When the zombie outbreak hit, my parents left to scout a new safe zone, leaving my boyfriend, Kevin, and my best friend behind to keep me company. "Don't worry, Chloe. Once we confirm the new base is safe, we'll come right back for you." "We won't abandon you. It's too dangerous outside, sweetie. Stop being so stubborn." My struggles were futile. I could only watch helplessly as they walked out the door. My food supply had run out long ago, yet my parents still hadn't returned. Even my boyfriend and best friend had vanished without a trace. No one answered the walkie-talkie. Perhaps my parents had already fallen prey to the zombie hordes. Tortured by starvation and utter despair, I slit my wrists. After death, my soul ascended. Only to see Kevin right next door, making out passionately with my best friend. They were surrounded by food, much of it tossed aside after only a few bites. ... "Are you really not going to bring Chloe any food? What if she starves to death?" My best friend lay in my boyfriend Kevin's arms, her voice laced with the lazy satisfaction of someone who had just eaten her fill. Kevin sneered, his tone dripping with contempt: "Let her starve a little longer. Once her attitude improves, I'll consider tossing her some scraps." "If her parents weren't billionaires before all this, and didn't have access to an apocalypse bunker now, you think I'd look twice at her?" My best friend giggled: "Thank god those two old fools trust you so much now. They treat you like Chloe's lifeline. They do whatever you say." Hearing my best friend's words, Kevin's expression softened, a calculating look in his eyes: "But they still haven't given me administrative access to the base." "Do you think Chloe said something to them?" "Impossible. They won't answer her walkie-talkie calls." Kevin spoke with absolute certainty, surprising even my best friend: "They actually listen to you that much?" Hearing that my parents were still alive, tears involuntarily streamed down my face. When I couldn't reach them on the walkie-talkie earlier, I thought they had already... Thank God. Thank God. Just then, Kevin's walkie-talkie crackled to life. "How is Chloe doing?" It was my dad's voice on the other end. Faced with my dad's inquiry, lies rolled off Kevin's tongue effortlessly: "She's doing great. Just still throwing a tantrum, refusing to answer the walkie-talkie. I'm coaxing her right now." Hearing Kevin say this, my dad snorted coldly on the other end: "She's always been so immature. It was the right call not to bring her to the new base this time. She needs to starve a bit, teach her a lesson." "Anyway, with you protecting her, Kevin, we are completely at ease." So that was it. My parents intentionally left me behind. But what they probably never imagined was that the Kevin they trusted so much wasn't protecting me at all. Instead, he was hooking up with my best friend, completely indifferent to whether I lived or died. And now he was sitting here lying to them. My parents were even making promises to Kevin: "Don't worry. We see how much you care for Chloe. Once she learns her lesson and grows up a bit, I'll hand over all administrative access of the new base to you two." Saying this, my parents couldn't see the malicious excitement in Kevin's eyes. He thought that by controlling me, he was controlling my parents' weak spot. But what he didn't know was that I was already dead. In this apocalyptic world, who knows how many people, like me, had starved to death. Yet here they were, wasting food like this. Instinctively, I reached out to grab a discarded piece of food and bring it to my mouth. But alas, I had forgotten again. I was already dead. Yet, that piercing hunger hadn't faded with death. Watching the food I couldn't have being wasted by him made my eyes bloodshot with rage. "Guess it's time to give Chloe a little taste of something sweet." Kevin looked at the mess on the floor, his eyes lighting up. He lifted his foot to step on the food and called my best friend over to join him. "Babe, go grab a broom and sweep up this trash." I looked at the food on the floor they were calling "trash." Even covered in dust and shoe prints, I couldn't help but swallow hard. I was so hungry. My best friend got tired of stomping on it. She sat on the sofa, looking at Kevin in confusion, asking him why he was collecting this trash: "Is this trash still useful?" Kevin smiled, but the words that came out of his mouth disgusted me: "We're full, but Chloe hasn't eaten yet. Didn't her parents tell me to protect her well? I can't let the living key to this base starve to death." Hearing his words, my best friend got excited. She bounced off the sofa to grab the broom. As she swept up the trash, she asked Kevin eagerly: "Do you really think Chloe will eat this? She's a rich girl. Before all this, she wouldn't even touch a meal that cost less than a thousand dollars." My best friend had swept the trash into a pile. Just as she was about to scoop it into a garbage bag, Kevin stopped her. Her face fell. "Hold on. Mr. Hayes has been so good to me... We obviously have to add a little something extra for Chloe." With that, he spat a mouthful of saliva right into the pile of trash. My best friend immediately broke into a radiant smile, looking at Kevin teasingly: "You really are so good to Chloe." "Of course. As long as I have her in my hands, I don't have to worry about her parents not listening to me." I watched this pair of adulterers scoop the "food" they were going to give me into a garbage bag. I followed Kevin next door, to the front of the apartment where my body lay. Kevin knocked on the door, his voice gentle and full of fake affection: "Babe, I brought back some food. It's a little dirty, but given the circumstances, please don't be picky." No one answered from inside. Seeing no movement behind the door, Kevin's demeanor grew impatient, though his voice remained gentle. "Open the door, babe. Don't starve yourself just to spite me. It breaks my heart." Watching Kevin's hypocritical performance, I sneered inwardly. I wonder if he'll still be able to keep up the act when he opens the door and sees my corpse. Seeing no reaction from inside, Kevin seemed to lose his patience. "Stop being so stubborn, Chloe. If you don't come out now, I'm leaving." Seeing that I still ignored him, his temper flared. He cursed under his breath, turned around, and dialed my dad on the walkie-talkie. "Mr. Hayes, please talk some sense into Chloe. She won't eat the food I brought her, and she's locked herself in her room out of spite." "It's my fault I'm useless, but this is already the best stuff I can find right now..." My father implicitly believed my boyfriend's words and immediately started scolding loudly: "Why are you being so unreasonable? It's one thing to be a little spoiled usually, but do you not realize this isn't the time for your temper tantrums?" "Kevin is just too good to you. That's why you dare to act so entitled." Hearing my dad lecture me, Kevin looked completely in agreement, but his tone remained anxious: "Mr. Hayes, please don't be too hard on Chloe. I do all of this for her willingly. I'm just worried about her health right now." "Hmph! Kevin, ignore her. Let her fend for herself." "Chloe, let me tell you, this is the only thing you're getting to eat. If you don't eat it, you can just starve yourself to death!" Hearing my father's words, a chill ran down my spine. Did he really believe Kevin's words that easily? Kevin said I was being unreasonable, so I became the unreasonable one. Did he forget what kind of person I originally was? But Dad, you don't even understand your own daughter. Tears welled up in my eyes. The injustice and frustration in my heart weighed so heavily on me I couldn't breathe. "Chloe isn't the type to throw a tantrum without considering the situation. Did something happen?" My mom's worried voice came through the phone. The hidden protectiveness in her words warmed my heart. The tears I had just managed to hold back instantly burst forth. "Mom, Kevin is lying to you! He killed me!" I screamed hoarsely. Tears flowed into my mouth, tasteless. They couldn't hear my voice either. "How can you still say that! It's because you always spoil her. A doting mother breeds a ruined child!" The sound of my mother crying softly came from the walkie-talkie. It felt like someone was squeezing my heart hard. After a long while, my mom seemed to have made up her mind and said: "Leave the food at the door and let her think about it. She's only allowed in my base if she eats it. If she still won't come out... When we get there, I'll discipline her myself." After saying that, my mom hung up the walkie-talkie. My boyfriend, with a smirk on his face, said: "Chloe, is it that you don't want to see me? Are you still blaming us for not taking you with us?" "Now that your mom and dad are both angry, are you really going to refuse to eat? If you starve yourself to death, imagine how heartbroken they'd be." With that, Kevin dropped the bag on the floor. The "food" inside spilled out. He looked at the mess at the door and smiled with satisfaction. Humming a tune, he went back next door. Seeing Kevin return, my best friend couldn't wait to ask: "How did it go? Did she eat it?" Kevin shook his head and said: "Didn't even open the door. Let's see how long she can play tough." Seeing Kevin's expression, my best friend relaxed. "A person has to go 14 days without food to starve to death. It's only the 7th day. She can still hold out for another 7 days." "Another 7 days? She has to bow her head and submit to me today. Her parents are coming back." "Perfect timing. While she's half-dead and under my control, I can use her to get the base access." Kevin was still here scheming about the base, but what he didn't know was that I, the tool he planned to use to manipulate my parents, had already been starved to death by him. If my parents knew I was already dead, would they regret choosing to trust Kevin? Early the next morning, while Kevin and my best friend were still in bed, they were woken up by the walkie-talkie ringing: "Kevin, we're downstairs." My boyfriend was so startled by my father's words that he shoved my best friend away. Putting on his clothes, he responded: "Mr. Hayes, how did you get back so fast? It's so dangerous, why didn't you wait for me to pick you up?" "I couldn't wait any longer. Besides, everything is sorted out at the base. Chloe is being so unreasonable, I'm here to stand up for you." Kevin quickly went downstairs and eagerly followed my parents to my door. My parents even held my best friend's hand and said: "Good girl. Thanks for taking care of Chloe these past few days. When we get to the base, we'll make it up to you." The four of them walked together, a picture of harmony. Completely unaware that I, on the other side of the door, had long since begun to rot. When they all saw the pile of garbage on the floor outside my door—the so-called "food" brought for me. My dad frowned first, his face instantly turning cold. My mother's face was also full of shock. Kevin's eyes darted around. Just as he opened his mouth to explain: "Mr. Hayes, this..." My dad started pounding on the door directly: "Chloe, get out here and eat this off the floor right now!" "Do you know how precious food is right now? How dare you waste it like this!" My mother, who had originally been on my side, also pursed her lips, her face full of disapproval: "I was still defending you in front of your father. Your father is right, you've just been spoiled rotten!" I looked at my parents, who were accusing me without distinguishing right from wrong, and Kevin and my best friend, who were secretly rejoicing on the sidelines. My eyes were bloodshot. I bit my lip so hard it bled. It turns out that even in soul form, you can feel pain. "Chloe, let me tell you, if you don't clean up this food you wasted today, I no longer have you as a daughter!" My parents continued to pound on the door. At this point, Kevin spoke up to explain for me: "This probably wasn't Chloe's doing. Even though she can be reckless when she throws a tantrum, she wouldn't go so far as to..." My father grew even angrier upon hearing his words and shouted sternly: "Don't speak up for her! Do you think I don't know how she behaves? It's just the few of us here. Are you saying I'm trying to frame her?" My mother chimed in, her brow furrowed tightly: "Kevin, we know you're a good kid, but with her temper, if she doesn't learn a lesson now, she'll end up getting someone killed sooner or later..." My mother's heart-aching attitude toward my boyfriend felt like a knife plunging into my heart. I didn't want to care about anything anymore. I sat on the floor, crying my heart out. Who is your real child anyway? Was all the doting on me all these years fake? Have I always been an annoying person in your eyes? Now that I'm dead, you can finally breathe a sigh of relief, right? "Chloe, are you going to keep being stubborn?" The inside of the door remained silent, and it would never make a sound again. "Fine! Don't even think about having a good life in my base from now on!" "Don't worry, Kevin. When we get back, I'll put you in charge of the base. I want you to grind down her temper hard. Don't worry about her mother and me." "Get the key and open the door. Since talking nicely doesn't work, then we beat her!" My mother took out the key to unlock the door, still trying to persuade me: "Chloe, you're being too unreasonable. Come out, eat this, and get on your knees and apologize to your dad..." The door opened a crack. My mother's words caught in her throat. The scene inside broke her heart, her voice trembling: "Chloe..." "Chloe!" My mother stared into the room in disbelief, then shouted my name again loudly. The room was dead silent. No one responded to her call. "Getting more and more ill-mannered! Your mother is calling you, are you deaf?!" My father, separated by the door, couldn't see inside, but not hearing my voice, he instinctively scolded. Kevin also spoke up, seemingly defending me, but his words only added fuel to the fire. "Mr. Hayes, please don't be hard on Chloe. You guys didn't take her with you to find the base; it's normal for her to be upset. We just need to coax her a bit more." My father, exactly as Kevin hoped, grew even angrier: "Taking her along would just be dead weight. Is she trying to get us all killed?" "Stop talking!" My mother's tear-filled voice echoed through the entire hallway. "Chloe, she's..." My mother choked halfway through her sentence, clamping her hand tightly over her mouth. "I told you not to interrupt when I'm disciplining my child. One more word and I'll throw you out to feed the zombies. You're all rebelling against me!" "Kevin, go drag her out. And no food for her either. It seems she's not hungry at all. We're heading straight back to the base." "Let's see how I teach you a lesson!" A flash of excitement crossed Kevin's eyes, but he quickly hid it, stammering: "Mr. Hayes, this..." "Listen to me, go quickly!" Kevin didn't say anything more. He stepped toward the door, pulled it open with one hand, and was frozen in place by the scene before him. He turned his head mechanically, looking at my sobbing mother next to him, and asked in a breathy whisper: "Chloe, she's..." Dissatisfied with my boyfriend's dawdling, my father urged him: "Hurry up! Drag her in front of me even if you have to. It's even more dangerous when it gets dark. What a troublemaker." My boyfriend still didn't move. "Chloe is dead!" My mother roared this sentence through her tears and then fainted. Hearing the news of my death, my father frowned, looking completely incredulous: "There are no zombies in the room, how could she be dead? Stop acting. The more you protect her, the heavier I'll punish her!" My best friend seemed to smell the stench of rot at this point and covered her nose: "Mr. Hayes, I think Chloe really is dead..." My father sneered and stepped toward my door. "You two are joining them in this act to fool me..." My father pushed past Kevin, who was standing at the door, and immediately saw me lying in the center of a pool of blood. A flash of panic crossed his face. He rushed a few steps into the room anxiously, but quickly regained his composure. "Trying to fool me with such a cheap trick." He walked slowly toward my corpse, scolding as he went: "Do you know how many people have starved to death? And you dare to waste ketchup like this." He stopped in front of me and snorted coldly: "Get up yourself. Don't make me drag you up. Save yourself some dignity." I lay motionless on the floor. "Chloe, you really don't know how to appreciate a favor." He grabbed my wrist and hoisted me up. He grabbed the hand I had used to slit my wrist. As he squeezed the wound, blood flowed out again. Looking at the fresh blood staining his hand, my father's expression changed drastically. With the hand stained by my blood, he tremblingly reached out to check my breathing. Finding none, his posture collapsed. As if unwilling to give up, he reached out with a shaking hand to feel for my carotid artery. "Mr. Hayes... didn't you smell the scent of blood in the room?" Seeing my father fall to his knees after hearing Kevin's words, I smiled. Do you believe it now? The dead weight you spoke of, your willful daughter, is truly dead. Watching the expressions on the four of them, I felt a deep sense of sorrow. Kevin and my best friend looked guilty, their eyes darting around, not daring to look at my corpse on the floor at all. My father wore a stricken expression, kneeling silently beside my body. My mother was still unconscious. I don't know if she fainted from the shock of seeing my corpse or for some other reason. It's just as well. If I hadn't died, I definitely would have had to eat that garbage tainted with my boyfriend's spit. Even if I didn't eat it, I would have had my head forced down to kneel and apologize. Thinking of this, I felt a sense of relief. At least in death, I wouldn't be humiliated. My dignity wouldn't be trampled on casually. "Chloe, wake up. Dad is taking you home." My father recovered from his shock and gently shook my body, trying to wake me. I watched this scene with indifference, unable to muster any emotional response. My tears had dried up long ago. Now, I was left with nothing but hatred. Hatred for my boyfriend's hypocrisy. Hatred for my best friend's betrayal. Hatred for my parents easily believing Kevin, not even bothering to answer my walkie-talkie. "Mr. Hayes, Chloe is already dead!" My best friend couldn't stand watching anymore. She reached out to help my father up but was forcefully shoved away. "Our Chloe is just sleeping." "Mr. Hayes, I'm also heartbroken that Chloe died, but we have to stay strong and live on for her sake." Kevin's face was filled with sorrow, his eyes rimmed with red. He looked as if he was fighting back tears; his acting was phenomenal. "I think she wouldn't want us to live in pain because of her." After he said that, tears finally rolled down his cheeks. Seeing my father unresponsive to his words, Kevin spoke up as if making a difficult decision: "Don't worry, Mr. Hayes. Even though Chloe is dead, I'm still your son-in-law. Once we return to the base, I'll take care of you two for her." I was disgusted by my boyfriend's words. It's a pity I had an empty stomach, otherwise I really would have thrown up all over his face. "Yes. I'm taking you back to our base, Chloe. It's huge, safe, and has lots of good food. I even designed a princess room especially for you. You'll definitely love it." As my father finished speaking and prepared to lift my body horizontally, my boyfriend stopped him. "Chloe smells so strongly of blood. If we carry her out like this, what if we attract the zombies?" My father hesitated upon hearing Kevin's words and slowly lowered my body back to the floor. "You're right." Kevin and my father spoke simultaneously. "Then we'll leave Chloe..." "Then put Chloe in your pocket dimension and take her with us!" Before Kevin could finish, he was silenced by my father's impending look of fury. "You actually wanted to leave Chloe here all alone?" "No, that's not what I meant. Mr. Hayes, you misunderstood." My dad eyed him suspiciously, then finally said: "Then store Chloe in your dimension." "Mr. Hayes, it's not that I don't want to. It's mainly because space in my dimension is limited. A whole person..." "Try it. If it doesn't work, we'll think of something else." Kevin's protests were futile. To ensure smooth entry into the base, he had no choice but to compromise. He closed his eyes and touched my body with his hand. My body vanished instantly. My boyfriend opened his eyes, discovering that he had indeed stored me in his dimension, and breathed a sigh of relief: "Mr. Hayes, Chloe is resting in my dimension. Let's go." I don't know when my mother woke up. She saw a walkie-talkie not far away, its recording function still running... My mother picked up the walkie-talkie and heard my final words: "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry. The feeling of starving to death is too unbearable. Kevin and my best friend left together and vanished. I suspect they've betrayed me. And I don't know if you two are dead or alive. I have no reason left to live..." My parents listened to the recording, looking suspiciously at Kevin and my best friend. My boyfriend's face turned pale, and he hurriedly explained: "She... she's Chloe's best friend. I just thought I'd look out for her a bit more. Chloe must have misunderstood..." My father raised a hand, cutting off Kevin's words, and strode toward the apartment next door. "Mr. Hayes, I..." My father ignored my best friend's words as well. He shoved her aside as she tried to block him and walked straight into the house. Kevin chased after my father, shooting a glare at my best friend as he passed her. "Kevin, care to explain why the food we told you to bring for Chloe is in here, and why every single package is torn open with only a few bites taken?" My father clenched his fists, glaring sharply at Kevin. I knew this was the prelude to his fury. "Well, she said she had been starving for days. I thought Chloe couldn't finish it all by herself, so I shared a little with her." "Do you take me for a fool, Kevin?!" My father swung a punch at Kevin's face, sending him stumbling backward. "I trusted you so much, and you completely deceived me. You never gave the food to Chloe." "That's not true, Mr. Hayes! I called out to Chloe to come eat, but she ignored me. I figured I had to wait for her to cool off before she'd open the door. Right! Didn't I call you on the walkie-talkie? You know about that." Hearing my boyfriend's words, my father's eyes practically shot fire. He kicked my boyfriend to the ground: "So you never even saw Chloe after that?" Panic flashed across Kevin's face as he clung to my father's pant leg: "It's my fault Chloe is dead. If I had pushed harder for her to open the door that day, maybe I could have stopped her before she did something reckless." "I'm useless. I couldn't predict the future. Beat me to death, Mr. Hayes! Let me go keep Chloe company." Seeing Kevin crying, snot and tears streaming down his face, my father looked utterly lost: "Chloe called me on the walkie-talkie." Kevin's crying stopped instantly. His face went deadly pale, and the hand gripping my father's pant leg slowly went limp. "I listened to you. I didn't answer, and I wouldn't let her mother answer either." My father looked with crushing disappointment at Kevin's face, which was now filled with sudden panic, and his heart finally died completely. "When I picked Chloe up just now, she was as light as a piece of paper. There was nothing left but skin and bones." "She must have been starving so badly, that's why she called us on the walkie-talkie." "I actually believed you when you said she'd act entitled and throw a tantrum because she saw someone supporting her." "Not seeing us for so long, and unable to get through on the walkie-talkie, she must have thought we were dead. Chloe has always valued her relationships so much..." Tears streamed down my father's face. As he finished speaking, he was struck down by his own conjecture. His body lost all strength, and he collapsed to the floor. Hearing my father's words, my mother rushed over, sobbing sorrowfully. She weakly pounded my father's chest with her hands: "Chloe knew the roads were dangerous. Even if she was terrified being left home alone, she never called us on the walkie-talkie." "She must have been in a desperate situation to call us, yet you listened to an outsider! You refused to answer and wouldn't let me answer either." "You killed my daughter!" My best friend also followed them inside. She grabbed my mother's hands, hugged her, and tried to comfort her: "Ma'am, Mr. Hayes meant well too. In the apocalypse, it's survival of the fittest. Chloe wasn't mentally strong enough. Going to heaven early to enjoy peace is a good thing." "Don't worry. Now that Chloe is gone, I will treat you and Mr. Hayes like my own biological parents." My best friend's hypocritical act snapped my mother out of her grief for her lost daughter. She viciously shoved my best friend away, raised her hand, and slapped her fake, twisted face. "How dare you say that? Did you and Kevin, you two ungrateful wolves, team up to drive my daughter to her death?" My best friend looked embarrassed and guiltily averted her eyes. "I'm going to kill you to avenge my Chloe!" "Enough! Chloe committed suicide; it has nothing to do with them. We're returning to the base." As soon as my mother spoke of revenge, my heart tightened. I turned to observe my boyfriend's expression and, sure enough, I saw the murderous intent in his eyes. My father's words made him relax. He suppressed the murderous intent, a flicker of suspicion passing through his eyes. "George, do you even have a heart? They killed your daughter!" My father looked at my mother's hysterical state with deep disgust: "She's right. Chloe wasn't suited for surviving in the apocalypse. Going to heaven early to enjoy peace is for the best." With that, he picked up my unconscious mother and walked away without another word. Seeing my father's reaction, Kevin also dismissed his suspicions and moved to follow him. My best friend hurriedly followed, asking anxiously: "Are we really going with them? Out here, they can't do anything to us, but once inside the base, they call the shots. Her mother explicitly said she wants to kill us." My boyfriend smirked disdainfully and reassured my best friend: "Don't worry. Women are just emotional. Luckily, her dad knows how to weigh the pros and cons. I'm a person with abilities. His daughter is dead and can't be brought back to life; he might as well use his guilt to bind me to them." "Besides, their daughter is still in my hands right now. If they dare try anything with me, I'll make sure Chloe doesn't even leave a corpse behind." Hearing my boyfriend's words, my best friend relaxed, her steps becoming lighter.
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