"That's right! We're all here because of this guy. If it weren't for him, I, for one, would have become a zombie long ago!"

Gray Bear sighed.

"He was always the one charging ahead before, and now that he's down, it's our turn to step up. It's just a shame I probably won't be able to take down Leopard!"

As he spoke, Gray Bear looked at Duan Lei, suddenly smiled, and pointed to his room.

"Such a nice room, and I haven't even slept in it yet. There are still sixteen minutes left, so I'm going to sleep for ten. Anyway, I'm just in charge of fighting. The planning is your business. When the time comes, I'll do whatever you say! Seriously, I should have gone to sleep an hour ago. What a pity!"

Then, Gray Bear turned and walked towards his bedroom. When he reached the door, he suddenly turned back, his eyes scanning everyone's faces, lingering for a few seconds on each one, as if trying to etch those faces into his memory. Finally, he said:

"It's been an honor to meet you all in this messed-up world, to fight alongside you. Thank you, everyone!!!"

Gray Bear straightened his body, gave everyone a military salute, then turned, pushed open the door, and walked into the bedroom!

"Do I have some important assignment?"

Fatty suddenly pointed to his nose and asked.

"When the time comes, you just run outside with a grenade and shout something like 'Come and get me!'"

Duan Lei said.

"Okay! Then I'm going to sleep for ten minutes too!"

Fatty said, then walked to the bedroom door, waved to everyone, and said with a cheerful smile:

"See you all later!"

After that, one by one, the people in the living room left, until only Duan Xue and Duan Lei remained, both watching Li Chenzhou. Duan Xue suddenly said:

"When you were little, I used to watch you sleep like this all the time. Luckily, you didn't kick off the covers. You were quite well-behaved."

"I wish I could kick off the covers!"

Duan Lei smiled, then looked down at his legs.

"Unfortunately, by the time I could kick off the covers, I had already grown up! And didn't need anyone watching me sleep anymore!"

"Before, the Zhang and Li women from next door always liked to gather in our shop, gossiping about everything, making a big deal out of small things, and they could talk for a long time."

Duan Xue said again:

"At that time, I was wondering, when I get to their age, would I be like that too, turning into the kind of gossiping woman I hated? Or even becoming like Grandma Wang… an old woman with a wrinkled face and no teeth showing when she opened her mouth!"

Speaking to this point, Duan Xue suddenly sighed:

"Back then, I was so afraid of getting old, but now, I suddenly realize that getting old isn't actually scary. What's scary is… not having the chance to get old!"

"Sis! I'm sorry! The moment I stood up, I swore I would protect you and let you live a peaceful life, but… it seems I can't do that now!"

Duan Lei turned to look at Duan Xue, his eyes sparkling with emotion.

"No! You've already done it!"

Duan Xue's eyes were also glistening, and she smiled happily at Duan Lei.

"A person's life isn't measured in years, but by the process from birth to death. Even a baby who dies shortly after birth has lived his life. So, you've already allowed your sister to live this life peacefully, and even die a heroic death!"

"Ha! Hearing you say that makes me feel a lot better. Having a good mood before death is not a bad experience!"

Duan Lei suddenly laughed…

The siblings didn't leave. They just chatted there, about the past, about meeting Li Chenzhou, about the apocalypse, even about whether they would encounter the apocalypse again in their next lives. And so, time passed quickly.

The group gathered again, looking at the mutated rats outside the window that had airtightly buried the off-road vehicle.

When only three minutes remained, Duan Lei looked at Li Chenzhou, and finally confirmed that he showed no sign of waking up, so he nodded to everyone.

Everyone was already fully armed, covered in grenades. With just a pull or a squeeze, they could be thrown!

In addition, Duan Lei had already arranged the order. Tianya had also carried Xiao Ya and Li Chenzhou on his back. The only difference was that Tianya had tied Li Chenzhou to his back with ropes, because this was someone who absolutely could not be abandoned.

As for Xiao Ya, Tianya carried her on his shoulders. Moreover, to prevent any accidents, Duan Lei had specially asked Duan Xue to take advantage of Xiao Ya's unguarded moment and knock her unconscious with a palm strike.

That way, if they really encountered such a situation, Tianya wouldn't be unable to act because of Xiao Ya's cries or pleas—of course, even Gray Bear and the others who were destined to die hoped that such a thing wouldn't happen, otherwise, Tianya's future days would probably be filled with sleepless nights.

"Xiao Lei! I'll still be your sister in the next life!"

Duan Xue came to Duan Lei, hugged him, and said softly.

"Sis! I'm sorry!"

Duan Lei's voice was somewhat choked with emotion!

Duan Xue was the first to go out. This was Duan Lei's arrangement! In other words, among everyone, he had arranged for his own sister to be the first to go out and die!

Because the off-road vehicle had already been completely buried by the mutated rats, just like when Fatty was buried, what they had to do first was to open a path, at least to be able to see the outside, otherwise, Tianya wouldn't even be able to get out, so how could he break through with Li Chenzhou?

Therefore, Duan Xue was undoubtedly the best candidate, because an hour and a half had passed, and she could transform again. To open a path, who would be more suitable than Duan Xue, this behemoth?

In fact, after Duan Xue transformed, although she wasn't the agile type, she was quite fast because her steps were wide enough, but her only weakness was that she would enter a weakened state after the skill time ended. Therefore, Duan Lei couldn't risk letting her break through with Li Chenzhou; she could only be the first cannon fodder.

When they heard Duan Lei's decision, everyone was shocked, and finally confirmed that all of Duan Lei's arrangements were to allow Li Chenzhou to survive, including… using Xiao Ya as bait!

Therefore, everyone had no objections to Duan Lei's subsequent arrangements, and promised to follow Duan Lei's arrangements and try their best!

"Alright! Any more delay and there won't be enough time!"

Duan Xue took the initiative to push Duan Lei away, helped him straighten his collar, and finally patted his shoulders, deliberately using a relaxed tone.

"Xiao Lei, your sister is going out. Take good care of the house, and… this time you don't have to wait for your sister to come back, because I'm going to find Mom and Dad!"

As she spoke, Duan Xue turned around and walked towards the multi-function hall, never looking back…