Reborn in the Post-Apocalyptic World: Building Infrastructure

"Brother Sheng!"

Seeing the person sitting in the Land Rover, Han Qiang was instantly excited.

Sheng Hongye stepped on the gas and drove the car in.

The tremendous inertia sent the little zombie flying.

The man embraced the little zombie and shouted with blood-red eyes, "Son."

The little zombie whimpered and bared its blackish-green fangs at him.

The man didn't dodge, and his ferocious expression softened in an instant.

He extended his arm and brought it in front of the little zombie.

"Son, if you're hungry, go ahead and eat."

The little zombie's eyes widened slightly as it looked up at the man.

Su Ling couldn't help but feel surprised. Did the little zombie still recognize this man?

Then, it opened its mouth, aiming to bite the man.

Just as the little zombie was about to sink its teeth into the man's arm, a figure suddenly flew over.

Han Qiang was startled and kicked the little zombie away.

Su Ling immediately looked in Han Qiang's direction and saw Professor Bai extending his hands. She instantly understood that he had used his telekinesis ability to save the man.

With a thud, the little zombie fell to the ground but it quickly climbed back up, screeching.

The man, angered by his son being kicked, took out a lighter from his pocket.

Su Ling was frightened and tried to control the man, but the system indicated that the man was in a state of frenzy and couldn't be controlled.

"Professor Bai, quickly take away his lighter."

Sheng Hongye also rolled down the car window and shouted at them, "Get in the car."

Professor Bai immediately used his ability, but the man had already pressed the lighter's switch. As the lighter caught fire, Professor Bai didn't dare to grab it, and the lighter fell to the ground.

Several pieces of paper ignited instantly, and a flame sprang out from the ground.

Su Ling couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat and shouted, "Quick, get in the car."

Everyone hurriedly climbed into the car.

Sheng Hongye stepped on the gas again, and the car quickly moved back, leaving five or six meters in the blink of an eye.

Then they heard a loud bang from the house, and the raging flames soared, illuminating the sky.

Amidst the sea of fire, Su Ling vaguely saw the man tightly hugging his zombie son, seemingly trying to shield him with his own body. The next second, both of them were engulfed by the towering flames.

Everyone watched this scene without saying a word.

Su Ling's heart was also filled with complex emotions.

This man, whose name was unknown, was once a member of this city, but he had never received the city's recognition. Therefore, he harbored resentment, hating his own powerlessness and the coldness of people.

If someone could give him a little warmth, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

Unfortunately, this world never offers ambiguous choices to people.

From the moment he left his son, he was doomed to perish today.

Professor Bai couldn't help but sigh. "Truly a tragedy of the mortal world!"

Chen Yu sneered, "There is too much misery in the mortal world. Professor Bai has probably been sitting in the office for too long and has never experienced the life of ordinary people. When I was doing fieldwork, I encountered all kinds of weird people. You don't need to think too much about it."

Han Qiang then turned to Sheng Hongye. "Brother Sheng, how did you know we were here?"

Sheng Hongye withdrew his gaze but cast a meaningful glance at Su Ling.

"I sensed danger, so I came over."

Su Ling happened to look up, and their gazes met briefly before parting.

In that fleeting exchange, Su Ling saw some meaning that she couldn't quite understand.

Chen Yu immediately said, "Luckily, you came just in time. If you had been a little later, we would have been done for."

Sheng Hongye's voice grew slightly heavy. "Be more careful next time. Chen Yu is right; in this world, there are all sorts of people, including some extremists. If you don’t have anything more to search for, let's head back."

Su Ling felt somewhat tired. She brushed her hair back and said, "Let's go back. I'll drive my car."

Sheng Hongye stopped the car. "Han Qiang, accompany Su Ling."

"Okay."

Han Qiang got into Su Ling's Passat, and after driving for a while, he suddenly wondered, "Could it be that Brother Sheng has also gained abilities? Otherwise, how could he sense danger and find our exact location so accurately?"

Su Ling also found this strange and nodded, saying, "It's possible."

Han Qiang added, "I'll ask him when we get back."

The two chatted for a while and soon arrived at the base.

Perhaps because of witnessing the deaths of the father and son, Professor Bai was somewhat melancholic. He returned to his room, holding the seed, and didn't come out until dinnertime.

After dinner, he called Sheng Hongye out. Su Ling guessed he was inquiring about Su Rou and Li Xueying's whereabouts.

Standing by the window, Guan Yuxin said, "Professor Bai is really too sentimental. An elderly person should have a broad mind to live a long life."

Su Ling smiled and said, "Everyone has different personalities. We can't demand others to meet our own standards. Anyway, those who should have left have already left. How to handle things is all up to Sheng Hongye."

Speaking of Sheng Hongye, Guan Yuxin's gossiping spirit immediately reignited.

She leaned over and asked, "I heard you spent some time alone with Sheng Hongye. Did anything happen between you two?"

Su Ling rolled her eyes at her. "What do you think could have happened?"

Guan Yuxin's smile became even more ambiguous. "For example, hugging, kissing, touching?"

"Hug your head. I know he was drugged, so I went downstairs to get him a sedative. What's with you authors? Your heads are always filled with inappropriate thoughts."

Su Ling was about to strike, and Guan Yuxin immediately laughed and ran away.

"In the minds of us authors, everything is pure. If you dare to say, it's you who's getting defensive."

This time, Su Ling was genuinely annoyed and turned to catch Guan Yuxin.

The door opened at that moment, and Gu Kai Xuan poked his little head in from outside.

"Auntie, what are you all playing that makes you so happy?" he asked.

Su Ling replied solemnly, "We're playing a game of eating, sleeping, and beating Auntie Guan."

Gu Kai Xuan immediately ran inside, his face full of anticipation. "Really? Is it fun?"

Guan Yuxin reached out and picked up Gu Kai Xuan. "Don't listen to your Aunt Su's nonsense. She's just teasing you."

"Oh," Gu Kai Xuan suppressed his smile, disappointment evident in his eyes.

Then, as if remembering something, he said, "Aunt Su, my uncle is looking for you downstairs."

An extremely ambiguous smile appeared on Guan Yuxin's face.

"Is there something going on? From now on, you two will be my CP. But please, don't become 'BE', okay?" ¹CP stands for couple or character pairing. In online fandom communities, it refers to a fictional romantic or platonic pairing of characters from books, TV shows, movies, or other forms of media. ²BE as in bad ending.

Su Ling had no idea what Guan Yuxin was talking about, but she knew it probably wasn't anything good. She glared at her and then left.

Beneath the damaged stairs, Su Ling saw Sheng Hongye.

He casually leaned against the wall, holding a half-smoked cigarette between his long fingers.

It was the first time Su Ling had seen him smoke. His sharp and handsome face was partially obscured by the wisps of smoke, giving off an enigmatic aura.

When Sheng Hongye noticed Su Ling approaching, he threw away the half-smoked cigarette and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

In a low voice, he said, "I'm sorry about yesterday."

 

Notes:

[1] CP stands for couple or character pairing. In online fandom communities, it refers to a fictional romantic or platonic pairing of characters from books, TV shows, movies, or other forms of media.

[2] BE as in bad ending.