Zombie Bodyguard

"Damn, it's already seven o'clock." Lin Tian pulled out his phone, checked the time, and let out an anxious yelp as he buttoned up while rushing downstairs. He had been looking forward to the weekend, as his girlfriend had scheduled their date for seven-thirty that evening. But the area he lived in was a bit remote, and he wasn't sure if he could catch a cab.

If there was a traffic jam along the way and he failed to reach the meeting spot on time, Lin Tian could already picture the fury of his beautiful girlfriend. Fortunately, his luck wasn't bad; as soon as he hit the street, a taxi came along. He waved his hand, flagged down the taxi, and quickly got in after opening the door.

"Master, to Victory Park," he said.

Lin Tian settled down and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He adjusted his hair in the rearview mirror, checking out his reflection—sharp brows, a bridge-like nose, and he couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

It was just too bad that although his shirt was branded, it was a design from several years ago and appeared somewhat outdated. Lin Tian was not wealthy, and this shirt was one he had bought at a discount when he first met his girlfriend years ago.

After the taxi started moving, the driver habitually turned on the radio. After some initial static, the sound from the radio cleared up.

"We now bring you breaking news. A sudden earthquake occurred the day before yesterday in Lu County, Xikou City. Thirty kilometers southeast of the county, the mountain at Shishan cracked open, revealing a mysterious ancient tomb. A team from the Xikou City Archaeological Institute organized a rescue excavation of the tomb."

"Once the tomb was opened, the chamber inside held no funerary objects or inscriptions. In the center of the tomb was an ancient bronze coffin. When archaeologists opened the bronze coffin, they discovered an additional transparent jade casket inside. Within the jade casket, there was a female corpse dressed in turquoise with red hair, perfectly preserved as if she were alive. Carbon-14 dating determined that the corpse is about five thousand years old, a discovery that has shocked the global archaeological community..."

"Big brother driver, did Xikou City really unearth an ancient tomb?" Lin Tian, who worked two jobs from dawn till dusk, was as tired as a dog and had no time to watch the news. He hadn't expected such a significant event to have happened in Xikou City recently.

"Heh heh, young man, you asked the right person. The tomb is real, but things didn't go as smoothly as the news stated, let me tell you a secret," the driver said, lowering his voice and adding a hint of mystery, "The ancient corpse disappeared while being transported to the research institute in Xikou City!"

Disappeared? Lin Tian was bewildered, initially thinking the female corpse had run away by herself. Seeing that Lin Tian didn't respond, the driver misunderstood, thinking he didn't believe him, and raised his voice, "You don't believe it? Let me tell you, I saw it with my own eyes. I was going out of town last night and just happened to encounter a roadblock. I got out of the car to inquire and found out that it was the archaeological team's transport truck that had overturned, and the jade casket with the female corpse inside had vanished. Hmph, a national treasure stolen, that's big news, I bet it's been hushed up..."

As the enthusiastic driver rambled on about his experiences, Lin Tian had no chance to interject. After about fifteen minutes, the taxi stopped at the entrance of Victory Park. Lin Tian bid farewell to the still enthusiastic driver and walked into the park.

The meeting spot his girlfriend had chosen was in a small grove inside the park, where the lighting was dim and somewhat secluded. When he arrived, he hadn't seen his girlfriend yet and sighed with relief.

There were many mosquitoes in the grove, but strangely, none of them bit him. Lin Tian was no longer surprised by this, as mosquitoes had never bitten him since he was a child.

After waiting another half hour, Lin Tian finally saw a familiar figure. His girlfriend was wearing a white maxi dress, her hair loose down to her shoulders, looking resplendent in the light.

"Qi Jing, over here!" Lin Tian yelled, waving to the familiar figure.

Lin Tian had met Qi Jing when he was in his first year at Xikou City High School, where she was the most beautiful girl. That time she had been the one to pursue Lin Tian, causing quite a stir at the school. Lin Tian was only sixteen at that time, but naturally strong and handsome with a tanned complexion, making a strong impact on the girls in an era dominated by 'cream-faced boys.'

Men chase women across mountains, women chase men through layers of gauze. As a newbie in relationships, Lin Tian had fallen for Qi Jing's advances within three days and had become her boyfriend. By the end of his first year's second semester, his adoptive grandfather passed away, forcing Lin Tian to drop out of school. With no close relatives left, he treasured his girlfriend even more, treating her almost like family.

Today, two years later, Qi Jing was a senior in high school, while Lin Tian had been working hard in society for two years, barely earning enough to support himself.

As Qi Jing approached, Lin Tian only then noticed someone following her, his former roommate from junior year, Sun Decai, who shared a similar unpleasant odor. He was confused, but Qi Jing spoke first.

"Lin Tian, let's break up!"

"Break up? Xiao Jing, what are you talking about?" Lin Tian couldn't believe it; the first thing Qi Jing said upon meeting was to break up, instantly extinguishing the fiery warmth in his heart.

Qi Jing looked at him expressionlessly and said indifferently, "Many things can change. What I want from you, you will never be able to give. Let's just consider these two years a misunderstanding."

"Why? Is it because of money?" Although Lin Tian was only eighteen, having been exposed to society early, he had a clear understanding of many things and had been harboring an uneasy feeling that today had finally materialized.

"Lin Tian, that's enough!" Sun Decai yelled, stepping forward to point at Lin Tian, and disdainfully said, "What right do you have to ask? Right now, this moment, I am Qi Jing's boyfriend! Xiao Jing, you go first."

Qi Jing didn't glance at Lin Tian again and turned to leave, disappearing into the night soon after.

"Brother, what are you saying?" Lin Tian asked, incredulously watching the scene unfold, pointing at his nose and saying, "Damn it, Sun Decai, do you know what you're saying? I'm your brother, and you dare to steal your brother's girl!"

"Haha, has your brain gone funny? How could I ever consider a wretched poor orphan like you as a brother?" Sun Decai sneered coldly, looking down on him with contempt.

"You didn't even finish junior high and being an orphan, do you think you have a future? Would I consider such a person as my brother? Dream on! In my eyes, you're less than a dog, yet you dare to dream about being with Xiao Jing. She deserves to drive luxury cars and live in villas. What about you? You hesitate over a few bucks at the supermarket; what right do you have to be Xiao Jing's boyfriend? I befriended you for one reason only—to take Xiao Jing away from you."

Blood boiling, Lin Tian felt he was about to explode, his bloodshot eyes shooting deadly glares as he fixed his gaze on Sun Decai. His once good brother's words pierced his heart like thousands of arrows.

"Ah!" Lin Tian roared in suppressed rage, like a wounded beast he lunged at Sun Decai, throwing a punch at his jaw.

"Hmph, you think a black belt in Taekwondo is for show?" Sun Decai scoffed, lifting his leg to kick. Before Lin Tian could even touch him, he was kicked in the chest, sent flying backwards and crashing to the ground, struggling for breath.

"Guys, come out, and beat him hard," Sun Decai shouted without looking back.

From behind the trees, five people rushed out and started to mercilessly kick and punch Lin Tian as he lay on the ground. He was beaten to the brink of death but stubbornly held back any noises, silently memorizing their faces.

"Alright, stop, he'll die if you keep going. Guys, let's go drink," Sun Decai said as he motioned for them to leave."

Having been kicked countless times, Lin Tian's body was numb, feeling extremely weak both physically and mentally. It was only half an hour after Sun Decai and the group left that Lin Tian managed to tremble to his feet.

He had just managed to stand upright when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen, and a cold current surged from within. The cold spread rapidly throughout his body, freezing him solid. Lin Tian stiffened and fell backward. As his eyes looked up to the sky, he saw a figure drifting down, a waist-long red hair and a blue gauze dress fluttering in the night wind, like a fairy from the human world.