Bing Shi remained steadfast, her grip refusing to slacken. "How can you only remember our lifetime together but nothing else? Xuan Mu, how long will you continue this self-denial?"

Ziek gnashed his teeth, "Then hug me. Kiss me. Love me. Love me, like you love him and only then will I believe you."

His eyes squeezed shut, each word tinged with a ridicule that couldn't be masked, "Don't make me laugh. If I were him, why do you act as though you're clutching onto a pile of shit?"

Bing Shi's emotional floodgates burst open; her tears cascading like a torrential downpour. Seated astride his thighs, she clasped him in a fervent embrace. "If I don't think of you as him, I feel like I'm betraying him, like I'm a cheater— "

She retched between sobs, adding a palpable tension to the air. "You share his memories, his essence, but you're not him. The thought of being disloyal to him makes me sick in the stomach, like I'm betraying not just him, but also the love we had."

Gripping the fabric of the couch until his knuckles turned white, Ziek felt each of her words, tinged with gut-wrenching repulsion, like a serrated blade mercilessly carving into his soul.

But there were other sensations he couldn't ignore—the comforting warmth of her body against his, the wet trail her tears left on his bare skin, and the powerful, unsteady pounding of his own heart. "Can I hug you?" His voice emerged from his lips softer than a whisper.

"Please do...ugh..." she covered her mouth and stomach, her expression a mix of physical discomfort and emotional agony as if trying to keep her insides from revolting.

With her silent consent, Ziek carefully wrapped his arms around her, mindful of his own strength. After four torturous years, he could finally hold the love of his life in his arms, "You're not betraying anyone, damn it." 

He gritted his teeth bitterly as he felt Bing Shi stiffen in his embrace, her muscles tensing as though she were a deer caught in the crosshairs, torn between flight and surrender, "If there's a fucking bastard to blame here, it's the asshole I used to be. That twisted son of a bitch groomed you into this emotional mess, and it's tearing you apart."

Forcing himself to relax his grip, he offered her the space to make her choice. Because as much as he yearned to hold her forever, her freedom was something he was unwilling to compromise—even if it tore him apart to let her go. "Your gagging and retching isn't disloyalty, it's a fucked-up legacy from a past version of me. You shouldn't carry an ounce of guilt for that shitshow." 

Bing Shi's sobbing slowly quelled, Ziek looked down at the woman, whose face could be described as a splash of muddy water thrown over an expensive piece of modern art. His chest was smeared with her tears and snot. Not forgetting about a few smudges of her mascara and foundation here and there.

Unable to utter a word, he hugged her again, "..."

"I'm such a crybaby," Bing Shi rubbed her puffy eyes, smearing her mascara more. It wouldn't be her if she didn't kill the mood with her words, "I need to rinse my mouth. It smells like puke."

Ziek watched as Bing Shi deftly disentangled herself from his arms and sprinted towards the bathroom. As he heard the sound of running water from the bathroom, a faint smile touched his lips, "Are we a thing now?" he called out.

"How old are you grandson?" came a question from the bathroom.

"Twenty," he responded. Staring blankly at the ceiling, his thoughts were interrupted by the insistent ring of his phone on the coffee table. He reached for it, and the voice on the other end was tinged with panic.

"Boss! Zombies are going rogue! They're attacking nearby cities! Aaaar—" The line went dead before his subordinate could complete his sentence.

Grasping his phone tightly, Ziek dialed another number to issue swift orders. "Evacuate to Central City immediately."

He dialed Yi Zen, his gaze shifting toward the bathroom door where Bing Shi had retreated. "We've got a Code Red. There's a high-ranking zombie with global control abilities. We need to find and neutralize it, or humanity is screwed."

"Does she know?" Yi Zen asked while going out of his tent to summon his men.

"Not yet," Ziek answered.

When Bing Shi learned of the unfolding catastrophe, she broke down anew. Tearfully donning her gas mask, she flew out of the hotel room to alert the populace.

'Is this the reason why I was tasked to protect Fu Lian for exactly four years?'

'No wonder I got a bonus quest to kill all the zombies!'

'This is madness.'

["Kuro, change into your biggest form."]

She commanded.

[Yes.] 

Came the response.

· · ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·

A loud, alarming sound resonated throughout the cities, bringing fear to all the people. Almost instinctively, everyone snatched up their emergency gear and dashed toward the assigned meeting point. According to the sound, they moved towards the Central city. Looking up the skies, they saw a humongous white snake floating above them.

Perched atop this immense snake, Bing Shi sat in a contemplative, cross-legged position. Her eyes were serene, yet keenly aware, as she awaited the arrival of reinforcements.

At the same time, Ren Han was flying to his ship to get more information about what was going on.

Everyone looked at Bing Shi with a questioning gaze. They've never seen her together with Kuro in real life. Usually, she would be accompanied by a cadre of guards. Yet no one dared approach—they looked simply too overwhelming, too otherworldly to disturb.

In this world, nobody felt completely safe. Despite looking weak, who knew what power that person was hiding? What if that person would get stronger and take revenge on them one day? Rather than going against each other, they focused on the same enemy.

A few million against billions? How was that possible?! Citizens felt utterly hopeless. In a month, a never-ending wave of zombies would appear near the central cities. To prevent the city from being destroyed, twenty-two Bing Shi bases were built in the open field.

It took two days for Yi Zen's army to appear. Children and those incapable of fighting were sent inside Fu Lian's space.

When other bases got the news, they rushed to where Bing Shi was.

The reason why Bing Shi received a mission to protect Fei Lan had to be this. To prevent the downfall of humanity Fu Lian's special space was the key to saving humanity from going extinct.