Picking Up My Ex-Wife in the Apocalypse - Chapter 44

“Stop guessing!” Si Ruxu’s voice cut through the air with a biting chill. Si Luoheng flinched, her eyes filling with the thick, layered grievance of a child.

Si Ruxu lowered her gaze, hiding her trembling hands behind her back. Her fingers interlaced, her pale wrists straining with a hidden tension. “Until there is sufficient evidence, even if every phenomenon points toward that conclusion, it remains useless.”

Si Luoheng knew her sister too well, and she was equally familiar with the way Si Ruxu spoke when she was flustered. She let out a strained smile, her gaze shifting to Si Qi, who had remained silent throughout the exchange.

Si Qi’s expression was dazed, like a helpless child. She looked at Si Ruxu. “If I am indeed that First Human, then why did He ignore me for two years? Why wait until I died once to start paying attention? And why force me into the Purge over and over, hanging between life and death? What exactly is He planning?”

The weight of the words was too heavy. Si Ruxu turned her head away, the silence spreading through the air like a thick, grey shadow. “Si Qi, trust us, okay? He wants to use your eyes to tell us something… to teach us something.”

Si Luoheng took a sip of the red wine she claimed to hate, clicking her tongue at Si Ruxu’s taste. She looked down, a cryptic smile playing on her lips.

Si Qi died once? That was news to her, and yet her sister hadn’t refuted it.

Si Luoheng knew Si Ruxu was no mere brute who relied only on force; she had enough guile to maintain a complex, interlocking game board. Si Qi, she realized, was the only variable. When the player starts caring about the survival of a specific piece, the game is compromised.

If Si Ruxu were truly objective, she would use Si Qi as a sensor to understand the apocalypse, pushing her into danger to trigger her full potential. But because she had fallen for Si Qi, she had abandoned the chance to gather more intel. She spread false conclusions, made Si Qi a hero to be admired, and did everything to keep her from being hurt.

Even with the most logical conclusion staring her in the face, Si Ruxu denied it. Was she afraid that a confirmed link between Si Qi and Him would put Si Qi’s life at further risk?

In truth, Si Luoheng understood everything. From the moment she offered the black hole and Si Ruxu entered the Purge without a single question, she knew her sister was deeper than anyone imagined. Si Ruxu must have known the black hole thrown at Si Qi would only cause injury, not death. Yet, she still felt a heartache so profound she couldn’t bear to gain information through Si Qi’s pain.

Si Luoheng looked up, meeting Si Ruxu’s warning glare. She smirked and drained her glass of blood-red liquid.

Si Ruxu didn’t intend to keep her secrets from Si Qi anymore, but that was between the two of them. If Si Qi couldn’t forgive her calculating sister, if she became utterly disillusioned and they turned against each other, that would be a fine ending in Si Luoheng’s eyes.

“The announcement that Si Qi is a Savior, not an anomaly, has been sent. Every base has confirmed receipt,” Si Luoheng said, acting like a mature adult. “As for her energy, the remains of the small zombie’s power have mostly dissipated. She can use her abilities more often now; it will help the three energy clusters merge.”

*****

The small zombie was truly gone. In her heart, Si Qi felt the warm, slow power that had been huddled there break free, scattering wildly through her meridians. For some reason, she felt a profound sense of “the fox mourning the death of the rabbit”—a shared grief for a fallen kin.

Stepping out of the Institute, the sun felt warm against her skin for the first time in an age. She could sense the vitality in the air, scents that carried fragments of old memories. Regaining her powers didn’t bring the joy it once had; instead, it felt heavy, as if something were weighing her down.

She tore through space and found the highest mountain peak to sit upon. Mist swirled around the summit; she couldn’t see the people below, and they couldn’t see her.

Just as she thought she was finally alone, a gust of wind—stronger than a normal mountain breeze—swept over her, followed by the roar of an engine. Si Qi looked to the side as a massive private helicopter touched down nearby.

A woman in a light trench coat stepped out, tilting her head with a smile.

Si Qi: “…”

“How do you find me everywhere?”

“I’d like to ask why you love climbing mountains so much,” Si Ruxu replied.

“Because it’s quiet. No noise.”

Because it’s away from people. A place where there is no suspicion and no hurt. This had been Si Qi’s survival law for years.

Before Si Ruxu could speak, another roar filled the air. A helicopter of a different color circled above before landing beside Si Ruxu’s. A man in black pilot gear jumped out. His expression stiffened the moment he saw Si Ruxu, and he looked at Si Qi in disbelief.

“I thought you were alone,” Luo Fenghe said. “Are you two rekindling the old flame and having a date here?”

…

“She just arrived. Is something wrong?” Si Qi explained simply, missing the sharp, territorial glint in Si Ruxu’s eyes.

But Luo Fenghe noticed. He crinkled his eyes in a smile. He had a clean, refreshing look that made him seem youthful and sunny when he laughed. “Can’t I come find you even if nothing is wrong?”

He stretched, and as his sleeves shifted, Si Qi caught a glimpse of scarred, scabbed skin. Her cold gaze softened slightly. “No… I just thought you’d be busy. There’s no need to come if there’s no business.”

“Bingo! Correct! I am busy, and that’s exactly why I’m here. I saw the Institute’s announcement. The bounties on you and Si Ruxu have been pulled. Within a single day, you’ve practically got a fan club out there.”

“I figured you’ve been hunted for so long that staying in that cold Institute would be too depressing. I’m here to invite you to stay at our base for a while.”

“You won’t say no, right? Our base is the only one that treats ordinary people right, without discrimination. Who could be more relaxed than us?”

At the mention of the base, Si Qi’s first instinct was to refuse. But memories of the days she spent with the people at Luo Fenghe’s base flooded her mind. She realized she actually liked the liveliness—especially after being alone for so long.

Still, she had doubts. If choosing a path led to unpredictable consequences, she preferred to decline. But Si Ruxu spoke first.

“If you want to take someone from my side, shouldn’t you consider my opinion as well as hers?”

“Oh?” Luo Fenghe’s smile faltered slightly, but he didn’t press the issue. He disliked Si Ruxu because his only knowledge of her came from Si Qi’s painful memories—and the fact that Si Ruxu had stood by while Si Qi almost died. He thought she was bad for Si Qi.

But he wasn’t blind. He could see the lingering marks of metal energy injuries on Si Ruxu, and the scent of the Purge on her clothes. Si Ruxu hadn’t been chosen for the Purge, yet Si Qi had returned to the Institute with her. She must have forced her way in to save her.

So, he repeated himself with forced patience. “Then, would you be willing to let Si Qi come to my base to relax?”

Si Ruxu offered a faint, elegant smile. Her wavy hair fell loosely behind her as she looked at him with beautiful but cool eyes. “Of course. Provided Si Qi agrees, and provided you take me along as well.”

Take Si Ruxu along.

For some reason, Si Qi felt a sense of security. Si Ruxu had been the one by her side through everything lately. She seemed to understand that Si Qi was afraid of facing a crowd alone.

“I’ll… consider it. You should go back first,” Si Qi said.

Luo Fenghe nodded. With Si Qi’s Space ability, traveling anywhere was instantaneous. He climbed back into his helicopter, yelling down as he took off, “Remember to come! If you two are really that inseparable, I’ll prepare a double suite for you!”

If everything Si Ruxu was doing now was for the world and for Si Qi, Luo Fenghe decided he could overlook the past and grudgingly accept her as his friend’s “wife.”

As the helicopter took off, the downdraft kicked up a cloud of dust that covered Si Qi. Si Ruxu tried to block some of it with her coat, but it was futile. When the dust settled, she looked at Si Qi—covered in grey soot, her eyes dull. She looked like a kitten that had been thoroughly defeated by life.

Si Ruxu tapped Si Qi’s forehead. Seeing the girl look back with dark, confused eyes, she took out some wet wipes and began carefully, meticulously cleaning Si Qi’s face.

Si Qi wasn’t used to being tended to like this. She tried to turn away, but Si Ruxu held her head steady.

“Don’t move. Be good,” she coaxed, her voice like she was talking to a child. Si Qi thinned her lips and truly stopped moving.

“What do you think of his suggestion? Do you want to go?”

Si Ruxu’s voice was incredibly tender, her eyes full of a devotion that suggested she would follow Si Qi anywhere she chose to go.

“Do you want to go?” Si Qi asked.

“Actually, I’m quite curious about what the ‘happiest base’ looks like. So, would you be willing to take me there to see for myself?”

Si Ruxu’s eyes were bright, looking as though she truly wanted to go, and as if Si Qi agreeing would make her completely content.

“Then… let’s go.”

If it was with Si Ruxu, Si Qi felt she could handle it. Si Ruxu would know how to navigate the social complexities better than she ever could.

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