98: Bloody reality

She silently draged Bai Minghe into the room and quickly tied his hands and feet.

Then, she turned and went back to her room, wondering if she should wipe herself with some water and restore her image after receiving the call.

Although the TV station had stopped broadcasting a long time ago, sometimes, if the signal was good, she could connect to the internet and make a call.

Of course, this also depended on whether the power station was still operational.

Most places had long lost power, and some small power stations barely maintained basic operation with backup energy storage, providing intermittent power.

As soon as she took out her phone, she saw it was Xiang Mei calling.

Bai Xue frowned, hesitated for a moment, but still answered, and as soon as the call connected, she heard a series of broken sobs and shouts from the other end.

"Sister Xue! Where are you? I... I really don't know what to say... I was hunting in the woods when suddenly... *beep*... I was swept into a wave! *beep*~ Where are you? Sister Xue, save us! We... *beep*... have been running, have been fleeing, *beep*... help!"

Bai Xue originally didn't intend to pay attention to her, but a sudden thought flashed, and a meaningful smile appeared on her lips.

"I'm at Ancient North Grand Court, Room 5002," she said, feigning gentleness, "You can come over."

After speaking, she hung up the phone, her eyes full of calculation.

Having Xiang Mei and her group come over was a wicked idea she had long harbored.

With strength in numbers, she didn't believe she couldn't suppress Bai Wanning. Then, as long as she found an opportunity to enter her house and search out all her things, whether food or supplies, they would all be hers!

As for how these people would be arranged once they arrived, what they would eat or drink, she didn't consider it at all. Her mind was currently filled with those "visible yet unattainable" things in Bai Wanning's room.

Bai Xue had been like this since she was a child; whatever Bai Wanning had, she also had to have.

Therefore, she didn't even bother to think much, directly inviting Xiang Mei and her group into the room where she and her family lived.

At this moment, Bai Wanning did not know that Bai Xue had arranged a series of schemes behind her back after returning home, and even if she knew, she would be too lazy to bother.

She returned to her room for a short nap. There was nothing she could do; she was pregnant, and her body was not as good as before, always feeling tired and nauseous, often wanting to sleep as soon as she lay down.

After waking up, she sighed softly, her stomach already protesting with "grumbling" sounds.

She looked down at her still flat lower abdomen and poked it in annoyance: "Are you planning to turn your mother into a homeless person?"

These days, all she did was eat and sleep, and her mind was always in a daze.

Sometimes she would wonder, who exactly did Xiao Cai take after? She was incredibly lively when she was little, so she probably took after Lei Qian.

That man always had a lazy air when he spoke, as if he was never in a hurry, but when he did things, he was fiercer than anyone.

No matter which parent Cai Cai resembled, Bai Wanning was powerless.

She sighed and slowly sat up from the bed. She didn't dare go out to ask her mother for food, fearing her mother would notice her abnormality.

Lei Qian's fate was currently unknown. That man was one of the few Extraordinary People who had awakened dual abilities.

He possessed both fire and wind abilities upon waking, and such a combination of abilities was extremely difficult. It was within expectations that Lei Qian had not yet woken up.

He had to first establish a balance of power within his body before he could open his eyes and wake up again.

Bai Wanning knew clearly that if Lei Qian hadn't woken up yet, and her family noticed her pregnancy... the consequences would be unimaginable.

Her mother would definitely overthink, and her Older Brothers would never let her off easily.

They would force her to abort the child. In this Apocalypse, everyone was fending for themselves; they would only see this child as a burden.

She couldn't do it. Even if she couldn't hide it for too long, she had to wait for Lei Qian to wake up.

She didn't want to fall out with her family, but if it truly came to a point where she had to choose, she would unhesitatingly choose her son over her family.

She owed her mother too much, and she owed her Older Brothers, but she owed Bai Cai a life even more.

She had no choice.

Her mother cared about her because she was her mother, carrying her for over nine months and raising her little by little.

But Bai Wanning was the same; she was also a mother now. No matter what happened in the future, she would choose her child.

She brought out a bowl of steaming tangyuan and almost devoured it.

As she ate, her gaze inadvertently drifted out the window; the sky had already darkened.

After finishing her meal, she patted the edge of the table and stood up.

"Let's go for a walk," Bai Wanning mumbled to herself, hands clasped behind her head.

She went into the bathroom, took a shower, changed her clothes, and pondered in her mind while tidying up her things.

She wanted to see Shen Zhen more than she wanted to collect crystal cores.

She knew finding someone was difficult, especially in this ghostly weather and chaotic world; it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But she still wanted to try; she couldn't possibly give birth to the child alone, could she?

After everything was packed, Bai Wanning went downstairs and saw her two Older Brothers sitting in the lobby on the first floor.

She walked up to them, her tone calm but firm: "Let's go, Older Brothers, didn't you say you wanted to practice?"

Bai Zhan heard this, and as if a switch had been flipped, he jumped up with a "wah," excitedly bouncing around like a monkey.

Yan Meiyu's face immediately darkened. She bit her tongue, clearly suppressing her temper, looking like she was about to explode.

Bai Jixuan rolled his eyes, looking exasperated, and directly kicked his younger brother's shin.

"You can be excited, but can you not show it so obviously in front of Mom?" he warned in a low voice.

They all knew that their mother didn't like them leaving home. If you had to go out, you had to be low-key, don't openly provoke her anger!

Only then did Bai Zhan realize his emotions were exposed. He awkwardly rubbed his nose, cleared his throat, and said to Bai Wanning: "I'll go get ready."

With that, he bolted upstairs.

Yan Meiyu watched her son leave, then turned to her eldest son, her brows still furrowed: "Pay more attention. I have a bad feeling; I couldn't sleep at all last night."

She touched her chest, her expression subtly anxious, "I always feel something bad is going to happen... You three, each of you gives me more to worry about than the last."

"Mom, don't worry," Bai Jixuan replied solemnly, "I'll keep a close eye on Wanning and Xiao Zhan. If anything happens, I'll drag them home. We won't take any unnecessary risks."

He wasn't speaking empty words; it was a harsh reality.

Their mother hadn't truly woken up yet; the family relied on the three siblings to support it.

If something really happened to them, their mother alone would have to take care of two grandchildren, and she simply wouldn't be able to manage.

They couldn't afford to have anything happen!

If Bai Wanning knew that her Older Brother had conjured up such a huge number of disaster scenarios in just a few seconds, she would probably roll her eyes on the spot.

Where did this "will-level awareness" even come from?

Not long after, Bai Zhan came downstairs with a backpack. He looked at his Older Brother and sister, smiled, and said, "Let's go."

Then he rushed to his mother, opened his arms, and hugged her: "Mom, don't worry, we'll be back soon."