Ke Bei actually had no idea whether the plane would land normally.
In her previous life, she and Cheng Qian met after this point. She naturally hadn’t thought to ask, and Cheng Qian wouldn’t have brought it up deliberately either.
What she said now was purely her own speculation.
But clearly, her speculation was not without basis.
Cheng Qian fell silent for a moment before saying, “No matter what, we have to go and check tomorrow.”
Ke Bei nodded.
She understood how seriously her husband, as a soldier, regarded military orders.
After storing everything from the shop into her space, the family of three opened the door and prepared to leave.
“Get me a piece of paper. I’ll write a ‘Temporarily Closed’ sign and hang it up,” Cheng Qian said helplessly as he stood at the entrance, facing the completely empty storefront.
Ke Bei responded with an “Mm,” casually taking out a pen and a sheet of copy paper and handing them to him.
Even though he already knew about it, seeing how skillfully she used her space still fascinated Cheng Qian, and he couldn’t help but glance at it again.
At that very moment, a burst of animal howls and shrieks suddenly rang out, mixed with people’s shocked cries.
“Look! The utility poles are covered with monkeys!”
“The trees too! Oh my God, even the rooftops!”
“Look at those birds!”
…
Cheng Qian looked up at the sound and saw about a dozen monkeys rapidly crawling along a high-voltage wire not far away.
Their movements were orderly and coordinated. They didn’t look like they were playing at all, it felt as if they were fleeing in groups.
Not only were there monkeys on the wires, but clusters of them were also sprinting across the tops of nearby trees and rooftops.
They were the same, older monkeys supporting the young, big ones leading the little ones, all sprinting together in groups.
Monkeys that would normally panic at the sight of crowds now paid no attention at all. Not a single one fell behind. They were all racing frantically toward the intercity highway.
Similar to the monkeys, a dense flock of dark birds flew low overhead, cawing loudly as they passed.
It was the hottest part of the day at noon, and normally there were hardly any pedestrians outside the auto parts market.
But faced with such a rare scene, many people ran out of their shops and gathered together to talk.
Some were amazed, some were frightened, and many connected it to the recent abnormal weather.
Every face carried an indescribable mix of shock and worry.
“Are there mountains nearby?” Ke Bei ignored the crowd and asked Cheng Qian.
“Yes. About eighty kilometers away there’s Luyun Mountain. These monkeys must have come from there. What could have happened for them to run this far?”
As he spoke, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. “The plants in the mountains have already started mutating!”
The words slipped out before he could stop them, and his expression changed.
“Most likely,” Ke Bei replied far more calmly. She simply responded, then picked up her son and said, “Let’s go quickly. Time is tight.”
By now, Cheng Qian had no mind to write any “Closed” notice.
Moreover, Deputy Chief of Staff Liang had specifically instructed him over the phone not to spread the news, fearing uncontrollable panic, so he couldn’t tell anyone what was happening.
He could only transfer two thousand yuan to the young helper who worked at the shop, tell him not to come in for the time being, and remind him to watch the news and stay safe.
So much had happened in just one morning that Cheng Qian couldn’t help but feel heavy-hearted.
But he hadn’t forgotten his promise to his son. After leaving the market, he drove straight to the nearest fast-food restaurant.
It was already past one in the afternoon, yet the restaurant was still crowded.
Although this place wasn’t far from the auto parts market, it seemed the people here had no idea what had just happened there.
Since it was summer vacation, there were many children in the restaurant, especially in the play area, where laughter and chatter never stopped. The whole place was filled with joy.
From the moment he walked in, Xiao Tian’s eyes couldn’t take everything in fast enough.
Everything here was incredibly novel to him, things he had never seen before.
The rich aroma in the air, so many children his age, the slide, the ball pit…
The little boy tightly gripped his mother’s hand, but his head kept turning toward the play area, his eyes full of envy and curiosity.
Seeing his son like this, Cheng Qian felt an indescribable ache in his heart.
He reached out and ruffled Xiao Tian’s hair. “Let’s eat first. After we finish, you can go play for a while.”
Ke Bei glanced at him and reminded, “We don’t have much time.”
For once, Cheng Qian disagreed. “It won’t matter to stay a little longer. Besides, I want to order more food. You can… store quite a lot, right?”
His voice was vague, but Ke Bei immediately understood. He meant buying extra fast food to store in her space for future needs.
So she said nothing more.
Cheng Qian went to order, while Ke Bei led her son to a seat farther inside.
She told Xiao Tian to sit and wait, then went to the restroom.
When she had been putting items into her space earlier, she had noticed a medical kit inside. Now she stepped into a stall, took it out, removed the bandage that had already been soaked through with blood, and rewrapped the wound.
By the time Ke Bei returned to the table, Cheng Qian was back as well. The table was filled with food, and Xiao Tian was happily gnawing on a fried chicken drumstick, his mouth greasy with oil.
Ke Bei immediately stepped forward to stop him, but Cheng Qian quickly pressed a cup of hot drink into her hands and said first, “I already took him to wash his hands. This is hot milk, drink some.”
As he spoke, he glanced at her leg. “You re-treated the wound? It’s okay, right?”
Ke Bei could only reply, “It’s fine.”
Seeing that she was about to take the chicken drumstick from Xiao Tian again, Cheng Qian pushed the family bucket toward her. “There’s more inside. Take whatever you want.”
After saying that, he rubbed his son’s head and smiled as he defended him, “Kids need to eat more meat. Let him eat.”
Being stopped twice, Ke Bei felt a little helpless.
She wasn’t trying to take the drumstick because his hands were dirty. To be honest, after years in the apocalypse, she had grown rather rough around the edges.
If Cheng Qian hadn’t mentioned it, she might not even have remembered to take Xiao Tian to wash his hands first.
After all, in a world of scarcity, whenever food was available, the first instinct was to get it into your stomach. Everything else could wait.
“I’m not stopping him because of hygiene. Before we came here, we were locked up in a research institute for nearly half a year. During those six months, Xiao Tian was monitored around the clock. He survived on daily injections of various nutrient solutions.
At most, they would let him drink a little sugar water or eat a small amount of rice paste to prevent his digestive system from shrinking. They gave him nothing else. He already ate chocolate just now. If he eats this much meat now, I’m afraid his stomach won’t be able to handle it.”
Ke Bei didn’t want to create conflict with her husband over something like this, so she spoke frankly about her concern.
“A research institute? What research institute? Why would they capture you?!”
Cheng Qian was utterly shocked.
Although Ke Bei spoke simply and calmly, from those few words he could already hear the inhuman treatment his wife and child had suffered.
At the thought of it, every muscle in his body tensed, and his presence turned sharp and fierce.
While they were speaking, Ke Bei had already taken the drumstick from Xiao Tian and handed him an opened box of mashed potatoes instead.
Sensing her husband’s fury, she reached out and patted the back of his hand in reassurance. “Don’t get worked up. It’s all in the past. Now isn’t the time to talk about it. When there’s time, I’ll tell you everything.”
After that, she glanced outside. “Is there a pharmacy nearby? I want to buy some backup medicine, just in case Xiao Tian gets diarrhea later… And we should prepare some wound medicine too.”
Cheng Qian was beside himself with rage.
Ke Bei’s words echoed in his ears.
He couldn’t even describe what he was feeling, shock, fury, heartache, and above all… helplessness.
When he thought about how this little boy, who would snuggle into his arms and call him “Daddy” in a soft, milky voice, had been treated as a test subject, monitored around the clock, not even allowed to eat properly, and perhaps subjected to other inhuman treatment…
His chest felt so tight it was about to explode.
It wasn’t until he felt the cool touch on the back of his hand that he calmed down slightly.
Cheng Qian instinctively looked at that thin, slightly cold little hand. Seeing the overlapping scars on her fingers, his heart ached sharply.
He already knew that in his previous life, he had disappeared in the fourth year of the apocalypse. That so-called disappearance likely meant he had died.
In the four years after his death, what kind of suffering had this mother and son endured?
Just imagining it made a chill run down his spine.
He turned his hand over and wrapped her small hand in his palm, squeezing it firmly, wanting to give her some warmth.
But the soft, unfamiliar sensation made him reflexively let go in a fluster.
At twenty-nine years old, this was the first time Cheng Qian had ever held the hand of a young woman. The feeling was simply too unfamiliar.
He awkwardly rubbed his fingers together, clenched his hand into a fist, and said quickly, “I’ll go buy the medicine. You don’t need to worry about it.”
As he spoke, he grabbed a burger from the side and stuffed it into Ke Bei’s hand. “This one’s a double-egg burger. I didn’t know what you’d like, so I bought a bit of everything. If you don’t like it, pick something else. You probably shouldn’t eat too much meat either, right? Here, there’s also some porridge.”
He pushed a bowl of preserved egg and lean pork porridge toward her.
It was obvious Cheng Qian had little experience interacting with women. In just this short time, his neck and the tips of his ears had already turned red.
He spoke rapidly, as if afraid that any pause would plunge him into embarrassment again. “I ordered a hundred boxed meals. I already spoke to the manager and asked them to rush it.
They promised it would be ready within an hour. There’s still time. Don’t worry, eat slowly. After you’re done, let Xiao Tian go play for a bit.”
As if worried Ke Bei might be concerned about the schedule, he pointed outside. “I’ll go to the gas station ahead to fill up, and pick up the medicine on the way. Don’t worry, it won’t delay anything. I’ll time it carefully and come back. Then we’ll go buy the other supplies together.”
Perhaps because his heart ached too much for them, Cheng Qian’s voice was unusually patient, his tone gradually softening.
That gentle yet steady manner made Ke Bei feel as though she had returned to the days when she and her husband had relied on each other for survival. It was as if she had once again found someone to lean on, and the tension that had gripped her heart finally eased.
After finishing his instructions, Cheng Qian left, leaving behind just the mother and son and a table full of food.
Because he rarely ate much, Cheng Tian’s stomach was actually very small.
He had just eaten a piece of chocolate wafer, then been coaxed into finishing half a box of mashed potatoes and a few mouthfuls of porridge. He was already completely full.
Seeing that there was still time, Ke Bei cleared the table and decided to personally take him to the play area.
The little boy had never played with toys before, let alone with so many children around his own age.
His eyes sparkled with excitement, his little face flushed red with joy.
He took off his shoes and stepped into the play area, then turned back and flashed his mother a radiant smile, making Ke Bei’s heart tighten painfully.
Suddenly, she felt that her husband’s decision was the right one. Let him play this once. This was the first carefree playtime since his birth, and perhaps the last.
In the apocalypse, living conditions were so harsh that very few children were born anymore.
Cheng Tian’s birth had also been unexpected for the couple. But since the child had come into their lives, they naturally did everything they could to raise him well.
Strictly speaking, the two of them had fairly good personal conditions. One had a spatial storage ability; the other, though he hadn’t awakened any special powers, had once been a special forces soldier with excellent combat skills, so he could usually hold his own against mutated beasts.
At the very least, they never had to worry about food and drink.
And yet, even so, over the course of eight years, their family still met with disaster one after another.
In fact, none of them had lived to see the end of the apocalypse.