The Post-Apocalyptic Rival Who Crashed My Wedding with a Baby - Chapter 15

Once the group decided to accept the mission to Chonghai Base, they didn’t waste any time.

“Then let’s get moving,” An Songyu said, patting his stomach after finishing his meal.

The mountain forest wasn’t overly large, but even with their enhanced Esper physiques, it would take a good hour to trek out. Dragon City and Chonghai lay in opposite directions; even under ideal conditions, it would take them three days to reach their destination.

Jiang Weiqing nodded in agreement. “Right. No time like the present. We need to leave immediately.”

Miao Jialing sighed, her face full of reluctance. “We have to walk so far right after eating?” She turned her gaze to the black raven, trying to strike a bargain. “Little Black, could you give me a lift?”

Little Black’s grey eyes darted around. It flapped its wings, growing to two or three times its previous size. It soared from Lin Yunxia’s shoulder to the treetop and let out a few sharp caws, striking a clear posture of refusal.

Miao Jialing pursed her lips. “Why is Little Black so stingy? Worst case, I’ll help you collect some gold.”

Little Black loved shiny things like gold and diamonds more than anything. To her surprise, the raven remained unmoved, shooting her a disdainful look as if to say, I have plenty of that stuff already.

Jiang Weiqing wasn’t surprised. Little Black had always been arrogant and hated carrying people. It didn’t even give her, its owner, any face.

She comforted Jialing: “That’s just Little Black’s personality. Be patient. Once we hit the road, we can find a car.”

*****

In the apocalypse, cars were abandoned everywhere. As long as you could find gasoline, you could drive them away. Before the world ended, people preferred unique styles and brilliant colors; now, low-profile colors were favored, and durability, torque, and fuel efficiency were the real priorities.

No sooner had Jiang Weiqing finished speaking than Little Black gave her a metaphorical slap in the face.

The moment Little Black noticed Shen Qingyu walking out of the cave with the baby in her arms, it dove down from the branch and cawed twice, desperate to catch their attention.

Upon hearing the bird, the baby responded with a happy “ya-ya,” her tiny arms and legs flailing as if she were keeping a beat. Little Black landed carefully in front of the two and bowed its head respectfully until it nearly touched the ground. The meaning was unmistakable: it was offering Shen Qingyu and the baby a ride.

An Songyu looked at Jiang Weiqing and clicked his tongue. “Captain, didn’t you say that was just ‘Little Black’s personality’?”

“Why do I get the feeling that isn’t the case at all?”

Jiang Weiqing’s teeth began to itch with annoyance. She suddenly remembered that at the engagement ceremony, Little Black had escaped with the two of them just like this. She was the bird’s actual master, yet it insisted on sucking up to her rival. Her face darkened as she let out a loud cough and scolded, “Little Black!”

She intended to stop it, but Little Black ignored her with a sidelong glance. It even lowered its head further into Shen Qingyu’s hand, looking completely submissive.

Shen Qingyu stroked its head. “Thank you, Little Black, but it’s alright.”

The raven let out a stubborn cry and looked at the child in her arms. Its gaze seemed to say: Aren’t you going to consider the baby?

Before Shen Qingyu realized it, the baby had already scrambled onto Little Black’s back. She hugged its wings and babbled, “Mama, come up.” She patted the bird’s back excitedly. Fortunately, she was small and weak, so her pats didn’t cause any pain.

Left with no choice, Shen Qingyu sat down. Lu Yan’s eyes darted around, and after a few meows, she scurried directly into Shen Qingyu’s lap. Little Black cawed in dissatisfaction at the extra weight.

“I’m sitting in Sister Qingyu’s lap, not on you, meow!” Lu Yan argued.

Little Black’s grey-blue eyes flashed with exasperation, but after a few shudders of its body, it obediently took flight. Seeing the two women, the raven, and the cat about to leave them behind, Jiang Weiqing gritted her teeth and looked at her teammates. “Don’t just stand there, keep up!”

She lashed out a water whip, tethering it firmly to Little Black’s right leg, while her other hand threw out a water vine that dangled in mid-air. The rest of the team leaped forward, grabbing onto the vine. From a distance, it looked like a long root was hanging from Little Black’s foot. Annoyed, the raven began to rise and fall sharply, trying to shake the hangers-on off.

The erratic altitude and the alternating blasts of hot and cold air were too much for the frail Xu Bairan. He broke into a coughing fit. Lin Yunxia hurriedly cast a healing spell on him, her face full of concern. “Xiao Bai, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Sister Yunxia,” Bairan said, forcing a smile. He was simply being choked by the high-altitude winds. While Yunxia’s healing could stimulate cell growth, it wasn’t a cure-all for internal irritation.

Seeing this, Shen Qingyu flicked her finger. Metal elements in the air were extracted instantly, manifesting a windproof iron plate in front of Xu Bairan. It wrapped around him securely, offering plenty of space and even a thoughtful iron stool. Four or five metal buckles snapped firmly onto the water vine, ensuring a smooth ride.

Xu Bairan felt the biting wind vanish instantly. His face, which had been flushed red by the cold, regained its normal color. He relaxed his grip on the water vine, feeling the tension leave his bones.

He looked up at Shen Qingyu with a genuine smile. “Thank you, Sister Qingyu.”

Miao Jialing saw this and immediately mimicked him, letting out two fake coughs and making a pitiful face. “Sister Qingyu, why can’t I stop coughing? I think I have a cold too.”

In reality, her complexion was rosy, and as a Fire-type Esper, her constitution was robust; a little wind wouldn’t give her a cold. But seeing Jialing’s sparkling eyes, Shen Qingyu didn’t expose her. She nodded. “Alright.”

With a wave of her hand, she provided Jialing with the same setup. The moment the iron plates surrounded her, Jialing felt the pressure of the wind disappear. She let out a long breath and beamed. “Thanks, Sister Qingyu!”

Shen Qingyu gave her usual cold nod, but the baby waved her hands happily, the silver bell on her wrist jingling. “You’re welcome!” she chirped.

“Baby, you’re so cute!” Jialing laughed. Jiang Weiqing couldn’t help but nod in agreement. Her rival was annoying enough, but the child was precious. Perhaps because of the apocalypse, the girl was remarkably mature; she didn’t cry or fuss during emergencies, only watching the world with curious eyes.

To be honest, Jiang Weiqing was starting to feel a little jealous that Shen Qingyu had “found” such a wonderful child.

The hulking An Songyu, always one to follow the path of least resistance, realized Shen Qingyu wasn’t as cold as she looked. He flashed a cheeky grin and rubbed his cold arms, acting pitiful. “Sister Qingyu, so cold. Help, help.”

Hearing a man of his size acting like a fragile damsel in distress made Jiang Weiqing sick. She kicked his arm. “An Songyu, can you stop being so disgusting? I’m about to throw up my breakfast.”

Lin Yunxia also shot him a reproachful look. “Sister Qingyu just recovered her energy. How can you waste it on something so trivial?”

Shen Qingyu blinked and said indifferently, “It’s fine. It doesn’t use much energy.” A few wind deflectors were easy to construct without much drain if calculated correctly.

Seeing that Shen Qingyu truly didn’t mind, Lin Yunxia’s face broke into an embarrassed smile. She rubbed the back of her head, then blinked her eyes and repeated An Songyu’s words: “Sister Qingyu, so cold. Help, help.”

Jiang Weiqing: “…” How did these people with zero integrity become my teammates?

Shen Qingyu’s gaze lingered on Jiang Weiqing for a moment. Seeing that she had no intention of speaking, she said, “In that case, everyone move to Little Black’s left leg. I’ll remodel it.”

An Songyu’s eyes lit up. An earth shield rose beneath his feet, creating a bridge in mid-air. The group scurried across, leaving Jiang Weiqing alone, dangling from the water vine on the right.

The team felt a surge of intense metallic power. The iron plates began to twist and deform with incredible force, molded like clay in Shen Qingyu’s hands. Three minutes later, a large, metallic, pressurized cable car had been constructed, secured to Little Black’s left leg by seven or eight thick metal wires.

An Songyu happily opened the door, tapping the glass in wonder. “Sister Qingyu’s power is amazing.” Metal-type Espers were rare, and now he understood why. Archimedes said that with a lever and a fulcrum, he could move the earth; for a Metal Esper, give her a bit of metal, and she could build an entire arsenal.

Miao Jialing nodded and hurried inside. A current of warm air flowed through the cabin, as if an air conditioner were running. The others sighed in satisfaction; Lu Yan even shifted back to human form just to experience the novelty.

Outside, Jiang Weiqing was shivering. Noticing Lin Yunxia’s gaze, she straightened her back and tilted her head, pretending to admire the scenery. But her trembling shoulders gave her away.

Lin Yunxia laughed softly. “Captain, just give in and be nice to Sister Qingyu.” Though they hadn’t known her long, Yunxia had a great impression of her. She wasn’t a petty person.

“Yeah, come on,” Jialing added. “There’s plenty of room in here.” The cabin had two rows of seats that could fit four people each; there was more than enough space for two more Jiang Weiqings.

Jiang Weiqing’s face was flushed red from the wind, but she kept her lips pressed tight. “I’m fine,” she said, tossing her hair with feigned nonchalance. “It’s summer; it’s too hot anyway. I’m just cooling off.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Little Black acted as if it had heard her “brave” declaration. It intentionally did a barrel roll. Jiang Weiqing, caught off guard, nearly flew off. Her hair was instantly a tangled mess, fluttering around her head like a ghost.

Miao Jialing couldn’t help it; she burst out laughing. “Hahaha! Captain, you look exactly like Sadako from The Ring!”

“You could save a fortune on makeup and costumes,” An Songyu agreed, nodding solemnly. Even Xu Bairan couldn’t hide his snickering.

Jiang Weiqing hurriedly smoothed her hair and rolled her eyes at them. “Do you people have any sympathy at all?”

Though it was summer, the morning dew made the air freezing. Even with her robust physique, the wind was making her shiver. Meanwhile, her teammates were inside a warm cabin, laughing and even snacking on melon seeds. The envy was eating her alive.

But the thought of swallowing her pride to beg her rival was too much to bear. She turned her head away. She would not bow to Shen Qingyu! She would not give her rival the satisfaction of seeing her fail!

“Captain, are you really not cold?” Jialing asked, leaning against the window.

Jiang Weiqing rubbed her nose and let out two massive sneezes. “No,” she said, her voice clearly nasally. “I’m not cold.” She thumped her chest. “I’m in peak physical condition.” Her trembling voice, however, held zero credibility.

Lu Yan saw right through her. “The Captain just doesn’t want to lose face in front of Sister Qingyu, meow.”

“Not at all,” Jiang Weiqing insisted, head held high. “I’m just genuinely too hot.”

Her stubbornness left the group speechless. Then, Shen Qingyu’s voice drifted into her ear.

“Too hot? Then let me make you a fan.”

Suddenly, a small pink electric fan materialized in the air. It clipped itself directly onto Jiang Weiqing’s cargo pocket and began blowing a concentrated stream of air right into her forehead.

Jiang Weiqing felt an instant, splitting headache. She glared at Shen Qingyu. “Are you trying to give me a cold on purpose?”

“The mortality rate from a cold in the apocalypse is actually quite high,” Shen Qingyu replied expressionlessly.

Fuming, Jiang Weiqing ripped the fan off and crushed it in her hand. Then, she climbed into the cabin with righteous indignation. “I won’t let your schemes succeed!” she barked at Shen Qingyu.

Lin Yunxia couldn’t help but smile. Her Captain had fallen for such a transparent bit of reverse psychology. Is this the charm of being rivals?

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