“Some of the leaders came around at noon, they spent a long time in the mountains. To avoid causing trouble, we let them leave the mountain, but in the end, we couldn’t escape.” Jia Wu, standing behind, recalled the situation from today, feeling a bit nervous.

“Thankfully, Ranran, you’re back. My leg is inconvenient, and I couldn’t help at all, just watching and getting anxious,” Bai Mei couldn’t help but express her lingering fear.

Though she appeared delicate, Bai Mei had seen many massacres and understood the darker side of human nature. She didn’t think it was wrong for Jia Wu and Nan Muran to kill all those who tried to break into the villa.

Nan Muran smiled as she placed her backpack down. “Sister Mei, there’s no need to be afraid. In the future, in situations like this, just stay inside the house. They won’t be able to get in.”

Bai Mei nodded in agreement. Initially, she and Jia Wu had planned to do just that, but when Nan Muran happened to return, she, as a woman, was bound to feel frightened facing so many people.

Neither of them felt reassured, so they hadn’t thought about cooperating between the inside and outside but instead immediately went out to join her. “Are you hungry? I’ll go prepare dinner for you.”

Having been on edge all day, neither Bai Mei nor Jia Wu had eaten.

Nan Muran had only eaten breakfast, so once they all calmed down, the three of them, including the greedy dog, were hungry.

“I’m hungry,” Jia Wu and Nan Muran said in unison, their tones carrying a touch of pitifulness.

The dog Tank also gave a matching bark, showing its agreement.

“Alright, go wash up and change. I’ll get some food ready for you.”

After enjoying a delicious copper pot hot pot meal, the three of them were exhausted and went back to their rooms to catch up on sleep.

Nan Muran slept soundly until the next afternoon. The rain outside the window was still falling but had clearly lightened up.

The city’s flooding began to recede as the rain decreased. Everyone thought this was a sign of hope for survival, but little did they know, it was actually a precursor to something far more terrifying.

When she woke up, Tank and Da Fu were lying by her bedside, keeping her company.

“You two little guys, when did you sneak into my room?” Nan Muran laughed as she petted their heads.

When they first renovated the house, they had made a doggy door in the second-floor main door, making it easier for the two little ones to come and go.

After playing with the dog and the cat for a while, Nan Muran finished getting ready and went downstairs.

In the living room, Bai Mei was watching TV. It seemed like she had changed the channel, and when Nan Muran heard the drama on the TV say, “What a big bed,” she raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.

Seeing her come downstairs, Bai Mei quickly turned off the TV. “Jia Wu, come out for dinner.”

Since they couldn’t leave the house and had plenty of time, Bai Mei had specially prepared a table of Nan Muran’s favorite home-cooked dishes.

At the dinner table, Nan Muran ate while handing a few portraits to Jia Wu, who was sitting next to her. “Brother Wu, can you help me take a look? Do you recognize these people?”

The portraits clearly depicted the six international mercenaries Nan Muran had killed while tracking Qi Li on Cuishan that day.

“Poison Scorpion, this is Black Ice’s team. Where did you see them?” Jia Wu’s tone was clearly filled with worry. Before the apocalypse, these people would never have dared to appear in the country, but now, everything was out of control.

“Just recently, they picked up someone I knew from an apartment building. Black Ice? What’s that?” Nan Muran asked.

Jia Wu put down the portrait. “Black Ice is an elite international mercenary team. It consists of 29 members, split into four action squads and a five-person liaison group. These people have no bottom line, and they are notorious for being active on the dark web.

I’ve heard that in recent years, they’ve been using all sorts of inhumane things to enhance their strength.

The six people in your portraits belong to Black Ice’s squad, codenamed Poison Scorpion.”

Nan Muran quickly seized the point: “They like to use inhumane things to enhance their strength?”

“Yes. Behind Black Ice, there’s also a company called Black Lock. It’s said that they’ve been buying and selling human beings around the world, all for the purpose of conducting genetic experiments.” Jia Wu elaborated, seeing that Nan Muran was interested.

Nan Muran’s eyes lit up from his words. “Brother Wu, after dinner, could you describe the other members of Black Ice’s squads?”

“Describe them?” Jia Wu asked, surprised.

“Yes, you describe them, and I’ll draw them out.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, Dr. Jin’s underground laboratory was probably built by this company called Black Lock. The people in camouflage guarding the external defenses in that lab were most likely Black Ice members.

This time, she was going to track down every one of them.

Bai Mei, listening to Jia Wu’s strange descriptions, furrowed her brows. However, when she saw Nan Muran bring these features to life with her drawing, Bai Mei’s eyes lit up in admiration.

Jia Wu was equally amazed. Nan Muran’s speed was faster than many sketch artists.

“I’m a professional in drawing, so it’s no big deal,” Nan Muran said with a slight smile.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you with a brush,” Bai Mei remarked with a sigh. She had seen Nan Muran wield knives, guns, and even kill people, but this was the first time she saw her holding a brush.

Bai Mei suddenly felt that this was the real Nan Muran.

Nan Muran looked at the brush in her hand and couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter. “In the apocalypse, survival is key. Skills like painting are really of no use.”

Jia Wu watched as the faces in Nan Muran’s drawings became more and more familiar, their features increasingly accurate. He suddenly realized that Nan Muran was drawing these people to track them down, and perhaps even to kill them.

“Ranran, these people are dangerous. Even now, you’re no match for them.”

“Don’t worry, Brother Wu. I won’t rashly take risks.”

After three full days of work, Nan Muran had drawn the likenesses of all 18 members of Black Ice’s remaining three squads, based on Jia Wu’s descriptions.

Looking at the portraits on the study wall—faces that had appeared countless times in her nightmares—Nan Muran’s gaze grew colder.

These people all had to die.

In the following days, Nan Muran began leaving the villa on time every day, heading to Cuishan to search for news about Dr. Jin’s underground laboratory.

However, even though Xiao Liu had thoroughly searched the entire Cuishan from the foot to the top, they still couldn’t find the laboratory.

Sitting back in the car, Nan Muran looked at the dense jungle around her, regretting having rashly killed those mercenaries. She had lost the chance to find the laboratory sooner.

But no matter how much she regretted, it was already too late. The search for Si Ye had once again returned to square one, and Nan Muran could only wait.

At the same time, the first devastating rain of the apocalypse finally stopped after two months of continuous downpour.

The survivors in the city watched as the water levels slowly receded and the sky cleared, cheering in excitement. Though only two months had passed, the people who had survived felt like they had lived through several lifetimes.

More and more people went out searching for food. Even though the flooding had left little food available, their enthusiasm couldn’t be stopped, as if in an instant, humanity had regained hope of survival.