**Chapter 1: Night and Younger Sister**
The moment my phone alarm rang, my hand was already sliding up to stop it.
“…”
I had no sleepiness, so I sighed and sat up from bed, scratching my head.
The time is 3:30 AM. Although it’s summer, it’s not light out yet.
I deliberately set my alarm for this time, not to wake up, but for something else… I’ll talk about that later.
“…Brother?”
Although my bed is quite large, squeezing three people is still too much. Xinran and Keling are sleeping almost pressed against me. Because both younger sisters are hugging me, my movements can’t help but disturb them. Keling is fine, but Xinran is easily…
I gently touched her head and said in a low voice,
“Ah, it’s nothing, keep sleeping. It’s still early, I’m just going to get some water.”
“…Come back quickly…”
After coaxing Xinran back to sleep, I gently moved Keling’s arm aside, then carefully got out of bed. I picked up my glasses from the table and put them on. After covering them with a blanket again, I left the room.
After closing the door, I sighed again.
Actually, I wasn’t getting up to use the restroom; I hadn’t slept all night. Of course, the reason I couldn’t sleep wasn’t because of these two younger sisters. Although I was too excited to sleep when I first started sleeping with them, I’ve gotten used to it recently.
How should I put it? They are my younger sisters, after all. No matter how beautiful or cute they are, they are still my younger sisters.
I don’t know how to describe that feeling. Being hugged by Xinran and Keling is like being hugged by bolster pillows.
Besides softness, there’s warmth. It’s very comfortable, but once I got used to it, I didn’t have any special thoughts.
The real reason I couldn’t sleep was only one: I simply don’t need to sleep.
Yes, for me, a zombie, sleep is no longer a necessary physiological behavior. I can remain awake at any moment. If zombies needed to sleep, wouldn’t the protagonists in zombie movies just escape at night? It’s simply preposterous.
Without turning on the hallway lights, I walked down the stairs. Ordinary zombies have no vision, but awakened ones like Li Nai and I…
However, my eyes emit a faint glow at times like this, which would be terrible if noticed up close. But wearing glasses can conceal it and also hide my title, so it’s killing two birds with one stone.
Other than that, there are no other inconveniences… In reality, becoming a zombie is much more convenient than I imagined.
First, I don’t get bitten by mosquitoes and flies. Even microorganisms dare not approach my body, so my flesh doesn’t rot.
Second, my body is always in optimal condition. This is the Zombie Virus adjusting the ‘host,’ which is me. Eddie said this is a unique ‘competitiveness’ of the Zombie Virus. Only if I, the host, am strong can I compete for more…
Lastly, and the most amazing point, that’s right… I don’t need to sleep. Damn it, although it sounds convenient, I can’t be happy at all.
Sleeping is the most blissful thing in the world, period! Yet, this happiness was just stripped away…
I also don’t need to eat much (actually, I don’t need to eat at all, but that would be terrible). It’s very energy-efficient and low-consumption. Of course, I don’t need to use the toilet either (though I still need to urinate).
However, there are still two points to note. One is that I need to eat meat for every meal, but not as much as Li Nai. She has to eat that much every meal (I really don’t know where she expends all her energy). If my body starts to consume my own energy, meaning it starts to burn my own fat, the virus will spread to my brain and forcibly control my body to ‘eat meat.’
This is like when Li Nai lost her sanity last time, biting whoever she could catch.
Of course, I wouldn’t make such a low-level mistake like that idiot. Ever since I became a zombie, I’ve always carried beef jerky with me. And also…
Upon reaching the living room, I still didn’t turn on the lights and went straight to the water dispenser to pour a cup of hot water.
This is the medicine Li Nai mentioned earlier to prevent the spread of the Zombie Virus. I heard it’s not a particularly expensive drug and can be obtained from Eddie anytime if needed (since he researched and manufactured it). The price is about three yuan per pill. I decided to get a year’s supply.
By the way, if ordinary people take it, it only promotes digestion, so it can also be used as a stomach medicine (and it will gradually develop resistance to the zombie virus).
One pill is effective for about thirty hours, so basically, one pill a day is enough.
I set my alarm for this reason. It’s not an alarm to wake up, but to remind me to take my medicine.
Originally, there was no need to take it so frequently, but with the two younger sisters sleeping with me… what they might do is truly unpredictable.
They might suddenly kiss me. If I haven’t taken my medicine at that moment, it would be terrible.
So, I must not stop taking the medicine.
However, one very important point is that this medicine cannot be ‘over-consumed.’
If taken in excess, it will severely suppress the Zombie Virus. As a result, my body will become paralyzed, or even go into shock and fall unconscious.
Specifically, taking two pills will make my body unable to move, and taking three pills will cause me to lose consciousness. So, when Eddie gave me the medicine, he maliciously told me that if I ever wanted to sleep, taking three pills at once would let me ‘sleep’ for the whole day.
By the way, if I swallow more than ten pills in one go, the Zombie Virus in my body will enter a semi-permanent dormant state, which means it’s no different from being dead.
At that time, I would need the idiot Li Nai to use the zombie virus within her body to reactivate the zombie virus in my body… I hope that won’t happen again. I don’t want to drink that guy’s saliva again. I swallowed it.
After taking the pill, I drank the scalding hot water in one gulp. The feeling of the hot water flowing down my esophagus was particularly noticeable, but it wasn’t a burning sensation; it was a warm feeling.
After all, my body temperature is too… cold.
Actually, since it’s summer now, it’s not that cold, but compared to human body temperature, it can be said to be very cold.
This is the legendary ‘corpse chill’ phenomenon. Unless the room temperature is as high as forty degrees Celsius, my body temperature will cool down to a difference from the ambient temperature.
To prevent my family from discovering this defect, I always drink hot water in one gulp like this. It somewhat warms my body, and I also take hot baths.
In summer, I can manage, saying my body temperature is just naturally cool, but what about winter…
Should I ask Eddie to make a drug that raises body temperature?
But, hiding this is not… a solution.
“Should I… reveal it?”
“Reveal what?”
“Whoa, Xinran?”
Why are you so quiet when you walk! Ah, was I too focused on thinking? After becoming a zombie, my thinking ability seems to have deteriorated. I was never good at multitasking in the first place, and after becoming a zombie, I get distracted more easily.
“Brother?”
Ah, see, I got distracted again.
“Mhm, why did you come down too?”
“I came to get water too, Brother. Why didn’t you turn on the lights?”
“It’s not too dark.”
“…”
Xinran didn’t say anything else. She turned on the kitchen light and walked to the table, sitting on a chair.
I knew what she meant, so I took her cup from the table, poured some hot water into it, added a little brown sugar, and after the sugar dissolved, I added some cool water to make it warm before bringing it to her.
She held the cup of brown sugar water, took a few small sips, and after a moment of silence, she put down the cup and lowered her head.
What’s wrong? Is it still too hot? Although I’m not sensitive to temperature anymore, I shouldn’t be wrong…
“Xinran?”
I called her, but she didn’t answer.
I thought she must have fallen asleep groggily, so I walked over and shook Xinran’s shoulder, wanting her to go back to her room to sleep.
At that moment, she suddenly tilted her head back and leaned in to kiss me, aiming for my lips.
Fortunately, I used Thought Acceleration in time and quickly straightened up, so the kiss missed me.
“Seriously, I told you, don’t kiss me so suddenly.”
Xinran pretended not to hear and continued to hook her arms around my neck, forcibly kissing my cheek, then rubbing her nose against my neck and saying,
“Brother, your reflexes have become very agile lately. Have you been exercising?”
“Mhm? No, I’ve been home every day recently… What time do I have to exercise?”
“But you go out often on weekends.”
“That’s for a date with my girlfriend…”
Ah, darn it, this is making her unhappy.
Every time I go out with Lianbing, I have to coax my younger sisters and give them a heads-up.
Otherwise, they’ll get sulky or even pester me to come along… How could I let my younger sisters meet Lianbing?
And it’s not just Lianbing; there are often people who try to ruin dates, and Xue Qing is the most frequent one.
Lianbing’s reaction is also getting more intense. I remember when Xue Qing first interfered, she didn’t react much, but recently… she’s been incredibly jealous.
Xue Qing is considered good. After all, the three of us together are like a married couple with…
But Lan who occasionally comes to interfere… that’s truly being caught in a Shura Field, giving me stomach cramps.
Especially Lan Hua, who is a stalker and is particularly good at inserting herself at crucial moments. Like when Lianbing and I were naturally heading into an inn, she would appear at the front desk…
Then Lianbing would explode, her eyes extremely dangerous, wishing she could unleash her death domain on the spot and eliminate Lan Hua, the biggest obstacle.
So, the progress has been zero lately.
Yes, I’m still a virgin… Ah, I don’t feel regret, okay? Really, I don’t!
…
I don’t know how many times I’ve sighed today. I picked up Xinran and walked to the living room sofa. After putting her down, I said,
“Xinran, go back and sleep. It’s not even four o’clock yet.”
“Brother, aren’t you going back to sleep?”
“No, I’m not very sleepy. I plan to watch a movie for a while and then make breakfast.”
“Then I’ll accompany you.”
“Really? Then let’s play a fighting game.”
Knowing I couldn’t persuade Xinran, I chose a way to pass the time that kept both our hands busy.
If we watched a movie, Xinran might cling to me and do something out of line.
Especially if I get really absorbed in the movie, I won’t have a chance to react.
It’s best to avoid overly intimate behavior between siblings.
Just as I connected the controller and was about to adjust the volume to the lowest setting to start the battle, I heard a soft voice from the living room entrance.
“Uwuh, Bro… Xinran…”
Keling, dragging her blanket, came over rubbing her eyes, looking drowsy.
I walked over, picked her up, and said,
“Keling, why did you come down too?”
“Because… Brother and Sister left…”
Because no one was sleeping next to her, she felt uneasy, so she got up?
Keling was clearly not fully awake, in a daze between sleep and wakefulness. She leaned against me and was about to fall asleep again.
“If you want to sleep, go back to your room.”
I intended to escort her back to her room, but she grabbed my pajama shirt and shook her head, saying,
“No, I want to sleep hugging Brother…”
“…I can’t do anything with you.”
Even if I sent her back up, she would probably come down again.
I decided to take Keling to the sofa, turn off the sound completely, dim the screen brightness, and then made a shushing gesture to Xinran. She nodded in understanding. Xinran has always been a good older sister to her younger siblings.
Seeing Keling curled up with her eyes half-closed like a kitten, with her upper body leaning on me, I smiled helplessly, patted her head, and brought her a blanket.
…
She must be treating me like a cool pillow.
After playing games for a while, I found it boring and turned it off. Fighting games are just not the same without sound.
Xinran also leaned on my shoulder and closed her eyes. So, it’s the same as sleeping in the room… Lying down is more comfortable. Why are you two going through all this trouble?
Seriously, my younger sisters are more willful and stubborn than the other (bitter smile), just like me.
Although I won’t fall asleep, I still close my eyes and enjoy the quiet time with them.
It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps it would be nice to continue like this forever.
Perhaps this is what warmth feels like.
My heart isn’t beating, but it’s still warm.
