Apocalypse Chapter 21: Radio

Chapter 21: Radio

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Uncle Li’s orchard covered three nearby hills, with dozens of fruit trees planted inside. The scorching heat and the Great Crisis killed off most of the fruit trees, but the remaining ones still numbered in the thousands.

Jiang Rong thought he would quickly save the dying fruit trees in the orchard, but after just one hill, he became dizzy, weak, and his limbs felt heavy. He had always thought that the abilities of an ability holder were inexhaustible, but after transferring his abilities to over a dozen fruit trees, he realized that abilities could indeed be depleted.

Seeing Jiang Rong’s pale face, Uncle Li and Aunt Li were startled. They helped Jiang Rong sit down, “Xiaorong, don’t force yourself, rest well.”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Jiang Rong apologized, “It’s the first time I’ve used so much ability, I couldn’t control it well.” 

He needed to go back and study how long his abilities could last, and how long it would take to recover after depletion. But it was impossible to continue saving the orchard today; he needed to rest well overnight before deciding.

While Jiang Rong was treating the fruit trees in the orchard, Jiang Xiaoheng stayed under Uncle Li’s porch to play, with two mutant dogs guarding him, so there was no need to worry about the safety of the little guy. Seeing Jiang Rong return, Jiang Xiaoheng happily greeted him, “Daddy, are you done with your work? Can we go to Uncle Chu’s now?”

Only then did Jiang Rong remember the main purpose of going out today; he needed to go to Chu Qiang’s house to see if they had returned. Promises to his son had to be kept, so Jiang Rong rallied, “Daddy will take you there right away.”

Uncle Li didn’t know how to thank Jiang Rong, but upon hearing this, he immediately arranged, “You’re going to the village? Let’s go, I’ll take you. I need to go back there anyway.”

Uncle Li’s house had an electric tricycle, which could carry the old couple up and down the mountain on regular days. Aunt Li placed a large basket of black and red bayberries in the tricycle’s basket, wrapped in a blanket.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Rong joked, “Is Uncle Li going to deliver bayberries down the mountain?”

Aunt Li chuckled at his words, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes, “My son and daughter-in-law came back from the city a few days ago, and my daughter-in-law is pregnant, so she wanted to eat something sour.”

Jiang Rong sincerely congratulated her, “Congratulations!”

In no time, Jiang Rong and his son were sitting in the small tricycle’s basket. Aunt Li specially held an umbrella for them, afraid that Jiang Rong and his son would get too hot. She also took out ice packs from the freezer and placed them in the basket. Of course, she didn’t forget to give Xiaoheng a bag of sweet and sour bayberries to eat on the way.

With ample power, the small tricycle quickly started moving, and the scenery along the roadside rapidly receded. After observing for a while, Jiang Rong had a question, “Uncle Li, isn’t your village on the east side? Why are we heading south?”

Uncle Li firmly held the handlebars, his back to Jiang Rong, and his voice slightly distorted as it reached Jiang Rong’s ears, “Oh, they built a mountain road to the south, which can directly reach our village. Although it’s a bit longer than the shortcut, the road is wider and more convenient for vehicles.”

Jiang Rong nodded thoughtfully, “I see.”

In no time, the electric tricycle smoothly reached the mountain road. After driving downhill for more than ten minutes along the winding road, the mountain gradually flattened out, and a peaceful village appeared in front of Jiang Rong.

The village had only thirty or so households, each with its own villa. Chu Qiang’s house was at the end of the village. Uncle Li parked the tricycle directly in front of Chu Qiang’s house, and he stretched his neck to look at the tightly locked courtyard gate, “It seems they haven’t come back yet, Xiao Rong, why don’t you and the child come to my house and sit for a while?”

Jiang Rong smiled and lifted Jiang Xiaoheng out of the tricycle basket, “No need, Uncle Li. You go ahead and do your work. Chu Qiang gave me the keys, I’ll go in and help them tidy up.”

After thinking for a moment, Uncle Li pointed to a villa on the east side of the village, “Then I’ll go back first. After you’re done, come to my house and sit for a while. I’ll be waiting for you at home.”

Jiang Rong nodded with a smile, “Thank you, Uncle Li.”

The electric tricycle quickly started and headed eastward along the road. Jiang Rong took out a key from his pocket, stood in front of Chu’s gate, and looked around. Since his mutation, his senses had greatly improved, and at this moment, he could feel several pairs of eyes peering at him.

Jiang Rong lowered his eyes, inserted the key into the gate, and with a clatter, the heavy gate slowly opened a crack. Jiang Rong and his son slipped into the courtyard and immediately locked the gate behind them.

After walking a few steps in the courtyard, he found signs of the anti-theft window on the first floor of Chu Qiang’s house being damaged. The sturdy stainless steel iron window had a large hole in it, apparently the work of an ability holder. However, the early-stage ability holders couldn’t pry open Jiang Rong’s special bulletproof glass, and looking at the bloodstains on the glass, Jiang Rong’s eyes darkened. Although he had been specifically delivering supplies to Chu Qiang’s house at night, someone with ill intentions had still set their sights on it.

If Chu Qiang’s family didn’t come back soon, this house would inevitably be broken into by ability holders.

Jiang Xiaoheng stood in the courtyard, staring blankly at the gorgeously decorated villa of Uncle Chu for a long time before turning to his Daddy, “Daddy, Uncle Chu’s house is so beautiful. Why isn’t our house like Uncle Chu’s, with three floors?”

Jiang Rong sighed and rubbed his son’s head, “Because Daddy is poor.” 

If he could, he would also like to build a perfect house, but time and money were limited. Building the current house had already required tremendous effort from him.

Hearing Jiang Rong’s words, Jiang Xiaoheng opened his arms and hugged his Daddy’s thigh, “Daddy is not poor, Daddy is the best!” 

After all, his Daddy was an ability holder who could control plants, even more amazing than Superman!

Various supplies were placed in the rooms on the first floor of Chu Qiang’s house by Jiang Rong, neatly stacked on trays, waiting for their return. After walking around upstairs and downstairs, Jiang Xiaoheng became more and more eager for Chu’s family to return, “Daddy, when will Uncle Chu’s family come back?”

Jiang Rong stopped outside Chu Qiang’s bedroom, “It should be soon…”

However, he hadn’t received any news from Chu Qiang for several days. He only knew that Chu Qiang had taken the national highway, but which exit he had taken and which city or village he had reached, Jiang Rong had no idea. If he rashly drove out to look for them, it would be dangerous for himself, and if he missed them, it would be troublesome.

It would be great if he could contact Chu Qiang’s family, ask for their address, and if they encountered any difficulties, he could go pick them up. But after the civilian power outage, all kinds of communication methods were forced to be interrupted. Without electricity, humanity returned to a primitive society overnight. 

Jiang Rong sighed lightly, “If only your Uncle Chu raised pigeons.”

Now, in this situation, only carrier pigeons could deliver messages, right? Suddenly, Jiang Rong had a flash of inspiration. His familiar means of communication indeed couldn’t be used due to the power outage, but what about the communication method he wasn’t familiar with?

When Chu Qiang was young, he liked watching war movies, especially those about communication soldiers. For a period of time, he was particularly fascinated by the radio station and even obtained a professional radio operator qualification certificate. There was also a registered radio station in his house. Once, he even placed a receiver at Jiang Rong’s house, saying that they could chat without using phone bills in the future.

However, the sound from that receiver was distorted, with a lot of noise, and Jiang Rong soon tossed it into a corner. But it seemed that Chu Qiang hadn’t given up this hobby over the years. He seemed to have installed a mobile radio station when he bought a car. Every time Chu Qiang got new equipment, he would give Jiang Rong a receiver. When moving houses, Jiang Rong sorted out a drawer and found them.

Jiang Rong’s heart suddenly raced, and sweat dripped from his palms involuntarily. Was there a possibility that Chu Qiang was trying to transmit messages using the car-mounted mobile radio station? Thinking of this possibility, Jiang Rong couldn’t stand still. He wanted to go home immediately and search for those receivers.

However, he had to wait until Uncle Li finished his work before he could go back. Taking advantage of this time, Jiang Rong used a bit of his recently recovered ability to control the roses in the courtyard to climb towards the doors and windows on the first floor. If someone tried to break in through the anti-theft windows, these mutant roses would be enough to deal with them.

Seeing the roses sealing off the doors and windows on the first floor, Jiang Rong finally breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up Jiang Xiaoheng and walked towards the outside of the courtyard, “Let’s go home today. After Uncle Chu and his family come back, we can come over again, okay?”

Jiang Xiaoheng hugged his Daddy’s neck and obediently replied, “Okay.”

After locking the Chu’s gate, Jiang Rong and his son headed towards Uncle Li’s house. As they approached the alley near Uncle Li’s house, they faintly heard a young voice from the alley, “Also, the solar panels at home are not enough. It’s so hot. Can you bring back two more from the mountain tomorrow?”

After a while, Uncle Li, with a hunched back, walked out of the alley. When he saw Jiang Rong and his son, Uncle Li pulled the corners of his mouth, showing a smile uglier than crying, “Done with your work? Let’s go back.”

 

 

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