What an idiot...

The eerie sound of sobbing echoed through the empty hallway, as if it were coming from all directions, sending a chill down Ethan's spine.

He knew exactly where the sound was coming from—right below his room. That's where the female zombie "lived." She had lived there even before she turned.

The door was slightly ajar, with a faint light seeping through the crack. The sobbing was coming from inside.

Ethan gently pushed the door open, and the sight before him made him frown slightly.

The female zombie was kneeling in the middle of the living room, her back to him, her shoulders shaking as if she were caught in some deep sorrow.

"Ugh... ugh... ugh..." Her sobs were broken and filled with a kind of indescribable sadness.

Even though Ethan had moved quietly, the female zombie's hearing was incredibly sharp.

The moment the door creaked, she whipped her head around, her neck twisting at an unnatural 180-degree angle. Her eyes were blazing with fury, and she let out a low growl, as if she was ready to pounce on him at any second.

But when she realized it was Ethan standing in the doorway, the growl stopped abruptly. Her once ferocious face softened into something almost pitiful, even a little fawning.

"Ugh... ugh..." She continued to sob softly, as if trying to communicate something to Ethan.

Standing at the door, Ethan watched her coldly. He already knew what she was trying to say. She was saying, "I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry..."

"What a glutton..." Ethan muttered to himself. "She's already eaten plenty today. The other two haven't made a peep, but here she is, crying her eyes out."

The female zombie seemed to sense Ethan's thoughts. She lowered her head and let out a few whimpering sounds, as if ashamed of her own greed.

Ethan couldn't be bothered to argue. He casually pulled a corpse out of his storage ring and tossed it in front of her.

It was a thug he had killed earlier. The body was still relatively fresh.

The moment she saw the flesh, the female zombie's eyes lit up, and a twisted smile crept across her face. She let out a chilling laugh: "Hehehe... hehehe..." Then, in a flash, she lunged at the corpse, moving so fast it was hard to follow. Her powerful legs left a blur as they scraped across the floor.

Ethan stood off to the side, watching her tear into the body with cold detachment.

Her laughter was even more unsettling than her sobbing, like something straight out of a nightmare.

Her muscular body, especially those strong legs, was clearly a remnant of her athletic past.

As she devoured the corpse, the room filled with the thick stench of blood. The sounds of chewing and ripping flesh echoed through the space, creating a scene so grotesque that any normal person would've been scared out of their mind.

"Take your time... it reeks in here," Ethan muttered, wrinkling his nose as he turned to leave. He had just taken a shower and didn't want the stench clinging to him, like how people smell after eating at a hotpot restaurant.

As he walked back to his room, he glanced at the doors of the other two zombies—the PhD zombie and the WWE wrestler zombie. They were quiet, clearly not in need of any extra "feeding."

It seemed the saying was true: the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Back in his room, Ethan sat on the couch, thinking about his next move. Sure, he still had plenty of flesh stored in his ring, but he knew that wouldn't last forever. In the early days of the apocalypse, supplies were still relatively easy to come by, but as time went on, resources would become scarcer and scarcer.

"It's time to go out and restock," he decided silently.

He picked up his phone and opened Messenger, scrolling to his chat with Lola. She had sent him a ton of messages, along with several missed calls.

"Honey, are you okay? Why aren't you answering me?"

"Ethan, I'm really worried about you. Please, just reply!"

"Are you alright? I'm so scared... please come find me, and bring some supplies..."

There were many more messages like that. It was clear Lola was on the verge of a breakdown.

Ethan finally sent a short reply: "I'm still here."

Almost immediately, Lola's response popped up: "You're alive! Thank God! Why didn't you answer my calls? I've been so worried!"

Ethan replied calmly, "I'm surrounded by zombies. Didn't want to risk making noise, so I've had my phone on silent."

He wasn't lying. 

After all, he really was surrounded by zombies.

Lola's voice came through the phone, trembling slightly. "Ethan, I miss you so much. Whether you're dead or alive, I just want to see you. Can you come find me?"

Ethan's reply was short and cold. "Sure, I'll come tomorrow."

"Okay, okay!" Lola's voice was filled with barely contained excitement. "I'll be waiting for you at the dorms. Please, bring as much food as you can. We need to survive!"

"Got it." A faint, cruel smile tugged at Ethan's lips, a glint of malice flashing in his eyes. It was time to "collect."

...

The next morning, Ethan dressed in a clean tracksuit and stood in front of the mirror, examining himself.

His reflection was still handsome, but his face showed no trace of emotion.

Ever since he had turned into a zombie, he retained his human intelligence, but his emotions had dulled, becoming cold and numb.

This change made him seem more composed, as if nothing in the world could affect him.

He headed downstairs and walked to the street, where a medium-sized box truck was parked. It was the same one he had used to haul supplies from the supermarket earlier.

Climbing into the driver's seat, he started the engine. With a low growl, he signaled his three zombie subordinates that it was time to go "hunting."

A chorus of low growls echoed from the building.

The female zombie was the first to appear, moving with incredible speed. She shot down the stairs like a gust of wind, her mouth letting out that eerie "hehehe" laugh, her face full of excitement.

Halfway down, she seemed to decide the stairs were too slow and leaped out of a window, landing gracefully on the ground without a scratch. She quickly scrambled into the back of the truck.

Next came the WWE wrestler zombie.

He was even bigger than before, his muscles bulging so much they looked like they might tear through his skin. His grayish-white flesh was veined with thick, pulsing lines, and he stood nearly 6'6".

Every step he took seemed to make the ground tremble slightly.

The apartment door was too narrow for his massive frame, so he simply smashed through it, charging out like a runaway bull. Watching him, Ethan silently gave him a nickname—"Bulldozer."

After Bulldozer climbed into the truck, the PhD zombie appeared last.

He moved calmly, with a deliberate slowness that set him apart from the others. Once inside the truck, he even took the time to close the door behind him, a stark contrast to the chaotic behavior of the others.

Ethan slammed his foot on the gas, and the truck's engine roared as it shot down the street.

Zombies and abandoned cars alike were ruthlessly mowed down or crushed under the truck's wheels.

The zombies on the street howled in response, but since Ethan and his crew were also zombies, they didn't attack.

Ethan sped down the road, heading straight for the University of Southern California.

In the back of the truck, the female zombie was unusually excited, letting out her creepy "hehehe" laugh every now and then, clearly eager to start "hunting."

Bulldozer, on the other hand, seemed confused.

His intelligence wasn't high, and he couldn't quite grasp why they were sitting in this "black box" instead of going out to hunt.

Ethan's driving was aggressive, constantly smashing through obstacles, causing the truck to jolt violently. Bulldozer's massive size made him a victim of inertia, and he was tossed around the back of the truck, looking a bit ridiculous.

But it wasn't long before Ethan arrived at USC.

A group of zombies was wandering near the entrance, but Ethan plowed through them without hesitation, driving straight to the dorms.

Once the truck came to a stop, the three zombie subordinates quickly jumped out of the back.

Bulldozer, finally free from the cramped truck, stood still for a moment, taking in his surroundings. The scene around him was completely different from when he had gotten into the truck.

With his limited intelligence, he clearly couldn't understand what had happened.

"Wait... does getting in the 'black box' make you go somewhere else?" Bulldozer seemed to have figured something out and let out a deafening roar toward the sky.

"ROAR—!"

His roar was so loud that the nearby windows shattered, and the lower-level zombies in the area scattered in fear, as if terrified of this hulking beast.

Even Ethan was startled by the sudden roar. He turned to Bulldozer, frowning. "What are you yelling for?"

Bulldozer growled back, his voice deep and wild. "ROAR ROAR ROAR! I don't even know why I'm yelling!"

Ethan shook his head in exasperation, muttering to himself, "What an idiot..."