Chapter 153

A dark shadow suddenly lunged from ahead, startling Xie Zhou so much that he couldn’t control a scream. Subconsciously, he hoisted An An onto his shoulder and turned to run back.

An ability user’s perception is much stronger than that of an ordinary person, and Xie Zhou could feel with exceptional clarity that the gap in strength between him and this zombie was enormous.

He manipulated his ability to make the zombie’s movements stagnate for a few seconds, desperate to buy enough time to practically fly down the stairs.

His Lightning Ability caused the zombie’s rotting body to emit a scorched smell. Xie Zhou instinctively held his breath and glanced at his feet, terrified of tripping.

When he looked up again, he saw that the staircase they had come from was blocked by a dense mass of plants. A drop of cold sweat rolled down the side of his face.

This was the first time Xie Zhou had encountered a zombie that had successfully mutated and was capable of using abilities.

His heart was pounding wildly, yet his mind had never been as calm as it was in this moment.

An An, who was being carried on his father’s shoulder like a bucket of water, struggled twice. He dangled his feet, trying to jump down, while an anxious “he-he” sound kept coming from his throat.

What was wrong with Dad? He had finally found a high-level zombie.

Mutated high-level zombies were extremely hard to find during this period; one might not even be found in an entire city. An An, starving and wide-eyed, was desperate to grab the zombie’s head and start gnawing.

The sound of his son’s tender “he-he” fell on Xie Zhou’s ears, and he thought An An was terrified. He held him even tighter, panting as he tried to soothe him.

“Don’t be afraid, Dad is here.”

In the eyes of this mutated high-level zombie, both Xie Zhou and An An were like food emitting an enticing fragrance.

Instinct told it that eating the human and the zombie in front of it would allow its strength to leap forward significantly.

Their previous act of running away was interpreted by the zombie as an admission that they were weaker than it.

The zombie had indeed mutated and become different from normal humans, but its intelligence had not reached the level of an adult.

No matter what it did, it mostly relied on instinct.

Xie Zhou held An An with one hand to prevent him from falling, focusing all his attention on the zombie.

This was Xie Zhou’s first time fighting a mutated zombie. He had already found it very difficult to deal with regular high-level zombies, let alone a mutated one.

The difficulty level had jumped up a notch, and now he had a little tag-along on his shoulder.

In Xie Zhou’s eyes, his son was incredibly weak. The Little Zombie was no different from a human toddler, spending all day thinking about how to scratch around for other zombies’ brains to eat.

If he wasn’t there to protect him, his little zombie might get bullied by others and would probably happily count the Crystal Cores for them.

Even if only for his son’s sake, he absolutely could not lose.

At this moment, Xie Zhou pushed his Lightning Ability to the limit. Purple-gold light landed on the zombie’s body with a crackling sound.

Zombies like this that possessed intelligence would usually flee the scene as fast as possible if they encountered an existence they couldn’t afford to provoke.

But when facing Xie Zhou, instead of leaving, it actually drew closer and closer to them.

The rancid stench from the zombie’s body grew nearer. Xie Zhou could even sense the zombie’s emotional urgency, as if it couldn’t wait another second to devour them completely.

An An struggled more violently, his “he-he” sounds becoming more hurried.

He wanted to tell Dad to just leave this to him; his stomach would solve everything!

But Xie Zhou persisted in misunderstanding, thinking An An was terrified by the zombie’s pressure and was struggling to escape.

Xie Zhou’s mastery of his Lightning Ability became increasingly refined, and the zombie finally let out a pained “he-he” sound.

Combat is always the best way to increase strength. At this moment, Xie Zhou’s ability advanced again, and the store of Lightning Ability within his body increased significantly.

The zombie went from playing with Xie Zhou at the start to gradually finding it difficult, finally descending into a total frenzy.

Exhausted and at his limit, Xie Zhou looked up, staring at the zombie with bloodshot eyes. His free hand clenched into a tight fist, the veins on the back of his hand throbbing as he prepared for a final stand.

At that moment, An An finally managed to struggle free from his father’s grip. He stood in front of his father and used his ability. A Space fold instantly sliced the zombie until only its head remained.

Mutated high-level zombies had stronger abilities; even with only a head left, it continued to bounce around.

An An pulled out the small hoe he had used before from his Space. He gripped it and aimed at the location of the Crystal Core inside the head, digging it out with unerring precision.

The Crystal Core fell to the ground with a crisp clinking sound.

An An happily ran over, grabbed the Crystal Core in his palm, and trotted back to his father on his short legs. He stood on his tiptoes and offered the core to his father like a precious treasure.

Xie Zhou’s hair was completely soaked with sweat. Once he was certain the zombie could no longer cause them any harm, he suddenly lost his strength and leaned against the wall to rest.

He took a bottle of water out of his backpack, but before he could drink, An An held the core out to him.

Xie Zhou gripped the bottle and used the water to rinse the core. Seeing An An’s dirty little hands, he washed them for him as well.

“You weren’t eating zombie brains before, you were eating these Crystal Cores?”

“He-he.”

An An gave an affirmative answer. As a little zombie who had been taught by his father to be mindful of hygiene, he would never eat smelly zombie brains. Absolutely impossible!

Previously, Xie Zhou had only said those things in passing to teach An An about hygiene, but the little zombie had taken them deeply to heart.

A little zombie who eats zombie brains isn’t allowed to sleep with Dad.

Xie Zhou wasn’t someone with a cleanliness obsession, but the moment he thought about that zombie’s condition, the rotting flesh hanging off it, and the stench wafting through the corridor, he couldn’t help it.

He used two bottles of mineral water to wash the core and An An’s little hands, only feeding it to him once he was sure it was clean.

When Xie Zhou had first touched the core, he guessed its hardness was similar to a diamond, extremely tough.

He watched the baby put the core in his mouth, and then, just like someone chewing on hard candy, he bit down with a loud crunch.

In just three bites, An An had eaten it all up.

Xie Zhou reached out and pried An An’s mouth open to take a look. Confirming that there was truly nothing left inside, he subconsciously asked:

“You really finished it?”

“He.”

An An tilted his head in confusion, not quite understanding why Dad would ask such a strange question. He cooperated by opening his mouth wide for Dad to check.

Anyway, he was an obedient and generous zombie baby. If Dad wanted to look, then he could look!

The previous crisis had been resolved so quietly.

If it weren’t for the fact that Xie Zhou’s body was still weak and his muscles were aching, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from wondering if that high-level mutated zombie hadn’t been as strong as he thought.

Xie Zhou rested against the wall for a while, then took a piece of chocolate that his son used to love from his backpack, unwrapping it to eat for energy.

Before the apocalypse, this had been an office building. Because it was a densely populated area, few people ventured inside for safety reasons after the end of the world began.

Although they had dealt with that mutated zombie, Xie Zhou couldn’t guarantee there wasn’t a second one hiding here.

Xie Zhou, having exhausted all his strength, took An An’s little hand to head downstairs. Before they had gone two steps, the little zombie’s legs went soft, and he started to topple over.

This movement gave Xie Zhou a fright, and he hurriedly pulled his son into his arms, shaking him vigorously.

From the beginning of the apocalypse until now, this was the first time Xie Zhou had ever seen a zombie faint.

After all, before this, every zombie he had seen was more like a walking corpse. They rarely stopped to rest, let alone fell unconscious.

Previously, every day when he was preparing to sleep, An An would lie beside him with his big eyes wide open. The moment Xie Zhou looked over, the boy would lean in and rub against him.

Xie Zhou shook him for a long time, but An An showed no sign of opening his eyes. For the sake of their safety, Xie Zhou picked him up, intending to leave first.

His Lightning Ability was almost completely exhausted, leaving him with no way to handle any danger that might arise next.

Xie Zhou carried An An down the stairs, letting out a heavy sigh of relief when he finally stepped out of the corporate building’s main entrance.

To save fuel and for convenience, they had been traveling by motorcycle the whole way. But now that An An was unconscious, Xie Zhou carried him toward the underground parking garage instead.

After the total collapse of the power grid, the underground garage was pitch black even during the day. In a sense, darkness meant hidden danger, so very few people ever entered.

Various luxury cars sat quietly in the parking spaces, covered in a thick layer of dust.

Xie Zhou broke into several car doors. The alarms blared in the darkness, sounding exceptionally piercing.

He selected a car with plenty of fuel, placed An An in the back, and drove out.

The blaring alarms had already attracted many low-level zombies. In the past, Xie Zhou might have hesitated, but now he simply pressed down on the accelerator and drove over them.

An office building in such a prosperous area was not a suitable place to rest.

Xie Zhou drove toward the remote suburbs and stopped in front of a self-built house^[1].

So much time had passed since the apocalypse began that all houses had become ownerless property.

After entering, Xie Zhou first inspected the courtyard. Once he confirmed there were no zombies, he entered the house.

Currently, the vast majority of humans were gathered in Survivor Bases. Houses like this were only used as temporary rest stops by people on the road.

Combined with the erratic weather of the post-apocalyptic world, a musty smell wafted out as soon as he opened the door.

Xie Zhou checked the place thoroughly several times before carrying An An to the second-floor bedroom.

The overall decoration and furnishings of this bedroom looked very cozy. It wasn’t hard to see that before the apocalypse, this home had been peaceful, happy, and warm.

Xie Zhou placed An An on the bed. Even though he knew zombies didn’t feel the cold, he still covered him with a quilt and even habitually patted him gently to soothe him.

After finishing this, Xie Zhou went downstairs to check again, hoping to see if any supplies had been left behind.

He found a small blackboard in the stairwell. Picking up a piece of chalk, he wrote a few words on it, hung it on the front door of the small house, and then closed the door.

This place was rarely visited, but that didn’t mean no one would come.

There was a rule among humans: if one happened to find an ownerless house and intended to stay for a while, they should leave a mark at the door clearly stating they did not wish to be disturbed.

If someone entered directly after seeing such a mark, it was considered a very serious offense, and the occupant could initiate an attack immediately.

In the apocalypse, most people were extremely guarded. Almost everyone had secrets they were unwilling to share, and emotional bonds were becoming increasingly thin.

One couldn’t even necessarily trust the person sharing their bed, let alone a stranger.

Xie Zhou also spotted a few fresh-looking vegetables in a flowerpot in the corner. Without any hesitation, he harvested them all.

Fortunately, the owner of this house had stocked up on plenty of gas before the apocalypse, and the kitchen was fully equipped.

After an unknown amount of time, Xie Zhou finally ate a hot meal again.

After finishing his meal and tidying up a bit, Xie Zhou went upstairs.

The Little Zombie in the bed still had his eyes closed, showing no signs of waking up.

This was the first time he had encountered a Little Zombie sleeping or unconscious. With no reference point to follow, he could only wait by his side, consumed with anxiety.

Xie Zhou stayed by the bed, just as he used to when the baby had a cold.

In the middle of the night, Xie Zhou felt a bit tired, so he lay down beside the baby without taking off his clothes.

If the baby woke up and made any noise, he would definitely wake up instantly.

It wasn’t until noon the next day when Xie Zhou woke up that he saw An An still showed no sign of waking.

Xie Zhou tucked him in and leaned over to kiss his chubby little cheek.

When he used to travel with a team, he had met many people. When those who wanted to trade with his team saw how fair and plump An An was kept, they understood the strength of their group.

What Xie Zhou was most proud of wasn’t his powerful Lightning Ability, nor the fact that his ability level had remained high since the start of the apocalypse.

It was that in this harsh world, he had managed to live up to his wife’s final wish and raise their son to be healthy and plump.

Even if he had become a Little Zombie now, he was definitely the cutest one.

Since the baby hadn’t woken up, Xie Zhou didn’t have the heart to do anything else. He took a few biscuits out of his hiking bag to fill his stomach, treating it as his lunch.

An An slept for three days and three nights. Xie Zhou stayed by his side the entire time, his internal anxiety growing more obvious as time passed.

During these three days, Xie Zhou thought back very carefully on everything that had happened that day.

He knew his own strength very well. Even though he had been lucky enough to have his ability break through at the critical moment, there was still a massive gap between him and that high-level mutant zombie.

Furthermore, right after the breakthrough, he hadn’t even known how to utilize his new power.

Humans were different from zombies; it was much easier for zombies to increase their ability levels.

Additionally, as long as a human was scratched by a zombie, they were highly likely to be infected by the virus and turn. Taking this into account, humans were destined to be unable to exert their full strength.

With a natural gap and an acquired disadvantage, a zombie’s capabilities were much stronger than a human’s at the same level.

Yet later, the baby had seemingly killed that zombie with ease. He even knew that using his hands would make Xie Zhou angry, so he specifically used the small hoe to dig out the zombie’s brain.

That process couldn’t possibly have been as simple as it looked.

The more Xie Zhou thought about it, the deeper his guilt became. He had clearly said he was going to find food for the baby, but in the end, the baby had to step in to save him. Otherwise, both of them might have died there!

He, an adult ability user, actually needed a baby who was less than three years old in human years and less than six months old as a zombie to rescue him.

The reason the baby was unconscious was likely similar to when a human overused their ability, falling into a temporary deep sleep. Once his ability level recovered, he would wake up.

On the evening of the third day, An An finally opened his eyes.

When he didn’t see his father beside him immediately, he scrambled up in a fright, letting out rapid “ho-ho” sounds from his throat.

An An’s brain hadn’t quite started working yet. He thought his father had abandoned him because he hated that he had secretly eaten a zombie brain again. Panicking, he waved his little hands around.

“Ho.”

Downstairs, Xie Zhou heard the commotion from above. He hurriedly dropped what he was holding and ran upstairs.

An An had only taken two steps after opening the door when Xie Zhou ran up to him.

“Baby, you’re finally awake.”

Xie Zhou stepped forward quickly and pulled the baby into his arms, holding him with immense strength.

Even though An An was now a zombie, he felt a bit of pain from being squeezed so tightly.

“Baby, don’t worry. Starting today, I will definitely train hard and strive to upgrade my abilities as soon as possible.”

“Ho?”

An An didn’t quite understand why his father suddenly wanted to become so ambitious. He personally thought his father was doing just fine as he was.

The high-level mutant zombie they had encountered before had indeed given them a massive scare, but in a way, it had helped Xie Zhou break through a bottleneck that had stalled him for a long time.

It made Xie Zhou realize clearly that if he wanted to level up, he couldn’t avoid those zombies. He had to face them head-on, just like he used to when he followed his squad.

Back then, he had carved a path of blood through zombie swarms every day. Relying on rich combat experience and a strong psychological foundation, he had been able to raise his strength to the peak of humanity in the shortest time possible.

Over the past few days, Xie Zhou had been thinking that it was because he, as a father, wasn’t strong enough that he needed the baby’s help, which had led to the baby exhausting his energy and resting for so many days.

Zombies naturally don’t breathe. When An An lay unconscious on the bed, he remained perfectly still.

In Xie Zhou’s eyes, it looked as if the baby had left him forever.

Even if it was just a slight resemblance to death, the mere thought made Xie Zhou’s heart tighten.

“Ho ho.”

An An still didn’t understand, and even began to suspect if something was wrong with his father.

How did he not know he needed his father’s protection? He was clearly a very powerful Little Zombie!

The System could understand Xie Zhou’s thoughts, but it had no intention of telling Zai Zai.

For the System, it actually hoped even more than Zai Zai did that the mission target in each world would become stronger.

Take Xie Zhou in this world, for example. As long as his ability level was high enough to protect Zai Zai, then Zai Zai wouldn’t need to go out every day to dig out other zombies’ brains to eat.

In the apocalypse, strength was the most important thing. If Xie Zhou’s strength reached a height that no one else in the entire apocalypse could attain, then even if he openly raised a zombie, others would only praise how cute the zombie he raised was.

Xie Zhou held An An, reluctant to let go, and reached out to gently pat his back.

Even an adult like himself felt a sense of panic when seeing such ugly zombies, let alone a zombie as small as Zai Zai. He must have been terrified.

Once An An woke up, Xie Zhou didn’t plan to stay in that place any longer. He took Zai Zai and got onto the motorcycle.

An An sat in the front, experiencing the feeling of flying. Leaning against his father’s chest, he listened to the sound of his father’s heartbeat and then reached out to touch the position of his own heart.

How strange. Why didn’t his own heart beat?

An An thought about this question the whole way but couldn’t figure it out. Since he couldn’t ask his father, he could only hide this doubt in the back of his mind.

Xie Zhou had no specific destination; he only knew he wanted to keep moving forward with An An.

If they were lucky and ran into those high-level zombies, he could provide the baby with a feast.

As time passed, Xie Zhou had long since seen the situation clearly.

What An An truly consumed were the Crystal Cores inside the zombies. These cores, like supernatural abilities, were divided into levels.

From the subtle expressions the baby made every time he ate, Xie Zhou could judge that the higher the level of the zombie Crystal Core, the better it tasted.

As for those lower-level white cores, An An basically kept them in his pocket as small snacks, taking one out to chew on whenever he felt bored.

In the blink of an eye, a year passed. Xie Zhou stared at An An, feeling a bit worried.

Since the baby had turned into a zombie, he hadn’t grown any taller. Compared to last year, he hadn’t changed at all.

Xie Zhou pulled An An into his arms, trying to stretch him out a little. Under An An’s shocked gaze, he frowned and said:

“Why aren’t you growing? Can zombies drink milk and eat eggs? They say getting more calcium helps you grow tall.”

“Baby, do you want to try some milk? It tastes very good and is very nutritious.”

An An quickly wriggled out of his father’s arms, furrowing his little eyebrows as he backed away.

He had plenty of milk stored in his Space, but that was all for his father to drink. Zombies couldn’t consume any human food.

Ever since he became a zombie, his digestive system had completely stopped working. Once, An An saw something that looked delicious and took a secret bite, and his stomach hurt for a day and a night.

Since then, An An had learned his lesson and never dared to act recklessly again.

Hearing his father say this now, the memory of the previous stomach ache resurfaced in his mind, and his little face wrinkled up in distress.

Xie Zhou walked over and placed his hand on An An’s head to measure. Currently, the baby didn’t even reach his waist.

“Baby, what should we do if you don’t grow taller? Is it because you don’t eat Crystal Cores on time?”

“Ho ho.”

An An made a sound in protest, giving his father a secret glare.

Noticing the little look, Xie Zhou picked him up and gave his bottom a gentle swat.

“I’m asking you, are you not eating your Crystal Cores on time? Otherwise, why wouldn’t you grow?”

An An aggrievedly buried his head in his father’s chest, letting out soft “ho ho” sounds, clearly showing his indignation.

During this year, Xie Zhou hadn’t had any close contact with any squads. In most cases, they only exchanged supplies.

A long time had passed since the apocalypse began, and most survivors had started to become cold and numb.

Their guard was high, but they also understood that others would be wary of them, and they didn’t take offense at such behavior.

Seeing that Xie Zhou wasn’t alone but was even carrying a small child, they could understand his coldness even more.

“Baby, it doesn’t matter if you don’t grow up. Look, Daddy can always pick you up with one hand.”

Xie Zhou was very good at adjusting his emotions. In less than five minutes, he had quickly cheered himself up and even tried to coax An An into being happy too.

Little An An was still thinking about the swat his father had given his bottom earlier. He continued to bury his head in his father’s chest, his hands tightly gripping his father’s clothes and refusing to let go, specifically not letting him demonstrate how to pick up a baby with one hand.

Xie Zhou held him with one arm and walked to the other side. They hadn’t prepared a proper big meal in a long time.

In the apocalypse, most people’s minds had become very numb. No one could guarantee if the next person to turn into a zombie would be themselves.

Forget about preparing a big meal every once in a while; there were even cases where people with fragile mental states chose to end their own lives.

In the dark and hopeless apocalypse, almost everyone felt that if they were to die in a zombie’s mouth and become one themselves, it would be better to die by their own hand. At least they wouldn’t become a zombie and harm others.

Xie Zhou couldn’t be sure if his thoughts would have been the same as theirs if he didn’t have the baby.

Fortunately, he had the baby by his side. The quirky Little An An still needed him to go out every day to fight zombies and dig out Crystal Cores to bring back for him to eat.

With this responsibility, combined with the zombie baby’s various cute behaviors, Xie Zhou had managed to hold on until now.

His mental state hadn’t suffered any issues, and he didn’t feel that the current situation was bad.

Xie Zhou’s adaptability was very strong, especially with the baby accompanying him.

At first, Xie Zhou thought all zombie Crystal Cores were the same, but after spending a long time with the baby, he gradually understood that zombie Crystal Cores also had different flavors.

Wood-type zombie Crystal Cores generally have a bitter taste, making them the type the baby hates most. If he weren’t so hungry, he wouldn’t even spare them a glance.

Water-type Crystal Cores are similar to what humans call mint flavor; the baby likes to chew on one after finishing a meal.

Lightning-type Crystal Cores are tingly and numb, like popping candy, which the baby doesn’t particularly enjoy.

Space-type zombies are not very common. After a whole year, they had only encountered one, and its ability level was relatively low.

Judging by the satisfied look in the baby’s eyes, Crystal Cores that match his own ability are much more delicious. Unfortunately, no matter how hard Xie Zhou searched, it was difficult to find another one.

By now, most ability users have discovered that they can use zombie Crystal Cores to upgrade their own ability levels. Zombie Crystal Cores have become a new form of currency.

Xie Zhou had taken the baby to countless places, yet they had found very few Space-type zombies.

Therefore, every once in a while, Xie Zhou would take the baby and intercept people who had just come out of a Survivor Base to exchange high-level Crystal Cores for Space-type ones.

Space-type abilities are a rare type in the post-apocalyptic world. Even if most people obtain such a Crystal Core, they have no way to use it, so they are very willing to trade.

Xie Zhou often thought that after the apocalypse, zombies seemed to be the ones favored by heaven.

When humans want to advance their abilities, they need to spend a lot of time and energy. After a period of practical application, they must find a specific catalyst to successfully break through.

Furthermore, there are requirements for the zombie Crystal Cores; they must match the user’s own ability level.

If the levels do not match, not only will they fail to absorb the energy inside, but they might even suffer a severe backlash, a drop in ability level, or various other side effects. This makes ability users afraid to experiment lightly.

But zombies are different. For his Little Zombie, Crystal Cores only seemed to differ in taste.

A few days ago, Xie Zhou had encountered a team and traded for several Crystal Cores. He kept them all in his jacket pocket, waiting to give An An a surprise later.

During the meal, An An had a small bowl of Crystal Cores in front of him.

Although it was the apocalypse, the sense of ritual was not lacking at all.

Every day when Xie Zhou ate, a small bowl filled with Crystal Cores would be placed in front of An An. The two of them eating together felt just like it did before the end of the world.

An An picked up the first few and stuffed them into his mouth without even looking.

But when he saw the last few, his eyes brightened almost instantly.

Xie Zhou, who had been watching his reaction closely, was very satisfied when he saw this. A slight curve appeared at the corners of his lips; it was well worth the many Crystal Cores he had spent to trade for these.

Xie Zhou’s Lightning Ability also corresponded to very rare zombie Crystal Cores.

Therefore, if he wanted to increase his ability level, he mostly had to rely on his own practical experience in combat.

Fortunately, he needed a large number of Crystal Cores to feed his Little Zombie, so he never lacked combat experience.

His Little Zombie was quite cute in every other way. The only thing Xie Zhou found hard to accept was that if he didn’t feed the Little Zombie in time, the little one would sneak out in the middle of the night to dig into other zombies’ heads.

Xie Zhou often wondered if he was spoiling the baby too much, turning him into a Little Zombie whose only notable trait, besides eating quite a bit, was having no other obvious strengths.

In the beginning, An An knew how to be clean. Every time he used his small hoe to dig into a zombie’s head, he would rinse the Crystal Core with clean water.

Seeing him stuff a clean Crystal Core into his mouth, one could tell he was a very clean baby.

But a while ago, Xie Zhou had some friction with a team during a resource exchange and failed to prepare enough Crystal Cores for the baby to fill his stomach in time.

Little An’an, who was used to eating until he was stuffed every meal, only barely ate his fill during that time.

Waking up in the middle of the night, Xie Zhou found the baby wasn’t by his side. When he went out to look, he saw the baby sitting on a zombie’s neck, gnawing on its head.

The scene gave Xie Zhou a fright. At the same time, he secretly vowed to himself that no matter what happened in the future, nothing would stop him from preparing enough Crystal Cores for his baby.

“Baby, do you think we should go check out this place below?”

Before resting tonight, Xie Zhou took out a map he had exchanged from a Team Leader for a single Crystal Core.

This map showed all the current Survivor Bases as well as places where one could seek help.

Xie Zhou placed one hand on their current location and pointed with his other finger to a Survivor Base not far from them.

Xie Zhou’s impression of most Survivor Bases wasn’t very good. Since they were offering other Crystal Cores to trade for a specific type, others could guess that they possessed that rare ability.

Whether it was Lightning-type or Space-type, both were extremely rare. Adding to that the fact that one of them was a child, many people hoped Xie Zhou would join their base.

For the sake of the baby’s safety and the safety of the ordinary people in those bases, Xie Zhou naturally couldn’t agree to these requests, which inevitably led to some retaliation and threats.

However, in most cases, he still needed the help of the bases to trade for the Crystal Cores he wanted.

An An nodded slightly and let out a couple of “he-he” sounds.

He felt they should go because the System had been reminding him in his mind that this was the base established by the male and female protagonists in the plot.

As the protagonists of this world, the base they were in was naturally the largest and most powerful one in the region.

The phrase “the base’s strength is very great” entered An An’s head and was automatically translated by the Little Zombie to mean: there will be many Space-type Crystal Cores inside!

“Alright, then we’ll go.”

Whenever Xie Zhou couldn’t make a choice himself, he would ask the baby.

In any case, the apocalypse was inherently full of danger. No matter what choice he made, he would face huge risks, so he might as well hand the power of choice over to the baby.

That way, even if they encountered danger, he would be content with the outcome.

That night, Xie Zhou simply packed their things, preparing to head toward that base the next day.

Previously, Xie Zhou had always longed for his life to settle down so he wouldn’t have to live without a fixed residence every day like this.

During this past year, the longest they had stayed in one place was only half a month.

Xie Zhou was truly a bit tired. He yearned to settle down in one place, just like those current Survivor Bases.

With the baby in tow, he couldn’t join any base. He knew very well the complexity of the human heart. No matter how powerful he and the baby were, in the eyes of others, the baby was a creature that should be killed.

No matter how much he emphasized that the baby definitely wouldn’t bite, no one was willing to believe him.

Avoiding all danger was also equivalent to giving up the choice of having a stable life.

Xie Zhou didn’t feel regret taking the baby along, but occasionally, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of longing.

Since going to a human base wouldn’t work, Xie Zhou had even thought that they could establish a Survivor Base for zombies, allowing only those zombies who had gained self-awareness and the ability to think to enter.

He had confidence in his own strength. Having traveled across more than half the country, Xie Zhou knew clearly that his power ranked among the strongest of all humanity. Very few people possessed an ability level higher than his.

Even in a zombie nest, he could guarantee his own safety.

If he truly couldn’t handle a situation, there was still the baby, whom he had fed an unknown number of zombie crystal cores.

After consuming so many of his crystal cores, it was about time for the little one to pay him back.

When this idea first popped into Xie Zhou’s mind, he felt it was highly feasible.

He would take the baby with him to search for high-level zombies everywhere. After rounding up a few of them, he would then consider where to establish the base.

Unfortunately, he had only just begun when he was forced to declare the plan a failure.

Every time they encountered a high-level zombie, Xie Zhou’s thought was to persuade them to join his zombie base, but in the baby’s eyes, that was simply a big meal.

If Xie Zhou helped, the baby would eat a bit more neatly.

If he was unwilling to help or even tried to stop the baby from going over, An An would quickly squirm out of his arms, climb onto the shoulders of the zombie whose crystal core he wanted to eat, and grab the zombie’s head, preparing to start gnawing.

Xie Zhou truly could not accept a baby who went around gnawing on zombie heads. The frustrating part was that no matter how many times he told him, a famished baby would never listen obediently.

After realizing that the baby loved sleeping with him, Xie Zhou took to locking him out of the bedroom whenever he made a mistake.

The baby had been fed so many crystal cores, after all; even if he was locked outside for a while, he shouldn’t encounter any danger.

The punishment he devised was indeed good, and for An An, it did count as a penalty, but there was no accounting for the fact that he was a very capable little zombie.

When the door was locked, he would quietly climb in through the window. Once, he even widened the air conditioning duct to crawl inside.

No matter what method Xie Zhou used to lock the baby out, he always had a myriad of strange ways to sneak back in.

Thinking of that previous failed experience, Xie Zhou reached out and rubbed the baby’s head firmly. He hadn’t mistreated the boy, so why did he want to bite every zombie he saw?

An An didn’t understand the many thoughts in his father’s mind. He only knew that his father probably liked rubbing his head, so he leaned in to nuzzle against him, proactively rubbing his head into his father’s palm.

Feeling the soft hair against his palm and seeing the baby’s innocent expression, which seemed to be asking why he wasn’t petting him yet, Xie Zhou’s heart instantly turned into a complete mess of softness.

He couldn’t bear to scold him another word and even began to reflect on his own actions.

How could he put a cat and catnip together? It was simply against biological nature!

While his father was falling asleep, An An began to adjust himself into his favorite position. With his father’s hand resting on his waist, he leaned a bit closer into his father’s embrace.

For An An, this was a fatherly love he had never enjoyed before.

An An’s memories of his former father had not been entirely erased. He still remembered the night he was punished by being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall just because he had hoped his father would give him a hug.

The floor tiles of the ancestral hall were very cold and hard. After kneeling for a whole night, he couldn’t stand up at all.

A warm embrace like this one perfectly encircled An An, forming a protective posture.

Even though zombies didn’t need to sleep, while curled up in his father’s warm arms, An An couldn’t help but close his eyes. He curled his lips in a good mood, the shallow dimples on his cheeks looking incredibly adorable.