Chapter 133

Chapter 133

"Huh? What pretty dresses..."

Huang Qian, who had been enthusiastically digging through packages of clothes, suddenly let out a surprised noise. She pulled out several lovely little dresses from a parcel labeled with some kids' clothing brand:

Princess-style, school-uniform style, floral dresses, little white dresses—even accompanied by two pairs of butterfly hair clips. A classic "baby-girl bait" collection.

Cuteness was something even tough guys loved, and the tall, lanky, handsome, dashing men present were successfully distracted, launching into discussions about raising daughters in the future.

Whether adopting post-apocalyptic orphans or having their own, they all wanted one.

As they chatted, Huang Qian spoke up again:

"This size should fit Xiao Ya."

"..."

Hearing this, the teammates froze slightly, instinctively glancing at Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing.

Ever since Xiao Ya was sent to the state-run school and the official verdict was announced, they had all tacitly avoided mentioning the matter.

Even though they had received 200,000 points, their feelings toward Xiao Ya remained complicated—like a knot you can't quite smooth out. It could be smoothed over, but you can still feel the bump.

Apart from Huang Qian, the rest were all grown-ass men. Whether before or now, they didn't know how to act around a young girl.

Rationally speaking, the current arrangement was for the best. Under official supervision and guidance, perhaps one day her superpower could be put to use—contributing to humanity's fight against the apocalypse while atoning for her mistakes.

Yet, having come this far, they had witnessed too much of the ugliness of human nature in the post-apocalyptic world.

Whenever they saw underage Superpowered individuals, their faces still baby-faced, declaring that the world itself was at fault despite their bloodstained hands, they couldn’t help but think of Xiao Ya.

Absolute fairness didn’t exist in this world, and good deeds don’t erase the bad. But when moral order collapsed, the line between condemnation and leniency blurred.

For instance, they sometimes thought emotionally—since the victims' families had chosen to spare her, and there were plenty of worse cases out there—why should they, as outsiders, beat themselves up over her mistakes?

"..."

Cheng Jing remained silent. Jiang Nian took one of the dresses, examined it for a moment, and said calmly,

"Very pretty. Let’s take them back. The state-run school has many children this age."

With that, he packed the dresses and hair clips together and stashed them in his spatial ring.

As for Xiao Ya, he had already made peace with it. Listening daily to satellite broadcasts reporting atrocities—killings, cannibalism—he'd grown numb to it all.

His values were still intact, but the righteous anger no longer flared up so easily.

"Brother Nian, do you think Xiao Ya might become a guinea pig for human experiments?" Tang Yi asked, voicing what they all wondered.

Human experimentation was unsettling, no matter the reason or era.

"..."

Jiang Nian frowned, recalling unpleasant memories, but answered rationally:

"When the apocalypse hit, with humans awakening to superpowers, it’s reasonable for authorities to require Superpowered individuals to cooperate with research—taking blood samples, running some power tests—that kind of thing isn't the same as being a guinea pig. I'd bet the South City Base wouldn’t allow unethical human experiments."

The real guinea pigs ended up dead or maimed, trapped between life and death. The more he learned, the more certain he became that people like Xia Weiwei from the S base in his past life were just using the apocalypse as an excuse to go full psycho.

After all, zombies were mutated humans, and Superpower Zombies used to be Superpowered folks before their mutation. Researching the apocalypse and superpowers didn’t necessarily require cutting up live humans.

Cheng Jing chimed in:

"The South City Base is run by the national military. If the base’s research institute allows human experimentation under these circumstances, that's not salvation - that's just trading one nightmare for another."

According to Li Sheng, there were currently nearly a thousand juvenile offenders in the South City Base, with about a hundred of them being Superpowered. If they were really used as lab rats, they'd burn through them fast.

And once the criminal test subjects ran out?

Wouldn’t they have to find other test subjects?

"Human nature's too weak when tested. Human experimentation must be strictly controlled."

"Exactly. If the major bases set the precedent, small-time operations would jump on the bandwagon..."

"Then legitimate experiments would turn into a free-for-all for the sickos."

"..."

As they chatted and discussed, they quickly finished unpacking the truckload of packages, obtaining a duffel bag each stuffed with clothes, food, and random household stuff in various sizes.

Achievement unlocked: Scored a free convenience store haul. Jiang Nian’s smile could've powered solar panels.

Due to the immense pressure, medium and large logistics vehicles took the hardest hits. Even if they weren’t crushed immediately, left out in the open, they were toast first.

Thus, the only vehicles in decent shape were the small and lightweight ones.

By the time the sun dipped westward, they found their second delivery truck loot crate—a new energy mini logistics bus, smaller in capacity than the previous one.

Eagerly unpacking it, they were greeted by a strong aroma of wine. Someone had ordered an entire crate of red wine, but the bottles had shattered perfectly evenly, soaking many of the other packages inside. The dark red stains gave the whole scene a horror movie vibe.

"Tsk, the whole crate shattered neatly—total bottle genocide," Young Master Liao announced disappointedly after checking.

Fortunately, aside from the wine, everything else was still usable.

Immersed in the scent of alcohol while unpacking made for a weirdly fun unpacking session.

Jiang Nian even scored a bottle of essential balm, a box of mosquito coils, and two boxes of Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui. And no kidding, this was primo summer survival gear.

However, since the apocalypse, mosquitoes and insects got wiped out when shit hit the fan.

Someone then suggested: The apocalyptic disasters were Mother Nature's way of cleaning house, and humans were among the targets.

When the end's near, folks'll spout any crazy theory.

"..."

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

"ROAR—"

Suddenly, a burst of barking and an ear-splitting roar came blasting from behind a collapsed warehouse ahead.

As dusk fell, the group unpacking the parcels looked up to see a dog and a human figure charging toward them. Jian Cheng, with his sharp eyesight, sucked in a sharp breath:

"Sh*t... a zombie soldier in tactical gear and a German Shepherd military dog."

The dog charged ahead, while the zombie soldier growled and lumbered after it.

They had guessed half right—it wasn’t a lone survivor duo of a man and his dog, but a zombie and a dog.

Jiang Nian activated his power, while Cheng Jing quickly stored away all the unopened parcels.

Soon, the zombie and the dog entered the Purify range. The zombie slowed down, black smoke curling off its body.

The dog, unaffected, continued sprinting toward them at full speed, a clear sign it wasn’t infected.

As they drew closer, the group could finally see clearly:

Though the German Shepherd was emaciated, its fur sticking out in patches, and covered in wounds, its movements remained agile, still carried itself with a proud, commanding presence.

Behind it, the towering zombie soldier in combat gear was likely its owner.

At the sight of such a pair, the group froze, their hearts instantly clenched. Their eyes and noses stung with unshed tears.

Fear took a backseat to sheer sorrow.