Bicycles were Zhang Xiaoxiao's mode of transportation. After leaving the caravan, she found a secluded spot, retrieved her bicycle from the system, and set off for her destination. Don't ask why she didn't drive; her spatial storage could only hold bicycles and electric bikes.

On the cycling route, they encountered few survivors, but those who passed by were all emaciated and ragged. Zhang Xiaoxiao, however, even with her makeup and tattered clothes, looked different.

Before she had gone a mile, Zhang Xiaoxiao noticed that someone was following her. Her heart tightened and she panicked. She turned her bike around and rushed into a residential area, found a place to store her bicycle, and hid in a stairwell.

Hurried footsteps came from outside the building and stopped at the nearby stairwell. "Hey, where did they go? They just turned into this place." A man's voice came from outside. Judging from the footsteps, there were at least three people.

"They must have hidden inside a building. Let's split into three groups, one person per building."

Hiding below the basement level, Zhang Xiaoxiao gripped the watermelon knife tightly, her heart pounding wildly, her breathing low, sensing that people outside were already heading towards her hiding place.

Step by step... getting closer and closer...

Just as he was about to strike first, a hand reached out from the side and tightly covered Zhang Xiaoxiao's mouth and nose. The latter stared wide-eyed in terror, raising her hand to strike, when suddenly a voice came from beside her, "Don't make a sound, there's a secret door behind us, let's go inside and talk."

Zhang Xiaoxiao, whose heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest, stopped moving. The person behind her quickly released his grip, pulled her up, and she lost her footing and fell into the darkness.

Even as she crashed to the ground, Zhang Xiaoxiao didn't make a sound, afraid that people outside would hear.

"Huh? Nobody's here. Looks like they went upstairs." The people outside muttered to themselves as they went upstairs.

"Are you alright?" A pleasant male voice came from inside; judging from the voice, the man was not very old.

Zhang Xiaoxiao stood up, noticing no injuries on her body, and breathed a sigh of relief, "It's nothing, thank you."

"This building has already fallen; there are no survivors. If they go up there, they're doomed," the man said with certainty.

"You're not alive?"

"I used to live in this building. I came back to pick up some things. I was leaving soon when I ran into you," the man explained patiently.

When she first entered, although she couldn't see the entire neighborhood, Zhang Xiaoxiao was certain that there were no signs of any survivors living there, not even any zombies; it was completely desolate.

"Are all the zombies trapped up there?" Zhang Xiaoxiao asked curiously.

"More or less, but the houses here are old and dilapidated, and have long been identified as dangerous buildings and are about to be demolished. The young people have all moved away, leaving behind only some elderly people who are attached to their homes. There aren't many, only a few dozen people in total. They don't usually go out, so even if they all mutate, it won't be a big threat. But if someone breaks in on their own, that's a different story."

As if to prove the truth of the boy's words, a scream suddenly came from upstairs, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps coming down.

They were very fast; in no time they rushed downstairs and ran far away.

Hearing that the person had left, Zhang Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's go out."

The boy didn't speak, but the lights in the room suddenly turned on. The man under the light was a tall, thin, and handsome young man, just like his voice suggested. Zhang Xiaoxiao thought he was about the same age as her.

"Hello, I'm Xu Nuo." The boy's pure voice carried a sunny quality, making it seem like a dreamlike world, as if it were still in a peaceful era.

"Xiaoxiao." Zhang Xiaoxiao composed herself and walked towards the door.

Just two steps away, Zhang Xiaoxiao nervously gripped the doorknob when she heard a boy's soft laughter behind her. Startled, Zhang Xiaoxiao flung open the door and rushed out. Seeing the dim sky, she calmed down and felt a sense of security.

Turning around, the boy followed, his pale red lips curving upwards, his peach blossom eyes smiling, "You don't need to be afraid, I'm from Central City."

The name "Central City" best explains his appearance, which distinguishes him from other post-apocalyptic wanderers.

Even so, Zhang Xiaoxiao dared not believe it easily. After all, this was the apocalypse, and such an era was not friendly to women.

"Thank you for earlier. I have something to do, so I'll be going now." Zhang Xiaoxiao nodded and was about to leave.

"Hey, Xiaoxiao, it's not safe for you to walk alone."

Zhang Xiaoxiao didn't reply, and quickened her pace.

Xu Nuo never imagined that one day he would scare a little girl so much that she would run away. Does he look like a bad guy? He sighed helplessly, then laughed in exasperation.

Suddenly, there was a commotion behind her. Xu Nuo's expression hardened, and she turned around. Two dark figures pounced at her. Xu Nuo nimbly dodged, and a gleaming dagger appeared in her palm. She turned and plunged it into the forehead of the fastest of the two figures. At the same time, she slammed her fist into the hilt of the dagger. With a twist of the blade, the head of the dark figure exploded. The boy retreated repeatedly to avoid the flying brains. The other dark figure coughed and rushed over rather sluggishly. Xu Nuo's gaze fell on the man's severed calf. Tsk... pretty pitiful. His leg was eaten.

After easily prying open the head of the zombie with the broken leg, Xu Nuo wiped the dagger clean and was about to walk out when he saw Zhang Xiaoxiao standing under the withered tree.

"Huh? Xiaoxiao, you didn't leave?" Xu Nuo's gaze was somewhat amused.

"You are very strong."

Seemingly overwhelmed by the praise, Xu Nuo calmly shrugged, "Obviously."

"Take me somewhere, and I'll give you ten strawberries."

The moment the word "strawberry" was uttered, Xu Nuo's indifferent expression froze. "Strawberry? Are you sure you're not joking? Even in the central city, strawberry production is extremely limited, and it's basically all supplied to the top tier. People like them shouldn't even think about it."

"yes."

"Deal." Recalling the taste of strawberries she had as a child, Xu Nuo didn't have the willpower to refuse such a deal.

As for what he's doing out there, who knows?

God knows, he dreamed of eating strawberries, but he simply couldn't get any.

"This is the deposit." Zhang Xiaoxiao took out a large strawberry from her schoolbag, which was wrapped in a plastic bag. It was about the size of a person's nose.

Upon seeing the strawberries in his dream, Xu Nuo's breathing became heavy. He rushed over, grabbed the strawberries, and eagerly tore open the bag. As soon as the cool, sweet and sour strawberries entered his mouth, Xu Nuo thought, at this moment, he could die without regrets.

Zhang Xiaoxiao watched speechlessly as the boy ate strawberries with an emotional expression, as if he had eaten some kind of magic pill, completely absorbed in the moment. She began to doubt whether her decision had been correct.

"Is there more?" Before the taste in her mouth had even faded, Xu Nuo couldn't wait to ask for the rest of the payment.

"I'll give it to you once it's delivered." What if I give it to you too early and you don't go?

"You're wasting your money." The implication is, aren't you afraid I'll rob you?

"If you want to die together with me." Zhang Xiaoxiao revealed an explosive tag disguised as a grenade hidden under her wrist; the elongated fuse was Zhang Xiaoxiao's confidence.

Promise: ...

Is it really necessary to be so cruel... it's just a few strawberries.

Zhang Xiaoxiao: Hehe.