The Female Zombie Reincarnated as the Villain’s Stepmother

At the foot of a mountain not far from the official road, there stood a dilapidated temple. This area had long been deserted, but today, due to a sudden downpour, it unexpectedly welcomed several groups of visitors.

Summer rains typically come and go quickly.

After the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped, several men and women, clearly dressed as servants from wealthy households, hurriedly left the ruined temple.

The sun once again peeked out from behind the clouds, gradually climbing over the rooftop. Amidst the dense foliage, the incessant chirping of cicadas became increasingly irritating.

The scorching sun shone through the gaps in the roof into the dilapidated temple. A boy of about six or seven years old, with disheveled hair, a dirty face, and tattered clothes, was seen rummaging through the pouches and sleeves of a young woman lying beside him.

"How is it possible that this dead person, dressed so nicely, doesn't even have a single copper coin on her?" Lin You'an, not giving up, searched the corpse once more, ultimately resigning himself to his bad luck.

Looking at the woman on the ground who had just been strangled by those servants, he pressed his palms together in apology before reaching out to remove her silk outer garment.

"This clothing is of no use to you anymore, but for me, it could at least buy a couple of decent meals. At worst, I'll dig a hole and bury you later, considering it repayment for borrowing your clothes."

Just as those thin little claws reached into the collar, the woman on the ground, who had seemingly stopped breathing, suddenly opened her eyes.

"Are you molesting me?"

Perhaps due to an injured throat, her voice was raspy, making these few words sound eerily ghostly.

Even Lin You'an, who had already experienced strange occurrences, was so frightened that he yelped and leaped up!

"Ghost!"

Snatching up the tattered bundle on the ground, he bolted out of the ruined temple.

The afternoon sun hung high above the dilapidated temple, the heat waves still intense. When the sunlight touched one's skin, the scorching sensation could still be felt, quickly dispelling any lingering chill.

******

Chu Chi crouched by a small ditch behind the ruined temple, staring at her reflection in the water for a full ten minutes.

Unsure, she waved her hand at the beautiful person in the water again, and the reflection waved back. Suddenly, a bold guess surfaced in her mind.

Perhaps, probably, most likely, the reflection in the water was her?

Although her sluggish brain had been well-protected by herself, it had always been lazy. As a noble Zombie, Chu Chi was accustomed to her usual dull and foolish appearance. Suddenly finding herself in such a beautiful and intelligent shell left her feeling both flattered and somewhat disbelieving.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Chu Chi was a Zombie.

According to the information fed back by her limited brain capacity, she had been a Zombie for as long as she could remember, though she vaguely recalled being human before.

She firmly believed in this idea.

There were two specific pieces of evidence.

First, she was a clean, beautiful, and very noble Zombie who had transcended base instincts.

Since gaining consciousness, she had never been like those idiots outside who only knew how to growl and eat disgusting things. She usually only came out at night to hunt, targeting the shiny little spheres in the idiots' brains.

Crispy, chicken-flavored, and delicious!

Moreover, she was a neat freak who wouldn't allow herself to degenerate into someone as dirty and ugly as those fools. She bathed and changed clothes regularly. It could be said with certainty that no other Zombie was more hygienic than her!

Oh, and the second point.

Like humans, she had her own name. As for where this name came from? The Zombie couldn't remember. Of course, that wasn't important.

Chu Chi had once disguised herself as a human and stayed in those Survivor Bases for a couple of days. Through careful observation and comparison, she found that apart from being able to survive without eating, there was no fundamental difference between herself and them.

So, after three days and nights of contemplation, her usually inactive brain finally came to an accurate conclusion.

She, Chu Chi, was a very unique and noble Zombie!

She had lived in that dirty world for a long time, leading a carefree life of sleeping during the day and being active at night. So how did she suddenly end up in this place?

Sitting on the ground, Chu Chi cradled her head, trying hard to remember.

Well, it seemed that she had been killed in an explosion?

That night, the red moon rose as usual, and she went out to work on schedule. After hunting enough food, she was leisurely making her way home. Passing by a ruined factory, she saw three tall and strong men surrounding and attacking several human cubs.

Perhaps she was in a good mood? Or maybe it was the moon's fault? Anyway, she very foolishly wandered over and helped tear apart the tall, strong man who was choking one of the cubs.

Then, before she could put the cub she had rescued back on the ground, the entire factory exploded with a loud bang.

This was all Chu Chi could remember for now. She didn't know why these things had happened or why she had suddenly come to this place.

But, carefully touching her head with her hand.

She really liked this newly grown brain. Although the black and purple mark on her neck made her feel very painful and made it difficult to breathe, but...

Hm?

How do I suddenly know what pain feels like?

And wait, I'm a noble Zombie, why do I need to breathe?

Squatting on the ground and picking at her brain for a long time, her eyes following the black ants busily moving back and forth on the ground, she felt that her newly grown brain was starting to ache slightly from the strain.

Finally, she decisively gave up thinking.

Forget it!

All things that couldn't be understood shouldn't be pondered upon - this was the life principle she had slowly figured out over a long time. After all, thinking had never been a Zombie's forte.

Besides, this was a newly grown brain, it must be used sparingly!

So now, she should go to sleep.

Standing up nimbly and walking coordinately back to the ruined temple, she found that this new shell was indeed good in every way, and she must protect it well this time.

Maintaining her previous walking pace, she slowly ambled back to where she had woken up earlier.

She couldn't remember who had said it, but she recalled hearing that where one falls, one should lie down. Although she didn't quite understand, she somehow felt that this saying made sense.

So Chu Chi, with her mild obsessive-compulsive disorder, lay down properly, not even moving the position of her sprawled hands and feet, ensuring a perfect 1:1 recreation of the crime scene. Only then did she close her eyes again with a satisfied smile on her face.

When in doubt, take a nap first.

These words were her consistent principle of action.