> "Three days left. That's seventy-two hours. Or 4,320 minutes. Or... way too short."
Ha-eun sighed deeply, staring at the sky with her small arms crossed.
Her eight-year-old body looked harmless—but inside that tiny frame was the soul of a betrayed genius necromancer who once ruled half a continent. Now downgraded to a little girl with stubby legs and a squeaky voice, she had to prepare for the literal end of the world. Again.
She sat on the rooftop of the orphanage, legs dangling off the ledge, munching on a chocolate bar she stole from the warden's stash.
> "Three days to stockpile food. Three days to set up defense. Three days to somehow get a shotgun."
She tapped her foot. "No weapons, no allies, no adult willing to listen to an 8-year-old yelling 'Zombies are coming!'... Life really said hard mode."
But if there was one thing she still had, it was her brain.
---
Day 1: Food, Water, and Dead Rats
Her first goal was survival. The orphanage kitchen was off-limits, but that never stopped her before.
She crawled into the vents like a tiny spy raccoon, raided the pantry, and stuffed canned goods into her Inventory Pocket. Sardines, beans, crackers—if it didn't rot, it went in.
> "I'll eat gourmet when the world burns."
Next, water. She hijacked three giant water bottles from the janitor's closet.
And lastly—corpses.
No, not humans. Yet.
She dug near the alley dumpster and found a dead rat.
> "Sorry, Remy. But you're hired."
With a whisper of dark energy and a spark in her fingers, the rat twitched.
Then rose.
> [Necrotouch Activated]
Zombie Rat created!
She stared proudly at her tiny new minion with half its tail missing.
"From now on, your name is... Cheddar."
---
Day 2: Traps, Lies, and Undead Hygiene
Ha-eun didn't have time to explain herself to adults. Every time she tried, they either patted her head or told her to take her "meds."
So she set silent traps instead.
She rigged marbles under the stairs, oiled the hallway floors, and used sewing needles as makeshift caltrops near windows. If anyone asked what she was doing, she smiled sweetly and said:
> "Art project."
Cheddar helped too—by being creepy enough to make people avoid her room completely.
Also, she discovered something weird. When she brushed Cheddar's fur with shampoo, it didn't decay.
> "Wait... can undead be clean?"
She tried brushing a pigeon corpse next. The feathers fell off but... it didn't smell.
> "I'm inventing zombie skincare. I should be rich."
---
Day 3: The Calm Before the Rot
Now with only 24 hours left, Ha-eun climbed the hill near the orphanage to stare at the horizon.
She shivered.
> "They're coming. I can feel the ground remembering footsteps that haven't even happened yet."
Behind her, Cheddar squeaked from her backpack.
> "Don't worry, buddy. We're ready. We're gonna survive this. And maybe... I'll even find the one who betrayed me."
She clenched her tiny fist.
> "And make them rot next."