Apocalypse Chapter 13: Master Jiang

Chapter 13: Master Jiang

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

After seeing the date clearly, Jiang Rong suddenly sat up. The next moment, Jiang Xiaoheng threw himself into his arms, crying bitterly, his small body trembling uncontrollably, “Dad, why couldn’t I wake you up? I was so scared…”

Jiang Xiaoheng hugged his dad’s neck with both hands, sobbing softly, his voice hoarse, indicating he had cried a lot these days. His eyes were red and swollen, his baby fat had disappeared, and he looked extremely pitiful.

Jiang Rong trembled as he tightly held his son’s body, constantly kissing his soft hair. Thinking of the hardships of the past few days and his son’s fear, he felt guilty and remorseful, “I’m sorry, son, Dad made you worry, I’m sorry.”

Jiang Xiaoheng curled up in his father’s arms, whimpering and speaking incoherently. Jiang Rong didn’t understand a word, but he patiently listened, continuously patting the child’s tender back. Before long, Jiang Xiaoheng’s voice grew quieter, and he eventually fell asleep.

Jiang Rong lowered his head and wiped his son’s face. His son’s little face was red from crying, his eyelids swollen, tears and dirt streaked across his fair skin, with a few small cracked wounds from crying.

Jiang Rong’s heart ached, closing his eyes, he kissed his son’s forehead and remained motionless for a long time. He never thought he would wake up in this lifetime. Fortunately, he endured the intense pain of awakening and woke up. If he hadn’t woken up, what would Xiaoheng do?

After days of high fever, Jiang Rong felt extremely uncomfortable, sticky all over. But now, what he wanted most was not a bath, but something to eat. After awakening, mutants often experience extreme hunger. If not replenished in time, the mutation inside the body will devour normal bodily functions.

After putting his son back in the bedroom, Jiang Rong headed to the kitchen. As soon as he entered, his eyes widened in shock: the entire kitchen was in a mess, as if it had been bombed.

Upon closer inspection, the two pots on the stove contained charred substances, and the walls and floor opposite the stove were splattered with oil. The rice in the open rice cooker was already moldy. The sink was also blocked, with the poor rice basket lying inside.

Seeing this, Jiang Rong’s eyes welled up with moisture. During his coma, his son couldn’t even have a bite of hot food. How desperate and helpless he must have been. Jiang Rong was famished. He sat on a kitchen chair, devouring bread while taking out his phone to check for messages. His phone hadn’t been charged for days, and shortly after connecting it to power, several missed calls popped up on the screen. During his coma, the Chu family had been trying to reach him. Seeing the calls, Jiang Rong breathed a sigh of relief: the fact that the Chu family could call him meant they had survived the initial crisis.

After drinking a large glass of milk, Jiang Rong called back Chu Qiang. The call connected quickly, and Chu Qiang’s voice came from the other end, relieved, “Thank goodness, you finally returned our call. We thought something happened to you. Are you and Xiaoheng okay?”

Jiang Rong couldn’t make outgoing calls, and Jiang Xiaoheng’s child phone had been busy. The Jiang family had been out of contact for five or six days, which had greatly worried the Chu family.

Jiang Rong quickly replied, “My phone ran out of battery, so I didn’t receive your calls. I’m sorry. How are you all? Are Uncle and Auntie okay?”

Hearing this, Chu Qiang felt a wave of relief and gratitude. Luckily, they had listened to Jiang Rong’s advice; otherwise, their situation would be dire now. He had countless words of gratitude to say to Jiang Rong, but he also knew that such formalities would sound strange between childhood friends. He wiped his face, “We’re fine, we’re fine.”

Chu Qiang’s uncle and aunt’s excited voices came through the phone, “Xiao Jiang, we’re all fine, you don’t need to worry. This time… thank you so much.”

When the crisis first hit, they were in a panic. Seeing so many dead bodies along the way, they were even more frightened. Fortunately, Jiang Rong had advised them to stock up on supplies, which helped them remain calm.

Seeing that the elderly couple were still alive, Jiang Rong breathed a sigh of relief without showing any trace of it, “That’s good to hear. By the way, Qiang, have you all left City C?”

Chu Qiang sighed, “Yes, we’re stuck on the road. If only we had listened to you and returned to our hometown earlier. You have no idea, City C is in a terrible state right now.”

Overnight, most of the people in City C died, and under the scorching heat, the corpses quickly decayed and emitted a foul stench. Several crematoriums in City C couldn’t even cremate the bodies in time. People who died suddenly lay in various corners of the city, and the smell of decay pervaded the air, nauseating to smell.

And that’s not all; stray cats and dogs on the streets became extremely aggressive, daring to attack people even in broad daylight. In just a few days, there were already thousands of animal attacks reported in City C.

Hearing this, Jiang Rong furrowed his brow. He rubbed his forehead, “Where are you stuck? When can you get home?” The situation outside would only get more chaotic, and every day delayed on the road meant an increased risk.

Chu Qiang certainly understood this truth. At the moment, he was very helpless, “Don’t mention it, the road is heavily congested. The navigation is all red, and the cars can’t move at all. I left home yesterday in the early morning, and it’s been almost seven hours, but I’m still stuck on the Third Ring Elevated Road.”

As a major city with a large population, once City C descended into chaos, it would be impossible to contain. People who survived would try every means to escape. As a city with a population of two to three million, even if half of the people were gone, there would still be millions left. Several highways leading to City C connected several major cities, and everyone tried to hit the road together, resulting in a complete standstill.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Rong suggested, “Can you buy high-speed rail tickets? If not, take the high-speed rail back. I’ll come to pick you up, and we’ll forget about the car.”

Jiang Rong had already thought of this solution, but Chu Qiang had tried it earlier. “My parents have been trying to buy tickets these past few days, but they couldn’t get any. I heard the situation at the train station is chaotic, with many people trying to push their way onto the trains, which makes it impossible for the high-speed trains to depart.”

Chu Qiang felt fortunate, “Don’t worry, Xiao Jiang, we’ve prepared a lot of food. The trunk is full now. Luckily, we filled the car with gas as you advised that day. I’m not worried at all now. Even if we crawl slowly, we’ll definitely make it home. Oh, things are moving up ahead, I won’t talk to you anymore.”

Since the Great Crisis, many people don’t know where to spend their money, but at least they don’t worry about going hungry like others. The roads are indeed congested, but their supplies are more than enough to sustain them at home.

Jiang Rong’s fingers lightly traced circles on the table. “Alright, stay safe and call me when you get home. Also, be cautious on the road, watch out for mutated animals and people with ill intentions.”

Chu Qiang chuckled softly, lowering his voice. “Don’t worry, Xiao Jiang, I’ll take care of myself and my parents. You don’t need to worry about me. Oh, by the way, I’ve awakened my ability! I think it’s enhanced strength. Now I’m strong enough to wrestle a bull. I want to see who dares to come and rob us.”

A faint smile curled on Jiang Rong’s lips. “That’s good news.”

Chu Qiang asked, “Oh, Xiao Jiang, there’s this post online written by a guru. The guru predicted the current situation several months ago. I’ll forward it to you to take a look.”

Soon, Jiang Rong received the post link from Chu Qiang on his phone. Upon opening it, he found it to be his post. This time, the post had surpassed all others, with thousands of comments praising it. The attitudes of netizens had made a 180-degree turn. From mocking the original poster, they now admired him greatly.

[Confirmed by a glance, it’s a guru.]

[Respect, respect, can you tell us what’s next for humanity?]

[Damn, thought the OP was just seeking attention, didn’t expect it to be true!]

Jiang Rong scrolled through several pages of comments expressionlessly before setting down his phone to continue eating. After finishing his meal and taking a shower, he opened the blinds outside the door. The bright sun shone through the window. It was only ten past seven in the morning, but the temperature outside had already reached forty degrees.

In just another half month, the water and electricity in cities C and D would be suspended due to lack of maintenance. All household appliances reliant on electricity would be rendered useless, and those relying on air conditioning to survive would face severe tests. Many who had survived through luck would die from the heat, reducing the population significantly after enduring the high temperatures.

In the cool living room, the local station was broadcasting real-time news. Due to the extreme heat, there were several fires in the downtown area of D city. With few rescue personnel, the fires could not be contained, and several streets were engulfed in flames.

Jiang Rong’s attention wasn’t on the television. He frowned in the direction of the door. Since a while ago, it seemed like he had been hearing someone calling his name. The voice was crisp, lively, and brisk. “Master Jiang~ Master Jiang~”

Jiang Rong: …

Just as he was about to go out to see what was happening, Lele walked out of Jiang Xiaoheng’s bedroom. After mutating, Lele had grown bigger, with thicker fur. He walked up to Jiang Rong and nudged his owner’s hand with his large head. Jiang Rong rubbed Lele’s head gently, feeling a soft force emanating from his fur as he ran his hand over him.

It seemed it wasn’t just his imagination; since he woke up, his senses had become much sharper. Could it be that he, like Chu Qiang, was also an enhancer?

After mutation, there were five major types of abilities. The most common type was enhancers, whose bodies’ organs or parts became stronger. Some became incredibly strong, while others gained acute hearing or vision. Next were elementalists, who could manipulate the five elements of nature. They could condense water out of thin air, create fireballs, or raise solid earth from the ground with a clap of their hands. Then there were support abilities, with healing or spatial manipulation being the most prominent. The remaining two types were naturalists, who could control natural phenomena, and they were extremely powerful but very rare, with only one in a hundred thousand mutants being one.

The last type was extremely rare, known as mentalists, who could launch esper attacks and some could even hypnotize and control other mutants. The voices outside the door grew louder, and Jiang Rong felt compelled to go out. Lele stood eagerly at the door, wagging his tail. He had been cooped up inside for days and couldn’t wait to go out for a walk. Jiang Rong barely opened the door a crack when he darted out with a whoosh. Because he was so fast, Jiang Rong couldn’t see him clearly, only catching a glimpse of a tan streak racing into the courtyard.

But the next moment, Lele started yelping in pain, and he dashed back toward the house, tail between his legs. As soon as he entered, he began whimpering at Jiang Rong, constantly twisting his head to reach his own backside.

Jiang Rong took a closer look and saw a “needle” stuck in Lele’s buttocks, over ten centimeters long. The needle was yellowish and hard, with a waxy sheen on its surface. It had fine barbs on it, and when Jiang Rong pulled it out, Lele whimpered in pain.

Jiang Rong held the long needle in thought. What on earth was this? A porcupine’s quill? He had never seen anything so bizarre in his previous life.

After applying a bandage to Lele’s wound, Jiang Rong slowly walked to the window in the living room. If he wasn’t mistaken, this needle had come from the west side of the yard.

Peering through the bulletproof window toward the west side of the yard, Jiang Rong’s pupils constricted. Outside the western wall, there was a green mass waving. Upon closer inspection, there was a huge Eyries cactus growing on the west side of his house.

The Eyries cactus protruded more than a meter above the courtyard wall, covered in yellowish spikes. Its appearance struck Jiang Rong as incredibly familiar. After a moment of thought, wasn’t this… the Eyries cactus he had brought back from the office?!

Realizing this, Jiang Rong’s breath caught in his throat. He had meticulously chosen a place with few mutant plants to set up camp, only to encounter the first mutant plant he saw after being reborn, and it was one he had brought back himself.

The calls outside the window grew louder, “Master Jiang~ Master Jiang~ There’s a problem…”

Jiang Rong lightly tapped his forehead against the glass. Yes, there was not only a problem now, but it was a big one.

 

 

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