Lin Anran smiled and leaned against Jiang Qinian's chest, "It seems that this trip was worthwhile!"

Jiang Qinian nodded, and seeing that no one was paying attention, he pulled Lin Anran onto the balcony.

Fireworks bloomed in the sky, changing in an instant, illuminating the entire earth.

Colorful lights illuminated half the sky, and Lin Anran smiled as she looked into the distance, "Happy New Year! Anian."

"Happy New Year!"

Jiang Qinian's gaze lingered on her, filled with tenderness and affection.

She looked up at him, and their eyes met. Instantly, the surrounding noise disappeared, leaving only her frantically pounding heart.

Lin Anran met the man's increasingly intense gaze, and her heart pounded wildly.

What does he mean by looking at her like that?!

A deeply affectionate man!

Receiving the woman's accusing gaze, Jiang Qinian's lips curled into a smile. He gently pulled the woman's arm and embraced her.

Lin Anran nervously closed her eyes, waiting for what would happen next.

But then I heard a soft voice say in my ear, "Happy New Year, Ranran!"

Lin Anran opened her eyes and met the man's ambiguous smile, her face flushing red.

What a jerk! He's just playing with her!

"Hmm~"

Thin lips covered the cool lips that wanted to speak, and then the man's large hand held Lin Anran's slender waist, gradually deepening the kiss.

......

Two hundred kilometers away from the Southern Security Base—

The man shook the dust off his cloak, his sharp eyes fixed on the menacing zombie in the cage not far away.

Dr. Lin! Where are you?

"Ho—"

The man tossed the raw meat from the plate into the cage, and the zombie grabbed it and stuffed it into its mouth, not caring about the dust on it.

"Ah Xiao, don't be afraid, I will definitely save you!"

"Ho—"

After finishing the raw meat, the zombie stretched out its claws again, trying to pounce on the man.

"Sweetie, go to sleep! We still have a long way to go!"

The man returned to his car and looked out the window. All he saw were countless corpses. He closed his eyes.

My mind was filled with images of Ah Xiao and the scene of her tragic death.

At four in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, the man was awakened by noises outside.

Countless zombies brushed past the car without stopping, but they seemed to have a goal as they passed him quickly, heading south.

Oh no! Their movement patterns... are exactly the same as mine!

It can't be...

The man dared not act rashly, otherwise he would be surrounded by these zombies. He stayed quietly in the car until there were no more zombies in sight.

He got out of the car and dealt with the few remaining zombies.

"This is troublesome!"

For safety's sake, he stayed there for another day before slowly moving south.

The bases they encountered along the way were basically all trampled to the ground, and no one survived.

They seemed to be passing through all the bases with a purpose.

"Help! Help!"

A middle-aged woman, covered in blood, stood on a tree, holding an infant whose fate was unknown.

The man looked up and met the woman's pleading gaze.

"Please, please save us! My daughter, she's dying! Kind people! Please save us!"

The man tightened the bandage around his hand, his gaze cold, indicating he had no intention of taking any risks.

"Brother! I beg you, you can save me, but please save my daughter! Please save my daughter!"

Ah Xiao, who was following behind, looked up at the tree with a blank and confused expression, and even his usual fierce gestures were gone!

After settling Ah Xiao down, the man reached out to catch the quiet baby. Just as he was about to reach out to catch the woman who had jumped down, a zombie suddenly emerged from the bushes.

It bit the woman's neck, and by the time the zombie fell to the ground, it was too late!

The woman looked longingly at the baby in the swaddling clothes, and with the pain in her eyes, she took off the gold ingot from her neck.

"Come here! Mommy's going to find Daddy. You have to be a good boy and live on! Mommy loves you!"

Although she looked at the silent man, she said, "Brother! Thank you. Please protect her. In my next life, I will repay you by being your servant! Please kill me!"

The man held the baby tightly in his arms and tied his daughter to the relatively safe house with a rope.

"Don't worry, I'll come to save you if I get the chance!"

The woman couldn't help but shed tears as she watched her daughter drift further and further away until she lost consciousness.

Along the way, the man fed the baby some liquid food, and gradually the baby regained its strength.

But she was exceptionally obedient, never crying or fussing. Sometimes, Ah Xiao would quiet down when she looked at the baby.

The construction at the base is nearing completion, and the exhaust fumes from the Lunar New Year have kept everyone in a good mood.

Until one day, the team that went out on a mission returned with only one person covered in blood.

"Zombie horde! Zombie horde is coming! Everyone's dead! Everyone's dead!"

After saying these words, the man collapsed to the ground.

This incident caused panic within the base.

"A zombie horde is coming! We're doomed! Are we going to die?!"

"What's the panic? Just think about the big shots in our base, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

"That's right! We're not afraid. We'll stick close to the boss, what are those zombies compared to us!"

"......"

When Lin Anran heard the news, she frowned slightly. She didn't remember this zombie horde. Their arrival was strange, and it seemed that something big was about to happen again.

The blood-covered man woke up from his nightmare and then told the whole story.

They went out on missions as usual, only this time the location was farther away.

They happened to run into a massive zombie horde, and they were trapped inside the house before they could escape.

The leader, a speed-based ability user, ran back at full speed to allow them to escape danger and go out on their own. The blood on his body was to avoid the zombies.

He was just his boss! His brothers all sacrificed themselves to protect him!

"A zombie horde? Is it bigger than the first one we encountered?"

"Yes! At least three times more!"

Those around were secretly alarmed. Three times the number of zombies! That's a massive zombie horde!

Chen Chao thought about the approximate location of the place, "It's not too late yet. It will take them at least two days to get here. Everyone be prepared!"

The base went on high alert. Lin Anran and Jiang Qinian rode their motorcycles to the Dawn Base to inform them that if things continued this way, the chances of human survival were very, very slim.

After a day and a night, Lin Anran and her companion arrived at the Dawn Base at 3 a.m.

Upon receiving the message, Li Xin jumped out of bed. "Sister Ran! Brother Jiang, what brings you here?"

Lin Anran said seriously, "Now listen to me. Pack your things as quickly as possible and come back to the base with me."

Li Xin tensed up, "What happened?"

"A massive zombie horde is coming! There's no time to lose! We have to hurry!"