Breathing in the fresh night air that smelled faintly of grass and earth, Vic stretched his slightly stiff limbs and patted the shoulder of Pugsley, who was still in a state of excitement.
"Alright, little guy. Slorp isn't going anywhere. You'll have plenty of chances to 'visit' him later."
He spoke comforting words, but internally, he was already a little bored.
Training a zombie was fun at first, but once the novelty wore off, it was just repetitive manual labor.
It was far less enjoyable than burrowing into a warm duvet back at the dorm—Wednesday's cool body temperature on his left, Enid's blazing hug on his right.
Thinking of this, Vic was eager to return. But his sense of responsibility as a brother-in-law made him add one more instruction:
"Remember what I said. In this school, if you run into any trouble you can't solve, don't tough it out alone. Shout 'Brother-in-law, save me!' loudly. Your brother-in-law will settle it for you!"
He spoke with immense confidence. Paired with his eyebrow raise and chest pat, in Pugsley's eyes, this was practically a divine decree.
"Okay, Brother-in-law!"
Pugsley nodded vigorously, his eyes filled with unreserved trust and worship for Vic.
At this moment, Vic's image in his mind surpassed any hero from stories. He became incredibly tall, shining, seemingly radiating holy light.
The two parted ways in the woods. Pugsley, carrying a heart full of excitement and dreams of a future career as a "Zombie Master," trotted back to his dorm.
Vic, meanwhile, tiptoed back to the door of the room he shared with Wednesday and Enid.
First, he pressed his ear to the door to listen—dead silence, only the sound of even breathing.
Good, they're asleep.
Vic grinned smugly. With movements gentler than a bomb disposal expert, he turned the handle, slid inside sideways, and closed the door soundlessly behind him.
Only a dim wall lamp was left on in the dorm, casting a hazy light.
On the spliced "Super Bed," Wednesday and Enid were sleeping peacefully.
Wednesday maintained her standard vampire-aristocrat-in-a-coffin pose: hands crossed over her chest, spine straight.
Her pale face looked exceptionally tranquil in sleep, a few strands of ink-black hair scattered on the pillow.
Enid lay on her side like a small animal seeking warmth, hugging a pillow. The corner of her mouth held a sweet arc, her blue eyes shut tight, long eyelashes fanning out.
Vic watched this scene of "peace and quiet." The restlessness from taming the zombie vanished instantly, replaced by a warmer, grounded sense of satisfaction.
He carefully took off his jacket and shoes. Like a thief, holding his breath, he tried to crawl from the foot of the bed back to his "territory" without waking his girlfriends.
However, just as one leg climbed onto the bed edge and his center of gravity shifted forward—
"Go shower."
Wednesday's voice rang out, cool as ice.
Vic sheepishly retracted his body, which had been trying to burrow into the warm covers. He rubbed his nose and obediently turned toward the bathroom.
Sigh, looks like this scent of dirt, humus, and faint zombie odor isn't going to pass inspection tonight.
---
"Vic, why are you back so late?"
Enid rubbed her sleepy eyes, propping herself up from the warm covers. Her blue eyes were misty as she yawned softly.
"Was your 'archaeology' successful?"
"Successful? Couldn't be more successful!"
Vic stripped off his mud-splattered jacket while eagerly sharing his joy, his face glowing with excitement.
"Wait a sec, I'll tell you the details after I shower. You guys will never guess what incredible thing we dug up!"
Ten minutes later, Vic—radiating warmth and dampness, wearing soft pajamas, hair still dripping wet—climbed eagerly onto the spliced bed, squeezing between Wednesday and Enid.
"Let me tell you, tonight was too exciting!"
He sat cross-legged, eyes shining in the dim light, and began recounting tonight's "adventure" with animated gestures.
From finding the Skeleton Tree, to discovering the "unique" zombie.
To how he "wisely and bravely" used the "carrot and stick" strategy to tame it.
Especially the earth-shattering moment where it "spoke," which he described vividly, like narrating a great exploration documentary.
"So, my foolish brother is keeping a zombie that only knows how to say hello, and you thoughtfully found him a 'secret base' and conducted 'professional' training?"
Wednesday listened to the end. Her pitch-black eyes were waveless as she summarized in her unique, slightly mocking tone.
"Hehe, exactly!"
Vic puffed out his chest, chin lifted high, proud as a peacock displaying its feathers.
"I'm his brother-in-law, right? Gotta help out with the small stuff."
"Your boyfriend is omnipotent, okay! Not to brag, but this beast-taming method is tested by practice!"
"They're all very useful tricks. The core idea is: big stick plus sweet dates, reward for obedience, establish authority, form conditioned reflexes. Guaranteed to tame him into submission..."
Vic's voice grew smaller. As he spoke, he smacked his lips subconsciously, his brow furrowing slightly. The smugness on his face was gradually replaced by a strange confusion.
Eh? Wait...
This process... this core idea... why does it sound more and more familiar?
This feeling of being "set rules for," "rewarded," and "trained"... seems like something I personally experienced not long ago?
And the impression is extremely deep!
Beside him, Enid's expression also became very peculiar.
She blinked her big eyes, looking at Vic, then stealing a glance at Wednesday, who was expressionless but whose ears seemed slightly pink.
The more she listened, the more she felt that the "pet taming tricks" in Vic's mouth were suspiciously similar to the "how to make Vic more obedient" tips she had secretly asked Wednesday for—and which Wednesday had just taught her.
They were practically cut from the same mold!
Just the application target switched from "Vic" to "Slorp"...
After several seconds, Vic finally fully realized it.
Holy crap!
These moves!
Establishing authority, rewards, forming conditioned reflexes... isn't this exactly what Wednesday used on ME over the last two days?!
That "Surprise Kiss" in the morning, that feeling of being controlled, guided, and "tamed"... the source was here?!
Vic's gaze instantly turned eerie. Slowly, with disbelief and a dawn of realization, he turned to Wednesday, who was lying beside him, maintaining silence.
Feeling Vic's burning, probing stare, Wednesday turned her head away extremely unnaturally, avoiding his gaze.
In the dim light, a very faint, almost imperceptible blush seemed to sweep across her pale cheek.
She reached out and pulled the duvet higher, trying to cover her profile, adopting a posture of "I am asleep, do not disturb."
"Wednesday?"
Vic dragged out his tone, his voice filled with the accusation of "You are suspicious."
Wednesday maintained her side-sleeping posture. Her muffled voice came from under the blanket, carrying a rare hint of embarrassment:
"Sleep!"