Captain Li’s actions were indeed swift. Just as Jiang Nian, Qin Yue, and Li Ming had arrived at their doorsteps, Captain Li came with the rewards. In theory, he didn’t need to come in person; it could have been delivered by a few soldiers. However, this time, the situation was tricky, and when he received the news, he was worried that they might lose some comrades before resolving it. Thanks to Jiang Nian’s assistance, although many of his soldiers were injured, none of them suffered life-threatening injuries, and they all managed to come back safely. Naturally, he had to come in person to show his sincerity.

At this moment, Captain Lao Wang, who had almost been overwhelmed by zombie cats and dogs while leading the team to clear out the zombies, also came to express his gratitude to Jiang Nian. It was a fortunate coincidence that these two had arrived together.

Jiang Nian looked at the boxes of items Captain Li had brought, feeling a headache coming on. These were just the same old items. Jiang Nian turned to Captain Lao Wang and said, “Captain Wang, take these and distribute them to our injured comrades. Let them recover properly.”

Captain Li had heard about Jiang Nian’s generosity, and he said helplessly, “District Chief Jiang, you don’t need to worry about that. We’ve already sent supplies to the injured comrades. These are your rewards.”

Lao Wang quickly added, “That’s right. You should keep these items. You risked your life to save us, and we can’t accept your things anymore. Besides, our team will also send supplies to the injured brothers. As long as we’re alive, we’ll ensure they have a meal before they recover from their injuries. District Chief Jiang, these are rightfully yours. We can’t take them!”

Having seen Jiang Nian’s generosity before, they were genuinely afraid that she might insist on giving them the items. After all, her combat strength was formidable, and they were no match for her. So, they quickly placed the items down and hurriedly left, as if there were something terrifying chasing them from behind. They couldn’t be stopped. Jiang Nian had no choice but to accept the items. She couldn’t understand why they refused to accept them. These people were truly strange. If it were valuable gold, there wouldn’t be anything left for them.

Li Ming was dumbfounded by the scene, and even Qin Yue managed to hold back his laughter. It seemed that everything became particularly peculiar when it came to Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian handed the items over to her mother, and Wang Cai went off to catch fish. It was the perfect time to prepare a big meal for the evening. But for now, she needed to take Qin Yue to meet his parents.

Currently, Qin Yue’s parents were living in the apartment above her house, which was quite convenient. “Uncle Qin probably hasn’t returned yet. He and my dad went to work on the city outskirts together. They won’t finish until five, and it’ll be around 5:30 when they come back.”

During these days, the young and strong individuals formed teams to clear out the zombies. The older individuals wanted to join in as well, but dealing with zombies was physically demanding, and they often ended up slowing the group down. Coincidentally, the government was organizing the construction of walls and temporary underground shelters. Both Qin’s father and Jiang’s father believed they still had some strength left, so they signed up to work together.

Going to work outside also comes with a lunch, and when they finish work in the evening, they can receive two large food packages. They also remember the daily wage and can collect some supplies. The benefits are quite good. Due to the large number of participants, the safe area and the non-safe area have been completely separated. They are concerned that the zombies from the non-safe area might come over. Therefore, walls are built every hundred meters, with three layers in total. The frontmost layer is even equipped with an electric fence to separate it. They are also preparing to dig some defenses and traps outside the city walls to prevent zombie attacks from the outside.

Qin Yue asked, “I see there’s still a large area in the safe zone. Have all the people from there evacuated as well?”

Jiang Nian shook her head helplessly. The capital city is so large, and their safe zone only covers a part of it. Although they organize teams to rescue survivors and clear zombies every day, the number of zombies in the safe zone is also increasing. Two months have passed, and they will only become more powerful. They dare not go deep alone, fearing that they might become trapped instead of rescuing people. They have also sent helicopters for rescue, but resources are limited now. Even if the helicopter flies continuously, the fuel may not be enough, not to mention how many people it can carry at a time. They also need to send people to check in other areas, but it’s just a drop in the bucket.

As for why the situation in the same city is so different on both sides, Qin Yue can understand it. Moreover, this safe zone expanded from the Happy Community, where Jiang Nian lives at its center.

Fortunately, General Shen has not given up on them. He provides supplies regularly, shares methods of developing abilities, and has also sent people to teach them self-defense and zombie-fighting skills. They are encouraged to unite and fight against the zombies together. Now, there are many powerful ability users and teams in that area as well. With internal and external cooperation, they believe it won’t be long before they no longer need those isolation walls.

Li Ming sighed as he listened, almost unable to believe it. If other cities were as united as the capital city, and if they could maintain their morals and consciences from before the apocalypse, there wouldn’t be so many tragic events in the world.

But unfortunately, there’s only one Jiang Nian in the world.

Li Ming suddenly became curious and asked, “District Chief Jiang, have you formed a team of ability users now? Are they all powerful?”

Jiang Nian nodded and counted on her fingers, saying, “Me, my dad, my mom, my brother, and our neighbor, Uncle Zhang. We’re quite powerful, right? After all, I singlehandedly raised the level of our team.”

Li Ming: “Ah?”

Qin Yue suddenly coughed, pretending like nothing happened, and said, “Is it just the five of you?”

Jiang Nian replied, “But now it’s just me. They all have their own busy schedules, and I have to rely on myself for missions and such.” The burden on her shoulders had become quite heavy.

Qin Yue looked at Jiang Nian, who had a pitiful look on her face with furrowed eyebrows, and he smiled.

After climbing about three floors, Jiang Nian suddenly pointed at a red iron gate and said, “Here we are. Auntie should be at home. Qin Yue, you go ahead, and I’ll go back to cook. Don’t bother making dinner tonight; everyone should come over to our house to eat. I’ve just received a bonus, so we can all taste it together.”

Qin Yue didn’t refuse and smiled, saying, “Alright.”

He watched Jiang Nian go downstairs and then turned to knock on the door.

…

When Qin’s mother saw Qin Yue at that moment, she was so shocked that she could hardly believe her eyes. She covered her mouth and burst into tears, mumbling, “You’ve come back, you’ve come back…” Then she noticed Li Ming’s empty sleeve, and her tears couldn’t be stopped. She cried so hard that she could hardly catch her breath, unable to say a word.

It took Qin Yue a while to finally calm his mother down. After careful questioning, he learned that they had not lived with Jiang Nian before. They had been assigned to a different community, two streets away from the people from their original team. At first, it seemed fine for the first two days, thinking that they would be safe once they reached the capital city. However, after the second outbreak of the virus, half of their group had turned into zombies. The remaining survivors, after waiting in vain for rescue and seeing zombies roaming the streets, believed that the world had ended and humanity was finished. In their despair, the previous peace was shattered, and they resorted to violent clashes for the scarce resources. They no longer respected Qin Yue’s parents, and whether Qin Yue was alive or dead was uncertain. Who could afford to care about that now?

Due to this, Qin’s father and mother suffered considerable injuries. Both of them were already quite old, and this drastic change almost caused them to collapse. If it weren’t for the hope of seeing their son again, they might not have been able to hold on.

Qin Yue remained expressionless, and Li Ming clenched his fists in anger. “These people are heartless! Wasn’t all that supplies bought with Yue-ge’s money? How did Yue-ge treat them back then, and how did they treat us? Do they really think that in the apocalypse, there’s no need for any reason to kill someone?”

Qin’s mother shook her head, also feeling deeply troubled. In the beginning, she and her husband had managed to survive for nearly half a month with the meager supplies they had. When they were almost at their limit, those people wouldn’t even lend them a bit of food. Even the Wu couple refused to see them. She had thought that she and Wu Jiang’s mother were old friends who knew each other well and had a deep connection, but only in times of crisis did she realize how unpredictable human hearts could be.

They had almost starved to death. If Jiang Nian hadn’t led a team to clear the zombies and had come to find them specifically, bringing them to the Happy Community, providing food, shelter, and medical treatment… Otherwise, she and her husband might have already died of hunger or illness. Where could they have seen their son again?

What’s even more laughable is that the people who had previously despised them came crawling back and tried to win their favor after seeing Jiang Nian. Qin’s mother was both angry and pained. She didn’t want to even look at them again.

She wiped her tears and said in a bitter tone, “Just a few days ago, Wu Jiang’s mother had the nerve to ask for my forgiveness. She said she was too afraid and too terrified to treat me like that before. She even gave me rice and noodles. Hah! Don’t think I don’t know she’s trying to get on Jiang Nian’s good side! I’m halfway to the grave, and I’m not afraid of these wicked people. Even if I starve to death, I’m not afraid. But I can’t stand to see these people harm Jiang Nian. Jiang Nian is a good girl. Without her, where would we, the elderly and the weak, find a way to survive? These heartless people, do they even deserve to stand in front of Jiang Nian?”

Qin Yue had a serious expression on his face. He should have realized that if even Wu Jiang could betray him and send him to his death without hesitation, what about others? If it weren’t for Jiang Nian, his parents would probably have died long ago, and he wouldn’t have been able to reach them.

“Mom, don’t worry too much. From now on, I’ll handle these matters. I shouldn’t have entrusted your and Dad’s safety to others. I was too careless,” Qin Yue said.

Qin’s mother responded, “Your father and I have lived a full life, and it wouldn’t be a pity to die. But you must take care of Nian Nian. You don’t know, she’s the recognized silly girl in our district.”

Li Ming thought of the way Jiang Nian readily gave away the supplies she received and her bewildered looks when others refused to accept them. He strongly agreed with that and nodded.

Qin Yue also said with a low voice, “I understand.”

In fact, he didn’t think Jiang Nian was foolish. She was simply very earnestly doing something meaningful. Regardless of where she was or the circumstances around her, she had her own sense of morality and principles.

For Qin Yue, Jiang Nian was the light in his dark world.

…

In the evening, when Qin’s father came back and saw Qin Yue, he was naturally very excited. He patted Qin Yue’s shoulder with teary eyes and said several words of joy. He was so happy that he even had a few sips of alcohol with Jiang’s father. In the post-apocalyptic world, cigarettes and alcohol were rare luxuries. Even having a single sip was considered a luxury, but today was a special occasion. Jiang Nian brought out a bottle of red wine and shared a few glasses.

Jiang’s mother prepared a dish of cured meat with cabbage and glass noodles, and, thanks to Wang Cai’s presence, she also made sour fish with pickled vegetables. On the table, there were also the large food packages brought back by Qin’s father and Jiang’s father from the work site. At this table, eight people and one cat ate joyfully and had a lively meal.

In front of Wang Cai, there was a small plate with chopped fish meat, and it was happily eating away with a “nom nom” sound.

Jiang Nian gently rubbed its head.

Qin Yue looked at Jiang Nian, then at the cat, and took a sip of wine. Even though the alcohol content of this wine wasn’t heavy, he felt that at this moment, his previously icy heart was ignited, turning red-hot.

Later in the evening, Qin Yue went downstairs to the well with a bucket, and Qin’s father followed. As they carried the water, Qin’s father said, “You’ve probably heard about recent events from your mom, right?”

Qin Yue nodded.

Qin’s father continued, “Let’s leave the past behind. We should focus on living a good life now. Don’t dwell on it. The post-apocalyptic world is tough enough, and surviving is not easy. It’s time to let go of what we can’t change.”

Qin Yue remained silent for a moment and then nodded.

However, the next morning, he left with Li Ming.

He intended to retrieve everything that belonged to him and confront those who had harmed his parents.

…

Wu Jiang’s father, after having breakfast, was about to head to work. He didn’t possess any supernatural abilities, so he had to do manual labor. They had the leftover big buns from the previous night’s dinner for breakfast, with each of them having one. After eating, they would go to work. His wife also worked in the cafeteria with a small team, helping with cooking, laundry, and taking care of the injured. They were responsible for one meal at lunch and dinner, and their life was manageable.

When Li Ming suddenly appeared at their doorstep, it startled them. They were initially uneasy, then excited. “Li Ming, you’re back? Is our son Jiang also back? Where is he? Where is he now?”

Li Ming gave a cold smile and said, “Follow me.”

Wu Jiang’s parents exchanged glances, finding it strange but unable to resist their concern for their son. They followed Li Ming.

It wasn’t until they reached downstairs that they realized there was more than just Li Ming. There were over a dozen others, their former teammates, who had become enemies due to the outbreak of the second virus and their disputes over resources.

What was even more frightening was that Qin Yue stood at the forefront—the man dressed in all black with an expressionless face.

They all lowered their heads, avoiding eye contact, looking afraid and timid.

Qin Yue chuckled briefly, a sound that sent chills down everyone’s spine. “I heard you took things from my family. Isn’t it time to return them?”

Qin Yue had returned alive, and he had come to settle the score!

At the same time, Yao Xiaoyue had already inquired about the specific situation in the North City Safe Zone. She was surprised to learn that Jiang Nian had once again become the center of attention for everyone, just like at the gas station. She was now giving lectures and had gained the attention and gratitude of everyone. At present, she was leading humanity united against the zombies, becoming a symbol of inspiration for everyone in the safe zone!

However, Yao Xiaoyue had to admit that after the apocalypse, the world was supposed to be in chaos and hellish everywhere. But now, to her amazement, there was such a bright place. Jiang Nian was indeed remarkable.

After thinking it over, Yao Xiaoyue decided to go find Shen Dongming.

Shen Dongming had given her an address when he left.