The journey was far from peaceful.

  After finishing their meal, the further they traveled, the worse the road conditions became. Many sections had not been cleared, forcing them to stop and go repeatedly.

  The Golden Eagle Team, refusing to believe the warnings, took the national highway, with the Rose Team following to keep an eye on them. A few other teams also decided to follow that route.

  Meanwhile, the 3A Team stuck to the highway, but the weather began to take a strange turn.

  Chen Xiaofei, sitting in the front passenger seat, had been cramming knowledge about mutated marine creatures. Suddenly, a chill swept through him. "Brrr, what's going on? Why is it getting so cold? Wang, do you feel it too? Isn't it freezing?"

  Wang Weihu nodded, carefully keeping his eyes on the road. "Feels like the temperature's dropping."

  Bai Shu, who had been resting his eyes after reading too much earlier, opened them and put his glasses back on. He picked up his tablet and checked the data. "What day is it? Let me calculate... Looks like a cold snap is coming?"

  Chen Xiaofei groaned dramatically. "Are you kidding me? We're heading to a place full of water, and now it's getting colder? It doesn’t snow in the south, right?"

  Qin Luo snorted coldly. "Before the apocalypse, no. But after? Who knows."

  What a headache.

  This mission just got a lot harder.

  Xu Duoduo, curled up in the backseat with her tablet, was browsing the forum. The news was confirmed almost immediately—this was the first cold snap of the apocalypse era.

  It came suddenly.

  And without any logic.

  Technically, it should already be deep winter, but they had been wearing autumn clothes all this time. Fighting often left them sweating, so they rarely felt cold.

  The recent period of mild weather had been the most comfortable, but now the unpredictable weather was back.

  Bai Shu glanced at the news and commented, "With the cold snap here, life is only going to get harder. Heating at the base will be a big issue, and survival for other survivors will become exponentially more difficult."

  He paused and looked at the date. "New Year's is coming up soon. Time really flies."

  Xu Duoduo quietly organized her thoughts, flipping through her notebook. The apocalypse had started on November 2nd, with all medical personnel succumbing to the virus by the 6th. On the morning of the 26th day of the apocalypse, November 28th, she had encountered Qin Luo and the others. She had arrived at the base at the end of November, and now it was almost New Year's.

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  Time had indeed passed quickly.

  Mainly because it had been so eventful.

  With missions piling up every day, it felt like time was being stretched and used to its fullest.

  Recently, she felt her mind had cleared up a lot. That foggy, muddled feeling in her brain had lessened, though she still occasionally froze up.

  Wang Weihu reminded the group, "Switch to winter clothes. The new outfits from the Craftsmen Division are pretty warm."

  His "dad mode" activated immediately.

  He insisted they all layer up with thermal pants for extra warmth.

  Qin Luo and the others grimaced. "Is that really necessary? Thermal pants are so ugly!"

  Bai Shu adjusted his glasses and flatly refused. "No way."

  Chen Xiaofei shook his head vehemently. "What if the pants ride up and the thermal layer shows? That would be so embarrassing. Absolutely not!"

  Wang Weihu sternly reminded them, "The apocalypse survival manual clearly states that cold snap temperatures can range from 8°C to -40°C. Are you sure you don't want to wear them?"

  He firmly insisted they layer up, citing risks like chronic joint pain and rheumatism.

  Bai Shu sighed, knowing the data was correct but still reluctant to face reality. "Fine, I'll wear them."

  Qin Luo and Chen Xiaofei wore expressions of utter despair. While they grumbled, they knew that staying warm was more important in dangerous situations. Reluctantly, they began changing into their winter gear.

  Xu Duoduo sat in the backseat, watching them with wide eyes, her gaze drifting toward Qin Luo's chest and abs. Even through his combat uniform, his well-toned physique was obvious.

  Just as Qin Luo was about to take off his shirt, he noticed the little zombie's curious stare. His movements froze, and he leaned over to flick her forehead. "Shameless! What are you staring at?"

  After scolding her, he pulled out a piece of fabric from his spatial storage and hung it up to block her view from the backseat.

  Chen Xiaofei burst into laughter. "Come on, the swim team wears even less. We're not exactly naked here. Let the squad leader look if she wants. Qin, are you shy?"

  "Shut up," Qin Luo snapped.

  Bai Shu clicked his tongue. "Chen Xiaofei, you really have no shame."

  Wang Weihu urged them to hurry up. "The road ahead is starting to frost over. If you keep dawdling, the temperature inside the car will drop too."

  Hearing this, the three of them stopped wasting time and quickly changed into their winter clothes.

  Wang Weihu also pulled over to change, layering up piece by piece.

  Xu Duoduo remembered she had some thermal base layers for men in her spatial storage and handed them out.

  Chen Xiaofei suddenly recalled the outdoor gear he had asked the squad leader to store for him. "Oh, oh, oh! Thanks, squad leader. I almost forgot. Can you grab a few jackets for us? We should add an extra layer."

  They decided to go all-in with the "seven-layer outdoor survival method." Temperatures below freezing were no joke.

  Xu Duoduo handed out jackets one by one. Fortunately, everyone had given her their sizes beforehand, so the clothes fit perfectly.

  As Qin Luo changed, he glanced at her and asked, "Hey, do zombies feel cold?"

  Bai Shu, already zipping up his jacket, answered, "Isn't her body similar to a normal human's? She might not be as sensitive to temperature, but if it's too cold, she could freeze up."

  Hearing this, Qin Luo immediately told her, "You hear that, Xu Duoduo? Put on your winter clothes now."

  Xu Duoduo nodded and let out a soft whistle to confirm she understood. She then quietly shuffled around in the backseat, layering up. Starting with thermal base layers and a white sweater, her hair even began to frizz from static electricity.

  Suddenly, Bai Shu's communicator buzzed. He answered it, and the voices of the Cheetah Team and White Dove Team came through. "Bai! Why did you guys stop? Is your car too cold to start?"

  The sound of people shivering and gasping came through the line. Clearly, the younger teams were struggling with the sudden cold.

  As rookie teams, they lacked experience and sufficient supplies.

  They hadn't anticipated the cold snap arriving several days early, and now they were desperately layering up with whatever thin clothes they had.

  Wang Weihu, hearing someone sniffle, spoke up. "Pull over. We have a few extra winter clothes. Come over and grab them."

  If they were already freezing at the start, how would they handle the situation in I City?

  The apocalypse was merciless.

  The Cheetah and White Dove Teams obediently pulled over and eagerly knocked on the car windows.

  "Thank you, Brother Wang! Do you have enough clothes for yourselves? We don’t want to take what you need."

  "Yeah, we’ll manage somehow."

  Wang Weihu saw how stiffly they were moving and how their breath fogged up in the cold air. The temperature outside was visibly dropping.

  "Cut the chatter and take the clothes. Stay safe, and be careful while driving."