In the fourth year of the apocalypse, extreme cold had swept the globe, and all crops had long since been destroyed.

This was the coldest day since the apocalypse began. The biting wind scraped across her small, rough face, feeling like a knife’s edge against her skin.

Xie Ning rubbed her frozen hands, shivering as she stood before a large townhouse. She waited for half an hour, then another.

The villa’s door finally creaked open, and a woman emerged, bundled from head to toe in a thick, quilted coat.

Xie Ning would never forget the way the woman looked at her, sizing her up with a sidelong glance that traveled from top to bottom.

Her clothes were clean enough but painfully thin. On her small, thin frame, they hung loose and empty.

At that moment, Xie Ning felt as if she had been stripped bare, a pitiful creature who was lower than an ant in the other’s eyes.

"Follow me." The woman turned away, her expression indifferent, her eyes holding a trace of contempt.

’These days, there are so many people showing up to claim kinship.’

’She claims to be the master’s daughter, but who the hell knows?’

’It’s Miss Kang who’s beautiful and kind-hearted, suggesting we let her in for a look. If it were up to me, I would’ve just sent her packing to save the trouble.’

Xie Ning followed the woman through the villa’s main gate, CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCHing through the thick snow as she crossed the courtyard.

When they reached the front door, the woman shot her a sideways glance and said coldly, "Wait here for a bit."

Then she left her there and stomped up the villa steps.

She stood alone at the bottom of the stairs, huddling for warmth and wringing her hands as she watched the woman stomp the snow heavily from her feet.

The feeling of starvation and freezing was truly unbearable. That’s why, on the night she was reborn and returned to the Song Family Pavilion, she had devoured so many of the steamed buns her grandmother made with her own hands.

Xie Ning didn’t know how much longer she waited.

From standing so long in the snow, her worn-out sneakers had long since filled with slush, and her feet were so numb from the bone-chilling cold that she couldn’t feel them anymore.

She couldn’t tell if the pain was in her feet or in her heart; all she knew was that everything hurt.

A long, long time passed. Just as Xie Ning was about to collapse in the snow, the front door gently opened.

A noble-looking woman emerged, dressed in expensive furs and draped in a Hermès shawl.

Her hair was swept up into a high bun, adorned with a diamond-and-pearl hairpin at her temple. Cradling a boy of about four or five in her arms, she stood on the villa steps, looking down at Xie Ning.

’Although the noblewoman’s shawl really didn’t match her expensive furs—her taste was questionable.’

’But that didn’t detract from the aura of immense wealth she radiated.’

She held the fidgeting boy and swept a casual gaze over Xie Ning from head to toe. Then, with a faint smile, she said, "Mrs. Zhang, go get one hundred Crystal Cores for this young lady."

She extended a hand with painted nails, the enormous diamond ring on her fourth finger almost blinding.

The woman who had first let Xie Ning into the courtyard hurried forward with small steps, respectfully presenting an exquisitely embroidered pouch.

"Give it to her," the noblewoman said faintly.

Mrs. Zhang pursed her lips. ’Another poor relative looking for a handout,’ she thought.

She walked over and shoved the embroidered pouch directly into Xie Ning’s hands.

Then, as if she had touched something filthy, she wiped her fingers on her waist over and over again.

Four years into the apocalypse, Xie Ning had long forgotten what expensive embroidered goods from before looked like.

’So, I’m the only one who’s been wandering around since the apocalypse began, living hand-to-mouth.’

’The lives of the wealthy were still as good as ever.’

’Because she was just an ordinary survivor.’

’The extraordinary families already had electricity restored. They wore gold and silver, had no worries about food or clothing, and even had servants to wait on them.’

The noblewoman adjusted the furs on her shoulders and patted the restless boy.

She gave Xie Ning a look of lofty, pitying condescension and said in a cool voice, "Old Xie is still at the research lab. He won’t be back for two or three days."

"I don’t know where you heard the news to find your way here in this freezing weather."

"But you should be well aware of Old Xie’s status now."

"If I were you, I wouldn’t have come so rashly to disturb the happy and peaceful life he has now."

"Miss Xie, you’re an adult now, aren’t you? You’re long past the age of relying on your parents’ protection. You should take responsibility for the rest of your life."

"Besides, you know full well what the situation was between your mother and Old Xie back then."

"Since you’ve been gone for so many years, why come back to bother him and make him sad and upset all over again?"

"His entire focus right now is on the research and development of zombie purification. This project concerns the future of all humanity—it’s in your interest, my interest, the interest of everyone."

"I will not allow you to ruin his mood."

Xie Ning had no idea how she managed to leave the villa district in a daze.

Her frozen body, the hard and icy soles of her shoes—it all felt like needles pricking her.

She tightly clutched the exquisite embroidered pouch in her hand. It was beautiful and fragrant, and inside were one hundred Crystal Cores.

Crystal Cores from First-tier Zombies.

In the fourth year of the apocalypse, zombies had already evolved to the Fifth and Sixth Ranks. These one hundred First-order Crystal Cores could only be exchanged for half a pound of rice.

Xie Ning was not someone who cried easily.

She had rarely cried in the four years since the apocalypse began and had naively believed that her tears had long since run dry with the passing of each of her loved ones.

But that night, Xie Ning let herself go and cried her heart out.

She buried the one hundred Crystal Cores, along with the beautiful little embroidered pouch and the family photo she had kept until then, under a withered tree.

From that day on, Xie Ning no longer had a father.

"Ningning?" Song You’ai tucked a stray strand of her daughter’s hair behind her ear.

She didn’t understand why the young woman’s mood had suddenly soured.

"It’s nothing, Mom." Xie Ning reached out and hugged her.

’Ningning only has her mom now.’

A few hushed voices drifted from behind them:

"Is that Dr. Xie’s wife, the one from the countryside?"

"She really is fat and unattractive."

"Her daughter’s pretty good-looking, though." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"She must have gotten Dr. Xie’s genes, right?"

"I think I heard they were in the middle of a divorce. With the way things are now, I doubt the Civil Affairs Bureau is even open for business, right?"

Xie Ning stopped in her tracks. She turned, her expression icy, and glared at the young, gossiping researchers in their white coats. "You’re from a biological research institute. Is human gossip what you study?"

"Instead of wasting your breath gossiping, you’d be better off figuring out how to escape and save your own worthless lives."

"Ningning." Song You’ai tugged on her daughter’s arm and exchanged a look with an embarrassed Dr. Wei. She didn’t say anything, just gave him a faint nod.

The instant noodle factory workers had been digging for about a quarter of an hour when one suddenly shouted, "Hey, it looks like there’s a door behind this dirt wall!"

At this shout, the people who had been leaning against the corner, half-dead, seemed to come back to life. They scrambled over on their hands and knees to help speed up the digging.

"There really is a door! It looks like an access door to a garage."

"There’s a garage behind it!" someone exclaimed in pleasant surprise.