Wen Lan’s breathing immediately became uneven when she heard her brother’s question.
Her fingers unconsciously intertwined as she desperately searched for an excuse.
Because she knew she could no longer hide it from him.
Wen Che had already noticed every one of her little movements.
“Wen Lan.”
Normally, her brother called her Lanlan or A—Lan.
Whenever he called her by her full name…
Wen Lan didn’t even dare look at his face.
She hardly dared to breathe.
Their father had died in the line of duty, and after that, their mother remarried.
Her brother had raised her since she was little.
He had been both strict and endlessly protective.
Out of the corner of her eye, Wen Lan saw Wen Che’s Adam’s apple bob violently twice. His hands gripping the steering wheel turned pale from the force.
“I…”
She was still trying to think of an excuse.
If it had been anyone else, she could have lied without hesitation.
But this was the brother who had raised her.
The veins at Wen Che’s temples throbbed violently, as though a dull blade were twisting inside his skull.
Suddenly, he remembered what those people had said.
“Was it that bastard Zhou Feng? Did he do something to you?!”
When he had gone looking for his sister, he had overheard those men saying that sooner or later Wen Lan would come crying and begging Zhou Feng to sleep with her.
“Damn it! I should’ve killed him back then!”
Regret consumed him.
At the time, he had only beaten Zhou Feng half to death because he had been too desperate to find Wen Lan.
“It wasn’t Zhou Feng! It wasn’t him!”
Wen Lan immediately denied it.
The truck jolted violently.
Wen Che pulled over to the side of the road.
Turning around, he stared straight at his sister.
“Then who was it?”
He couldn’t believe that the little sister he had always protected had actually…
The thought alone made a raging fire erupt inside his chest.
“Who was that bastard? I’ll kill him.”
Wen Che believed his sister had been assaulted.
She had always been beautiful.
Ever since she was young, countless men had pursued her.
“It’s all my fault… I failed to protect you.”
His eyes turned bloodshot. Veins bulged on his forehead as he slammed a fist against the truck window.
His fury was quickly swallowed by overwhelming guilt.
As expected…
She hadn’t been able to keep it from her brother for long.
Wen Lan decided to tell him everything.
“Brother… I’ve actually been looking for a chance to tell you…”
“I was planning to wait until we reached the safe zone.”
She hadn’t expected him to figure it out after only a few days.
“I got pregnant before the apocalypse.”
“It’s been three months.”
“As for the father… I don’t remember who he is.”
“But… I don’t think he forced me.”
“If anything… I think I might’ve forced him?”
“That day, our company had a dinner party. I drank far too much.”
“When I got downstairs to my apartment, Sun Hao came looking for me again.”
Sun Hao was a rich second—generation heir.
“Sun Hao? How dare he!”
Wen Che’s anger flared again.
How could that brat dare lay a finger on his sister?
“No.”
“Sun Hao tried to help me upstairs, but another man chased him away.”
“After that… I don’t remember anything.”
“My head hurt so much.”
Even now, she couldn’t tell whether it had been the alcohol or something else.
“So… you don’t even know who the baby’s father is?”
Wen Che’s face darkened.
“The moment I find out who he is, he’ll be the first person I kill.”
“…”
Wen Lan rubbed her nose awkwardly.
Thinking back, it seemed like she had been the one who took the initiative.
She really couldn’t remember.
The hallway had been too dark.
The only thing she remembered clearly was that his muscles had felt… very nice.
Wen Lan answered honestly.
Knowing his sister as well as he did, Wen Che could tell she wasn’t lying.
She truly didn’t remember who the baby’s father was.
His fists tightened.
Silently, he swore that he would find the man who had wronged his sister.
But seeing her now…
Seeing that she was carrying a child…
He forcibly suppressed the anger burning inside him.
“Don’t tell anyone about this for now.”
“Don’t be afraid.”
“You have your brother.”
“I’ll protect both of you.”
Wen Lan’s eyes instantly grew moist, tears welling up.
He had said “both of you.”
That meant…
He had already accepted her baby.
The walkie—talkie crackled.
“What’s going on? Old Wen, why haven’t you moved yet?”
“We’re coming!”
Wen Che steadied his emotions before starting the truck again.
This time, however, he drove much more slowly and carefully.
“Everyone has to undergo a physical examination when they enter the safe zone.”
“I’ll find a way to hide your pregnancy for the time being.”
Wen Lan was confused.
Wouldn’t it be safer to be pregnant inside the safe zone?
At least she’d be free from the threat of zombies.
Seeing the puzzled look on his sister’s face, Wen Che explained,
“Pregnant women don’t receive any special treatment in the safe zone.”
“The safe zone is still in chaos. The city walls need to be built, and everything has to be reconstructed.”
Gold and silver were nothing more than piles of scrap metal now.
No one would even bother picking them up off the ground.
“Okay.”
When it came to things like this, she’d simply listen to her brother.
Even after they returned to the safe zone, he intended to keep her by his side.
Rain began to fall during the journey home.
Leaning against the truck seat, Wen Lan soon fell fast asleep.
Her earphones rested against her stomach, playing children’s stories.
The energy her babies returned to her continued nourishing her body without pause.
Roar! Roar!
A huge wild boar suddenly burst out from beside the highway.
It was a mutated boar.
Much larger than an ordinary pig, it weighed at least a thousand kilograms.
Its formerly clumsy body now moved with astonishing speed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Zhou Wen fired several shots from his handgun.
The bullets barely affected the mutated boar.
“Don’t let it hit the trucks!”
Su Han frowned and immediately shouted.
“Wen Lan, stay in the truck!”
With that, Wen Che drew his blade and charged out.
Roar! Roar!
There wasn’t just one mutated boar.
Seven or eight more charged out from behind it.
Each one was enormous.
They crushed the roadside guardrails and snapped utility poles in half.
“Help! Help!”
The truck in front was slammed onto its side by one of the mutated boars.
Wang Zhenzhen, Professor Zhang, and the others were trapped inside.
One of the female boars charged straight toward Wen Lan’s truck.
Wen Che slashed at the beasts, carving deep wounds into them.
Yet not a single drop of blood flowed.
Nor did they seem to feel pain.
One of the researchers managed to crawl out of the overturned truck.
Terrified, he turned and ran.
Instead of chasing Wen Che, a mutated boar immediately went after the fleeing man.
It tackled him to the ground in an instant.
Zhang Ye hurled blazing fireballs at the monsters.
But they felt no pain.
Instead, one of the boars simply caught fire…
…and crashed directly into Wen Lan’s truck.
“Wen Lan!”
Faintly, she heard someone call her name in alarm.
Shattered glass exploded inward.
It had been flying straight toward her—
—but every shard suddenly changed direction.
Not a single piece struck her.
With her heightened perception, Wen Lan clearly sensed a surge of psychic power.
It’s him!
Boom!
The mutated boar overturned the truck.
Wen Lan’s passive ability activated instantly.
Her perception expanded to its limit.
The boar’s neck emitted a faint glow.
Under her perception ability, her reaction speed surpassed that of ordinary people.
It was as though infrared vision had been activated.
Gripping the knife her brother had given her, she twisted her body and drove it into the mutated boar’s neck.
Wen Lan’s strength was tremendous.
That single slash nearly severed the beast’s massive head.
Half its neck split open, revealing a brilliantly glowing energy crystal inside.
“A—Lan!”
Wen Che’s breathing turned ragged.
Everything had happened too fast.
In the blink of an eye.
Terrified that something had happened to his sister, his back was already drenched in cold sweat.
The mutated boar slammed into his arm.
His face turned ashen as he barely twisted aside to avoid its second charge.
“Brother! Their weak point is the neck! There’s an energy crystal here!”
Wen Che understood instantly.
His next strike carried every ounce of his strength as he chopped toward the back of the boar’s neck.
By then, Wen Lan had already climbed out of the overturned truck.
She noticed several cuts on her hands, blood slowly seeping from them.
But in the blink of an eye…
The bleeding wounds began healing before her eyes.
The pain remained.
Yet the injuries had already closed.
Wen Lan stared in shock.
Only then did she realize her ability had evolved again.
After absorbing the pink energy crystal, her babies had returned a new ability to her—
Self—healing.
Once Wen Lan had identified the mutated boars’ weakness, Wen Che, Su Han, Zhang Ye, and the others worked together with flawless coordination.
They quickly killed the remaining mutated boars.
Ji Feng’s tremendous strength allowed him to chop off one boar’s head with a single strike.
“The energy crystals inside these mutated boars aren’t round.”
Their crystals were only the size of fingernails.
Yet the beasts possessed overwhelming strength.
Among them, only Ji Feng could match the mutated boars in raw power.
“I wonder if the meat from mutated animals is edible.”
Ji Feng looked at the pile of enormous boars.
Before the apocalypse, each one would have been worth at least several thousand yuan.
He licked his lips.
He suddenly craved a hearty pork feast.
It had been so long since he’d eaten a hot meal.
“The safe zone is still researching mutated animals.”
“We don’t know whether eating their meat is harmful to humans.”
One of the agricultural researchers explained.
Unfortunately, one member of the research team had died.
The others had only suffered minor injuries from the overturned truck.
The truck itself had tipped over as well, but fortunately all the equipment had been securely fastened and remained undamaged.
Ji Feng and the others worked together to right the truck.
Zhang Ye, Zhou Wen, and Wen Che inspected the vehicles.
The cargo truck was still functional.
The smaller vehicle, however, was beyond repair.
In the end, everyone squeezed into the back of the cargo truck and continued toward the safe zone together.
Su Han walked over to Wen Che.
“You should rest for a while.”
“I’ll drive.”
Wen Che nodded.
He had been struck on the arm while fighting the mutated boars.
Though the injury wasn’t serious, it still throbbed faintly.
“Su Han, drive slowly.”
“My sister gets carsick.”
“I know.”
“…?”
Wen Che looked at him in confusion.
“Brother, should I go sit in the back with you?”
“No.”
“It’s too crowded back there.”
“Just hang in there a little longer. We’ll reach the safe zone soon.”
How could Wen Che bear to let his sister suffer?
As for Su Han…
He trusted him completely.
Wen Che knew exactly what kind of person Su Han was.
Back then, it had been Su Han who had overruled everyone’s objections and insisted on making the detour to rescue his sister.
The bruise on Wen Che’s arm wasn’t what hurt.
What he needed now was time to calm himself.
His sister’s situation had made him realize…
He still wasn’t strong enough.
In the safe zone…
In this apocalypse…
It was already incredibly difficult for one person to survive alone.
Now he had to become not only his sister’s support—
—but also the support for his future niece or nephew.
And someday…
He still had to find the man responsible.
Rubbing his temples, Wen Che felt the burden on his shoulders grow even heavier.
He knew that with his current strength, protecting his sister might be possible.
But protecting both his pregnant sister…
…and a helpless newborn…
That would be unimaginably difficult.
His sister was pregnant now.
Finding a way to make her stronger had become another pressing problem.
Inside the truck…
Su Han rested one arm casually outside the window while steering with the other.
The windshield had shattered so badly that they had simply removed the remaining glass.
Wen Lan stole a glance at him.
She remembered how those flying shards of glass had suddenly changed direction.
She wanted to thank him.
But after hesitating…
She decided against it.
If she thanked him, wouldn’t Su Han realize she could sense the psychic scans he kept directing at her?
Until she figured out why he was doing it, she didn’t want to alert him.
In just half a day, the Polygonum multiflorum had completely absorbed the black energy crystal.
Its leaves still looked withered on the surface.
But its roots had become much thicker and stronger.
It seemed she’d have to keep searching for more black energy crystals.
Soon, the tiny cup wouldn’t be big enough anymore.
She’d have to transplant it into a larger container.
Preferably a sturdier pot.
As the Polygonum multiflorum grew stronger, her babies could absorb even more of its energy.
Wen Lan quietly waited for the energy they would return to her.
Her babies’ ability seemed to be absorption.
They could absorb any kind of energy.
As her vitality steadily increased, Wen Lan’s lips became softer and rosier.
Her hair also gradually turned darker, thicker, and more lustrous.
…
Sitting beside Su Han in the front seat, neither of them spoke.
An awkward silence filled the air.
Whenever she was around him, Wen Lan always had the strange feeling that he was constantly watching her.
“Want to listen to some music?”
“Sure.”
Su Han took out his phone and played it over the speakers.
“Grandpa Sun is smiling bright, little birds are chirping light…”
It was actually a children’s song…
“You like these, don’t you?”
“…”
Lately, every time Wen Lan played something, it was either children’s stories or nursery rhymes.
It wasn’t unreasonable for people to assume she liked them.
She might as well let them think she simply had a childlike heart.
“I do.”
As long as the babies liked them.
To her surprise, Su Han didn’t just play the song.
He even began humming along.
His soft humming carried a trace of psychic energy.
Wen Lan instantly felt a surge of energy racing through her body, replenishing her at incredible speed.
Her eyes widened.
She carefully sensed the changes inside her body.
The returned energy…
Had doubled?
Her babies were giving back twice as much energy again.
Was it because Su Han was humming a nursery rhyme?
Looks like I’ll have to sing to them more often too.
After finishing the song, Su Han stopped humming.
The rapid flow of returned energy gradually slowed again.
It dropped from ten times the normal rate…
…back down to twice the usual amount.
“Captain Su, you have a really nice singing voice.”
“…Mm.”
Wen Lan glanced sideways at him.
He remained focused on driving, eyes fixed on the road.
His jawline was sharp as if carved by a blade, and his prominent Adam’s apple was clearly visible.
With his exceptionally keen psychic senses, Su Han naturally noticed that Wen Lan had been secretly looking at him.
Only after she looked away…
…did the tips of his ears quietly turn red.
“Captain Su, what other songs can you sing?”
“The national anthem.”
“…”
“The nursery rhyme you just hummed was really nice.”
Wen Lan wanted to verify whether her babies’ enhanced energy return had truly been triggered by Su Han’s singing.
She hoped he would sing another song.
Unfortunately…
Su Han refused to open his mouth again.
She decided she’d ask her brother to sing a nursery rhyme someday and see what happened.
Could it be that after hearing her tell stories every day…
…the babies had simply grown tired of her voice?