The dejected Luffy instantly snapped his head up and snatched the phone.
It was a satellite phone. Ugly, with a black plastic casing, it was bulky—only slightly smaller than the brick phones from over two decades ago. It looked incredibly sturdy and only had a keypad. With no screen at all, Luffy couldn’t see the caller ID.
But Luffy’s emotions began to surge. He held the phone to his ear and opened his mouth, but could only let out a faint growl—deep and resonant.
"Hello? Son? Is that you?"
The familiar voice made Luffy’s eyes widen. It was his mother, An Lan!
"My mom is still alive!" he thought.
"ROAR!"
Overjoyed, Luffy let out a loud, resounding roar.
"Fei, is that you? It’s Mom!"
"ROAR!"
Luffy stomped his feet in sheer anxiety, but roaring was all he could manage.
"Fei, say something! Fei!" On the other end, An Lan was getting frantic too. The only person who could have this satellite phone and be called on this number was her son, Luffy. Yet, the continuous growling from the receiver filled her heart with confusion and worry.
"ROAR, ROAR, ROAR!"
Luffy tried to speak normally, but he couldn’t Control his vocal cords or tongue at all. In his current state, he lacked the fine motor Control to manipulate certain parts of his body.
For instance, blinking. He couldn’t close his eyelids; the best he could do was widen his eyes a little more.
As for a man’s most vital organ, Luffy didn’t even dare to think about it. Not only was it a mangled mess of flesh and blood, but it was also permanently flaccid. Just thinking about it pissed him off immensely.
"Oh, you silly woman! The only one who could answer this phone is Fei! If he’s not talking, he must have a compelling reason. Give me the phone, let me talk to him!" A man’s voice came through the satellite phone.
"Haha! It’s my old man, Lu Dali!" Luffy looked up at the sky and thought, "Thank God! My parents are still alive!"
"Hello? You brat, I know it’s you! If it’s really you, growl twice!"
"ROAR, ROAR!"
"See? I told you it was our son!"
Luffy could almost picture the smug look on his father’s face as he showed off to his mother.
"Could it just be a coincidence?" Luffy heard An Lan say uncertainly.
"Simple, I’ll ask him again!" Lu Dali continued. "Brat, tell me, how old is your old man this year? Growl once for forty-one! Twice for forty-two! Three times for forty-three! Go!"
"ROAR!"
Of course Luffy knew his father’s age. He was exactly forty-one!
"Look, it’s definitely our son!" Lu Dali declared. Luffy could hear the pure joy in his father’s voice.
"I still find it hard to believe. In a multiple-choice question with three options, the chances of guessing right are too high!"
"Oh, for God’s sake!" Luffy chuckled bitterly in his mind. He let out a few more growls in protest. Not being able to speak was simply awful.
"Besides, why wouldn’t Fei just talk?" An Lan’s voice returned. "Hand it over, let me ask him something else."
What followed was a barrage of wild, unpredictable questions from An Lan. The questions were so incredibly specific that if Luffy wasn’t truly her son, he wouldn’t have had a chance of answering them.
For example, she asked, "Fei, where is Mom’s mole? One growl for the arm... five for between the eyebrows... ten for the corner of the mouth."
So, Luffy obediently growled ten times.
Spot on!
Then came questions like "When is Mom’s birthday?" and "When is Mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary?" After she provided the options and Luffy answered every single one correctly, An Lan finally lost her composure. She burst into tears.
"Fei, I thought I’d never see you again!" she sobbed. Then, she laughed. "Fei, it’s so wonderful that you’re alive!"
Unable to speak, Luffy simply listened to his mother crying and laughing.
"You silly woman, say something useful!" His father likely snatched the phone back. "Brat, your mom and I are doing fine in Country M. Unlike back home, this place is vast and sparsely populated. We got lucky. The day the apocalypse broke out, we happened to be vacationing in a small town with low population density, so we survived."
"FUCK, Lu, what’s taking so long? The boss said it’s time to move out. Hurry up!"
Just then, Luffy heard someone yelling in English through the receiver, followed by his father’s reply, "OK, OK, I’m coming!"
Being a top student, Luffy naturally understood their conversation. From his father’s tone, he detected a hint of subservience.
Before the apocalypse, his father had been a formidable figure. Even when facing high-ranking officials or wealthy tycoons, he always carried himself with absolute confidence and authority. But now, he was pandering to some foreigner.
It seemed his parents were having a tough time in Country M. But it made sense—in this post-apocalyptic world, surviving was incredibly difficult for anyone.
"Brat, your old man has to go risk his neck now. We have to take down the convenience store down the street today. You have to try your best to stay alive! I know you can do it. I’ll contact you again tonight when I get back!"
"ROAR!"
His father seemed to set the phone down; Luffy heard the faint clatter of the device bumping against a hard surface.
Then, his father continued speaking, "Lanlan, remember what I said. If I don’t come back, don’t open the door for anyone. Keep that dagger handy. It’s coated in Zombie blood—if anyone is foolish enough to cross you, just stab them!"
Luffy heard a distinct resoluteness and ruthlessness in his father’s tone.
Now that was his father. This was the man who had amassed a massive fortune in less than twenty years.
The accumulation of capital was never a peaceful process; it was inherently stained with blood. Luffy believed that as long as his parents didn’t have terrible luck and avoided dying at the hands of Zombies, given enough time, they would inevitably rise again on the other side of Water Blue Star.
Because they were wolves—unlike Luffy, who was more like a harmless Husky in comparison.
But all of this required time, hardship, and a foundation built on blood. Luffy didn’t want his parents to suffer. He wanted to give them a much higher starting point.
In this apocalypse, achieving that required Power, and the key to gaining Power was becoming an Evolver.
The secret of Evolvers might become widely known once the apocalypse had gone on a bit longer. But right now, Luffy was certain it remained a closely guarded secret. Even if someone had discovered it, they definitely wouldn’t share it with the world right away.
Therefore, Luffy felt it was absolutely necessary to inform his parents of the secret to evolution. By becoming Evolvers ahead of the curve, his father would have the Power needed to lay out his plans.
Maybe his father could even create a miracle all over again.
After the call ended, Luffy was overwhelmed with excitement and joy. The news that his parents were alive meant everything to him. His heart brimmed with fighting spirit—as long as they survived, the day of their reunion would come.
Then, he began pondering how to convey the secret of Evolvers to them. For him in his current state, this was a massive dilemma.
He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t text, and he couldn’t afford to waste time.
He had no idea when the satellite signal might cut off; if his luck was bad, it could happen at any second. He had to share the secret with his parents as quickly as possible.