Chapter Seven: So I Am Actually a Zombie

After quite some time, Ma Yi finally managed to squeeze himself through the slightly open crack in the door, leaving his long spear propped up by the curb outside.

Once he was inside, the entire group was left utterly stunned by Ma Yi’s sheer size; only when face-to-face could they truly feel the oppressive presence of his towering height.

“Hurry up and get what you need. We agreed you’d leave as soon as you’re done!” Old Wang was already sweating from his brow.

“Alright,” Ma Yi replied without ceremony. He followed the group and, like a gust of wind, sped through the staff entrance into the supermarket. Embarrassingly, he hit his head on the first doorway—the entrance was a bit low, and he hadn’t noticed.

Rubbing his head awkwardly, he glanced at the nearby people trying hard not to laugh. With a resigned sigh, Ma Yi pulled over a shopping cart. In his hands, the cart looked just like an oversized toy.

Ma Yi had already planned his haul in advance. First and foremost, rice was essential. With his strength, he easily picked up two fifty-pound bags of rice—one in each hand—and placed them in the cart. Next came all kinds of sealed cooked foods, though seeing that much of the supply had already been taken, he simply grabbed about half of what was left. His actions left the ‘watchers’ following him with a feeling of helplessness.

If a fight really broke out, would these few people even be enough for Ma Yi to handle with just one hand? Hadn’t they seen him lift two hundred pounds of rice as if they weighed nothing?

He didn’t forget snacks for the girls—various sealed fruit snacks and little treats were a must. Ma Yi grabbed a canvas travel bag from the household goods section and swept up handfuls of different snacks. For him, a handful was no small amount.

He took two boxes each of instant noodles and sausages. Suddenly he remembered that Liu Wen hadn’t changed clothes in days. Under everyone’s gaze, Ma Yi went straight upstairs, and the group hurried after him.

“You can’t go upstairs!” Old Wang’s voice was a little weak.

“I just need to get some clothes,” Ma Yi replied with curiosity.

“Just clothes?” Old Wang looked at him again, truly afraid Ma Yi would refuse to leave.

“Why would I lie to you? If I really wanted to stay, none of you could stop me anyway,” Ma Yi glanced at Old Wang, then punched the stair railing. The solid wooden handrail snapped instantly, sending Old Wang scurrying away in fear.

Upstairs, Ma Yi discovered a few young women. Aside from being a bit dirty, they were quite attractive. Ignoring their startled looks, he headed straight for the women’s section. The price tags were still on the clothes; he picked out a couple of the most expensive sets for Liu Wen. Of course, he grabbed a handful of underwear in various sizes—he had no idea which would fit her.

At this point, Ma Yi’s heart was not entirely pure. All the underwear was lace, and being watched by so many people made his face burn with embarrassment. But his skin was so dark, no one could tell. It was his first time handling these kinds of women’s things.

He picked out some extra-large sweatshirts and athletic wear for himself. Then, followed by the group, he returned downstairs, loaded up several cases of bottled water, and at the advice of the young women, grabbed a set of toiletries and skincare products.

In total, he filled three shopping carts. Hundreds of pounds of goods, but Ma Yi pushed them as if playing with children’s toys—effortlessly.

The group followed, drenched in sweat, while Ma Yi strolled along with his heavy load as if it weighed nothing.

Although the process wasn’t exactly pleasant, Ma Yi left the supermarket with his haul unharmed.

Thanks to his keen sense of smell, Ma Yi knew this group was far from innocent, especially Old Wang. On each girl upstairs, he could detect Old Wang’s scent; some even carried traces of several men. That told Ma Yi all he needed to know.

One of the girls tried several times to speak, but each time, someone glared her back into silence. Ma Yi had read plenty of apocalypse novels and understood: if the world truly collapsed, the law would no longer restrain humanity’s ugliness.

Let everyone mind their own business—why care about the frost on another’s roof tiles? For now, Ma Yi was still a small figure, thinking only of surviving. Why should other people's lives or deaths concern him?

He pushed his cart homeward, refusing to dwell on it. Thoughts of the lacy, sheer underwear he’d taken set his blood racing.

The rattling wheels attracted a crowd of zombies. Ma Yi’s expression grew serious—there must have been over a hundred of them. As the crazed zombies rushed at him, he quickly grabbed his spear and found a building to press his back against, preparing to fight.

Yet the zombies, even when only two or three meters away, showed no interest in him at all. They rushed straight for the shopping carts and began clawing at them.

“What does this mean?” Ma Yi was baffled. Bravely, he stabbed one zombie passing by. At the sound, more zombies turned toward him.

“Damn, I’m done for.” By now, dozens of zombies surrounded him. He hurriedly backed away, but to his astonishment, the unexpected happened.

The zombies only pounced on the one he’d killed, tearing and biting at the corpse, paying him no mind whatsoever.

He edged closer; still no reaction. Sweat beaded on his dark brow. He gritted his teeth and stepped right up to one. The zombie only turned and grunted at him, then shuffled aside as if making space.

Stunned and irritated, Ma Yi smacked the zombie on the head. It toppled over, but when it got up, it just dashed away, looking frightened.

“What the hell…” Ma Yi stood there dumbstruck, watching zombies skirt around him—none showed the slightest interest.

Not convinced, he began punching and kicking the zombies nearby, but even those he struck didn’t dare retaliate, fleeing instead. Soon, a ten-square-meter circle around him was empty; not a single zombie dared enter.

“I—” He started to speak but didn’t finish. He’d thought he’d resisted the virus, but in truth, he’d mutated instead. To put it plainly, he was now a sentient mutant zombie. Otherwise, why else would the zombies ignore him?

A bit lost, Ma Yi pushed the cart back toward his residential block. The zombies no longer gathered at the sound of the wheels. If any tried to approach, Ma Yi would roar, and they’d scatter three meters away.

Suddenly, Ma Yi sensed danger—a chill ran down his spine. His uncertainty vanished in an instant, and he spun around.

“What the hell is that?” Ma Yi stared in astonishment as a bluish-grey creature clung to the wall like a gecko, crawling upward, its beady eyes fixed intently on him.

He quickly drew his spear and took a defensive stance. The creature leapt down, opened its maw, and let out a roar. To Ma Yi’s shock, it was a zombie too, but one that had changed dramatically. Its eyes had shrunk, its mouth grown huge and full of fangs.

Its ears were tiny and pinned back, its whole body skin-stretched over bone, the contours of every bone visible. Its hands and feet had evolved into claws, with long, black, razor-sharp nails that gripped the wall—it was impossible not to believe they were deadly.

“Take this, you freak!” Ma Yi’s spear flashed through the air toward the monster.

But the creature dodged with shocking speed. While Ma Yi’s speed was at least twice that of a normal person, he was still no match for this bizarre zombie.

The creature began circling him rapidly, making Ma Yi dizzy, but he dared not relax for a second.

Suddenly, in a split-second lapse, the zombie raked his back with a vicious swipe and sank its teeth into his shoulder. His back didn’t hurt much, but his shoulder burned with pain.

“Damn it!” Ma Yi roared, seized the zombie by the head and wrenched it off himself—along with a chunk of his own flesh—rage surging through him at the pain.

He hurled the creature to the ground and smashed at its head with his spear.

Yet this thing’s body was astoundingly tough. Even after being slammed down—Ma Yi heard bones breaking—it still managed to evade his blow. Like a cat, it rolled and leapt over three meters away, leaving Ma Yi’s spear to strike the concrete uselessly.

He glanced at his right shoulder—his torn flesh was already regenerating before his eyes. The monster, too, stood a few meters away, its bones audibly snapping back into place.

Ma Yi glared fiercely at it and let out a savage roar.

The zombie hesitated, bared its fangs, and after a brief standoff, turned and fled.

“It’s gone?” Ma Yi had intended to intimidate it with his rapid recovery and a mighty roar, ready to fight to the death. Who would have thought the mutant would just retreat?

“So I’m just a mutated zombie myself, huh?” Ma Yi looked at the surrounding zombies. Whether compared to them or to humans, his over two-meter frame was an obvious aberration. He’d thought he was still human, but perhaps the zombies saw him as their own kind. Ordinary zombies, brainless as they were, surely couldn’t be mistaken.