure where the water came from but finding the cloth usable, Lin An stopped pacing and quietly began to wipe down the tables and furniture.

After cleaning the furniture in the house, he seemed to forget what had just happened and slowly entered the bathroom, only to be driven out again by the stench.

Standing at the bathroom door in a daze for a while, he remembered the source of the smell and picked up the plastic basin again, placing it under the faucet.

The next moment, a stream of clear water gushed from the tap. After filling half of the basin, Lin An blinked slowly, feeling it was enough, and the water flow abruptly stopped.

He poured the water into the toilet, and the lingering waste finally disappeared.

No one could have imagined that this ordinary little zombie would awaken a water-related ability due to his obsession with cleanliness.

Lin An, with his awakened water ability, returned to normal life, continuing his expressionless, peaceful days.

When preparing to mop the floor, a bucket of water appeared out of nowhere in the mop bucket.

When preparing to wipe the table, the cloth instantly became suitably moist.

During Xiao Fu's toilet breaks, a swirl of water would flush into the drain every few seconds. Startled by this phenomenon at first, Xiao Fu almost couldn't relieve himself but gradually became accustomed to it.

When washing clothes, although there was no electricity, the water in the washing machine would swirl and tumble the clothes, and after the cycle, the dirty water would drain away, with the moisture also separating from the clothes.

This magical ability, though Lin An had become a zombie, he took for granted.

After all, this was how things were even when there wasn't a water outage.

With daily rigorous training, the little zombie's movements became less stiff, and he began to recall more skills, such as regularly changing and washing clothes, bed linens, and sofa covers.

The only downside was his ever-growing hunger, which made him forget the horror of the saliva-spraying incident and consider Xiao Fu as a potential meal once more.

Basking in the sun, Xiao Fu was blissfully unaware of the looming danger, lazily enjoying the warmth. Since his owner hadn't bathed or groomed him for a long time, Xiao Fu felt an itch all over and skillfully scratched his neck with his hind paw.

The mysophobic little zombie watched in horror as the dislodged dog hair danced in the air, spiraling down with the breeze.

Lin An: "......"

From that day on, he completely removed such furry creatures from his menu and added a new task to his daily routine: bathing and grooming the dog.

Four months into the apocalypse, Lin An learned how to open doors.

Although opening doors was simpler than cleaning, Lin An had never managed it until now.

Cleaning and laundry were tasks that Lin An, even as a zombie, continued to perform adeptly, rediscovering some skills over time that he couldn't initially remember.

But the simple act of opening a door seemed absent from his mind, or perhaps his subconscious was reluctant to learn. Whenever he locked himself in the bathroom or bedroom, it was Xiao Fu who came to his rescue.

For months, Lin An starved without a bite to eat, the hunger turning into a pain that continuously scorched the remnants of his reason.

Until one day, the scent of fresh flesh from outside the security door triggered Lin An's nerves. The deep-seated hunger was unbearable; he stood at the door, recalling Xiao Fu's actions, and gripping the doorknob, he opened the security door.

As the door opened, the pungent smell of blood hit him, and his ravenous state turned his eyes red with bloodlust, ready to pounce on the food with a roar.

However, upon seeing the scene outside, the irrational zombie Lin An halted his step outside the door.

Bloodstains were everywhere, with mangled limbs and debris left behind by fleeing individuals, even leftover meal boxes from months ago. The once clean and spacious corridor had turned into a garbage-strewn area, and the mysophobic little zombie couldn't bring himself to take the first step out.

Even when the smell of food was overpowered by the rancid stench, his first impulse was to hurriedly shut the door.

Little Fu stood by, wagging its tail happily in the belief that its master was finally going to take it outside, but the next second, the door closed again.

Little Fu: "?"

With a few dissatisfied howls at its master, Little Fu scratched at Lin An's legs, trying to coax him into taking it out for fun.

Lin An, hungry, looked down at the dog at his feet that he couldn't eat, and silently took it to bathe.

The neighborhood where Lin An lived was an old and remote one, not densely populated, and this building had only seen passersby during the initial days of the apocalypse.

The bloodstains and severed limbs left outside the door were remnants of a zombie that had brought back its food to consume, a zombie satiated and uninterested in its own kind or in dogs, too small to fill its teeth gaps, leaving after it had finished eating at the doorstep.

It never came back after that.

Lin An, who had been unable to find food, should have grown thinner, yet thanks to awakening a water ability, he stayed hydrated, avoiding the gauntness of other zombies, and his skin retained a tender and elastic quality.

Compared to the ashen, filthy, bloodstained zombies of Dawn City, with their cloudy, bloodshot eyes, the clean Lin An appeared more human.

In the fifth month of the apocalypse, a human presence finally appeared at Lin An's door after a long absence.

They were residents living nearby, stealthily searching for supplies.

They, too, resided in the neighborhood and had hidden in their homes out of fear when the apocalypse came, venturing out in search of a safe haven only when their food ran out, only to find a terrifying zombie dominating the vicinity, treating the neighborhood as its den and often bringing food back to consume.

This zombie rarely attacked the residents, not out of humanity but more like preserving a food supply, and would eat anyone it found fleeing its lair by following their scent.

Residents who had witnessed the terrifying consumption of humans by the zombie were too frightened to venture out again, but fortunately, there was a small supermarket in the neighborhood sufficient for a few people to survive for a while.

Now with supplies running low, they could only take the opportunity when the zombie was out hunting to break locks and windows in search of anything edible or useful.

They were now at Lin An's door, hesitating because of the old bloodstains and remains, signs of the terrifying zombie's past meals, feeling unsafe, yet the traces seemed old, perhaps the zombie wouldn't return.

The tender little zombie inside heard the noise outside, and its listless eyes immediately brightened.

There was living food standing just outside the door!

Food!!!

Overwhelmed by hunger, he opened the door again, ready to pounce and tear at the food.

The survivors outside the door seemed to be debating whether to break into this particular home when suddenly, the security door in front of them swung open.

They jumped in shock, only to lock eyes with a zombie the next moment.

They had braced themselves for a fight with zombies, as many residences they broke into harbored them, but none expected a zombie that could open doors—it was so sudden, leaving them no time to prepare.

Before they could react, the red-eyed zombie abruptly closed the door.

The group exchanged looks, ultimately deciding against breaking in and hurriedly fled instead.

At that moment, Lin An was trembling inside a cupboard; when he had opened the door ready to lunge at the food, he found himself under the intense scrutiny of five pairs of eyes.

It was the first time he realized how terrifying food that smelled good could be.

Their gaze was so intimidating.

Why were they staring at him?

After making eye contact with living food for the first time, the little zombie experienced a bout of social anxiety.