Chapter Twelve (Revised)

Chapter Twelve (Revised)

In the bedroom across, where Xiao Fu was, there appeared to be an invisible door on the innermost wall.

In front of the invisible door was a neatly stacked pile of empty dog food bags and cardboard boxes, almost concealing more than half of the door, making it even less conspicuous.

Xiao Fu tried to jump over the stacked dog food bags in its escape, but instead knocked them over, revealing the door to Xu Fang, who discovered it and called out to Shen Xiuzhe while already pushing open the invisible door and entering.

Past the invisible door was another bedroom.

So, this was not some secret chamber, just a room connected to the next one.

This bedroom was only furnished with flooring and walls, no furniture, and it neatly stored many cardboard boxes.

The boxes were unopened, and the dog logos on the outer packaging clearly indicated they were all dog food.

"Holy smokes! Was that zombie previously a dog food wholesaler?"

Xu Fang, staring at the cardboard boxes filling half the bedroom, his eyes widening, opened one to find it filled with little snacks for dogs.

"Beef jerky!"

"Sausages!"

"So many types of freeze-dried treats!"

"And cheese!"

Xiao Fu also entered, knowing all this food was for it, as it had watched its owner move these items from the hallway outside.

For the past six months, Xiao Fu had been feeding on the dog food stored in its bedroom, with over a dozen 10-kilogram bags still unfinished. Besides the boxed dog food, there were also many treats.

It had been half a year since it last had treats; Lin An used to give it some every now and then along with its regular meals, but now, having turned into a zombie, he only mechanically poured out dog food.

Enticed by the scent of treats, Xiao Fu immediately placed its front paws on the cardboard box Xu Fang had opened. It never helped itself to food, always waiting for its owner's hand-feeding.

But now, the owner was still in the cupboard.

Xu Fang, who hadn't eaten upon arriving, tried a piece of beef jerky and also fed a strip to the dog beside him.

"Ha-ha, quite tasty," Xu Fang wasn't fussy. Before the apocalypse, he would never have competed with a dog for food, but now, having not eaten all day, he was desperate for anything edible, finding not a hair in the supermarkets and stores, let alone dog food—even a stale bun on the ground would be a feast.

As Xiao Fu munched on the jerky, its eyes fixed on Xu Fang, that scoundrel eating its food!!!

Just as it finished the jerky and was about to bark at Xu Fang, its mouth was stuffed with a piece of cheese, which Xu Fang also tasted.

Scoundrel, don't you dare eat its cheese!

Ready to bark after the cheese, it was fed a piece of freeze-dried meat.

And don't even think about touching its freeze-dried treats! They're so delicious.

Human and dog sat there eating dog food when Shen Xiuzhe entered, his lips twitching: "Haven't you eaten today?"

Xu Fang, munching and feeding, replied: "Haven't had a bite all day. This morning, those guys tricked me into going out, probably thinking I'd be dead soon and not wanting to waste food. They attacked me as soon as I left, five against one. If you hadn't warned me to be wary of them, I might've died there. Then I went looking for you, and every store I passed was empty, not a bite to be found."

"Boss, do you want some?"

Shen Xiuzhe shook his head. Before he was ambushed by over thirty psychics, he had brought some provisions. He had searched again when he went out during the day, but unfortunately, most of it was lost during the fight. The little he found was only enough for one meal for himself.

It seems before leaving, they would need to gather more food. Although the wilderness has many edible animals and plants, one cannot guarantee finding them every day. Some places are barren, with deserts and glaciers; without a stockpile of food, one simply cannot make it through.

Exiting the bedroom, Shen Xiuzhe found that the layout of this house was identical to the little zombie's home. The bedroom across was also filled with boxes, while the living room and dining area had been converted into a small library.

Deep red solid wood bookshelves filled the entire wall of the living and dining rooms, with two rows of double-sided bookshelves in the middle.

A layer of dust had settled on the glass doors of the bookshelves, clearly, the little zombie hadn't been in there for months.

Shen Xiuzhe opened the glass door to find the bookshelves packed full of books.

"Encyclopedia of Wilderness Life"

"Appreciating Wilderness Plants"

"A Thousand Common Plants of the Wilderness"

……

All books related to the wilderness, and the same was true for the other bookshelves.

As an explorer of the wilds, Shen Xiuzhe had perused some of these books, but this collection had nearly a thousand volumes, including some rare finds not commonly seen in the market. It was truly impressive to amass such a library.

Shen Xiuzhe randomly selected a volume and flipped through it, discovering notes tucked within. Each page was pristine, but the notes were densely packed, the neat handwriting conveying the previous reader’s dedication to study.

And it wasn't just this book—nearly every volume contained notes in the same script. Had the little zombie perused them all?

"Boss, come quick, take a look at this!" Xu Fang called out excitedly.

Shen Xiuzhe glanced for a moment, returned the book, secured the glass door, and then walked over.

"Look at this!" Xu Fang stood in another bedroom, chewing on beef jerky, eagerly motioning Shen Xiuzhe to examine the contents of a box.

Xu Fang was not one to sit still; in a matter of minutes, he had opened several boxes.

These boxes bore no labels and seemed not to contain dog food. Shen Xiuzhe approached and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the boxes’ contents.

Inside were cans—not dog food, but the kind of provisions often carried by wilderness explorers, and there was an entire box full of them.

The other boxes mainly held gear used by wilderness explorers.

Tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, cooking gear, medicines, first aid kits, ropes, flashlights, glow sticks, compasses, knives, fire-making tools, binoculars, compressed food, meat cans, and various other small items.

Apart from multiple sets of tents, sleeping bags, and cooking gear, there was at least one box of each item, with medicines and compressed foods being the most plentiful, counting over a dozen boxes each.

It was incredibly well-stocked; with these supplies, one could immediately open a store for explorers.

Xu Fang was astonished: "What on earth did that zombie do? Not only did it build a secret room for its home and stockpile food for its dog, but it also had such an extensive array of brand-new wilderness essentials. That’s pretty impressive."

Shen Xiuzhe was clueless; after all, the little zombie didn't seem like an explorer, and it was unusual for one to hoard so much.

In the years preceding the apocalypse, a trend of wilderness exploration had swept through the city of Chuxi, with all manner of equipment for such ventures selling like hotcakes. However, due to a high number of disappearances and deaths, the craze gradually subsided.

Equipment for explorers became overstocked goods, easy to find in pieces but difficult to assemble in full.

Especially at the onset of the apocalypse, many fleeing Chuxi looted these supplies, making them even scarcer.

Thus, these goods must have been purchased before the apocalypse and stored here.

"Boss, do you think he knew the apocalypse was coming and collected these supplies to leave Chuxi, only to turn into a zombie in the end?" Xu Fang speculated wildly.

The apocalypse came without warning, catching everyone off guard. It was impossible to have anticipated it.

"Or maybe that zombie was an explorer, planning to venture into the wilderness, leaving enough food for its dog at home, only to become a zombie before the journey?" Xu Fang continued guessing.

"Not all who venture into the wilderness are explorers," Shen Xiuzhe remarked.

Everything beyond human settlements is known as the wilderness, accounting for ninety-five percent of the land, filled with countless undiscovered species, extraordinary landscapes, and ancient human relics.

Due to the dangers, experts and scholars studying wilderness flora, fauna, and relics often seek out strong explorers to accompany them. Judging by the books here, the zombie might have been a researcher of wilderness biology.

What puzzled Shen Xiuzhe were the notes tucked inside the books, nearly all bearing the same message on the back.

"I want to go to the wilderness."

Some notes were filled with this phrase, the handwriting pressed deeply as if of great significance to the writer.

Wanting to go implies he never got the chance?

The regions around Chuxi are not dangerous and boast a favorable climate, making research quite feasible. Why did this zombie, despite ample preparation, never make the trip? Was it a matter of timing, or was he hindered by something?

It was unexpected to find so many secrets on someone they'd been saved by, a strange zombie of all beings.

Both had endured a fierce battle that day, with Shen Xiuzhe even fighting the zombies again, and though they seemed sprightly, both were indeed wounded.

It was late, and they ended up sleeping in the living room, each on a couch, indifferent to their surroundings.

In the night, Xu Fang's sleep was uninhibited, his snoring resounding.

Shen Xiuzhe breathed steadily, seemingly in deep slumber, until he suddenly opened his eyes, glanced towards the bedroom, and closed them again.

The wardrobe in the bedroom was cautiously opened, and a head peeked out, waiting a while to ensure it was unnoticed before emerging.

Listening to the snoring from the living room, Lin An slowly blinked and clutched the hem of his clothes, tiptoeing out of the bedroom. He immediately noticed the ajar invisible door across the room, tilted his head curiously, and stepped through.

Upon entering, he found the room covered in dust.

Lin An: I'm starting to feel uncomfortable.

Lin An, preparing to clean, walked past the two sleeping individuals; despite being in his own house, he moved stealthily as if he were a thief, extremely cautious.

Xu Fang snored away, and suddenly, with a turn, he fell off the sofa.

Startled, Lin An froze in place, not daring to move.

But Xu Fang didn’t wake up; he continued snoring, now lying on the floor.

The little zombie crept to fetch a cloth and mop, then stealthily moved to the next room.

The next morning, Xu Fang, looking at the spotless room next door, exclaimed, "Boss, how did this place get so clean?"

Shen Xiuzhe replied indifferently, "Perhaps a river snail maiden did it."

Xu Fang: ...The boss making a joke is kind of scary.

"It must have been that zombie who cleaned up; after all, only he has the water ability." Xu Fang strode to the bedroom wardrobe, opened it, and seeing the zombie hiding inside, he affectionately called out, "Bro An, why do you always hide in the closet? Come out, let's go pet dogs together."

Shen Xiuzhe stopped arranging his clothes, "What did you call him?"

"Bro An, isn’t his name Lin An?"

Shen Xiuzhe: "How do you know his name is Lin An?"