58: That's really crazy!

She frowned deeply. This was troublesome. It seemed unrealistic to wait for the rainwater on the ground to evaporate before leaving. If she kept waiting, there was no telling how long it would take. Since she wasn't by her parents' side, she couldn't feel at ease about them as time dragged on.

Lost in thought, Ai Yue was startled back to reality by her satellite phone. Knowing it must be her parents calling, she answered it casually, only to hear Gu Xiheng's voice on the other end.

“Ai Yue, why are you running around? Can't you just stay safely in the base?”

Gu Xiheng's exasperated voice came through the phone.

Ai Yue felt a momentary flash of happiness when she first heard Gu Xiheng's voice, but by the time he finished speaking, her gaze had turned icy. She retorted rudely, “Is Young General Gu calling just to scold me? Besides, what I do is none of your business. Aren't you overstepping your bounds?”

Something is really wrong with him!

On the other end, Gu Xiheng also realized he had spoken too impulsively. He didn't know why, but when he learned Ai Yue had left the Safety Tower and had been trapped outside by the Virus Rain for three months, a surge of worry, anger, and other complex emotions flooded his heart. Once the call connected, his anger had vented uncontrollably.

This was unlike his usual calm, composed, and ruthless self. Whenever it concerned her, he would lose his composure and completely lose the steady, unflappable traits he normally displayed when facing trouble.

Gu Xiheng knocked his head in frustration, unable to believe he had said something so bastardly. Reorganizing his thoughts, he spoke again: “I didn't mean it like that. It's just that the virus in the rain is extremely aggressive; contact means death. Our researchers have no solution; we can only wait for the sun to come out and for it to evaporate naturally. It's too dangerous for you to be out there alone, and the world outside the base is in total chaos. Tell me where you are, and I'll come pick you up. Whatever you do, don't try to travel back alone.”

It was rare for Gu Xiheng to speak such a long string of words. His personal assistant standing nearby was stunned. When had he ever seen Young Master Gu speak so much? And every word was full of concern. This was simply unbelievable.

After hearing this, Ai Yue's brow furrowed in a knot of internal conflict. This guy's words were way too easy to misunderstand. What did he mean? Was he showing kindness because he liked her? Please, no. This is the Apocalypse; I don't want any dead weight, and men should stay far away... Ai Yue complained internally, not responding for a moment.

“Ai Yue? Are you listening?”

“Ahem, I'm listening! Gu Xiheng, you're so concerned about me, you haven't gone and fallen for me, have you?” Ai Yue asked bluntly. She didn't like overthinking things and preferred to ask directly and get it cleared up.

“What did you say? I like you?” Gu Xiheng hadn't expected Ai Yue to suddenly say such a thing and looked astonished.

“You heard me right. I'm asking if you like me.”

Gu Xiheng laughed out of frustration. “Ai Yue, how is your brain wired? Why would I like you? Are you joking?”

Ai Yue wasn't angry at his words; instead, she breathed a sigh of relief. “That's for the best! Also, please mind your manners when you speak in the future. Being this concerned and worried about my safety makes it easy for me to get the wrong idea.”

“Don't worry, there's no way I could fall for a woman like you.”

Gu Xiheng didn't think there was anything wrong with how he spoke. She had saved him, so what was wrong with being concerned? He spoke to his own younger sister the same way.

Gu Xiheng had grown up among men and didn't particularly understand the boundaries between men and women. In all these years, besides his twin sister, only Ai Yue had made him want to look after her like a sister.

Gu Xiheng thought carefully about whether he had just been inappropriate. His conclusion was that he had simply talked too much. He decided that in the future, he would just take action directly instead of saying so much.

“Get your head straight. Who talks about love and affection in the Apocalypse? Report your coordinates,” Gu Xiheng asked solemnly.

Ai Yue felt a mouthful of blood nearly choke her. She finally caught her breath only to hear him say her head wasn't straight, which made her even angrier. Ai Yue struggled to keep her mouth shut to avoid swearing. She waited and waited until, just as Gu Xiheng was losing patience, she gritted her teeth and squeezed out a few words: “I won't trouble your lordship. I have my own arrangements.”

With that, she slammed the button to hang up the phone as a way to vent.

“Ah! Your head is the one that's not straight! I could never like a man who's missing a gear in his brain like you...” After hanging up, Ai Yue vented a torrent of words at the satellite phone.

Calming down, Ai Yue looked up to meet the wide, round eyes of Da Wang. He was holding half a piece of Russian dark chocolate in his mouth, looking at Ai Yue with a silly, cute expression.

“Da Wang! You're stealing my chocolate! You're a tiger, how can you eat chocolate?” Ai Yue roared.

Da Wang gracefully set down the remaining half of the dark chocolate. With a lick of his long tongue, he cleaned the ring of chocolate liquid from around his mouth, gave a long yawn, and then pushed the chocolate on the ground toward Ai Yue. His expression seemed to say, 'I left half for you, didn't I? Why are you yelling?' Humans really are prone to irritability... Then, he turned and walked away gracefully.

Ever since Da Wang had killed and tasted blood, his temperament had changed drastically. The old Da Wang, who would turn and flee at the slightest sign of trouble, was gone. It was as if he had grown up overnight, becoming a mature, steady, and majestic King of the Mountain.

If Ai Yue had scolded him before, he would have turned and run long ago. Now, he didn't show a hint of fear toward her. Fortunately, although Da Wang had changed a lot, he was still the same sweet boy who valued family.

Ai Yue sighed, picked up the dark chocolate from the ground, and put it into her space, thinking she would give it to Da Wang as a snack next time so it wouldn't go to waste.

She didn't take Gu Xiheng's words to heart at all. She calculated that if things were still like this in three days, she would set out no matter what.

Three days passed quickly. During these three days, Ai Yue went out every day to check, only to find it was still cloudy outside and the rainwater in the puddles on the ground had not decreased.

During her calls with her parents these past few days, she learned that inside the Safety Tower, all the rainwater in the puddles had been collected. Only the damp ground remained. If someone accidentally stepped on it, they just had to throw away their shoes; there was no major danger anymore.

When Li Shilan and her husband went to work, they would wrap their feet in plastic bags before heading out.

Those who didn't have plastic bags came up with all sorts of ideas: wrapping their feet in sheet metal, tying blocks of stone, wood, or even stainless steel bowls to the bottom of their shoes. The main goal was to absolutely avoid getting their shoes wet.

There was no point in staying any longer. Ai Yue prepared to head home.

Before leaving, she had a whimsical, childish thought and acted on it. She left enough food and water for a month in the Underground Bunker. She also left the generator behind, thinking to herself that she'd see which lucky person might find this place and receive her gift.