Rebirth of the Last Days: Double Pets

Hu Haotian gathered everyone to discuss the plan for returning home. There would certainly be obstacles on the way back; after all, the apocalypse had only begun a little over a month ago, and many people would be fleeing to the military like they had.

On the way there, there weren’t many vehicles, but they could already see many cars stuck on the opposite side of the road.

“If it really comes to it, we can bypass it by going through the nearby towns,” Hu Haotian said, studying the map before handing it to everyone.

Liu Bing sighed, “With road conditions like this, we might not even make it back with enough power for three days.”

Hu Haotian pointed to a rural road in the southern district. “Why don’t we take this road? It’s only about fifty more kilometers. If the road conditions are good, it might take just a day. If we get stuck on the national road, it will be even more troublesome, and we can’t fly.”

Everyone sat together to discuss the plan and agreed it was feasible, especially since there didn’t seem to be a better option at the moment.

Bai Qi, sitting on the desk, looked at everyone and curiously said, “Why not just drive back on the opposite side of the road?”

Everyone: “…”

Why didn’t anyone think of that!

China has very strict traffic regulations, with roads divided by guardrails and plenty of greenery.

Anyone who violates traffic rules doesn’t just get points deducted or fined. The absurd laws clearly state that offenders could be imprisoned for a fixed term, as if they were worse than pigs or dogs!

When it came to the habits formed over twenty or even thirty or forty years, no one really thought about driving back on the same route they had taken.

Since the road issue was resolved, they moved on to discuss the next problem: how to transport the solar panels back and install them on the roofs, as well as how to retrieve and install the freezer…

While a group of big men was busy discussing the plan, Tang Ruo was in deep trouble.

She hadn’t originally planned to take a bath here, but later thought that after a day of moving goods, she was covered in sweat. Moreover, the water had the effect of enhancing her abilities, so she took out the bathtub to soak.

At first, everything was fine as usual, but soon she felt a splitting headache.

This was a sign of overexerting her abilities; she knew that. But if she had used her abilities, that would be one thing. Why was she experiencing this while soaking in water?

‘Upgrading her abilities.’

That was the first thing Tang Ruo thought of. Not daring to delay, she quickly stood up and got dressed.

If it really was an upgrade, wouldn’t she need to meditate properly?

Well, she had never upgraded before, so she didn’t really understand.

However, meditating was definitely better than upgrading while soaking naked in the bathtub.

After hurriedly putting on her clothes, she realized it wasn’t just a headache anymore; it felt as if a force inside her was about to burst out.

Clearly, Bai Qi’s upgrade wasn’t like this.

Tang Ruo quickly sat down on the bed and used her mental power to sort out that force within her.

She felt a bit scared and anxious about the unknown.

If Bai Qi were here right now, would it help ease some of that panic?

However, at this moment, there was no time for her to think further. That force was converging from all directions within her body to her mind. At this point, her entire meridian system was spasming, causing her immense pain. She felt alternating waves of cold and heat inside, as if thousands of ants were gnawing at her, making her nauseous and on the verge of vomiting.

Tang Ruo concentrated her mental power to block that cold force. This could ease the pain slightly, but only for a moment, as it quickly dissipated. She couldn’t care much; any reduction in pain was worth it, so she continued to use her mental power to shield herself from it.

As time passed, various noisy sounds entered her ears—voices discussing in the next room and the distant growls of zombies outside…

When she exhausted her last bit of mental power and still couldn’t dispel that pain, she stood up, intending to go next door to find Bai Qi.

Even if she were to die, she should at least see him one last time.

Unfortunately, her whole body was trembling, her limbs were weak, and after staggering a few steps, her legs went soft, causing her to lunge toward the door: “Bai Yan…”

“Bang…” She collided with the glass door, producing a dull thud.

This sound caught Bai Qi’s attention from the next room, and he immediately stood up.

“Brother Bai?” The others were discussing something and didn’t notice the noise from next door.

“You all continue chatting; I’ll go check on Xiao Ruo.” Bai Qi didn’t linger and almost instantly left the room.

Tian Hai also stood up and quickly followed him out.

Everyone exchanged glances, wanting to go next door to see what was going on.

Hu Haotian stopped them, saying, “This is their business; they might not want us to interfere. If they need anything, they should call for us. It’s better for us to sit and wait rather than barging in and making things awkward for everyone.”

After considering Hu Haotian’s words, the others agreed and didn’t go over.

The door to the small office was locked from the inside, but to Bai Qi, these locks were nothing; he opened them effortlessly.

However, upon seeing Tang Ruo collapsed on the floor inside, Bai Qi’s heart skipped a beat, and he rushed over to help her up: “Tang Ruo?”

“Sister?” Tian Hai also saw Tang Ruo collapsed on the floor and quickly rushed over.

Bai Qi said, “Close the door and lock it.”

Tian Hai turned back to lock the door. By the time he returned, Bai Qi had already carried Tang Ruo to the bed that had been laid out.

“Bai, Brother Bai, what happened to Sister Tang?”

Bai Qi felt uncertain himself; he didn’t know what was wrong with Tang Ruo.

He checked her breathing and found that she still had a pulse, but it was quite weak. Bai Qi also felt her forehead and found no signs of fever.

Unable to determine what was happening, Bai Qi looked up and said directly, “You need to go outside and tell them we’re fine, so they can rest.”

Tian Hai hesitated, saying, “Brother Bai, but Sister Tang…”

“I need to check if she has any injuries or anything, so you have to go out first. Do you understand?”

Only then did Tian Hai blush and walk out, still looking back anxiously as he left: “Brother Bai, if anything happens, call me immediately. I’ll sleep by the door tonight.”

Bai Qi nodded.

Once Tian Hai returned, he was immediately met with questions from everyone in the large office.

“What happened to Xiao Tang?”

“Is she okay?”

“Does she need help?”

“We have some Honghua oil and cooling oil here; should we bring it over?”

Tian Hai unified his response, indicating that Sister Tang was probably just too tired and had fainted, reassuring everyone that she was fine and thanking them for their concern.

However, everyone noticed that he still looked very worried, so they began to comfort him again.

As soon as Tian Hai left, Bai Qi locked the door and undressed Tang Ruo completely.

If Tang Ruo were awake now, she would probably accuse him of being a pervert on the spot.

On her fair skin, besides the bruises from rolling off the bed, there were no other injuries. However, there were indeed a lot of bruises, and compared to what Bai Qi had seen when he had previously rubbed her arms, it was like comparing a minor issue to a major one.

“Xiao Ruo? Xiao Ruo…” Bai Qi couldn’t figure out why she was unconscious, and he realized he was starting to think irrationally.

Could she wake up now…

Though he was worried, he hadn’t lost his sense of reason.

A person with her abilities shouldn’t suddenly encounter such an accident.

Yet, his hands unconsciously tightened around her.

He had thought that this person would always be by his side.

Now…

Bai Qi buried his face deeply into her shoulder, remaining motionless until dawn.