Luke was in a foul mood as he led the way ahead.
After walking for less than half an hour, the sounds behind him gradually grew quieter.
Only then did he graciously turn around to look at the Younger Sister who had insisted he wasn’t as good as Cen Yuxing.
Cen Wu’s face was flushed red.
The hair on her forehead was soaked with sweat and clung to her face, while her breathing became heavier and heavier.
“Aren’t you a Strength Ability User? You’re exhausted just from dragging one snake? Weren’t you talking about dragging the deer back too?”
After saying that, Luke walked back a couple of steps and reached for the snake’s tail.
He gave it a hard tug.
The snake only moved forward a tiny bit.
Luke was just about to say something to ease the awkwardness when a sudden weight landed on his back.
A burning-hot forehead rested against the back of his neck.
“Cen Wu?”
He immediately dropped the snake and caught Cen Wu before she could slide to the ground.
She had a fever?
His first instinct was to leave her alone.
After all, Cen Wu was just a child Mom and Dad had picked up.
She wasn’t related to him by blood.
Even if he abandoned her here, he wouldn’t have to feel guilty about it.
…Or perhaps he could hide her somewhere first.
Then, after he found Mom, he could bring her back to pick Cen Wu up.
Luke stared at Cen Wu for nearly a full minute.
Finally, he pulled out a vial of Healing Factor from his backpack.
Although it was only meant for external injuries, it was still better than nothing.
He bit off the protective cap, exposed the injector, and jabbed it directly into Cen Wu’s upper arm.
“It hurts…”
Cen Wu whimpered instinctively.
Her long eyelashes became wet once more, sticking together in damp little strands against her face.
Luke reached out and touched her forehead.
Looking puzzled, he muttered,
“Why do you cry so much?”
No one else in the family was like this.
Kids they picked up really were delicate.
Luke sat down and placed Cen Wu on his lap, letting her head rest against the hollow of his neck.
Every ten minutes or so, he checked her forehead again.
It was still burning hot.
Without wasting any more time, Luke hoisted her onto his back and continued walking without stopping.
“The snake… my snake…”
Cen Wu was only dizzy and weak.
She was still somewhat conscious.
Seeing Luke carrying her while completely ignoring the food they had gathered on the ground made her heart ache.
Luke nearly laughed from exasperation.
“Tell me yourself—which is more important, you or the snake?”
Cen Wu stubbornly kicked her legs.
“The snake!”
“My first hunt…”
“I have to tell Mom… that I’m not useless…”
Luke was completely at her mercy.
Left with no choice, he dragged the snake by its tail while carrying her on his back.
He didn’t possess Cen Wu’s incredible strength.
With her weight on his back, he only managed to move the snake a little over three hundred feet after half an hour.
According to his original estimate, they should have already made it halfway back.
“Xiao Wu, let’s leave the snake here for now. We can come back and get it later, okay?”
He tried to negotiate.
Cen Wu refused.
She struggled to get down.
Even if she fainted… even if she died on the road…
She refused to abandon her snake.
Luke had never encountered such a difficult problem in his life.
If he had known this would happen, he never would have let Cen Wu kill the snake.
He could have simply Mind Controlled it into following them.
That would have been far easier than dragging one thing while carrying another.
After a long struggle, Luke finally chopped off the snake’s head as proof of the hunt.
Only then did the groggy Cen Wu reluctantly accept it.
He had no idea how long he walked.
Luke was on the verge of collapsing.
His lips had turned pale.
His legs trembled with every step.
He felt as though he could fall over at any second.
The only thing keeping him moving was the Younger Sister on his back.
He clenched his teeth and forced himself onward until he finally spotted the familiar pickup truck.
“Mom…”
Cen Yi was busy playing an offline game.
Even so, she immediately caught the faint cry for help.
Seeing her son’s exhausted, utterly miserable expression, she almost burst out laughing.
“What happened to Xiao Wu?”
She hurried over, taking both her daughter and the snake’s head from him before carrying them aside.
The moment Luke no longer had to support them, the determination holding him together disappeared.
He dropped to his knees and collapsed forward onto the ground, gasping desperately for air.
After recounting everything that had happened along the way, he finally climbed into the truck.
He had barely lain down on the soft back seat for a minute before Cen Yi shooed him aside.
“Let your Younger Sister sleep here. She has a fever. We’re heading home first.”
Hearing Cen Wu mumbling about the snake even in her sleep, Luke knew she still hadn’t forgotten it.
But he absolutely refused to lead the way back there again.
He wholeheartedly agreed to go home instead.
Cen Yi drove the truck.
This time, however, no one sat in the passenger seat.
After everything they had gone through, the two children were fast asleep with their heads resting against each other.
Luke still held Younger Sister’s hand tightly.
His little brows were knitted together, making him look unusually serious.
Watching them through the rearview mirror, Cen Yi felt warmth spread through her heart.
She wished Xie Yuanchuan could see this.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t brought a communicator.
In the apocalypse, finding someone without one was incredibly difficult.
…
After Cen Wu’s fever subsided, she became lively and energetic once again.
To her surprise, it was Luke who stayed by her side over the following days.
Cen Yuxing hadn’t appeared again for quite some time.
The family of three ventured into the dense forest twice more.
They still split into two groups and brought home plenty of game each trip.
Luke always stood in front of Cen Wu.
Though his body was small, he seemed unusually dependable as he cleared away every dangerous obstacle for her.
Once he had the prey under control, Cen Wu unleashed punch after punch.
Every blow landed solidly.
She had trained so much that she was actually starting to develop muscles.
The villa’s basement was already packed with processed frozen meat and cured meat.
There wasn’t room for any more.
In truth, although the temperatures during the Year of Extreme Heat were unbearable, wild game had not gone extinct.
Finding food simply required more effort than usual.
People wouldn’t starve to death because of it.
The truly important resource was clean water.
Cen Wu had no idea where Base No. 9 obtained its water supply.
Even so, there was still far too little drinkable water.
A few more days passed.
Then the communicator at home rang.
It was a call from Xie Yuanchuan.
After answering, Cen Yi cheerfully greeted him without caring who was listening.
“My dear Husband, where have you been enjoying yourself lately?”
Xie Yuanchuan chuckled.
“I’m at Base No. 18. Pack your things and come straight here. The Safe House is almost finished.”
Cen Yi thought for a moment before sighing miserably.
“Moving again? I hate packing. Can’t we just leave everything here?”
Xie Yuanchuan’s voice remained relaxed and lazy, carrying an almost teasing tone.
“Aren’t there still two child laborers at home? The kids are growing up. It’s time they learned to help Mom with the housework.”
Cen Yi slapped her thigh.
“You’re absolutely right! Raise kids for years, use them when the time comes! I’ll take Xiao Wu camping… no, gathering later, and let Luke stay home to pack everything.”
Luke, who was sitting right beside her, fell silent.
He sincerely wanted to pass out and let Cen Yuxing wake up instead.
For some reason, though, every day when he woke up recently, he was always the one in control of the body.
Watching Cen Wu pretend not to eavesdrop while obviously trying to listen to the conversation, Luke flicked her on the cheek.
After getting punched several times in retaliation, he felt much better.
Looking at Cen Yi, Cen Wu asked,
“Mom, can I talk to Dad for a moment?”
“Of course, Baby.”
Cen Yi handed her the communicator.
Without any preamble, Cen Wu asked,
“Dad, have you found a water source yet?”
The childish voice coming through the communicator made Xie Yuanchuan’s smile fade slightly.
Sounding utterly unmotivated, he replied,
“I’m busy. Who has time to worry about that?”
Cen Wu was practically worrying herself sick over him.
“Dad, this is important.”
“Please take it seriously, okay?”