Chapter Thirty-Five: The New Neighbor

Following the direction Mu Qingrong pointed, there was a yellow mongrel dog whose head had been gnawed off. Presumably because its head had been eaten, the yellow dog hadn't turned into a zombie.

"Look, something's moving." Mu Qingrong walked toward the yellow dog, but Mu Qingyu pulled her back.

"I'll go check on him, you stay here." After the apocalypse, some animals also mutate and become zombies. Mu Qingrong didn't know the situation and was afraid that he might be in danger, so Mu Qingyu carefully went over by herself.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small puppy, its head craning as it tried to crawl out from under the yellow dog's body. Mu Qingyu observed it carefully for a while and found that it was just an ordinary puppy, neither mutated nor zombified, before calling Mu Qingrong over.

"Is it a puppy?" Mu Qingrong quickly ran over and gently moved the puppy away from the big yellow dog.

The big yellow dog was lying under a litter of puppies, but obviously, the other puppies were already dead, leaving only a weak little black dog struggling to push its head outwards.

"The mother dog must have wanted to protect her puppies, hiding them under her body. She didn't move even when her zombified owner devoured them alive. However, the puppies were too small, and they all died, whether from hunger or suffocation, leaving only one..." Mu Qingyu made a reasonable guess about what was happening before her eyes.

Mu Qingrong had already held the little puppy in her hands. The little guy was only the size of two palms, with his eyes half-closed, weakly whimpering.

"Sister, can I keep it?" Mu Qingrong looked at Mu Qingyu pleadingly, "I will try my best to collect resources and use them to feed it. I will never waste food. Is that alright, sister?"

That look in his eyes terrified Mu Qingyu into rejecting him outright.

Mu Qingyu smiled, reached out and patted Mu Qingrong's head, then reached out and ruffled the little puppy's head. Was she really so cold and unapproachable in her brother's eyes?

“Go ahead and get one. They’re country dogs, very intelligent, and if you raise them well, they can guard your house. But this is the apocalypse, so if you get one, you have to train it properly. Otherwise, it might attract zombies or other people who might covet it,” Mu Qingyu said, though she wasn’t really short of meat.

"Great!" Mu Qingrong's spirits immediately lifted, and the discomfort she felt after killing a zombie for the first time that morning finally disappeared.

He carefully tucked the puppy into his arms, still clutching his portable axe, and walked ahead happily toward home.

Seeing her younger brother regain his energy and become happy, with the childlike look still lingering on his face, Mu Qingyu really wanted to cry—she thought of Mu Qingrong after the apocalypse in her previous life—it's really good now, it's really good that she can come back!

When the siblings returned to Building 3, they found that the gate to Building 2 was open. The gate was secured with a large iron lock, something that the current zombies couldn't break.

So it's quite obvious that someone went in.

Mu Qingyu immediately became alert: "Xiao Rong, there are people in Building 2, let's go home quickly."

Isn't it a joyful thing to see a living person at a time like this? Although Mu Qingrong didn't quite understand Mu Qingyu's nervousness, he was very obedient and quickly opened the door, and the two of them went back to the courtyard of Building 3 together.

After locking the door at home, Mu Qingyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know who had gone into Building 2, but it was something to be wary of.

As soon as Mu Qingrong got home, he went straight to the second floor, opened the window, and looked towards Building No. 2. After a while, he ran over to Mu Qingyu and said, "Sister, there are two sisters next door. One has long hair and the other has short hair. They are riding a motorcycle and are carrying supplies from the motorcycle into their house. It looks like they want to move in."

Upon hearing this, Mu Qingyu also went to the window to look at Building No. 2.

Sure enough, a high-displacement motorcycle was parked in the courtyard of Building 2. Several bags were strapped to the motorcycle, and a short-haired girl was taking them apart.

As if sensing Mu Qingyu's scrutinizing gaze, the short-haired girl looked up and met Mu Qingyu's eyes.

Her gaze was firm, clear, and wary. This was Mu Qingyu's first impression of the short-haired girl. As for the long-haired girl that Mu Qingrong mentioned, she didn't see her; she had probably gone inside.

Mu Qingyu and the girl stared at each other without saying anything or moving. Finally, the girl nodded slightly to Mu Qingyu and then continued with her work.

Judging from her appearance, it was indeed as Mu Qingrong had said; they were going to stay.

Mu Qingyu closed the window. She didn't know if having living people living nearby was a blessing or a curse, but she really couldn't stop them from moving in.

Furthermore, she chose this place precisely because it was sparsely populated and far from cities. This meant there would be fewer zombies here after the apocalypse. So, if she chose this place, others would choose it too.

Whether people are just passing through, staying temporarily, or planning to stay permanently, there will always be people coming and going.

"Sister, are they from the city? Should we ask them about their experiences there?" Mu Qingrong was still a little curious about the newcomers.

Mu Qingyu shook her head: "Let's observe for a couple of days first." Actually, there was no need to ask; she knew the situation in the city and estimated it was similar to her previous life.

Zombies roam the streets. Most people are still hiding in their homes. Some are trying to escape the city, fleeing with supplies. Others are looking to profit from the disaster, risking everything to commit illegal acts…

In short, the city is in chaos right now.

As the siblings were talking, someone knocked on the side door. Mu Qingyu had left a side door in the courtyard between Buildings 3 and 4, but it could only be opened from the side of Building 3. This facilitated travel between the two buildings, and the one-way iron door was Mu Qingyu's last bit of caution.

At this moment, the ones who could knock on that door were naturally Aunt Mei and her family from next door.

Mu Qingyu quickly went downstairs with Mu Qingrong and opened the side door.

Aunt Mei and a girl named Xiao Ai stood at the other end of the side door, each holding a plate. The aroma wafted out as soon as the side door opened!

Dumplings! That's the aroma of "mom's cooking," not the kind of aroma you get in restaurants.

Staring at the dumplings, Mu Qingyu and Mu Qingrong swallowed hard in unison.

Judging from their appearance, Aunt Mei knew that the two children hadn't eaten properly. "I made dumplings for lunch, and guessing that you two probably don't know how to cook, I brought you some."

Aunt Mei and the others didn't have a refrigerator because Mu Qingyu knew there would be no electricity after the apocalypse, so it would be useless. The refrigerator here was moved out of Mu Qingrong's "room" (space) by Mu Qingrong after she discovered Mu Qingrong's modification skills.

So Aunt Mei and her family didn't have fresh meat and vegetables, so these dumplings were made with sealed cured meat.

Even so, for Mu Qingyu and her brother, who had eaten two days of terrible food, the dumplings still seemed delicious and fragrant.