Chapter 152

Xie Zhou’s heart nearly stopped in shock at An An’s action. He lunged toward the windowsill, watching helplessly as the baby jumped from the sixth floor, only to land completely unharmed.

In addition to the changes in their power levels, an ability user’s five senses also evolve to a certain extent. Even in the dark of night, Xie Zhou could see everything very clearly.

An An, who was dazed with hunger, didn’t notice at all that his father had been staring at him. Following his instincts and intuition, his small body darted through the darkness, moving so fast he was nothing more than a shadow.

He soon arrived in front of a tall building. He tilted his head back, staring blankly at a specific window. Subconsciously, he reached out to cover his stomach, which had been empty for a long time, and began to swallow involuntarily.

The high-level zombie that was rumored to have successfully evolved was currently inside.

As if sensing a threat, the zombie walked out of the high-rise on its own before An An even had to go in and search for it.

Zombies didn’t just bite humans; they also viewed those of the same or higher levels as food.

An An’s initial level after being infected and turning into a zombie was very high. Furthermore, his current three-head-tall appearance made him look like an easy target.

Digesting the energy inside a high-level zombie’s crystal core was the fastest way for a zombie to advance.

Therefore, in the eyes of that zombie, An An, who had a high ability level but looked tiny, was like a delicious piece of fat meat.

“Heh heh.”

“Heh.”

The two of them greeted each other. Before An An could make his next move, he noticed that his shoelaces had come undone.

His father had already fallen asleep when he left the house, and he hadn’t learned how to tie his laces himself yet. The knot itself had been tied very crudely.

After a moment’s thought, An An decided to tie his shoelaces first. Yesterday, his father had said that if a little zombie didn’t tie his laces properly, he might accidentally step on them and trip.

As An An crouched down to tie his laces, the zombie, which had already regained the ability to think, decided to take this opportunity to attack. It lunged at him with incredible speed.

An An shifted his short legs to dodge to the side. Realizing a moment later that the zombie’s target was him, he raised a hand and used his space ability to warp the air, turning it into a sharp blade that sliced the zombie apart.

The parts below the head turned into mangled meat, but the head remained intact. Its greyish-white eyes widened slightly, much like a human’s would when startled.

An An could smell the rotting stench on the zombie and silently moved a bit further away.

No matter how hard his chubby little fingers tried, he couldn’t fix the mess of a shoelace. Eventually, he grew so hungry and frustrated that he simply stuffed the loose laces into his shoe.

They were currently in a plaza. Before the apocalypse began, many parents loved bringing their children here to play.

An An searched for a long time before finding a handy little toy hoe, then ran back to the zombie’s head.

By the time Xie Zhou finally managed to get down from the sixth floor, he saw his well-behaved and adorable son holding a toy hoe, digging into a human-like head.

Zombies like this, who possessed self-awareness and had successfully evolved, generally had a crystal core inside their brains.

The higher the level, the more beautiful the condensed crystal core would be.

An An covered his nose with one hand and dug vigorously with the little hoe in the other. After much effort, he finally managed to rummage a crystal core out of the head.

The pale green crystal core shimmered under the moonlight, looking exceptionally beautiful.

If this were before the apocalypse, it would undoubtedly be a gemstone sought after by countless people.

An An, who was about to faint from hunger, didn’t have the heart to care about much else. He gripped it and stuffed it directly into his mouth.

The hard zombie crystal core entered his mouth, making a crunching sound as he chewed it a few times.

His stomach finally full, a look of satisfaction appeared on An An’s chubby little face. Realizing a moment later that he had been out for quite a while, he hurriedly rushed back.

He skipped along with exceptionally light steps. When he turned a corner and saw the tall man standing there, An An instantly froze in place.

Visible panic washed over his little face as his mind raced, wondering exactly how much of that scene his father had witnessed.

Not only was An An panicked, but even Xie Zhou found the reality a bit difficult to accept.

He stared at An An for a long time. Seeing that the little zombie looked like he was about to burst into tears under his gaze, Xie Zhou finally pulled a tissue from his jacket pocket. He wiped away the stains clinging to the corner of the boy’s mouth, his movements as gentle as ever as he gave his habitual scolding:

“Look at you. You don’t even know to wipe your mouth after eating.”

Even though these were words of reprimand, An An was overjoyed to hear them. With a “Wah!” he scrambled over on his short legs and hugged his father’s leg, almost impatient to give his guarantee.

“Heh.”

Xie Zhou leaned down, picked him up, and started walking back. Both the human and the zombie were very silent on the way.

Regarding the fact that his son had just jumped from the sixth floor unharmed and had sneaked out behind his back in the middle of the night to dig out and eat someone’s brain, Xie Zhou felt he needed time to digest it all.

Back in the hotel room, Xie Zhou closed the door. Zai Zai wrapped his arms around his neck and didn’t say a word, seemingly knowing he had done something wrong and acting much more well-behaved than usual.

“Water.”

As soon as Xie Zhou spoke, a bottle of water quickly appeared on the table in front of him.

“A toothbrush, a new one, and toothpaste.”

As soon as he finished speaking, those items were added to the table.

When he looked down again, no matter how much An An tried to hide it, his expression still carried a hint of pride, as if he were waiting for a few words of praise.

“Yes, very good.”

Xie Zhou’s mind was still filled with the image of Zai Zai digging out a zombie’s brain to eat. If this hadn’t been his own son, he would have definitely felt that this child was beyond saving.

He brought the mineral water to Zai Zai’s mouth, letting him hold the water to rinse, and squeezed toothpaste onto the toothbrush.

“Spit it out.”

Xie Zhou carried Zai Zai to the sink in the bathroom. An An obediently spat the water into the basin.

Xie Zhou grabbed a stool to rest his feet and had Zai Zai sit on his lap. He reached out to hold the boy’s chin, frowning throughout the process as he helped him brush his teeth clean.

After finishing, he leaned in to sniff, confirming it was the fruity scent of children’s toothpaste. Once he was sure he couldn’t smell even a hint of anything strange, he spoke up to remind him:

“Next time… before you eat, wash it first.”

An An tilted his head in confusion, pointing at himself and then at his father.

Xie Zhou held his finger in his palm and carried him back to tuck him into the blankets. When An An reached out to protest and try to crawl out, Xie Zhou said:

“You have to be a hygienic little zombie. Look at those zombies wandering outside every day; who knows how many strange zombies they’ve come into contact with or how many viruses they carry.”

“If you don’t wash it before eating, what if you get a stomachache?”

“Also, Daddy doesn’t want to sleep with a dirty baby.”

An An only half-understood the earlier words, but he heard the last sentence clearly. He nervously reached out to hug his father’s arm, even wrapping his short legs around it.

No way. He had to sleep with Daddy.

Even if zombies didn’t need sleep, the little zombie, who had never slept with his father before, still wanted his father to hold him while he slept.

Seeing that Zai Zai intended to compromise, Xie Zhou rubbed his head and asked:

“So, will you be a good boy?”

An An nodded his little head and let out a “heh heh” sound.

As long as he wasn’t eating living humans, it was within Xie Zhou’s range of acceptance.

Strictly speaking, once someone was infected with the zombie virus, they were no longer considered human. Every day, many zombies died at the hands of ability users anyway.

By contrast, aside from the fact that digging through zombie heads after killing them sounded a bit unseemly, there was nothing else wrong with the baby.

After Xie Zhou successfully convinced himself of this, he reached out and patted the baby’s belly.

It was still flat, but judging by the satisfied little expression on his face, it was clear he had eaten his fill.

An An, feeling that he had done something wrong, was incredibly well-behaved. When his father patted his stomach, he didn’t resist at all. Instead, he proactively puffed out his belly to make it easier to touch.

“Heh?”

“Baby, are you not hungry anymore?”

“Heh heh.”

Xie Zhou would ask a question, and the baby would obediently answer. After finishing all his questions and meeting the baby’s grayish-white gaze, he suddenly felt an indescribable sense of relief in his heart.

Actually, if he looked on the bright side, the current situation wasn’t too bad.

In the apocalypse, weak children and the elderly were the hardest to keep alive.

Back when he traveled through the wasteland with the baby, if he hadn’t been powerful enough himself, the baby never would have survived to grow this big.

Even a powerhouse like Xie Zhou often worried about whether the baby would have enough to eat.

Once, when he was collaborating with a certain team, the Team Leader had even used the baby to threaten him into submission.

But now, the baby had become a Little Zombie. He retained his past memories and remembered that Xie Zhou was his father. He was just as well-behaved and obedient as before, and the most rebellious thing he did was use his father’s hem to grind his teeth.

Even jumping from the sixth floor left him unscathed. He now had the ability to protect himself. Even if they got separated in the apocalypse, Xie Zhou wouldn’t have to worry anymore.

After struggling through the apocalypse for so long, Xie Zhou’s thinking had broken out of its conventional boundaries.

The baby was still his baby, still by his side, and he could continue to protect him. It was just that a fragile human toddler had turned into a super-strong zombie Zai Zai.

Xie Zhou didn’t sleep much that night. The next morning, his spirit seemed a bit low, and he frequently spaced out while packing his things.

Seeing his father like this, An An was a little worried. He moved over and squatted next to him to help.

Just as Xie Zhou was preparing to carry the baby out of the hotel, An An reached out and tugged at his hem, wanting him to rest more.

“Baby, let’s find another place to rest. It’s too dangerous here.”

“Do you remember someone telling us when we arrived that there’s a zombie here that has successfully evolved? It has intelligence and can even control low-level zombies.”

An An’s midnight excursion to dig out other zombies’ brains because he was starving had served as a reminder to Xie Zhou. Since the baby could fill his stomach this way, there was a high probability that other zombies had the same awareness.

Based on Xie Zhou’s years of experience struggling in the apocalypse, a zombie’s strength was somewhat related to their abilities before they turned.

For example, if a powerful ability user was infected with the zombie virus, they would become a very difficult zombie to deal with from the start.

By the same logic, his little baby, who could barely walk straight before being infected, certainly wouldn’t be very strong.

Or perhaps the baby’s own Space-type ability was strong enough, but he simply didn’t know how to control or use it.

Under these circumstances, Xie Zhou began to guard against other zombies who might want to dig out his baby’s head to eat.

A successfully evolved zombie? An An fell silent for a long time after hearing this, subconsciously reaching out to touch his belly.

“Heh heh.”

Xie Zhou heard the guilt in An An’s voice. Following the baby’s gaze to his stomach and thinking back to last night, his eyes suddenly widened as he asked:

“That zombie last night was the one?”

An An nodded gently, blinking his large eyes and trying his best to look innocent.

That zombie had indeed evolved, possessing a Wood-type ability and the power to control low-level zombies. The Crystal Core it produced was quite pretty, though the texture when eaten was only average.

“Aside from that zombie, are there any other high-level zombies in this area?”

An An closed his eyes to sense carefully, then shook his head gently.

In such a large plaza, although few people approached because of the massive horde gathered since the start of the apocalypse, that was the only zombie that had truly evolved.

The advancement of zombies was much harder than that of ability users. it relied entirely on luck. Out of a thousand zombies, there might not even be one lucky enough to gain intelligence.

There was a certain hierarchy of suppression among zombies. With An An here, even if he did nothing, other zombies wouldn’t dare approach the hotel.

“If we rest here for a while longer, will there be any danger?”

Danger? A flash of confusion crossed An An’s eyes. Based on his own guesses, he vaguely understood what his father meant.

He reached out, clenched a small fist, and lightly thumped his chest. Then he lifted his chin slightly, putting on a proud, arrogant look.

Xie Zhou vaguely understood what his baby was trying to express. He was caught between laughter and tears by this cocky display. Reaching out to rub the baby’s head, he asked:

“Because the baby is here, there won’t be any danger, right?”

“Heh!”

“Alright. I didn’t rest well last night anyway, so let’s stay here and rest for one more day.”

Xie Zhou couldn’t remember the last time he had rested peacefully. Lying on the bed and staring at the sunlight streaming through the window, he suddenly felt as if a lifetime had passed.

Hearts were scattered in the team, and conflicts were inevitable when many people were together. However, when others in the team were on guard, he could indeed sleep soundly.

An An took off his own shoes and climbed onto the bed. He crawled into his father’s arms and took his father’s hand, placing it on his own belly.

Xie Zhou understood and pulled him closer. Seeing the baby’s satisfied expression after closing his eyes, the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

Compared to before he turned into a zombie, Zai Zai had become more than a little bit clingier.

From the beginning of the apocalypse until now, Xie Zhou had dealt with zombies almost every day.

He had watched them evolve from being slow-moving creatures that could be killed with an ordinary shovel to being agile hunters that even ability users might not be able to overcome.

Xie Zhou felt a deep-seated fear and loathing for these beings that could threaten his life at any moment, wishing they would disappear from the world entirely.

But from the moment the baby was accidentally scratched by a zombie until the infection completely turned him, Xie Zhou had never shown a single hint of fear.

Instinctive fear was unavoidable, but Xie Zhou worked hard to ensure the baby didn’t notice it.

If even he was afraid, then the baby, who had remained conscious throughout the process of turning and realized he had become an outlier, must have been even more terrified.

He was still so small, and there were so many things he hadn’t had time to do yet.

So as a father, he had to hold the baby firmly without hesitation.

He had to tell him that no matter what happened, he would stand firmly by his side.

And no matter what kind of monster he became, he would always be his father.

A little zombie didn’t need to sleep to rest, but An An still closed his eyes while being held by his father, his lips curving into a shallow smile.

If he weren’t afraid of disturbing his father’s rest, he would have even let out a few “heh heh” laughs.

Whenever the System saw its Zai Zai looking so “worthless” and easily satisfied, it didn’t know whether to feel sorry for him or to despise him for being so easy to coax.

After thinking it over, he could only blame the Xie family from his original world. They were the ones who had raised the child to be like this!

Xie Zhou, who had not rested well for a very long time, now had his son watching over him. He slept exceptionally soundly.

At first, An An managed to maintain his posture, but as time passed, even though his muscles did not ache, he found the position boring. He could not help but want to move around.

Lying there with his head propped up by his hands, he began to stare at his father curiously.

Xie Zhou’s features were very handsome and well-defined, and his wheat-colored skin looked healthy.

Perhaps because he remained vigilant all year round, his brow was still slightly furrowed even in deep sleep. An An reached out his small hand and smoothed it over for him.

Xie Zhou slept for a full day and night. The first day was fine, but during the following night, An An would lean in from time to time, twitching his nose like a puppy to smell if his father was still fragrant.

If he smelled him and still wanted to take a bite, it proved that there was nothing wrong with his father.

On the afternoon of the third day, Xie Zhou finally opened his eyes. Almost immediately, a certain little ancestor leaned over and hugged his neck.

“Are you hungry?”

Xie Zhou had just woken up and had not fully reacted yet. He subconsciously pulled his son over and gave him a kiss.

“Heh, heh.”

The sound unique to zombies echoed in his ear, causing Xie Zhou’s sleepiness to vanish instantly. His memories flooded back, and he reached out to gently rub An An’s head.

For a zombie, a single crystal core could keep them feeling full for a long time. Right now, An An did not feel hungry; he just wanted his father to play with him.

“Did you miss Daddy?”

“Heh.”

Xie Zhou carried An An with one hand to go wash up. He had never noticed this little guy being so clingy before. After turning into a zombie, he was practically like a piece of sticky candy.

After washing up, Xie Zhou had An An take out a box of self-heating hot pot^[1] from the space. He did not put An An down even while he was eating.

Ever since he discovered his son had been scratched by a zombie, Xie Zhou felt immense regret for not spending enough time with the baby in the past.

To make up for past regrets, even if An An were not clingy, he would still want to hold him at all times.

As the aroma of the self-heating hot pot wafted out, An An took a deep breath of the food’s scent and swallowed silently.

This reminded Xie Zhou that his son used to love eating hot pot and spicy strips, yet he was someone who could not handle spicy food.

Every time, he would be moved to tears by the spice but still insist on having one last bite. That stubborn look was particularly funny.

Xie Zhou pulled himself away from the memories and began to think about their future plans.

The more he lived this kind of displaced life, the more he yearned for a settled existence.

Before, there were survivor bases that gave him some hope, but now the zombie characteristics on the baby were far too obvious. Absolutely no base would be willing to take the risk of sheltering them.

Even if the base leaders agreed, Xie Zhou was unwilling to let other survivors take such a huge risk by living with a zombie.

Although he could guarantee that his baby was very good and would not bite people randomly, he could not guarantee that under various changing conditions, some reason might cause the baby to lose his mind and become like other zombies.

Survival in the apocalypse was hard enough as it was. People finally reached a relatively stable base after much difficulty.

For an ordinary person, the journey to reach a base alone might exhaust all their strength.

Xie Zhou was willing to take the risk of living with An An because he was his son. He was already prepared to accept the worst possible outcome.

Others, however, had no obligation to share this risk with him.

An An noticed that his father’s eating speed had slowed down slightly, and his eyes began to drift unconsciously toward the window.

The environment had completely fallen into chaos after the apocalypse. The temperature might reach forty degrees today, and it might snow tomorrow. It had completely defied the laws of nature.

In such a harsh environment, An An saw a sprout growing on the hotel windowsill.

He did not know if the wind had carried the seed there, but the two tiny leaves looked both fragile and strong, swaying their bodies in the wind.

By the time he finished the self-heating hot pot, Xie Zhou still had not thought of a suitable solution. He packed some things into his hiking bag and carried An An downstairs.

As they walked out of the hotel entrance, An An consciously put on sunglasses and a baseball cap to hide his zombie characteristics.

Although the baby had space-type abilities and it would be safer to store everything in his space, Xie Zhou, who had made caution a habit, still carried a heavy hiking bag.

If they happened to encounter someone on the road to exchange information or supplies, it would be more convenient to take things out from the bag.

Before setting off, Xie Zhou checked the fuel in the motorcycle. After confirming it was sufficient, he placed An An in front of him to sit.

An An faced his father, leaning into his father’s arms to rest when he was tired.

With him around, they basically never encountered zombies blocking the road. All the low-level zombies wandering on the main road avoided them one after another due to An An’s pressure, making the journey smooth and unobstructed.

After traveling for half a day, Xie Zhou chose a good spot to stop and took out self-heating rice from his backpack.

Just then, a convoy happened to stop as well.

There were three off-road vehicles in total. Looking at them, they also valued this open space and planned to take a short break here.

There were five men and six women in the group. When Xie Zhou saw them, they also noticed Xie Zhou’s presence.

Xie Zhou subconsciously held An An, placing his hand on the back of the boy’s head to press him into his chest. His whole body entered a state of alert, staring at the group before him with wary eyes.

In the apocalypse, human hearts were unpredictable. No matter how harmless someone looked on the outside, Xie Zhou would not underestimate them.

Leading the group was a young woman, and the rest of the party seemed to follow her lead.

Qi Lan observed the surrounding environment. Aside from this spot, they would likely have to travel a long way to find another similar place to rest.

The group was already very exhausted and unwilling to move again, so she took the initiative to approach and greet Xie Zhou.

“We are mission-takers from Dawn Base. We have no ill intentions; we just want to rest here for a bit.”

“If you are short on supplies or want to know any news, you can come and communicate with us.”

Qi Lan proactively showed goodwill toward Xie Zhou. Since there were many people in their group and Xie Zhou did not want to make enemies of them, he carried An An to one side.

The group took out various cooking tools from their trunks. As the aroma of stir-fried dishes wafted over, saliva inevitably began to secrete in Xie Zhou’s mouth.

If it weren’t for An An, Xie Zhou personally valued convenience more. He did not have much free time for the many tedious steps of cooking.

After Xie Zhou finished a portion of self-heating hot pot and disposed of the trash, Qi Lan blocked his path just as he was preparing to leave.

Ever since their convoy stopped, Qi Lan had been observing Xie Zhou.

Xie Zhou intentionally protected the baby, and An An also knew that he was a little monster in the eyes of others, so he obediently hid inside his father’s coat without making a sound.

Qi Lan could judge from the two short legs sticking out that Xie Zhou was carrying a very young child.

Most ordinary people found it difficult to survive in the apocalypse, let alone carrying a child who needed care.

It was common knowledge that children were almost never emotionally stable. A sudden cry could attract zombies at any moment, significantly increasing the danger levels.

Under such conditions, the fact that a man could carry a child and keep him so well-nourished could only mean one thing: his strength was immense.

The Dawn Base was mostly populated by ordinary people, and ability users were extremely rare. Qi Lan did not want to miss such a golden opportunity. She wanted to convince Xie Zhou to join their base.

Qi Lan was the only daughter of the base’s leader. Her father had been troubled by this very issue for the past few days.

Ever since the news spread that the Dawn Base would take in ordinary people, more and more survivors had flocked to them, but the number of ability users remained low.

They could not offer incredibly lavish conditions, nor were they willing to sacrifice the interests of ordinary people to satisfy the greed of ability users. It was only natural that they struggled to retain high-level combatants.

“Hello, sir. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the Dawn Base? The treatment for ability users at our base is excellent. Would you consider joining us?”

“We have a nursery in the base. There are dedicated people to look after your child while you are out, ensuring you have no worries.”

“When the child is a bit older, our base also has a kindergarten specifically for teaching children.”

The Dawn Base was very well-equipped in these aspects, which were among the few selling points they could use to persuade others.

“Not interested.”

If the baby were a normal human child, such a base would have been exactly what Xie Zhou dreamed of.

But now that the baby had become a Little Zombie, what was the point of going to school?

“Sir, could you please give it some thought? If you are willing, we will do our best to meet any requirements you might have.”

Xie Zhou’s cold attitude only made Qi Lan more certain that his strength was extraordinary.

“I’m not considering it. I have a journey to continue.”

Without waiting for Qi Lan to say another word, Xie Zhou prepared to walk around her.

An An gripped his father’s clothes tightly, trying his best to bury his head in his father’s chest to block out the delicious scent of food from outside.

Toward his own father, An An exercised one hundred percent restraint. He even secretly vowed in his heart that if he ever accidentally bit his father, he would break off all his own teeth!

But toward these unfamiliar strangers, An An’s mind was filled with nothing but the urge to go over and take a bite.

Xie Zhou felt the little head in his arms rubbing against him. The constant squirming suggested the child was becoming irritable. He guessed it was likely because the presence of these humans was making him anxious.

Fearing the baby might try to bite someone like other zombies, Xie Zhou quickened his pace and left the area as fast as possible.

Qi Lan stared at their retreating backs, walking back toward her group with a sense of discouragement.

Being rejected was within her expectations. After all, everyone’s guard was high in the apocalypse. Not long ago, news had broken that a certain base was using ability users for human experimentation, trying to crack the secret of their powers.

Since that news spread, independent ability users were rarely willing to associate with base personnel.

Despite knowing this, Qi Lan still felt an inevitable sense of frustration.

The other ability users could probably guess why she was upset and came over to pat her shoulder in comfort.

“It’s okay. The base isn’t so desperate for people yet. Maybe our luck will hold and we’ll run into an ability user on the way back who’s willing to come with us.”

“Exactly. That man was carrying a child. He’s probably been betrayed many times in this world; he won’t trust us easily. It’s not your fault.”

Having been exposed to so many humans, An An was restless the entire way. He rubbed his head, kicked his feet, and kept picking at the zipper on Xie Zhou’s jacket.

Whether it was from the wind or something else, his hair had puffed out, making him look like a little hedgehog from a distance.

“Are you hungry?”

“Heh.”

“What kind of zombie brain do you want to eat?”

Xie Zhou found a spot where he was certain no other humans would come by and stopped the motorcycle. He picked An An up and set him down on a step to stand.

He crouched in front of him, helping to tidy his messy hair.

An An couldn’t stand still at all. His feet kept swaying, and his eyes frequently darted toward the building behind them.

Xie Zhou strongly suspected that if he weren’t here, the little fellow would have vanished long ago.

An An let out two “heh heh” sounds in response. He didn’t eat zombie brains.

Zombies were like dead humans. As time passed, their brains emitted a foul odor. The smell of rot was truly disgusting.

“Not hungry anymore?”

Xie Zhou could pick up on some of An An’s more obvious or simple meanings through his behavior.

But for complex ideas like this, he had to think carefully. Relying on his guesses, he would ask questions one by one until he eventually hit upon the truth.

“Heh heh.”

“Still hungry?”

“Heh.”

“You don’t want to eat zombie brains?”

“Heh.”

An An first gave an affirmative answer, but then a look of conflict appeared on his face. He wanted to tell his father that he never ate zombie brains to begin with!

Those things were stinky; he didn’t want them.

Before, just for eating a crystal core, his father had said he didn’t want to sleep with him. If he secretly ate a zombie brain, wouldn’t his father kick him out of the house?

If An An were a lone little zombie, he would have climbed straight up the outer wall of the building.

But since he was with his father, he could only climb the stairs slowly.

Despite his short legs, he was quite energetic at climbing stairs. By the time they reached the upper floors, Xie Zhou was panting with exhaustion, yet An An maintained his initial speed.

According to An An’s intuition, there was definitely a high-level zombie hiding in this building.

Although their ability types might not be the same, as long as the level was high enough to fill his stomach, An An wasn’t too picky.

Hunger felt terrible for both humans and zombies. Especially for a little one like An An, it felt like ants were crawling all over his body.

The door to the ninth floor in the fire escape was broken, and An An led his father inside.

This place hadn’t been cleaned since the start of the apocalypse. A thick layer of dust covered the floors and walls.

Before the end of the world, this must have been an office building.

Walking down the long corridor, it was so quiet that Xie Zhou could only hear his own breathing.

Although Xie Zhou had possessed an ability from the start, leveled up quickly, and was quite brave, this was his first time entering such a place.

It happened to be a cloudy day outside. The corridor, where the power system had completely failed, felt oppressive.

An inexplicable sense of crisis surged, making Xie Zhou’s heart beat faster and faster.

To keep himself from getting too nervous, Xie Zhou focused all his attention on the baby.

In contrast to his tension, the baby, whose short legs were working hard to move faster, seemed exceptionally excited about what was coming next. His hair bounced along with his hopping movements.

As they passed a certain corner, a dark shadow lunged at them with incredible speed.

“Ah!!”