52: Chapter 52 dragged the team down.

Ye Qingqing had originally been frowning, her hands raised over her head, enduring the battering of the torrential rain.

Hearing Huo Siyan's words now, she immediately snapped back to full alertness.

She even cursed inwardly—why didn't he take out the protective masks earlier if he had them!

Ye Qingqing looked at the second case, opened it directly, and found the interior perfectly dry. Just as Huo Siyan had said, the waterproofing was excellent.

Inside, Ye Qingqing not only found protective masks but also saw... grenades.

Yes, grenades. For a moment, Ye Qingqing felt her hands tremble.

Her doubts about Huo Siyan grew even deeper. What kind of person carries grenades around with them?

Moreover, what kind of person keeps firearms and grenades at home?

Aren't they afraid of an accidental explosion?

Ye Qingqing took a deep breath inwardly, her hands shaking as she took out a protective mask before tightly closing the case again.

After all, this thing couldn't get wet; it would be useless if it did.

Huo Siyan took it with one hand, his other hand still piloting the inflatable boat.

But putting on the mask with one hand was difficult, especially with the rain pouring down around them.

"Qingqing, once you have yours on, can you help me with mine?"

Ye Qingqing had just put on her protective mask. The moment it was on, she immediately felt her surroundings become much clearer.

The annoying rain was finally gone.

Hearing Huo Siyan's request, she didn't overthink it. Picking up his protective mask, she moved to put it on his head.

However, it was only then that Ye Qingqing suddenly realized how close she and Huo Siyan were.

With the mask in her hands, her arms raised over Huo Siyan's head, the distance between them was extremely close. She could even feel the warmth radiating from his body.

It made her unconsciously want to lean in a little closer.

After all, it was quite cold on the inflatable boat. Even with clothes on, the chilling wind made one shiver uncontrollably.

The roots of Ye Qingqing's ears turned slightly red, and she felt a wave of annoyance. What kind of situation was this!

Why was she thinking about things like this!

Ye Qingqing couldn't help but want to dig out her own brain to see what was inside!

Seeing this, Ah Huang started whining and grumbling beside them. Why did they all have protective masks, but the dog didn't!

The rain hitting his dog face hurt too!

Hearing Ah Huang's voice was like being yanked back to reality in an instant. Ye Qingqing sped up her movements, finished putting the mask on Huo Siyan, withdrew her hands, and picked up Ah Huang to comfort him.

"Be good, Ah Huang. There aren't any protective masks for dogs, but I got you some little goggles!"

Hearing there were little goggles, Ah Huang—though unsure what they were—immediately started wagging his tail. After all, if Ye Qingqing provided it, it was bound to be top quality!

Ye Qingqing reached into the large black backpack she carried, pretending to rummage inside while actually searching through her spatial storage.

From it, she pulled out a dog hat she'd bought earlier at a pet store, the kind that lets both ears stick out.

After putting it on Ah Huang, she took out a pair of goggles, like the ones dogs wear in movies when flying planes in the sky, and put them on him.

Initially, Ye Qingqing was worried about the fit, as she'd bought these things once and never used them.

Unexpectedly, when placed on Ah Huang's dog face now, everything fit perfectly.

Equipped with his new gear, Ah Huang immediately got excited, standing up on the inflatable boat and letting out a loud bark.

Seeing this, Huo Siyan's brow instantly furrowed tightly.

"Ah Huang! Stop barking!"

But Huo Siyan's warning came too late.

Because the zombies in the surrounding buildings, upon hearing Ah Huang's loud, clear bark, acted as if they'd spotted a gourmet feast.

Completely disregarding the water in front of them, they plunged headfirst into it, charging toward the inflatable boat carrying Huo Siyan and the others.

Seeing this, the dog immediately cowered. Ah Huang hadn't seen many of these monsters while at home; this was his first real, clear look at what they actually looked like.

For a moment, Ah Huang's four legs trembled stiffly with fear, his tail tucked tight, and a stream of Ah Huang, unidentified liquid flowed from beneath him.

Witnessing this scene, Ye Qingqing's heart leapt into her throat.

Because after those zombies fell into the water, instead of sinking as one might expect, they began dog-paddling, heading straight for the inflatable boat!

The five people present all showed expressions of shock, because these zombies seemed to have clearly evolved.

Huo Siyan and the others had tested this before—when these zombies fell into water, they couldn't swim and would simply sink.

But now, these zombies were rushing toward the inflatable boat at an alarming speed.

This was clearly a sign of evolution!

Ye Qingqing's heart filled with remorse and anxiety. She couldn't understand how things had escalated to this point.

But now wasn't the time for apologies. Dealing with these zombies was the top priority.

Realizing his mistake, Ah Huang lowered his head and lay flat on the inflatable boat, unable to even lift his dog head.

Kong Ziyi was the first to react, grabbing a firearm.

He opened fire on the zombies in the water.

Ye Qingqing didn't know how to use firearms, so she could only wield her long blade, hacking at any zombies that got too close.

But the surrounding zombies were visibly increasing in number, on the verge of completely surrounding both inflatable boats.

Some of the more determined zombies even tried to climb up the sides of the boats.

Terrified, Ah Huang kept letting out whimpers, his whole body trembling with fear.

Seeing the situation, Huo Siyan growled in a low voice, "Full speed ahead! Run!"

Because they were on water, it wasn't conducive to fighting.

Moreover, those zombies showed no fear of water. Even if they fell in and took in water, since their bodies felt nothing, they wouldn't choke.

Pushed under the water one moment, a zombie's head would pop back up the next.

Therefore, fighting on water was highly disadvantageous for the group. Their only option now was to accelerate and charge forward.

They could only hope to shake off these zombies.

But the maximum speed of Huo Siyan's inflatable boat could only reach 50 knots, and even that was unattainable now due to the rain and waves on the water.

A flash of self-blame crossed Ye Qingqing's eyes. After all, it was her dog. Right now, he was like dead weight, directly holding the team back.

So, a fierce determination also ignited in Ye Qingqing's eyes. When she saw those zombies charging up, she swung her long blade with immense force.

One slash, one small fry zombie head.

Fortunately, the inflatable boat's speed was still effective. Even though these zombies were fast, after dealing with the few at the front, the ones behind seemed unable to catch up.