I have a persona specifically for acting.

[…]

“……”

At this moment, both inside and outside the scene, the reactions of the characters and the audience were in sync.

Tong Zhao nudged the zombie lying on the ground with the tip of her shoe. After confirming that it had indeed met its end, she crouched down and reached for its waist…

“Yan Qi, what are you doing?”

Tang Jingjie, horrified by her actions, covered his mouth, trying to suppress both his urge to stop her and his urge to vomit.

The audience was also curious about what she was doing.

Even though Concubine Chen liked men, there was no way she’d go after a zombie!

“Huh?”

Tong Zhao pulled out a set of keys from the zombie’s pocket. “I just noticed that the fuel dispenser over there is locked and needs a key to open it. There might also be supplies we need in the convenience store. It’s always a good idea to grab the keys first.”

“Oh, you really think things through.”

With that, Tong Zhao headed towards the convenience store.

Tang Jingjie’s legs were still weak, so he could only stand in place, awkwardly locking eyes with the zombie.

Even though this was a horror movie, this scene inexplicably had a comedic vibe.

In the car, Feng Sisi carefully got out after confirming there was no danger. She tiptoed over to Tang Jingjie and tugged at his sleeve, “Kaiyu-ge, are you okay?”

According to the plot, Song Kaiyu and Feng Yanqi were a couple.

One taught language arts, the other taught physical education.

“Countdown: 72 Hours” is a story about a couple escaping with their pampered little sister.

Due to needing to pass censorship, the setting was an imaginary foreign country, which was a bit different from the domestic environment.

[…Wait, how could the male lead be in trouble? As soon as the zombie appeared, it got its head blown off by the female lead.]

[Zombie: I’m the one who’s in trouble here.]

[True, the zombie’s fate is tragic. Feeling sorry for it.]

[Feeling sorry +1]

The screen was filled with sympathetic comments.

“I’m fine; Yanqi protected me.”

Song Kaiyu glanced toward the convenience store, just as Tong Zhao came back carrying bags full of stuff. Her beautiful, ethereal face was calm as if she had just come back from a pleasant shopping spree at a designer store rather than having just blown a zombie’s head off. Meeting their gazes, she raised an eyebrow and said, “I did leave some money behind.”

If a real zombie apocalypse broke out, cash would become nothing more than waste paper.

However, Tong Zhao’s reasonable action somewhat reassured the two.

The director then cuts to a shot inside the convenience store.

Sure enough, a few bills were pressed down on the cashier counter.

Tong Zhao stuffed the supplies she bought into the car, filling it to the brim. After filling up the gas tank, she also took two large barrels of extra fuel. Once everything was done, she looked back at the two who were still standing dumbfounded next to the zombie. “What’s wrong? Is this your first time seeing a zombie? Are you too reluctant to leave it? Do you want to take a picture with it before we go?”

[…Hahaha, a photo with the zombie, really?!]

[I took a screenshot. Mom will make sure Jiezai gets his dream photo!]

[Tong Zhao is unbelievably cool. Her “id” is truly formidable. Thank goodness Emperor Ming dotes on her; otherwise, I suspect she’d be blowing other people’s heads off in the harem.]

[The Noble Consort herself administering justice!]

These words snapped the two iron-headed fools out of their daze, and they hurriedly got back in the car.

Tong Zhao sat in the front passenger seat. She rolled down the window to let in some fresh air and pulled out a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes. She flicked the lighter in her hand, turning the act of lighting a cigarette into a display akin to playing with a small knife. With a crisp click, the cigarette lit up. She took a deep drag, finally feeling like her soul had settled back into place.

Among her many personalities, only a few were addicted to smoking—Duan Ge was one of them.

After all, the mental stress of surviving the apocalypse was overwhelming.

As Song Kaiyu’s car drove into a tunnel, the surroundings darkened, leaving only the flickering flame between Tong Zhao’s fingers. The light and shadow pulled her pale face into an oil-painting-like beauty, so stunning that the audience held their breath, once again reminded of how impossibly gorgeous this talented newcomer was.

However…

[Someone, give the boss a Huazi cigarette. .jpg]

[The boss smokes Zhonghua. .gif]

[Damn it, it’s the member-exclusive privilege of posting animated gifs that won!]

This scene was truly stunning, prompting a popular influencer with over a million followers to casually share a Weibo post showcasing this breathtaking beauty.

@DramaLovingBoboRabbitv:

Give Brother Tong Zhao a Huazi cigarette /dog head emoji

[GIF]

Beauty is a universal currency, and with the production team riding the wave and buying some bot traffic, this GIF managed to latch onto the tail end of the trending list, stirring up some minor buzz and attracting more netizens to pay for the live viewing privileges.

Back to the car interior.

Sitting in the back seat, Feng Sisi looked deeply worried. Song Kaiyu, who was driving, also had a pale face after seeing the tragic scenes along the way. Only Tong Zhao, after finishing her cigarette, kept gazing out the window, lost in thought. The streets were eerily quiet, with scattered remains of bodies that had been devoured, and the smell of blood lingering in the air. With Tong Zhao’s consent, Song Kaiyu closed all the windows.

“If I smell that stench any longer, I’m going to throw up,” Song Kaiyu said with a wry smile.

The three of them headed back together, only to find that the residential apartment complex had already become a playground for rampaging zombies.

Tong Zhao quietly observed outside the apartment for a while and then made her judgment: “If water is the primary source of contamination, then Dad and Mom wouldn’t have escaped the first wave. With our current combat ability, barging in would only add three more casualties. The priority now is to find the antidote that person mentioned. If Mom and Dad are still alive, as long as they stay indoors, the food at home should last for three days.”

From the omniscient perspective, the audience felt that Tong Zhao made a lot of sense.

[Seems like the director wasn’t wrong—Tong Zhao is quite clever.]

[The one who laughs last in palace intrigues can’t possibly be a fool. The emperor is scarier than zombies, after all.]

[This is so strange. Tong Zhao’s ‘id’ doesn’t seem to plan on relying on the male lead at all. Oh, and isn’t Tang Jingjie kind of just playing a background role here…]

While Sister Tang was anxiously explaining, another person also grew agitated.

Feng Sisi’s eyes were red like a rabbit’s, filled with tears as she shook her head, “I won’t feel at ease if I can’t see Mom. Sis, can’t you just try? How can you say Mom is gone without even trying? How can you leave her behind?”

Xu Zhu grew up relying on her mother since she was little, and subconsciously, she cared about her mother the most.

Tong Zhao cared too.

At any given time, Duan Ge would always make the most rational decision that maximizes benefits, ensuring the survival group could go further. Even now, as she fits into the character template, she is no exception. She said, “We will come back to check on Mom’s safety once we find the antidote. If she managed to avoid the first wave of the virus, she will probably need the antidote just like us.”

These clear and logical words naturally calmed the viewers’ minds.

From a god’s-eye view, the audience is often quite demanding of the characters.

They want to see them stay composed in crises and make the right decisions with limited information.

Feng Sisi stared at Tong Zhao in disbelief but didn’t refute her. She asked quietly, “Should we leave now?”

“Yes.”

Tong Zhao nodded her chin toward Song Kaiyu, “First, we need to find the location of the research lab, then head to the nearest gun store.”

Hearing “gun store,” Feng Sisi flinched a little.

Song Kaiyu didn’t question her decision; he just asked while driving, “Yanqi, do you have a gun license? How come I didn’t know?”

“I don’t have one. Once we get some, I’ll practice my aim. As long as I don’t shoot at living people, it should be fine,” Tong Zhao said.

While the internet was still working, Song Kaiyu downloaded a map of the entire city and drove to the nearest gun store. The store’s door was wide open, and it was eerily silent. Feng Sisi refused to get out of the car no matter what. Tong Zhao didn’t force her, nor did she ask Song Kaiyu to join her, as if she intended to act alone.

Song Kaiyu hesitated for a moment but decided to follow her.

“If anything happens, call us on the phone,” he reminded Feng Sisi, who was staying in the car.

“Can’t someone stay with me?” she asked, feeling a bit abandoned.

How could that be?

It was already dangerous enough for Tong Zhao to go alone. Just as Song Kaiyu was about to refuse, Tong Zhao spoke first:

“Sure, whatever you want.”

Tong Zhao had her hands in her pockets, looking indifferent.

With that, she turned around and walked into the gun store. Song Kaiyu gritted his teeth, showing a look of suppressed fear, and followed her inside.

Rows of guns covered an entire wall. The two moved quietly, one in front of the other, but Song Kaiyu noticed that no matter how careful he was, he couldn’t move as silently as Tong Zhao.

After making a round in the store and confirming there were no living people or zombies, they relaxed and began to search for usable weapons. Tong Zhao advised, “Don’t get too greedy; you can’t chew what you can’t swallow. Ever played PUBG? Pick something simple and easy to use… And put down that sniper rifle. I don’t want to see you using a sniper to go face-to-face with zombies.”

Song Kaiyu awkwardly put down the sniper rifle he had taken a liking to.

Tong Zhao was feeling a SCAR rifle, her expression thoughtful. “I don’t know why, but when I touch these guns, they feel strangely familiar. I feel like I could use them right away.”

Song Kaiyu asked, “Huh? Why?”

Tong Zhao replied, “Maybe it’s because I’m a gym teacher.”

Song Kaiyu didn’t quite get the logic behind that, but he took advantage of the lighter mood to quickly thank his girlfriend. “Thanks for saving me back at the gas station. Otherwise, I’d probably be dead by now.”

“No need to thank me; just don’t take up my PE class time anymore.”

“…”

Fair enough.

As Tong Zhao was loading bullets, a door was gently pushed open. Song Kaiyu, alert, aimed his gun toward the source of the sound.

In the dimly lit gun shop, his sharp silhouette made the barrage of comments explode with excitement—finally, the male lead from all those PUBG fanfics had a face.

But his coolness lasted less than three seconds. The gun in his hand sank as Tong Zhao grabbed the barrel, pushing it downward. “You haven’t loaded any bullets yet; no need to aim. That’s a living person. Are you the shopkeeper? The door was locked just now. We mean no harm. Can we talk?”

Out of the storage room came a small round face wearing glasses.

The three of them kept a safe distance from each other as they began their negotiation—

Well, it was less a negotiation and more of Tong Zhao’s one-sided questioning.

The round-faced girl introduced herself as Anna. She claimed to be a janitor who had escaped from the research institute. While slacking off at work, she overheard information about the dangers of drug research and decided to run away. Because she usually drank only bottled water and had boxes of Evian stockpiled at home, she assumed she would be safe as long as she hadn’t touched tap water. However, after seeing a video posted by the doctor, she panicked and hid in her cousin’s shop.

She had been hiding in the storage room earlier and only dared to come out when she saw another young woman was traveling with the man.

“The city is already in chaos. Zombies are dangerous, and living people aren’t safe either,” Anna said. “You want to go find the antidote? That’s impossible. The research institute has a fully enclosed security system and laser corridors. Anyway, the doctor was right. We won’t get far even if we try to escape…”

Saying this, Anna began to sob softly.

“Since you worked at the research institute, you should be very familiar with its layout. You’ll guide us when the time comes,” Tong Zhao said, naturally patting her head. “I’ll handle everything.”

“Miss Feng…”

Anna looked at the slender and tall Oriental woman with gratitude.

Tong Zhao replied, “At worst, we’ll die.”

Her words extinguished the sentiment like a gust of wind scattering ashes.