She didn't want to find a place to hide with her mother, but the continuous natural disasters made it increasingly difficult for humans to survive.
Moreover, how could she and her mother, along with a dog, survive alone in this dangerous post-apocalyptic world?
After the floods broke out, while highland areas were relatively safe, coastal cities like Linjiang were the first targets of flood disasters.
The villa they were currently living in was completely unable to withstand the flood.
Not to mention the mist that lasted for three years after the floods subsided.
Humanity, which had just recovered, was once again caught off guard.
Vast amounts of crops were destroyed, and many small shelters could no longer be maintained, leading to their disbandment and dispersal.
In her previous life, after the western shelter collapsed, she had to embark on the journey of escape again.
If she hadn't gotten lost and climbed Mount Hua in a daze, she wouldn't have been able to avoid that flood.
As for those who refused to leave the shelters, they were swept into the water along with the shelters and eventually merged into the sea.
The mist, in comparison to all the natural disasters, seemed like a minor inconvenience. It was just invisible. Compared to lethal extreme heat, extreme cold, or even floods and earthquakes, the mist was much gentler.
But later, humanity would learn what true fear was.
She had personally witnessed someone being abducted by a monster in the mist. Before they could react, the person screamed and was suddenly lifted dozens of meters into the air. No one knew how they were suspended.
The group was terrified. It was a temporary team they had formed, and no one was willing to risk their own life to save someone else.
The person desperately called for help, saying they were dragged away by a tentacle and that if they cut the tentacle, she could be saved.
Facing an unknown monster, no one dared to step forward.
Ultimately, no one saw the monster's appearance. They only remembered the woman's dying screams, which constantly echoed in their ears.
From then on, no one dared to mention exploring the mist again.
If the continuous natural disasters and the inexplicable appearance of zombies allowed humanity to retain a sliver of reason amidst despair,
then the monsters in the mist were truly the last straw that drove humanity to complete madness.
The unknown was the root of fear.
...
Time flew by, and it was December. The temperature finally began to slowly drop.
It gradually returned from a terrifying 60-plus degrees to a normal 20-30 degrees.
Although this temperature was out of place for winter, at least people were no longer dying from the heat.
But no one cheered about the temperature returning to normal. With the increase in zombies, widespread suffering, and no one to celebrate.
...
Meanwhile, Xu An noticed that the seedling in her space had also grown larger, now reaching waist height.
But strangely, she had never seen such a plant before. It wasn't like a tree, nor did it resemble crops.
However, it was possible that her knowledge was limited, as Xu An was not a professional in this field.
The thing had a smooth outer skin, shaped like a large slingshot.
At the bifurcated tip, two tender leaves grew, about the size of a fingernail.
The rest of it was bare.
Xu An was completely bewildered.
Fortunately, the mist that had previously shrouded the edge of her space was showing signs of gradually dissipating.
Xu An was overjoyed. The area covered by the mist was the spiritual soil area she had been longing for.
In her previous life, vegetables grown in spiritual soil seemed to have special properties. After eating them, people became stronger and less prone to illness, which was an almost cheating existence in the post-apocalyptic world.
However, Xu An already had one cheat, so she didn't mind having another.
After all, who would refuse more cheats?
As the temperature returned to normal, Xu An, along with her mother, began to adjust to the time difference, returning to a life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
After this period of training, Xu Yan's physical fitness had significantly improved.
During this time, Xu An had taken her mother to the small terrace on the second floor multiple times. While they relaxed, they also sneakily observed what the zombies looked like.
It was mainly for Xu Yan to see.
Xu An's villa used a floor-to-ceiling window structure. The thick curtains were too conspicuous. Even a slight gap would lead to a face-to-face encounter with the cute zombies.
It was quite thrilling.
Don't ask Xu An how she knew!
After seeing a lot, Xu Yan went from her initial "vomit if you want, it's not a sin" to now being able to do so without blushing or her heart skipping a beat.
The two could even discuss the zombies' biting methods on the terrace.
It had to be said that human boundaries were meant to be broken.
Finally, after finishing lunch one day, Xu An felt that the weather was exceptionally good, sunny, and the breeze was gentle. The zombies outside looked much more pleasant.
She decided to talk to her mother about going out to fight zombies today.
It had been over a month since Fang Chang and his group escaped by climbing over the wall. Xu Yan could now leisurely watch zombies on the surveillance feed while eating sunflower seeds, even commenting on their clothing to guess their former professions.
The air conditioning blew coolly on Xu An. She comfortably narrowed her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked up to Xu Yan.
"Mom, I want to discuss something with you!"
Xu Yan looked at her daughter's hesitant expression and felt that she was up to no good.
She paused her sunflower seed cracking and asked, "What is it?"
"Um... do you want to go out and stretch your muscles? For example, go out and fight some zombies."
Xu An gave an awkward smile, as no one with a sound mind would utter such chilling words.
Why not live a good life and go out to fight zombies to exercise?
Do you want to hear what nonsense you're spouting?
Xu Yan remained silent, feeling that the sunflower seeds in her mouth weren't as tasty anymore.
Although she had been "tortured" by her daughter during this period... no! "Trained!"
Her inner strength had grown considerably, but now facing practical combat, she couldn't help but feel her legs go weak.
"Nannan, didn't you say these zombies would disappear in three months?"
After much thought, Xu Yan finally managed to say it.
To this, Xu An replied, "No way! Just talking without action is fake!"
We need to reject formalism!
Xu An was unusually serious, "Mom, we've survived the current three months, but what about later?"
"With the continuous natural disasters of the apocalypse, the zombies will no longer be humanity's biggest threat by then."
"Not to mention the unknown monsters hidden in the mist, just the countless mutated beasts, mutated plants, and even unknown electromagnetic radiation are enough to kill countless people."
"We might survive these three months, but what about afterwards?"
...
In her previous life, the dangers Xu An faced were like those depicted in science fiction movies. The monsters that appeared from nowhere seemed to awaken overnight, clamoring to exterminate humanity.
After hearing Xu An's words, Xu Yan couldn't help but feel nervous. The period of peace had made her unconsciously develop a misconception.
She felt as if, apart from not having to go to work, her life was no different from before the apocalypse.
This was why she could allow herself to make such escapist remarks.
She then recalled that night when they left the high-rise building, and Xu An stood alone and thin in the bloody underground parking lot.
No one wants to lie flat.
But Xu Yan also knew that her current ability to "lie flat" was entirely due to her daughter bearing everything behind her.
And how could she bear to always hide behind her daughter?
Xu Yan suddenly awoke, as if a bucket of cold water had doused her from head to toe.