General Sun stared at me for several long seconds after I finished speaking, like he genuinely couldn’t decide whether I was naïve, stupid, or simply disconnected from reality.

Honestly, people made that face around me a lot since I had been reborn. I was getting used to it.

"You are standing inside a secured military zone," he said finally, his tone flattening slightly. "The convoy outside this estate is currently protecting every civilian within this subdivision."

Ah. There was the threat I was waiting for... the ’we are protecting you because we are being nice,’ and not realizing that I was not dumb enough to think that they were protecting me. They were protecting themselves, and I was just in the middle of it.

They were more than welcome to take down the defenses and deal with the zombies that would come.

I wasn’t the one scared of the zombies.

Behind me, Chenghai took another sip of coffee while his arm stayed comfortably around my waist. But I could feel just how entertained he was with everything.

"You mean the convoy currently parked outside my gate because it couldn’t get where it actually wanted to go?" I asked curiously, blinking widely at the man in front of me.

The one who incorrectly thought he was in control.

Lingyun made a choking sound somewhere behind us while Wei Guang closed his eyes briefly like he already knew this conversation was heading somewhere painful.

General Sun’s expression cooled slightly. "The military encountered complications during transport."

"Mm," I hummed, nodding my head sagely.

The older man’s jaw tightened just enough for me to notice.

Apparently "complications" was military code for "everything went to hell."

"The convoy still possesses enough operational strength to stabilize this area," he continued evenly. "Without military intervention, this subdivision would already have fallen."

Honestly, that sounded like someone who had no idea about the real world.

The zombies around Rongdu were getting weirder by the day and these people were still acting like barricades and uniforms mattered more than power.

It was honestly cute.

I tilted my head slightly. "And yet you’re still outside my house instead of inside Rongdu."

There was nothing but silence for a moment and I noticed that one of the soldiers near the gate suddenly became extremely interested in the ground.

Wei Guang looked like he wanted this conversation over before his General accidentally challenged someone inside my house to a fight they couldn’t win.

And Lingyun was barely holding back a laugh.

"The scientists require stable working conditions," General Sun continued after a moment, clearly deciding to redirect the conversation before it became embarrassing for everyone involved. "Secure utilities, controlled environments, reliable infrastructure—"

"Then it sounds like they should have prepared better before the apocalypse."

"The apocalypse was not predictable."

I stared at him for a second.

Then another.

"I think that we can all agree that humans were falling long before that point. At some point, humanity really should have started expecting the weird. Even if it wasn’t a zombie apocalypse, it would have been something else."

Lingyun burst out laughing again while Chenghai’s chest vibrated lightly behind me.

Laughing. At me. Friggin’ traitors.

General Sun ignored all of us with the kind of discipline that probably came from decades of pretending politicians were intelligent. "The research teams under my protection are among the most valuable minds remaining in the country."

"So you’ve said. A lot. I don’t see why that means they can have my house."

The General’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Their work may determine the future survival of our species."

"The future of our species keeps trying to move into my house," I pointed out, getting more and more frustrated.

Apparently that wasn’t the correct answer either.

"I really don’t understand how you cannot see your role in all this," said the General, and I could feel the frustration pouring off him in waves. "Every person needs to do their part to make sure that things go back to the way they were. Why can you not understand that?"

"Why?" I asked, letting out a long sigh. "Why do I have to do anything? I am no one. I’m not a fighter, I’m not a politician or a scientist. So tell me, General, why do I have to do anything but just survive?"

The General looked at me blankly like he never expected me to say something like that. Instead of arguing with me, because he would lose, he switched gears. "We are attempting to preserve critical national assets," General Sun replied, clearly reaching the end of his patience with us.

"And I’m attempting to preserve my couch," I sneered. "We all have our priorities."

That one finally made Wei Guang choke slightly. Apparently the good Colonel wasn’t nearly as emotionally constipated as the General.

"The military is offering protection, stability, and continued security," General Sun said firmly. "Cooperation would be the intelligent decision. We don’t have to let you have your house, let alone stay behind our walls."

Translation:

Do what I say before I stop asking nicely and throw you to the zombies.

Honestly, men in uniforms really loved pretending threats became polite just because they used calmer voices.

Before I could answer, Wei Guang stepped in smoothly. "General," he interrupted carefully, "I don’t think escalating this helps anyone."

Sun Jian looked at him sharply but Wei just ignored it.

"The scientists don’t require the entire estate," he continued, his attention shifting toward me instead. "They need workspace, utilities, and secure rooms for equipment storage. Most personnel will remain outside or distributed through the neighboring homes."

I hummed. Clearly this man didn’t understand English because I thought I had made myself perfectly clear. No one was coming into my house.

Period.

End of story.

"We also have portable satellite uplinks with the convoy," he added after noticing that he was losing me. "Private connection lines too. Stable internet, secure networks, streaming access, and significantly better speeds than anything currently available in Rongdu."

Behind me, Chenghai sighed quietly into his coffee. The asshole already knew where this was heading.

"We have cooks with the convoy too," Wei continued. "Real cooks. The scientists become difficult if they’re fed badly, so the kitchen staff are actually decent."

Lingyun snorted loudly. "Imagine surviving the apocalypse only to die because your chef quit."

"We lost two researchers over soup."

The porch went silent.

"...You’re joking," Lingyun said finally.

Wei looked completely serious. "The replacement cook over-salted the stock. One of the neurologists threw a chair."

I stared at him for a second before looking up at Chenghai. "You know what? Maybe the zombies deserve this one."

Chenghai finally laughed out loud behind me.

"We also have cleaning crews, engineering support, fuel access, refrigeration units, hot water priority, medical staff, and supply teams," Wei continued smoothly while General Sun looked increasingly horrified by whatever this negotiation had turned into. "Once the outer roads stabilize, organized shopping runs can also be arranged."

I blinked once.

Shopping.

Did I want to go shopping?

Yeah, a supply run sounded significantly more appealing than military speeches about humanity.

"Spit it out. No roundabout speeches. We are talking terms and conditions to be allowed access to my house," I said with a sigh and a shake of my head.

Wei nodded his head like he understood exactly what I wanted.

"Fine. Terms and conditions. You let out scientist use part of your house while we get our convey fixed and have the time to take out the zombies that blocked our road to the city, I can promise better internet, streaming services, protection from any zombies and restaurant quality food that you don’t have to supply or cook. I can even have your house cleaned for you from top to bottom every other day so you don’t have to life a finger."

I hummed for a moment before spinning around and going back into the house.

Wei looked between Chenghai and Zhenlan and then to my retreating back. "Was that a yes?" he asked and I couldn’t hold back the smirk on my face.

"You had her at streaming apps," replied Zhenlan with a sigh before he followed me into the house.

"Next time... tell her you’ll bring snacks," grunted Lingyun as he, too, went inside. That left just the two military men and Chenghai outside.

"Just remember that bribes only go so far with her," I heard Chenghai say, and I couldn’t help but agree.