Chapter 152: I Won’t Let Go of Your Hand!

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“You’re really here, Yuna?”

I was so happy to see her that I immediately moved to open the door.

But at that moment—

“Lulu, don’t open it!”

“Huh? Why? What’s wrong, unnie?”

• ?
• CEO Kang?
• If you don’t open it, Yukiko might die…

Chae-yoon unnie rushed over and urgently stopped me.

“W-Wait, what do you mean don’t open it? There are zombies swarming outside… If we don’t open the door, how will Yuna survive?”

“Something’s off. I just talked to the CEO —the timing of Yukiko arriving and the zombies showing up is way too coincidental.”

“Coincidental…? What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. Maybe… Yukiko brought the zombies here.”

“Wha—?!”

• Yukiko brought them here?
• Is that even possible?
• It’s not impossible, I guess
• If she ran around making noise or firing a gun, she could’ve lured them
• But usually, you’d get caught and die before that

While I was shocked by Chae-yoon unnie’s words, I was also skeptical, just like the cherries.

After all, luring zombies is possible, but the person doing it usually dies before succeeding and there’s no real benefit to doing it. If these were real zombies, maybe, but Project Zomboid doesn’t have that kind of mode.

In other words, as a survivor, Yuna would also need to escape. Why would she do something like this?

“Yukiko, is it true? Did you bring the zombies here?”

“No, believe me, Lulu. I’m innocent!”

• Sounds like she’s acting…
• Let’s not open the door
• Just leave her

At my question, Yuna answered, but the cherries muttered that something felt off.

It was suspicious. How could the timing of the zombies and Yuna’s arrival overlap so perfectly? And how could Yuna stand outside unharmed for so long with zombies everywhere?

“You’re lying! Lucretia unnie told me everything! You tried to kidnap Lulu before and failed, right?! You’re here to try again, aren’t you?”

“No…! I just wanted to see Lulu!”

“You didn’t come to see her—you came to take her!”

“Tch…! What do you know?!”

A childish argument broke out between Chae-yoon unnie and Yuna, and in the end, the decision fell to me.

After agonizing over it, I firmly nodded and clicked the door.

The text “Unlock” appeared, and without hesitation, I clicked it.

“Yukiko, come in! We have to run!”

“Lulu…?!”

• You’re letting her in?!
• OMG
• Feels like a death flag…
• GG

As I opened the door and welcomed Yuna, Chae-yoon unnie and the cherries erupted in shock.

Yes, the situation was suspicious. If I had turned my back on Yuna, no one would’ve blamed me.

But even so—!

I chose to trust my instincts and believe in Yuna! Even if she had done something like that before, she’s still my precious friend!

And I believe—!

That she’s changed and come back to us! That she won’t hurt me again!

“Guys, over here!”

“Hurry, get in! We have to leave!”

And so, with Chae-yoon unnie and Yuna, I slipped out the back door and into the waiting car.

It’s a shame, but we had no choice but to abandon this base and find a new one.

Luckily, this game has an escape mode—if we hold out a little longer, the helicopter will arrive. Until then, we’ll survive together.

＊＊＊＊＊

And so, we arrived at our new base—a three-story warehouse.

Compared to our old home, it wasn’t bad at all. It even had a rooftop for farming, perfect for our current situation with no electricity or running water. There was plenty of space for a generator and rainwater collectors, too.

Thanks to that, we were able to set up a decent living space quickly with the supplies we brought.

And the most unexpected but welcome news?

“Wow, I thought I was done for…”

“Why are there so many zombies all of a sudden?”

“Because Gig accidentally triggered the noise maker!”

PuineaGig, Wanggae, and even Ina—everyone on the server had regrouped.

Normally, when streamers play Project Zomboid, they split into smaller groups. Staying together makes things safer but a bit boring for viewers. But since escape was near, having all three join us was a huge relief.

After all, escaping together is better.

So there we were, huddled together in a three-story building, enjoying a rare moment of peace.

After days of chaos, even this small, mundane life felt fun. Chatting, eating good food—it was like a brief respite in a zombie apocalypse novel.

• LMAOOOO
• It’s a total circus now that everyone’s here lol
• This is the best vibe fr lol
• Why do they fight every chance they get? lol

The cherries seemed to be enjoying it too. Good.

* * * * *

“Yukiko, are you here?”

After preparing lunch as the group’s cook, I went up to the rooftop to look for Yuna, the only one missing from the meal.

Sure enough, she was there alone, tending to the crops. As the only one with the Farmer occupation, she naturally took charge of the fields.

“Yeah, you found me?”

“Aren’t you hungry? Lunch is ready…”

“Oh, it’s already lunchtime? Sorry, I didn’t notice. Heh.”

• Too busy farming, huh lol
• Farming is fun
• But you still gotta eat, Yukiyuki…
• Shouldn’t the hunger stat have kicked in by now?

Huh? Now that you mention it…

I hadn’t seen Yuna eat at all. Did she eat when I wasn’t looking? Otherwise, it’s weird that her hunger stat hasn’t dropped yet.

“Yukiko, aren’t you exhausted? Want me to take over?”

Even if hunger wasn’t an issue, Yuna hadn’t slept in almost two days. Surely her fatigue stat must’ve kicked in.

“I’m fine! Full of energy!”

“R-Really? Well, that’s good…”

• Must’ve leveled up stamina
• So reliable!
• A field tended by the Snow Maiden herself? Fancy~
• So she has changed… I always believed in you, Yukiko…

Her cheerful reply surprised me.

Even if she snacked on canned food to keep hunger at bay, how was she this energetic?

But the only way to reduce fatigue is sleep…

And unless I’m mistaken, Yuna hasn’t slept in the past two days.

Even though we share a room (since there aren’t many to go around), she still hasn’t shown any signs of exhaustion?

No matter how high her stamina stat is, that shouldn’t be possible.

What’s going on?

Pushing my doubts aside for now, I headed downstairs with Yuna.

Just then, the scavenging team returned, their loud voices echoing as they climbed to the second floor.

“Whoa! We got a ton of food! How about a feast tonight?!”

“We also grabbed a lot of fuel. The generator should be fine for a while.”

“Just in case, we even brought water from the lake.”

PuineaGig, Wanggae, and Ina proudly displayed the items they’d gathered.

Just looking at the pile on the floor, it was clear they’d brought back a lot.

Wow, this should last us until the escape.

We were running low on supplies, so this was a relief.

Now, all we had to do was wait for the helicopter.

“Hey, scavengers, go get checked by Jia first. Just in case.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“I got a scratch… Hope it’s not infected.”

“Wait, Gig got hurt?! I told you to be careful!”

Following the CEO’s orders, the three immediately headed to where Jia unnie, our doctor, was stationed.

In Project Zomboid, the doctor role is crucial—higher skill levels allow them to diagnose illnesses and physical conditions.

For example, nausea—a common zombie infection symptom—could also just be food poisoning.

And the only job that can tell the difference is the doctor.

“Alright, everyone’s fine.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

“I swear, scavenging trips always make me nervous.”

• GG
• Would’ve been hilarious if PuineaGig got infected
• Dodged a bullet

The check-up results were in—thankfully, the scavengers had some minor injuries but no infections.

They just needed some bandages, and that was it.

With escape so close, an infection outbreak would’ve been disastrous.

“Alright, while we’re at it, let’s all get checked by Jia. One last inspection before the helicopter.”

“Okay, me first!”

“Then I’ll go next!”

So, the CEO gathered everyone and had us line up for a final health check with Jia unnie.

First up was Nyangtamon unnie, followed by Yuna.

Since I was already worried about Yuna’s condition, I was glad she was getting checked early.

I stood in line behind Ra-hee unnie, waiting for my turn.

And then—

“…Huh? Y-Yukiko?”

“Yeah, unnie. What’s wrong?”

Jia unnie suddenly made a strange noise, as if she’d detected something unusual.

She called Yuna’s name cautiously, and after a brief silence—

“W-What is this? Her status says… ‘Zombie Host’?!”

• ?
• What
• Yukiko’s the host?!

Jia unnie’s voice was filled with disbelief.

I wasn’t the only one shocked—the cherries were just as stunned.

A Zombie Host—

Literally, the leader that commands the zombies.

In Project Zomboid, if you die from a zombie bite, there’s a minuscule 0.1% chance you’ll respawn as one.

It’s the worst possible troll status in the game.

Not only can they lure zombies to threaten other survivors, but the biggest issue is that the host themselves doesn’t know they’ve become one.

The only way to find out is through a level 7+ doctor’s examination.

But because the odds are so low—maybe once in a hundred playthroughs—it’s treated more like an easter egg.

Some servers even tweak the settings to increase the host spawn rate for fun events.

But our server didn’t have that setting.

Yet, Yuna had somehow become one.

So that’s why…

No hunger, no fatigue—because while a Zombie Host can act like a survivor, their status is still a zombie.

They don’t need food or sleep.

But the problem with having a host here was…

CRASH—!

“Holy shit, zombies incoming!”

“Everyone grab your guns and head to the first floor! We’re getting out by car!”

It meant that sooner or later, a horde would come.

The reason things had been quiet until now was simple—our old base was far enough away that the zombies took time to follow.

Small spawns around us weren’t noticeable.

But now, with a host among us, it was inevitable.

“S-So the zombie swarm at the base earlier…”

It was exactly what Yuna was imagining.

She probably just came looking for me or the others, but as a host, she unintentionally led the horde here.

“Guys, pack up! The helicopter’s almost here—we just need to survive until then!”

“Got it!”

• We’re screwed LMAOOOO
• Never would’ve guessed Yuki was the host
• Peak trolling right here lol

Chaos erupted inside the base as everyone scrambled under the CEO’s orders.

I quickly grabbed my supplies and moved to evacuate with Yuna.

But then—

“Lulu, just leave me behind and run!”

“Leave you?! No way! We’re going together!”

“If I stay, the zombies will follow me! You can escape while they’re distracted!”

• She’s right though…
• No way, a host is too dangerous
• Y’all gonna die at this rate

It was the logical choice.

With a host around, even relocating wouldn’t guarantee survival until escape.

And we were on the outskirts of the city—nowhere left to run.

The CEO was right—our only hope was holding out until the helicopter arrived.

“No!”

But I refused outright, shoving Yuna’s supplies into my bag until it was almost too heavy to move.

“I won’t abandon you twice! I’d rather die with my friend than live knowing I left her behind!”

• KYAAAAAAAA
• Today’s just banger lines one after another lol!
• The romanticism is off the charts…
• Normally this would be cringe, but Lulu makes it cool…

After convincing a hesitant Yuna, we rushed out of the building.

[Escape request received.]

[Helicopter arriving in 24 hours near southeastern Rosewood.]

[Exact coordinates will be transmitted via radio.]

Finally, our escape signal got a response.

We had 24 hours to reach the marked location on the map.

The sooner-than-expected arrival time reignited our hope as we headed toward what could be our final destination in this Project Zomboid server.

Translator Note

So, how’s everyone liking the Project Zomboid arc?? I’ve gotta admit I’ve never actually played the game so a lot of this is going over my head (Traits!?). I tried looking up to see if the Zombie Host thing is real?? It doesn’t seem like it?? I tried looking on the zombie page on the PZ wiki but couldn’t find anything… regardless I think it’s kinda fun!