Picking Up My Ex-Wife in the Apocalypse - Chapter 24

Watching Si Ruxu’s calm profile, the last bit of malicious amusement in Si Luoheng’s heart was instantly extinguished.

She could never read Si Ruxu’s mind. Even though they were only a few years apart, Si Ruxu had always felt worlds away.

She remembered a Spring Festival years ago when Si Ruxu brought Si Qi home. Before entering the house, Si Ruxu had pulled everyone aside and told them with fierce sincerity: “This is the person I found at school. I love her very, very much. Treat her like family.” She had even written out a detailed list of Si Qi’s preferences and decorated the guest room in blue and white—Si Qi’s favorite colors.

Years later, Si Ruxu had said she no longer loved her with that same detached expression. Si Luoheng had rushed from her lab to find her sister swirling a glass of crimson wine, a faint scent of alcohol clinging to her breath.

“Luoheng, is it a crime to stop loving someone?” Si Ruxu had asked. On the corner of the table lay an opened gift box; a present discarded in the trash.

Si Luoheng had stayed, drinking glass after glass with her until her sister collapsed by the bed. But as she prepared to leave the bedroom, the light of the Blood Moon spilled through the window onto Si Ruxu’s body.

Si Luoheng’s gaze had turned dark and humid. She watched Si Ruxu in the moonlight—the flushed face, the white knuckles and saw her sister’s fingernails begin to grow inch by inch under the red glow. She slowly approached, pulled a vial of purple liquid from her pocket, and after a moment of hesitation, plunged the needle into Si Ruxu’s arm.

The body gradually returned to normal. Si Luoheng took one last look through the crack in the door, donned Si Ruxu’s trench coat, and walked out.

Within days, the first cases of “human mutation” appeared in S-City. These mutants were sentient and non-aggressive; only their blood had turned green. Si Luoheng disguised herself to enter hospitals and sample their blood. She mass-produced the virus and, one night, climbed to the city’s highest peak, letting the evening breeze carry the contagion to every corner.

The so-called “Awakened” were merely humans infected by the virus. They were one form of mutation; the “ordinary people” were simply those the virus hadn’t reached.

*****

Everything clicked into place. Why the Purge only targeted Awakened. Why some people awakened while others didn’t.

Si Ruxu’s face turned deathly pale. She knew that on the afternoon Si Luoheng released the virus, Si Qi had already left S-City for a trip abroad. She hadn’t returned until much later.

Si Qi could not possibly be an “Awakened” by the virus’s standards.

Si Luoheng watched her sister’s expression shift and laughed boldly. “Figured it out? ‘He’ wants to destroy human civilization, so ‘He’ wants the virus-infected Awakened dead. But why does ‘He’ save Si Qi over and over again?”

“Sister, Si Qi isn’t on our side. Her power comes from Him, not the virus. As long as she lives, the apocalypse will never end.”

Si Ruxu’s knuckles turned white. She had known Si Qi was connected to the end of the world, but she never imagined it was like this. “If Si Qi exists, the end won’t come? Why should I believe you?”

“I’m guessing,” Si Luoheng blinked, pouring herself wine. “But I want to know for sure. Whether it’s researching her or putting her behind that door… it’s all to kill her. And Sister… it’s all thanks to you.”

The screen flickered back to Si Qi. She was on her knees amidst a mountain of monster corpses, writing a number in the blood on the floor: 9,567.

The monsters were getting stronger. A multi-headed zombie staggered toward her, and as she used her space ability to isolate it, a sharp pain tore through her back. She looked down to see a green scythe-like claw protruding from her chest. A mutated mantis had skewered her.

Blood sprayed from her mouth. She grabbed the claw, snapped it with raw strength, and ripped it out. Crimson patterns flooded her eyes. With a roar, she tore the mantis apart with her bare fists. Then, her vision blurred, and she collapsed.

The voice from her dreams returned, echoing from the void:

“Why… why help them… why aren’t you willing…”

Willing for what?

Help… who?

Si Qi tried to speak, but her body was paralyzed. Only the agonizing pain in her organs remained. Just a little more. Just a little further.

Am I dying? But what about Si Ruxu? If I’d known… I should have just taken that man’s token.

Before falling into total darkness, she thought she heard a man’s voice arguing. Then, something was pressed into her mouth, and she was lifted into a soft, swaying space.

*****

She didn’t know how long she slept. When Si Qi woke, she was in a cryo-pod. Nutrient and repair fluids were being pumped into her body through various tubes. The moment she moved, an alarm blared, turning the lights a warning red.

She lay back down in silence.

The mechanical door hissed open. “Awake? Saving you cost me quite a lot of effort.”

Si Qi peeked over the edge of the pod to see Luo Fenghe in a white lab coat. There were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept in weeks.

“How long was I out? Where is Si Ruxu? Is she… alive?”

“Relax,” Luo Fenghe pulled back the pod cover. “Si Ruxu wouldn’t be allowed to die even if you did.” He checked her wounds, satisfied with the healing. “Lucky I planted that bug on you.”

“Did you know your ex-wife has a sister?”

Si Qi nodded. She had met her once, years ago.

“The woman at the Institute—that’s her. Si Ruxu used you. She manipulated you into bringing her there.”

Luo Fenghe watched Si Qi’s eyes. They remained flat, showing no emotion. He chuckled; he knew she wouldn’t believe him so easily. Some things required the person themselves to witness.

Si Qi didn’t believe him. Her memory of Si Luoheng was of a quiet, shy girl in a school uniform, nothing like the woman in red. Regardless, Luo Fenghe had saved her life. She stepped out of the pod, her joints stiff.

“How long has it been? What do you want me to do for you?”

She looked at her reflection in the metal of the pod. The red patterns around her eyes were still there, still working to repair her.

“You’ve been asleep for three months. The second Great Purge is about to begin. I need you to go in with me.”

Si Qi nodded; it was a fair request. “How do you know who’s going?”

Luo Fenghe pulled up his sleeve to reveal a blood-red tattoo. “Roughly ten thousand Awakened have this mark. It’s the roster for the second round.”

Si Qi checked herself. “I don’t have one. How can I go with you?”

“Just tell your ‘Mom’ you want to go.”

Si Qi: “???”

Luo Fenghe gave a dry laugh. “Tell ‘Him’ you’re going.”

During the three months Si Qi was dying, all natural disasters had bypassed this base. As a creation of His own, Si Qi was supposed to be at every Purge, but she had been too injured to “attend.”

Si Qi whispered skeptically to the air, “Hello… I want to go to the Purge.”

Suddenly, her palm burned. A small, blood-red tattoo appeared. It was smaller than Luo Fenghe’s and next to it was a tiny, perfect heart.

*****

Luo Fenghe’s gaze darkened with an unreadable emotion. “How could a Creator not love their child? We were like that once; now it’s your turn.”

He believed that in the early days, humanity should have negotiated with Him instead of modifying themselves with viruses and stealing the habitats of other species until He was finally provoked.

Si Qi was lost. She didn’t understand a word he said.

Luo Fenghe assigned a specialist for her physical therapy. As she wandered the base, she saw things she hadn’t seen elsewhere. There was an ordinary human living area where farmers worked land nurtured by Earth-types. There were teachers, craftsmen, and children. Everything was orderly. Just like the old world.

Si Qi would spend hours looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the base below. Sometimes Luo Fenghe would join her, asking what she saw. She would only shake her head.

She had never seen such harmony. To her, “safety” had always been a tiny room alone in the rain.

“Si Qi.”

She turned to look at Luo Fenghe. He was smiling as the sun set, casting warm shadows over him.

“If you and Si Ruxu end up on opposite sides… what will you do?”

Si Qi looked down at the peaceful world below, where ordinary people were treated with kindness. Her voice was light, scattered by the wind.

“I think… I’ll stay true to myself.”

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