Apocalypse Chapter 27: Unexpected Guests

Chapter 27: Unexpected Guests

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Even though Jiang Rong wasn’t slow, his back and head were still drenched by the black rain. The black rain felt extremely cold on his body, making him shiver. In all his life, he had never been soaked in such cold rain in July.

When father and son returned home, the rain outside was pouring down heavily, and all the sounds between heaven and earth were drowned out by the sound of the pouring rain. Fortunately, Jiang Rong’s house had a good drainage system, and there was no water accumulation in the courtyard.

Usually, when it rained heavily, Jiang Xiaoheng would be very excited and shout to go out and play in the rain. But seeing the pitch-black rain, he hesitated a bit, “Daddy, the water smells funny…”

Jiang Rong pulled his son back two steps, “Don’t get wet.”

Based on his past experience, Jiang Rong knew that people who got soaked in black rain would become weak. His son had a weak resistance due to his young age, so he was afraid that he would get sick after being in the rain. He protected his son tightly on the way home, not letting him get a drop of rain. It’s fine if he didn’t get wet on the way, but he shouldn’t get wet when he returned home.

Jiang Rong closed all the doors and windows at home, shutting out the noisy sounds outside. “Let’s take a shower and then Daddy will play ‘Meow Meow Team’ with you, okay?”

Jiang Xiaoheng looked up at Jiang Rong, his big round eyes full of worry. “Okay, Daddy, you have a lot of dirty stuff on you.”

When Jiang Rong took a shower, he finally saw how messy he looked. His hair on the top of his head was drenched into strands by the black rain. The rainwater that didn’t evaporate flowed down along his forehead, drying into gray-black streaks when it touched his skin, which was what Xiaoheng referred to as “dirty stuff.”

The shirt soaked in black rain felt a bit stiff to the touch and had a fishy smell. Jiang Rong, who had experienced his past life, knew that this fishy smell would last for several months until the next heavy rain washed away the grass and trees covered in black rain. However, after being covered by black rain for months, some plants would never be able to return to their original state.

During the shower, Jiang Rong began to feel uncomfortable. His head was dizzy, and his nose started to block. The impact of the black rain on him was faster than he had imagined. It seemed that he would have to stay at home for the next few days without going out.

Not only did he felt uncomfortable, but also Little Fairy outside the door. Little Fairy, who was unusually active at night, became listless after being in the rain. Now, it was lethargic in Jiang Rong’s mind space, not even wanting to speak.

At the same time, he felt his abilities rapidly diminishing. Jiang Rong looked at his weakening cyan abilities between his fingers with a solemn expression. What’s going on? What happened to his abilities?

Panic was inevitable. He had just adapted to the identity of an esper and was planning to live a good life with his son in the apocalypse. If his abilities disappeared, their lives would definitely be affected. Did the black rain deprive him of his abilities?

It shouldn’t be. He only knew that ordinary people were prone to illness after being soaked in black rain in his past life, but he hadn’t heard of abilities disappearing. If such a thing really happened, it would have caused a sensation in his past life.

Upon careful consideration, if he was also an esper in his past life and lost his abilities temporarily after being soaked in the rain, he wouldn’t tell anyone. Who would reveal their weaknesses to hidden enemies?

Combining Little Fairy’s reaction, Jiang Rong felt that the black rain only made espers temporarily weak, and they would recover in a few days. Just like the red light on the day of awakening, the black rain seemed to have some effect unknown to humans.

Relieved, Jiang Rong sat on the sofa and watched “Meow Meow Team” with his son. On the screen, the Meow Meow Team was fighting against the villains. Jiang Xiaoheng watched the cartoon intently, standing up to cheer for one of the Meow Meow teams when it got exciting.

Jiang Rong glanced at the screen, seeing two teams of cats squirting water at each other, the whole scene lively and cute. Honestly, he couldn’t quite understand why his son was so excited, but thinking back to his own childhood, he was just as immersed. He smiled, shook his head, and casually picked up a book.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

Squirting water? Wasn’t he sprayed by the black rain today? After that, he felt dizzy and his abilities temporarily disappeared. Luckily, he was near home this time. If he encountered a robbery outside, he would have been clueless. Could the black rain make other espers weak temporarily?

Jiang Rong closed the book and began to ponder a question: could he collect some black rain for later use? If he encountered a robbery in the future, even if he couldn’t make the other party’s abilities disappear, he could at least drench them in black water.

Jiang Rong’s initiative was astonishing. When he thought of this, he had already walked towards the storage room in his house. He was going to collect some black rain outside, just in case it might come in handy in the future. He had fully experienced the power of the black rain, so this time when he went out, he made multiple preparations.

Seeing Daddy putting on rain boots, raincoats, and holding an umbrella, Jiang Xiaoheng quickly slid off the sofa, “Daddy, are you going out?”

With an umbrella in one hand and two large buckets in the other, Jiang Rong replied, “Daddy is going to check the yard. You and Lele stay at home.”

Jiang Xiaoheng stared at the buckets and touched his head, “Oh…” Did checking the yard require bringing buckets?

The drainage pipe of Jiang Rong’s house was set outside the east courtyard wall. There was no better place than the drainage pipe outlet to collect rainwater. As long as the buckets were placed there, they would be filled with black rain in no time.

After opening the courtyard door, Jiang Rong walked towards the east. The head-mounted flashlight emitted a white beam, illuminating the path about two to three meters ahead. The black water flowed along the drainage ditch beside the wall, fortunately, their drainage system was good, otherwise, the courtyard would definitely be flooded.

Suddenly, a pair of feet appeared in the flowing water ahead. The ankles of these feet were submerged in the black water, and the skin near the ankles looked slightly bluish under the light.

Jiang Rong’s gaze followed the feet upward, and soon he saw the situation clearly: there was a man holding a large lump of army green stuff in his arms, leaning against the wall of his house, unconscious.

The man had long legs, and the rain soaked his clothes. The thin T-shirt and pants clung tightly to his body, outlining his smooth muscle lines. He hung his head against the wall, and the gray-black rain slid down his skin, making him look extremely miserable. When Jiang Rong saw the man’s face clearly, he was surprised. He actually knew this person!

The man in front of him was none other than Guan Shao, who had taught him a lot of fitness knowledge at the gym that day and provided him with a lot of information. Jiang Rong had a deep impression of Guan Shao, not only because he had helped him, but also because of Guan Shao’s agile skills.

Although Guan Shao had said that if there were any problems during exercise in the future, Jiang Rong could go to the Chenggang Gym to find someone there for help. But after that, Jiang Rong had been busy building houses and hoarding goods, so he hadn’t had time to go.

Unexpectedly, Guan Shao appeared outside his house on the night of the black rain. This was really unexpected.

Jiang Rong put down the water bucket and quickly approached. He tilted the umbrella in the direction of Guan Shao while swiftly removing the rubber gloves from his other hand and reaching for Guan Shao’s pulse. Just as his hand was about to touch Guan Shao’s skin, a cold hand suddenly raised and grabbed his wrist.

Jiang Rong was speechless.

In order not to get wet in the black rain, he had made thorough preparations, but he never expected that he would voluntarily undo his equipment. He was careless.

Guan Shao’s grip was strong, and it hurt Jiang Rong’s wrist. Afraid that Guan Shao would continue to exert force, Jiang Rong hurriedly introduced himself, “Guan Shao, I’m Jiang Rong. Do you remember me? We talked at the Chenggang Gym.”

Unexpectedly, after being washed by the black rain for so long, Guan Shao was still awake, but his mental state was not good. His pupils were slightly dilated, and his breathing and heartbeat were very weak. His muscles were tense, and he was on high alert.

Stimulated by the flashlight, Guan Shao’s pupils contracted a few times, and his confused eyes became momentarily clear. He struggled to lift his head and looked at Jiang Rong, “Jiang… Rong…”

Jiang Rong tried several times but failed to pull his hand from Guan Shao’s grasp. Helpless, he tilted his head and held the umbrella handle with his mouth. At the same time, he took off the head-mounted flashlight and clipped it onto the umbrella ribs.

The white light shone down from above, illuminating the faces of the two men. Guan Shao’s pupils slowly reflected Jiang Rong’s face, “Jiang Rong.”

Good, it seemed that he recognized him. Jiang Rong negotiated with him, “Yes, it’s me. Can you let go of my hand?”

After a while, Guan Shao slowly released his hand. Jiang Rong lowered his head and saw a clear black handprint on his wrist. Even in this condition, Guan Shao still had such great strength. He was truly a man who regularly exercised and kept fit.

Seeing Guan Shao’s pale face, Jiang Rong hurriedly said, “Guan Shao, can you stand up? The rain is too heavy. You’ll get sick if you sit here.” As he spoke, Jiang Rong reached out to pull Guan Shao’s hand.

Guan Shao was extremely exhausted. Aware that there was someone familiar approaching, his spirit involuntarily relaxed. As his spirit relaxed, his consciousness began to drift away.

If he were alone now, he would definitely pass out without worry. But now he still had a mission. Guan Shao’s lips moved, and a weak voice leaked between his lips and teeth, “…child…”

Jiang Rong leaned closer to Guan Shao’s lips to hear what he said, “Child… in my arms…”

Afraid that Jiang Rong didn’t understand his meaning, Guan Shao raised his hand and touched the army green lump in his arms. Only then did Jiang Rong look at what Guan Shao was holding. He had thought Guan Shao was carrying a backpack or something, but it turned out that the lump of army green was a raincoat, and under the raincoat were a pair of small feet.

Seeing Guan Shao’s reaction, Jiang Rong couldn’t help but understand his meaning. “You mean there’s a child in your arms, and I should save the child first, right?”

Guan Shao twitched his lips and weakly smiled, “Thank you…”

Jiang Rong bent down and opened the top of the raincoat, and a pale and tender little face suddenly appeared in his sight. The child seemed to be only a few years older than Jiang Xiaoheng. Under the impact of the black rain, he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Jiang Rong bent down to pick up the child, “I’ll take the child back first, and then I’ll come back to carry you.”

The moment Jiang Rong picked up the child, Guan Shao tilted his head and passed out, muttering, “Thank you…”

*

Seeing Daddy bringing two people back from outside the yard, Jiang Xiaoheng was stunned. “Daddy, did someone grow in our yard?”

He knew that mushrooms would grow in the forest on rainy days, but he didn’t know that people could also grow in the yard during rain. No wonder Daddy took two buckets out. Could he grow one person with one bucket?

Then if he took out two more buckets, could he bring back two more kids?

Seeing his son eager to try, Jiang Rong knew that his little brain was thinking of strange things again. Afraid that his son would do something dangerous while he was busy, Jiang Rong quickly cut off his thoughts, “Come and help Daddy, there are two outside our yard who passed out.”

As soon as Jiang Xiaoheng heard this, he immediately forgot about carrying buckets out. He turned into a little helper beside Daddy, “Daddy, I’m coming!”

The child in Guan Shao’s arms had fallen deeply asleep due to being soaked in the black rain. His whole body was cold, and he urgently needed a warm bath. Jiang Rong filled the bathtub with hot water in the shower room. Jiang Xiaoheng generously contributed his favorite bathtub, duck toys, and peppermint-scented shower gel.

Jiang Xiaoheng eagerly watched Daddy help the boy take off his raincoat. “Daddy, the boy is so handsome~”

Jiang Rong responded with a sound, and after taking off the first layer of raincoat, he found another layer on the child. It seemed that Guan Shao had noticed the abnormality of the black rain and was afraid that the child would get sick, so he took off his own raincoat and gave it to the child. If it weren’t for the bond of kinship, how could Guan Shao make such a sacrifice?

Examining the child’s face closely, although the child was black and thin, there was indeed a resemblance between them at the brows and eyes. Guan Shao was good-looking, and this child was not bad-looking either. No wonder Xiaoheng said the boy was handsome. If this child were well taken care of, he would definitely grow up to be a handsome man like Guan Shao.

Seeing Daddy finishing bathing the boy, Jiang Xiaoheng handed over his favorite towel, “Daddy, use this towel to dry the boy’s body.”

Jiang Rong took the towel and glanced at his son. In the child’s eyes, he saw anticipation and excitement. Xiaoheng was actually a child who loved company. Since moving back to their hometown, he had no playmates of the same age around. Now that there was a child slightly older than him at home, Jiang Xiaoheng couldn’t wait for the boy to wake up and play with him.

The child’s original clothes were tattered and naturally couldn’t be worn. Fortunately, Jiang Rong had bought many clothes for his son recently, so it was easy to find suitable clothes for the child to wear.

After changing his clothes, the child obediently nestled in Jiang Rong’s arms and fell asleep. Jiang Xiaoheng looked at him enviously. He suggested again, “Daddy, let the boy sleep in my room? My bed is big and soft, and the boy will definitely like it!”

Jiang Rong couldn’t help but laugh and cry, “Are you trying to sleep with me tonight?”

Jiang Xiaoheng showed no signs of being caught and grinned, revealing his white teeth. “Yes!”

After putting the child in his son’s bedroom, Jiang Xiaoheng happily stayed by his side. Jiang Rong finally had time to take care of Guan Shao. He thought Guan Shao’s weakness was due to the black rain, but after taking off his wet clothes, he found several wounds on Guan Shao’s waist and back. The smallest wound was the size of a palm, and the largest one was a foot long.

Fortunately, these wounds were just superficial injuries and hadn’t affected Guan Shao’s internal organs or bones. The rain had soaked the wounds white, making them look painful at a glance.

Jiang Rong wiped Guan Shao’s body carefully with a basin of water. After wiping off the stains on his upper body, he found many scars on Guan Shao’s body. Some were new, and some were old. This made Jiang Rong curious: What did Guan Shao do? How could a normal person have so many injuries?

Guan Shao was tall and strong, and it was not easy to clean his body, especially when he was weak now. Jiang Rong was already panting after cleaning his upper body, and sweat beads appeared on his forehead.

Cleaning the lower body was much faster. In no time, he had put shorts on Guan Shao. It’s not that he didn’t want to clean Guan Shao thoroughly, but his physical strength was limited, and some areas… were quite sensitive. It wouldn’t be polite to continue cleaning.

After covering Guan Shao with a thin blanket, Jiang Rong sighed deeply, feeling hot all over his ears.

At this moment, Jiang Xiaoheng suddenly pushed open the door. He exclaimed, “Daddy, the boy is twitching! Come and see!”

Twitching? Could it be that he had a high fever after being soaked in the rain? Jiang Rong grabbed a cooling patch and ran to Jiang Xiaoheng’s bedroom. He looked closely and saw that the child was sleeping soundly. He turned to Jiang Xiaoheng and asked, “Where was he twitching?”

Innocently, Jiang Xiaoheng said, “The boy’s hand moved a few times just now.” He gestured with his hand twice. “Like this, like this.”

Jiang Rong was speechless. He needed to explain to his son the normal bodily reactions when someone is asleep.

After a night of tossing and turning, when Jiang Rong woke up again, he still felt lethargic and exhausted, especially in his arms, which felt as heavy as lead.

Jiang Xiaoheng had stayed up late last night and should have been able to sleep a little longer. However, when he saw Daddy getting up, he also sat up. Not fully awake, he sat on the bed, nodding off slowly.

Jiang Rong pulled open the curtains and glanced outside. The black rain hadn’t stopped yet, but it was much lighter than yesterday’s downpour. The forest was covered in a thick layer of dirt, looking misty. Under the gloomy sky, everything seemed depressing at a glance.

Thinking about the next few months, where everything would be this gray-black color, Jiang Rong couldn’t help but sigh.

Rubbing his sore arms, Jiang Rong looked towards Little Fairy. Covered in black rain, Little Fairy’s green body had turned an ugly grayish color, drooping sadly. Usually, when Little Fairy saw him pull open the curtains, it would happily bloom a flower. But today, it just swayed its body slightly in Jiang Rong’s direction, shaking off some raindrops hanging on its thorns.

That was his way of greeting. Seeing that Little Fairy still recognized him, Jiang Rong felt relieved. He walked out of the bedroom, ready to check on the condition of the two guests from last night.

Guan Shao was still asleep, his body temperature slightly elevated, but his breathing and heartbeat had returned to normal. Afraid of infection, Jiang Rong peeled back the gauze to take a look. He was both surprised and envious at what he saw. The dreadful wound from yesterday was already beginning to heal, with a shallow brown scab forming around the long gash.

Similarly drenched in the black rain, Jiang Rong felt heavy, his nose stuffy, his arms sore and achy. Yet Guan Shao’s self-healing ability was so formidable. After last night, Jiang Rong couldn’t help but feel envious once again.

Just then, Jiang Xiaoheng’s voice came from outside the door, “Daddy, the little brother woke up!”

Jiang Rong hurried to Jiang Xiaoheng’s room, and as Jiang Xiaoheng had said, the child was awake. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stared expressionlessly in Jiang Rong’s direction.

Seeing the child awake, Jiang Rong breathed a sigh of relief. He approached the child and spoke gently, “You’re awake?”

The child sluggishly lifted his head to look at Jiang Rong, his narrow phoenix eyes reflecting Jiang Rong’s face clearly. Seeing his expression, Jiang Rong thought of Leilei from the Wang Chunlan household. Could it be that this child, like Leilei, had become mute after the Great Crisis?

However, the child’s situation was different from Leilei’s. Leilei only recognized Wang Chunlan and showed no response to external stimuli. Meanwhile, the child’s small hand was trembling lightly, indicating fear.

Jiang Rong crouched down to the child’s eye level, his face level with the child’s. He offered a gentle smile, “Baby, don’t be afraid. You’re safe now. Your Daddy is in the next room, still asleep. Both of you are fine. If you understand me, can you nod?”

After a while, the child sluggishly nodded. Thankfully, the child was just slow to react, much better than Leilei’s condition. Seeing the child’s hand still trembling, Jiang Rong reached out in his direction, “Don’t be afraid. Shall I take you to see your Daddy?”

The child remained silent, staring at Jiang Rong’s palm for a moment. Just when Jiang Rong thought he might refuse, the child slowly lifted his hand and placed it in Jiang Rong’s palm. Jiang Rong praised him gently, “Good boy.”

To ensure the child felt safe and could visit Guan Shao whenever he wanted, Jiang Rong purposely left the room light on. This way, day or night, the child could go whenever he wished. However, after a day passed, Jiang Rong noticed that Jiang Xiaoheng visited Guan Shao’s room more often than the child did. Several times, it was Jiang Xiaoheng who dragged him to the room.

Most of the time, the child’s gaze was vacant and expressionless. He didn’t cry when he was sad, nor did he fuss when he was hungry. The only time he opened his mouth was when it was time to eat; otherwise, his mouth remained as closed as a clamshell.

Jiang Rong only had experience taking care of Jiang Xiaoheng, who was lively, affectionate, and articulate about his needs. This led Jiang Rong to the illusion that all children in the world were as easy to handle as Jiang Xiaoheng. But with this child, Jiang Rong’s usual tactics with Jiang Xiaoheng were ineffective. After two days, the child didn’t know his name, where he lived, how old he was, or anything else.

Watching the child’s expressionless face, Jiang Rong sighed in frustration. If Guan Shao didn’t wake up soon, he would become withdrawn too. However, Jiang Xiaoheng didn’t see any problem. Even if the little brother didn’t speak, they could still get along happily. The little brother was very nice; whether he watched the Meow Meow Squad or played with the toy cars, the little brother would always be by his side.

The little brother was much better than the chubby kids in the nursery. Xiaoheng liked playing with him.

After a day and two nights of black rain, the bright sun rose again on the third morning. As the sun rose, the temperature outside quickly warmed up. The rainwater lingering in the courtyard evaporated, leaving behind gray-black traces, turning the white cement ground into a mottled gray-black.

Little Fairy was no exception. Its emerald body was covered in a layer of black shell, and the wax-yellow spikes were also streaked with black. Early in the morning, it began to twist its spikes, trying to rub off the dust.

Watching the gradually active Little Fairy, Jiang Rong had a premonition that his own abilities were coming back.

After the black rain ended, Jiang Rong finally gathered the courage to go to his little vegetable patch. The black rain had washed away the shading net he had set up, two of which had disappeared without a trace, and the remaining one was twisted and stuck to the ground.

Most of the carefully nurtured seedlings had disappeared, and even those lucky enough not to be washed away were limp and lifeless, lying on the ground devoid of vitality. Jiang Rong’s efforts of nearly half a month had been in vain.

But his efforts were not entirely in vain. If there was any surprise, it was probably that one of the chili seedlings had mutated. Instead of being washed away by the black rain, it had grown even stronger.

In the gray-black vegetable patch, there was only this bare chili seedling standing tall. Seeing this scene, Jiang Rong comforted himself: at least one chili seedling was left, which was better than complete devastation.

Just as he was about to go down to check on his chili seedling, he heard Uncle Li’s voice from the east, “Xiao Rong, are you planting vegetables?”

Jiang Rong thought Uncle Li wanted him to go see the fruit trees in the orchard, but today he might disappoint Uncle Li; his abilities hadn’t returned yet, so he might not be able to help.

However, Uncle Li didn’t come for the fruit trees; on the contrary, he came to deliver fruits and fresh vegetables to Jiang Rong and his son. He dragged a small cart with a basket of large, pale white peaches on it.

As soon as he saw Jiang Rong, Uncle Li smiled broadly, “The peaches at home are ripe, so I brought some for you and the baby to enjoy.”

Jiang Rong hurriedly declined, “Uncle Li, this is too much. I and the baby will keep a few to taste, and you can keep the rest for yourself.”

Uncle Li’s family situation was a bit complicated. There were more than a dozen people in his family, and they needed to eat and drink as soon as they woke up every day. He needed these peaches more than Jiang Rong did.

*

When Jiang Rong and Uncle Li were pushing each other, Guan Shao inside the house finally woke up. He lay quietly on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling light above his head. His mind was somewhat confused, and he needed to recall exactly what had happened.

After lying for a while, Guan Shao finally pieced together what had happened over the past few days. Before the black rain fell, he had experienced a fierce battle. He encountered a looting-type esper and almost had his thunder-type ability taken away by him. Because he had a child with him, he couldn’t exert his full strength and could only seize a car and escape when the opportunity arose.

In the dark and heavy rain, he couldn’t discern the direction clearly, so he could only rely on his instincts to take less congested roads. When he approached the Ling Mountain reservoir, the vehicle skidded out of control, and he and the child nearly fell into the pond.

After crawling out of the car, he decided to find shelter to wait out the black rain. However, under the dual attack of blood loss and hypothermia, his physical strength was rapidly draining. When he passed by a cement courtyard wall, his body gave in and he collapsed to the ground, unable to stand up again after that.

Up until he collapsed, his memory was still relatively clear. But after falling down, his memory became unclear. He only remembered darkness, with white light and shadows swaying in front of his eyes. As his vision gradually cleared, he saw a pair of familiar eyes. These eyes were not wary or guarded, nor were they malicious or calculating, but full of concern.

Under the white light, Jiang Rong’s face gradually became clear. He was draped in a slightly transparent raincoat, with the white collar of his shirt open, vaguely revealing the collarbones shaped like wings. He seemed like a soft light, illuminating the darkness around him.

After that, he didn’t remember anything.

He didn’t expect to stumble upon Jiang Rong by accident… Guan Shao raised his arm to cover his eyes, the curve of his lips turning into a bigger smile.

In the living room, the TV was playing the cartoon “Car Captain,” and Jiang Xiaoheng was sitting on the sofa watching it with his little brother. Suddenly, the door of the room on the side of the TV wall opened, and Guan Shao slowly walked out of the bedroom door.

Guan Shao hadn’t expected to see two children watching TV when he opened the door, and for a moment, he stood still at the bedroom door.

Before Guan Shao could react, Jiang Xiaoheng became excited. He jumped up from the sofa and shouted towards Guan Shao, “Daddy——Daddy——”

Guan Shao: ?????

The next moment, the young child ran towards the direction of the door, shouting as he ran, “Uncle is awake——”

Guan Shao was speechless.

 

 

This Title is available for faster chapter releases through paid Patreon membership. Any proceeds go to keeping the website running. Check it out HERE.