“Hmm…?” Jian Xingyi chuckled. “It is pretty big, isn’t it? Haven’t you been here before?”

“Yeah.”

Huh?

Then Bai Jie and Heiye began the merger process.

The merger took half an hour, during which time no one could enter the area, so everyone hung out in Dawn Town, chatting and killing time.

Half an hour later, everyone returned to the guild hall only to find—nothing had changed.

However, upon clicking on an empty plot, they discovered they could relocate their homes to the other’s territory.

So everyone got to work.

The members of “Long Live” first moved their homesteads to the top of Grapevine Peak, while the council members of Grapevine Peak helped the others find vacant land and settle in. The rest busily rebuilt the city walls—that is, they reduced the wall’s perimeter to protect only the area of Grapevine Peak.

They even condensed their settlements as much as possible, shrinking the land they occupied.

That way, even if a significant portion of the city walls were destroyed, they could still form a complete circle.

Though it was pushing the limits.

If they were destroyed any further, they’d have no choice but to spend money on repairs.

Bai Jie and the others found Jian Xingyi.

“Xinghe, you should live in the Golden Circle.”

“Huh?”

The five Golden Circles on Grapevine Peak were occupied by Bai Jie, Shanhai, Cola, and two other high-powered members.

Bai Jie had merged her home with Cola’s; after the merger, they shared a single plot of land, and the vacant spot was given to Heiye and Baihua.

Now that the two guilds had merged, everyone was trying to save space by merging with people they got along with. Since the other two high-powered members didn’t usually have any friction anyway, they simply merged.

Jian Xingyi asked curiously, “Are you asking me to move into that new empty plot?”

Bai Jie looked a bit puzzled. “Well, sure… but aren’t you planning to merge your homestead with Shanhai’s?”

Jian Xingyi: “…!!!!”

R-right, that’s right!!!

It suddenly dawned on Jian Xingyi.

No wonder Shanhai had asked him such a strange question earlier!

Jian Xingyi’s ears turned slightly red. “W-well, I guess so. Everyone’s merging as much as possible right now, so it doesn’t mean anything… but I should ask Shanhai first. I’m afraid he might not want to… um…”

Bai Jie interrupted, “He won’t mind. He’ll be fine with it.”

“Ah… oh, oh.”

Five minutes later, Jian Xingyi and Shanhai stood in front of the entrance to their new home, neither of them speaking.

Oh no.

It feels like we just got married.

But we haven’t even officially started dating yet.

Jian Xingyi lowered his head and said, “Um… I’ll be counting on you from now on.”

“Mm-hmm.”

There are many ways to merge homes, such as keeping both homes simultaneously or keeping only one to free up more space.

Jian Xingyi was a farming player, so there was no need to discuss it—they would definitely keep only Jian Xingyi’s home, and Shanhai could sleep inside.

Jian Xingyi arrived at the new backyard.

Good news: he’d gained ten more plots of farmland.

Bad news: he’d need more funds to fill up the livestock area.

But regardless, this was still a good thing.

Jian Xingyi felt a bit happy; his yard had gotten bigger.

And, and…

Jian Xingyi glanced at Shanhai not far away, and at the sign on their home—Jian Xingyi and Shanhai’s Home.

Jian Xingyi chuckled softly.

In the past, whether in real life or in games, he had always gone it alone. Whenever he saw other people’s two-person homes, he would secretly envy them.

Of course, it wasn’t that he envied others for being in a couple—after all, someone used to going it alone wouldn’t dwell on such things. He just… envied them for having more open space to grow more vegetables.

But now that his wish had finally come true, Jian Xingyi realized he wasn’t just happy about the garden.

He had someone to talk to, someone to protect and rely on, someone to eat meals with…

This was their home.

Home…

Jian Xingyi stood to the side, grinning.

“What’s wrong?”

Shanhai walked over to him.

Jian Xingyi looked at him, his sparkling eyes filled with joy. “I’m so happy.”

Shanhai paused, then said hoarsely, “Me too.”

The third day’s zombie tide would arrive in three hours. Now that the walls had been rebuilt, everyone went home to rest and prepare.

After washing up, Jian Xingyi and Shanhai prepared to take a short nap.

With perfect understanding, the two silently climbed into the same bed.

Once they lay down, their nerves and bodies relaxed, but Jian Xingyi found himself unable to sleep.

Feelings of joy and excitement filled his mind. He turned to glance at Shanhai and found that Shanhai was looking at him too.

Jian Xingyi chuckled softly, “What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“……”

Jian Xingyi leaned in a little closer, “I’m cold.”

Actually, he wasn’t cold at all.

But Shanhai said nothing; he simply reached out and embraced Jian Xingyi, gently pulling him into his arms.

“I’m cold too.”

Shanhai gently patted Jian Xingyi’s back. As they stood embraced, Jian Xingyi suddenly widened his eyes and looked down in surprise.

How could Shanhai…

If he’s pressing against him, that means…

Shanhai whispered, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay…” Jian Xingyi’s face flushed bright red; he didn’t dare move.

“I…” Shanhai paused. “I wanted to wait until after the zombie tide…”

Jian Xingyi interrupted, “I understand.”

Shanhai wanted to make a proper, formal confession—not just a hasty arrangement—even though they were in the midst of the apocalypse.

Because being together was such a serious matter for both of them, precisely because they were in the midst of the apocalypse, they were even more determined not to be vague about it.

Jian Xingyi had been a loner for so many years; this was the first time he’d ever wanted to enter a relationship.

And Shanhai had never imagined he could have a partner—or rather, that he could set aside his reservations to be with someone, to trust another person.

So for both of them, this was a new chapter in life, worthy of a solemn declaration of love.

But at this moment…

Shanhai said hoarsely, “Can I borrow a kiss?”

He couldn’t hold back any longer.

Jian Xingyi was taken aback at first, then buried his head in Shanhai’s chest. “Whatever you want. Don’t ask about things like that.”

Asking that was so, so embarrassing!!

Shanhai then cupped Jian Xingyi’s chin to lift his face, leaning down to kiss him.

Their lips met. At first, Shanhai simply held him gently, but the moment their breaths mingled, he lost control, prying open Jian Xingyi’s mouth and forcing his way in.

More…

I want more.

This was even more intoxicating than a wild, passionate encounter; Shanhai felt the blood surging through his entire body.

He couldn’t help but pull him closer, pressing one hand against the back of Jian Xingyi’s head while wrapping the other around his waist, pulling him into his embrace so they were pressed tightly together.

“Mmm…”

Jian Xingyi’s hands clung to Shanhai’s shoulders as the kiss left him gasping for air.

The kiss grew more and more intense; Jian Xingyi felt as though he were about to devour him.

“Water… mmm…”

“No…”

Finally released, Jian Xingyi gasped for breath.

Shanhai watched Jian Xingyi lie limply in his arms, his eyes growing darker.

“Xingxing.”

“Hmm…?” Jian Xingyi looked up at him innocently, forgetting that his parted lips still glistened with moisture.

Shanhai had intended to ask, “Can I borrow another one?”

But then he thought better of it—Jian Xingyi had said there was no need to ask.

“Wah…!”

The next moment, Jian Xingyi was snatched up and devoured by the giant wolfhound again.

Meanwhile…

【Attention players of *Dawn of the Dawn* V3.0: The Midnight Session of the Five-Day Zombie Tide Feast—Day Three—will begin in one system hour!】

The system’s voice rang out.

Meanwhile, someone was still locked in a passionate embrace inside the room.

Of course, at the same time, the guild’s Bond Value quietly increased by 10.

In the final half-hour, everyone—including Jian Xingyi and Shanhai—took their positions.

Seeing the reddened corners of Jian Xingyi and Shanhai’s mouths, the others quietly averted their eyes.

No wonder their affinity points suddenly shot up so much.

Before arriving, Jian Xingyi had Shanhai open the pot sprouts again. The good news was that quite a few SRs had sprouted; the bad news was that there were only SRs.

But regardless, it successfully increased Jian Xingyi’s variety count. Now, there were 8 types of mushrooms, pea shooters, and flowers, and 6 types of melons—the goal of 10 was within reach.

Jian Xingyi and Shanhai had just tied the remaining plants to the back of the wall when a piercing siren sounded.

【Attention players of *Dawn of the Dawn* V3.0: The Midnight Session of the Five-Day Zombie Tide Feast—Day Three—is about to begin!】

Boom! Boom! Boom……

Zombies roared as they emerged, led by the Godfathers.

This time… there were a full four Godfathers!

Everyone was stunned.

Alright, now that the Zombie Tide has reached Day 3, the system isn’t holding back anymore.

It’s obvious they want to kill us!

But thankfully, the area has shrunk significantly this time, so everyone wasn’t running around in a panic. For example, since the walls are only this big, Shanhai and Cola can even each bring one high-level player to block all the Godfathers.

With three days of experience under their belts, Shanhai and the others have gotten the hang of it.

The walls were covered in plants, and the group coordinated the rhythm of the cannons and plants to assist the top players in taking down the Godfathers.

“BOOM—-”

At the same time, Godfathers began appearing through cracks in the walls.

There were too many Godfathers, and the zombies were just as numerous; even the highest combat power couldn’t guarantee that the walls wouldn’t be destroyed.

Although they had the ability to overcome these nearly impossible challenges, the walls continued to collapse one after another.

After the battle ended, Bai Jie took a look—there were a total of four large holes.

And that didn’t even include the other three sides.

Bai Jie said solemnly, “Let’s go review the situation.”

After tallying the damage, there were a total of seven gaping holes across all four walls.

Some of the holes were so large that they required more cement; repairing all of them would cost a total of 900 million.

Jian Xingyi paused. “I only have 300 million here…”

That’s not enough…

Bai Jie stated decisively, “As for the remaining 600 million… We can manage for now.”

But only for now.

Bai Jie took a deep breath.

This fortress battle was costing a fortune; even Grapevine Peak was feeling the strain and pressure.

Bai Jie whispered, “We have two days left—strictly speaking, only one day where we’ll need funds. I hope things go better tomorrow.”

Even though they’d won today, few were happy.

But if the Godfather started lashing out on the third day, one could only imagine what a nightmare it would be afterward. If they didn’t find a better solution, the walls would be nearly gone by tomorrow. But if the walls were destroyed on the fourth day and there wasn’t time to repair them, what would happen in the final battle?

Jian Xingyi raised his hand and said cautiously, “Um… I actually have an idea.”