Apocalypse Ground Ze Chapter 85: I Saw That In A Drama Once

Chapter 85: I Saw That In A Drama Once...

"Of course we got you some snacks," smiled Zhenlan, his shoulders softening as he pointed to the bags and boxes of supplies sat where they had been dropped. "We can empty them now and you can check them out."

It had been an invitation, a test, and a deciding factor for him... to see what the survivors would do. But no one moved.

Zhenlan looked at Rouxi, but she didn’t look up from her phone. And for a moment, nothing happened.

Then Rouxi lifted her hand.

It wasn’t a big motion. Just a small flick of her fingers, like she was brushing something away, but the survivors moved immediately.

They didn’t rush, or push each other. Instead, they simply stepped forward as if something had been released, each of them moving toward the supplies with quiet purpose.

Hands reached for bags, for boxes, for water. They lifted and carried, turning toward the kitchen, toward the pantry, toward the storage spaces they had already claimed.

No one spoke.

No one argued.

No one took more than they needed.

They just worked together like they had been doing it all their lives.

Yuche watched the shift happen in real time, his grip tightening slightly before loosening again. He didn’t interrupt. He didn’t ask. He just stepped back enough to give them space as they passed, each movement controlled, each step placed carefully.

Chenghai didn’t move at all.

Lingyun shifted once, his shoulders tightening before settling again.

Zhenlan’s attention stayed on Rouxi.

She dropped her hand back to her lap and went back to her phone.

That was it.

The room moved around her.

A man stepped out of the kitchen and went straight to Zhenlan, blocking his view of Rouxi. Zhenlan’s eyes turned hard for a moment before he recognized the guy.

Han Wei.

He wiped his hands on his Hawaiian shirt as he approached, his posture straight, his expression carefully held in place. When he saw that Zhenlan was looking at him, he dipped his head slightly, just enough to acknowledge him without lowering himself too far.

"You can have your room back," Han Wei said, his voice steady and not nearly as condescending as it once was.

Zhenlan didn’t answer immediately.

Han Wei’s eyes flicked briefly to the other men before returning to Zhenlan. A tight smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, not quite reaching his eyes. "All of you can," he added. "There aren’t as many of us anymore. We don’t need the space. Besides, it was yours in the first place..."

Chenghai’s jaw shifted.

Lingyun went still.

Yuche didn’t react at all.

Zhenlan studied him for a second longer before giving a small nod.

Han Wei returned it and stepped back, turning away without waiting for anything more. He moved past them, slipping back into the flow of the house as if he had never stepped out of it.

The supplies disappeared piece by piece.

Food moved into the kitchen. Water was stacked neatly against the wall. Cans were sorted. Packages were placed in order. Nothing was wasted. Nothing was taken by sticky fingers.

Everything was placed exactly where it belonged.

By the time the last bag was cleared, the space near the entrance was empty again.

Clean.

Like nothing had ever been there.

The smell of food drifted in from the kitchen as one of the women stepped out a few minutes later, carrying a tray full of food. She set it down on the table without calling anyone over, without announcing anything. Plates followed. Bowls. Utensils placed with quiet precision.

It wasn’t too much, but it wasn’t too little either.

Just the perfect amount to ensure that no one would go hungry. The survivors gathered around the table slowly, but they didn’t reach for it.

Rouxi cleared her throat, and suddenly, they took their portions and stepped away, eating where they stood or moving back into their own spaces. No one lingered. No one spoke loudly. No one reached for more.

It felt... settled.

Chenghai noticed it first.

The way the noise stayed low. The way movement stayed controlled. The way everything happened without needing to be said.

Lingyun noticed it next.

The way no one crossed into someone else’s space without adjusting first. The way eyes flicked toward the couch before any decision was made.

Yuche didn’t look at the survivors.

He looked at Rouxi.

She hadn’t moved.

The throw blanket had appeared at some point, draped over her legs, tucked loosely around her as she settled deeper into the couch. Her phone stayed in her hand. The television played softly in the background, the sound turned low enough that it didn’t compete with anything else in the room.

She reached into a bag at her side and pulled out a snack.

Unwrapped it and took a bite like nothing had changed. Zhenlan let out a long sigh and sank down on the couch beside Rouxi, picking up her feet and placing them on his lap before he adjusted the throw blanket around her.

Rouxi looked up, her brows furrowed as she cocked her head to the side. Yuche watched as Zhenlan’s muscles slowly relaxed as Rouxi didn’t bother to kick him off the couch.

Instead, she actually started a conversation. "So," she said, her voice light, almost idle. "How did it go?" Her eyes moved over them all, taking in the dirt they hadn’t bothered to wash off, the blood, the exhaustion. "You managed to get a lot of supplies. That’s impressive."

The men didn’t answer right away.

Chenghai glanced at Lingyun but Lingyun didn’t look back.

Yuche shifted his weight slightly, his attention fixed on Rouxi, watching her in a way he hadn’t before.

Zhenlan stayed where he was, his gaze steady.

"The zombies are different at night," Lingyun said finally, breaking the silence. "They’re faster." He paused. "Stronger. Smarter?"

Rouxi hummed softly, and once again, Yuche had the feeling she knew a lot more than she was telling.

Instead of demanding answers, Yuche simply smiled. But it didn’t reach his eyes. "I can shoot bullets from my fingers," he said, a slight smirk on his face. "That was pretty cool."

The words came out easy, almost amused, but his gaze didn’t shift. He watched Rouxi steadily, measuring her reaction in a way that had nothing to do with humor.

Rouxi’s lips curved slightly, mirror his own motions. "Ooh," she replied, her tone brightening just the right amount. She tilted her head, giving him a look that was almost innocent. "I think I saw something like that in a drama once."

She shifted, pulling her phone up as she scrolled through something.

"Maybe when the zombies came, we all got powers? That seems to be a reoccurring theme in zombie apocalypses. I wonder who got reborn?!? Was it you? That would be so..." she paused for a moment, giving Yuche her full attention. "Cool."

He held her gaze, never once backing down. "I think so. Do your dramas give names for them?"

Rouxi nodded her head, still scrolling through one of her apps. "It’s nice to know that all the time you bitched at me for being on my phone watching dramas it finally paid off," she said, looking at Zhenlan. "And you said it wouldn’t."

Zhenlan hummed, just like she had before. "So, Miss Drama Expert. Are you going to tell us or keep us all in suspense?"

"You got metal powers," Rouxi replied, turning her head to look at Yuche. She tapped her screen and turned it slightly so that everyone could see it before she pressed play.

"See?"