Chapter 151: Unexpected Intruder, Unexpected Guest

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Fortunately, we made it back to the base in time.

And as soon as we gave Chae-yoon unnie the vaccine, her nausea quickly disappeared.

It meant she was finally freed from zombification.

“Lulu, thank you…! Even though I’m the unnie, I ended up making you go through so much…”

“Not at all. And honestly, Nyangtamon suffered way more than I did, you know?”

“Really? I’ll have to thank Nyangtamon properly later.”

“Yes! I’m sure they’d be happy to hear that.”

• Nyangta really went through it too, fr
• Lowkey got choked up when they tried to save Lilith instead of themselves
• Was shook when Lulu-chan stabbed Nyangta with the vaccine
• Lulu-chan’s last-minute call to save both was legendary lol

Ah, no.

Honestly, I just acted on impulse.

It wasn’t like I had a solid plan—more like a half-gamble.

Still, it was a relief that there was one more vaccine zombie left.

Otherwise, I don’t know about Nyangtamon, but Chae-yoon unnie might’ve really been beyond saving.

Hehe, well, everything worked out fine in the end, so it’s all good.

“I’ll go check on Nyangtamon for a bit. They’re resting in their room since they’ve got a lot of injuries.”

“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll stop by later too.”

With that, I left unnie’s room and stepped into the hallway.

The zombification was thankfully cured, but Nyangtamon had lost a lot of blood and was in rough shape, so I wanted to see them.

＊＊＊＊＊

Though their whole body was wrapped in bandages, Nyangtamon seemed to be doing alright.

Jia unnie, being a doctor, had made all sorts of medicine for her, and thanks to that, she was recovering quickly.

Left alone with Nyangtamon, we ended up chatting.

If you’re wondering why it was just the two of us, it’s because, quite literally, we were the only ones left at home.

In Project Zomboid, depending on the server, utilities like water and electricity can shut off after a while.

This server had its water cut off, so there was no running water at home right now.

Because of that, CEO Kang and the other four had gone to a nearby lake to fetch water.

Chae-yoon unnie had tagged along too, saying she wanted to repay everyone for letting her rest all this time while also getting some rehab in.

Naturally, that left just the two of us at the base.

“Wow, so you’re Canadian, Nyangtamon?”

“Yep. I was born in Korea, but I moved to Canada when I was around five.”

• Acts like a beast but speaks perfect English and is also smart
• Pretty sure they graduated from a pretty prestigious uni lol
• Lulu-chan is impressed by this unexpected side of them
• Still a total idiot most of the time fr lol

I didn’t know much about Nyangtamon beyond her being CEO Kang’s close friend, but talking to her revealed so many interesting things.

First, she wasn’t Korean but Canadian—though she was currently staying in Korea due to personal circumstances.

She also had an older brother and sister, making her the youngest.

There were a lot of unexpected sides to her.

“But your Korean is really good… Did you use it often in Canada?”

“Ah, both my parents are Korean, so we always spoke Korean at home. English was just for outside.”

“I see… That’s kinda fascinating.”

It’s a bit different from Jia unnie’s case.

Jia unnie is mixed because her dad is Irish, but she was born and raised entirely in Korea.

Though she did live in Ireland for a while due to her dad’s work, which is why she’s fluent in English.

In a way, it’s the opposite of Nyangtamon’s situation.

“Come to think of it, I’ve watched a few of your streams, Lulu. Your English is amazing—did you study abroad or something?”

“Ah, no. I just picked it up from watching foreign VTubers a lot.”

“Seriously? Wow, it’s hard to sound that natural self-taught. I saw you collabing with Verdia—you even use local expressions like a native.”

• Even locals acknowledge Lulu-chan’s English skills
• Kyaa!!
• Could’ve sworn she studied abroad or something
• I went to college there, and Lulu-chan really does sound like a local

Oh, really? That’s wild.

I just worked hard to learn it for subtitles on my videos—I never expected to get praised like this.

Ehehe…

Still, it’s proof of my effort, so I guess I’m a little happy.

“If I ever go back to Canada, you should visit sometime. I’ll show you some great food spots.”

“Huh? Really?”

The offer reminded me of something Linne-chan had said before, so I reacted with surprise.

Nyangtamon didn’t seem like the type to say things like that lightly.

“Why would I lie about this? I’m not some punk like Ha-neul, you know.”

“punk?”

“Yeah, a punk. The kind of jerk who forgets their best friend’s birthday and doesn’t even apologize.”

• LMAOOOOOOOO
• You’re still holding onto that?
• CEO Kang is gonna go all out for Nyangta’s bday this year
• Probably gonna drag them to an omakase fr

Ah, right. That happened.

I think I heard about it before—how the CEO forgot Nyangtamon’s birthday and got an earful later.

“Hehe, well, I’ll make sure to celebrate it this year.”

“Huh? You’re gonna celebrate my birthday? Why?”

• Flustered lol
• “Why celebrate it?” She’s genuinely confused lol
• Tbf, it is kinda flustering

Huh? Is it?

You don’t really need a big reason to celebrate someone’s birthday.

I just wanna do it because it’s a special day!

Plus, we’re comrades who’ve been through life and death together!

Celebrating a birthday is totally fine for that kind of relationship!

We’re that close now!

“Well, the more people celebrating you, the happier you’ll be, right? Since the CEO missed it last year, this year we’ll celebrate twice as hard!”

“Wow, Lulu. You really know how to sweet-talk. No wonder Ha-neul likes you so much.”

Huh? Did I say something nice?

I thought I was just speaking normally.

But if it came across that way, then…

“Ehehe… Maybe it’s because Nyangtamon is so lovely that the words just come out sweet.”

“Whoa… Damn. Are you flirting with me right now? ‘Cause if you keep this up, I won’t hold back. I’ll just push you down on this bed and have my way with you.”

“Wh—?!”

• ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
• Nyangta can’t handle Lulu-chan’s flirting either lol
• NYANGTA! YOU’RE FALLING FOR LULU-CHAN’S FLIRTING TOO!
• This mischievous Axolotl makes even girls’ hearts race
• Go for it! Go all in!
• Even in a zombie apocalypse, yuri blooms…

F-Flirting?! I wasn’t doing that!

I just said what was on my mind!

This is so unfairrrrr!

Of course, since Project Zomboid doesn’t support that kind of system, Nyangtamon didn’t actually pounce on me.

Even if it did, it wouldn’t have happened… probably.

Anyway, as we kept talking, the mood between us grew more comfortable.

So I decided to bring up something that had crossed my mind earlier.

“Um… Nyangtamon?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you… speak casually to me too? Like you did earlier…”

“…Oh, that was just a slip-up. You’d prefer casual speech?”

“Yes!”

Maybe because they’re CEO Kang’s close friend, but getting formal speech from Nyangtamon felt oddly awkward.

Sure, the CEO sometimes has to use formal speech with me during streams, but in a relaxed setting like this, I’d much prefer casual talk.

“Sure, why not? Then you can just call me Nyangta unnie.”

“Hehe, okay. Nice to meet you, Nyangta unnie.”

“…Geez, almost got a nosebleed. You’re such a menace.

“Huh?”

D-Did I hear that wrong?

I swear I just heard something weird.

[‘DingDingDing’ donated 1,000 won for snacks!]

• Lulu-chan, be careful, she’s a total psycho
• Fr lol
• Let your guard down and you’ll get devoured
• This damn beast’s about to go feral again

The Cherries bombarded me with warnings, but I laughed it off, assuming it was just a joke.

This kind of teasing persona is common in the streaming world anyway.

“Lulu, unnie will treat you to something delicious. Wanna sneak out to meet just the two of us later?”

• What.
• Huh…
• NO, YOU PSYCHO!!
• PROTECT LULU-CHAN!!!!

…Yep, definitely just a joke.

I’ll choose to believe that.

Anyway, while Nyangta unnie was recovering, I decided to head down to the kitchen since I was fine.

Before CEO Kang and the others got back, I thought I’d prepare a nice meal.

Oh good, we still have plenty of ingredients.

I thought we’d used up a lot making burgers earlier, but our stockpile’s pretty generous.

“Cherries, what should I make for dinner? We’ve got steak or stew.”

• Dinner = meat, obviously.
• We just had burgers, so stew might be nice?
• Steak reduces boredom faster, so that’s a plus.

Most Cherries voted for steak.

Guess meat wins.

Alright, steak it is.

Though “dinner” is a loose term—time moves so fast here that by the time everyone’s back, it might already be tomorrow morning or noon.

“…Ah! Close it! …And—!”

“…Shouldn’t we go…?”

“…Probably. Too many…”

Just as I was peacefully prepping dinner, faint voices started drifting in from outside.

Listening closely, it sounded like CEO Kang and the unnies.

Huh? Are they back already?

“Welcome ba—?”

Peeking out from the kitchen, I greeted them, only for Jia unnie to rush over in a panic.

“Lulu! Grab your stuff, quick. We need to leave through the back.”

“Huh? S-Suddenly? Did something happen?”

“No idea why, but a horde’s heading this way! They’re already right outside! We gotta run!”

• ?
• Out of nowhere?
• Even if zombies come, we could block the stairs.
• Must be a lot then.
• But why would they swarm like this randomly?
• Mods can do that, but the CEO never mentioned installing any.

Yeah, exactly.

Sure, zombies gathering near main roads isn’t unusual, but a whole horde rushing toward a building where we haven’t even made noise? Suspicious.

Still, danger’s danger, so I was about to head upstairs to pack when—

Knock knock.

“Huh?”

• ?
• What was that?
• Zombie noise?

A sound like something tapping the building came from outside.

At first, I thought it was zombies, but… it felt off.

Zombies usually pound doors like thud, thud, trying to break them down.

This sounded more like… knocking?

Careful, almost like someone checking if anyone’s inside.

Wait—could it be a person?

With zombies outside, maybe it’s a survivor seeking shelter.

“H-Hello…?”

Cautiously, I went back downstairs and called out toward the door.

After a brief silence, a voice answered.

“Lulu-chan, it’s me! Can you open up?”

“Yuki-chan…?!”

• oh!
• YOOO!!
• Yuki-chan’s back!
• Must’ve escaped the horde to get here.

At the unexpected but welcome voice, I sprinted to the door.

It was Yuna, revived and having tracked us down all the way here.