The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse – CH161

Chapter 161 — Life and Death

The premature infant’s cries were so weak that he only let out a few tiny whimpers after the nurse patted him.

As for the mother…

When Luo Xun and Yan Fei entered the room, what they saw was Liu Xiangyu lying there in a semi-conscious state, her hair disheveled, barely looking human anymore.

The aunt who once dyed her hair and carried herself with arrogant superiority had now become swollen all over, pale-faced, and utterly miserable.

Even Luo Xun felt a trace of melancholy seeing her like this.

Yan Fei neither spoke nor did anything.

He looked at Liu Xiangyu, who lay half-unconscious, seemingly unaware that her eldest son had come to see her.

Then he looked at the tiny red infant sleeping beside her, bundled tightly in a small wrap.

Outside, the man and the doctors were discussing something—after all, doctors didn’t make house calls for free. They still needed to eat too.

While they were talking, Luo Xun suddenly sniffed the air sharply.

“Why does it smell so strongly of blood?”

“Blood?” Yan Fei froze briefly. “Don’t women bleed during childbirth anyway?”

“Not that kind—it’s… wait!”

Luo Xun suddenly stepped forward and yanked back the blanket covering Liu Xiangyu.

Blood—bright red blood—was flowing continuously beneath the thin nightgown she wore, soaking nearly the entire mattress underneath her!

“Doctor! Doctor, get in here! She’s hemorrhaging!”

Luo Xun shouted immediately.

But at the same moment he shouted, confused sounds erupted outside, followed by Liu Xiangyu’s current boyfriend yelling:

“Why are you running?!”

Did that even need asking?

The doctors clearly knew the patient was bleeding heavily after childbirth, yet out of fear of being implicated, they hadn’t informed anyone immediately!

A doctor and two nurse assistants—three people total—were no match for the ordinary man outside trying to stop them.

The moment they heard Luo Xun shouting from inside, they realized the situation was bad and tried to flee.

But what they absolutely hadn’t expected was that one of the two young men in the room was an ability user.

Every piece of metal in the apartment suddenly seemed to come alive, instantly locking around the fleeing trio and dragging them forcefully back.

“This really has nothing to do with us! The patient already injured herself and triggered labor after the fall, and the equipment conditions here are limited…”

“Limited conditions are your excuse for trying to run instead of informing us?”

Yan Fei was truly furious now.

No matter how much he hated her, despised her, or wanted to sever their mother-son relationship—the woman lying on that bed was still his biological mother.

If Luo Xun hadn’t noticed something was wrong in time…

The doctor had no choice but to try handling the situation while insisting they needed to move her to a hospital immediately.

But postpartum hemorrhaging…

Without stopping the bleeding in time, and without plasma or blood transfusions available—before they could stabilize her or move her elsewhere—

Liu Xiangyu lost consciousness completely.

And then her heartbeat stopped.

A premature birth caused by an accident left behind only a frail infant so weak it looked as though his life could disappear at any moment.

The next morning was brilliantly sunny.

Harsh sunlight poured into the room, making the already cold atmosphere feel even more desolate.

Xu Mei and the others came over early in the morning.

After all, a teammate’s relative had died. There were funeral matters to handle.

They brought crystal cores and points for the pair, while also checking whether there was anything they could help with.

That same morning, before Yan Fei could contact him, Yan Gexin called first to ask about the situation.

After hearing that Liu Xiangyu had died, silence lingered on the other end for a while before Yan Gexin unexpectedly said:

“What’s the address? I’ll come over later.”

Yan Fei paused slightly in surprise before giving him the address and hanging up.

In the post-apocalyptic world, funerals had been simplified to the point of almost nonexistence.

People were cremated at the base crematorium.

The ashes were then casually placed into some kind of container before being buried outside the western side of the base in a cemetery area designated after the apocalypse.

Headstones, funeral paper offerings, processions—all omitted completely.

And because the cemetery lay outside the base walls, many people were too afraid to leave the base at all. They simply handed the ashes over to military personnel who handled mass burials.

Though the military would bury the dead, they only went out periodically, placing numerous urns into one large pit before covering everything with dirt.

Nothing more.

And the fee wasn’t cheap either.

Everything after the apocalypse had become minimalist.

People merely dressed more solemnly, carried the deceased to be cremated, then found a chance later to bury the ashes outside the base.

Over two hours after the phone call, Yan Gexin finally arrived.

He happened to run into the group just as they returned carrying the ashes.

Yan Fei glanced downstairs toward the parked vehicles but noticed the car Yan Gexin usually rode in wasn’t there, nor had he brought the assistant previously seen beside him.

Yan Fei raised an eyebrow slightly.

After everyone entered the third-floor apartment, Yan Gexin only glanced once at the crude box containing the ashes without saying anything.

Instead, he pulled Yan Fei aside onto the balcony to talk.

Luo Xun held Yan Fei’s little brother—yes, it was a boy.

After one day without breast milk, the child’s biological father had no choice but to boil rice water to barely fill the baby’s stomach.

Xu Mei seemed quite interested in the infant.

But although she and Song Lingling had cared for Little Xinran before, this newborn was so fragile that he looked breakable with a single finger.

Neither woman dared touch him.

Not even his biological father dared hold him much.

The baby was simply too tiny.

On the balcony, father and son stood facing each other in silent confrontation.

A mocking smile rested on Yan Fei’s face.

“So the reason you came today is to get me into the military camp?”

Yan Gexin looked far worse than before.

He appeared to have aged ten years overnight.

But his exhaustion and aging had nothing whatsoever to do with his ex-wife’s death.

Rather—life itself had changed too quickly.

Yan Gexin’s expression was weary, and for once his voice lacked the commanding tone he usually used when speaking to Yan Fei.

“Xiao Fei… your father truly has no other choice.”

“There’s huge trouble in the military now. Those ability users and people with real power are trampling civil administrative staff like us into the dirt!”

“You’re an ability user. Only you can help your father now!”

Yan Fei crossed his arms over his chest, unmoved.

“I already made my position clear before.”

“It’s different now!”

Yan Gexin’s voice carried both exhaustion and hysteria.

“The camp is full of barbarians now! We administrative personnel are being crushed beneath them!”

“They haven’t directly forced me out yet, but if this keeps going…”

“Think about it—your father’s already this old. Can you really bear to watch them throw me out to some registration office or make me sweep the streets?”

He sighed deeply before turning to look gloomily into the apartment.

“Your mother is already dead…”

“How many years do I even have left?”

“At least… help your father a little. Don’t let me spend my old age displaced and wandering…”

A soft laugh escaped Yan Fei’s nose.

“They’re kicking you out of military housing?”

Embarrassment flashed across Yan Gexin’s face.

“Th-they want to reclaim my residence… and relocate me elsewhere…”

“To shared housing with other people.”

Yan Fei narrowed his eyes.

Seeing Yan Gexin’s expression grow even more awkward, he asked again:

“If I go, what exactly do you plan for me to do?”

Yan Gexin’s eyes instantly lit up.

“You don’t understand how important your ability is in the military now!”

“I heard the original metal ability squad only has one or two people left.”

“If you join the military, you’d become captain immediately!”

“You’re young, powerful, and talented. With your abilities, within three years you could definitely rise into middle or upper command!”

“It’s different now. Ability users have far more influence in the military than before…”

With just a brief probe, Yan Fei had gotten exactly the answer he expected.

A nearly imperceptible trace of disappointment flashed through his eyes.

Yes—disappointment.

Today—on the day his ex-wife died,on the day he learned his biological mother had died—this man still came here for these reasons.

Even if the two no longer shared any feelings whatsoever, Yan Gexin still lacked even the most basic respect or sorrow for the dead.

Not even the melancholy of “the rabbit dies and the fox grieves” could be seen in him.

Turning away, Yan Fei walked back toward the room, tossing out one cold sentence:

“Registration office work sounds fine too. Isn’t it all serving the people?”

As for sweeping streets?

Their team had literally just completed that task recently.

Yan Gexin remained standing alone on the empty balcony, stunned.

“Let’s head back first.”

Walking over to Luo Xun, Yan Fei looked at the weak, tiny infant in his arms.

A trace of melancholy rose again in his chest.

Since birth, this child hadn’t even managed a proper loud cry.

In this brutal post-apocalyptic world…who knew whether he would survive?

The child was ultimately the son of Yan Fei’s mother’s partner.

No matter how worried or sympathetic Luo Xun and the others felt, they couldn’t simply take someone else’s child away.

Besides—the baby was far too young.

Taking him outside in weather this cold could kill him.

After saying goodbye to Liu Xiangyu’s current boyfriend and promising to return tomorrow to check on the child and discuss when to leave the base to bury Liu Xiangyu’s ashes, everyone departed.

Not long afterward, Yan Gexin also stormed away with a dark expression.

He had only come here to speak with Yan Fei in person one more time.

It had nothing to do with his deceased ex-wife.

And even less to do with the man who’d once cuckolded him.

This bastard had actually dared use Liu Xiangyu’s situation to threaten him over the phone.

If not for worrying that Yan Fei might still retain some feelings for his mother, Yan Gexin would already have considered it generous not to secretly ensure both that woman and the bastard child in her womb disappeared together.

As for that man?

Heh…

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