These Dangerous Girls Placed Me Into Jeopardy-Chapter 33Vol 1. : She Smiled While Crying

“This place isn’t safe. We need to go now!”

“......”

But she didn’t even turn around. She kept walking, and I stumbled a few steps as she pulled me along. I yelled again.

“Hey! If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!”

I glanced back. The first zombie had already pulled half its body from the earth. I couldn’t even see its face yet, but the sheer dread it radiated was unmistakable.

These weren’t just dead bodies. They had no names anymore. But somehow, they’d come back—dragged themselves up from the underworld.

“Leave...? Why would I leave?”

“Because—!”

I couldn’t finish my sentence. Lillian’s face froze me in place.

She looked like an archaeologist discovering a long-lost city. That look in her eyes—pure, unfiltered euphoria.

“I’ve been researching for so long. Found so many signs. But I’d never actually seen it—until today.”

Her tone was oddly calm, but the trembling excitement was unmistakable.

“You really are my lucky charm, Ethan. Every time I’m with you, something miraculous happens. Hehehe~”

I was speechless.

I couldn’t understand her at all.

It was too twisted.

How could she still smile? Why was she happy? Wasn’t she afraid?

Didn’t she realize she could die?

“So these are zombies, huh...? Living corpses. I’ve finally seen them.”

One after another, the zombies clawed out from the soil, wailing in agony.

Their bodies were stitched together like patchwork dolls. Their skin was gray-white. Their eyes blank and pupil-less—pure white voids, lifeless and hollow.

This scale... it was insane.

Not a few—dozens. Maybe even a hundred.

Mass-produced zombies?!

Aren’t zombies supposed to take a century underground to form?

And this cemetery wasn’t even suited for zombie formation! The plants here are thriving, the soil is crawling with insects and bacteria. Corpses buried here should decay quickly!

So where the hell did these fresh ones come from?

Don’t ask why I know so much. Everyone has a cringey phase. Back in middle school, when I helped out here, I did all kinds of research on ghosts, zombies, skeletons... Thought maybe I’d run into something spooky.

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I gave up on that fantasy long ago.

But the moment I finally stopped chasing the supernatural, it came knocking.

Now’s the part where some insane old man hands me a sunflower and says it’ll help me survive. I’d trade my dignity for a pea shooter right now.

But of course, no such luck.

The zombies surrounded us, reaching stiffly toward us. They were slow—but there were too many.

“Uahhh...”

“Tch!”

Wait—why hasn’t anyone come to help?

This cemetery is right behind the funeral home. A zombie outbreak this big should’ve been noticed immediately.

Did everyone run away? Or—

“GRRRRAAAH!”

They’re attacking!

A zombie lunged at me. I ducked just in time, rolled, and scrambled over to Lillian, drenched in sweat.

“...Sorry, Ethan.”

“Huh?! What’s the point of apologizing now?! I told you to leave earlier! Now I’m stuck dying with you!”

I kicked a zombie grabbing at my arm and yelled.

“No need for that.”

“What—waaah!”

Just as I was about to ask what she meant, Lillian grabbed both my wrists.

Then—she swung me.

She swung me like a flail.

“AAAAAAHHHHH!”

The world spun. My shoulder almost dislocated. Where the hell did she get this strength?! That slim little frame—what the hell?!

“Thank you, Ethan. For showing me what love feels like.”

That was the last thing I heard.

She threw me.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

I flew through the air and crashed shoulder-first into the ground. Rolled. Slammed into a gravestone.

My whole body ached like I’d been hit by a truck.

But I didn’t care.

Lillian had thrown me out—risked herself to get me away from danger.

Wait... no. She’s a killer. A full-on serial killer. If she had the strength to throw me, she had the strength to escape too. Maybe she just thought I was in the way.

Yeah. That’s gotta be it. This is Lillian Ji we’re talking about. She’s about to go on a rampage. Cut her way out of there like a damn movie hero.

...Except she didn’t.

The zombies kept crowding in.

Her pink name tag disappeared beneath a sea of black ones.

I stood frozen, mouth open, staring at the chaos.

The only sounds were the moans of the undead... and the disgusting wet slurps of flesh being torn, chewed, swallowed.

A horrific image rose in my mind.

“No way...”

Run.

I should run.

Get the hell out of here.

Just go! Find help! I can’t do this alone!

I stumbled backward, trembling, making excuses, trying to justify my retreat.

Cowardice. Pure, gutless fear. I chose to save myself.

It was the logical choice. The smart one. The safe one...

But it wasn’t the choice I wanted to make.

“...Tch.”

Damn it.

“Damn it all!”

Why didn’t she run?

Why didn’t she resist?

Why...?

There’s only one answer.

Because Lillian Ji is a [Necrophiliac Killer].

She’s obsessed with corpses. And these zombies? Still corpses.

From the moment I saw that ecstatic look on her face—I should’ve known. She’d probably spent her whole life looking for zombies.

Living corpses were precious to her.

That’s why she didn’t fight back.

She can kill the living—but refuses to harm the dead?

God... what an idiot.

I don’t know why—but I laughed.

Just a bitter laugh. But it made me feel better.

I couldn’t run. Not like this.

I took a deep breath and steadied myself.

My legs stopped shaking. My body still hurt like hell, but adrenaline dulled it.

“Haaaa... AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!”

Screw it.

I’m an idiot too!

I must be out of my mind!

Charging into a zombie horde—for a girl trying to kill me?!

She’s a murderer! A necrophile! A psycho!

These zombies might even be her victims, back for revenge!

This whole mess is her fault!

I scrambled through the undead, hands and feet clawing through the dirt. One zombie tried to bite me—I rammed my head into its chin.

I lost a shoe somewhere. Used my jacket to wrap up another zombie’s face to stop it from biting me.

I looked pathetic.

But the zombies weren’t focused on me. I made it to the center.

Lillian was still alive—one arm wrapped around her wound, the other holding up a gravestone to fend them off.

“Lillian!”

She looked up and screamed, panic in her eyes.

“Why... why did you come back?!”

“Shut up!”

I shouted louder, eyes blazing.

I didn’t let her speak. I threw her over my shoulder.

No princess carry. One hand free—better for shoving zombies.

Now, the zombies all turned toward us. I could feel their intent—they wanted to devour us down to the bone.

They weren’t scary. Not at all. Not one bit!

Let’s give them a cute name. Yeah—call them Hoppers.

Right. Hoppers aren’t scary. They’re adorable. Everything can be moe!

“GRUAAAGH—!”

“Dammit! This is NOT moe! This is disgusting!”

One claw slashed my cheek. Blood poured out. Another bite tore into my arm—white-hot pain.

“Why didn’t you run?!”

“There are times when a man can run—and times when he can’t. This is the second kind!”

You can run from a woman trying to kill you.

But you can’t run when a woman’s about to be killed.

Whatever happened before—it didn’t matter now.

An eternal elementary schooler once said: you need a reason to kill someone. But to help someone? You don’t need a reason at all.

“This is the worst scenario ever!”

Zombies swarmed us. I couldn’t hold them off.

I wasn’t a protagonist. I tried to play hero—and now I’m dying for it.

I’m not cut out for this crap.

“I don’t wanna die here! I don’t have a dream, but I do have a wish! I want a chill job, a sweet wife, two kids—and to die peacefully holding her hand in old age!”

“That’s such a normie dream...”

“What’s wrong with that?!”

I am a normie! I told you—we’re from different worlds. We shouldn’t have gotten involved.

So why?! Why did all this happen?!

“Murderers! Demons! Zombies! Don’t show up in my life!”

And especially you—you freakin’ zombies! It’s daylight! At least pretend to be afraid of the sun! That’s your one job!

Wasn’t even a joke anymore—just desperate rambling.

“Ever since I met you, my life’s fallen apart! And it just keeps getting worse! What the hell is this?!”

Enough. I’ve had enough.

Letting it all out actually helped.

Now, if I died—I could die without regret.

“Put me down! Let me throw you out!”

Lillian was panicking again.

“Oh come on! You confessed to me, and now you’re ditching me?! Are you playing with my heart?!”

“I didn’t mean—!”

“Then what did you mean?! In a scene like this, the heroine should be saying, ‘Thank you for saving me!’ or ‘I’ll devote my life to you!’ Memorize that line!”

Tch. Damn it. If only I had a weapon...

My blood soaked my shirt. My vision blurred.

“Ethan... why did you save me?”

“Why?! Because I’m an idiot! You’ve been trying to kill me this whole time, and I still came back! That’s how stupid I am!”

I was shouting now—faster, louder than ever.

“I saved you because I’m a nice guy! A terrible nice guy!”

“You’re not the type to help others...”

Tch. She knows me too well.

“Fine! The real reason? You’re too damn pretty! It’d be a waste if you died!”

“Yeah... I could believe that.”

“Don’t flatter yourself!”

We joked, but the situation was dire.

What could I do...?

Then I saw it.

Under the giant cypress tree—someone sitting cross-legged.

...Wait. That’s not a person!

[Zombie (Awakened)]

[Simon Ko]

A zombie... with a name!

A memory surfaced—Lily Yang once joked:

—“If you can see true names, maybe you’re the Demon King!”

I never thought that joke would come back now.

A true name, huh...?

Would it work on a zombie...?

No choice. Worth a shot.

I took a deep breath—and shouted.

“SIMON KO!”

The zombie under the tree jolted and opened his eyes.

He had blue irises. No wounds. He looked completely human.

Heart racing, I gave the command.

“STOP THE OTHER ZOMBIES!”

He jumped forward—kicked the horde aside in one move.

Strong!

Was he their boss?

Talk about luck!

I ran—using every last ounce of strength.

Simon Ko blocked every zombie trying to stop us.

We reached the cemetery gate. As I stepped through, it felt like breaking through a thin membrane—like entering a different world.

I looked back.

Silence.

The zombies were gone. The soil was undisturbed. As if nothing ever happened.

I made it out alive!

“Haha... hahahah... ah—!”

Then came the pain.

My wounds screamed. Blood poured.

I collapsed.

“Ethan!”

“Ahh...”

So tired...

My head landed on something soft. A lap pillow?

“Thank you. For saving me.”

Of course. You’re my girlfriend...

“And I’ll devote my life to you.”

No thanks... I’m not marrying you...

Not unless you switch to Soft Lillian Mode and promise not to kill me...

“Ethan!”

Her voice shook me. I barely opened my eyes.

The last thing I saw—

Her body trembling. Teeth clenched on her lip. Eyes misted over. Tears clung to her lashes but didn’t fall—like they couldn’t bear to leave her pale cheeks.

I whispered.

“...Don’t cry, idiot.”

She froze—then forced a smile through tears.

It was hideous.

But maybe... it was the first real smile she’d ever shown.

As my eyes closed, everything faded.

“Sorry! Sorry! I’m late—!”

“You’re so late, Lyna!”

“Ahaha... I was out eating cheese ribs and lost track of time, sorry~”

“Ugh, making you the corpse herder was a mistake!”

“Not my fault! The city lord insisted! ...Wait, you’re hurt?!”

“Yeah, I’ll heal. Damn white ghouls got lucky.”

“What happened?”

“Two humans got into the barrier.”

“WHAT?! Were they normal?”

“One of them ordered me to be a shield. His spirit was absurd. Definitely not normal.”

“Yikes! A Taoist maybe? This is bad!”

“I got photos of them.”

“Lemme see... wait—what?!”

“What is it?”

“That’s Lillian Ji and... that forgettable guy!”

“You know them?”

“Yeah... but... how...”

“...We need to report this to the city lord. Be careful. Those two... they’re not ordinary.”

“...Yeah.”