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"Master…"
"Why aren't the people in these pictures wearing any clothes?"
"And do you really have to tie someone up like that nowadays?"
Mafuyu Kirisu tilted her head, genuinely confused.
"Uh…"
Julian suddenly had no idea how to explain.
Was it because she'd turned into a zombie and lost all common sense about this kind of thing? Or had she always been this clueless?
Either way… if he tied her up the way those pictures showed, he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep himself under control.
"How about…"
"Let's just do it the simple way. Like the old man next door."
Decision made.
It didn't take long for Julian to tie Mafuyu Kirisu up securely. To be safe, he stuffed a towel in her mouth too, just in case she tried to bite someone.
That should do it. Safe enough.
"You take the bed tonight. I'll sleep on the couch."
He carried her over and gently set her down, even tucking the blanket around her.
Though she couldn't move, Mafuyu Kirisu felt warm inside.
Night deepened.
From outside the window came the occasional roar of zombies, followed by the gut-wrenching screams of humans.
The early days of a viral outbreak always looked like hell.
Soon enough, the human population would plummet, and the zombies would gradually take over the city.
Survival would only get harder.
Julian had lived through this once before. Nothing about it surprised him anymore. He closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.
A few hours later—
Mafuyu Kirisu's eyes snapped open.
She was hungry.
Snap.
The ropes binding her came apart with a few effortless tugs.
She pulled the towel from her mouth and padded quietly over to where Julian was sleeping.
"Master's sleeping so soundly…"
"He probably won't notice."
…
Early the next morning, Julian woke up to the smell of something delicious.
Mafuyu wasn't beside him.
All that remained was a faint red stain on the bedsheet.
"Master, you're awake!"
She peeked in from the bedroom door, wearing an apron and holding a spatula.
Looks like she was making breakfast.
"You can cook?" Julian asked, surprised.
"I only know how to fry eggs…"
"So I made fried eggs with instant noodles."
"Come eat, Master!"
She lowered her head shyly.
Julian quickly got dressed and hopped out of bed.
When he reached the living room, he froze.
Mafuyu was wearing nothing but a kitchen apron.
Thankfully, the curtains were closed. If any survivors were across the street, that would've been an eyeful.
"Mafuyu…"
"Maybe you should put some clothes on."
He took a steadying breath, trying not to lose it.
"Hm?" She blinked. "Doesn't this look good?"
She spun around in place.
The back of the apron was completely open.
Julian felt the blood rush straight to his head.
"If you stay like that… I'm not going to be able to eat…"
He subtly adjusted his pants. They were feeling a bit tight.
Mafuyu stuck out her tongue playfully and ran back to the bedroom barefoot.
Only then did Julian let out a breath and finally start on the noodles.
Last night had been three straight hours of intense… activity.
Now his whole body ached, and he was starving.
He couldn't help it. His opponent had been a mutated zombie. Way too strong.
If there were a few more like her, he'd probably collapse from exhaustion.
He polished off breakfast in no time.
By the time he finished, Mafuyu had changed into an oversized T-shirt and was obediently washing the pot.
Watching her from behind, Julian couldn't help but sigh.
How come he could never find a girlfriend like this before the apocalypse?
Pretty, great figure, obedient, sweet.
She'd lived right across from him all along, yet they'd never even bumped into each other.
Was he really that much of a shut-in?
He grabbed an ice-cold soda from the fridge, cracked it open, and turned on Mafuyu's laptop.
The internet was flooded with discussions about the apocalypse.
From what he could see, everything was unfolding exactly like it had before he transmigrated.
The virus was spreading insanely fast.
No one had time to prepare.
People who were outdoors or on public transport mostly never made it back home.
The first week would be the collapse of order.
Human numbers were already dropping fast.
In just the past two days, there had been countless reports of normal people killing each other.
Any kind of supplies could spark violent fights.
Everyone knew now. This was real. The apocalypse had truly arrived.
Survival guide threads were popping up everywhere online.
Julian skimmed through them. About half the advice was actually useful.
After all, there had been no shortage of zombie novels, movies, and anime over the years. Plenty of people had at least a mental blueprint for this.
What really took the cake was that someone had started serializing a zombie apocalypse novel on a forum.
And it had tons of replies.
Seriously?
At a time like this, and you're writing fiction? The author could drop dead any day. The story would definitely get abandoned halfway.
Priorities, people.
Finally, Julian pulled up a map route to the supermarket.
Now that was important.
To get there, he'd have to pass two intersections.
The problem was both were surrounded by residential neighborhoods. High population density.
There were definitely zombies inside the supermarket too.
With just the two of them, fighting their way in wouldn't be easy.
Julian rubbed his chin, thinking through possible plans.
Just then, Mafuyu walked over after finishing the dishes and plopped herself right onto his lap.
He looked down.
And instantly froze.
Her "simple and modest" style really was… simple.
When she said she was wearing a T-shirt, she meant only a T-shirt.
Okay. That's crossing the line.
"....."