Picking Up My Ex-Wife in the Apocalypse - Chapter 3

After tucking the edges of the duvet tight to ensure no draft could leak in, Si Qi felt herself turn into a puddle of mush. When a piece of dried meat was offered from the side, she took it instinctively and began to chew.

At this point, she figured Si Ruxu had no reason to harm her. If the woman wanted her dead, she could do it with a flick of her wrist; there was no need to waste a perfectly good duvet and a stick of jerky on a corpse.

As she chewed, she stole a glance at the woman beside her. Si Ruxu’s hair fell like a black waterfall over her shoulders. In the firelight, her eyes seemed to hold the warmth of a spring thaw—gentle, shimmering, and impossibly kind. Si Qi lowered her gaze, suppressing the traitorous flutter in her chest.

“You have a third ability,” Si Qi said. It wasn’t a question; it was a casual observation. In the apocalypse, dual-attribute users were rare enough, but a triple-attribute user—especially one with a Space element—was unheard of.

Space meant the ability to store a base’s entire food supply, making that person vital for evacuations or migrations. However, because of its nature, most bases guarded against Space users, fearing they might hoard resources for themselves.

Si Qi wasn’t sure if the base knew and was helping her hide it, or if Si Ruxu was keeping secrets from the base as well.

“Mm,” Si Ruxu nodded simply. After a moment, she added softly, “There isn’t much in my space.”

Si Qi gave a casual shrug. Whatever was in there had nothing to do with her. They were on different paths; once the Frost passed, Si Ruxu would return to the base, and Si Qi would find a new hole to crawl into and continue her struggle.

The distance between them remained carefully calibrated. Si Qi didn’t ask why Si Ruxu was out here alone or how the base was faring; Si Ruxu didn’t ask why Si Qi had fled early to hoard winter supplies. It was a silent understanding, a relic of years spent knowing each other’s rhythms.

Originally, Si Qi had only stored enough for one. With two mouths to feed, they wouldn’t have lasted until the end of the month, but Si Ruxu’s space solved their immediate crisis.

*****

Night lasted much longer than day. As the last sliver of sunlight vanished, Si Qi lit a small fire. In the dancing flames, Si Ruxu looked exhausted, curled up in the straw in a half-sleep. Her shoulders looked frail, her face pale—she looked as though she might snap if handled too roughly.

She was significantly thinner than she had been a week ago.

“Do you have a pot in your space?” Si Qi asked quietly.

“I have a clay pot,” Si Ruxu replied, her voice weak. The moment the words left her lips, a pot appeared on the ground, followed by two ears of corn, two carrots, some salt, a few potatoes, a bag of beef jerky, and three Level 4 crystals.

“I didn’t bring much with me this time,” Si Ruxu murmured. “This is everything.”

“It’s enough.”

Enough to give Si Ruxu something decent to eat.

Si Qi poked at the fire, feeding it more straw until the flames grew bold. She tossed in the rabbit ribs she’d processed earlier, then washed and sliced the corn and carrots.

The water in the clay pot began to bubble, the flames licking the bottom and seeping warmth into the liquid. She blanched the ribs first to remove the foam, then slid the fragrant meat back into the pot. Bramble berries floated lazily on the surface, swirling in the current.

As the soup turned from clear to a milky white, the fats and marrow melting into the broth, a rich, savory aroma began to fill the cave. Si Qi added the corn and carrots, their bright yellows and oranges bobbing in the steam.

After simmering for another half hour, the meat was tender enough to fall off the bone. Si Qi looked up to see Si Ruxu already sitting up, waiting expectantly like a well-behaved child.

Si Ruxu had never been able to cook. Years ago, she used to pull a chair to the kitchen door and watch Si Qi work, reading a book while she waited for dinner. Back then, Si Qi would always lean over to give her a hug, lift her up to the sofa, and tell her it would just be a few more minutes.

Back then, I thought ten years later we’d have a bigger house and a better life.

Actual ten years later: Extreme frost, a cave, starving, freezing, no assets, and liable to die at any moment.

Since they had no bowls, Si Qi emptied the salt jar onto a clean stone and used the jar to serve Si Ruxu a portion of soup.

“Thank you,” Si Ruxu said, her eyes crinkling in the most genuine smile Si Qi had seen in a long time.

The woman ate like a lazy but gluttonous cat, sipping the broth before taking a very “determined” bite of a carrot—only to barely break the skin.

Si Ruxu had always hated carrots. She would always pretend to take a huge bite while actually eating almost none of it. In the past, Si Qi would coax her into eating them for her health. Now, she had no right to coax her, so she simply looked away and ate the carrots herself.

****

As the days passed, Si Qi used the stones in the cave as makeshift dumbbells, doing crunches and strength training. Conditions were limited, but every bit of muscle was another percent added to her survival rate.

She didn’t plan on following Si Ruxu. A triple-attribute user would be fine anywhere; an ordinary human like her was just a stepping stone or a snack. But Si Qi had the stubbornness of a woman who wanted to die with at least a bit of dignity.

While Si Qi trained, sweating even in the cold, Si Ruxu’s injuries slowly healed. Occasionally, Si Ruxu would use her space to collect clean snow, boil it in the pot, and share a cup of hot water with Si Qi.

As for the three Level 4 crystals? Si Ruxu placed them in the corners of the cave, claiming they were for “lighting.”

Perhaps it was her first time roughing it in a cave, but Si Ruxu occasionally wondered if she could use her lightning to start a fire. After nearly blowing the cave roof off once, she went back to quietly watching Si Qi use the flint.

******

Eventually, the sun regained a fraction of its warmth. Si Qi pulled back the firewood at the entrance. The blizzard was still raging, but the air felt different.

She had dug a small alcove to store their trash. After spending a few hours hauling waste out, the sky began to darken. She didn’t rush to block the entrance; she wanted to air out the cave. After a month of two people, unwashed and living with dried meat, the cave had developed a certain “fermented” funk.

Novels really are just fairy tales, she thought. In real life, cave survival is just wondering why you aren’t dead yet.

Suddenly, a Blood Moon rose in the sky. The crimson light flooded the cave like a vision of hell. Si Ruxu walked over, wrapped in her duvet, and considerately wrapped the shivering Si Qi in it as well.

So, two women huddled together in a giant ball of down feathers, watching the red moon.

“A Blood Moon… the Frost should end in a few days,” Si Ruxu murmured, her gaze unreadable.

Si Qi looked into the distance, feeling a surge of dread. Even with rebirth, she felt like a goldfish flushed into a shark tank—forced to compete in a world where she had no natural defenses.

Suddenly, a low, guttural growl shattered the silence.

A massive mutated wolf appeared at the cave entrance. Its eyes glowed a murderous green under the blood moon, and saliva dripped from its jagged fangs.

Si Qi’s heart leaped into her throat. She instinctively shielded Si Ruxu, gripping a sharp rock. The wolf lunged, a blur of fur and stench.

Death loomed over her, paralyzing her. Suddenly, a weak bolt of lightning struck the wolf’s eye. It yelped and retreated, crouching low, its green eyes fixed on them.

Another bolt struck the ground in front of the beast, leaving a charred mark. Si Qi looked back at Si Ruxu.

Panic flared. Si Ruxu’s face was ghost-white. Her injuries were clearly worse than just the puncture wound—she likely had severe internal damage that prevented her from regenerating her energy. She couldn’t even absorb the crystals she’d been using as “lightbulbs.”

Si Qi stood firm, shielding Si Ruxu as they backed deeper into the cave. The wolf paced outside, hesitating. It was testing them. Even if Si Ruxu was weak, the pressure of a high-ranking Lightning user was still intimidating.

But the wolf wouldn’t wait forever. Cold sweat matted Si Qi’s brow. Suddenly, a soft, cold hand touched her fingers.

“Go inside,” Si Ruxu whispered. “I can handle this.”

“With what? Your pathetic leftovers of lightning?” Si Qi snapped, her muscles corded with tension. She knew what Si Ruxu was planning—exploding her core to take the beast with her.

If survival meant stepping over Si Ruxu’s corpse, Si Qi didn’t want it.

The wolf realized their bluff. It howled and lunged.

Behind Si Qi, Si Ruxu’s body went fever-hot. Lightning began to arc around her, her eyes turning blood-red.

Suddenly, the wolf’s movements slowed in Si Qi’s vision. It was as if time had been paused, the beast suspended in mid-air.

Si Qi didn’t think. she lunged forward, tackling the wolf out of the cave and using a sharp stone to gouge out its eyes.

Time snapped back into motion. The wolf shrieked in agony, its rage redoubling. It swung a massive claw at her.

At that moment, a glowing stone was tossed to Si Qi’s feet. It carried a faint electrical charge, creating a chain of lightning that briefly bound the wolf’s legs.

Si Qi’s eyes flashed a terrifying crimson. Instinctively, she saw several “points” on the wolf’s body, connecting them into a single killing line. In a flash, the beast was sliced into pieces. Its head split open, and a Level 2 crystal rolled out.

As the beast fell, Si Qi’s world went black, and she collapsed.

The blood moon sank below the horizon. Si Ruxu used a small spark of lightning for light, slowly tucking a “Shock Grenade”—her actual backup plan—back into her space. She hadn’t even needed to use it. Si Qi had clearly misunderstood and thought she was going to commit suicide-by-core-explosion.

Beside Si Qi, the Level 2 crystal and the Level 4 crystals used for lighting had all crumbled into ash.

A faint, intrigued smile played on Si Ruxu’s lips.

It seems, she thought, I’ve stumbled upon quite a discovery.

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