I saw Ace waiting for me in the car outside the safe house. Just as I was about to head over, Oliver suddenly caught up with me
from behind.
I had no intention of wasting any more time on him. “Stop pestering me. I’m going to see my boyfriend.”
“You’re calling him your boyfriend?” Oliver’s eyes burned with anger. “What does he have that I don’t?”
I let out a cold laugh. “For one, he’s better than someone who shirks responsibility and regrets his own choices.”
I wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible, but unlike in my past life–where he had treated me as if I were invisible-
Oliver now seemed to have endless things to say.
“Zayla, it’s not what you think—”
He grabbed my arm, his grip so tight it hurt.
Ace, seeing our confrontation from the car, got out immediately. Without hesitation, he twisted Oliver’s arm behind his back.
Oliver’s face contorted in pain, and he was forced to let go of me.
“Get lost. Don’t touch her.”
Ace shielded me, leading me into the car. This one wasn’t as big as the rescue team’s vehicle from before, but I knew from now
on, no matter what danger we faced, Ace would always keep a safe place for me by his side.
I was still trying to calm my emotions when something familiar in the car caught my eye. My gaze snapped to it, widening in
shock.
“Where did you get this pendant? I remember giving this as a gift to an online friend. How did it end up here?”
Ace’s ears turned red. “Really? How can you tell it’s the same one?”
“Because I made it myself! A little beaded gun. I even messed up one of the beads‘ colors…”
A flood of distant memories surged back.
Back in high school, I often felt lonely. So, I found a gaming friend to play FPS games with.
He told me he was the son of the richest man in Zone A. I, in turn, jokingly claimed to be the daughter of a foreign president.
He said he had recently taken up extreme rock climbing. I countered by saying I was deep–sea exploring.
I thought we were just messing around, never imagining that one day we would meet in real life.
Then my game account was hacked. I tried to contact him, only to realize I had never asked for his social media.
I thought I had lost that friend forever. But now, he was sitting right next to me.
Chapter 7
+15 Bonus
“Oh my god,” I stared at him in disbelief. “You really are the richest man’s son! You weren’t lying!”
Ace sighed in mock exasperation. “But I did some checking–you lied about the president. He doesn’t have a daughter. You
tricked me.”
I awkwardly averted my gaze. “Sorry, I never thought you’d be so honest with me.”
Ace smirked. “You can trust me now. My shooting skills are even better than in the game.”
“Not surprising. But how did you recognize me?”
“You once used your own photo as a profile picture. You changed it quickly, but I have a good memory.”
I looked at him, serious. “Thank you.” And silently, I added, ‘Thank you for what you did for me in my past life, too.‘
Later that day, after returning to the safe house, my father called.
Confused, he told me, “The base leader wants you to investigate the sudden outbreak of the zombie virus in Zone A. If you
