nycdaug Chapter 445 The World Under the Apocalypse
Chapter 445 The World Under the Apocalypse
The three of them ate the food laid out on the table by the light of two rechargeable desk lamps. Han Xing asked in surprise, "Brother Li Chenglong, are you a magician? How can you conjure up so much delicious food?" Li Chenglong, unaware of the situation in this world, gave a vague and perfunctory answer.
Through conversations with the siblings, Li Chenglong learned a great deal about this planet. Generally speaking, the historical processes of China on this planet and the China Li Chenglong lived in were almost identical, except for the names of many provinces and cities. Furthermore, the current China was more developed than Li Chenglong's China before the apocalypse. According to the siblings, China had already built a permanent base on the moon before the apocalypse, but it was uninhabited before the apocalypse occurred.
According to them, the apocalypse occurred in the spring of 2032 AD, initially in Europe, and then spread very rapidly, becoming a major global problem in just one year. Furthermore, the apocalypse on their planet was not simply a zombie crisis, but a result of a complex combination of factors.
The three talked for a long time, and Li Chenglong gained a lot of information about their current location. Learning that Han Li had even sold her husband's belongings to save him, Li Chenglong told Han Xing that he would take him there first thing the next morning to exchange the gold watch for something else. Although Han Li repeatedly said it wasn't necessary, seeing Li Chenglong's resolute attitude, she didn't say anything more.
When it was time to sleep, the house the siblings lived in was very dilapidated, with only three rooms, one inside and one outside. The older sister lived in the inner room, while the outer room, apart from Han Xing's bed, was filled with all sorts of things, though it was tidy despite the amount of stuff. Li Chenglong took out an inflatable mattress from his spiritual energy space, inflated it, and then slept fully clothed by the wood-burning stove.
The next morning, before the siblings had even gotten out of bed, Li Chenglong had already gotten up, washed, and gone out for his morning practice. The G-Gem was still slowly accumulating energy and wouldn't be able to return anytime soon; there was no use in being impatient. It was better to carefully observe the situation on Earth.
When Han Li woke up and came out of the inner room, she found many unopened toiletries on the cabinet, including Shuguang brand shampoo, Shuguang brand soap, Shuguang brand facial cleanser, and so on. Curious, Han Li picked up a bottle of shampoo and saw that, in addition to listing the various ingredients, the manufacturer was listed as No. 009, Industrial Zone 1, Shuguang City, Huaxia—another place she had never heard of before.
Han Xing woke up and quickly got out of bed. The first thing he did was go to the bathroom. As soon as he went outside, he saw a large water tank with several taps underneath. The tank was full of water, at least three or four cubic meters. He was about to call his sister to come out and see when Li Chenglong came running in from outside.
Seeing that Han Xing was awake, Li Chenglong smiled and said, "Hurry up and wash your face and brush your teeth. Let's have breakfast, and then go exchange your sister's gold watch. On the way, tell me about what's happened these past few years." After saying that, he took a basin, washed his face again, and then went inside.
As soon as Li Chenglong entered the room, he saw Han Li holding a mirror, carefully examining the horrific scar on her face, seemingly lost in thought. Upon noticing Li Chenglong's arrival, Han Li immediately put the mirror away, smiling and saying, "Sorry, I was a little distracted."
Looking at the scars on Han Li's face, Li Chenglong asked directly, "How did you get your face like this?" Before Han Li could answer, Han Xing walked in, blaming himself, "It's all my fault. The army was fighting those giant black spiders in the street, and I was so curious that I went out to watch. My sister came over to pull me back, but she got burned on the face by the liquid sprayed out by the exploding spiders. It's all my fault!" As he spoke, Han Xing burst into tears and cried.
With tears in her eyes, Han Li said, "No, how can you blame me? It's my fault for not being careful enough. I should have evacuated in time when I knew those spiders were coming."
"A black spider?!" Li Chenglong asked in surprise. Han Li nodded: "Yes, it's a spider that's completely black or has some blood-red patterns, about the size of a small car, and it's extremely ferocious." Then Han Li told Li Chenglong what had happened in the past few years that had turned the world into what it is now.
Through her narration, Li Chenglong finally grasped the development of this post-apocalyptic world on Earth. Three years prior, a zombie crisis had broken out in Europe, but thanks to the combined efforts of various countries, its spread wasn't rapid. However, an energy crisis then emerged; global oil and mineral reserves inexplicably decreased dramatically. After investigation, it was discovered that giant spiders and centipedes, never before seen, were consuming these resources.
Then a very serious infectious disease broke out, and a large number of crops withered and died. Under the blows of various crises, the human population decreased by 80%, various resources were on the verge of depletion, and zombies and void creatures attacked from time to time. Now the earth is like a wasteland.
"So what's affecting our survival the most right now?" Li Chenglong asked. Han Li replied without hesitation, "It's still those spiders and centipedes. They're the destroyers; wherever they go, nothing grows. Next are the zombies, but there aren't many zombies in this area, so you don't need to worry."
Li Chenglong nodded: "I have another question. I just went out for a walk and found that this area is basically an abandoned old town. Don't you have any large human bases here? Why don't you seek protection there? If it's a base, it must have an army, right?"
Han Li shook her head with a wry smile: "There are no large bases, only scattered settlements like ours, with the largest number not exceeding 5 people. There are even fewer armies. The reason is that once humans gather together and exceed a certain number, they will attract a combined attack from zombies and spiders and centipedes, ultimately leading to their destruction. The first few large and medium-sized bases that were built were all destroyed."
Li Chenglong took out some prepared breakfast, which was still in its freshly cooked state because it had been stored in the storage area of the psionic space. Then he took out a bag of ordinary fruit and placed it against the wall.
Li Chenglong finally took out two Flame Fruits and gave them to the siblings: "Here, one for each of you. They've already been washed. Let's have breakfast quickly, and then, Han Xing, I'll give you a task. Take this bag of fruit and exchange it for your sister's gold watch. This bag of fruit weighs 20kg, which should be more than enough to exchange for the gold watch. Can you do it?"
The Korean star nodded vigorously: "I promise I will."
The three of them quickly ate breakfast. Han Xing then wrapped the fruit in several layers of rags and put it in a small cart. He then covered it with a lot of trash before pushing the cart out.
After he left, Li Chenglong looked at Han Li and said, "Close your eyes. No matter what you feel later, don't move." Han Li didn't say anything and simply sat up straight and closed her eyes. Although she hadn't spent much time with the man, she could tell he was a good person. As for whether he would touch her inappropriately, she hadn't even considered it. She had become completely ugly and malnourished; no man would be interested in her.
Han Li felt Li Chenglong appear behind her, his left hand supporting her chin, while his right hand pressed against her disfigured area. "No matter what you feel, don't move!" Li Chenglong said sternly.
After receiving Han Li's affirmative reply, Li Chenglong activated the life energy of the G Gem. Although the G Gem was almost depleted in the previous battle and urgently needed time to recover, it was still more than enough to heal this injury. In addition, even if the energy was insufficient, he had his own energy as a backup, so there wouldn't be any problems.