C64 The Electricity Went Out, and the Mother and Daughter Followed Him Downstairs.

Tang Bing certainly had no need for the mother and daughter's "blanket"—the weather wasn't nearly cold enough to warrant it. Besides, cleanliness wasn't really an issue; his gear didn't have the ability to get "dirty" in the first place.

That night, Lin Leyan and her daughter Liang Hui huddled together, wrapped in a curtain, sleeping in a corner of the office. Tang Bing spent the night lying against the wall on the opposite side.

The mother and daughter duo only succumbed to sleep in the early hours of the morning, completely worn out. Until then, they had been covertly keeping an eye on Tang Bing. Their caution was understandable—they were strangers, after all.

Even though Tang Bing had braved danger to rescue them, they were still vulnerable in a world where human life was cheap. Being wary was only natural.

However, once they noticed that Tang Bing hadn't spared them a single glance and had quickly fallen into a deep sleep, they finally allowed themselves to relax.

At the crack of dawn, Tang Bing was the first to stir. He pulled back the curtain, and light flooded in. Day had broken.

The streets were teeming with aimless zombies, some lingering near his fully-fueled car.

"Teacher Lin, Liang Hui, wake up!" he called softly, after making sure it was safe, rousing the still-slumbering pair.

"Is it morning already?" Lin Leyan mumbled groggily as she sat up.

"Mom, stop bothering me~~" Liang Hui muttered, still half-asleep, and rolled over to continue her slumber.

Seeing their state, Tang Bing sighed. "Time to get up! We need to move quickly. If a horde of zombies approaches, escaping will become a real challenge!"

"Huihui, up now!" Lin Leyan, snapping to alertness, rubbed her plump hands over her round face and nudged her daughter.

"I want to sleep more~" Liang Hui complained, squirming but remaining inert.

"Up, up! We have to leave today!" Lin Leyan exerted herself, finally managing to coax her daughter upright.

Tang Bing inwardly sighed once more. Such individuals would not be an asset to the group; they could even be a liability. But now that they were here, he couldn't just abandon them. "Teacher Lin, Liang Hui, let's get moving. Have a quick bite to eat, then we're heading downstairs!"

"I'm sorry, Tang," Lin Leyan said, now fully awake. She looked at him sheepishly, "My daughter has a bad habit of sleeping in."

It's incredible that even the end of the world couldn't cure her of that! Tang Bing thought to himself with a silent chuckle.

Once the mother and daughter had fully come to and combed their disheveled hair, Tang Bing passed them a bag of bread and water.

"Hey! Didn't we finish all the food yesterday?" Liang Hui blinked in surprise, eyeing the provisions. "Where did these come from?"

Of course, I stashed them in my virtual backpack, Tang Bing mused, but he certainly wasn't going to share that. "While you two were asleep, I sneaked out and found these on a floor where they sell food."

"You actually went outside?" Lin Leyan's face registered shock. "I didn't notice at all!"

"Neither did I!" Liang Hui added, rubbing her face in bewilderment. "I had no idea when you left."

As if! I didn't even stir; you'd have to be psychic to notice, Tang Bing thought wryly.

"But you're really something, Tang!" Lin Leyan quickly moved past her astonishment, munching on the bread. "There must still be lots of zombies out there, right? Weren't you scared?"

Liang Hui's gaze joined her mother's, clearly sharing the sentiment.

Tang Bing didn't reply verbally but simply flashed his silenced pistol with a shake.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask," Lin Leyan said, eyeing the gun in Tang Bing's hand, pausing briefly before continuing, "How do you have a gun, Tang? Did you become a police officer after college?"

"I didn't graduate from a police academy..." Tang Bing holstered the gun and took a bite of his bread, "I picked up this gun at the police station."

"Ohhh," realization dawned on both mother and daughter.

"Teacher Lin, you two need to eat up quickly!" Tang Bing urged in a hushed tone, "We're about to head out. Make sure to follow my commands and don't do anything rash. If we encounter zombies, don't panic; I'll handle it. And remember, absolutely no running off on your own. If you stray too far from me, I won't hesitate to leave you behind!"

"Got it! Got it!" Lin Leyan nodded vigorously, "We'll stick close to you, Tang, and won't lag behind!"

"You must protect us!" Liang Hui implored with concern, "Our lives—my daughter's and mine—are in your hands now!"

"Just trust me, and there will be no issues," Tang Bing reassured her calmly, "I'll get us out of here safely. Rest easy."

Reassured by Tang Bing's promise, the mother and daughter duo felt significantly calmer and quietly bowed their heads to nibble on bread and sip water.

Chewing on his bread, Tang Bing reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and dialed Sun Meng's number, intending to update them so they could wait without worry.

But Sun Meng's phone was off, unreachable. Tang Bing recalled her mentioning her phone was nearly out of battery; it must have shut down automatically by now.

He tried calling Zhao Dagang and Qin Mengli, only to be met with the same message: their phones were off. Even his new phone was flashing low battery warnings, barely hanging on.

Modern smartphones really do burn through battery life too quickly!

With a sigh of frustration, he pocketed his phone. There was a little power left—enough to use as a decoy for the zombies if needed.

"Do you need to call Mengli and the rest?" Lin Leyan observed the situation and offered her own phone, "Here, use mine!"

"No need," Tang Bing replied with a shrug, "Everyone's out of battery. They won't be able to pick up."

"What do we do then?" Lin Leyan asked, her worry evident.

"It's fine," Tang Bing said, shaking his head dismissively. "I was just going to give them a heads-up to keep them from worrying. It's not a big deal if we don't. Either way, we're heading back."

"Oh," Lin Leyan and her daughter responded, somewhat bewildered, and went back to their bread.

After a quiet breakfast, the trio felt revitalized.

"Tang, are we ready to go?" Lin Leyan, looking much better after a good night's rest and a hearty meal, inquired.

"Yes," Tang Bing confirmed as he stood and cautiously peeked outside through the curtains. "I cleared out most of the zombies on this floor yesterday, so we should be fine here. But as we head downstairs, we might run into some roaming ones. I'll lead the way. Teacher Lin, you and your daughter need to stay close to me—don't fall behind, got it? I'll take us down to the ground floor, then we'll figure out how to draw those outside away."

"Alright!" Lin Leyan immediately agreed, "Tang, rest assured, we'll stick close to you and won't lag behind!"

"Don't go too fast," Liang Hui whispered, "My mom won't be able to keep up."

"I've got it under control," Tang Bing assured her, pulling a silenced pistol from his waistband. "Now, let's all take a few deep breaths together to get in the right headspace."

Mother and daughter did just that, inhaling deeply in unison with Tang Bing.

"Ready!" With everyone prepared, Tang Bing swung the office door open and commanded, "Move out!"

Lin Leyan and Liang Hui stuck close to Tang Bing as they exited the office. Despite their evident fear, glancing nervously around for zombies, they pressed on.

"Keep up!" Tang Bing urged when he noticed their pace faltering, "We can't afford to waste time!"

The two women, hand in hand, quickened their steps, frantically seeking safety behind Tang Bing.

Descending to the next floor, they were suddenly confronted by a zombie.

"Ah! Mmph..." Liang Hui let out a startled cry, but Lin Leyan was quick to cover her daughter's mouth, stifling any further screams.

Tang Bing aimed his gun and fired point-blank, obliterating the zombie's head with practiced ease, a testament to his combat training.

"Stay silent as we go," Tang Bing reminded them after dispatching the zombie, "They have keen hearing and are easily drawn to noise."

"Tang, I've got Huihui," Lin Leyan reassured with a look, and her daughter responded with a contrite expression.

"Stick with me," Tang Bing instructed, leading the way down the stairs, gun at the ready, while speaking softly to the mother and daughter.

Both Lin Leyan and Liang Hui kept their mouths firmly shut, not daring to utter a sound.

"Roar~!" Two floors down, they encountered two more zombies on the third-floor landing, snarling as they lunged at them.

Tang Bing fired rapidly, one zombie's head erupting on impact. The other, more fortunate, was merely knocked down by the bullet's force. But as it tried to rise, Tang Bing closed in and finished it with a final shot.

Watching Tang Bing's agile maneuvers and almost supernatural reflexes, a zombie lunged from the side, unnoticed by the mother and daughter. Yet, Tang Bing was able to spin around and fire his gun, taking it down with deadly accuracy. Lin Leyan's gaze was filled with skepticism. Could he really be a student from her university? Was it possible he wasn't ex-special forces? How else could he be so formidable?

Despite her doubts, Lin Leyan felt an overwhelming sense of security with him nearby. The flesh-eating monsters that had once terrified her seemed almost trivial for Tang Bing to handle, dispatching them with fluid grace and no hesitation. This bolstered Lin Leyan's confidence in their survival immensely.

Liang Hui was equally astonished. Tang Bing's zombie-slaying prowess was impressively cool, reminiscent of the experts in action films. It was no surprise that he had the courage to undertake a solo rescue mission; his abilities were truly formidable.

Both Lin Leyan and Liang Hui held Tang Bing in high regard as he cleared the path ahead, his strength instilling them with newfound confidence. Little did they know, Tang Bing's heroics were aided by a system, empowered by the Ocean Heart's +5 perception and a hefty boost to his agility.

The mall had few zombies, allowing the trio to reach the ground floor safely. However, the sight of numerous zombies wandering outside the door caused Lin Leyan and Liang Hui to look on with concern.

Tang Bing gestured for them to halt and crouched to inspect the securely locked door. He then motioned for them to follow him toward the restroom.

"Tang, where are we headed?" Lin Leyan inquired with curiosity as they approached the restroom. "It's just the bathroom ahead!"

"I know!" Tang Bing replied without looking back. "That's exactly where we're going."

"You're not thinking of escaping through the bathroom, are you? We can't fit through those windows!" Liang Hui whispered, a hint of concern in her voice.

"Shh," Tang Bing hushed her softly, "Be quiet! I have a plan. Just stay silent and follow my lead."

"Okay!" Though they were unclear about his intentions, the mother and daughter duo had developed a significant trust in him after witnessing his capabilities.

"Wait here at the door; I'll be right back," Tang Bing said as he entered the restroom. He pulled out his nearly dead phone from his virtual backpack, blasted a raucous rock song at full volume, and tossed it out the window.