Cheng Qian fell onto the gravel, face up, hitting the ground hard.
Before he could get up to ask again, Ke Bei had already jumped down with Xiao Tian.
She was positioned even higher than where Cheng Qian had been, so when she leapt straight down, her knees slammed directly onto the jagged stones.
Blood instantly stained her pants red.
Cheng Qian immediately sprang up to help his wife.
But Ke Bei didn’t wait for him at all. As if she felt no pain, she jumped up from the ground and bolted in the direction they had come from.
While running, she shouted at Cheng Qian, “Run! There’s a flock of birds!”
Cheng Qian froze for a moment, then instinctively looked up at the sky. That’s when he noticed a flock of large black birds, appearing out of nowhere.
He hadn’t seen them before, probably the roar of the helicopter had masked their movement.
There were hundreds of them, clustered together like a moving black cloud.
Even from this distance, it was clear they were huge and all had sharp beaks.
Now they were flying closer and closer.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Cheng Qian’s forehead.
He immediately sprinted like Ke Bei, fleeing with all his might to avoid the impending attack, while also trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the helicopter.
As he ran, he couldn’t help glancing up at the helicopter one more time, and his heart sank to the very bottom.
Cheng Qian knew that the first mission he had received was now a failure.
Even though he and his wife and child had struggled so hard to arrive on time…
But it was still a failure.
They could no longer take the helicopter to reach the capital.
Cheng Qian didn’t know whether the birds had simply spotted them while passing by and treated them as prey to chase… or if they had caught the scent of Xiao Tian’s blood and followed it.
No matter the reason, it was clear: the flock had singled out the three of them as their target, one they would not abandon, a target they intended to devour.
They had no choice but to run, even though victory was just within reach.
Otherwise, remaining suspended in midair, not yet inside the helicopter, they would have become food for this flock, unable even to resist.
And it wasn’t just about themselves.
They would also drag the helicopter and the comrades aboard into danger.
Everyone knew that for an aircraft, encountering birds in the sky was almost as dangerous as encountering explosives, especially a flock this large.
Against this massive, dense swarm, the helicopter seemed tiny.
Cheng Qian didn’t want to endanger his comrades, and he certainly couldn’t treat their lives as expendable.
A thousand thoughts flashed through his mind, but his steps never faltered, he ran faster and faster, and by now he was running alongside his wife at the edge of the helipad.
The helicopter above had also spotted the danger and quickly gained altitude, evading the birds’ attack.
Hovering above the helipad, the helicopter lingered despite the threat, it clearly still hoped to rescue Cheng Qian and his family.
Seeing this, Cheng Qian suppressed his frustration, waved forcefully toward the helicopter, signaling them to leave decisively.
Then he grabbed his wife’s hand and dashed into the dense trees outside the helipad.
The birds were closing in.
It was clear they now considered the three on the ground their highest-priority target, even willing to abandon the helicopter in the sky to get to them.
They charged toward Cheng Qian and the others like arrows!
But at the same time, they were blocked by the dense thicket outside.
Seeing that they couldn’t do anything to help, the helicopter in the sky didn’t dare linger any longer. It circled the helipad one last reluctant time, then gained altitude, turned, and flew toward the capital.
Farther and farther away.
Diving into the thicket, Ke Bei collapsed onto the ground.
She didn’t even pause to catch her breath, she immediately set Xiao Tian down from her back, pulled him into her arms, and began checking his condition.
Her gaze fell on the child’s lower leg.
By then, Cheng Qian had run over as well and looked too.
“When did this happen?” he asked, surprised.
“I don’t know,” Ke Bei replied, her tone carrying a faint edge of anxiety. “Maybe when he was climbing the railing earlier?”
Xiao Tian’s pants had somehow been cut along the lower leg.
Because the pants were a little big and a bit long, the fabric had folded, hiding the tear unless the leg was fully straightened.
That’s why Ke Bei hadn’t noticed it during several earlier checks.
But now they saw that beneath the tear, Xiao Tian’s lower leg bore a fresh scratch from a sharp object.
The wound wasn’t deep, but small droplets of blood had already begun to dry around it.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”
Ke Bei quickly pulled out a bandage and skillfully tended to the cut, her tone tinged with a little reproach.
The child pouted in protest, mumbling, “My leg went numb… I didn’t know.”
Ke Bei glared at him in frustration.
“I’ll carry him,” she said.
Seeing his wife like this, Cheng Qian helplessly reached out, took their son, and secured him onto himself.
Xiao Tian immediately wrapped his arms tightly around his father’s neck.
Ke Bei pressed her lips together, ignoring the interaction between father and son. She quickly tossed the used medical waste back into the space, put a bandage over her own knee, and stood up.
Her mood was terrible. The disappointment in her heart was no less than Cheng Qian’s, if anything, hers carried an extra layer of anxiety.
When she had first seen the helicopter arrive, she had truly been happy. She had thought they could finally escape their fate and live a different life.
But who could have imagined that just as they had climbed onto the rope ladder, when victory was so close within reach, they would still have to give it up in the end?
It forced Ke Bei to question the future.
Now that they had been reborn, could they really change their predetermined path?
Could they find the Yunsi Grass and save Xiao Tian’s life?
These heavy doubts weighed on her heart, stirring up restlessness.
Cheng Qian pulled on the raincoat Ke Bei had taken out and wrapped himself and Xiao Tian together in it, preventing any lingering scent of blood from spreading.
He glanced at the sky and said in a low voice, “We need to leave now. This isn’t a place we can stay.”
The thicket here was extremely dense, especially the canopy. Branches intertwined and stretched toward the sky like a massive umbrella, blocking it out completely.
But it could only hold off the giant birds for a short while, not for long.
They were now gathered above the trees, flapping their wings and cawing as they hurled their bodies against the branches.
The branches cracked loudly under the impacts, and from time to time broken limbs fell from above.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before they broke through the barrier.
“Once we get out of here, run east. About a hundred meters away there should be a parking lot. There’s a sentry post at the entrance, we’ll head there.”
Cheng Qian pointed out the direction to Ke Bei.
He had been to this airport once years ago, delivering ordered auto parts to the motor transport unit, so he still had some impression of where the parking area was located.
There were trees, grass, and vines everywhere now. Even Cheng Qian couldn’t tell where there might be a building suitable for shelter.
The sentry post was the most appropriate place he could think of.
“Alright.”
Ke Bei’s tone was calm. “You take Xiao Tian and run first. I’ll cover you.”
Cheng Qian immediately wanted to object.
But glancing at the child in his arms, he gritted his teeth and agreed. “Be careful with your injury. Don’t get tangled up with them. We’ll deal with everything after we get out.”
Ke Bei nodded.
The couple made their preparations and dashed out of the woods at the same time.
Since they were on the narrow path Cheng Qian had hacked out earlier, and the branches hadn’t yet fully grown back over it, they could still run fairly smoothly.
The moment they emerged, the giant birds overhead swooped down all at once with a thunderous rush!
Ke Bei took the lead.
As she ran, she swung the long-handled machete wildly, slashing fiercely at the attacking birds.
Cheng Qian kept half a step behind her.
He bent slightly forward, one arm shielding Xiao Tian and using his own body as a barrier, holding his son tightly protected.
With his other hand, he wielded the machete against the flock.
The couple fought as they ran, moving rapidly toward the parking area.
The birds looked somewhat like crows, but their beaks were longer.
More frighteningly, their mouths were lined with dense, saw-like teeth that looked razor-sharp.
Just looking at them made one’s scalp tingle, it was impossible not to imagine what would happen if they bit down.
“Watch out!” Ke Bei suddenly shouted.
Then she swung the machete and chopped forcefully at the black bird hovering above Cheng Qian’s head!
With a sharp “smack,” the bird was cleaved in midair, its blood and feathers scattering in all directions.
The spray doused both of them head to toe.
“There are too many of them! This won’t work, move back a little!”
Ke Bei wiped the blood off her face and shouted to Cheng Qian.
He didn’t know what his wife was planning, but he cooperated, stepping a few paces aside to give her some distance.
Ke Bei pulled out the flamethrower she had stored in her space, ignited it, and waved it toward the sky in a sweeping arc.
With a booming hiss, a pale blue flame shot straight up more than half a meter!
The intense heat radiated outward, making the surrounding air scalding hot.
As she swung the weapon with powerful force, any branch or leaf the flames touched instantly charred.
The nearby birds, caught off guard by the fire, screeched in panic and scattered.
Any that moved too slowly were instantly roasted.
For a moment, the smell of burning feathers, bird meat, and scorched branches mixed with the faint gas-like odor of the flames, filling the air.
All the birds kept their distance.
They circled the three of them irritably, letting out piercing cries.
Their flapping wings whipped up mini-tornadoes, shaking the surrounding branches and leaves.
But faced with the terrifying flames, none dared to descend.
Ke Bei waved the flamethrower while running alongside Cheng Qian, and they soon reached the sentry post he had mentioned.
Calling it a sentry post was generous, it was really just a small corrugated iron shed, now almost completely hidden among the greenery. If you weren’t paying attention, you could easily run past it without noticing.
The couple ran up to the small building. Cheng Qian swung his machete, quickly cutting through the branches and vines blocking the doorway. Only then did Ke Bei turn off the flamethrower and follow him inside.
The house was tiny, probably only five or six square meters. Inside, there was just a table, a chair, and two metal cabinets, leaving almost no free space.
The interior was very clean; the table and cabinets were practically dust-free, clearly showing that the place had been in use until recently and hadn’t been abandoned for long.
Once inside, Ke Bei looked around and noticed that the only opening was a glass window directly opposite the table, likely used to monitor vehicle traffic.
Apart from that window, the entire structure was made of corrugated metal. Simple in appearance, but seemingly sturdy.
What pleased her most was that even in such a small space, the back section had been thoughtfully partitioned into a small restroom.
“Later we need to pay attention, if we see more gas canisters, we should collect them all,” she said excitedly, tossing the flamethrower aside before catching her breath.
When she first collected the flamethrowers, she didn’t expect them to be so effective in use.
And there were five in total, she had taken them all. As long as the gas supply held up, they could last quite a while.
Cheng Qian was clearly interested in the flamethrower as well.
He took off his raincoat, removed Xiao Tian from the carrier, and leaned in to ask, “Where did you get this thing?”
Then he held out his hand. “Let me see.”
Ke Bei, proud, picked it up and handed it to him.
Cheng Qian flipped it in his hand, then checked the connected hose. “Where did you hook it up before?”
“To that big gas canister we moved from the noodle shop,” she replied.
Earlier in the car, while Cheng Qian was driving, she had been thinking about the flamethrower.
After reading the instructions, she realized it could not only connect to the small canisters she’d brought from the shop but also work with the larger gas canisters.
At that time, Ke Bei had used her mental powers to assemble a full set in the space.
She hadn’t thought too much about it when setting it up, she just knew the big canister would last longer.
Anyway, she could leave the canister in the space and just take out the nozzle to use, so there was no problem with the big canister being too heavy to carry around.
At the time, she never imagined it would come in handy so quickly.
“I’ll hook up another one to a small gas canister later, so if you need it, it’ll be easier to carry,” she said, pulling a matching small gas canister from the space to show Cheng Qian.
“Mom, those birds are coming!”
While the couple was discussing the flamethrower, Xiao Tian, who had climbed onto the table, suddenly pointed outside the glass and shouted.
Ke Bei looked up and saw a huge bird breaking through the greenery outside, heading straight for the window!
Its head, bigger than two adult fists, was right through the glass, almost face-to-face with Xiao Tian.
Ke Bei was startled!
She jumped up from the ground, grabbed Xiao Tian by the collar, and pulled him off the table, holding him tightly behind her.
Cheng Qian also stood up, but he wasn’t as tense as Ke Bei.
He ignored the bird and instead went to the wall opposite the metal house, took down a signboard with the words “Ten Prohibitions,” and pressed it against the window, blocking the bird’s view.
With the window blocked, the room immediately darkened.
Cheng Qian picked Xiao Tian up again, placed him on the chair to rest, and then reassured Ke Bei: “It’s fine, don’t worry. This glass is special, those birds can’t break it.”
He even bumped his elbow against the wall. “The wall’s sturdy too, don’t worry.”
This was a sentry post for the vehicle camp.
Even though it looked ordinary, it had been built to military defense standards.
It wasn’t the highest grade, but it was solid enough to withstand impact.
Not to mention a flock of newly mutated birds, even if the previous group of mutant dogs had charged together, they still wouldn’t have been able to knock it down.
Hearing her husband’s explanation, Ke Bei finally felt a real sense of relief.
She first pulled a solar-powered outdoor light from the space, turned it on, and placed it on the table. Then she took out a set of clean clothes and toiletries for the three of them.
She handed Xiao Tian’s items to Cheng Qian and said, “Go check if there’s water in the bathroom. If there is, give Xiao Tian a bath, mainly clean his hair, hands, and feet.”
Ke Bei had already been thinking about this. Earlier, she had meticulously wiped Xiao Tian’s body with disinfectant wipes, but the cut on his leg had appeared only after they arrived here.
If the birds were tracking them by scent, it would definitely be the smell of the blood left on Xiao Tian’s hair or hands and feet.
It had to be cleaned thoroughly.
Cheng Qian took the items, carrying Xiao Tian to the bathroom, and was pleasantly surprised to find not only water but also a small solar-powered shower.
Since the military had only recently evacuated, these facilities still worked perfectly. Turning it on produced a steady stream of hot water immediately.
This was Cheng Qian’s first time giving his child a bath.
Looking at Xiao Tian’s soft, frail body, covered in various scars, he felt a deep ache and didn’t even know where to start, afraid he might accidentally hurt the child.
But Xiao Tian clearly didn’t feel that way.
It was also his first time bathing with his dad, and he was extremely excited.
He clung to Cheng Qian, tugging him under the shower, insisting on bathing together.
His little body wriggled and twisted like a tiny snake.
Cheng Qian had to protect Xiao Tian’s wounds from the water while also making sure he got clean, and within a short time, he was drenched and sweating heavily.
Meanwhile, Ke Bei pulled out some food from the space and, hearing the laughter and chatter between father and son, couldn’t help but smile faintly.
Cheng Qian finally finished cleaning the little one, but he himself was completely soaked.
After sending his son out, he quickly took a cold shower for himself, leaving the remaining hot water for Ke Bei.
Ke Bei also finished her bath quickly. Including washing clean clothes for all three of them, it took no more than half an hour.
She pulled out the basins and buckets she had previously collected from the market and supermarket, filled them with fresh water, and only then stepped out of the bathroom.
As soon as she came out, she saw Cheng Qian clumsily feeding Xiao Tian.
By now, the little room had already been tidied up by Ke Bei. The previous table, chairs, and metal cabinets had all been stored back in the space.
In their place was the dining set Cheng Qian had at home: a table and three chairs.
Ke Bei had already laid out the food on the table in advance: shrimp steamed egg custard, poached sliced meat, a cold celery salad, and a plate of braised tofu.
There was also a small bowl of rice and five steamed buns.
The aroma of the food filled the small room, giving it the comforting feeling of home.
Cheng Qian sat at the position facing the door. Xiao Tian didn’t sit in his own chair, but on his father’s lap, opening his mouth obediently, waiting to be fed.
Cheng Qian held a bowl with half a bowl of rice mixed with the steamed egg custard, soft, fragrant, and topped with plenty of shrimp.
He scooped half a spoonful of rice into Xiao Tian’s mouth, watching him chew and swallow before feeding the next spoonful, moving with extreme patience.
“He can eat by himself; you don’t have to feed him,” Ke Bei said, drying her hair.
“No! I want Daddy to feed me!” Xiao Tian protested, pressing closer into Cheng Qian’s arms and tilting his head up, puckering his little mouth.
Ke Bei had never seen her son act like this.
Ever since he had been old enough to understand, it had just been the two of them depending on each other, so he had always been particularly well-behaved and obedient.
Many times, Ke Bei unconsciously forgot his age.
She had never seen Xiao Tian act so unabashedly spoiled and affectionate.
Ke Bei watched her son quietly for a long moment.
Cheng Qian, seeing her expression, thought she was angry.
He quickly hugged Xiao Tian closer, smiling to diffuse the tension: “I’ll feed him. I haven’t fed him yet, so let me practice.”
As he spoke, he bent down and kissed the top of Xiao Tian’s head. “He’s very good and eats quickly.”
Hearing this, Xiao Tian nodded heavily in Cheng Qian’s arms, then tilted his neck up and planted several little kisses with his greasy mouth all over Cheng Qian’s face.
Half of his face was now shiny with oil from the kisses.
Ke Bei tilted her head and smiled, saying nothing further. Instead, she took out a hanger and hung the freshly washed clothes and towels nearby to dry.
Cheng Qian called her over to eat, and she replied with a hum, speeding up her movements.
Outside, the birds had already launched several rounds of attacks.
But apart from pecking at the window glass with loud thuds, they couldn’t cause any real damage.
Later, Cheng Qian placed the signboard against the glass, completely blocking their view of the room’s interior.
After over half an hour of chaos, most of the birds had given up; only a few remained outside the window.
But it was clear that those few could no longer affect them.
The sky gradually darkened, but it didn’t bother the three of them inside. They had no plans to go out again that night.
Earlier, they had rushed here to catch the helicopter, but now that was no longer possible, so there was no urgent need to hurry.
After finishing their meal, Ke Bei washed the bowls and utensils, then stored the table and chairs back in the space. She also brought out the bed.
By now, Cheng Qian was used to his wife constantly changing and moving things around.
Seeing the bed, he added, “Bring out that desk lamp from my store, the battery one. I want to use it to check the map.”
Ke Bei glanced at him, and then saw Cheng Qian pull a map book from his bag.
Actually, when shopping at the supermarket yesterday, Ke Bei had thought about buying a map book. After all, electricity would be scarce for a long time, and they didn’t know when they might get more.
Paper maps were far more reliable than offline maps on a phone.
But the supermarket didn’t sell any, and she had felt a bit disappointed, yet here was one in Cheng Qian’s bag.
Noticing her surprise, Cheng Qian smiled. “What’s the big deal? Anyone going on a long trip keeps one in the car. When we did disaster relief, encountering water or power outages was common.”
Ke Bei wanted to ask her husband about his past experiences, but seeing him seriously jotting something down with paper and pen, she swallowed her words, not wanting to disturb him.
She made the bed ready for Xiao Tian to lie down, then pulled out a small fan from the space and gently aimed it at the child.
The bandages on Xiao Tian’s arms had already been removed, revealing four deep bite marks from the mutated dogs on his thin, pale forearm.
Each mark was about the size of an adult’s little finger pad, arranged together, on a two-year-old’s arm, it was especially shocking to look at.
It seemed as if his tiny arm had been pierced through.
Cheng Qian had already reapplied medicine, and the wounds were no longer bleeding.
But because they had been covered for so long, the surrounding skin was a little inflamed, and the flesh was slightly raised outward, just looking at it made one’s heart ache.
After a full day of running, the child was utterly exhausted.
During the day he had been holding on, but now, with a soft bed, a full belly, and a sense of safety, Xiao Tian could no longer endure and collapsed onto the bed, quickly falling asleep.
Once asleep, the little one finally let down his guard, no longer pretending to be strong.
His brows furrowed and uncurled repeatedly, his body instinctively curling into a ball. One hand rested on his other injured hand, unconsciously stroking it, occasionally letting out a soft sob.
It was clear the child was silently enduring the pain.
Seeing her son like this, Ke Bei’s heart ached sharply.
But what could she do?
No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn’t take her son’s place and bear this suffering for him.
All she could do was sit beside Xiao Tian, hold the fan to blow on him, and gently pat his back with her hand, her eyes full of overwhelming, uncontainable pain.
The little room was hot and stuffy, the metal walls having absorbed the day’s heat outside, making it feel like a steam chamber.
There wasn’t even a vent, and the only light came from the desk lamp on the table.
Yet Ke Bei still felt content.
Because she knew nights of calm and safety like this would be rare in the days ahead, and were worth cherishing.
Once she was sure Xiao Tian was sleeping soundly, Ke Bei got out of bed and walked over to Cheng Qian. She asked, “What’s our next move?”
“First we go to Anshuo, then to Pingyan Lake. I checked just now, both places are along the way to the capital, so it won’t be a detour,” Cheng Qian said, pointing to the route map he had just drawn for Ke Bei.
At present, transportation and communications in Tianshui were completely cut off.
Since morning, Cheng Qian had been trying to contact Deputy Chief of Staff Liang, but after a whole day of calls, not a single one went through. By now, he had given up on trying to reach anyone in the capital.
Still, having accepted the mission, he had no choice but to press on toward the capital, overcoming all obstacles.
But along the way, fulfilling his wife and son’s wishes, reconnecting with their lifesaving benefactor, and finding the herbs to treat Xiao Tian were all tasks that absolutely had to be completed.
Thinking this through, Cheng Qian asked, “What’s the situation with Ah Lie? Tell me about him personally, so I can figure out how to find him.”
Ke Bei took two bottles of ice-cold cola from the space, twisted open one cap, and handed a bottle to her husband. She held the other in her hand, swirling it, but didn’t intend to drink it.
Whenever she thought of Ah Lie and the events that had happened, even a refreshing soda was impossible to swallow.
“We met Ah Lie at the research institute. I’ll first tell you about that institute,” she said slowly, staring at the bottle in her hand.
“Like I mentioned before, after the apocalypse, some people gradually awaken abilities. These people are basically divided into two types: Ability Users and Evolvers.
How Ability Users awaken, and what conditions are required for awakening, no one has been able to figure out yet, it’s mostly random.
Take me, for example. I woke up one day and suddenly discovered I had a space. How it came to me, I can’t even explain.
But Evolvers are different. They usually have a trigger point, either assimilation with plants and animals, or undergoing some disaster.
Like Xiao Tian, the reason he evolved was that bowl of mushroom soup.
Some people are assimilated while fighting plants or animals, for example, the Lizard Men, who were assimilated after being infected with lizard venom.
After the apocalypse, the government has been studying this, trying to uncover the rules of evolution.
Besides the government, some underground research institutes are also conducting the same research. After all, if anyone truly figured it out, it could bring unimaginable profits.”
Ke Bei recounted this quietly, her tone detached, as if she were speaking of something that didn’t concern her at all.
But when she reached the last sentence, the corner of her lips twitched slightly, carrying an indescribable sneer.
“So you and Xiao Tian were taken by one of those underground research institutes back then?”
Cheng Qian could sense the change in her tone and instinctively clenched his fists.
“Yes. We were taken by the Haicheng Research Institute. They first snatched Xiao Tian while I was out on a mission. When I caught up to them, they knocked me out as well and took me along.
At the time, I thought it was an accident, that Xiao Tian had accidentally revealed himself. But once we got there, I realized they had been targeting him for a long time.
Taking Xiao Tian was essential for them; taking me along was just incidental.
They were worried that Xiao Tian was too young and would cry too much, so bringing me along was a way to soothe him, to give him a better chance of surviving.”
Bang!
Cheng Qian slammed his fist hard against his own thigh.
He bit his lip with force, trying to stifle the rage in his chest, as if afraid of making too much noise and waking the sleeping Xiao Tian.
His chest heaved violently, veins on his temples throbbing.
“Bastards!” he growled.
Thinking back to that nightmarish time, Ke Bei couldn’t help but clench her fingers until the cola bottle creaked under her grip.
She paused for a moment before continuing: “Ah Lie was an Evolver artificially created by the Haishi Research Institute, assimilated with a gorilla.”
“Artificially created?” Cheng Qian raised his head, frowning in confusion.
“Yes. They transplanted Ah Lie’s brain into a gorilla, creating a monster with a human mind and a gorilla body!”
At this point, Ke Bei finally lost control.
She thought of that child’s tragic experience.
She thought of the smile in Ah Lie’s eyes when they were finally sent away, and that calm acceptance of everything, facing death without fear…
Her head snapped up abruptly.
But tears still streamed down her cheeks, flowing more and more.
Finally, the tears gathered at her jawline and rolled down her neck.
Cheng Qian’s mind went numb, his whole body ready to explode!
A human brain in a gorilla’s body?
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and he didn’t dare imagine what kind of twisted monster those perverts had actually created.
His blood seemed to freeze, and a chill ran through his entire body.
It was at this moment that Cheng Qian truly realized, the apocalypse had really arrived.
Such insane, absurd, and unimaginable events, apart from movies, they could only happen in the end of the world!
Ke Bei wiped the tears from her face, ignoring her frantic husband, and continued: “That research institute was built by Ah Lie’s uncle, Chen Changyu. He’s a biology professor.
Ah Lie’s parents were researchers too, and the whole family lived in Anshuo.
When the apocalypse came, the animals at Ah Lie’s parents’ research institute mutated. Before they died, they contacted Chen Changyu, who worked in Haishi, and entrusted their son to him, hoping he could take the child away.
But who would have thought that man was a demon, so insane that he wouldn’t even spare his own nephew!
Ah Lie is also a psychic Evolver, but his level is very low.
Perhaps that’s why Chen Changyu took an interest in him, deciding to use him for experiments, trying to assimilate his brain with a gorilla’s.
Chen Changyu hoped to turn Ah Lie into a brain-domain Evolver, so that he could possess the psychic power of an Evolver while also having the physical strength of a gorilla.
But the experiment failed.
Ah Lie survived, but he couldn’t move his gorilla body with agility, and he lost his psychic abilities as well.
Ah Lie became an abandoned child.”
Cheng Qian was deeply shaken by his wife’s words.
He remained silent for a long time, clearly unable to gather his thoughts.
After a while, he finally managed to think, and after much consideration, he asked, “But in reality… it wasn’t exactly like that, right?”
“Mm.” Ke Bei nodded.
Her eyes grew distant, and she seemed completely immersed in her memories.
“Ah Lie is a very good kid. Even though he looks fierce and brutal with his gorilla-like appearance, in reality, he is still the kindest person I’ve ever met.
When we first met him, he was already twenty years old.
But because of the surgery, his memory had remained frozen at twelve, the time before the apocalypse, when he still lived with his parents, the happiest period of his life.
So he has always been like a child, innocent, kind, and considerate.
After the surgery failed, Chen Changyu and his assistants abandoned Ah Lie.
Fortunately, they didn’t kill him or force him to fight the mutated beasts like the other failed subjects, turning him into a human shield.
He was left at the research institute to do simple chores, like delivering meals to those of us who were locked up.
Maybe because we were close in age and shared similar experiences, Ah Lie was always very kind to Xiao Tian and would secretly find ways to play with him. It was because of their frequent interactions that I realized this child wasn’t really, as the researchers claimed, a failed experiment or half-idiot.
Most of his clumsiness and awkwardness were put on.
His previous ability was telekinesis, which allowed him to control others to do things as instructed, but that power indeed vanished after the surgery.
However, Chen Changyu and his team didn’t know that after the surgery, Ah Lie awakened a new ability, time manipulation.
And his power is incredibly strong!”
“He can manipulate the timeline, freely controlling the flow of time, speeding it up, slowing it down, and even helping others travel to the time and place they wish to reach.”
“So he used this ability to send you and Xiao Tian back?” Cheng Qian asked.
“Yes,” Ke Bei nodded.
After saying this, she was silent for a long while, then quietly added, “At the cost of his own life.”
Hearing her words, Cheng Qian didn’t speak for a long time.
He didn’t know what to say.
Before, knowing that his wife and son wanted to save the people who had saved them, Cheng Qian would of course agree.
But his mindset back then was nothing like it is now; now he felt an unwavering determination to do whatever it took, without hesitation.
He didn’t want to say anything else, instead picking up his pen again and writing seriously on paper.
Planning the route, identifying supply points along the way, listing potential obstacles…
He resolved to reach Anshuo as fast as possible and make sure to find Ah Lie before Chen Changyu’s men did.
Seeing her husband focused on his work, Ke Bei didn’t disturb him. Instead, she took out the gas canisters and the double-burner stove from her space and used this rare moment of leisure to continue processing food stored there.
Her space held plenty of vegetables and raw meat, and with no one around for miles, she didn’t have to worry about the smell alerting anyone. She planned to process as much as she could.
The child was sleeping, and the room was tightly sealed, so stir-frying was out of the question, but slow-cooking would work perfectly.
As she thought this through, she began rummaging through her space.
It was quite messy now, many items had been brought back but never properly organized, all piled up haphazardly. Now that she had time, she could clean up as she worked.
When she lifted a gas canister, she felt a pang of regret again, why hadn’t she thought to bring a few extra cans of liquefied gas before?
Just now, using it to fend off the birds had barely used up half a can.
But the gas was absolutely essential, not only could it fuel the stove, it could also be used for cooking!
Cooking with gas would be far more effective than using those solid alcohol stoves they had bought.
She looked around the room, thought for a moment, and then walked over to tap Cheng Qian on the shoulder. “Hey, can you find the kitchen in this camp?”
Cheng Qian lifted his head from the pile of papers spread out on the table. “Why? There won’t be anything left in the kitchen. Judging by the situation here, the unit’s relocation would have been announced in advance and carried out in an orderly manner, not on a whim. They would have taken all the food with them.”
“I’m not going for food. I just want to see if any gas canisters are left,” Ke Bei said, gesturing around the room. “Look, none of the furniture in this room has been moved. I figure such heavy and flammable things like gas canisters probably weren’t moved either.”
Cheng Qian looked at her in disbelief. “They use natural gas now. Who still uses canisters?”
“Ah…” Ke Bei’s face fell.
In her experience, only cities had natural gas. Most rural areas still relied on liquefied gas. She didn’t expect that even this remote airport location would be so advanced in that regard.
Seeing his wife look so disappointed, and glancing at the meat simmering on the stove, Cheng Qian put down his pen and thought seriously for a moment. Then he tapped the table thoughtfully and said, “I might actually be able to find something like that.”
“Find what? Where?”
The moment she heard “collecting supplies,” Ke Bei’s eyes lit up.