Chapter 20

【System Prompt: Host detected entering emergency defense state, physical fitness value temporarily increased by 20%】

Lin Chen was quick-witted, grabbing the dagger from the ground and slashing fiercely at the hand grabbing Xia Nuan's hair.

With a "squelch," the severed hand fell to the ground, green blood spraying all over Xia Nuan's face.

Xia Nuan screamed and retreated, the severed hand still twitching on the ground.

"Don't just stand there!" Lin Chen roared, throwing the dagger to her, "Guard this side!"

Su Qing had already pounced, using her body to hold the iron door, the dagger flying in her hands, constantly stabbing the zombie limbs reaching in.

More and more zombies crowded the entrance, blue-gray arms reaching in through the door cracks like tree branches, clawing at the air.

Lin Chen and Su Qing held the door back-to-back, sweat mixed with blood flowing into their eyes, burning painfully.

"This isn't a way!" Xia Nuan shot and destroyed a hand reaching in front of her, "The door is about to be smashed open!"

Lin Chen gritted his teeth, slamming his shoulder fiercely against the iron door: "Move to the left! The hinge there isn't broken yet!"

The three combined their strength to move their bodies, pressing their center of gravity onto the relatively intact side.

The crashing sounds outside made their eardrums ache, the zombies' roars feeling as if they were right in their ears.

Su Qing's breathing grew heavier, scales faintly appearing on her body, clearly unable to suppress the mutation much longer.

Not knowing how much time had passed, the sky outside gradually darkened.

The zombies' attack frequency slowed somewhat, yet there was still no sign of them dispersing.

Lin Chen leaned against the door, his whole body drained of strength, the wound on his lower back aching as if it were about to split open.

"Retreat inside first," he said, gasping for air, "Take turns guarding."

Su Qing and Xia Nuan nodded, the three slowly retreating, leaving a crack to observe the outside.

Snow had started falling again at some point, drifting down onto the zombies, quickly accumulating a white layer.

The villa was in a mess, furniture overturned, the ground covered in bloodstains and shell casings.

The three found a relatively intact corner and sat down, no one speaking.

Only the sound of the wind and snow outside and the roars of the zombies echoed in the empty house.

Lin Chen stared toward the entrance, his eyelids growing heavier.

He felt his body growing colder, as if ice cubes were flowing in his blood vessels.

"I'm a bit dizzy..." he muttered, his vision suddenly going black, and he collapsed to the ground.

【System Prompt: Host's vital signs showing abnormal fluctuations, consciousness connection interrupted】

Not knowing how much time had passed, Lin Chen opened his eyes abruptly.

Everything around was quiet, no roars, no crashing, only faint sunlight shining in through the window.

He struggled to sit up, finding himself lying on the living room floor, covered by a coat.

"Awake?" Xia Nuan's voice came.

Lin Chen looked up, seeing Xia Nuan and Su Qing sitting on the sofa, looking at him with blank expressions.

"Outside..." he just started to speak, then froze.

Outside the window, the sun was bright, the snow had disappeared without a trace, and there were even pedestrians walking on the street, chatting and laughing, a scene of peace.

The electronic calendar on the wall displayed—January 5th.

Zombies, blizzards, zombie hordes... all gone.

"We..." Lin Chen stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the normal world outside, his mind completely blank.

Su Qing suddenly stood up, moved her hands and feet, and a look of surprise appeared on her face: "I don't hurt anymore..."

Her skin was smooth as before, her eyes clear, completely devoid of the previous ferocity.

Xia Nuan also touched her face: "Me too, it's like nothing ever happened."

Lin Chen walked around the villa to check; the refrigerator was empty, the weapons were gone, and even the bloodstains on the ground had disappeared without a trace.

This place was like an ordinary empty house, without any traces of having been fought in.

"What on earth is going on?" Xia Nuan grabbed her hair, "Weren't we in the cave? How did we get here?"

Su Qing shook her head, her eyes full of confusion: "I don't know... but I feel like I had a very long dream."

Lin Chen took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down: "Let's go out and take a look first."

The three walked out of the villa, the sunlight shining warmly on them.

The streets were bustling with traffic, shops were open for business, and everything was exactly the same as before the apocalypse.

"Really... back?" Xia Nuan said in disbelief, reaching out to touch the cherry blossom tree by the roadside.

Lin Chen frowned, always feeling like something was wrong.

He walked forward a few steps and saw the entrance to a basement warehouse at the street corner, the door slightly ajar.

"Let's go take a look there," he said.

The three walked into the warehouse; it was empty, with only a few boxes piled in the corner.

Lin Chen opened the boxes; they were all ordinary daily necessities, with nothing unusual.

"What do we do now?" Xia Nuan asked.

Lin Chen looked at his watch, the hands pointing to 11:30: "Let's find something to eat first."

He led the two to the milk tea shop across the street and pushed the door open to enter.

The clerk greeted them enthusiastically: "Hello, what would you like to order?"

"100 cups of pearl milk tea, 100 cups of mango pomelo sago, 100 cups of lemonade," Lin Chen said calmly.

Xia Nuan and Su Qing were both stunned: "Order so much?"

Lin Chen glanced at them: "Just in case."

After paying, he went to the supermarket next door, found braised beef noodles, and ordered 100 boxes directly.

The cashier was dumbfounded but still settled the bill according to his request.

Lin Chen asked the clerk to help store them temporarily and turned to walk toward another supermarket not far away—that was a property he had bought before the apocalypse.

Walking into the supermarket, he walked familiarly to the warehouse and started loading things into the cart.

Just as he was about to leave, a clerk in uniform stopped him: "Sir, you haven't paid yet."

Lin Chen frowned: "I bought this store; do I need to pay to take my own things?"

The clerk was stunned for a moment, then said angrily: "You're full of crap! You want to leave without paying? I'm calling the police!"

Lin Chen couldn't be bothered to argue with him, pulled a few banknotes from his wallet, and handed them over: "Is this enough?"

The clerk took the money, counted it, and muttered as he cleared the way.

The three pushed the things back to the basement warehouse and piled the milk tea and instant noodles in the corner.

It was now 12:00 noon, and their stomachs were growling with hunger.

Xia Nuan opened a bucket of instant noodles, and just as she was about to pour water, the lights in the warehouse suddenly went out.

"What's going on?" she was startled.

Lin Chen took out his phone to provide light, but the screen suddenly lit up, showing an incoming call from an unknown number.

He hesitated for a moment, then pressed the answer button.

A mechanical voice came from the other end of the phone, clear and cold:

"Welcome back, Lin Chen."

Lin Chen's heart sank suddenly, his hand holding the phone tightening instantly.