It has been exactly seventy-two days since the zombie outbreak.

Xinyan's mood has improved a lot, and she often has a smile on her face.

Niko is a cat that respects the old and loves the young. Since Xinyan came to the house, it seems to know that she is not happy, so it always circles around Xinyan's feet. Xinyan also likes it very much, often holding Niko and sitting next to Jiayang, watching Jiayang study robots.

She seems to rely on Jiayang. She said she often met this brother in the elevator before.

Looking at the days on the calendar, I suddenly realized that this year's Spring Festival has passed, spring has silently arrived, the weather has gradually become normal, and there is a hint of spring in the air.

Seeing the peaceful atmosphere at home, I don't feel that the days are so difficult to endure. But there is someone at home who is most anxious and eager to receive news from the military, that is Linyan.

Because the research on the virus has reached a stage where it cannot continue at home, he has to sit on the terrace for several hours every day to discover the military patrol or rescue aircraft as soon as possible. He even

controls the drone to fly around the city every day, trying to find the military base in City A. However, the drone's power and signal reception are limited. Apart from discovering large groups of zombies every day, nothing else can be found, not even the trace of the zombie that mutated three times. After a week, he gave up.

Breaking the tranquility of these days was the patrol helicopter sent by the military exactly three months after the zombie outbreak.

By then, the potatoes I planted had matured. Linyan and I were harvesting for the first time on the terrace when the sound of the helicopter roaring in the sky caught our attention.

It had been over a month since the military last announced that they would send a rescue team. During this period, we did not receive any more messages, and we almost believed Jiayang's statement that City A had become an abandoned experimental field, so we lived day by day with the mentality of surviving one day at a time. So when the military helicopter appeared in the sky, Linyan and I were somewhat skeptical that we were dreaming.

"Survivors, please find a safe and conspicuous high place to wait for rescue at five o'clock tomorrow morning." A soldier on the patrol helicopter repeated this message several times on the loudspeaker on the helicopter and then flew to other residential areas.

The rescue message echoed in the sky above City A, but we did not hear any joyful voices in the city. There were still only the restless and hoarse cries of zombies on the streets.

Although we were not sure about the situation of other survivors, this was undoubtedly good news for us, especially for Linyan.

We decided to go directly to the rooftop garden tomorrow morning. Currently, the safest high place for us is undoubtedly the rooftop closest to us.

That night, to celebrate the upcoming good news, we indulged in many canned meats, cooked the freshly matured potatoes, and had a hearty meal. Even Niko enjoyed its favorite canned salmon and chicken breast jerky.

We even heated a bucket of water each to take a hot bath.

After all, these supplies cannot be taken with us when we are rescued.

Everyone was immersed in anticipation throughout the night, except Xinyan, who seemed a bit down.

"What are you thinking? The police uncle is coming to rescue us. Is Xinyan not happy?" I walked up to Xinyan, who was sitting alone outside on the terrace looking at the stars, and gently put my arm around her thin shoulders.

She shook her head, "I'm happy," but her expression did not show happiness.

"Are you thinking about your mom and dad?"

She was probably touched by the topic and remained silent, lowering her head.

I sighed, extended my other arm, and embraced her.

I gently patted her back, letting her cry in my arms.

I turned to look at the living room. Linyan was still in the bathroom taking a bath, and Jiayang was sitting on the sofa staring blankly at a small family photo in his hand.

I felt a bit melancholic. In the current environment, they are all just children who need care and love from their families. I rested my head on Xinyan's small head and felt even more convinced that I had made the right choice.

In the future, they can probably only rely on me and Linyan.