They arrived at the residential building near the market. Xiong Gang’s home was on the first floor. Wu Lü knocked on the door, and a hoarse, aged voice came from inside: “Who is it? Xiong Gang isn’t home. If it’s important, come back tomorrow.”
The elderly woman was cautious, rarely opening the door. In the apocalypse, everyone was wary. Wu Lü glanced at Le Huan, an exception in this harsh world. No one knew how she had survived before Zhao Yan brought her here.
“Aunt Xiong, it’s me, Wu Lü.”
Xiong Xianglan hurriedly opened the door. She saw a beautiful, bright-eyed girl beside Wu Lü, cradling a small orange kitten. The girl blinked at her and smiled radiantly. “Aunt Xiong, I’m Yu Le Huan.”
“Oh… oh, come in quickly,” the woman stammered, ushering them inside.
Xiong Gang was not home; he had gone out after answering a phone call. Aunt Xiong was peeling apples for them.
Le Huan studied the elderly woman before her. Though her hair had large patches of white and wrinkles had formed deep furrows on her face, she still generously offered apples to her guests.
On the way, Wu Lü had explained that Xiong Gang’s father and older siblings had all been infected when the apocalypse began and had died.
Aunt Xiong had only Xiong Gang left. At the time, he was still in middle school. As a single woman, she had fought desperately to raise him. The grief of losing her husband and children had driven her to the brink of giving up on life, but Xiong Gang had cried, saying he couldn’t live without his mother, and only then did she abandon the thought.
The years of hardship had aged her prematurely; though not yet fifty, she looked like a woman in her sixties. To have raised Xiong Gang into a mountain of a man required immense effort. Observing his large, strong frame, one would never guess he was younger than Le Huan, not even twenty.
Wu Lü introduced Le Huan to Xiong Xianglan, explaining that Zhao Yan had brought her back from City B and that she and Zhao Yan were dating and living together.
“She’s also a child of hardship. She must have suffered a lot, and she looks even younger than my Gangzi.”
Xiong Xianglan felt a kinship with Le Huan. Like Xiong Gang, she had endured disasters from childhood. Seeing Le Huan’s delicate, bright appearance, she imagined her parents must have protected her fiercely. With her family gone, Zhao Yan had brought her back. Her gaze softened, filled with sympathy.
“Xiao Yan is a good boy, warmhearted and trustworthy. He has the ability to protect you. It’s hard to find a man without ulterior motives these days.”
Le Huan smiled. “Mm, he treats me well.”
Le Huan and Xiong Xianglan chatted back and forth, while Wu Lü, speaking little, sat quietly, stroking Zhao Xiaoqiang’s fur. The kitten was very young and sleepily curled up by Wu Lü’s leg.
Wu Lü considered whether to raise a pet herself, but thought better of it. Wu You was already energetic enough; she didn’t have the energy for a cat or dog.
Le Huan charmed Aunt Xiong easily, coaxing her into smiling and promising that she would finish the shoes tomorrow.
66 happily collected goodwill points.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yan’s meeting focused on who would handle the zombies. The site was only a dozen kilometers away, so a round trip would take half a day.
Zhao Yan didn’t want to go. He couldn’t bear leaving Le Huan alone at home with only Zhao Xiaoqiang. He couldn’t help imagining how pitiful she and the kitten would look. But their squad had not gone on a mission for a week. Wang Ni and Wu You were willing to go, since the base offered good rewards. He feared the squad might be injured; newly mutated zombies were particularly ferocious.
It was decided that Zhao Yan’s squad, Zhou Bai’s squad, and another volunteer squad would hunt the zombies together.
“Team Leader, you don’t want to go because of Miss Yu, right?” Wang Ni asked, unsure. A round trip was only half a day.
“Yes. She can’t be without me. I’ll go home first—Huan Huan is waiting alone.”
With that, he hurried off. Wang Ni watched him, noting how clingy he was, like a baby not yet weaned.
Wu You, nearby, heard their exchange and snickered. The Team Leader was as stubborn as ever; really, who couldn’t live without whom?
On his way home, Zhao Yan noticed some vendors selling miscellaneous items, including toys and children’s books. He bought a few things, thinking Le Huan and Xiao Qiang might be bored at home. He also bought some potatoes, planning to make her a snack—she had recently wanted spicy chips.
He quickened his pace, imagining Le Huan and Xiao Qiang lazily resting on the sofa, perhaps complaining about why he was so late. Maybe seeing the toys would cheer her up. In his mind, a phrase popped up: “wife, child, and a warm hearth.”
Approaching the door, Zhao Yan blushed and hurriedly pushed it open—no one was there.
His smile froze. Perhaps the two little ones were asleep upstairs. He set down his things and quietly went upstairs.
Opening the door again, there was still no one.
Zhao Yan tried to suppress his panic and searched every corner of the house. Finding nothing, he sank onto the sofa, pale, and called Wu You, thinking of countless possibilities.
Had he angered Le Huan at lunch? That was the only explanation. So she had run away… and had taken Xiao Qiang with her. She didn’t want him.
This thought made Zhao Yan’s chest tighten; he could barely breathe. Trying to stay hopeful, he thought maybe she had gone to visit Wu Lü and decided to call Wu You first.
Wu You arrived home quickly and answered Zhao Yan’s call.
“No, my sister went out.”
Zhao Yan’s eyes turned red. Where could she have gone? Could she have been captured by someone dangerous? Over the years, many had crossed him, but none dared challenge him directly. What if someone had targeted Le Huan?
Zhao Yan grabbed his jacket and bolted outside. He had to find Le Huan; she must still be in the base area.
Wu You, realizing Le Huan was not at home, also rushed out.
Zhao Yan could only limit his search to the route to Wu You’s house, as Le Huan was directionally challenged and only familiar with that path.
He asked many people along the way, but no one had seen her. Suddenly, a frail young boy blocked his path, claiming to have seen Le Huan.
Zhao Yan grabbed his shoulder and demanded to know her location.
The boy boldly asked for a significant sum of money for the information. Zhao Yan handed it over without hesitation. The boy promptly told him about Le Huan’s earlier entanglement with Jiang Jingfeng but didn’t know where she had gone afterward.
Zhao Yan recognized Jiang Jingfeng—the second squad’s vice team leader. He was careless, arrogant, and unpredictable, often challenging Zhao Yan during training.
At that moment, Wu You arrived and heard the boy’s story again, advising Zhao Yan to calm down.
Zhao Yan could not calm himself. Jiang Jingfeng was vindictive. Imagining Le Huan in his hands, possibly suffering, a dark rage surged within Zhao Yan, wishing that Jiang Jingfeng would go straight to hell.