The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse – CH129

Chapter 129 — Resentment

The moment they opened their front door, before even reaching for the light switch, Luo Xun and Yan Fei saw a pair of glowing “lightbulb eyes” rushing straight at them. If it weren’t for the accompanying slobbering sounds and whining, they might have mistaken it for some kind of monster and attacked on instinct.

“Slow down, slow down… Why are your eyes so bright? That’s kind of scary—I never noticed before,” Luo Xun muttered as he turned on the light.

Sure enough, the little guy was standing on its hind legs beside him, front paws and head pressing into his chest, rubbing and burrowing nonstop.

After a closer look, everything about it seemed exactly the same as before—no difference at all. But still… “Why were its eyes shining like that just now? Like they had built-in reflection?”

Yan Fei had noticed it too. He glanced back toward the hallway. “Probably just the hallway lights reflecting. They’re on for the crops, after all. It was right by the door, so it’s normal. Dogs don’t show it as often, but cats’ eyes reflect like that all the time.”

The dog, of course, had no idea what they were puzzled about. It kept bouncing around, trying its best to lick their faces clean with its big tongue.

“Alright, alright, behave. Let us change the toilet seat first…”

Holding onto its front legs, they dragged the heavy dog into the living room before finally letting go. Only then did it stop clinging and instead wagged its tail, circling them happily. After all, every time they went out, it would have to wait until the next afternoon—or even later—for them to return. Today they came back early, so naturally it was extra excited.

They first installed the toilet lid on the first floor and connected the power.

Then—

“Huh?! It really sprays water!”

“Ah! It even dries…”

Watching Luo Xun play with it enthusiastically, Yan Fei stood there speechless, indulging him for a full ten minutes before finally persuading him to stop acting like a child and go wash up and sleep.

—

The next morning, remembering they still had an important matter, Luo Xun temporarily put aside his fascination with the toilet. Right after washing up, he dragged Yan Fei next door to bang on Zhang Su’s door.

Zhang Su, who had gone to bed late—and clearly hadn’t behaved himself afterward—opened the door with dark circles under his eyes, radiating low pressure. “What?”

“Hospital,” Luo Xun said calmly, glancing at the deep red hickey visible at his collarbone. “You agreed last night.”

“I didn’t say this early!” Zhang Su grumbled, but his professional ethics still kicked in. He turned back to change, then followed them out, looking half-dead.

With connections helping them cut the line, they quickly got X-rays done. Zhang Su didn’t even bother finding another doctor—this was his own specialty.

After looking at the films, he pointed casually. “See? All normal. Yesterday was just a shock to the chest—nothing serious. Maybe take something to improve circulation and rest for a couple of days. Don’t do anything strenuous…”

As he spoke, his peach blossom eyes narrowed mischievously, sliding toward below Luo Xun’s waist, raising his brows suggestively.

Luo Xun rolled his eyes and ignored him, grabbing the films and packing them away.

Medicine was expensive now, and not even that effective. Luckily, Luo Xun already had some at home. That saved them the cost.

Seeing Luo Xun finally relax, Yan Fei smiled slightly, put on his mask, took the bag, and prepared to head back.

“Going home?”

“Yeah. Let’s go back and get some more sleep.”

Zhang Su stared at them darkly—these two had dragged him out early, and now they dared to talk about going back to sleep? He briefly considered finding something to keep them busy.

But then he yawned.

…He was sleepy too.

Better leave revenge to the one at home.

Just as he opened his office door (he had kicked out his colleague earlier to use it), he saw a plump woman with a resentful expression walking toward him. She froze for a second upon seeing him, then hurried over.

“Doctor Zhang!”

Zhang Su glanced at her round belly, then her faded, dry chestnut-colored hair, and lazily flicked his eyes toward Luo Xun and Yan Fei inside. “Ms. Liu, what do you need?”

The two who were about to leave stopped.

When Yan Fei caught sight of half her face, he calmly took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. His hairstyle had changed so much under Luo Xun’s repeated “practice” that he was barely recognizable now—if not for his face, even old acquaintances might not identify him.

Luo Xun was a beat slower. Noticing Yan Fei’s sunglasses, he took a closer look through the gap—

…She looked familiar.

Wait.

Isn’t that Yan Fei’s mother?!

His heart jumped. He shifted position to get a better look—and then realized why he hadn’t recognized her immediately.

Her belly.

Wait—was she even six months pregnant? Why was it that big?!

Because of the pregnancy, Liu Xiangyu had become noticeably rounder. Her once well-maintained figure was completely gone, her chin layered, and her belly swollen like a water-filled balloon, one hand supporting her lower back.

She wasn’t wearing makeup—perhaps for the baby’s sake.

But what she said next made Luo Xun immediately discard any thoughts of maternal tenderness—

“Doctor Zhang, I’ve been looking for months and I have no other choice. Please help me—help me get rid of this child! What’s wrong with hospitals these days? Why are they so irresponsible? What does it have to do with them if I want an abortion?! I’m already this age—do they know how dangerous childbirth is?! What does the base’s population shortage have to do with me?! Whether I want to keep it or not is none of their business! And if the child is born, who’s going to raise it…?”

Liu Xiangyu seemed to have been holding it in for a long time. Now that she had finally found a somewhat familiar doctor, she let everything pour out in one breath. Her outburst even made passing patients and doctors slow down, quietly gathering to watch.

Zhang Su raised an eyebrow with amusement, the smile on his face deepening. “Ms. Liu, I’m not a gynecologist.” How many times had he already said this? Was there something wrong with her brain—or her ears?

Cut off mid-sentence, Liu Xiangyu puffed up in frustration. “I know you’re not a gynecologist! But I have no other choice! It’s fine, we can handle this privately. As long as you can guarantee my safety… Doctor Zhang, I know your skills. I’ve asked around—obstetrics surgery is basically the same as your surgical work. You can even perform brain surgery—what’s this compared to that? It’s just taking the child out, like removing a tumor!”

Even Zhang Su, with his strong nerves, couldn’t hold back anymore. Spreading his hands with a helpless expression, he said, “A C-section and removing a tumor are not the same thing.” Then, before she could continue, he added, “The higher-ups have banned all medical staff from performing abortions right now. No matter who you ask, no one will help you. Also, I’m off duty today—I just came to pick something up. Please move aside, I need to go home.”

With that, he pushed past her arm and slipped away without another glance.

Liu Xiangyu panicked and tried to grab his clothes, but a visible current of pale blue wind blocked her—she couldn’t even touch him.

Yan Fei took Luo Xun’s hand, and the two of them walked past her openly. Completely consumed by anger, Liu Xiangyu didn’t even notice them. She only stared resentfully in the direction Zhang Su had left.

Why was there no one willing to help her?

If she waited any longer, the baby would grow even bigger!

She knew very well what childbirth felt like. Having experienced it once, she had sworn never to go through it again. Even back then, during pregnancy, she had repeatedly wanted to get rid of the child because of the nausea and body changes. If not for the interests of both families, she would have terminated it in the third month.

And now, in the apocalypse—she would have to be insane to give birth! What if there was hemorrhaging, infection…

—

Zhang Su stood by the car with a sour face, arms crossed. When the two came out, he jerked his chin, signaling them to open the door.

Luo Xun helplessly unlocked the car and waited for them to get in. Once inside, Zhang Su started complaining, “What rotten luck today. Got dragged out of bed before I could sleep enough, and just when I was about to go back and rest, I ran into your mom…”

Yan Fei finally took off his sunglasses, expression calm. “Don’t drag me into her business. That child wasn’t conceived with my consent—I have nothing to do with it.”

Zhang Su rolled his eyes. “She’s been pestering gynecology doctors every day lately. Last time the military took her away for ‘ideological education’ for several days. Didn’t expect her to come right back.” He sneered. “If she really wanted to get rid of it, it’s not hard. Fall down a few times, eat something wrong—how could it not miscarry? She just doesn’t want the child but is afraid of harming her own body, so she insists on finding a doctor.”

Yan Fei shrugged. “Not my problem.”

Zhang Su glared at the back of his head, then rolled his eyes again. After all, the mother hadn’t even recognized her own son passing right by her—and this clearly wasn’t the first time.

—

Back at their building, Li Tie and the others were already up. Meanwhile, Zhang Su, Luo Xun, and Yan Fei were all half-asleep. After a quick greeting, they each returned home and collapsed into bed.

When they woke up again, it was already afternoon.

The first thing Luo Xun did was go upstairs and install the remaining toilet lid. After personally testing it, he immediately felt how much more convenient and comfortable it was—and most importantly, it didn’t waste paper!

Such a great item—if only they had gone to find it earlier! Still, skipping crystal core hunting to search for toilet lids during this break had clearly been the right decision.

With that thought, Luo Xun happily went downstairs, planning to install lids in the unused rooms—only to find out they had already been done.

Wu Xin scratched his head sheepishly. “Brother Luo, you know our place—four people, one bathroom. Every morning it’s a fight… so we just went ahead and replaced all the others this morning.”

“No problem, that’s good,” Luo Xun said. “Everyone uses them anyway.”

They still had more than half left even after replacing all of them. One breaks, just swap it out.

These toilet lids quickly became everyone’s favorite. After discussion, they unanimously decided to keep all the extras as reserves—no selling them off. After all, they weren’t short on resources.

—

During the rest of the holiday, Luo Xun and Yan Fei reinforced the parking area downstairs. With the solid metal truck they brought back, Yan Fei reshaped the materials into a double-layer metal garage, saving space while fitting all four vehicles.

After that, they continued wrapping up the autumn harvest—drying, sorting, planting.

On the third day, Li Tie’s group had to return to the military. Luo Xun and Yan Fei still had one last day off, spending it relaxing—playing with the dog, teaching Xinran to read, helping harvest crops.

That evening, Li Tie brought back fresh gossip:

“Apparently, several teams that went into the city have gone missing. Some even sent distress signals!”

Everyone immediately reacted. Luo Xun quickly asked, “Did they pass by the same road we took?”

“They’re not sure,” Li Tie said. “But most teams heading north would pass there. Some rescue teams have already gone out, and the military might send people too. We’ll have to wait for updates.”

Wang Duo added eagerly, “I also heard that several teams returning heard that building collapse too. They got suspicious and detoured early. And it’s not just that day—yesterday, there were more explosions in the city, lasting for quite a while!”

A faint unease quietly settled in everyone’s hearts.

Luo Xun thought it over, trying to recall his past-life memories, but after thinking for a long time, he still couldn’t remember whether he had ever heard about something like this before. Back then, it had already become difficult for him to find a suitable team to go out with. Most of the time, he would spend an entire day just waiting around to form a group. Fortunately, he still had some skill in making composite crossbows—sometimes he could dig up materials from garbage piles, craft a weapon, and sell it outside.

Unfortunately, at that time, he never had proper materials. The weapons he made were not only subpar, but the production speed was painfully slow.

As for those teams that had sent out distress signals, until they were rescued, there would be no answers. For now, Luo Xun and the others could only set the matter aside and focus on other work.

—

This time, they had brought back quite a large amount of metal. After using part of it to reinforce the garage, the two discussed it and carried some upstairs into their home.

“Push this sofa into the corner and stack it with those boxes. We’ll build a row of planting racks here.”

Room 1604 had not been included in their planting plans back in early spring. Even some of their commonly grown crops had been moved into neighboring rooms. Now, aside from a few seasoning plants left on the balcony—like scallions, ginger, garlic, cilantro, and a prickly ash tree—there was almost nothing else planted here anymore.

As for “normal” plants in their home now, almost all of them were fruit-bearing.

For example, the few lemon seeds they had planted earlier had already grown into two full pots. Their apple tree and the grape trellis on the balcony were also growing vigorously—though none had flowered or borne fruit yet this year. The strawberries, however, had begun to bloom with small white flowers, spreading from a few small plants to filling an entire long planting box.

Perennial fruit trees wouldn’t show results anytime soon. At the earliest, they might bloom next spring. As for fruit… if any tree bore fruit by the year after next, Luo Xun would call it a miracle.

Of course, herbaceous plants like strawberries would show results much faster.

Aside from that, there were also those strange mutated plants Luo Xun had kept earlier. No one knew what kind of fruit they would produce—whether they were edible, toxic, or benign mutations.

—

Now, since Room 1603 had already been incorporated into the team’s shared planting area, and all harvests were distributed collectively, their own home no longer produced crops directly.

Since they still had space, Luo Xun decided to clear out an area to plant something new.

What he wanted to grow was benign mutated rice.

They had already harvested some of it separately, but the quantity was extremely small. Even after collecting everything, it only amounted to about a handful. Previously, he had run an experiment—he hulled a few grains, cooked them in a bit of water, and compared them to regular rice.

The result?

Completely different.

Not only did it retain the original fragrance of rice, but the texture was more elastic, the aroma richer, and even the rice soup tasted far better than that made from ordinary rice.

Luo Xun felt that it was even more delicious than pre-apocalypse premium rice. Yan Fei agreed.

So now, his goal was to cultivate more of this benign mutated rice—preserve the seeds, and try to expand its production.

Of course, this kind of crop was destined to remain a luxury. Luo Xun had no intention of replacing all their rice with it. Generally speaking, benign mutated crops had lower yields, while ordinary mutated crops—the ones that tasted worse—actually produced more.

They had already started germinating the seeds in the nursery. Now, once the planting boxes were ready, they could easily begin a new round of cultivation.

If the team didn’t want to sell it later, they could keep some for themselves—to improve their meals occasionally, or cook porridge for variety.

—

Yan Fei casually waved his hand, forming the planting boxes with metal. Luo Xun filled them with soil, poured in clean water, added fertilizer, and carefully transplanted the seedlings one by one.

After finishing this layer, Luo Xun placed processed mushroom logs into the bottom “drawer” layer—these would help absorb any potential toxins in the soil.

Finally, they planted some commonly eaten vegetables on the top layer. After all, having certain crops in their own room was more convenient for daily use.

—

Recently, because many new mushroom logs had been added to the dedicated planting rooms, everyone noticed that quite a few logs had begun to grow normal, edible mushrooms.

Whenever Xu Mei and Song Lingling found these ordinary mushrooms and they matured, they would promptly harvest them and place them by the window to dry and store.

Only after the number of mushrooms finally increased did everyone become willing to start using them little by little in their cooking.

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