With Qin Ye joining the team, the operation took a full forty minutes longer than scheduled. For an operation of this scale, a one-hour deviation either way is actually quite normal. 

After all, Lu Yao couldn’t possibly have calculated every single detail.

Wind direction, sunlight, obstacles on the road, and the patterns of the zombies’ movements—he had to make quick judgments on all of them.

But Lu Yao still blamed Qin Ye for this, adamantly insisting that it was Qin Ye’s fault. Fighting his way through skillfully, he successfully reached the security booth.

The gate to the security booth was closed, and the glass window bore bloodstained handprints and cracks. The security guard inside had already turned into a zombie.

Two buttons on his uniform had popped open, the brim of his cap was askew, and his ID badge still dangled from his chest, swaying back and forth.

Lu Yao: “I’ll open the door, and then you’ll hack the security guard to death. Is that okay?” 

Qin Ye: “C-c-c-can I really do it?”

Lu Yao: “Great, just keep that feeling going.”

After receiving the praise, Qin Ye spoke a little more fluently: “Boss, do you think I can actually do it if I just play to my strengths?”

Lu Yao: “No. If you keep up this vibe, you’ll be able to pad each chapter with a few more words.”

Qin Ye：“……”

Thanks to Lu Yao’s encouragement, Qin Ye actually felt less nervous; his heart wasn’t pounding as loudly anymore, though his palms were just a little sweatier. 

In fact, Qin Ye was in pretty good physical shape—after all, he’d once dreamed of becoming a martial arts hero and had worked out regularly.

Not to mention that, in theory, an adult man in a fit of rage could take down a polar bear! A single sliding tackle from an adult man would make even a tiger get down on its knees and beg him to stop hitting it! 

It’s a shame, though—the man remained a boy until his death, but the young man made up for that…

Lu Yao gripped the doorknob and shook it twice.

A low growl came from the security zombie through the crack in the door.

“Come on, three, two, one!”

Lu Yao didn’t give Qin Ye a chance to think; he yanked the door open decisively.

Qin Ye gripped the baseball bat tightly, gathered all his strength, and brought it down with a swing. Bang, bang, bang, bang, hiss, hiss, hiss, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak…

It wasn’t until a few minutes later that he stopped, panting heavily.

Watching the scene, Lu Yao commented, “This reminds me of Major Lu beating up Zhen Guanxi.” 

It was Qin Ye’s first time beating up a zombie, and he was still a bit excited: “Boss, are you saying I turned that security guard into Zhen Guanxi?”

Lu Yao replied, “No, you turned him into Zhen Guanxi-style sliced meat—thinly sliced for a meat topping.”

Qin Ye：“…….”

Looking at the pool of the security guard’s remains, he suddenly felt a bit queasy.

Then he felt a little embarrassed: “B-Big Shot, how did I do?”

Lu Yao: “Just read my cues.”

Qin Ye: “Um, but Boss, you’re wearing a helmet, and there’s blood all over it…” 

Lu Yao: “Ah! Do you really have to be so dramatic! That blood and flesh splattered all over my face! That’s why I told you to read my cues—did you think I was cosplaying Ke Zhen’e? Can’t you just figure it out for yourself!”

Qin Ye: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” He quickly apologized and, in the process, rubbed the baseball bat against the doorframe, leaving it streaked with black and red.

Lu Yao shook his head, thinking that this was a good start after all. 

He stepped over a puddle left by the security guard and entered the security booth.

The security booth reeked of a strange, indescribable mix—sour, musty, and stifling… as if it had been soaked in time over and over again. 

There were dried tea stains on the windowsill, sunflower seed shells and cigarette ash on the table, and the calendar on the wall still read “Work Safety Month.” 

“Hurry up and open the window,” Lu Yao said, rummaging through the things in the guard booth. “Let some fresh, stale air in.” 

The window latch was rusted shut. Qin Ye gripped it with both hands and pulled upward—click. The window opened, and the spring breeze mingled with the stench of the post-apocalyptic world.

Lu Yao retrieved a duty logbook, two spare walkie-talkies, four access cards, a rubber baton, two disposable raincoats, a whistle, and a walkie-talkie charging dock.

“This thermos looks pretty good.” Lu Yao placed the unclaimed thermos he’d found in the security booth into Qin Ye’s bag, then thoughtfully gave Qin Ye a moment to step aside and vomit. 

Incidentally, Qin Ye had already thrown up three times on the way—this was the fourth time. “Hmph, but it’s just a measly security booth—watch me handle it with ease.”

After spouting a couple of mindless, cannon-fodder-style lines, Lu Yao felt the pressure finally lift. 

Logically, they could have kept going, but to be on the safe side, Lu Yao decided to call it a day. The sun was beginning to set, the temperature difference was becoming noticeable, and the wind carried a hint of the evening chill. “Boss, are we heading back to base?” Qin Ye asked longingly.

“Damn it, but we’ve got a few small things to take care of along the way,” Lu Yao said.

Qin Ye had almost gotten used to throwing up the whole way, and now he couldn’t wait to prove himself: “Boss, once we get down, feel free to give me any orders—I think I’ve adjusted now.” 

“That’s great.”

Lu Yao pulled a power bank out of his bag, swiped his finger across it, and all four battery bars lit up. He pulled out a short cable and plugged it into the bottom of the walkie-talkie. 

The sound flowed through it, and the indicator light flickered to life, as if a little animal had just woken up.

Qin Ye: “Wow, the Boss actually has a power bank!” Qin Ye’s imagination began to run wild.

Having a power bank meant the big shot had a stable power source—no, wait—his base had a generator! Didn’t that mean he could charge his phone? Then the evenings wouldn’t be so boring? 

The power bank supported fast charging, so the walkie-talkie would be ready to use in a minute.

Lu Yao was no stranger to walkie-talkies; after all, he’d played plenty of escape rooms.

He turned the channel knob twice, pressed the transmit button, cleared his throat, and said:

“To all colleagues and customers at Linchuan Shopping Mall, the deceased and the bereaved—and ‘bereaved’ seems to be the term used to describe widows whose husbands have passed away… Never mind, it doesn’t matter… Anyway, Happy Qingming Festival to everyone. Please stay safe, observe proper memorial practices, and do not burn joss paper in the fire exits. Thank you for your cooperation.” 

Qin Ye: “……” Huh?

Wh-what?

What on earth is the Big Shot doing?

The Big Shot is completing a mission.

【Holiday Greeting Status: Public announcement reached >3 people; Current Greetings: 5/5; Qingming Greeting Complete】

Upon hearing the Civilization System’s announcement, Lu Yao smiled smugly. Great, another small mission completed.

Lu Yao pulled out his phone and checked the time—4:00 p.m.

“Let’s go. Back to base. Hurry up.”

He had to hurry back; otherwise, by dusk, the zombies would gradually become more active. 

With an official ally on board, the journey back went much more smoothly. 

Lu Yao led the way, his footing steady.

Before rounding a corner, he’d pause half a step, peer through his scope, count his breaths, and slip through the narrow gap between the trash can and the bulletin board. Qin Ye followed close behind, tense and trembling, trying his best not to make too much noise.

He found that as long as he kept pace with the boss, his fear would gradually subside. They arrived at the entrance to the residential complex much sooner than expected.

A banner reading “No Outside Vehicles Allowed” was posted on the iron gate, and a corner of another banner—announcing that “A resident of this complex surnamed Huang had been defrauded of 1 million”—had been lifted by the wind, flapping against the railing with a slap-slap sound. 

“So you live here, boss?” Qin Ye said. “I used to deliver takeout to your complex.” 

“You’ve got quite the resume, huh,” Lu Yao replied, turning toward the recreation area.

The rubber flooring of the open space had been bleached white by the sun, and a basketball hoop stood there all alone. Qin Ye: “Hey, big shot, are you—what the heck is this thing?”

Lu Yao stopped in front of the swings in the children’s area. Lu Yao: “Today is the Qingming Festival.”

Qin Ye: “Oh, really?”

Lu Yao: “On the Qingming Festival, swinging on a swing is a traditional custom.”

Qin Ye: “Huh?”

Lu Yao pointed at the swings with a blank expression, his voice calm and unruffled: “So, get on. Let’s start swinging.” 

Qin Ye: “Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?”

“No, wait, why are we swinging… No, even though it’s Qingming, there’s no need to do this… Wait, wait, wait…”

Qin Ye felt like his brain was about to freeze up.

Lu Yao pushed Qin Ye over to the swing. Qin Ye took one look and nearly lost it: “What the! There’s still a… a…” 

“Oh, I almost forgot. I was swinging with it before I left.” 

Lu Yao pulled a kitchen knife from behind his back, tapped the zombie’s head with the back of the blade to make sure it was secure, then delivered a clean, decisive cut—and the zombie was done for. The blade flashed briefly in the setting sun before quickly fading back into the shadows.

He untied the corpse and dragged it to the side, fixing Qin Ye with an intense gaze. “Your turn.” 

Qin Ye: “……”

He didn’t know what expression to make.

His rational mind was saying: This is for the mission, to stay alive. 

His emotions were screaming: I can’t do this—I’m really going to lose my mind.

Qin Ye：……

Lu Yao looked at Qin Ye intently.

This was unavoidable; he couldn’t explain it either.

But since this friend had managed to stay alone in a convenience store for nearly two months and was still in good mental shape, it showed that his resilience was excellent.

He probably wouldn’t be driven to the brink by me… right?

Sure enough, after staring blankly for a moment, the other guy’s eyes suddenly went blank. 

“Okay, boss.” After saying that, he obediently sat down on the swing. Since Qin Ye was being so cooperative, Lu Yao softened his tone: “All right, then I’ll start pushing you. Make sure to hold on tight.”

Once, twice, three times.

Lu Yao pushed faster and faster.

He heard Qin Ye mumbling indistinctly:

“The swing is so high! Swinging is so much fun, hehehe, hehehehe…”

That’s great—he guessed Qin Ye got to experience the fun of swinging on a swing, too! That zombie was screaming really loudly earlier, too!

“All right,” Lu Yao said. “It’s my turn to sit on it. You push me.” 

Qin Ye nodded blankly and began pushing Lu Yao on the swing.

【Playing on the Swing with Someone (3/3) — Mission Complete】

【Congratulations, Host!】 

Congratulations to you too.

Lu Yao happily climbed down from the swing: “All right, let’s go home.”

Qin Ye replied blankly, “Okay.”

He followed Lu Yao like a zombie, going upstairs and through the door. He wasn’t the least bit curious about the Big Shot’s base anymore. All he wanted to do was sleep.