The neighborhood where Lu Xi lived—the place where her superpowers had truly begun to flourish—was tucked in the suburbs. Being a high-end residential community with strict security and several newly completed buildings, most units still undergoing renovations and the area was mercifully free of zombies. The power had not yet failed; access control systems and elevators hummed normally, their lights steady and reassuring. Xu Qiaoyun took over the wheel from Lin Bai, who kept the window cracked, occasionally hurling fireballs to thin out any zombie clusters daring to trail behind them.
Lu Xi kept her eyes sharp on the small ice spike she had painstakingly conjured, along with swinging a baseball bat whenever a lone zombie staggered too close. Gu Wang also had conjured a fist-sized ball of lightning on his very first day of awakening. Lin Bai could summon fireballs after only a few days of practice, while Xu Qiaoyun’s healing abilities were practically artful. And yet here she was—the so-called “saviour of the world ”—feeling like the useless side character in the whole crew .
And just like that here car glided smoothly into the underground parking garage. Lu Xi’s building had been among the first to be completed, nearly occupied, though a senior activity center filled the lobby on the first floor a space where elderly residents often gathered with their grandchildren. Lu Xi guessed that the first floor, now abandoned, had likely become a small zombie hideout. So, they planned to take the elevator from the garage straight to her apartment on the 17th floor. Upscale residential areas had their perks. Each elevator served only two apartments per floor, and entry was via facial recognition—a blessing in times like these. The elevator ascended quietly. As it passed the first floor, a series of low, menacing growls drifted through the shaft.
Lu Xi and Lin Bai exchanged a glance, the relief in each other’s eyes unspoken but profound. When the doors opened on the 17th floor, Lu Xi stepped out—but the reprieve was brief. As a low, guttural growl accompanied a fetid stench, making her stomach churn. She reacted instantly, swinging her baseball bat at the nearest zombie’s head with a satisfying thud. Strike after strike, she pounded until the creature lay utterly dead, its skull pulverized under her determined blows.
Slung over her shoulder, the bat gleaming in the dim light, Lu Xi raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at Gu Wang and the others. A small, triumphant smile tugged at her lips. She felt—gloriously—cool. Xu Qiaoyun shook her head, half-amused, half-exasperated at Lu Xi’s smugness. But her smile froze abruptly. “Watch out!” Lin Bai’s shout cracked through the air. Lu Xi spun around, and her heart skipped a beat. A grotesque, ashen face loomed close, it’s mouth smeared with dried blood, reeking of rot and decay. Her chest tightened, almost stopping her breath.
At the same time a streak of violet lightning arced past her, striking the zombie with merciless precision. It flew backward, barely regaining its footing before another bolt slammed into its skull with brutal efficiency. As Lu xi turned she saw Gu Wang leaned lazily against the wall, observing. He had noticed a small zombie crouched in the emergency exit berore anyone else , but seeing Lu Xi’s confident, smug posture, he felt a perverse urge to scare her. Not because he wanted her hurt—he didn’t—but the sight of her frozen in genuine terror struck an odd, unexplainable nerve in him .
Ha. Coward.
“Lu Xi, are you alright? Were you scared?” Xu Qiaoyun’s voice came urgently as she rushed over, her hands checking Lu Xi for injuries. “I’m fine,” Lu Xi forced herself to speak, though her words trembled. “I’m… I’m just… ugh, a little nauseous… ugh—” Before she could finish, she vomited violently. Her first encounter with a zombie this close—a living corpse—was more revolting than she had imagined. She could count each jagged tooth in it’s mouth , could practically smell the stench of decay clinging to its rotting flesh. Even a ten-year-old can of herring [a strong-smelling canned fish common in East Asia] wouldn’t have smelled this foul.
Gu Wang and the others fell : silent. Gagging, Lu Xi didn’t pause. She than marched toward the two know mutilated zombies ahead, swinging her baseball bat with focused fury. “Bang! Bang!” Their heads were obliterated, bones cracking under her relentless strikes. Xu Qiaoyun and Lin Bai exchanged stunned glances. Surely she couldn’t be this furious at mere corpses just because they smell rotten ? On the other hand Lu Xi knelt, extracting two transparent crystal cores from the fallen zombies. She than wiped them clean against the zombies’ tattered clothing and tucked them carefully into her pocket.
Gu Wang’s frown deepened seeing this ; his usual nonchalant demeanor now edged with genuine seriousness. “What are these?” Lin Bai asked, his voice has curiosity laced with caution “Crystal cores,” Lu Xi explained, her voice calm but confident. “They’re energy bodies that ability users can absorb to enhance their powers.” She glanced at Lin Bai, noticing the curiosity shining in his eyes. “Don’t you guys read novels?” she said, tilting her head slightly. “This is standard post-apocalyptic stuff. Crystal cores are what superhumans use to advance their abilities. See this zombie? Its core is in its head. Next time you kill a zombie, remember to extract the cores.”
Lu Xi tried to sound casual, though under the weight of three pairs of scrutinizing eyes—Lin Bai, Xu Qiaoyun, and Gu Wang—she felt a surge of pressure. So she pressed her hand against the fingerprint scanner on the door and went in first. “Mm,” Gu Wang broke the silence, following Lu Xi into the apartment with his usual lazy precision. Lin Bai and Xu Qiaoyun trailed behind. Lu Xi exhaled in relief. As long as they didn’t question her explanation, she could maintain her story. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had a clue how to justify herself from now on . Her apartment itself was spacious—a three-bedroom layout with a secondary bedroom, a master bedroom, and a study.
Originally, the two girls would have shared the master bedroom, and the two boys the secondary one . But with Gu Wang’s notorious refusal to share a bed with anyone, Lu Xi had set up the study for Lin Bai, leaving the secondary bedroom all to Gu Wang. It was already past four in the morning. And after a night of running and fighting, exhaustion clung to them like a heavy blanket. So after a quick wash, all four of them collapsed onto the beds where sleep came easily, deep and necessary.
When Lu Xi woke up the next day , she felt momentarily dazed. As sunlight streamed softly through the white curtains, catching the delicate crystals of a chandelier overhead. A subtle fragrance of incense drifted from the table, lending the apartment a calm, almost sacred tranquility.
For a moment, ignoring the faint groans and growls outside, she could have believed she was still in a peaceful, ordinary world. Beside it, Xu Qiaoyun was already moving, her silhouette sharp against the morning light. It was three in the afternoon; the day was half-gone
“003, good morning!” Lu Xi called, stretching lightly. “…Host, it’s already afternoon,” the system replied, its tone matter-of-fact. Lu Xi got up contentedly, feeling the weight of the previous night begin to lift. As soon as she stepped into the living room after washing, the scent of food reached her. It was intoxicating rich, warm, comforting. She hadn’t eaten a hot meal in eight days, since the apocalypse began, and tears sprang to her eyes despite herself being at ease.
“You’re awake? I just finished making dinner. Perfect timing,” Xu Qiaoyun said with a gentle smile, bringing out the dishes while Lin Bai helped arrange them. “Waaaaah, Qiao Yun, I love you so much!” Lu Xi exclaimed, nearly tearing up again. She remembered how, in the original book, Xu Qiaoyun’s cooking skills were legendary. She had secretly wished she could step into that world just to taste her food. And now… that wish had come true.
Xu Qiaoyun lightly pushed Lu Xi’s hands away, giggling. “Alright, alright. Go get Gu Wang for dinner. I called him earlier, but no one answered.”
So, she wasn’t the last one to wake up. Lu Xi hurried to the second bedroom, knocking. “Gu Wang? Gu Wang, get up and eat!” Silence follow.
“Gu Wang? Wake up!” Still nothing. “Gu Wang, if you don’t answer, I’m coming in. Really coming in!”
Her voice had shifted from playful to a mock-serious warning. She shared a glance with Xu Qiaoyun and Lin Bai—each of them recognizing the tension and anticipation. Ignoring protocol, Lu Xi pushed the door open. Before she could even fully assess the room, she collided with a broad, warm embrace. The faint scent of pine clung to it ,it was Gu Wang.
“Throwing yourself into my arms so early in the morning?” His tone was teasing, amused, as he leaned against the doorframe, raising a single dark eyebrow. A subtle smile curled on his lips. Lu Xi’s anger flared hearing this . “Why didn’t you answer me if you weren’t busy? What were you up to scheming in your room, are you brewing poison?” Gu Wang’s smile widened. Something felt… off. Her brow furrowed as she scrutinized him. He had only been asleep a short while, but his aura—his power—had grown noticeably stronger.
A sudden thought struck her. Her eyes widened in disbelief. “You’ve advanced?!” Gu Wang remained noncommittal, that signature playful smirk still dancing across his face, eyes dark and unreadable. Lin Bai and Xu Qiaoyun were equally stunned.
“003, this isn’t fair!” Lu Xi cried, clutching her head. “He just awakened his ability yesterday. How can he advance in a single night? I’ve been practicing for days, and I’m still stuck controlling a tiny drop of water!” 003’s calm voice interjected, almost smug in its cheer. “…Good luck, Host! 003 will carry the banner for you!
Congratulations on your successful advancement.”
Lin Bai moved to pat Gu Wang on the shoulder, but caught only air. He didn’t feel anger, just the unshakable sense that this was the Gu Wang he had heard about—the quiet, solitary genius of Shandong University’s first-year computer science program. Superior in appearance, infamous in temperament. And undeniably, in this moment, astonishingly powerful.
On the other hand Lu Xi’s expressions were so vivid that Gu Wang almost laughed aloud. She probably didn’t even realize it, but nothing could be hidden from him every flicker of shock, grievance, jealousy, and indignation she felt was written clearly across her face. So Gu Wang watched amusedly as she cycled through an entire emotional drama in the span of a minute, with each expression a perfect little performance of it’s own. And his smile widened, as a trace of amusement danced in the corner of his dark eyes.
“Ding, current world stability progress 34%, hope the host continues the effort~” A cold, official, almost telegram-like voice rang in Lu Xi’s mind—her system, 003, reporting the tiny increase in world stability by two more percentage points. She glanced up at Gu Wang. He was leaning lazily against the doorframe, relaxed, with the faintest smile possible tugging at his lips as he observed her. Lu Xi felt a pang of devastation. Was her misfortune—her jealousy, her frustration—entertaining this villain? Her heart sank further at the realization: yes. Gu Wang was smug. Infuriatingly smug. So at the dinner table, Lu Xi tried to salvage her pride. She couldn’t waste Xu Qiaoyun’s (Xu Da Meiren, a playful nickname meaning “Beautiful Miss Xu”) hard work in the kitchen. She channeled her frustration into her appetite, devouring her food with a vengeance.
But the “lackey Lu” in her occasionally cast a sharp glare at Gu Wang, then stuffed another bite of chicken into her mouth, with her cheeks puffed adorably. Gu Wang found himself suppressing laughter even more than before. She looks just like a little hamster, he thought, watching her cheeks balloon with each bite. The following three days passed in a blur of cooking, training, and laughter-tinged tension with in this appartment .
Lin Bai’s fireballs grew larger than a fist, clearly showing signs of advancement. Xu Qiaoyun’s healing powers became sharper and more precise. Even Lu Xi, with relentless effort, managed to condense ice spikes the size of daggers—but she could still only make one at a time, far from being able to defend herself effectively. Meanwhile, Gu Wang… was already conjuring four or five lightning bolts at once, the sheer ease of it making Lu Xi’s envy bubble over. But she had come to terms with it internally—resentful, but pragmatic.
Then came the broadcast from the community: “Dear survivors, our base has been established in City A… Please proceed to the nearest survivor base. Also, we have discovered that the crystal cores in zombies’ brains can enhance the abilities of those with superpowers. Please take note.”
“Zombies are most agile at midday; their senses and movements got slow at night. They feel no pain, and only the head is a fatal weak point.”
“Finally, we wish all survivors good luck and a safe arrival at the base.” Lu Xi knew, deep down, this would likely be the last message humanity would ever receive. So her round eyes flicked to Gu Wang—but he remained utterly nonchalant, as if the broadcast had never existed. Still noticing her gaze, he merely raised a single eyebrow, twirling a small ball of lightning lazily in his hand.
Lu Xi clenched her jaw and began to chant in her mind . Let’s endure it. Let’s endure it. Let’s endure it.
Than to distract herself from this hopeless scenario she asked “Lin Bai, Qiao Yun, Gu Wang and I are going to the base. What are your plans?”
Gu Wang’s brow arched as he grew the ball of grenades larger, his voice lazy. “Tch, did I say I was going with you?” Lu Xi, unfazed, pressed on. “I saved you twice. You saved me once. So you owe me—protecting me is part of that debt.” A faint chuckle escaped him. “Heh.”
Than to make him agree she began to coax him “Oh, Gu Wang~ Grandpa Gu, come to the base with me~” Her voice dipped into full obsequious mode. As she couldn’t possibly let him be separated from her—how else could she complete her conquest mission?
Lin Bai and Xu Qiaoyun exchanged a glance, a silent understanding passing between them. “Lu Xi, let’s form an alliance. We’re planning to go to the base too.” They were currently in City C, with the nearest survivor base over 900 kilometers away in City B. Along the way, countless zombies awaited. A four-person team dramatically improved their chances with a classic win-win scenario.
Lu Xi’s mind raced with strategy. Perfect! Forming a team with the male and female leads would give Gu Wang a chance to develop camaraderie with them. Even if he later veered toward evil, the bonds of teamwork might anchor him to the righteous side. “Great! Gu Wang, what do you think? We can look out for each other.” She beamed, convinced of her cleverness. Gu Wang scoffed at the suggestion, with a mocking gleam in his dark eyes, before lazily uncrossing his legs. Seeing this the “lackey Lu” could hardly contain her joy. “Uncle Gu is the best!”
“003, I’ve made the villain ally with the male and female leads!” she called frantically into her mind. 003’s response was immediate, enthusiastic. “Hmm, host is awesome!” For once, Lu Xi felt a surge of triumph—even in this chaotic, zombie-infested world, she had scored a small, precious victory.