**Chapter 56: Food Delivery Drone**

After feeding her baby, Wang Nan returned to the living room to find a remote-controlled helicopter hovering indoors. Zhang Xiaowen was securing two portions of food to its landing gear.

"There are two girls downstairs and Feng Zhiwen. They need meals too," Zhang Xiaowen explained, adjusting the containers.

"When did you bring this helicopter? And where's that toy car…? Maybe give them more portions. I don't eat much," Wang Nan fretted.

"You need strength to care for your child. As for this," Zhang Xiaowen patted the drone, "I'm a tech hobbyist. Reassembled it from spare parts."

Wang Nan blinked but let it go, retreating to the kitchen for bowls.

•••

On the balcony, Magic Cube's rotors whirred to life, sending potted plants swaying. It lifted vertically—narrow space demanding caution—before banking over the railing.

Zhang Xiaowen monitored the feed on her tablet. The drone circled the building, camera tilting dizzyingly until it hovered outside the two girls' apartment.

*Whirr—whirr—whirr.*

The girls cowered behind a couch, legs protruding comically. Magic Cube descended, depositing steaming containers.

"Eat while it's hot," Zhang Xiaowen's voice crackled through its speakers. The drone ascended, leaving the girls sniffing canned fish and noodles like starved kittens.

Feng Zhiwen, meanwhile, waved a suspiciously stained white cloth from his balcony. "Over here, sky-bro!" Beside him, Feng Xiao'er barked approval.

•••

Mission complete, Magic Cube circled back. Through the window, it glimpsed Zhang Xiaowen and Wang Nan laughing over candlelit noodles, the baby cooing in its crib. Warmth seeped through the cold apocalypse—a fleeting normalcy.

After a silent farewell flash of its navigation lights, the drone veered toward Xin'an Town.

•••

Night swallowed the city.

On a rooftop camp, a girl with a sniper rifle squinted into the dark. "You hear that?"

Her companion handed her night-vision goggles. "Helicopter? No… too small."

Green-tinted lenses revealed a six-bladed shadow gliding between skyscrapers.

"Rich kid's toy," the girl scoffed, tossing the goggles back. "Not worth a bullet."

Unseen, Magic Cube continued its recon. Somewhere below, a zombie triggered a car alarm, screams briefly piercing the void before silence reclaimed the dead city.