Several days later, at a restaurant near Lianmen Port and East Bridge on Tenth Road,
"Owner, bring me a chicken."
Liu Xiaojing entered the restaurant, dressed neatly, and sat at a table near the street. He looked no different from an ordinary person, with none of the awkwardness he had exhibited before. His long hair was casually tied behind his head, and he wore a loose black tracksuit, even donning a pair of sunglasses that obscured much of his otherwise handsome face. After the previous events, Liu Xiaojing had acquired a considerable sum of money. With this newfound wealth, he quickly found a temporary place to stay and used a few simple tools from the accommodation to familiarize himself with some basic knowledge. As he absorbed this information, his mind began to clear, as though the forgotten memories were gradually being restored. Of course, without the innkeeper's help or the financial resources, it would have been impossible for him to learn how to use those tools. Money, after all, is the foundation of everything.
"Alright, what kind of chicken would you like? Roasted, or...?"
"It doesn't matter, just don't overcook it."
"Eh???"
"I mean... if it's still a little bloody, even better."
"Bloody? Medium-rare?"
"Yes! Thank you."
The restaurant owner eyed Liu Xiaojing up and down, and after confirming that he wasn't looking for trouble, returned to the kitchen, still bewildered.
"Ordering chicken, medium-rare? It's not like it's a steak. The world's full of strange people," Liu Xiaojing mused, unfazed by the owner's look. He silently made a note of the word 'steak' in his mind, then absentmindedly gazed out onto the street.
"My money is running low... I still have no idea where she is, and the events of the past few days might bring some trouble. What should I..."
At this moment, two young men walked into the restaurant, their pale faces and heavy dark circles making them look even more like zombies than Liu Xiaojing himself.
"Man, you wouldn't believe it! Something really happened a few days ago! Zombies! Have you heard of them?"
"Stop talking nonsense. You've probably been staying in those internet cafés too long, and now you're hallucinating."
"I'm telling you, I saw it with my own eyes when I was going home to ask for money. The guy's neck was snapped, lying on the ground, and he was still moving!"
"Heh, if you really saw a zombie, with your build, you wouldn't even last two seconds against one. How are you still here talking about it?"
"Shut up! What's your problem? I can run 100 meters in 20 seconds! And I'm not lying about this... I really saw it, but I wasn't alone. That thing was under control, and the person controlling it forced me to leave."
"Controlling a zombie? What are you, Lin Zhengying? Or some special government group? If it was that serious, wouldn't the internet be exploding by now?"
"Well, now that you mention it... it might have been some government people, or maybe a delivery guy..."
"Shut up with your nonsense. If you keep talking like this, I'm leaving. You can pay for today's internet fee yourself."
"No, no! I won't say anymore! But honestly, I didn't see it with my own eyes, just a guy with his neck broken. His face looked like a zombie, and when I think back on it, it kind of makes sense."
"Heh! Heh!"
The conversation between the two young men caught Liu Xiaojing's attention. But once one of them confessed the truth, he lost all interest. Over the past few days, using the tools at his disposal, Liu Xiaojing had already looked up his own condition, and the information he found was mostly related to zombie movies. He learned that others might refer to him as a 'zombie' because of his strange nature.
Zombie... Without considering those other 'non-zombies,' he felt that he did fit the label rather well. However, Liu Xiaojing didn't believe he needed to hop around like the undead. He didn't think a single bite would turn someone else into a zombie, nor did he wish to become a mindless creature that could only be satisfied by biting others. Right now, it seemed that other than needing to replenish his blood from time to time, he was not like the zombies depicted in films. Moreover, even if he did need blood to survive, it didn't have to come from a living person.
"The food's ready~~"
The restaurant owner brought a plate over to Liu Xiaojing and gently placed it on the table.
"After thinking it over, I think white-cut chicken fits your requirements best. Medium-rare is easier for people to accept, so give it a try."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaojing looked down at the plate of white-cut chicken, with blood slowly seeping out from the meat. He smiled contentedly.
...
Meanwhile, at the Northeast Branch of a certain organization, the news of a zombie incident near Lianmen Port and East Bridge had set the employees into a flurry of activity. Aside from their regular delivery duties, nearly everyone available was investigating the matter. After all, zombies were too terrifying to ignore, and even conflicts between abnormal beings seemed more acceptable to the public than such events.
In what appeared to be a research institute's main hall, a burly middle-aged man wearing a cap and round glasses frowned as he observed the survival chamber within.
"Er Zhuang, any findings?"
"None."
The voice that responded from the intercom was a woman's, light and cheerful, with a youthful tone.
"The area where the event occurred had few residents, and the surveillance equipment was incomplete. Although many cameras caught the zombie's movements afterward, there were no other footage linking it to anyone."
"The Xiangxi 'corpse drivers'?" The burly man asked suspiciously.
"Yes, it's highly likely."
"Think about it. Zombies—aside from the Xiangxi 'corpse drivers,' no one else could do this. There's no record of any zombie-controlling families in the sect either."
The burly man nodded.
"I heard that recently in North China, Xu Si from the Xiangxi Liu family brought someone in, but... forget it. Let's let others continue investigating. After all, when it comes to ordinary people, the higher-ups are very serious about this matter."
"Er Zhuang, do you think this incident involved any local abnormal beings?"
"...?"
The burly man noticed the pause in the voice and furrowed his brows again. "Could it really be? What are they thinking?"
"There's no footage directly indicating this, but... the young lady from a listed company in Lianmen Port passed through the area with her convoy," Er Zhuang replied.
"A listed company? Who are they connected to?"
"Shi Lao, Guan Shihua."