Lu Yao’s plan was supposed to go smoothly.

But as the saying goes, plans can’t keep up with changes—even the most foolproof plan has its flaws. So…

Lu Yao stroked his chin as he looked at the blond-haired young man in front of him: “Hello, buddy”

The blond-haired young man stammered in fright: “H-hello… M-my name is Qin Ye…”

“You have a name that sounds like a super-hot BL protagonist, yet you’re scared like this—that doesn’t make sense,” Lu Yao said, still rubbing his chin. 

Qin Ye was on the verge of tears.

Getting this scared is totally reasonable! Who in their right mind would act like this?!

Let’s rewind ten minutes.

Qin Ye was originally just an average student with poor grades—certainly not at the level of a school bully—but with his blonde hair, he was seen by his classmates as “someone who hangs out on the streets.”

His biggest hobby was reading wuxia novels, and he’d post on forums asking: “Do the other students in my class like Genshin Impact or Honor of Kings?”

He likes romantic dramas, but he also likes Jin Yong, Gu Long, and Liang Yusheng. Is that normal? 

Then, when he saw comments praising him as a “solitary, otherworldly young man,” he got a bit smug. 

Overall, he’s a pretty lucky guy. Even though he had to repeat a few grades, he still managed to get into college. When he started his internship during his senior year, he got caught up in this apocalyptic zombie disaster. 

His luck came through again: when the apocalypse struck, he was working the night shift at a convenience store.

After lowering the roll-up door, he had a relatively safe space, and the convenience store’s supplies were enough to keep him alive for a long time. At first, he planned to calm his nerves, gear up fully, and go face the zombies—just like in a wuxia novel. 

And do some heroic deeds along the way—wouldn’t that be pretty cool?

He’d read the novels and watched the movies, so he knew that doing nothing would lead to living off his reserves until they ran out and waiting for certain death.

But because the convenience store was so well-stocked, he figured he’d wait a few days—after all, even a hero needs time to rest and recuperate. As a result, day after day, his courage to face the zombies head-on dwindled.

At noon today, just as he was going through his usual internal struggle, the roll-up door was suddenly pulled open from the outside.

The person’s outfit looked like a high-score outfit from a dress-up game, about the eclectic mix. 

The “mix-and-match master” swung a kitchen knife, shattering the glass door with a series of sharp cracks. After storming into the convenience store and grabbing a huge haul of supplies, they finally looked up and spotted him behind the counter. 

 The mix-and-match guru hurried over to the counter and pulled out a hundred-yuan bill: “Checkout, please give me my change.”

An unknown liquid was still dripping from the kitchen knife the other person was holding. 

Qin Ye: …

Was he dreaming? Why had he been unable to make sense of this from the very beginning? And why was there even a checkout involved?! What kind of… person was the other guy?

A person, right?

Qin Ye felt some kind of liquid seeping out of him.

Sweat?

No way—how could some mere psychopath make him sweat? Then it must be urine. 

Regardless of whether Qin Ye’s fear-induced urination was real or just an illusion, this eclectic big shot was naturally Lu Yao.

After all, having survived the apocalypse for nearly two months, breaking into places to grab supplies had become second nature to Lu Yao. 

In most cases, the system would classify these as wild supplies found by the roadside; in a small number of cases, it would determine that he needed to pay. 

This usually happened when there was a shop owner’s corpse inside the store—regardless of whether the owner was moving or not, he’d have to pay the bill.

This situation is easy to handle—Lu Yao just needs to make sure the owner is completely immobilized, then pay up. As for where the money comes from, it’s naturally from the wild supplies he’s picked up along the road. 

But this was his first time encountering a living person.

Lu Yao stared at Qin Ye for a few seconds: “Um, hello. I’d like to pay.”

Qin Ye: “I… um… you…”

Lu Yao: “Never mind, then. No need to give me change. I’m leaving.”

After taking a few steps outside, Lu Yao turned around as if remembering something and said, “Oh, by the way, Happy Qingming Festival.” 

Qin Ye: “…”

Of course, Lu Yao didn’t just blurt that out on a whim. Here’s why.

【System Daily Quest:

Task Description: Qingming Festival is here! This is our traditional holiday—let’s celebrate Qingming Festival together! Optional tasks are as follows:

① Send holiday greetings to five people (2/5) 

② Swing on a swing with someone (1/3) 

③ Visit a grave (0/1) 

④ Plant willow branches (0/1)

⑤ Go on a spring outing (0/1h)

The more tasks you complete, the better your holiday rewards will be!】

Qin Ye: “…Wait! Boss! Don’t leave, Boss!”

Lu Yao stopped in his tracks and sighed.

Actually, the moment he burst into the convenience store, he had spotted Qin Ye huddled in the corner. 

After a quick glance at the convenience store and the state of Qin Ye, Lu Yao had a rough idea of what was going on. Lu Yao’s system often issued tasks that required interaction, and having a partner would make things much easier. Take the swing task, for example—there were swings in his apartment complex, but asking someone to swing with him was simply too much to ask. Lu Yao killed a zombie, dragged it onto the swing, but the system didn’t count it as a valid swing.

So he had no choice but to break a zombie’s leg and tie it to the swing—only then did it count as one swing. 

If he had a partner, they could take turns pushing each other—wouldn’t that be a romantic and heartwarming holiday quest? 

But the problem was that Qin Ye seemed way too timid.

It wasn’t that he was afraid Qin Ye would hold him back, but rather that his bizarre behavior might scare Qin Ye into a mental breakdown… 

It must be said that Lu Yao still had a good sense of self-awareness. 

Qin Ye took a few steps forward to catch up, and as he left the convenience store, his body shook violently. But he still took a step forward. 1

“Boss, where are you going? Take me with you, boss! I’ll do my best to help you out…!”

It had been two months since the apocalypse, and there were so many zombies out there now.

This “Mashup Hero” might act strangely, but the fact that he could walk freely on the streets proved he was definitely a big shot. Clinging to this big shot’s coattails was his chance!

This is destiny! Li Xiaoyao’s “Wine Sword Immortal”! Yuan Chengzhi’s Mu Renqing! 

On top of that, since this big shot had destroyed his own hideout, Qin Ye actually had nowhere to go. 

Lu Yao looked Qin Ye up and down once more, then nodded. “Then follow me. Don’t act on your own—follow my orders. I’m really busy today.” 

“Big Shot, wait for me!” Qin Ye hurried back to the convenience store, put on the full set of gear he’d picked out, and slung a large backpack filled with supplies over his shoulder.

Then he thought to himself, “Just like a big shot—he didn’t even question me at all?” Lu Yao was indeed very busy today.

In addition to heading to the security booth at Linchuan Shopping Mall, he also had to do his best to complete the holiday missions assigned by the system.

Having Qin Ye tag along didn’t make things much easier—mainly because Qin Ye was practically half-disabled right now. His legs were shaking as he struggled to keep up with Lu Yao’s pace, and that alone took every ounce of his strength.

Another reason was that Lu Yao still didn’t trust Qin Ye.

They made their way through the underground passage in fits and starts, taking a break in the public restroom along the way.

Qin Ye carefully handed Lu Yao a bottle of mineral water and asked, “Boss, where are we going?”

Lu Yao’s expert zombie-clearing techniques left him wide-eyed.

When Lu Yao took off his helmet, his delicate features made Qin Ye pause in surprise. Lu Yao then handed the bottled water to Qin Ye: “Drink half the bottle first.”

Qin Ye hesitated for a moment, then gulped down half the bottle, exclaiming, “Oh, oh, oh!” 

“Boss, are you afraid I’ll poison it? Like in the novels?” 

This guy’s quick on his feet. Lu Yao took a sip of mineral water and blurted out, “No, theoretically, kissing while drinking from the same bottle of mineral water helps you shed your so-called sense of shame as quickly as possible, so you can better adapt to the post-apocalyptic world.”

Qin Ye：……？

What—what the heck? Qin Ye was stumped for a few seconds.

He’d originally planned to strike up a conversation while handing him the water, but after Lu Yao pulled that stunt, he was left dumbfounded, unsure how to continue the conversation.

Lu Yao gulped down the rest of the water in a few quick sips: “Let’s take a break. We’ll set off again in a bit.”

Qin Ye seized the opportunity to ask, “Hey, where are we headed?”

Lu Yao replied matter-of-factly, “Linchuan Shopping Mall.”

Qin Ye’s mind immediately raced: “Linchuan Shopping Mall! Just like you’d expect from a big shot! If you’re going to rob a place, go for the biggest one! If you’re hauling supplies, aim for the biggest one!”

Lu Yao didn’t hide the truth: “Oh no—I’m actually going to the underground parking garage at Linchuan Shopping Mall to find my manager.”

Qin Ye paused for a moment, then imagined a grand drama unfolding in his mind, his eyes welling up with tears: “In the apocalypse, Boss, you’re braving all kinds of hardships to save an old friend—that’s so martial arts-novel-esque…”

Lu Yao replied bluntly, “Not really. My manager is already dead—he’s a zombie now.”

Qin Ye was taken aback a second time: “So, Boss, are you going to give your old friend a proper burial? To let his soul rest in peace, in these turbulent times…”

Lu Yao answered honestly: “Not at all. I don’t want to go to work anymore. I’m going to hand in my resignation to my manager.” 

Wait, what does that mean? Are you serious? 

Qin Ye：？！？！

If this were a baseball game, Qin Ye would’ve already been struck out. 

Qin Ye suddenly began to wonder if his decision to resolutely follow the Big Shot had been the right one.