Lin Shuangshuang’s gaze fell back to the back of his head. His black hair looked very soft, and his skull shape was round and nice-looking.
She climbed onto the bed, intending to burrow into his arms. That was how small animals usually comforted each other—by cuddling.
In his semi-conscious state, Huo Ling sensed something was off. In addition to his discomfort, there was also a strange heat coursing through him. He suddenly became alert and remembered that he had offended Zhao Pingsheng last night.
Damn it—this guy wasn’t going to take revenge, was he?! Was he messing with him on purpose??
Lin Shuangshuang really had only intended to stay with him and give him a hug, nothing more. But it truly wasn’t her fault—he was basically “seducing” her.
A sick Huo Ling looked especially tempting, like he would be easy to bully.
“Wait! Stop! What are you doing?!”
“Lin Shuangshuang!!”
Two hours later.
Lin Shuangshuang wiped her mouth as she got up from the bed because she heard movement outside.
Aside from the relentless sound of heavy rain, she faintly caught the sound of vehicles moving. It was very faint—but not enough to escape her hearing.
Huo Ling had already fallen into an involuntary sleep.
She covered him with a blanket, then slipped off the bed and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window.
There really were people outside.
Not just one.
A group of survivors.
Her eyes turned cold with alertness. She carefully observed them, but couldn’t see clearly through the glass, so she went down to the living room.
She activated her wristband and opened the surveillance feed. Although she didn’t have control privileges, she did have viewing access.
On the large living room screen, multiple surveillance angles appeared in split windows. She locked onto a key camera, zoomed in—
It really was a group of survivors driving modified vehicles.
The heavily modified cars were already being corroded by acid rain; the outer shells were visibly dissolving.
Friend or foe?
Unknown.
Lin Shuangshuang considered her options and decided that if they crossed into the castle’s safe perimeter, she would go out and meet them.
Then—
A sharp “zzzzt” of static sounded.
Zhang Dapeng’s voice came through the speaker:
“Shuangshuang, right? Don’t worry about them. Don’t mind it. Do your own thing. They can’t get in. I’ve sent Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu to drive them off. If that doesn’t work, the defense system will handle it.”
His voice was as steady as his personality—grounded and reassuring.
Lin Shuangshuang paused in the living room. “I don’t need to drive them away?”
She remembered that she used to be the one doing that—always the first to rush out when danger appeared, because she was the team leader.
Zhang Dapeng chuckled through the speaker. “No need. Don’t underestimate your Zhang-ge, alright? This little castle is tough. Your boyfriend spent a fortune on it. The materials are top-grade—even the glass can withstand artillery.”
“Relax. If you’re still worried, just sit in the living room and watch.”
Zhang Dapeng only said this to reassure her—he could tell she tended to rush into things. She was clearly already preparing to go out and protect her teammates.
Anyone would feel soft-hearted seeing that.
But outside wasn’t just heavy rain—it was highly dangerous acid rain.
First-level exposure (within 10 seconds): skin pain, redness, blistering, fabric carbonization.
Second-level exposure (within 30 seconds): skin ulceration, dermal damage, intense pain.
Prolonged exposure: muscles and bones exposed and dissolved, leading to permanent disability or death. Even mutants couldn’t withstand it.
Although he wasn’t very familiar with her yet, Zhang Dapeng fully recognized this new teammate at that moment.
Not as someone’s girlfriend—but as a teammate.
Lin Shuangshuang nodded. “Alright. Call me if you need anything.”
Zhang Dapeng agreed.
She really didn’t leave, and instead sat in the living room watching the large screen.
Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu normally patrolled the castle as security. Being mechanical dogs, they didn’t make unnecessary sounds.
After receiving orders, they rushed out through a side door. Outside the castle was a surrounding walkway with railings.
They leapt onto a small drone platform, deploying a swarm of smaller drones as they flew out.
Soon, the reconnaissance drones picked up audio from the outsiders and relayed it to the living room speakers.
“Brother Wei! Look at this—what is this thing? It’s huge!”
“Damn, their shell isn’t even corroded by this rain? What material is that? Should we take it?”
“Are you crazy?! That big structure—who knows how many people are inside? If dozens rush out, how are we supposed to fight them? You want your dad to go? Or your mom? Or your little side chicks?!”
“I was just saying! I didn’t say we’d actually take it. Why are you so worked up? Brother Wei hasn’t even spoken!”
“Why don’t we try asking? Maybe they’ll let us in to take shelter if they’re soft-hearted. At this rate, even our vehicles won’t last. We’re mutants, sure, but our families aren’t!”
“Exactly! This acid rain eats through cars—people touching it are done for. We barely escaped—we can’t die here!”
“I think this plan works. Gain their trust first, then slowly take over the place. In the end, Brother Wei still calls the shots!”
The leader, “Brother Wei,” approved.
“Stop talking. Just get them to open the door first.”
The group immediately became excited, shouting that they wanted to get inside—maybe even take a hot shower.
“With a house this big, there’s definitely food! We can eat well!”
They had no idea their intentions were already completely exposed.
Lin Shuangshuang listened and found them increasingly vile.
They actually wanted to take over the place?
Bold.
Just then—
Several fierce barking sounds suddenly erupted: “WOOF!! WOOF WOOF!!” getting closer and closer.
The people inside the vehicles panicked instantly.
“Mutant dogs?!”
“What?! Mutant dogs again?! No way!”
But soon someone noticed something was wrong.
“Wait… that’s not a mutant dog. That’s… a metal dog?!”
“What?!”
“Damn it—turn around! Turn around!! Those are mechanical dogs from that building!”
“Are you insane?! How do they even have something that expensive?! And why are those dogs so fierce?!”
Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu were as large as big hunting dogs. Their sudden appearance was genuinely intimidating—but after a while, it became clear they weren’t ordinary beasts.
“One bunch of idiots! They’re just mechanical dogs—not mutant dogs! What are they going to do? Compared to mutants, they’re nothing! They don’t even carry viruses!”
The leader shouted angrily at his subordinates.
“Attack! Aren’t you all mutants? I’ve kept you long enough—it’s time you’re useful! Kill those two dogs!”
But the subordinates were trembling, pointing forward.
“Bro, Brother Wei!!”
Before he could scold them again, he suddenly felt a surge of danger.
He turned—
And saw the two mechanical dogs already aiming mounted cannons directly at him.
His hair stood on end.
“Fuck!”
This… was definitely not an ordinary mechanical dog.