CHAPTER 7: DEATH BY ILLNESS

B City.

The blazing summer sun continued to ruthlessly roast down upon the earth. The black asphalt road seemed as though it was almost melting, with the vapour rising up, gradually distorting the cool atmospheric air. With only the whooshing sound of the wind as it passed through the heat wave to sweep up the rubbish on the ground, the streets that were previously bustling with noise now no longer had a single soul in sight.

There are high-end residential areas that had been built over the last couple of years on both sides of the road. Every one of them had the curtains drawn up tightly, wanting to block out the glare of that terrifying sunlight. Yet one such unremarkable room echoed with the crying sound of a young girl.

“Keke… come here baby, we’ll just eat this small piece for lunch today, okay? Keke… we have to save a bit, Daddy will be back soon.” A young woman with an emaciated appearance crouched in front of her daughter, continuing to say: “Baby don’t cry, Mommy is here, don’t be afraid.”

Under the consolation of her mother, the sobbing girl swallowed back her tears. She picked up the biscuits in her mother’s palm that were only half the size of her fingers. Tearfully saying as she ate: “Mommy… Mommy, baby is so hungry, baby wants to eat chocolate, baby wants to eat chips, baby wants to eat cakes, baby wants to eat… wants to eat… wuwu…” As she spoke, tears rolled down from her eyes one by one.

“Keke… ok, Mommy will definitely buy them for baby, good baby, don’t cry, keke…” The woman who was so thin that her ribs were distinctly protruding barely managed to plaster on a smile, incessantly placating the weeping girl in her arms.

Three whole days!

Her husband had been away from home to look for food, for three whole days!

Today, she had delivered the last edible bites of food into her daughter’s mouth. She had long since started eating paper, eating sawdust, eating anything that would make her stomach feel full, but she couldn’t let her young daughter eat such things with her.

The outside sunlight is something that her baby absolutely must not touch, and it is also very dangerous to leave her baby at home alone. Her only hope now is that her husband would come home quickly, bringing the last hope to the mother and daughter pair. If that day really arrived too late, then…

The woman’s line of sight slowly rose, looking towards the knife inserted into the wooden block inside the kitchen, with its sharpened blade suffused with an icy light. She looked back down at her own exposed upper arm, the cellulose and flesh had almost been completely withered within the timeframe of slightly more than a month, however… it can at least fill up her baby’s tummy for a little while.

The woman’s lips shaped into a brilliant smile. These types of people are the most worthy of respect in the world. In any crisis, they would willingly abandon their life for love, go through any difficulty and not spare any effort.

This was——

Maternal love.

“Kekekeke…” The coughing sound became louder and louder, and the violent burst of coughing that the woman could not suppress suddenly surged up. Her chest fiercely undulated, incessantly gasping for breath yet unable to steady her breathing, with only the sound of the coughs that seemed to almost hollow out the body, echoing within the quiet house.　

“Keke…ou…”

A mouthful of blackish red blood suddenly spurted out from the woman’s mouth. She looked at the bloodstains in horror, with a sliver of blood flowing down from the corner of her mouth. Her entire person became shocked and incapable of movement, as a great panic engulfed her.

“Mommy…there’s blood, a lot of blood! Mommy…baby is so scared…wuwawawa…” The little girl rubbed her eyes as she burst into tears once again.　

Hearing the weeping of her daughter, the woman’s soul suddenly returned to her body. She suppressed the overwhelming pain in her abdomen, exposing a wan smile and continued placating her daughter. However, the pain was like the biting of ants, spreading from each of her blood vessels until it reached her brain. The dreadful pain caused her to settle her daughter down on the sofa, to avoid accidentally hurting her.

“Why…why… I had never been exposed to the sunlight before! Why is this…ahah…” Once the first mouthful of  blood spurted out of her mouth, the following events came in a logical order. Blood poured out unceasingly from the thin woman’s mouth, and with her body as the center, it spread in all four directions to form an irregular circle.

Seeing this, the child even forgot to cry, merely staring at the woman in the centre of the blood-soaked floor, foolishly shouting: “Mommy?”

The woman’s body deteriorated at a rate visible to the naked eye. She seemed to be suffering from unimaginable pain, but she still stretched out her hand, wanting to touch her daughter who was on the sofa. Everything, was futile. The blood seemed to gush out from the woman’s body all at once. She ultimately looked with an unwavering gaze, at her daughter crying on the sofa, even the acute pain in her brain that seemed to ignite everything could not distract her.

She’s gone…

What about the baby?

On March 1st, 2015, the first person to die from illness in B City appeared.

———–

“So then, we are going to climb up the mountain on foot now?”　

Qin Chu grabbed a big bag out of the trunk of the car, slinging it onto her body with ease, before turning her head toward Jing Xia to say: “In fact, there were originally roads that could lead us directly there, however…you are also aware that due to the roads being continuously blocked by the evolved plants, we had to take many detours. And now, all the roads have been sealed, at least so that cars can’t get through.” Saying this, Qin Chu raised an eyebrow: “What, little bastard? Do you feel that you won’t be able to climb up?”

Jing Xia let out a cold snort from his throat, proudly saying: “A’chuan has conducted a week of special training for me before, how can such a trivial matter be difficult for me?”

Qin Chu was amazed: “When did the young master give you this kind of training?”

The sentence “just before the start of the third beast tide” was almost blurted out, before Jing Xia swallowed the words back. Ji Chuancheng had only told Qin Chu about the issue regarding evolutionary changes, and did not tell her about the cruel reality that humans will face in the near future.

Seeing Jing Xia’s look of holding back his words, looking as though he would not say anything, Qin Chu hooked up her red lips, curving her refined almond eyes, saying: “Little bastard, why don’t you say it? You wouldn’t be lying to your Sister Qin, right?”　　

Jing Xia crinkled up his face, bitterly thinking of excuses. When he became so tangled that his eyes dimmed, he suddenly heard Ji Chuancheng mildly saying: “It’s a secret.”　

Undoubtedly, this sentence would awaken a person from their delusions.

Jing Xia proudly looked towards Qin Chu, who could only helplessly spread her hands.

This party of people only brought some necessities with them as they left the car, and Steward Wang also got off. Jing Xia suggested for Steward Wang to be settled down before they leave, so as to avoid any mishaps. However, this kind and genial old man strongly opposed this suggestion, insisting on climbing the mountain together.

Based on the initial words of the Steward Wang: he is only around 60 years old, his psychological state every day is very good, and the muscle strength of his legs is also not bad. Moreover, as long as he can walk with Jing Xia, and say a few more words, this old man is already very satisfied.

In such a chaotic era, he had witnessed his own young master’s growth into a flourishing pine tree, with lifelong friends such as Young Master Ji and Qin Chu. Even if he died now, this old man can accept it.

“Keke… keke…” 

The dense and lush branches of the eucalyptus trees completely sealed off the road. Ji Chuancheng was at the very front to open a path, and with Jing Xia taking up the rear, the four people continued forward cautiously. The tart and astringent smell of soil was everywhere, as though it had just been under an episode of heavy rain, with the earth overturned to reveal everything that had been buried, carrying the dense odor of this ancient forest.

“Grandpa Wang? What’s wrong! Are you still alright?” Steward Wang had covered his mouth while incessantly coughing for the entirety of the journey. For every sound of his cough, Jing Xia’s heart sank a little lower. When he suddenly saw that the old man who had been walking in front of him, cough until he could not even straighten his back, his heart felt as though it had fallen to the ocean floor.

Qin Chu removed her hand after feeling the pulse of Steward Wang, turning to look at Jing Xia who was by her side, saying: “It’s nothing major, should be because he had not yet recovered from his previous cold. The only abnormality is that his metabolism is slightly faster than other people of his age, but it’s still in the normal range.”

Ji Chuancheng also stopped, looking towards the smiling old man with a grave expression on his face.

With his elegant brows creased tightly, Jing Xia asked once again: “Is there really no other abnormality other than this?”

Qin Chu had an earnest expression: “Believe in my skills as a professional, apart from the accelerated metabolism, there is no other abnormality.”

Jing Xia firmly bit down on his lower lip, almost about to leave a bloody imprint, yet he still did not let go. However, Steward Wang approached this with an open mindset. Once his cough was better, he continued to climb up the mountain. While walking, he smiled at Jing Xia who was behind him: “Young master, you don’t need to mind this sort of thing. It’s only a minor cold, not a major issue.”

Ji Chuancheng, the one taking the lead in opening up the road, is enduring the most hardships. Not only is it necessary for him to determine the route, he also had to cut off the branches that were blocking the road. In contrast, Jing Xia and Steward Wang who fell behind, were much more leisurely.

“Grandpa Wang, do you really feel that there are no major problems with your health?” Jing Xia let out a sigh. Even after everything that was said, he was still uneasy.　　

Steward Wang’s wrinkled face revealed an amiable smile, nodding as he said: “Young Master, quell your worries. Other than… keke other than this little cough, this old man’s body is still very healthy.”　

Jing Xia became taciturn, no longer speaking. He fixed his gaze on the broad back view of Steward Wang. Before staring towards the forefront of this procession for a good while, at the man’s decisive movements as he cut through the thorny undergrowth.　　　

Currently… perhaps only Ji Chuancheng understood the true meaning behind his words.

In his last life, Steward Wang was one out of the tens of thousands of people to die from illness in Huaxia.

At first it seemed to be the common cough, and then…there was a sudden vomiting of blood on a certain day. Some people died after only vomiting out a few mouthfuls, and some people closed their eyes after lying down for more than ten days in succession. However, without exception——

Out of all the people dying from illness, not a single one was saved successfully.

The deceased from illness, this was the terminology used by the human beings who were still confused and ignorant during the initial stage of the last phase. And afterwards, this group of people were classified as the——

Evolutionary failures.

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