After the World Mutated, the Government Came Knocking

Ge Mingxi, an unemployed young shut-in who never leaves home.

The farthest she walked each day was from her bed to the door to collect takeout. One day, no one on the entire internet could get takeout. She lay hungry all day, then opened her phone and saw the news:

What? The world has mutated? Order has collapsed, and takeout is no longer being delivered?

Forced to shuffle outside in her huge slippers to find food, she saw several people with faces as gray as limestone wandering below her apartment. Thinking she was still groggy from sleep, she walked right past them.

The people suddenly chased her like rabid dogs, baring their teeth and trying to bite her.

Ge Mingxi screamed in terror, running so fast she lost a slipper. When they caught up, she flailed her arms like she was swatting giant spiders crawling over her. Then she looked again and, well, their heads had fallen off.

Their heads... had fallen off.

Ge Mingxi: I must be dreaming.

Dazed and unsteady, she set off to turn herself in at the police station. On the way, she passed a long, bustling line and thought she might as well find out what it was for. Maybe she could get some free eggs.

The young woman at the desk scanned Ge Mingxi's arm with a device and said, "Registered ability: 'Strongwoman.'"

Ge Mingxi: ??

Wasn't she a frail young woman who couldn't carry a thing, couldn't lift a thing, and was too lazy even to walk?

She went to the police station to confess that she'd accidentally knocked a few people's heads off. The police exchanged glances and stared at her in surprise. One of them patted her shoulder and said, "Go home, kid."

Many shops on the street were closed. Ge Mingxi searched for ages before finding something to eat. The next day, a well-dressed and imposing-looking team knocked on the door of her apartment.

"Ms. Ge Mingxi, please join us and help save the world!"

Ge Mingxi: ...?

"Is it a government job? Is this employment? Has a job really come knocking at my door?"

-

After starting her new job, Ge Mingxi, who had been single her whole life, noticed a handsome coworker in her department.

He looked exactly like her type. She could barely keep from making a move. But from what she could tell, he didn't seem like a man. They said men couldn't have money, good looks, and loyalty all at once.

But this coworker was rich, handsome, and unexpectedly bashful when teased. When she said she wanted to pursue him, he acted like nobody else wanted him and she was the only one for him.

Strange. Very strange.

On one mission together, with severed zombie limbs strewn everywhere, Shi Ren seemed to be in a great mood. He half-embraced her and asked, "Darling, may I kiss you?"

Ge Mingxi pushed Shi Ren's cheek, pretending to resist.

"Smooch."

Shi Ren's head fell to the ground.

Ge Mingxi: ...?

She hurriedly bent down to pick it up. Oh no, what had she done?!!

Shi Ren's headless body calmly took the head from her hands and set it back on his neck. "Thank you, darling. I'm fine."

Ge Mingxi: ...

You're fine, but I'm not.

It turned out Shi Ren wasn't just not a man. He wasn't even human.

Shi Ren tilted his head and placed both hands around Ge Mingxi's neck. "Darling, you won't turn me in, will you?"

Ge Mingxi calmly rolled up her sleeves. "It's not certain who'd win in a fight."

Shi Ren: "...Domestic violence is wrong."

Theme: None for now