The Post-Apocalyptic Rival Who Crashed My Wedding with a Baby - Chapter 20

“Boss, what exactly did you mean by that earlier?” Hutong asked, his voice laced with confusion as he recalled Duan Muyu’s warning.

He gazed out through the half-open window. A velvet black curtain draped across the sky, and the bright, clear moon radiated a ghostly luminescence. Rows of stars twinkled like tiny lit lamps surrounding the moon’s glow. By all accounts, it looked like a beautiful, calm night. Yet, their leader had specifically ordered them to lock their doors and windows, fearing a sudden storm.

Chen Huawei, who had made four or five desperate trips to the bathroom, clutched his stomach. His face was waxy and pale, and he looked as though he might collapse from exhaustion at any moment. Despite his state, he forced himself to find some spirit to grumble at Hutong. “Just do what the Boss says. Why do you have to be so chatty?”

Chen Huawei was impulsive and simple-minded, but he had his own code of conduct: follow the strongest and listen to the smartest. It was obvious to him that Duan Muyu, as a Brain-type Esper, was many times more intelligent than both him and Hutong combined. On this point, Chen Huawei possessed a healthy amount of self-awareness.

Duan Muyu didn’t answer directly. Instead, she looked at Hutong and asked, “Do you know the relationship between a hornbill and a rhinoceros?”

At the mention of this, Chen Huawei’s eyes lit up. He immediately raised his hand. “Boss, I know! It’s a symbiotic relationship. The hornbill feeds on parasites on the rhino’s body and alerts the rhino to approaching danger, while the rhino provides food and relief from those pesky pests.”

Hutong grew even more bewildered. He scratched the back of his head and asked, “Boss, what does that have to do with closing the windows?”

Duan Muyu tilted her head back, her dark pupils fixed on the world outside. “Don’t you think the Level 4 Spatial Zombie King we dealt with today was a little too easy to kill?”

The strength of Shen Qingyu and Jiang Weiqing was beyond doubt, but the power of a Spatial-type zombie should never be underestimated. Chen Huawei’s mind was quick; he grasped her meaning instantly. “Boss, are you saying that Spatial zombie had a partner?”

Duan Muyu’s gaze remained fixed on the golden osmanthus petals littering the ground outside. “Exactly. And it’s likely coming for revenge very soon.”

A flash of genuine anxiety crossed Chen Huawei’s face. He shouted out in a hurry, “Then why are we still sitting here? We have to get to Goddess Qing’s room!” After all, Shen Qingyu was the one who struck the final blow and took the soul crystal.

Watching Chen Huawei scramble toward the door, Duan Muyu reached out a hand and calmly blocked his path. “Shen Qingyu isn’t the one in danger. It’s Jiang Weiqing.”

Shen Qingyu had just finished absorbing the crystal’s power and was at her peak. Since the enemy possessed human intelligence, it wouldn’t choose a head-on collision. Understanding the implication, Hutong finally realized why their leader had chosen this specific room: it was positioned directly across from Jiang Weiqing’s.

Chen Huawei realized it too. When picking a persimmon, you always go for the softest one; compared to the refreshed Shen Qingyu, an exhausted Jiang Weiqing was the perfect breakthrough point.

“Boss, when do we go up?” Chen Huawei asked.

Just as the words left his mouth, a sudden, jarring knock echoed through the room. Duan Muyu’s eyes turned cold. She held her tablet in one hand and conjured a blade of ice in the other. “It’s already here.”

Before Chen Huawei could ask who “it” was, the incredibly reinforced security door was pierced by a brown tree branch the size of a human arm as if it were made of paper. Before he could react, thick trunks and green leaves began crawling across the walls. Tiny, beautiful golden osmanthus flowers bloomed at the tips, releasing a heavy fragrance so sweet it caused a momentary daze, bringing back memories of the beautiful world before the collapse.

“Hold your breath! The fragrance is a hallucinogen!” Duan Muyu shouted.

A second later, she was swarmed by countless branches bursting through the walls. She frowned, suppressing her irritation as her pupils turned an icy blue. A wave of frost radiated from her body, instantly freezing the encroaching branches. Beside her, Hutong didn’t stay idle; he swung his heavy Tang Dao, hacking through the wood.

“Boss, lower the temperature even more!” Chen Huawei yelled as he conjured fireballs. “Otherwise my fire won’t burn through these fast enough!”

These were mutated branches; if they weren’t destroyed instantly, they would split, multiply, and regrow in seconds. It was a disgusting, relentless cycle.

“The osmanthus branches have mutated, be careful!” Hutong grunted. Even as a Strength-type Esper and a master of ancient martial arts, the high-intensity swinging was beginning to wear him down. In a moment of distraction, a branch snaked around his ankle. He cut one, but four or five more immediately took its place. Chen Huawei tried to help with fireballs, but his fear of accidentally burning Hutong made him hesitant. He soon found himself surrounded and bound by the vines. “Boss, help us!”

The walls had long since collapsed under the weight of the struggle. Golden petals carpeted the room, and the pale moonlight reflecting off them lent the scene a tragic, eerie beauty. Having lost two fighters, Duan Muyu faced an endless assault of wood. Though she could freeze some of it, the drain on her energy was too great.

As she saw Hutong and Chen Huawei being hoisted into the air, she grabbed a rope and looped it around Chen Huawei’s ankle. Chen gripped Hutong’s arm, his face turning a deep red as the blood rushed to his head. But the strength of a single person couldn’t compete with the powerful mutated tree; she felt herself being pulled up by the sheer weight of it.

“Chen Huawei! Hutong!” Duan Muyu cried out as she watched her teammates be dragged toward the second floor, her usually calm face finally showing signs of agitation.

Suddenly, the frantic “meowing” of a small black cat caught her attention. “Sister Yunxia, grab my hand!”

Because of the tree’s assault, the floor of the second story had become a sieve. Lin Yunxia had accidentally stepped through a hole and was falling through the air. Miao Jialing had managed to grab a handle on the wall to stabilize herself and reached out to catch Yunxia, but she was just an inch too short.

The fall was too fast, and the air was filled with interfering vines. Lin Yunxia closed her eyes, giving up hope. She tried to comfort herself; a fall from one story wasn’t that high. It would result in shattered bones, but as long as she didn’t die, she could heal herself. She would just have to endure the pain.

But the expected agony never came. Instead, she fell into a firm embrace. The cold aura and the bridal-style carry felt strangely out of place. Lin Yunxia looked up at Duan Muyu, embarrassed. “Thank you.”

In that moment, she realized Duan Muyu was much taller than the average girl—at least 1.78 meters, towering over her by more than a head.

“You’re welcome,” Duan Muyu replied with her usual cold, dismissive tone. Once she was sure Yunxia wasn’t hurt, she immediately returned to slaughtering the mutated branches.

Miao Jialing, seeing that Yunxia was safe on the first floor, leaped down to join them. “Shall we cooperate?” she asked Duan Muyu.

After assessing their combat power, Duan Muyu nodded. “Yes.” In the distance, she could see a group of zombies wandering closer. With a common enemy at the gates, cooperation was the only logical choice.

Lin Yunxia’s healing powers were useless for direct offense, so the three women formed a triangular shield formation to ensure everyone had a chance to rest. Yunxia continuously released her energy; at Level 4, her healing worked like a video game support character, restoring both health and energy to her teammates. However, her tightly pressed lips showed that this was a massive drain on her own stamina.

On the other side, Chen Huawei and Hutong ran into An Songyu and Xu Bairan. “Brother Yu! Xiao Bai! Save me!” Chen screamed.

An Songyu wasted no time, slicing through the vines with an earth blade. As the roots tried to regrow, Bairan released his Wood-type power. A mutated sunflower erupted from the floor, its petals opening wide to bite into the roots. The mutated wood writhed violently, but within three seconds, the toxin spread, and the vines withered into dust.

“Xiao Bai, you’re amazing!” Chen Huawei breathed.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” An Songyu grumbled. “Where did all these branches come from?”

Chen Huawei hurriedly explained Duan Muyu’s theory. An Songyu’s eyes sharpened. “We have to get to the Captain, now!”

Just as he turned to leave, as if the mutated plant had heard them, the walls shattered like wet newspaper. Roots the size of basketballs swept through the room, throwing them all out of the hotel. Little Black circled above, its sharp, frantic caws serving as a warning.

An Songyu stared at the approaching zombie horde. Upon closer inspection, he realized a thin green twig was attached to the back of each zombie’s head, as if they were being puppeteered by a single mother-organism. The twigs were like green threads—visible but nearly impossible to touch. They tried to cut them, but the threads were indestructible. The only way was to decapitate the zombies, at which point the green line would wither and die instantly.

“Can this world get any more surreal?” Chen Huawei gasped. The golden petals everywhere had been a blatant hint. Even knowing the osmanthus tree was the culprit, they were helpless against the sheer volume of branches and couldn’t locate its main body.

“Whatever happens, we have to clear these zombies first,” Hutong said, gripping his Tang Dao. If they didn’t act, they would be swallowed by the approaching wall of undead.

The others agreed. An Songyu used the terrain to set traps, while Hutong acted as the vanguard, his blade dropping a zombie with every swing. Behind him, An Songyu provided cover with earth shields. They worked in perfect sync. Chen Huawei unleashed fireballs to ignite the poisonous plants Bairan grew, creating a sea of toxic fire.

As they fought, Chen Huawei’s gaze snagged on something. His lip twitched. “Is it really necessary to be this stingy?”

Collecting soul crystals after a kill was standard, as was scavenging valuable items. But An Songyu was taking it to an extreme. Nails, trinkets, glass, cheap diamonds—items that had zero value in the wasteland were being pocketed. The rumors of An Songyu’s stinginess were true.

“These all have uses!” An Songyu insisted. To him, every little bit counted. He had a deep-seated instinct for frugality. Seeing Chen’s disbelief, he coughed. “I’ll show you.”

He whistled to the sky. “Little Black! Down here!”

As a Level 3 Wind-type raven, Little Black was an ace in the sky. To the men below, the horde was a problem; to the bird, it was a pond full of fish ready to be plucked. Little Black initially ignored the call with a disdainful look, but the moment An Songyu produced a handful of shiny diamond trinkets, its expression changed. It let out an excited shriek, grew in size, and lowered its back for them.

“Don’t just stand there, get on!” An Songyu urged. He knew he only held the bird’s attention as long as the diamonds were visible.

Chen Huawei and Hutong scrambled onto the bird’s back. From the air, their range of attack expanded. Chen felt like a bomber pilot, raining fireballs down on the helpless zombies. An Songyu used a fishing rod with a bag of diamonds tied to the end to steer Little Black’s height and direction.

“Sister Yunxia, look! It’s An Songyu and the others!” Jialing cried from below.

Yunxia let out a breath. “Thank God they’re okay.”

Duan Muyu’s gaze shifted to the lit window on the second floor. “So, she went over there?”

“Who?” Yunxia asked.

“Shen Qingyu,” Duan Muyu replied. Though she had wanted to “rescue” (or rather, exploit) Jiang Weiqing, she had been pinned down by the branches. Fortunately, Shen Qingyu had made it.

*****

In the deep of the night, a persistent floral scent filled the air. Shen Qingyu patted the baby’s back, but when she saw the girl frowning in discomfort, she realized something was wrong. The fragrance wasn’t refreshing; it was oppressive. The baby’s lips were drying out at a terrifying rate.

Shen Qingyu’s heart hammered. She forced eight cups of water into the child until her skin looked hydrated again. Then, a surge of anxiety hit her. She waited three seconds before picking up the sleeping child and heading for Jiang Weiqing’s room.

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocks grew louder and more desperate, but there was no sound from within. “Jiang Weiqing! Open the door!” After a long silence, Shen Qingyu kicked the door open.

She found Jiang Weiqing fast asleep, her body completely covered in a layer of floating golden petals. Sweat poured down her forehead. She looked pale and shriveled, as if she were suffering from severe dehydration—an irony for a Water-type Esper.

Shen Qingyu didn’t panic. She went into the bathroom, ripped the showerhead from the wall, and turned the cold water to the maximum setting. She aimed it straight at Jiang Weiqing.

Instantly, the room was flooded. The golden petals were washed to the floor, and Weiqing’s face regained its color, like a drowning person finally breaking the surface for air.

Jiang Weiqing snapped awake. She felt the soaked mattress and saw Shen Qingyu pointing a showerhead at her. The dream of drowning hadn’t been an illusion. She rolled out of bed, fuming. “Shen Qingyu, are you insane? What are you doing spraying me with water in the middle of the night?”

Every inch of her clothing was soaked, sticking to her skin like heavy, wet cotton. Shen Qingyu looked at her coldly. “I’m saving your life.”

Jiang Weiqing followed her gaze to the layers of petals on the floor. She realized she had misunderstood. She rubbed her nose. “Those flowers are actually dangerous…”

Crack! The window shattered. Roots the size of fists burst through the glass, surrounding them. A strange wind carried in a fresh wave of petals, a beautiful but mocking display.

“You can’t even give me time to change?” Jiang Weiqing snapped, wiping the water from her face.

Shen Qingyu threw her a towel. “Deal with it for now.”

She drew her gun and began firing. The branches were numerous, and zombies were visible in the distance. Neither woman wanted to waste their powers yet, so they started with lead.

Rivalry aside, Jiang Weiqing had to admit that fighting alongside Shen Qingyu was effortless. She only had three magazines, twelve rounds each—barely three minutes of fire. But with Shen Qingyu there, as long as Weiqing could pull the trigger, the next magazine was loaded and ready in a heartbeat. The seamless coordination sent her adrenaline spiking. She fired with unerring accuracy.

Jiang Weiqing even found the time to observe her partner. Even holding the baby, Shen Qingyu’s precision was perfect. Standing back-to-back, they were a singular, lethal unit.

From the sky, the rest of the team watched the two of them. Chen Huawei pulled out his phone, finding the perfect angle to start snapping photos. “This one’s great! Her aim is incredible!” “This one’s so cool!” “Look at the tension in this one!”

An Songyu watched him cackle over the photos and rolled his eyes. Then he saw Chen uploading them to a mock-up of Weibo. “You’re actually using data to upload those?”

Data was a luxury; a single Level 1 crystal barely covered one photo. And since no one could see the posts, it was purely for self-satisfaction. An Songyu’s wallet ached just thinking about it.

“What’s a little data?” Chen Huawei scoffed. “Our Boss keeps her data on 24/7 just to run an old online game.”

Xu Bairan’s eyes went wide. “That must cost a fortune!” The old games had no servers anymore; the data couldn’t update, so it was frozen in time. Without data to maintain the connection, it would go black and the data would be lost. It wasn’t just wasteful; it was decadent.

“That game has been with the Boss for a long time,” Hutong added quietly. “And she isn’t exactly short on money.” In his memory, they had never gone hungry under her leadership.

An Songyu realized he was right. Duan Muyu was brilliant and the chief of a research institute; a little data money was nothing to her. He looked at his own empty pockets and hugged himself. “Why am I so poor? I try so hard to save.”

“Maybe you just have a ‘poor person’ constitution, Brother Yu,” Bairan mused. “No destiny for wealth.”

An Songyu: “…”

“Xiao Bai, could you maybe say something nice to comfort me?”

Chen Huawei laughed at their bickering, but then he suddenly pointed. “What was that? Was that the main body of the mutated tree?”

“What? Did it show itself?”

“Where? Where is it?”

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