**Chapter 53: A Pair of Goofballs**

"Wen, are we still searching for survivors?" Magic Cube asked while climbing the stairs, opting for politeness given Zhang Xiaowen's foul mood.

"Keep going. If we meet more idiots, we'll leave them. Maybe the apocalypse strips people's masks off," she grumbled.

"Shame I can't read human thoughts yet. Would've saved us from—*hey!* Stop manhandling me! Show some respect to interstellar civiliz—*clang!*"

Zhang Xiaowen dragged the flailing robot upstairs by its leg.

•••

The twelfth-floor door swung open before the second knock.

"Whoa! A warrior goddess! Are you the Monkey King's backup? I'm Feng Zhiwen! And this—" A shaggy-haired man in flip-flops gestured to the husky squeezing past him, "—is Feng Xiao'er. High five, buddy!"

The dog slapped its paw into Zhang Xiaowen's hand with a goofy grin.

"…The nursery rhyme singer," Magic Cube muttered through her earpiece.

"I'm evacuating survivors to a mountain camp. Interested?" Zhang Xiaowen eyed the disaster zone behind them: dog toys on couches, chip bags carpeting the floor.

"Sure! But Xiao'er comes too. He's family." The husky wagged its tail approvingly.

"Also… there's a mom and baby on the 15th floor. She's running out of formula. Can we…?"

Zhang Xiaowen blinked. A selfless human? In *this* apocalypse?

The husky sneezed, sending a half-eaten sock flying.

*This,* Magic Cube decided, *might be the least terrible rescue yet.*