Rebirth of the Last Days: Double Pets

Since they couldn’t fit any more large trees into the space, they took a lot of seeds instead before driving back to the city. They didn’t necessarily need to return to their home in the city, but since neither of them had awakened any abilities yet and the city still had a large number of armed police, they instinctively felt that it would be safer there than staying in this unfamiliar place.

When they reached the bridge, the only main road into the city, they saw that many armed police officers were stationed there with heavy firearms.

A line of vehicles was waiting to be checked.

“It looks like the city’s been sealed off,” Bai Qi remarked.

Tang Ruo used binoculars to look at the other end of the bridge. “There are so many cars, all stuck there. Who knows when it’ll be our turn?”

Bai Qi checked the time. It was already around three in the afternoon and judging by the situation in front of them, it would be at least three hours before they could get into the city.

In the apocalypse, the sky would get dark by four o’clock. Early-stage zombies feared sunlight and would hide in dark places.

Once night fell, any infected people who couldn’t hold on would turn into zombies. Facing zombies emerging from the darkness would be dangerous even if they had abilities, let alone the fact that neither of them had abilities yet and would likely start running a fever soon.

Bai Qi made a quick decision to turn the car around and leave. Otherwise, if more cars arrived behind them, they might get stuck in the middle and wouldn’t even be able to turn around.

Seeing that Bai Qi was driving in another direction, Tang Ruo couldn’t help but ask, “Where are we going to spend the night?”

“We need to find a suitable place, somewhere not too crowded, and the building needs to look sturdy,” Bai Qi replied.

Tang Ruo nodded and immediately picked up the binoculars to scout for potential places.

Half an hour later, they arrived at a large theater.

The theater was newly built and hadn’t officially opened yet, so all the seats were still covered with white protective covers.

Bai Qi used a flashlight to guide Tang Ruo to a small door in the backstage area on the second floor. It was a dressing room located at the back of the second floor, which made it seem the most hidden and secure.

Inside, the room was only about ten square meters. Apart from a makeup table, there was a three-square-meter dressing room and a one-square-meter window on the wall.

After entering, Bai Qi locked the door and pushed the makeup table against it to block it.

Tang Ruo took out a solar camping lamp and hung it on a clothing rack pulled out from the dressing room. With a flick of the switch, the whole room was brightly lit.

“We’ll spend the night here. We might need to stay for a few nights,” Bai Qi said as he placed his entrenching tool on the makeup table and pointed to the dressing room. “You can wash up in there.” He then walked to the window to look outside.

From the second floor, even if there was some unforeseen danger outside, jumping down wouldn’t likely cause any serious injuries.

Being able to retreat and defend is the first principle of choosing a resting place after the apocalypse when out hunting.

It was already dark outside. Although there were no residential areas near the theater, there were many government office buildings. Bai Qi couldn’t guarantee that zombies wouldn’t appear here.

Tang Ruo didn’t feel particularly sticky despite the day’s activities—they had only killed one zombie, after all. But she did feel hungry.

She pulled out the mattress and bedding while Bai Qi set up the bed, then used the two stools from the dressing room to make a makeshift table for dinner.

The room was small, and once they set everything up, it was packed.

They had eaten lunch in a greenhouse, but they had been too focused to eat properly, just drinking some water and quickly eating a couple of buns. Now it was four o’clock, and the sky was completely dark. They could vaguely hear the sound of rain outside.

Once Bai Qi finished making the bed, he saw that Tang Ruo had already laid out dinner.

“Is it raining outside?” Tang Ruo asked as she invited Bai Qi to eat.

“Yeah, and it doesn’t look like it’ll stop anytime soon.”

After this rain, the virus would spread even more, as the water supply would be thoroughly contaminated.

According to studies from the previous life, ordinary people had no chance of awakening abilities. The virus particles in the air after the apocalypse could enter the human body and modify it to some extent.

If the modification is successful, the person might awaken an ability under certain stimuli, like a fever. If not, they would either develop ordinary antibodies, remaining neither an ability user nor a zombie, or they would become zombies if their resistance was too weak.

Of course, if an ability user or an ordinary person was bitten or scratched by a zombie, they would also turn into zombies.

Dinner consisted of radish and pork rib soup, fish-flavored shredded pork, cucumber salad, and stir-fried celery with tofu.

After dinner, Bai Qi told Tang Ruo to go to bed early. When she hesitated, Bai Qi explained, “You had a fever yesterday, so you should sleep early tonight.”

Tang Ruo paused, then smiled, feeling a bit excited. “Isn’t it said that a fever might lead to awakening an ability? Does that mean I’ll awaken an ability too?”

Bai Qi didn’t want to dampen her spirits but said, “Aside from awakening an ability, there’s also the chance of turning into a zombie. It’s a fifty-fifty chance, with about a one percent probability of awakening an ability.”

Tang Ruo: “…”

That survival rate was brutal.

To avoid becoming part of the zombie horde after her rebirth, Tang Ruo decided it was best to get some sleep!

In the dark, sounds become more pronounced. The mix of zombie growls, rain, and occasional thunder made Tang Ruo, sitting on the bed, shrink back nervously. “Um… Bai Yan… Aren’t you supposed to have a fever too? Maybe you should sleep now too.”

At this point, morals, chastity, and life philosophy were all irrelevant. The mere thought of all those monsters outside was enough to make her feel uneasy.

Looking at Bai Qi’s handsome yet cold face, Tang Ruo suddenly felt a strong sense of security.

Between zombies and a handsome guy, naturally, she would choose the handsome guy.

Bai Qi, who had been looking out the window, turned around to see Tang Ruo’s anxious and slightly helpless expression, and he smiled faintly. “Alright.”

In his previous life, he had never experienced being cared for by someone else, nor had he thought of taking care of others.

But actually, surviving alone in the apocalypse was quite lonely.

Having someone to rely on and support each other—it wasn’t such a bad feeling.

Seeing him look at her, Tang Ruo felt her face heat up. To cover her embarrassment, she quickly took out two cups of walnut soy milk from her space and handed one to him. “The nights can get pretty cold.”

Due to her illness in her past life, Tang Ruo had become very attentive to health and nutrition, so she had stocked up on many warm drinks in her space for easy access.

Bai Qi took the soy milk, holding the warm cup in his hands. The rich aroma of red dates and the smooth flavor of walnuts filled the air. The world outside, cold and brutal as it was, seemed far away.

When Bai Qi saw Tang Ruo place her empty cup on the bedside table and look at him with cautious, hopeful eyes, he smiled. “Don’t worry, they won’t be able to get up to the second floor.”

It seemed that fate wasn’t so harsh after all, granting him a second chance to experience the warmth he had never known in his previous life.