Yun Xiaoxiao's eyes revealed an unprecedented seriousness.
She was like a patient hunter, dodging the fishman zombie's attacks with quick movements, and striking fiercely when the opportunity arose.
After several intense battles, she managed to defeat it despite being one rank lower.
After digging out the green crystal core, Yun Xiaoxiao slowly exhaled.
She took out a bottle of evolution fluid and drank it to replenish her lost energy.
Her consumption during the battle was significant.
If not for repeatedly entering her space to take evolution fluid and spiritual spring water to replenish her strength, she might not have won so easily.
After tossing the crystal core into her space, she continued to rummage through the shipping containers.
She flitted around like a diligent little bee, flying from one place to another.
Perhaps due to the previous rainstorm, the dock looked quite dilapidated everywhere.
Some of the containers by the shore had been flooded, and the supplies inside were unusable.
Yun Xiaoxiao collected containers that were a bit inland.
As she rested on a container, on a small hill near the dock, someone quietly hid in the grass, looking at her through binoculars.
"Look, there's a child over there!"
The girl holding the binoculars exclaimed.
The woman next to her frowned, "Let me see."
The girl quickly handed the binoculars to the woman beside her.
She raised the binoculars and her eyebrows furrowed even deeper.
"Indeed."
"Director, it's too dangerous for her to be there alone, should we go down and save her?"
"Yes, take a few more people."
As Yun Xiaoxiao was about to replace her dirty mask, she suddenly saw several figures stealthily moving among the vehicles and boats, heading in her direction.
Her narrow eyes observed calmly, showing no excessive reaction.
"Little girl, come down quickly, it's dangerous here, we'll take you away."
When they got closer, a quiet-looking short-haired girl spoke to her in a low voice.
While speaking, she also kept an eye on the surroundings, as if afraid that zombies might suddenly emerge from somewhere.
Seeing that Yun Xiaoxiao didn't move, the girl became a bit anxious.
"Little girl, don't be afraid, we are teachers from the orphanage on the hill, there are many children your age there, and we have food, you won't go hungry.
Don't stay here, we just saw a large number of zombies climbing out of the sea.
They are heading this way right now."
The girl spoke urgently in a low voice.
Seeing that her words were sincere, Yun Xiaoxiao stood up and looked behind her.
Sure enough, not far away on the coastline, many zombies were climbing ashore from the sea.
Probably zombies that were carried into the sea by the previous tidal surge.
Now that the tide had receded, those zombies were coming ashore again.
Yun Xiaoxiao frowned and then jumped down from the container.
"Let's go, it's not safe here."
Seeing that Yun Xiaoxiao had finally come down, Tang Lu breathed a sigh of relief.
She signaled to her companions, and they quickly retreated along the route they had come from, heading towards the hill.
The hill here was barren, with only mud and stones.
Following the path along the hillside, they reached the top of the hill.
Unexpectedly, the top of the hill was a different scene.
The previously barren hill was now covered with lush grass.
Not far away, there was a wide lawn and an orphanage.
A four-story building shaped like a 'mountain' with a large courtyard.
At the front gate of the building, the archway was inscribed with the words 'Blue Sea Orphanage'.
Before Yun Xiaoxiao could enter, she saw many children standing in the courtyard.
From infants in swaddling clothes to children aged three or four, and even eight or nine years old.
They curiously peeked at her.
"Let me introduce, this is our new friend, called..."
Tang Lu was about to introduce Yun Xiaoxiao's name when she realized she didn't know it.
Before she could ask, Yun Xiaoxiao directly said, "Yun Xiaoxiao."
"Yes, Yun Xiaoxiao, a very nice name, you all have to get along well with her, don't bully her just because she's young, okay?"
Tang Lu spoke gently to the other children, showing her teacherly demeanor.
Yun Xiaoxiao touched her nose, wanting to say that she wouldn't stay.
But she didn't get the chance.
As soon as Tang Lu finished speaking, several children surrounded her.
They introduced themselves to her in a lively chatter.
"Hello, I'm Huanhuan."
"I'm Tiantian."
"And me, I'm Yinuo, we'll be good friends from now on, don't be afraid, the director and Teacher Tang are very nice."
"..."
Yun Xiaoxiao was a bit surprised by everyone's enthusiasm and genuine acceptance of her, wanting to be friends with her.
After all, in her previous life in the western base, she had encountered people who had escaped from orphanages.
Each of them was not easy to deal with, very adept at putting on a show.
At that time, she was truly five years old.
Once, those children stole biscuits from a neighbor and framed her for it.
If not for Lu Chen arriving in time, she might have been skinned alive by that man.
After being reprimanded by Lu Chen, those children didn't dare to treat her badly in front of him, but they always spoke sarcastically.
They formed cliques to isolate her, not allowing other children to play with her.
So she never had friends her age.
The children in this orphanage still retained their innocent nature, Yun Xiaoxiao guessed, probably due to the education of the director and teachers here.
So sometimes one shouldn't judge people or things by their preconceived notions, as reality can be biased due to certain reasons.
Although she couldn't respond to others' kindness with the innocence of a real five-year-old,
she also wouldn't coldly push people away.
So, she greeted everyone in a friendly manner.
Entering the orphanage, she found that besides the orphans, there were also some survivors.
The courtyard was filled with fresh vegetables.
Even behind the courtyard, there was a fishpond surrounded by a fence, filled with many fish.
It could be said that the place was almost self-sufficient.
Everyone was busy with their own tasks.
Even the children were helping out.
"Xiaoxiao, why don't you try pulling some radishes?"
Seeing Yun Xiaoxiao standing alone, Tang Lu smiled and waved at her.
Probably wanting her to join in and not feel lonely.
The other children pulling radishes also enthusiastically called out to her, "Yes, pulling radishes is fun."
Yun Xiaoxiao didn't expect to start working as soon as she arrived.
Seeing everyone's smiling faces inviting her, she found it hard to refuse.
So, she walked over and tried to pull one.
Due to not controlling her strength, the radish came out, but she... fell on her bottom.
"Hahaha..."
A burst of laughter immediately followed.
Yun Xiaoxiao: ...
She knew everyone wasn't laughing at her, but she still felt a bit embarrassed...
