Nadia's vision was blurred, so she took out her binoculars. Through them, she spotted a few men and women standing on two rubber shafts, armed with wooden spears and iron rods. They were relentlessly striking at a windowsill jutting out from the fifth floor. A soaking wet dog stood on the windowsill, baring its sharp fangs and barking furiously at them. "Quick, kill it! We'll have meat tonight!" one of them shouted. The group seemed ecstatic, waving their weapons and taunting the dog. Despite its desperate attempts to dodge, the dog refused to back down, fiercely holding its ground. The sudden disaster had left everyone unprepared. All the food had been ruined in the flood, and countless people had starved to death. Now, even a skinny dog was a chance for a meal. This was meat—who wouldn't want it? Their eyes glowed with hunger as if they were ready to devour it alive.Nadia hadn't intended to intervene, but the moment she saw the dog, a shiver ran through her. It was Colby, a name she had given it. Colby had been abandoned by its owner and sold to a dog meat restaurant. During the slaughter, it suddenly fought back, bit the owner, and managed to escape. With nowhere to go, it roamed around the town, often lingering near the small eateries across from the residential area, where the shop owners frequently chased him away. At that time, Nadia was in the business of selling dog food. Whenever she came across it, she would throw it some dog food or a piece of sausage. The only difference between a dog abandoned by its owner and a baby abandoned by its parents is that humans have orphanages, while stray dogs are often put down when caught. At first, Colby was very cautious and would avoid Nadia's approach, only eating once she had walked away. But gradually, as it became more familiar with her, it stayed wary yet would peek out from behind a tree, secretly watching her. Eventually, Nadia became infatuated with Wayne, always finding ways to get closer to him. She stopped dealing in dog food altogether, and Colby slipped from her thoughts. When they met again, it was already the extreme cold period. She had no idea how Colby had managed to survive. Its fur had all fallen out, its body covered in pus-filled frostbite, and it was so thin that only its skeletal frame remained. Yet even so, when some thugs bullied her, it fearlessly charged at them, biting them fiercely. Had it not lunged at them, a baseball bat would have come crashing down on her head. In its attempt to protect her, Colby was beaten to death, never releasing its grip on the assailant's wrist until its last breath. She survived, but it was killed and then cooked and eaten. After being reborn, she searched the area several times but could never find any trace of it. It was absurd to think about. She had given her heart and soul to Wayne, yet he simply watched as she was beaten to death by monsters. And the stray dog she had occasionally fed had protected her with its life. "Colby!" When they saw each other again, Nadia couldn't hold back her tears. She swiftly steered the inflatable boat toward it without hesitating, calling out, "Colby!" The stubborn Malinois standing on the windowsill brightened at the sound of her voice and instinctively looked in her direction. A moment's distraction, and it was struck hard by a stick, letting out a piercing scream. It quickly turned and lunged at the attacker, fiercely biting and tearing into them. The rubber shaft rocked violently as Colby sank its teeth into the assailant's body while others nearby rushed over, swinging sticks to intervene. It dodged nimbly, avoiding the blows with agility. Ironically, the sticks ended up hitting the person being bitten, who howled in pain.Another rubber shaft approached, but the current was too strong to control, causing the two shafts to collide. Two people lost their balance and fell into the water, shouting, "Help! Save me!" Before they could react, Colby leaped toward the oncoming rubber shaft with impressive power. Its jump was forceful, knocking several people down. Three had fallen into the water in just a few moments, and two had been successfully bitten. One person drew a knife, stabbing at Colby with vicious intent. Driving the inflatable boat, Nadia crashed into the rubber shaft, flipping it over, and quickly made a sharp turn, shouting, "Colby!" With a mighty push from his hind legs, Colby's gaunt body leaped three or four meters, landing firmly on Nadia's inflatable boat. The engine roared to life, and water splashed in all directions. The inflatable boat was already gone when the attackers managed to clamber back onto the rubber shafts. The sky was overcast, and they hadn't seen Nadia's face. They never got to eat their dog meat stew, and several of them were injured. What awful luck! The group continued to curse under their breath. Nadia piloted the inflatable boat into the residential community, stopping beneath the apartment building. The rain blurred her vision. She eagerly reached out to embrace Colby, but it recoiled, its eyes filled with wariness and caution. Its condition was grim. Its mouth was bleeding, its fur had fallen out, and its body was marred with patchy scars. It was clear that being cornered by humans today was not an isolated incident for him. In this apocalypse, people would do anything to survive. Not just stray dogs—before the typhoon, many of the residents in the community had pets that were treated better than their owners. But now, those pets were nowhere to be found.Nadia couldn't bear to think about how Colby had survived. "Colby, don't be scared. From now on, we'll be together. As long as I have something to eat, you won't go hungry," Nadia said, trying to reassure it. Yet, it still kept its distance, its guard unwavering. Nadia didn't even have a chance to get close to it, let alone pet it. After a moment of thought, she reached into her bag, pulled out a sausage, tore open the wrapper, and tossed it to him. Colby remained cautious even with the food in front of it and hunger gnawing at it. It slowly approached, sniffed the sausage, devoured it swiftly, and then resumed watching her, unblinking. It took ten sausages before Nadia could finally touch Colby's head. Faced with her offer of care, Colby was hesitant and tried to leap into the floodwaters, aiming to escape. Stray dogs were not only cautious but also highly intelligent. Colby knew this was human territory, and stepping into it could mean being stewed in a pot. That was how its foolish kin had met their end! Having found Colby with such difficulty, Nadia couldn't let it leave. She quickly took out a smoked chicken drumstick. Then, she showed it the dog food from her backpack. "Colby, if you follow me, you'll always have enough to eat." The dog food had come from a supermarket Nadia had scavenged while racing against the flood. She grabbed anything she could, and only when she later sorted through the items did she realize she had collected a lot of dog food and pet cans. She hadn't wanted to throw it away and had considered mixing it with the feed for the rabbits she planned to raise. She never imagined it was all meant for Colby. Colby's eyes fixed on the bag of dog food as if lost in some memory. As Nadia held the bag, its sound made it salivate. In the end, it gave in. Nadia successfully brought it ashore, her hardened heart melting like smooth, sweet, and fragrant chocolate. In this grim apocalypse, she no longer wandered alone in the darkness. She had found a companion to share life and death with. "Wow, a dog! There's a dog!" "Grandma, I want to eat dog meat."