7 The Showdown

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Lin Qiu’s heart was filled with unease. Her daughter’s belly was so big now—what if she went into labor on the road? She wondered if Chen Cheng had been taking good care of Xiaoxiao. Xiaoxiao said she would come find her, but how would she get here? Would the Chen family even allow her to come? Lin Qiu was restless, pacing back and forth at home, unable to sit still.

“Ding dong!”

The sudden sound of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts.

“Mom, it’s me. Open the door.”

Upon hearing Li Xiaoxiao’s voice, Lin Qiu jumped up from the sofa, her heart pounding, and hurried to open the door.

Li Xiaoxiao entered and promptly locked the door behind her.

Seeing her daughter alone, Lin Qiu felt a chill in her heart—had her daughter been abandoned? Her gaze immediately fell on Xiaoxiao’s flat belly.

“Nan Nan, where’s the baby?”

Lin Qiu first thought the child was still at the Chen’s, but then it didn’t make sense—her daughter would never leave the baby with anyone else. A bad premonition rose sharply in her chest, causing her voice to tremble unconsciously.

“Mom, wait here a moment.”

Li Xiaoxiao headed straight to the bathroom, quickly washing her hands and face before coming out.

Her gear had an automatic cleaning function; with just a thought before entering, she could be clean. But she still felt uneasy, so she deliberately washed her hands and face.

“Mom, come with me.”

Taking her mother’s hand, Li Xiaoxiao led her into the bedroom and lifted her little daughter from the nursery space.

“Mom, this is your granddaughter, Li Yueyao.”

She handed the baby to Lin Qiu, who stared dumbfounded at the swaddled infant, utterly stunned. She looked around but couldn’t see where Li Xiaoxiao had taken the baby from.

“Where did you pull her out from?” she asked incredulously.

“Mom, wait a moment. Get me some warm water first. Yueyao’s soiled her diaper; I need to change her.”

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As soon as Li Xiaoxiao held the baby, she noticed something was off—the baby’s diaper was full.

Hearing this, Lin Qiu quickly turned and went to the bathroom, soon returning with a basin of water.

Li Xiaoxiao had already unwrapped the baby; Yueyao stretched her little feet, kicking about in the air.

Skillfully, she lifted her daughter’s tiny feet, peeled off the dirty diaper, and tossed it aside. Using wipes, she cleaned the baby’s bottom thoroughly before taking the warm water from her mother to wash her gently.

After cleaning, she applied diaper cream to prevent diaper rash.

Then she put on a fresh disposable diaper and swaddled her daughter again.

The moment Yueyao nestled into Li Xiaoxiao’s arms, she seemed to smell her mother’s milk scent; the little head immediately burrowed into Li Xiaoxiao’s chest, hungry.

Li Xiaoxiao smiled indulgently and loosened her shirt to feed the baby.

Watching her little daughter suckle heartily, she felt a deep sense of fulfillment.

“Mom, please sit down. I have to tell you something.”

Li Xiaoxiao looked up and saw Lin Qiu standing there dazed, eyes fixed on Yueyao in her arms, filled with boundless affection.

Snapping back to herself, Lin Qiu gazed at her daughter with a complicated expression.

Her daughter was a mother now.

Seeing how skillful her daughter was at changing the baby’s diaper—not at all like a new mother—Lin Qiu felt an inexplicable pang of tenderness.

She sat beside her daughter and lovingly stroked Li Xiaoxiao’s hair.

“Mom, what I’m about to tell you might sound unbelievable, but please don’t interrupt. Listen to me first; you can ask me questions afterward.”

The world had already collapsed. Lin Qiu was naturally kind-hearted, but kindness was the last thing one needed in such times—especially when dealing with once deeply loved family.

In the face of survival, nothing else mattered.

Yet Lin Qiu had a soft spot—her soft spot was Li Xiaoxiao.

It wasn’t weakness but a fierce determination not to let her daughter suffer. Even if it meant sacrificing herself, she wanted her daughter to live well.

That was why she had tried to interfere as little as possible in Li Xiaoxiao’s married life, fearing Chen Huiping’s dissatisfaction and all sorts of trouble.

Still, Lin Qiu was the only person in the world Li Xiaoxiao could trust to have her back.

Li Xiaoxiao explained the matter of her rebirth as simply and clearly as possible, recounted her past life’s experiences, and told her how she had come back to find Lin Qiu only to discover that Lin Qiu had been harmed.

Lin Qiu listened quietly, saying nothing. Her hands clenched tightly until her knuckles turned white.

The baby in her arms had finished feeding and fallen asleep. Li Xiaoxiao placed her on the bed, then squatted before Lin Qiu, looking up at her mother.

Lin Qiu’s eyes were bloodshot. Hearing what she had just learned, her emotions shifted from shock to anger, then disbelief, and finally overwhelming pain.

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She knew her daughter had barely touched on many things, leaving much unsaid, but even those few words pierced Lin Qiu’s heart mercilessly.

Her gaze lingered on Li Xiaoxiao’s face—it was still the familiar face, the familiar features, but those eyes now bore a weariness born from seeing through the world’s illusions.

“Nan Nan, you’ve suffered so much!”

Lin Qiu embraced Li Xiaoxiao tightly, tears streaming down her face. It was heartbreaking enough for a parent to bury a child, but her daughter had lost the child she had carried for ten months and fought so hard to bring into the world.

At the thought, Lin Qiu wished she could tear those responsible limb from limb.

“Mom, it’s all in the past now. Look, Yueyao is safe here with us, and you’re well too. From now on, we’ll always be together, never apart again!”

Li Xiaoxiao returned the embrace. They were the only two relatives left in this world.

This lifetime, they would look after each other.

“All right, Mom, we don’t have much time. I mentioned earlier that I’m bound to a system and have a personal space. Now we need to gather supplies and then join up with the military. It’s safer to bring the baby and go to the refugee camp with the troops.”

Though she had her parenting space and wasn’t afraid to travel with the baby, Lin Qiu had no special abilities and had never fought zombies. Li Xiaoxiao wanted to protect her mother’s safety as much as possible.

Moreover, she needed to help her mother evolve powers quickly. Without abilities, survival was nearly impossible in this world.

It was the third day of the apocalypse. In two days, a heavy rainstorm would sweep the globe, carrying massive amounts of virus. This would trigger the zombies’ first evolution.

Besides the zombies leveling up and developing brain crystals, some would mutate into different, more dangerous forms.

By then, the buildings in the city would not withstand the zombies’ attacks.

Although the defenses of the refuge weren’t the strongest, at least the initial wave of mutated zombies wouldn’t break through.

Until Li Xiaoxiao found a better place, the refuge was their only option.

Without hesitation, Li Xiaoxiao began packing. She didn’t like to procrastinate.

Seeing Lin Qiu retrieving a large bag to pack clothes, Li Xiaoxiao tugged her hand. With a thought, all the items in the wardrobe vanished.

It was the first time Lin Qiu had seen this and found it extraordinary.

Yet she wasn’t clueless—since Li Xiaoxiao’s marriage, Lin Qiu had read novels to pass the time, and the term “personal space” was common.

Zombies had appeared; nothing else was surprising anymore.

There weren’t many belongings in the house, but each one held memories.

Seeing her mother’s reluctant attachment to the place, Li Xiaoxiao pondered a moment, then decided to store all the furniture in the house into her space as well.

Looking at the now empty house, Lin Qiu smiled helplessly but joyfully.