After dropping off the siblings and bidding farewell to the enthusiastic Liu Chunhui, Qin Luo and Xu Duoduo began their walk back.

  The district where ordinary people lived was surprisingly reminiscent of life before the apocalypse. If you ignored the newly constructed high-rise buildings and focused only on the familiar streets, the shops lining both sides of the road, and even the vendors setting up stalls outside the school gates, you might momentarily feel as if the apocalypse had never happened.

  As they walked, the little zombie girl suddenly stopped in her tracks. She tugged on Qin Luo’s sleeve, pulling him back and giving him quite a scare.

  “Damn, you startled me! What’s wrong? Don’t feel like walking anymore? Want me to carry you?” Qin Luo asked, utterly confused.

  Xu Duoduo pointed toward the pedestrian street ahead, blinking her big eyes to indicate her desire to go there.

  Qin Luo immediately understood and sighed in resignation. “Alright, alright, let’s go. Where do you want to go?”

  The little zombie girl’s face lit up with joy as she grabbed his sleeve and started leading the way. After all, they didn’t get many chances to visit pces like this.

  At first, Qin Luo couldn’t understand why a zombie would enjoy shopping. But as he noticed her looking around curiously while clinging tightly to his sleeve, he finally had an epiphany about ten minutes ter.

  Embarrassed, he muttered, “Tsk, if you wanted to go on a date with me, you could’ve just said so. Why pretend it’s about shopping? Honestly.”

  He felt a bit awkward but couldn’t help grumbling, “You’re a young dy, a little zombie girl at that—how can you be so straightforward?”

  So shameless.

  Xu Duoduo: ???

  The little zombie girl didn’t understand what he was muttering about. She hadn’t been thinking about anything of the sort—she just wanted to explore the area. Ignoring his compints, she continued tugging on his sleeve and leading the way.

  Liuyan District, as the designated living area for ordinary people, really did resemble pre-apocalyptic life, at least about 80% of it. But there were still some noticeable differences.

  For instance, what used to be ordinary supermarkets had now been transformed into “luxury” stores. Many items had become scarce and precious commodities, like pre-apocalypse snacks that hadn’t expired, cosmetics, and everyday necessities.

  The prices of these items were several times higher than they had been before the apocalypse.

  Of course, there were also newly developed post-apocalypse snacks and alternative products, which were more affordable.

  However, these cked the refinement of pre-apocalypse goods. Even something as simple as slippers was now a luxury—you couldn’t just repce them whenever you wanted. Most people only owned one pair, which they’d wear until they fell apart before reluctantly buying new ones.

  It felt like society had regressed to a time of material scarcity. Yet, paradoxically, the buildings were more modern than ever. With housing for ordinary people in short supply, construction was constantly expanding upward, utilizing every avaible space.

  The result was a cityscape that was beginning to resemble a mountain city, with high-rise pedestrian streets and colorful neon signs creating a cyberpunk, fantastical atmosphere.

  If you focused only on the ground-level streets, it felt like the old days. But as soon as you looked up, you were jolted back to the reality of this new apocalyptic era. Once the upper-level city was completed, society would inevitably be divided into distinct csses.

  Qin Luo was amazed. “It’s like every time we go out for a few days, the base changes completely by the time we get back.”

  It felt like the combat teams returning to the base were experiencing the world like country bumpkins visiting a big city for the first time.

  A nearby vendor, an elderly man, chuckled when he overheard this. “You folks who are always out on missions wouldn’t know. They say once the upper-level city is finished, there’ll even be transport systems—high-speed buses and subways will be up and running soon. You’ll be able to zip around between levels in no time, like magic. Blink, and you’ll be at your stop. Impressive, huh?”

  Qin Luo was horrified. “Won’t the people living on the lower levels get spit on by the uncivilized folks up top?”

  The old man immediately waved his fan and shook his head. “Eh, eh, eh! Young man, don’t talk nonsense. That won’t happen. Headquarters has issued strict orders—anyone caught throwing things from high up will be thrown into jail. Ten or twenty years of hard bor, no less.”

  Hiss.

  Now that was something.

  Even Xu Duoduo was stunned. This new world was truly surreal, changing at a breakneck pace.

  The old man, clearly a chatterbox, was selling “little goldfish” at his stall. But these weren’t ordinary goldfish—they had legs and could hop around. They were a newly discovered, ultra-low-contamination mutated species, with pollution levels close to zero. These creatures were sold as toys for children.

  “Young man, why not buy one for your girlfriend? They’re so fun! Easy to care for, too—just feed them some pnts or a few grains of rice.”

  Qin Luo blushed instantly, stammering, “She’s… she’s not my girlfriend yet.”

  He hadn’t even confessed properly.

  As he spoke, he gnced down at Xu Duoduo, who was squatting in front of the stall, pying with the hopping fish. When she suddenly looked up at him with a puzzled expression, his heart skipped a beat, and his face turned even redder.

  He quickly looked away, not daring to meet her gaze.

  His ears were completely red.

  The old man, slightly hard of hearing, couldn’t catch Qin Luo’s mumbling. After a moment of thought, he finally understood and, sitting on his small stool, decred loudly, “Ah, young man, with a face this thin, how are you pnning to court her? If you like her, just go for it! Stop being so shy, like some delicate maiden! Look at her—she’s much more straightforward than you!”

  Qin Luo’s face turned beet red. “What’s with you, old man? Eavesdropping on people’s conversations!”

  The old man was immediately indignant. “Hey now, if you’re talking out loud, of course people are going to hear you! I’m just sharing some life experience with you. How are you supposed to win a wife with such a thin skin? Back in my day, when I was courting my wife, I chased her from one end of the country to the other, from our school days to our working years.”

  Qin Luo’s thin skin was undeniable. Though he often acted nonchant and carefree, he couldn’t handle teasing or serious talk. The moment someone brought it up, his face would turn red. This time was no exception. Flustered by the old man’s remarks, he grabbed Xu Duoduo and bolted, disappearing in a matter of seconds.

  The old man watched them go, shaking his head with a ugh. “Spineless. That boy’s got such a thin skin—he’s nothing like me back in the day, right, my dear?”

  He pulled out an old pocket watch from his chest pocket and gently stroked the faded photograph inside.

  “Professor Xu, no lectures today? Out here selling again?” A young teacher returning from grocery shopping greeted him with a smile.

  The old man ughed heartily and pointed to the gss tank in front of him. “Some students brought back a new species, so I’m selling a few for the kids to py with. And I’m keeping my wife company in the sunlight. She always loved basking in the sun, though it’s a pity we don’t see much of it anymore. Still, even artificial light is better than nothing.”

  Since the apocalypse, the sky had been perpetually shrouded in thick fog, leaving the world in a constant gray haze. On the rare days when the sky brightened even slightly, it was considered a good day.

  The young teacher, accustomed to this reality, smiled. “You two have such a great retionship.”

  The old man beamed. “Of course! We’ve always been close. Not like that young man just now, blushing like crazy. How’s he supposed to win a wife like that? Kids these days, I tell you…”

  He clicked his tongue in disbelief.

  After bidding farewell to the teacher, he continued muttering to himself while gazing at the pocket watch. “If that boy didn’t remind me of my younger self, I wouldn’t have bothered giving him advice. Right, my dear? Not that he appreciated it.”

  The old man grumbled to himself, clearly feeling wronged.