Night

"Brother Lin, are you leaving?

Is my brother... is he okay now?"

An Xia leaned against the wall, cautiously watching Lin An repair the door.

She knew nothing about the Doomsday.

She had no idea that if Lin An had not obtained the Antidote Agent, she would have faced a tragic Destiny.

Her hands were hidden behind her back, her slender fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.

Her fair, delicate legs beneath her long dress were scraped at the knees.

Her white dress was stained with blood and dust, making her look dirty.

Her frail body and pale face, drained of color, made her seem pitiful.

"Bang!"

Lin An carefully reinstalled the Iron Gate that had been kicked away.

After becoming an Awakening, he still had not fully adapted to his current strength.

Hard metal felt like plastic in his hands and bent with ease.

If he used too much force, he would completely ruin the Iron Gate.

So Lin An could only find a pile of discarded steel bars to patch it together. After much hammering and banging, the damaged Iron Gate was barely usable again.

However, the dented and damaged section in the middle could not be repaired.

Ugly and unsightly, but still practical.

After installing the door, Lin An fell silent for a moment before speaking.

"An Xia, I'll be back soon. Don't worry about me."

He had no intention of hiding anything.

"Jing Tian."

Lin An paused, then turned to An Xia with a gentle smile and a resolute expression.

"You and Jing Tian will both be fine."

"Trust me."

Lin An sighed softly inside.

His parents had left him when he was young.

An Xia and An JingTian were the only people he truly cared about.

Though they were not related by blood, they were closer than family.

Jing Tian's parents had taken great care of him and treated him as their own child.

An Xia and her brother had also treated him as their real older brother, having grown up with him.

An Xia and An JingTian were the last soft spot in his heart.

An Xia stared blankly at Lin An's resolute, handsome face.

Her eyes reddened.

Listening to Lin An's familiar voice,

she felt reassured as always.

Just like when they were children.

It was as though, as long as Lin An and her brother were there, she had nothing to worry about.

"Brother Lin An."

"When are you planning to leave?"

"Can you..."

An Xia watched Lin An continue working and asked timidly in a soft voice.

She was afraid of disturbing him.

After hesitating for a long time,

An Xia still did not say what she wanted to say.

She wanted Lin An to stay with her a little longer.

The wails of Zombies and living people in the residential complex had never stopped.

And her brother was still unconscious.

She was terrified.

But she was afraid that saying it aloud would be too selfish and would interfere with what Lin An needed to do.

After Lin An sealed all the windows, the room became completely dark.

He turned his head. His enhanced vision ignored the darkness, and the room appeared as bright as day in his eyes.

"I'll leave tomorrow morning."

"I'll keep watch here tonight."

Lin An understood An Xia's expression.

An Xia was only a little girl now.

Even in his Previous Life, when the Doomsday first erupted, he had felt just as uneasy and afraid despite having been a soldier.

Before life and death, in the Doomsday,

many people with weak mental endurance had even chosen to end their own lives.

"Really!?"

An Xia raised her lowered head in surprise and looked toward Lin An in the darkness.

Though she could not see him, she knew he was there.

Lin An did not answer. He merely walked slowly over to An Xia and affectionately rubbed her hair.

The faint, pleasant scent of body wash diluted the stench of blood in his nostrils.

He was not wasting time because of romantic feelings.

The Stitcher had not appeared yet.

Twelve hours later, the Zombie in WanDa Shopping Mall would mutate from among the countless Zombies into a Stitcher.

After subtracting two hours for travel, he could still stay at Jing Tian's home for around ten hours.

Besides, he was in terrible condition and needed rest.

After fighting repeatedly and using his Awakening skill,

his body had already reached its limit.

He was only holding on through sheer willpower.

Lin An pulled the girl into his arms.

An Xia buried her head deeply against his chest, her body trembling slightly.

"Brother Lin An, I'm so scared..."

Lin An felt the girl trembling in his arms and remained silent.

His right hand behind An Xia slowly clenched into a fist.

I need more... power.

Only with enough strength could he protect the people he wanted to protect.

Nothing happened that night.

At An Xia's pleading, Lin An slept in the same room as her, while An JingTian was placed in another room.

Though An JingTian's Zombie Virus had been suppressed,

he had yet to wake up.

Just in case,

Lin An still bound An JingTian with a layer of chains to prevent any accidents.

After making all the preparations,

Lin An fell into a deep sleep.

He was truly exhausted.

Late that night, Lin An vaguely felt a warmth.

A warm body slipped into his arms.

Perhaps the howls of the Zombies outside were too terrifying.

Perhaps she lacked a sense of security.

An Xia quietly crept from her own bed to sleep beside Lin An.

Her small, delicate face pressed tightly against his chest.

It was as though only that scorching, powerful, steadily beating heart could bring her even a trace of reassurance.

An Xia's pajamas were thin.

Her soft, warm body was pressed against him with barely any separation.

The girl's smooth skin was as soft as lamb fat.

Her arms wrapped around him like a koala, afraid that Lin An would run away.

The sleeping Lin An vaguely noticed, but did not pay it any mind.

He was several years older than An Xia, and because his parents had left early,

he was far more mature and steady than others his age.

That was why An Xia had liked clinging to him when she was little.

But after An Xia grew older, Lin An joined the army.

They were no longer as inseparable as they had been in childhood.

Unlike Lin An, who slept deeply,

An Xia would occasionally wake from nightmares. Every time she awoke, she would hurriedly look toward Lin An beside her.

She reached out and felt for Lin An's face.

Again and again, she confirmed that Lin An was still there.

Only by sensing Lin An's presence could she feel a little better.

The next morning.

The chirping of birds no longer came from outside the window.

A piercing wail woke Lin An.

It seemed someone had died again.

He did not care.

When Lin An woke up, he felt as though his condition had returned to its peak.

His entire body was filled with strength.

As long as he rested enough, he could quickly Restore Status.

That was the benefit of the Data Template.

Lin An carefully pulled his arm out from beneath An Xia.

The sleeping An Xia faintly furrowed her delicate brows, her hands instinctively searching beside her a few times.

Tear stains could still vaguely be seen on her small, exquisite face.

Lin An smiled bitterly to himself.

It seemed An Xia had secretly cried for a long time last night.

After spending some time, Lin An finally got out of bed.

He had no choice.

An Xia had held him too tightly, clinging to him like an octopus.

Walking to the window,

Lin An took out a cigarette and observed the situation outside through a gap in the window.

Thick smoke rose from the top of a distant building. It looked as though a fire had burned through the night.

Car alarms nearby had also sounded all night, drawing many Zombies around the vehicles.

After the Doomsday erupted, an unattended city would rapidly decay.

In a few more days,

gas pipelines leaking, water plants shutting down, and factories exploding would become commonplace.

Without convenient electricity and water systems, human civilization would quickly regress.

In silence,

Lin An instinctively searched his pants pocket for a lighter to light his cigarette.

Smoking while thinking was his habit.

But after searching for a long time, he found no pocket.

Only then did he realize in surprise that his bloodstained clothes had been replaced with fresh ones.

Lin An laughed soundlessly.

It seemed An Xia had secretly changed him into An JingTian's clothes in the middle of the night.

The two were about the same height and build, so they fit him perfectly.

Lin An turned to look at the sleeping An Xia.

His discarded clothes lay scattered all over the floor.

After seeing them clearly,

Lin An's expression suddenly became a little strange.

He seemed to have seen his underwear.

Lin An couldn't help rubbing his forehead and shaking his head.

That little girl really was...

Lin An found it rather amusing.

He wondered how much effort An Xia had put into moving him and changing him out of those clothes.

"Beep, beep."

The alarm he had set before going to sleep the night before rang.

Lin An stubbed out the cigarette in his hand and looked deeply at An Xia.

Time was up.

It was time to leave.