"Thirty-two eighty? So precise. What is this pittance even good for?" Su Jin grumbled. "Enough to buy a rope to hang ourselves, I suppose. One for you, one for me."

Fu Qingdai looked troubled. "Cousin, this is all I could find. I asked Mom for money, but she just yelled at me. She said she'd buy whatever I need, and that I have no reason to spend money since I'm home all day."

"Cry! Throw a tantrum! Do I have to teach you something so simple?" Su Jin chided lightly. "Besides, it's fine if you let your mom buy things. Just get her to buy something practical. You're a grown-up, how can you be so dense?"

A hint of shame and annoyance appeared on Fu Qingdai's face as she retorted, "I told her to buy me food, to buy rice, and she called me crazy! I asked for crackers, and she only bought me one box... What good is one box?"

"Anyway, I don't want to steal money again. I'm afraid if they catch me, they'll send me to a mental hospital."

"Qingdai, this money is about to become worthless paper! I'm here in your house, what's there to be so hesitant about?" Su Jin clapped his hands as he lectured her. "Are you expecting me, an alien, to get a job here? If you don't steal, how am I supposed to support you? I came all the way from Orion, in a spaceship, and you..."

Midway through his lecture, Su Jin's heart suddenly grew heavy, and his words died in his throat.

Fu Qingdai sat on the edge of the bed, her head bowed, large tears rolling down her cheeks.

She then curled up her long, pale legs, burying her head in her knees. She made no sound, but her shoulders shook nonstop.

After holding it in for a while, she finally couldn't help but cry out loud.

...

Outside the door, two furtive figures were listening intently.

"She's crying... Old Fu, I think our daughter is crying. Should I cut up some fruit and go in to check on her?"

"That's detoxification, she's detoxing! Stop eavesdropping, you'll interfere with the Director's treatment."

...

Soon, Fu Qingdai's sobs subsided, and silence fell.

"There, there. It's good to let it all out," Su Jin comforted her softly. "Steal one more time. I believe you can do it."

Hearing this, Fu Qingdai looked up at Su Jin, tear tracks still on her face.

"Bro... after tonight, there are only two days left... Is this really the only way? Is there no other choice?"

Su Jin's heart clenched. He kept a straight face and slowly shook his head.

"My grandparents... and my friends... what about them..." Fu Qingdai's expression was a mask of pain and helplessness. "I know something bad is going to happen, but no one believes me! If only I were older... then maybe more people would have listened to my warnings."

"It's no use, Qingdai. Even if you were the richest person in the world, your parents would still think they're smarter than you." Su Jin reached over, pulled a tissue from the desk, and handed it to her. "Wipe your nose. You're about to get snot in your mouth. Don't want you choking on it."

The girl's face flushed red. She took the tissue and messily wiped her tears.

"If you became an official, though, your parents would listen to you."

"Why?" Fu Qingdai asked, her voice still choked with sobs.

"Being rich is different from being powerful. If you were an official, your parents would know who's the real boss."

The deliberate distraction helped calm Fu Qingdai down a bit. Her voice was slightly hoarse as she asked, "Cousin... what's the plan after this? Where do we go? Are we just going to wait here forever?"

Su Jin fell into deep thought upon hearing her question.

He had indeed thought about what to do after the zombies appeared. The best option was to wait in place.

It was hard to say whether people were infected by a virus or some other mystical force.

But zombies were still biological entities... theoretically, they shouldn't be able to survive for long without food.

Maybe if they hid in the house for ten days or half a month, the zombies would starve to death.

With bellies full of rotting guts, in this hot weather, they might just explode while walking around before they even had a chance to starve.

Although zombies in movies never die, that was just movies, after all.

Even if some mystical force meant the zombies didn't need to eat to survive, it wouldn't be a huge problem.

Judging from Fu Qingdai's diary, the zombies' motor skills weren't too different from humans, and her descriptions even made them sound a bit stiff.

These useless things could only run rampant in movies. In a modern, industrialized society, they were little more than living targets.

As long as the state's machinery of violence was mobilized, wiping out these fleshy targets would be a piece of cake.

Although this world wasn't as developed as Earth, it had industrialized early on. Based on references from bookstores and movies, it had no shortage of tanks, artillery, and missiles.

There was also a strategic-level meteorological weapon, comparable to a nuclear bomb, that was only heard of on Earth but never seen... the Cold Dome Missile System.

Logically, this world's technology wasn't as advanced as Earth's, but perhaps differences in the natural environment, atmosphere, or elemental composition allowed for the development of such a weapon capable of large-scale weather modification.

This weapon had only been used once in the world's history, killing a record 200,000 people in a single strike and maintaining an exaggeratedly low temperature in the region for nearly a month.

Based on a comprehensive analysis of this world's current military strength, dealing with the zombie crisis would be as easy as flipping a hand. The only question was how long they would have to hold out until rescue arrived.

At this thought, Su Jin said, "Our first priority is to survive that rain. We'll deal with the rest later. I have a plan... Qingdai, if you're too stressed, just rest tomorrow. You don't have to do anything. I'll need your help with something on the last day."

"What is it?"

"These are sleeping pills," Su Jin said, pulling a small bottle from his pocket, his expression serious. "Tonight, grind them into powder and put them in your parents' food. When they're fast asleep, come out at eleven. I'll need you to give me a hand with setting up some safety measures."

"I understand, Cousin." Fu Qingdai nodded seriously.

A smile spread across Su Jin's face. He pulled a phone and a pair of earbuds from his pocket. "This is why I like you, you're so sensible. Here, play with this for a bit. Relax."

Fu Qingdai took the phone curiously. Following Su Jin's instructions, she put on the earbuds and soon found herself listening to a little alien tune.

She couldn't understand a single word of the gibberish lyrics, but the melody was clearly novel and intriguing.

As the music and the phone distracted her, Fu Qingdai's expression gradually softened. She sat curled on the edge of the bed, the delicate arch of her foot bent slightly, creating a soft yet alluring curve.

Her exquisite, pale toes unconsciously pressed against the bedsheet, trembling faintly.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "p𝑎wread.com".

After a few minutes, she accidentally locked the phone screen.

Fu Qingdai glanced up at Su Jin, and her cheeks instantly flushed crimson.

She took off the earbuds and said, flustered, "Bro... why do you keep staring at my feet..."

"Seeing if you're good at running." Su Jin slowly averted his gaze and casually opened a desk drawer. "Hey! Stationery!"

Fu Qingdai narrowed her eyes, watching him suspiciously.

Su Jin, keeping a straight face, opened another drawer. This time, he was genuinely surprised to see it filled to the brim with all sorts of candy.

"Candy? You've stocked up on quite a bit."

"Ah... I asked my mom to buy me some extra candy. I thought it might be useful."

Su Jin looked down, grabbed a packet of 'chocolate' from the drawer, opened it, and sniffed.

The wrapper said chocolate, and it smelled like chocolate.

It should be safe to eat. So far, since arriving in this world, he hadn't experienced any food allergies or poisoning.

He hadn't had a chance to buy candy yet, and replenishing fast-acting carbs was essential.

He hadn't expected Fu Qingdai to have filled this gap in their supplies. The girl was pretty sharp.

After observing it for a moment, Su Jin bent his head and nibbled a tiny corner of the chocolate.

This had become his habit in this world: always take a minuscule bite of any unfamiliar food.

A rich chocolate flavor spread through his mouth. Su Jin nodded in satisfaction.

"The candy here tastes pretty..."

He was halfway through his sentence when his eyes suddenly flew wide open!

A crimson flush spread from his chest and stomach up to his neck at a visible speed, until blood vessels bloomed in the whites of his eyes. His entire face turned beet red in an instant