Reborn in the Post-Apocalyptic World: Building Infrastructure

The man quickly extended his withered hand and weakly comforted the large Golden Retriever.

"Good boy, they mean no harm."

The Golden Retriever immediately buried its head under its owner's arm, whimpering softly.

The man's mouth twitched, and he forced a smile.

"Old Jin is actually very well-behaved, it's just too afraid of being alone."

Su Ling then noticed that there were indeed many food items around the man: self-heating meals, mineral water bottles, instant noodle bags, and packets of chips and snacks.

As Su Ling's gaze lingered on the supplies, the man sighed and gently patted Old Jin, speaking slowly, "Originally, my wife and I were a childless couple, but later she felt that just the two of us were too lonely. So, we bought Old Jin, and from that day on, it has been with us."

"After the disaster struck, with Old Jin's help, we found this storage warehouse. However, my wife got bitten by a zombie and lost her sanity. Holding onto a glimmer of hope, I locked her inside the warehouse, hoping to find a cure for her. But not long after, a massive earthquake hit Luocheng, and my legs were crushed. Old Jin risked its life to pull my wife and me out of the rubble..."

He gasped for breath, then continued, "Unfortunately, my wife already lost her mind, so I had to end her suffering."

Tears streamed down the man's face as he spoke.

"I loved her deeply. I never imagined I would have to be the one to end her life."

Wiping away his tears, he continued, "I didn't want Old Jin to witness such cruelty, so I let it go outside to find food. But it got injured by someone who wanted to eat it and was chased all the way here. Later, Old Jin scared him away, and then you two arrived."

He gave Su Ling and Sheng Hongye a sad smile.

"I can tell you're good people who won't harm Old Jin. From now on, I will entrust it to you."

With great effort, he straightened his body and bowed to Su Ling and Sheng Hongye.

Old Jin seemed to understand something and reached out with its paws, hugging the man's neck, tears falling from the dog's eyes.

At this moment, Su Ling's eyes also turned red.

She had witnessed too many joys and sorrows, and she had also witnessed numerous life and death. Yet, never had she been so deeply moved as this moment.

"All things possess spirituality," this phrase was most fitting for the current situation.

Watching the sobbing Golden Retriever, Su Ling felt her throat tighten, as she tried to hold back her tears.

She knew the man had lost the will to live, and the only way to comfort him was to grant his request.

So, she solemnly nodded.

"Don't worry, I will take good care of Old Jin. As long as I'm alive, I promise it won't go hungry."

The man nodded back, tears of relief glistening in his eyes.

"Thank you both."

With those words, he quickly picked up a dagger and stabbed it into his own chest.

The Golden Retriever howled in agony, then jumped in front of Su Ling, extending its two paws and quickly bowing to her.

Though Su Ling couldn't understand the language of animals, she knew it was pleading for her to save its owner. Unable to resist, she hugged the large dog's head tightly, choking back her words, "Your master hasn't died. He must have gone to another world to reunite with your mistress."

Old Jin broke free from her grip and went to hug its master.

Sheng Hongye cleared his throat and spoke in a low voice, "You take Old Jin away, and I'll bury them both."

Just as he finished speaking, a series of roars echoed outside.

"Zombies are coming. I'll reinforce the building first."

Su Ling quickly used her reinforcement ability. When the system indicated that it was reinforced by one hundred fifty percent, Sheng Hongye had already gone to the entrance.

Like the storage warehouse in Lizhou, Luocheng's warehouse also had a large iron door with a high grille at the top. The zombie claws had already stretched through the iron door, constantly scratching and trying to get inside.

A putrid smell wafted in, making Su Ling nauseous.

The zombies were likely attracted by the smell of blood inside the warehouse. If they continued to gather, the situation would be dire.

After all, Luocheng's storage warehouse was less than three meters tall and had lost its roof, making it easy for the zombies to crawl in.

As Su Ling felt troubled, a long and piercing scream suddenly came from outside.

Sheng Hongye's expression immediately turned grim.

"It's probably the same as in Lizhou. There's a Zombie King leading them."

"What should we do?"

As Su Ling finished speaking, a zombie dropped from above.

Sheng Hongye stomped on the zombie's neck, and with a loud snap, he crushed its throat.

"There's another room inside with a roof. Let's retreat there."

Sheng Hongye grabbed Su Ling's hand and pulled her toward the inner part of the warehouse.

Seeing Old Jin still hugging its owner, Su Ling couldn't bear it and walked over to pat its head.

"Old Jin, come inside quickly."

However, Old Jin still clung tightly to its owner. Worried that it might get bitten by zombies, Su Ling forcibly lifted its front legs and dragged it into the smaller room.

Sheng Hongye moved to the side, and Old Jin didn't seem to fancy him either. It rolled its eyes and squatted beside Su Ling.

Observing Sheng Hongye's guarded expression towards Old Jin, Su Ling couldn't help but ask, "Are you... afraid of dogs?"

Sheng Hongye coughed and said, "How is that possible? I'm not afraid of dogs."

Su Ling glanced at him and thought, "You obviously are."

Perhaps he had been bitten by a dog in his childhood, leaving a psychological shadow that persisted into adulthood.

With that thought, it wasn't so surprising that Sheng Hongye was afraid of dogs.

In the following time, Su Ling embarked on the arduous path of reinforcement again.

Having Sheng Hongye by her side significantly increased the success rate of her reinforcement, making the process much easier. She would start reinforcing whenever the success rate seemed to be around eighty percent.

Just when she felt she could handle things comfortably, another fierce roar came from outside, causing her defense to plummet to fifty percent in an instant.

Su Ling was startled, and her back broke into a cold sweat.

How many zombies had arrived to make her defense drop by one hundred points all at once?

She immediately closed her eyes and madly reinforced it.

However, the speed of her reinforcement couldn't keep up with the rate of defense reduction, which left Su Ling feeling increasingly anxious. If her defense dropped to zero, the building would inevitably be breached.

Then, a muffled thud was heard, followed by the sound of the wall collapsing outside.

Su Ling's body tensed up, but at that critical moment, the system's notification sound rang in her mind.

"Congratulations, host. Reinforcement skill upgraded. Reinforcement success rate increased to one hundred eighty percent. Mental power upgraded to level two."

Su Ling finally remembered that she also had mental power. Meanwhile, the zombie leader outside let out another fierce roar, its cry even more chilling than before.

Hearing that spine-chilling sound, a bold idea sparked in Su Ling's mind.

"Sheng Hongye, can you take me up?"