The stillness of midnight was torn apart by the sharp ringing of a phone. The piercing sound was especially jarring in the pitch-black bedroom.
Cheng Lin suddenly woke from her hazy sleep. Groping around, she grabbed the continuously vibrating phone from the bedside table. The moment the screen lit up, the name she had been trying to reach for days leapt into her eyes—Jiang Yi.
She did not even have time to check the hour before her finger had already pressed the answer button. Her voice carried a thick nasal tone and undisguised urgency. “Jiang Yi? Where are you?”
The voice from the other end sounded weak, as if those two words had been squeezed out with all his strength. “Lin Lin…”
“Lin Lin, listen to me,” Jiang Yi’s voice came in fragments. “I have reliable information that there will be a natural disaster in a few days. At dawn, go back to the suburban villa immediately. Prepare at least a month’s worth of food and drinking water. Lock all doors and windows and don’t go out. Keep your phone on standby 24 hours a day and wait for me to come back for you. Do you hear me?”
Cheng Lin’s fingers tightened abruptly around the phone, her knuckles turning pale. How did Jiang Yi know about the impending disaster?
She asked anxiously, “Jiang Yi, where exactly are you now? When can you come back? Should I come find you?”
There was a brief silence on the other end. Those few seconds stretched endlessly, making Cheng Lin’s heart sink bit by bit. Then his weak voice sounded again, carrying a trace of fatigue and reassurance. “Lin Lin, I’m in B City handling something. I’ll finish it as soon as possible and come back to you right away. Trust me, okay?”
B City—that was more than three thousand kilometers away from H City.
Separated by vast distances, even if she disagreed, what could she do?
Cheng Lin bit her lower lip. “Then you must come back as soon as possible. Be careful on the way. I’ll wait for you at the villa, no matter how long…”
“Alright.” Jiang Yi responded softly, the tail end of his voice tinged with gentle affection. “I won’t disturb your rest. Good night, my love.”
That deliberately softened tone made the tips of Cheng Lin’s ears grow warm. She replied softly, “Good night.”
Outside the window was a heavy night with no trace of starlight, dense like ink that could not be dissolved. Feeling a chill, she put on a coat, got up, walked to the window, and pushed it open slightly. The biting cold wind rushed in instantly, making her shiver.
Yet the ripples in her heart could not calm down for a long time. In her mind, she softly called, “Heheda, before this apocalypse arrives, there was already news in B City, right?”
The system’s electronic voice quickly responded in her mind. “Replying to Host, according to the records in the book, five days before the apocalypse broke out, the National Meteorological Center had already detected abnormal climate data and predicted a large-scale natural disaster. However, since the exact timing and impact range could not be determined, and to avoid causing public panic, the higher authorities did not disclose the information. Only a small number of core officials were aware. The male lead Jiang Yi most likely learned of it from his father.”
A flicker passed through Cheng Lin’s eyes as she asked further, “Did the original book mention anything else during this period?”
“Jiang Yi’s mother died in a car accident on the eve of the disaster. Later, he was taken back to the Jiang Family by his father. In the early stages of the apocalypse, the Jiang Family dominated B City and held significant authority. Later, they directly controlled the B City Safe Base. However, Jiang Yi abandoned the Jiang Family’s protection in order to find the Original Owner. He wandered everywhere with his teammates and never stayed at the B City base.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” Cheng Lin frowned, her tone carrying dissatisfaction. If she had known all this, she would not have spent days worrying whether Jiang Yi had died.
The system’s voice carried a hint of grievance. “Host, please understand. These details were not part of the main plot of the book. They were only briefly mentioned later in casual conversations between the male lead and his teammates, so Heheda did not actively unlock the permissions. These hidden plots require the Host to trigger key nodes before the details can be gradually revealed.”
Cheng Lin rolled her eyes and complained speechlessly, “That’s really not intelligent at all. Bad review.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the electronic voice in her mind took on a tearful tone, muttering “Host is bullying me,” before disappearing with a whoosh, falling completely silent.
Cheng Lin could not help but laugh. Shaking her head, she turned and saw the little dog curled up by the pillow, sleeping soundly. She stretched out a mischievous finger and poked its belly. Mo Yang groggily lifted its head, wagged its fluffy tail, and let out a soft whimper.
The furry touch was warm and soft, and Cheng Lin soon drifted back into sleep.
At the same time, thousands of miles away in B City—
Inside a VIP hospital ward at the City Central Hospital, the pale light illuminated Jiang Yi’s bloodless face. He slowly lowered his phone, his arm falling weakly at his side. An IV needle was still inserted in his arm, and the clear liquid dripped steadily into his veins.
Seated beside the bed was a middle-aged man in a black suit. He had an upright posture and a resolute face, with features somewhat similar to Jiang Yi’s. He was the current head of the Jiang Family and the father with whom Jiang Yi had maintained a distant and indifferent relationship for over twenty years—Jiang Zhenting.
Jiang Zhenting looked at his son’s frail appearance. A trace of concern flashed in his eyes, but in the end, he only asked in a deep voice, “Have you explained everything?”
Jiang Yi closed his eyes briefly, his voice hoarse. “Mm.”
He had only regained consciousness three hours ago. The first thing he had done upon waking was to pull out the needle from the back of his hand and insist on being discharged to return to H City. However, the doctor had said that due to lying in bed for too long after the car accident, his body was severely weakened and required at least a week of rest and rehabilitation. But how could he afford to wait?
If Jiang Zhenting had not supported him in time, he might have collapsed to the ground the moment he got out of bed.
Left with no choice, Jiang Zhenting revealed the information about the impending disaster and promised to immediately send people to H City to ensure Cheng Lin’s safety. Once his condition improved, he would personally send him back.
Only then did Jiang Yi reluctantly agree to stay and recover.
However, his fingertips still retained the tremor from when he had dialed the call. His Lin Lin must wait for him.
…
Three days before the apocalypse.
Cheng Lin was awakened by Mo Yang licking her. When she opened her eyes, sunlight had already streamed through the gap in the curtains, warmly spreading across the bed.
She checked the time—it was already eleven in the morning.
Perhaps because she had learned Jiang Yi’s situation last night, the anxiety that had been weighing on her heart had finally settled. She had actually slept until now. Fortunately, before going to bed, she had deliberately filled Mo Yang’s bowl with warm goat’s milk, so the little one had not gone hungry. It now looked at her with wet black eyes, its tail wagging happily.
Cheng Lin stretched lazily and got up to wash. She took two steaming crab roe buns from her space and opened a bottle of pure milk, casually settling her late breakfast.
After eating her fill, she sat on the sofa in the living room, opened her mobile banking app, and checked her balance—there were still a full two million left.