Chapter 160: Your Doom Has Been Delivered (43)

Snap—

The room was suddenly plunged into darkness.

A wave of clamor drifted in from outside through the slightly ajar window.

The power was out...

There had always been issues with the power supply in City C, with blackouts occurring from time to time, and everyone was long used to it.

Someone outside was shouting for people to gather at the public square for a bonfire party.

Amidst the noisy commotion, Jiang Xunchu felt his body go numb in the darkness, and wherever he was touched, ripples of shivers arose.

Jiang Xunchu's heartbeat gradually accelerated.

A presence that did not belong to him slid past his thigh and rested upon his waist.

The sound of the bathrobe tie being pulled undone was swallowed by the clamor outside, and it wasn't until the sash completely fell away that he snapped back to reality.

He pressed down on Ling Qiong’s small hands, which were carelessly stirring up trouble.

Ling Qiong got up, faced him, and straddled his lap. Hooking her arms around his neck, she murmured in a low voice, "Brother, today is a very good day for a little bit of joy. Would you like to try?"

It took Jiang Xunchu a moment before he heard his own voice reply, "Yes."

...

Ling Qiong hadn't expected she wouldn't be rejected.

Jiang Xunchu wasn't as reckless and unrestrained as he had been in the dream; he was unusually gentle, caring for her every feeling and leading her hand in hand up to the peak.

The blackout lasted until the following morning before power was restored.

Ling Qiong didn't wake up until the afternoon, lying limply facedown on the bed, not wanting to move a single finger.

She hadn't expected Jiang Xunchu's physical endurance to suddenly be so formidable.

What happened to him being terrible at physical exertion?

Had he been working out in secret?

Yet when Jiang Xunchu was doing that, he was truly so gentle...

Thinking about it this way, Ling Qiong felt she could go another round.

Yet the feedback from her body quickly informed her that she could not, in fact, go another round.

Jiang Xunchu pushed the door open and entered, seeing Ling Qiong wrapped tightly in a blanket with her face buried in the pillow.

"Are you awake?" Jiang Xunchu asked, noticing Ling Qiong moving, and sat down beside the bed.

Ling Qiong turned her head slightly, revealing only one dark, misty eye, her watery gaze seemingly filled with accusation.

Her soft, sleepy voice was brimming with grievance, "How did your physical stamina suddenly get so good?"

Jiang Xunchu: "???"

A few seconds later, Jiang Xunchu registered the meaning, an inexplicable flush rising across his cheeks.

He tried his best to maintain his composure. "A professor in the lab likes to exercise and kept dragging me along."

It was only about half an hour a day anyway.

Spending the whole day cooped up in the laboratory, taking half an hour to move around was indeed quite refreshing.

"Oh," Ling Qiong muttered softly, "Even though it was a bit exhausting, it still felt pretty amazing."

Jiang Xunchu: "..."

Jiang Xunchu pulled the blanket up to cover her head. "Get up and eat something."

"I won't," Ling Qiong pulled the blanket down, revealing a pair of clear, contrasting black-and-white eyes.

Jiang Xunchu: "Aren't you hungry?"

Ling Qiong: "I am."

She poked her hands out from beneath the blanket and opened them toward him, "Hug me."

"..."

...

Jiang Xunchu carried Ling Qiong out to eat.

Perhaps because she was in a good mood today, Ling Qiong didn't pick out the ingredients she usually disliked from her bowl.

"Brother, I feel like you're a bit different from the way you were in the dream," Ling Qiong blurted out midway through her meal.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Jiang Xunchu choked so hard his face turned flushed red.

Ling Qiong's words were entirely normal, normal enough for anyone to hear.

Yet Jiang Xunchu subconsciously associated them with content that must not be thought of.

Ling Qiong considerately poured him a glass of water and patted him on the back.

Jiang Xunchu took a sip of water, caught his breath, and asked in a thoroughly normal tone, "How am I different?"

"Well..." Ling Qiong tilted her head, seemingly searching for adjectives, "You're not as fierce as you were in the dream."

Jiang Xunchu: "Then which one do you like better?"

Ling Qiong looked somewhat troubled, unable to make a choice, and finally hesitated, "I... like both."

Jiang Xunchu: "..."

Jiang Xunchu decided he couldn't continue this conversation and skillfully changed the subject.

After the meal, Jiang Xunchu cleared the table while Ling Qiong curled up in a chair, flipping through her illustrated guidebook.

The [Endless Night] card, which had remained unactivated all this time, had now flipped over.

The imagery was far too stimulating, so no description shall be provided.

So this card didn't require waiting until the very end to draw after all...

Though even if she drew it, it was completely useless since it still wouldn't activate until the designated time...

Ling Qiong glanced sideways at Jiang Xunchu.

Jiang Xunchu had his back to her, bending over to clean up the trash on the floor.

That waistline, those long, slender legs...

Being a tyrannical ruler was truly wonderful.

Ling—Tyrant—Qiong took a deep breath and plunged headfirst into the card gacha pool.

The result was...

Ling Qiong tearfully closed the gacha pool, having drawn absolutely nothing, furious enough to die.

The drop rates of this broken game were simply produced in the underworld!!

...

Ever since the apocalypse began, temperatures had remained stubbornly high.

Even in winter, it stayed in the twenties, not cold at all.

Yet this winter, the temperature had actually plummeted, and it had even started snowing.

Ling Qiong discovered it was snowing when she woke up; a thick layer had piled up on the windowsill, and the temperature had dropped significantly.

Jiang Xunchu rummaged through their belongings and pulled out an outer garment for Ling Qiong, "Put this on."

"..."

Ling Qiong backed away in resistance, shaking her head to indicate she didn't want it.

Jiang Xunchu looked at the coat and coaxed her softly, "It is a bit ugly, but it keeps you warm. The weather has always been hot before, so we didn't have any winter clothes. Can you just wear this for now?"

Ling Qiong retreated further, pressing herself against the corner of the wall like a little cat, rebellion written all over her face.

Jiang Xunchu found her reaction somewhat amusing.

Suppressing a smile, he asked, "Then what should we do?"

...

When Ling Qiong and Jiang Xunchu went outside, the open space outside had already been decorated with a snowman.

Children ran past playfully, their laughter drifting leisurely up into the sky.

"Are you really not cold?" Jiang Xunchu asked, concerned for the person beside him.

"Not cold," Ling Qiong was quite stubborn and genuinely refused to wear the coat. Although she was wearing long sleeves and a long skirt, it was still far too thin for this kind of weather.

Jiang Xunchu couldn't win against her, so he unzipped his own coat and pulled her into his embrace.

Jiang Xunchu possessed striking looks; every time he went out, he attracted lingering gazes from passersby.

There were even young girls who would run right up to him to confess their feelings.

Later on, once everyone learned he already had a partner, they could only look on with envy and jealousy.

Ling Qiong's renown was hardly low either, considering she was the one who had single-handedly built City C from the ground up, and the survivors who had followed her from the very beginning praised her to the skies.

Those who praised her often just tossed out a couple of casual remarks without explaining the details, leaving newcomers utterly baffled.

They never saw her doing any proper work all day long, so how on earth was she so formidable?

Yet Jiang Xunchu truly doted on her immensely; if she took a whim in the middle of the night to go look at zombies, Jiang Xunchu would take her.

She was someone the rest of the community could only envy from afar.

Ling Qiong felt a tiny bit bothered by the public attention.

However, considering it was her own beloved cub's embrace, she endured it, burrowing into his arms as they headed toward the base leader Wang's residence.

Today was Base Leader Wang's birthday, and he was hosting a dinner... The dinner was secondary; the main purpose was to discuss upcoming plans.

As someone holding veto power, Ling Qiong had to be present.

Ling Qiong had very little interest in such matters. Halfway through the discussion, Jiang Xunchu had stepped away briefly for something and hadn't returned yet.

She left word that she would be right back, telling Jiang Xunchu to take notes on the discussion so she could review them upon her return.

By the time Ling Qiong came back, the meeting was just about drawing to a close.

Ling Qiong walked in from outside, now wearing a small, fluffy white coat over her clothes, which made the young girl look exceptionally fair and tender.

She took her seat right next to Jiang Xunchu. Base Leader Wang was practically finished speaking and directly cued her, "Does Miss Xu have any opinions on this?"

Ling Qiong replied softly and smoothly, "None at all."

"Very well, then we will proceed according to this plan. Lastly, given the recent drop in temperatures, we need to acquire cold-weather supplies as soon as possible."