The baby vine lifted its head from around my shoulders and hissed softly toward the soldiers.

None of the guys interrupted... the only thing that changed was the smiles on their faces. Those got bigger. Even Yuche’s.

Wei Guang forced himself to exhale slowly before speaking again. "You were outside the perimeter for hours. Standard protocol requires—"

"Your protocols stopped mattering the moment when corpses started eating people," I interrupted flatly.

"That doesn’t mean we abandon structure."

"No," I agreed casually. "But it does mean I’m not stripping on command because you suddenly remembered you have authority."

Lingyun made a suspicious choking sound behind me that sounded dangerously close to laughter.

Wei ignored him with visible effort. "Miss Shen—"

"We’ve gotten to this point," I sneered. "I think you can call me Rouxi."

His eye twitched slightly as he corrected himself stiffly. "Rouxi, then. If one of you was infected and was hiding symptoms, it could put everyone here at risk."

I stared at him for a second. He made me walk away from food because he thought that one of us had what? Gotten bitten by a zombie and was about to turn into one? This man really needed to get out more.

Maybe get bitten himself so he could get some first hand experience.

"If one of us was infected," I replied calmly as I leaned against Zhenlan’s side. He shifted just enough to be able to take my weight without saying a single word. "you’d already be dead."

The room went still and I could see Wei Guang trying to process my words. Was I threatening him? Was I being dramatic?

I could see it all pass through his eyes as they continued to stare at me. At least his gaze hadn’t once dropped below my neck. That was one of the only things keeping him alive at the moment.

He continued to study me silently while I stood there trying very hard not to look at the food waiting behind him.

Threat first.

Food second.

That was how people survived in a world that was constantly trying to kill you.

"You’re very calm for someone who supposedly spent the day hiding under counters while the others fought," Wei said eventually.

I blinked, not sure exactly what he was talking about. But when I felt Zhenlan stiffen under me like he was worried about something, I didn’t question it. "I have excellent survival instincts," I replied with a shrug. "Just because I was letting the guys do the heavy lifting didn’t mean I wasn’t calm."

Wei looked at the four men behind me again, and I could practically see the moment he realized something had changed. None of them were standing like guards anymore.

They were standing like a wall between him and me.

Finally, he let out a slow breath. "Fine. No quarantine tonight."

Good choice.

"But this conversation isn’t over."

"It rarely is when you keep talking."

Lingyun actually laughed this time.

Wei’s eye twitched again.

If my stomach wasn’t trying to eat a hole in my back, this might have actually been fun. But as it was. I was done.

The soldiers started backing toward the door after that, clearly more interested in leaving than continuing whatever this had become. Wei lingered for another second before his eyes moved around the room one final time.

The food.

The drinks.

The men.

Me standing barefoot in the middle of the living room half dressed and irritated.

Then his gaze flicked toward the baby vine.

"...I still hate that thing," he muttered.

The vine showed him its teeth.

"Don’t worry," I replied with a shrug. "It hates you too."

The second the front door closed behind the soldiers, I spun around, sprinted to the couch like my life depended on it, grabbed the sandwich off the table and took a bite so large my jaw hurt.

Oh my god.

Bacon.

Real bacon.

Not fake bacon bits.

Not turkey bacon.

Not weird apocalypse bacon made out of some person’s stomach fat.

Actual bacon.

I let out a low groan as I practically inhaled the rest of the sandwich in four bites while reaching for the chips at the same time. The second I finished chewing, I grabbed the coffee and drank nearly half of it in one go before immediately opening one of the water bottles.

Honestly, I might have been dying.

That battle had wrung me out far worse than I wanted to admit.

The room had gone completely silent behind me but I ignored them.

Mostly because I was too busy stuffing chips into my mouth fast enough that I nearly choked when Lingyun suddenly spoke.

"...Holy shit."

I pointed a chip at him. "No judging."

"That was terrifying," Chenghai muttered.

I frowned at him around another bite of food. "You watched me fight a Butcher."

"Yeah," Lingyun replied slowly. "And somehow this is still scarier."

Rude much.

Yuche walked over first, grabbing the empty sandwich plate from beside me before glancing down at the bowl of chips that was already almost half gone. "How hungry are you?"

"Yes."

The guys exchanged looks. But these ones were the amused looks of earlier. I could feel their concern radiating off them.

And I didn’t like that.

I didn’t like the pity I saw in their eyes.

They didn’t understand.

But they would.

"I’m fine," I informed them while reaching for the orange juice next. "My body just needs calories." But even as I said that, I forced myself to slow down.

"That was not a normal amount of exhaustion," Zhenlan said quietly.

I shrugged. "That’s because collapsing highways is surprisingly hard work."

Lingyun stared at me for a second. "You collapsed like six city blocks."

"And?"

"And normal people can’t do that."

"Normal people also don’t fight giant laughing zombies." I opened the energy drink next. "Yet here we are."

Chenghai rubbed one hand over his face before turning toward the kitchen. "Sit down."

"I am sitting down."

"You’re inhaling food like someone is about to steal it from you."

I paused.

Then slowly lowered the bag of chips.

"...That’s rude."

"It also wasn’t a denial," Yuche pointed out.

Traitor.

Chenghai disappeared into the kitchen before I could argue further, and less than thirty seconds later I heard cupboards opening followed by the unmistakable sound of pans getting pulled out.

Huh.

Meanwhile, Lingyun vanished upstairs only to reappear a minute later carrying enough snacks to survive a small war. Cookies, crackers, gummy candy, chocolate bars, instant noodles, and two bags of popcorn somehow ended up piled around me like a junk food shrine.

Yuche was worse.

He disappeared into the pantry and came back with protein bars, dried fruit, peanuts, jerky, and three more bottles of water.

I blinked at the growing pile surrounding me. "Where the hell is all this food coming from?"

Zhenlan shrugged lightly from where he was still leaning against the wall. "Payment from the military for putting up with the scientists."

I froze.

Then slowly lowered the cookie I had just grabbed.

The room went quiet again as they watched my every move.

"Nope," I said flatly, immediately putting the cookie back down.

Lingyun stared at me. "What do you mean nope?"

"That’s your food."

"Yes," Yuche replied slowly. "Which means it’s also your food."

I shook my head immediately and shoved the bowl of chips away from me despite the violent protest coming from my stomach. "No."

Chenghai walked back into the room carrying a pan full of something that smelled suspiciously amazing. "Rouxi."

"No," I repeated, my voice colder this time. "You don’t give up your food for anyone. Do you understand me?"

The guys stared at me silently.

I could feel my stomach twisting hard enough to hurt now, but I ignored it.

Food wasn’t a joke. They needed to understand that.

"Rouxi—" Zhenlan started carefully.

"Food is the only thing between life and death," I cut him off sharply. "You don’t give anyone that type of power over you."

The words came out harsher than I intended, but I didn’t take them back.

In my last life, people killed each other over half a loaf of bread.

Parents sold their children for bags of rice.

Entire groups starved because someone stronger decided they didn’t deserve to eat.

Food was survival.

Food was power.

And these idiots had just handed theirs over to me without hesitation like it didn’t matter.

Chenghai set the pan down slowly before crouching in front of the couch. "Rouxi," he said quietly, "look at me."

I didn’t want to.

Unfortunately for me, he waited until I finally did.

"We aren’t starving," he said calmly. "The military is feeding us enough to support a small army because they want to keep the scientists comfortable."

"That can change in a heartbeat."

"Then we’ll deal with it if it does."

"That’s stupid."

Lingyun snorted. "Probably."

"But," Yuche added as he sat down beside me, "we also aren’t going to sit here and watch you pass out again because you’re too stubborn to eat."

I opened my mouth.

Then closed it again when my stomach growled loud enough that Lingyun actually burst out laughing.

Traitors.

All of them.

Chenghai pushed the pan slightly closer toward me. "Eat, Rouxi. We’ll do a better inventory tomorrow. For right now, eat as much as you can."