After crossing two streets, the number of zombies on the roadside gradually increased. Shi Lan parked the car in front of a small chain convenience store, carefully observed the surroundings, and told Zhang Xiaomei to stay here. She then got out of the car fully armed.

The occasional howls of zombies could be heard from the next street. Shi Lan cautiously approached the door, pulled on it, and was surprised to find that the door had been locked from the inside.

Shi Lan peered through the window, but after a long while, she still couldn't see anyone.

After thinking for a moment, she approached the door and called out, "Is anyone inside?"

There were rustling sounds coming from inside the house, and after a while a small head timidly peeked out, its dark eyes staring at her in fear.

Shi Lan stared intently at the person's face and was momentarily stunned.

She never expected there would be a child here.

The child peeked out briefly, then quickly shrank back inside.

Shi Lan composed herself and asked, "Little friend, are you all alone here?"

The child remained silent behind the door. Shi Lan looked around again and, finding no adults, said, "Little friend, could you please open the door? It's too dangerous here. It's not safe for you to be here alone."

The child poked his head out, his curly hair disheveled, and his dark eyes darting around as if trying to determine if she was a bad person.

Shi Lan found him very amusing, like a frightened puppy, timid, longing to be protected but also afraid of being hurt.

“There are zombies outside right now, you can’t stay here alone,” Shi Lan tried her best to soften her expression. “If you want, you can come to the base with your sister, there will be someone to take care of you there.”

The child pouted and considered for a moment before finally climbing out from under the tall shelf. Only then did Shi Lan realize that the child was smaller than she had expected, looking to be only about six or seven years old. (To be continued.)