Chapter 1

I designed a holographic zombie survival game.

Inside it, I gave my boyfriend a lightning-element power that could cut through anything, and I gave my best friend a wood-element healing power that could mend any wound.

I kept nothing for myself. No power at all. Just dead weight the two of them would have to carry.

They comforted me, promised they would protect me forever.

But the moment they learned the military had fallen and the world had collapsed into chaos, the two of them kissed each other, right in front of me.

"All those years we treated you like a treasure, it was only ever about your money and your status."

"Now that the virus has broken out and the whole world's been reshuffled, your fortune is worthless paper. We don't have to pretend anymore!"

They built a power-user squad, put a price tag on me and traded me like a slave, and in the final battle against the zombie king they even threw me off a high-rise to draw the fire.

But what they didn't know was that there had never been any zombie virus at all.

The moment I died, the game would end, and the three of us would return to reality.

……

Barret Gilbert knelt on one knee, straightening the train of my wedding gown.

Marjorie Fox stood off to the side, gushing with envy.

"The loose diamonds on this dress alone have to run seven figures, right?"

Barret shot her a hard look, his face going serious.

"When Paula Delgado and I get married, of course we use nothing but the best."

Marjorie let out a cold huff.

"What do you mean, 'you and Paula'? Paula's mine!"

"You want to bet? One shake of my head and she calls off the whole wedding right now."

The two of them had never gotten along.

Just as they were about to start fighting over me again, and I was about to smooth things over, the front door of the bridal boutique slammed open.

The man who staggered in was covered in blood. He convulsed and dropped to the floor.

A few seconds later, the veins across his whole body bulged, his skin turned a strange bluish-purple, and he rose slowly, his entire frame twisted into an unnatural posture.

I shrank back into Barret's arms in terror.

Marjorie froze for a couple of seconds, then broke into a piercing scream.

"It's a zombie! Run!"

She grabbed Barret's hand and pulled him to the door, yanking at the car handle with shaking hands, and only then remembered the keys were on me.

I stared at the two of them standing shoulder to shoulder, completely stunned.

Every single day they fought tooth and nail over who was closer to me, and now, the second there was real danger, they'd abandoned me and run off together?

Feeling my eyes on them, Marjorie and Barret let go of each other's hands as if they'd been shocked, and shouted at me.

"Hurry up, come on!"

I rubbed the ankle I'd hurt when I was shoved down earlier and reached out a desperate hand.

"The heels are too high. I twisted my ankle."

Barret gritted his teeth, ready to rush over and save me.

Marjorie clung to him, holding him back.

"That's a zombie! One little scratch and you're dead!"

Barret turned his head and said something to her, and all at once Marjorie let go, and the two of them stumbled their way over to me.

"Don't be scared, Paula. We're here to save you!"

Barret swept me up in his arms, while Marjorie grabbed a warning sign and swung it, driving the zombie back.

Watching the two of them, warmth flooded through me.

I'm the only heir of the Delgado family, and the two of them are ordinary working people, nothing more.

Everyone said their backgrounds and status didn't match mine, and no one had any faith in what the three of us had.

When the higher-ups at the company found out I meant to marry Barret, they even voted it down unanimously and told me to think long and hard before I acted.

To prove to everyone that the two of them were sincere, I used my highest-level clearance to launch the company's newest holographic projection game and hooked them into the system while they were resting.

From the moment we met up earlier to try on wedding attire, we had already been inside the game.

In the game, I would give Barret an offensive power and give Marjorie a healing power.

I myself would awaken no ability at all, only become the biggest piece of dead weight in the apocalypse.

Every moment of the game would be livestreamed.

As long as they carried me through to the destruction of the zombie king, the game would come to an end.

By then no one could question my decision anymore, and no one could deny what the three of us had!

I curled tight against Barret's chest, feeling his heartbeat, and the corners of my mouth lifted with certainty.

They'd been terrified at first, but in the end they still threw everything aside to save me.

That was proof enough. My choice had been the right one.