“When I got home, she had already mutated.”
“She must have been out grocery shopping when the outbreak happened and got bitten by a zombie.”
“She struggled back home, likely afraid I wouldn’t find her if I came back.”
“When I opened the bedroom door, she didn’t recognize me anymore. She snarled and lunged at me, but the chain she’d tied herself with tripped her, just like it did earlier.”
“She must have known she was about to turn, so she chained herself in the bedroom with a metal chain.”
“My heart felt like it was torn apart.”
“She was alone in her most helpless moment, and I wasn’t there.”
“Was she sad? Did she want to see me one last time?”
“All I found was a note she left behind.”
“It had only three shaky words, probably written when her mind was already fading.”
“‘Stay alive.’”

Lin Hao’s eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming down his face as he seemed to relive that moment.
“Stay alive…”
“She was thinking of me, even as she was dying, still worrying about me.”
“She knew what I might do, so she wanted me to live on!”
“But I… I…”
“I already…”

Lin Hao broke down, unable to speak further. The grown man collapsed to the floor like a dying insect, sobbing silently as his body trembled.

Sasha quietly listened, offering no comments or judgments.

In their hearts, these two people clearly held each other more important than themselves.

That mutual devotion—something Sasha had never experienced—left her feeling hollow, as if she were missing something.

She couldn’t empathize, nor could she truly feel the sadness of the moment.

Perhaps this was a time when she should have felt grief, but it eluded her.

After all, she was just a killing machine, and even after being reborn, it seemed nothing about that had changed.

It was only after a long while that Lin Hao finally regained his composure.

He forced an apologetic smile, which looked even more pitiful than crying.

“Sorry… I rambled on about irrelevant things.”
“In short, that’s how it is. Afterward, I started living with her here.”
“If she doesn’t eat meat for a long time, she’ll fall into a frenzy.”
“She’ll start banging on things or howling, probably because she can smell me.”
“It’s different from the zombies out there. They wander aimlessly because they can’t sense living people.”
“I’m afraid that if she doesn’t eat for too long, she’ll completely die and won’t even be able to move.”
“So, if I can keep her like this, I can convince myself it’s just an illness.”
“My emotions deceive me into thinking she might just be sick.”
“That she’ll get better someday, return to being the Xiaolu I knew—my wife.”
“That’s why I keep going out to find meat for her. She eats a lot, so the supply runs out quickly.”
“Fortunately, zombies don’t only eat human flesh. Any fresh meat works for them, though they get even more excited if it’s bloody.”
“That’s why I ran into you at the fresh market today.”

With that, Lin Hao slowly and laboriously stood up. He limped toward the kitchen, his injured leg making his movements excruciatingly slow.

A moment later, he came back holding a meat cleaver, glanced at his "wife," who was still feasting, and knelt beside the corpse of one of the thugs.

Sasha didn’t react.

Lin Hao had no intention of threatening her, and his target was clearly not her.

Raising the cleaver, he brought it down with a loud, decisive chop.

“These guys cleared out the zombies in this neighborhood long ago,” he said, beginning to dismember the body. The purpose of his actions was painfully clear.

“They didn’t want to band together to fight; they wanted to control this community and rule it like a gang.”
“Every day, they’d send men out to scavenge for food. Few people volunteered for that; no one wanted to die.”
“At first, they collected ‘rent’ every two weeks—just an excuse to take supplies. But then they got even worse.”

Lin Hao kept chopping, blood splattering everywhere, including his face and clothes.

“Now that they’re dead, good riddance.”
“Why waste their corpses? Let these scumbags be useful one last time.”

He smiled—a twisted, deranged grin.

It was hard to imagine that this was the same refined young man who had earlier extended a hand to help Sasha.

“I thought people would help each other.”
“But they didn’t.” Chop. “They took advantage of my kindness.” Chop.
“Sucked me dry.”

Lin Hao’s mental state had clearly shifted. Something inside him had broken.

“In this world, it’s either you eat others, or you’re eaten.”
“We’re no different from zombies, are we?”
“They’re driven by their hunger to kill and devour, and we’re driven by our desires to ‘devour’ each other.”

It took Lin Hao a long time to finish dismembering all three bodies.

He stored the pieces in the refrigerator, along with the scattered food supplies from the kitchen.

Once done, he hadn’t even bothered to change out of his blood-soaked clothes before he walked over to Sasha and bent down slightly.

“Thank you for today.”

Sasha, unfazed by the sight or smell of him, replied indifferently, “No need to thank me.”

To her, as long as there was a task reward, anything was acceptable.

Lin Hao removed his filthy glasses and carefully wiped them with a tissue. Without them, his face retained a trace of handsomeness, though now it exuded a sharp ruthlessness.

But none of this was directed at Sasha—his gratitude toward her was genuine.

After a pause, he continued, “I have one last request.”

“The wound on my leg will take a long time to heal. I probably won’t be able to go out for weeks.”
“That’s fine for me, but my wife… she’ll starve.”
“So, I’d like to ask you to help me gather more food from the fresh market.”
“Although I brought back some today, and those thugs’ bodies will last for a while, I won’t be able to go out again for weeks.”
“Of course, I know this is asking a lot. In exchange, I’ll share some very important information with you.”

His expression was slightly anxious, clearly afraid Sasha would refuse.

[Ding! Task: Diagnosis: Love (4/4) Complete Lin Hao’s request.]
[Rewards: Random Attribute Points x2.]
[Additional Hidden Rewards: Free Attribute Point x1, 1,000 Credits, Crimson Blade Upgrade Condition Unlocked.]

The series of notifications in Sasha’s mind confirmed that this was the final step of the task.

There was no reason to refuse—the hidden rewards were too tempting.

A free attribute point, 1,000 credits, and even a way to upgrade her Crimson Blade… all of it was too good to pass up.

She gave a playful smile and replied in a sweet, childlike voice, “No problem! Leave it to me!”

Once again, Sasha slipped into her innocent little girl persona.

Not long after, Sasha returned to Lin Hao’s home with more fresh meat and supplies.

Her backpack bulged with provisions—not for Lin Hao, but for herself.

By then, Lin Hao had already changed out of his bloody clothes. His “wife” had been returned to the bedroom, locked away once more.

He offered Sasha a cup of tea, and they sat in the now-cleaned living room.

Just earlier, the room had been drenched in blood and death.

Sasha didn’t touch the tea, and Lin Hao didn’t mind.

He began speaking slowly, “As promised, here’s the important information I overheard…”