Chapter 47
The number above Shen Zheng’s head was 88%, while Yi Qi’s had originally been around 70%, and now it was still gradually rising along with Shen Zheng’s emotions.
Seeing it this way, there was no point hiding anything anymore.
Better to keep it short and direct.
“There’s no Doraemon. There’s only Dora-A-Guanguan.”
Wei Cheng picked up the equally waistless little chubby Guanguan. “Show them.”
Guanguan kicked his short, plump legs, eager to try. “Okay!”
The very next second, little Guanguan vanished from his brother’s arms.
Yi Qi’s face changed dramatically. His jaw nearly dropped. “Where’s Guanguan?!”
“Guanguan!” Shen Zheng got even more worked up. Clutching his wound, he nearly jumped right off the gurney.
Yi Qi was startled too and quickly stopped him. “Don’t move around!”
No sooner had he said that than Guanguan reappeared out of thin air in his brother’s arms, holding a cream bun in his mouth.
“Ta-da! Guanguan is right here!”
Wei Cheng smiled and rubbed his little head. Even in the short time he had gone in, this child still had not forgotten to grab something tasty.
The expressions on Yi Qi and Shen Zheng’s faces shifted from shock and confusion, to horror, then to dazed uncertainty over whether they were even still alive.
Calmly, Wei Cheng said, “Don’t doubt it. You’re both alive.”
“All of this exists because of Guanguan. He has a magical and mysterious escape vehicle. By completing missions, it helps us stockpile supplies and escape danger.”
“Finding contract companions is one of our newest missions.”
He paused, then added, “Even without that mission, Guanguan and I would still have saved you, because you’ve sincerely treated Guanguan well.”
“To become Guanguan’s contract companions, your loyalty has to reach 80%. We don’t know exactly how this loyalty is judged. The system has its own standards. Once bound, you’ll be able to ride the escape vehicle with us. From now on, you’ll no longer have to risk your lives for supplies, and Guanguan will make sure you live well. Whether you bind or not, if you reveal our secret, your memory will be erased and you’ll be plagued by bad luck.”
“Wait!”
Shen Zheng looked astonished. “Chengcheng, why… why do your words come with subtitles?”
Several lines of text about the rules for contract companions were actually floating right in front of his eyes.
Below them were two buttons: Agree and Disagree.
Yi Qi looked up. “What subtitles? Where?”
Wei Cheng handed the number cards to Guanguan. “What number is above Uncle Yi’s head right now?”
“Let Guanguan see!”
Like a little professor, Guanguan was extremely serious and precise, pointing with the number cards.
“This one, and this one!”
75%.
It really was rising fast.
Wei Cheng added more fuel to the fire. “After becoming a contract companion, Uncle Shen’s body will be cared for much better. Anti-inflammatory medicine, supplements—everything he needs will be available.”
Yi Qi was tempted.
Guanguan piped up, “It turned into a little gourd!”
Only then did Yi Qi suddenly see several floating lines of golden text.
They recognized every word, but when read together, they felt wildly absurd.
If they became contract companions, they would step onto a path of survival far easier and happier than before?
In the apocalypse, having enough food and clothes, plus escape tools—how was that any different from winning five million?
It was miraculous, truly miraculous.
Shen Zheng suddenly remembered the bullet that had originally been headed straight for his heart, and Yi Qi remembered being surrounded by three enormously strong zombies yet not receiving even a scratch.
Could it be that Guanguan had been helping them all along?
And they had been trapped in the hospital so long that, given enough time, their lives would absolutely have been in danger. By then, no one could have saved them. It was only because Chengcheng had shown up in time.
For a child to risk himself alone and enter the hospital to rescue them—such a debt of gratitude could never be forgotten, not even in death.
Their hearts surged like a stormy sea, and both of them firmly pressed Agree.
[Congratulations! Two contract companions have been successfully bound!]
[In the future, even in a dangerous apocalypse, the little house owner will still enjoy love and care from elders. You will grow up healthy, and learn both how to love and be loved. Please move forward bravely!]
[Reminder: Please complete Mission 2 as soon as possible: Find the optimal shelter and build a base of your own! Success will earn a generous Twist Coin reward!]
The system’s words sounded only in Guanguan’s and Wei Cheng’s ears.
“Brother! Brother!”
Guanguan’s eyes sparkled. “Does that mean Uncle Shen and the other uncle will always stay with Guanguan?”
“Yes. And the two uncles will watch Guanguan grow up.”
Guanguan cheered. “Yay!”
Shen Zheng and Yi Qi exchanged a look and both smiled too.
At last, life had something to look forward to.
Still, watching the two children and Little Apricot disappear right in front of them again, they could not quite get used to it. It all felt like they were in some sci-fi movie.
And they were part of the main cast!
Shen Zheng obediently leaned against the headboard, and the more he thought about it, the luckier he felt. “In our last life, we must’ve been good people. Otherwise how could something this good happen to us?”
“You’re the good person. I’m just benefiting from your luck.” Yi Qi adjusted the drip speed on the IV.
A little curious, Shen Zheng asked, “The kids still haven’t explained it—what does it mean that the number above your head keeps fluctuating?”
Yi Qi kept a straight face. “Oh. I have high blood pressure.”
Shen Zheng was speechless. “Get lost.”
Wei Cheng and Guanguan returned to the safehouse to prepare lunch.
When Wei Cheng came out after washing up, he found Guanguan holding the puppy and opening a surprise egg.
Inside the egg was either an Ultraman or a little monster, plus half a shell of chocolate cream.
Walking over while drying his hair, he said, “Lunch is almost ready. Don’t eat chocolate, okay? And Little Apricot definitely can’t eat it.”
Guanguan lifted his little head. “Brother, this makes teeth go bad. Baby won’t eat it!”
“So good.” Still worried the puppy might accidentally eat some, Wei Cheng gathered up all the chocolate and put it away.
He went to the mall and bought a freshwater fish to steam for the patient. Then he bought some fresh celery and prepared to make a stir-fried shrimp and celery dish. Guanguan was picky, but he actually ate a fair amount of crunchy celery. Finally, he picked out two portions of warm Four Happiness Meatballs from the prepared foods section of the mall.
As for the staple food, Shen Zheng would have vegetable porridge, while they would eat white rice.
Half an hour later, Wei Cheng and Guanguan came out of the safehouse carrying lunch boxes and a little table.
“Time to eat! Time to eat!”
Yi Qi hurried over to help take the table, while Wei Cheng opened the lunch boxes one by one.
The rich aroma of sauced meat made both Shen Zheng and Yi Qi swallow unconsciously.
It smelled incredible!
“Once Uncle Shen’s injury heals, we’ll all eat barbecue together.” Wei Cheng handed the warm vegetable porridge to Yi Qi.
“Barbecue?” Shen Zheng sighed. “Barbecue, hotpot, crayfish… it all feels like something from a past life.”
Guanguan bit a big gap into one of the Four Happiness Meatballs and raised his plump little hand. “Uncle, then Guanguan will let you eat little lamb meat and little cow meat every day!”
Shen Zheng laughed. “Sounds good. From now on, Uncle will follow Guanguan and eat the good life.”
“But you can’t eat meat every day, otherwise…”
While feeding Shen Zheng the porridge, Yi Qi smiled and said, “…otherwise not only will Guanguan have no waist, eventually he won’t even have a neck.”
Guanguan bared his teeth. “Uncle, baby can hear you, okay!”
Weren’t people supposed to gossip behind someone’s back?
Wei Cheng laughed so hard he nearly lost it. “Come on, let’s finish this small bowl of celery shrimp and let Uncle Yi see who’s really amazing!”
Guanguan gripped his child-sized chopsticks and huffed angrily. “Watch Guanguan be amazing!”
After lunch, Guanguan stayed with Shen Zheng and chatted, while Wei Cheng and Yi Qi refueled the ambulance and also prepared some visible supplies and medicine.
Yi Qi asked, “This gasoline too…?”
“This isn’t from the system.”
Wei Cheng tossed the empty fuel drums back into the safehouse basement. “Guanguan and I got it off the highway. We also got a lot of black coal.”
Yi Qi already knew everything that had happened at Highland Shelter the night before. Under those circumstances, for Wei Cheng to successfully get himself and his little brother out without revealing their secret had already been extraordinary. And on top of that, he had still had the foresight to gather gasoline and coal…
“You really don’t act like an eight-year-old.”
“Don’t treat me like a child.”
Wei Cheng wiped his hands with a wet wipe. “From now on, if something comes up, we discuss it together.”
Yi Qi nodded in agreement. “Of course. Guanguan is still so little, and everything here now depends on your planning. Those two key explosions at the hospital today alone—not everyone could’ve predicted those in advance…”
He pressed down the fuel tank cover, leaving a layer of grime on his hand. “So how old should I think of you as?”
Wei Cheng gave him a flat look, tossed the whole pack of wet wipes into his arms, and walked ahead in big strides.
“Nineteen.”
—
Six hours later, the ambulance reached Fenglin Mountain before dark.
Qingyuan Summer Retreat Guesthouse sat at the foot of the mountain, hidden among dense groves of bamboo and forest. More than ten kilometers farther ahead was a half-developed tourist town.
When the flood had broken out and the extreme heat followed, the construction crews on the town had all retreated. Now the place was deserted, reduced to broken walls and ruins.
“Dayuan’s parents didn’t have him until they were in their forties. He was their precious late-born son. Those two old folks really loved him to the bone. Back in college, Shen Zheng and I got plenty of their kindness too. We graduated and became exhausted wage slaves, while that brat went straight to being a rich second-generation heir.”
“His parents were related to one of the town developers. I heard they were going to build this place into a tourist town, so the family built a mountain retreat at the base here. Nobody imagined the guesthouse would be finished less than half a year before the world turned into this mess.”
Yi Qi jumped down from the vehicle. “But now money is just waste paper. At least there’s still a house.”
Gray walls stretched endlessly, and the guesthouse gate had an old Song-style feel to it.
Wei Cheng stayed in the vehicle to protect Guanguan and Uncle Shen, who were both asleep, while Yi Qi stepped forward and knocked.
Before long, voices sounded outside.
“Chengcheng, open the door.”
Wei Cheng quickly slid open the rear vehicle door and saw an elderly couple and a young man in his twenties.
“Oh my, what happened to Ah Zheng!” The old woman covered her mouth, eyes already red.
“Auntie Bai, don’t worry. Xiao Zheng is fine.”
The ambulance could not drive into the courtyard, so Yi Qi and the young man carried Shen Zheng inside together.
Wei Cheng got out with Guanguan in his arms, with the little black dog trailing at his feet.
Inside, the guesthouse was full of old-style charm: blue stone paving, two-story wooden inn-like buildings, and a row of black-tiled wooden cottages opposite, with strips of white cloth hanging under the eaves.
The old man glanced at the old woman and sighed. “There are two children too…”
Yi Qi and the young man, Amin, moved Shen Zheng into a bed on the first floor, then made several more trips to carry inside the equipment they needed and the luggage for all of them.
Auntie Bai said, “There are six rooms total—three upstairs and three downstairs. Since Ah Zheng is injured, don’t move him around anymore. You all can stay downstairs with the children. Old Zong and I will stay in the cottage across the way.”
“What’s all this noise?” An impatient female voice sounded from upstairs.
Auntie Bai hurried over to the foot of the stairs. “Nuan Nuan, did we wake you? It’ll be quiet in a minute. Dinner will be ready soon, and Auntie will bring it up to you, okay?”
Amin looked somewhat embarrassed. “Auntie Bai, my girlfriend can be a bit much.”
Then he turned apologetically to Yi Qi. “She’s not feeling well, she’s not doing it on purpose.”
When you were relying on others for shelter, there was no point being picky.
Yi Qi waved a hand. “It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re the ones who came so suddenly.”
Auntie Bai lowered her voice. “Xiao Qi, take the children to rest for a bit. It’s dark now. There are candles in the room if you need to light them.”
Auntie Bai and Uncle Zong went back across to prepare dinner, while Amin hurried upstairs to comfort his girlfriend.
That young man was Amin, not Uncle Dayuan. Maybe he was a relative…
Wei Cheng asked softly, “How come I didn’t see Uncle Dayuan?”
Yi Qi lowered his eyes. “Auntie Bai said that before the virus outbreak, he was with his fiancée. Right now nobody knows where he is.”
Wei Cheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Uncle Yi, then I’ll take Guanguan back to the room first.”
“Mm, go ahead. I’ll give Auntie Bai the rice and flour you handed me in a bit.”
Their room was the last one. Inside, it was warm and cozy too, with wood-colored floors and decorations and a soft, comfortable big bed.
Seeing that the room temperature was fine, Wei Cheng took off Guanguan’s down jacket and tucked the child—still in his little wool sweater and wool pants—under the covers.
Guanguan seemed to feel comfortable. He rolled over and immediately fell back into deep sleep.
The little black dog was very well-behaved and did not bark at all. It only kept sniffing around, probably curious about the new surroundings.
Wei Cheng picked the puppy up and gently rubbed its long ears. “Hungry? Should Brother put you in the safehouse and let you eat some jerky?”
The puppy stuck out its tongue and lightly nudged Brother’s hand, as if saying yes, yes.
Smiling, Wei Cheng sent it into the safehouse.
He tapped the safehouse monitor screen, opened the jerky from the shelf, and poured it into the puppy’s bowl.
The puppy ate happily. Guanguan slept soundly.
Sitting in the rocking chair, Wei Cheng finally relaxed.
Then they would simply wait for Uncle Shen’s injury to heal before going out to look for a suitable shelter.
Guanguan slept all the way until 8:30 that night. The moment he woke up, he called out, “Hungry, Brother, hungry, baby is hungry.”
Then after smelling something, he swayed his little head. “So good! So good!”
Wei Cheng carried the child downstairs in his pajamas and smiled. “Brother made you beef noodles.”
At dinnertime, Guanguan had still been asleep, and Wei Cheng had not wanted to force him awake.
That way, the child would neither eat well nor sleep well.
Auntie Bai had been kindhearted enough to bring over two bowls of hot noodles, each topped with big chunks of braised pork.
Since the noodles would get soggy if left too long, Wei Cheng had ended up finishing both bowls himself.
It was late, and no one would come around now.
Wei Cheng locked the doors and windows, drew the curtains, and carried Guanguan into the safehouse.
A bowl of braised rice noodles topped with little braised eggs, large chunks of fragrant soy-braised beef brisket and tendon, green leaves, and chopped scallions floated in front of him.
“Drink some broth first.” Wei Cheng put a little pig bib on Guanguan.
Guanguan scooped up a spoonful of bright broth, and before he even drank it, his mouth puckered into a little chick beak. Once he finally tasted it, he lit up even more. “So, so good!”
The beef bone broth was rich and savory, growing fuller the longer it was simmered. The rice noodles and vegetables had soaked up all the flavor, making them smooth and satisfying to eat.
The big chunks of beef brisket were tender and well-flavored too.
For a little baby like Guanguan, they took almost no effort to chew.
Afraid of him overeating, Wei Cheng had only made a moderate portion.
Guanguan buried his face in the bowl and drank the very last drop of broth, then patted his slightly rounded tummy. “Full-full now!”
Wei Cheng pulled up his little radish-baby. “As long as you’re full. Come on, help Brother build blocks.”
After playing for quite a while, it got late, and only then did the brothers go upstairs to enjoy a long, comfortable hot bath.
At last, their thrilling and exhausting day was over.
That night, they slept very well.
The next morning, they had breakfast with the two elders from the Zong family and the other two young people.
The dining room was on the first floor. On the table were several dishes of pickled vegetables and bamboo shoots, two plates of egg sandwiches, a large bamboo basket full of buns and golden pancakes, five trays of soup dumplings, and a whole pot of red bean oat milk.
Each dish was piled high. The abundance was so great that it created the illusion there was no apocalypse at all.
Amin and his girlfriend Nuannuan seemed already used to it, chatting and laughing while they ate.
Auntie Bai sat at the head of the table with a gentle smile and then looked at Yi Qi. “Did Ah Zheng eat already? How’s he doing?”
Yi Qi nodded with a smile. “I fed him already. He doesn’t have a fever anymore, just feels sleepy.”
The usually quiet Elder Zong said, “It takes a hundred days to heal broken bones and torn tendons. Let him recover here.”
“That’s right, let him rest. Auntie can afford to feed you all.”
Auntie Bai looked at Guanguan and Wei Cheng sitting nearby. “You two children eat too, don’t be shy. Xiao Qi, look after them more. The two children are too skinny.”
“Auntie Bai, if you say Chengcheng is skinny, fine—but Guanguan definitely isn’t skinny.” Yi Qi laughed and put an egg sandwich into each child’s bowl. He figured children probably liked the ham inside.
Auntie Bai seemed especially fond of Guanguan and pushed over a whole plate of six big meat buns. “Still too skinny. Eat all of these too.”
Wei Cheng glanced up at her, then pushed the buns back. “Grandma, Guanguan is a baby, not a little pig. He can’t eat that much.”
Auntie Bai smiled. “Then you eat more.”
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