The sky had completely darkened.
Many insects liked to be active at night.
The rustling sound of swarming insects crawling came from all directions.
He would search for the Ice Condensing Flower tomorrow; he would sleep well tonight.
At least Xiao Bai, this fellow, would temporarily not go berserk for the next three days.
Zhang Chen took out the [Level 1 Protective Villa].
Carrying Xiao Bai, he moved in with Er Pang.
As long as Er Pang was around, these annoying low-level insects would steer clear.
Even if they encountered high-level insects, Er Pang's alertness would mean he would go fight them first. At the very least, he would bark to wake him up.
Safety was not an issue.
Zhang Chen carried Xiao Bai back to her room and covered her with the blanket.
Then, he stretched and returned to his own room.
He had made too much food today; he was exhausted and really needed to sleep well.
Fortunately, perhaps because of Er Pang, or perhaps because the red soil fungus had eaten all the surrounding infected individuals and mutated insects.
This night passed exceptionally peacefully.
There were no insect tides, nor any attacks from large insect monsters.
By daybreak, Xiao Bai had already woken up.
She was lying by the bedside, looking at Zhang Chen with her big eyes.
"Hm? You're awake!"
Zhang Chen smiled and ruffled Xiao Bai's hair.
"Mhm, thank you, Daddy, for saving me. I had a very long nightmare where I was fighting myself!"
"There was also a big monster, and a super powerful enemy whose face I couldn't see!"
"Then I woke up and found Xiao Bai in the room!"
"Hee hee, I knew Daddy saved Xiao Bai. Daddy is so good!"
Xiao Bai said, kissing Zhang Chen on the cheek.
"Woof woof!"
Er Pang also ran over and barked.
His meaning was that he also contributed, and he even lost a tooth!
Xiao Bai, whether she understood or simply liked Er Pang, also kissed the dog on his forehead.
"Mhm, there's something Daddy needs to tell you!"
Zhang Chen sat up and said with a serious expression.
"Mhm? Tell me, Daddy. Xiao Bai is the most obedient, the most listen to Daddy!"
Xiao Bai jumped lightly onto the bed and lay directly in Zhang Chen's arms.
Er Pang also wanted to jump up, but the moment he took off, Zhang Chen kicked him down.
This fellow hadn't bathed in a long time, and he smelled strange. How could he sleep after getting on the bed?
Er Pang didn't mind. He placed his paws on the edge of the bed, looking at Zhang Chen and Xiao Bai curiously.
"For the next few days, unless it's an absolute emergency, absolutely do not make a move, understand?"
"This is very serious. If you make a move again, you might fall into that nightmare you had before!"
Zhang Chen said earnestly.
"Ah? Is that so..."
Xiao Bai looked displeased.
"Then... what if a big monster tries to eat me?"
Xiao Bai suddenly asked.
Zhang Chen: "If a monster attacks, Daddy will drive it away if he's here. If Er Pang is here, Er Pang will drive it away..."
Xiao Bai: "Then... what if neither of you are here?"
Zhang Chen: "You won't be. At least Er Pang will stay by your side!"
Xiao Bai: "I mean, what if, what if, what if!"
Zhang Chen pondered for a moment and said, "If neither of us are here, you can choose to run away, but you can't make a move, understand?"
After speaking, Zhang Chen took out a fully charged walkie-talkie and handed it to Xiao Bai.
He also briefly explained how to use it.
"If you run far away, you can use this to communicate with Daddy!"
"Daddy will come find you after he's done!"
Xiao Bai held the walkie-talkie and looked around.
Her short skirt and top had no place to put the walkie-talkie.
Zhang Chen rummaged through the cabinet and handed a ladies' shoulder bag to Xiao Bai.
"From now on, this will be kept here. If you encounter any dolls you like, you can also put them in here!"
"Oh, oh!"
Xiao Bai opened the bag and held it up to examine it.
She looked like she couldn't put it down.
"Good heavens, I thought only women liked bags.
Unexpectedly, bio-robots are the same!"
After breakfast and washing up.
Zhang Chen put away the villa, took a deep breath, and opened the [Item Tracker], typing in the words "Ice Condensing Flower."
"Sizz... sizz..."
The machine whirred to life.
Soon, a set of information was transmitted to Zhang Chen's electronic map.
Fifteen kilometers away from here, there was a patch of Ice Condensing Flowers!
Dense red dots were marked everywhere.
"So many?"
"And so close to me?"
"But I've traveled far and wide and haven't found a single one?!"
Zhang Chen was astonished.
After the machine finished indicating the direction, it also went "bang" and turned into a pile of scrap metal.
"Let's go, head west!"
This time, Zhang Chen dared not let Xiao Bai wander around.
He directly held her little hand and started heading off.
It was the first time Xiao Bai had her hand held by Zhang Chen for such a long time, and she hummed songs happily all the way.
Some songs Zhang Chen had heard, and some songs were likely made up by Xiao Bai herself, with no discernible melody.
Like this.
The two of them, along with the wolf, seemed to be on a tour in the rugged and difficult apocalypse.
An hour later, they arrived in the vicinity of the target area.
All the way they had traveled, it had been cities.
But upon reaching here, the tall buildings instantly disappeared.
Even the plants that were visible everywhere stopped here.
In front of Zhang Chen, a desert had appeared!
The roads extending from all around also ended here.
It indicated that this was also once part of the city.
For some unknown reason, the buildings, roads, and everything around them had all turned into desert.
The wind picked up small sand grains from the desert and hit the glass of the roadside buildings, making rustling sounds.
Next to the desert, several RVs and buses were parked.
Beside them stood people with yellow skin and black hair.
They were likely traveling through here and got stuck.
A few people were studying a map, looking for a route to detour.
In addition, several guards were vigilantly looking towards Zhang Chen.
"Daddy said, no more playing games!"
Xiao Bai muttered softly, seemingly trying hard to restrain herself.
Zhang Chen ignored these survivors and turned his gaze towards the desert ahead.
The sudden appearance of a desert in the city was strange enough.
What was even stranger was that the Ice Condensing Flower indicated on the minimap was right here!
Zhang Chen had seen what Ice Condensing Flowers looked like. Their petals were silvery-white, and they felt faintly cold when held.
It seemed logical that such flowers should grow in damp and cold places.
What the heck were they doing growing in a desert?
Moreover, as far as the eye could see, there was no sign of Ice Condensing Flowers.
At this moment, a prompt suddenly appeared:
[This is a drilling worm tide. Large numbers of drilling worms have repeatedly appeared, causing severe desertification of the surrounding buildings and soil...]
[There is a patch of Ice Condensing Flowers underground, along with over fifty drilling worm larvae, and one adult drilling worm mother...]