Chapter 9: Yearning to Experience the Joy of Directing

The second simulation was a success.

At least that woman didn't ruin everything this time. Although she ended up attracting twenty zombies to the entrance, increasing the difficulty for the next outing, it was still easier to manage than fifty zombies surrounding the convenience store.

Liu Yang began to follow the sequence of the second attempt. Once he successfully brought the woman back to the villa, she immediately jerked her hand away from his grip the moment she stepped inside.

"Get your filthy hands off me! Disgusting!" She kept wiping at the zombie blood that had smeared onto her wrist, her face twisted in a look of revulsion.

Liu Yang sneered, "You have the nerve to call me filthy? Do you have any idea that if I hadn't saved you, you would have been torn apart by those zombies? You’d be nothing but a pile of bones, not a scrap of meat left on you!"

"Who are you trying to fool? I don't believe a word of it! If you hadn't dragged me away, I would have made it into the convenience store and found food. What do you want, you perverted security guard? I remember you! Every time I passed through the gate, you’d look at me with those lecherous eyes! Don't think I don't know! Men like you—low-class losers—are the most degenerate. I bet you even fantasize about me at night and do your little business! Hmph!"

The woman shrieked, her expression filled with utter contempt.

Hearing her words and seeing her haughty demeanor, Liu Yang finally recalled who she was. She was Su Xiao, a C-list celebrity who lived in building 12.

Whenever she passed the gate, company regulations required Liu Yang to greet the residents. Every time he greeted this celebrity, she would look at him with disdain and let out a scoff of contempt through her nose.

Liu Yang admitted she was indeed beautiful. In terms of looks, she was on par with He Yushi, perhaps even more mature and alluring, possessing a certain high-and-mighty aura. Her expressions, her smile, and even the way she walked clearly showed she had undergone special training—the kind of professional grooming that gave a star a presence a college student could never replicate.

Sometimes, when he encountered a beautiful woman, Liu Yang might glance twice, but it was never lecherous. He hadn't expected that in this celebrity's mind, he was nothing more than a degenerate.

Regardless of how she viewed him, it didn't matter. This was the apocalypse, not the era of peace. So what if she was a celebrity? Did celebrities not feel hunger?

"What? Stung by the truth and can't speak? You filthy, lecherous guard! Hurry up and get me something to eat! I am a resident of this estate. Is this how you treat a resident?" Su Xiao demanded aggressively.

Liu Yang frowned and said coldly, "Who gave you the courage to speak to me like that? I saved your life, and you don't even show gratitude, instead acting all high and mighty. Now you demand food with an order? Who do you think you are?"

"I am your god! My maintenance fees pay your salary, don't you understand that? Is your brain broken? A lowly security guard has the nerve to talk back?" Su Xiao, shocked that he dared to defy her, grew even more furious and pointed a finger at his nose.

"Heh." Tang Mengting, standing to the side, let out a cold laugh. She understood exactly what was about to happen to Su Xiao, because she had been through it herself.

Sure enough.

*Slap!*

With a sharp crack, Liu Yang didn't waste another word. He swung his hand, striking Su Xiao across the face and knocking her to the ground. Her cheek immediately turned bright red and began to swell.

Tang Mengting's smirk deepened, though she felt a twinge of confusion. *Why does seeing someone else get hit the same way I did feel so satisfying?*

"Ahhh! You hit me! You actually dare to hit me! You lowly security guard, do you know who I am? I am a resident here! I’m a celebrity with millions of fans! How dare you!" Su Xiao screamed wildly, tears streaming down her face from the burning pain.

She never imagined that a security guard would dare lay a hand on her. As a celebrity, she was used to being the center of attention, surrounded by countless fans who would pay thousands just to take a photo with her. Her appearance fees were in the hundreds of thousands. Everywhere she went, she was looked up to like a goddess. She had grown accustomed to her own arrogance.

"Celebrity? It’s the apocalypse now. Who cares if you're a celebrity? So what if I'm a guard? I saved you, so you better start doing as you're told. Otherwise, I’ll toss you back outside, where twenty zombies are waiting to feast on your flesh!"

Hearing this, and seeing the vicious look on Liu Yang's face, Su Xiao suddenly felt a wave of terror. When they had fled back to the villa, she had seen just how horrific those zombies were. If they ever caught her, they would peel the meat from her bones piece by piece. That would be a fate worse than death.

"T-then at least give me some food. I'm starving to death. I can pay you! How much? 100,000? 200,000? I can pay! Money is no object to me!" Su Xiao accepted the reality. Trying to use her status to pressure this guard clearly wasn't working, so she had to resort to bribery. To a guard, 200,000 would be a fortune—more than he could save in ten years.

"Heh, money is no object to me either. It's the apocalypse now; what use is money? It can't even buy a loaf of bread; it's just a pile of waste paper. Lady Celebrity, do you still not understand the situation? If you keep acting this clueless, you're going to die very soon," Liu Yang sneered.

Su Xiao finally broke down: "Wuu wuu! I don't want to die! I'm so hungry! If I weren't starving, I wouldn't have risked coming out of the villa. I can't take it anymore! It's all because my assistant said I’d gained weight and didn't look good on camera, so she made me diet. I hadn't eaten for a day before the outbreak even started—I've been starving longer than anyone else! Wuu wuu! Please, what do I have to do to get food? If you don't want money, that's fine. Once this disaster passes, I can introduce you to directors, make you a star! I can get you cast as a hero in a movie! How does that sound?"

Liu Yang shook his head. "Don't be stupid. Over seventy percent of the world has turned into zombies. How could this disaster possibly end? This is the apocalypse, don't you get it? You want food? Fine. Take a bath, get yourself cleaned up, and come find me in my room. You're a celebrity; you should be familiar with how things work, shouldn't you?"

Celebrities were no strangers to "hidden rules," were they? Even the most beautiful stars had to put in the effort, climbing into the beds of one director after another to become the stars everyone adored. Su Xiao had likely done her fair share of that already, so what was the harm in climbing into the bed of a security guard?

Liu Yang had had girlfriends who were class beauties and campus queens, but never a celebrity. He wanted to experience the thrill of a big-time director. He wanted to see what was so different about these stars compared to ordinary girls.

"Huh?" Su Xiao was stunned for a moment before the implication hit her. She erupted with anger. "You want to force me into a 'hidden rule'? Absolutely not! I'm a celebrity, and you're just a security guard! In the past, I wouldn't have even looked at you! You think I'd sell my body for a little bit of food? Don't even dream about it!"

Liu Yang smiled coldly. "Heh, we'll see. I look forward to your performance. Think about it. But I'm only giving you until tonight. After tonight, even if you beg me, I won't be interested! Don't even think about getting a single crumb of food then."

Every woman said that at first, but in the end, they all ended up knocking on his door. He wasn't surprised that the celebrity looked down on him, but he was certain she would succumb soon enough.