Chapter 28

"Zombies are not monsters, nor are they demons; they are organisms after the collapse of the gene chain. Even if the direct death virus can reduce the thermal energy consumption of zombies to the minimum to maintain survival without eating for a long time, they still need food."

"After the food problem is not resolved, zombies will tend to act on the instinct of organisms, attacking and eating each other. In this process, a large number of evolved zombies may be born."

"This is the report on the possible argument of the zombie evolution craze proposed by Dr. Luoshui. Based on this report, we conducted the verification."

"And now the data is out. From the data collected so far, Dr. Luoshui's inference is correct."

"From the experimental data, the first wave of zombie evolution will come in about a month."

Dr. Yu simply stated, and all the heads of Chengping Base looked at Dr. Luoshui, who was wearing a light beige windbreaker and looked neat and tidy. Dr. Luoshui did not speak, but kept flipping through the data, occasionally verifying a few data points. Finally, he stood up and nodded to everyone, "My previous calculation was wrong. The elimination ratio of zombies is not ten to one, but five to one. This means the situation will be worse than we previously estimated."

Everyone's faces became even more solemn. Even those who were not involved in scientific research had already read Dr. Luoshui's report and understood his meaning. A five-to-one evolution rate means that one out of every five zombies will evolve, and this will happen on a large scale within a month.

Eight billion zombies worldwide will be reduced to 1.6 billion, but these 1.6 billion will all be evolved zombies, at least M1, X1, and even a large number of kings will appear. In China, it is conservatively estimated that more than 300 million evolved zombies will appear.

This will be a nightmare for everyone. For those in the base, it will be such, and for those trapped in the cities who couldn't evacuate, it will be an inescapable disaster.

...

Annie woke up very early. Before the apocalypse, it was because of work; after the apocalypse, it was because no one dared to sleep soundly. Annie kissed her still sleeping sister, "Good morning, my girl."

She casually tied up her hair and walked out of the room, subconsciously glancing at the room where Li Mu was staying. The door was already open, and there was no sign of Li Mu.

Annie quickly ran to the door, not daring to open it, and looked out through the peephole. She didn't see Charlie, the red mutant parrot, or any other terrifying zombies, and she truly relaxed.

Her mood became cheerful. Although she was almost getting used to this life of being kept by zombies, Annie could only truly relax when there were no zombies around.

As for why she didn't take the opportunity to escape with her sister when Li Mu and the others were away?

Annie just walked to the bed and looked outside. Outside the apartment, the morning sun was like blood, and zombies were everywhere. Where could they go if they left here?

And who could know if Li Mu and the others had really left?

Annie didn't dare to take the risk. Her life wasn't just her own; it was also her sister's. Sometimes, living isn't because one lacks the courage to die, but because there are reasons to live.

Shaking her head, Annie stopped herself from overthinking and went into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast. After eating breakfast with her sister and watching some picture books together, Li Mu and the others didn't return by noon, but Annie didn't just make do.

Instead, she prepared lunch with great care and shared it with her sister.

Before the apocalypse, a meal might not have been something to pay attention to, but now Annie cherished every meal, every breath of life. Only when even breathing becomes precious do people truly care about what really matters in life.

It's not about power or wealth, but about every breath, every ordinary meal, every sip of water, and even every smile.

Annie felt a bit melancholic and gently kissed her still innocent sister.

The little girl looked up, rubbed her eyes, and said, "Sister, I miss Dad."

Annie didn't speak, just hugged her sister tightly, and tears couldn't help but fall.

"Vivian, when you grow up, you'll be able to see Dad. So, Vivian, you must be good," Annie whispered, telling a kind lie.

The little girl nodded, "Okay, I know, Sister. Even if a very scary uncle tries to scare me, I won't cry."

Annie smiled, a smile that made her want to cry, and couldn't help but think of Charlie's clumsy, ugly, terrifying, and vicious appearance, wanting to get close to the little girl. She suddenly realized that perhaps a long time ago, Charlie had a sister very much like Vivian.

The apocalypse had barely lasted seven months, but for Annie, it felt like a lifetime.

By three in the afternoon, the little girl was feeling sleepy again. Annie sent her to bed and, after she fell asleep, finally had time to do her own things.

Drawing and writing a diary were what Annie liked to do during this time. Drawing was to prove that she existed in the world, drawing for herself, for her sister, for the city, and occasionally for the wandering zombies.

Annie wasn't a good drawer, but her work had a certain charm. A few strokes, and a lonely atmosphere appeared on the canvas. The drawing was of Li Mu, a simple scene, but strangely lonely, with a single point of blue in a black background, as if the whole person had merged with the night, with no light visible.

After finishing the drawing, Annie carefully put it away, picked up her notebook, and went to the window to write today's diary. When she got to the window, she suddenly noticed a light reflecting back. At first, she didn't pay attention, but after a while, seeing the light spot draw an S on the floor, Annie suddenly stood up, crouched by the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked in the direction the light came from.

The light was coming from a building across the street. Annie saw clearly that someone was using a broken mirror to reflect sunlight from that window.

"It's a survivor."

Annie felt a strange joy. She hadn't seen a survivor in a long time, or rather, since the apocalypse began, she hadn't seen anyone other than her sister.

So Annie couldn't hide her excitement and waved to the person in the building across the street.

"She saw us."

Paul sighed in relief, continued to wave the mirror, and saw Annie in the opposite apartment continue to wave. He immediately felt invigorated and turned to the others in the room.

There weren't many people in the room, including Paul, only six in total. They had long noticed the changes in the opposite apartment and had tried to approach it, but all attempts had failed due to the large number of zombies nearby.

"Will she help us?"

A woman asked. She had been a beauty before, but now, after being hungry for a long time, she was emaciated and had lost her former charm.

"We don't know, but we have to try."

Paul shook his head, took out a sign he had already written, stood at the window, and waved it.

Annie quickly ran back to the living room and started searching. She remembered that the red mutant parrot had brought a telescope back. She soon found it and looked at the building across the street.

"We need food and water. Can you help us?"

Annie saw the words on the sign and was stunned for a moment. Then she ran back to the kitchen, took half of the water and canned food from the fridge, and went back to the window, writing a message to show the opposite side.

"How can I give it to you?"

Paul was immediately invigorated, "She has food and water and is willing to help us!"

"Thank goodness."

"Thank God."

The people in the room couldn't help but cheer. After a brief exchange, Paul used a compound bow he had found earlier, tied a fishing line to an arrow, and shot it over.

Annie tied the prepared food to the arrow and carefully let it go. Seeing Paul and the others pull the fishing line to retrieve the food, Annie finally smiled contentedly.

However, by five o'clock, when she sensed that Li Mu was about to return, Annie became worried again.

PS: Happy New Year, may you have a prosperous year. Don't be stingy with the recommendation and collection red packets you have prepared; send them to me quickly!