I opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling.

It looked the exact same and for some reason, that annoyed me. If I had to be burned from the inside out, then I almost wanted everything around me to reflect the same battle I just went through.

Instead, all I could see was a pristine white ceiling.

Wait.... was that a speck of blood?

Okay. That was much more acceptable.

The heat that had both destroyed me and rebuilt me was gone and the pressure behind my eyes had stopped completely.

My arms didn’t shake when I shifted my weight and my legs didn’t tremble when I tried to sit up. At least Chenghai wasn’t lying by my feet again.

My breathing stayed even, and I was almost myself again.

Satisfied that I would live, I looked around the living room, trying to find Chenghai, Zhenlan, Lingyun and Yuche. I honestly needed to know if they survived the rain, too.

The moment I turned my head, all four of them were already looking at me from different positions around the room.

Chenghai stood near the window with his posture relaxed but ready, like he’d been waiting to see if I was going to wake up alive or a zombie.

Zhenlan sat in the chair with his attention fixed and steady, his eyes tracking my movements without making it obvious.

Yuche leaned against the wall by the stairs with his arms crossed, his expression neutral but watchful.

And Lingyun was closest to the sectional, standing near enough that he could have reached out if I’d needed steadying.

They had been waiting for me to open my eyes. I could see it in the way they were positioned, in the way they didn’t move or speak when I sat up.

They had chosen to stay here instead of going upstairs or leaving the room entirely, and that choice was visible in their body language even if none of them said it out loud. I let out a silent breath.

This was the second time they chose me, whether they knew it or not.

"That’s the last time I’m going out to play in muddy puddles," Lingyun announced. His voice was rough but steady, and he didn’t bother hiding the irritation in it. "Next time you get a bright idea, I’m voting no."

"I didn’t take a vote," I reminded him. My voice came out flat and dismissive, but not even I could suppress the smirk on my face.

"You’re going to," he shot back without missing a beat even as I shook my head.

"Consider this a benevolent dictatorship... with me as the dictator," I replied without missing a beat. I stood up and Lingyun reached for my arm automatically, steadying me without thought.

I didn’t pull away because there was no reason to and because his grip was comforting after the fever. It reminded me that, in this life, I wasn’t alone.

Chenghai stepped forward as soon as I was upright, his eyes already moving past the moment and toward the next practical concern.

"You need to eat," he said, his eyes narrowing into slits as he looked at me. "You haven’t touched food in almost 36 hours."

I raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the window. The rain was gone like it had never been there, and the sun was bright and cheery outside.

Ugh.

Turning my head, I looked toward the stairs.

Voices carried from above, too loud and too comfortable to be anything short of nails on a chalkboard.

I shook my head before I even formed the thought. "They’ll insist on sharing," I sneered. I might have gotten soft with the guys and Commander Li, but that did not extend to Meilan.

I would rather set all my supplies on fire than use even a crumb of it for Jiang Meilan.

"They can insist all they want," Lingyun muttered, shifting his hand so that it was no longer on my arm but on the small of my back. "Doesn’t mean we have to agree."

Zhenlan didn’t comment but his gaze shifted toward the upstairs briefly before returning to me.

Yuche didn’t move at all, but given the fact that he didn’t disagree, I was working under the assumption that he knew I was right.

I turned toward the basement door without responding to any of them, knowing they would follow without needing confirmation.

They did, their footsteps quiet and controlled behind me as I moved through the room and pulled the door open.

It closed behind us with a sense of satisfaction, and I waited until all the men had gone in front of me before I took a single box of MREs from my space and putting it into the ’hidden’ storage room.

The vine hummed through my veins, and I could tell that it wanted something a bit more ’filling’ than MRE.

"Soon enough," I whispered to it. Now that the sun was up, the zombies were going to come soon. Those humans who survive the rain got an upgrade... but so did the zombies. The next fight was going to be a bitch.

I walked over to the hidden supply room and opened the door. Yuche was looming behind me, his gaze staring into the room.

"Where did it all go?" he asked, his voice whisper soft in my ear. "Last time there was enough food to last us five years. Now, there is only a single box of military rations. Where did it all go, Shen Rouxi?"

I looked up at him, our lips so close that if I swayed just a fraction of an inch, I would be kissing him. "They are special supplies," I purred, my voice just as soft as his. I wasn’t backing down, and neither was he. "They get scared when too many people know about them and go hide."

"Our supplies hide?" asked Lingyun, a grin on his face even as he rubbed the tip of his tongue on his back teeth. "I didn’t realize that those types of supplies were real."

"Let me guess," continued Yuche, not moving even as Lingyun came up on my other side. "You saw them on a drama and had to get them?"

I shook my head slowly, my eyes sparkling with happiness. This interaction was actually... fun. "Anime," I purred. "I got it from an anime."

Lingyun barked out a laugh as he grabbed the box and brought it into the rest of the room.

Yuche on the other hand let out a gust of air that tickled on the back of my neck. "Who knew that anime was so educational."

I hummed in agreement, slipped around him, and went to where the kettle was resting on the wet bar. I wasn’t hungry, but I was thirsty. A tea would be nice right about now.

The men took the packages without question, already tearing into the packaging as they settled into their usual positions around the room.

Chenghai ate fast, not bothering to slow down or savor anything. Lingyun made a face at the contents but ate anyway, his movements controlled despite the obvious distaste. Zhenlan checked his package briefly before eating in measured, deliberate bites. And Yuche didn’t comment or react, he just ate with the same steady focus he applied to everything else.

I leaned back against the counter while the water warmed, watching them move through the meal without hesitation or complaint.

"So," I said after a moment. My voice was even and controlled. If zombies were going to come, and I would bet all my supplies that they were already on their way, I needed the guys able to actually fight. "How are you feeling?"

Lingyun snorted. "Like I got run over twice and told to walk it off."

"You’re upright," Chenghai said without looking up from his food. "That’s enough."

"I was upright before," Lingyun shot back. "Now I’m just annoyed about it."

Zhenlan set his chopsticks down briefly, his gaze shifting as he considered the question with more seriousness than it probably deserved.

"Better," he said finally. That was all he offered and it was enough.

Yuche didn’t answer because he didn’t need to. I knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t admit to feeling like shit or good. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He was able to needle me, which meant that he was better than normal.

Lucky me.

The kettle clicked and I stepped forward to pour the water, my hands steady as I moved through the motion of making myself a hot milk tea.

Just as I was about to bring the cup to my lips, footsteps sounded above us, heavier than before and moving faster than anyone had the right to move in my house.

They didn’t slow at the top of the stairs and they didn’t pause before the voice carried down through the closed door.

"Massive horde," Commander Li called out. His voice was controlled but urgent, the kind of tone that meant he’d already assessed the situation and decided it required immediate attention. "At least two to three hundred."

Sometimes, I really hated being right.