When it got light, Jiang Xiaoshu woke up first and saw that she and her sister were sleeping in their mother's slender arms. She was a little unaccustomed to it and didn't react for a moment.
His eyes flickered slightly: Did Mom... hold them all night while she slept?
After Jiang Wan was reborn, her sleep became very light. She would wake up almost as soon as she moved, but she did not rush to get up. Instead, she waited for her younger sister to wake up before sitting up and preparing to talk to them.
She first turned on the TV and showed them the social news that had been running since the early hours of the morning.
She was still struggling with how to explain the oxygen-deficient apocalypse and the current state of affairs when she saw Jiang Xiaoxin ask with a curious look:
"Mom, does lack of oxygen mean we won't have oxygen to breathe anymore? But if we don't have oxygen to breathe, won't we die?"
Jiang Wan breathed a sigh of relief. A question-and-answer session was much easier than her giving a one-sided summary.
"Yes, but there is still thin oxygen in our city, so we won't suffocate from lack of oxygen. But outside the city, it's not necessarily the case. Moreover, there are many toxic gases in the air outside, which are bad for people's health. So we can't go out. If we have to go out, we must wear oxygen filter masks."
The twins didn't show any signs of fear as she had expected. Jiang Xiaoshu remained relatively calm, frowning as she thought: No wonder Mom had been buying and stockpiling things, including so many oxygen cylinders and masks. Did she have something in mind?
He took a quiet breath, not sensing anything unusual. His gaze swept over the house above him, and he instinctively felt that this house was also quite extraordinary.
Jiang Xiaoxin's focus was completely different from her brother's. She frowned and asked in confusion:
"Mom, that's not right. There are so many forests outside the city, full of green plants. Didn't you say that green plants can produce oxygen through photosynthesis? Then why is there less oxygen outside the city than inside?"
Jiang Wan was taken aback by her question. Her younger sister seemed simple-minded and silly, but she never expected her to hit the nail on the head at such a crucial moment.
She couldn't help but shake her head. She wanted to protect them, so she kept it from them, but they were so clever and cunning that it seemed she couldn't hide it from them no matter what!
She sighed, carefully choosing her words: "Because the plants are sick, many plants have stopped photosynthesizing to produce oxygen, and they are releasing more toxic gases..."
The twins were listening intently, seemingly understanding but not quite, when suddenly, Jiang Xiaoxin felt a sharp pain in her palm and her whole body trembled slightly.
Jiang Wan noticed and quickly asked with concern, "Were you scared? It's okay, we'll stay at home, there won't be any danger. Even if there is, Mom will protect you."
The twins looked tense and blank for a moment. She smiled to herself and thought: Maybe it was because it was the first time she had shown them so much concern that she had scared the two children.
She chuckled softly, then stood up and walked out: "You guys go wash your faces and brush your teeth, I'll go make breakfast."
As she spoke, she had already left the room, and naturally did not notice that Jiang Xiaoxin's face was scrunched up like a bitter gourd.
"Brother, my palm hurts so much."
Jiang Xiaoshu looked at his own hand and saw that it was perfectly fine and he didn't know what was wrong. He could only hold his little sister's hand tightly and breathe on it, saying, "Brother will blow on it for you, and it won't hurt anymore!"
In the kitchen, Jiang Wan cooked a small pot of millet porridge with pickles. If she couldn't finish it, it would be her lunch. In this post-apocalyptic world, resources are scarce, so every little bit saved is precious, and she absolutely cannot waste anything.
She fried a few more vegetable and egg pancakes and was about to call the twins out for breakfast when she suddenly heard Jiang Xiaoshu shout in a panic, "Xin Xin!"
Immediately following was a series of "tap tap tap" footsteps approaching from afar. Jiang Xiaoxin, her little face ashen, ran to her side, grabbed her leg, and cried out, "Mommy, there's danger!"
"Um?"
Jiang Wan was confused for a moment. Of course she knew there was danger. In the early days of the apocalypse, stepping out of the oxygen storage room would mean facing the possibility of suffocation. Even if there was still a little oxygen to breathe, the harmful gases in the air would also harm the human body. Those with poor physical condition might die on the spot.
There's also the harm that mutated plants pose to humans. If she remembers correctly, it would take the city's guards a week to completely eradicate all the mutated plants inside Xiangcheng!
Therefore, she had already made up her mind that she would absolutely not take the twins out during this chaotic week at the start of the apocalypse.
Stay at home, hiding in the oxygen storage room, until the initial chaos subsides.
So at that moment, she didn't understand what danger Jiang Xiaoxin was talking about, or what danger they could possibly encounter.
"Mom, the asparagus fern upstairs says it wants to kill someone and wants to drink blood."
As Jiang Xiaoxin spoke, her small body trembled uncontrollably. In fact, the emotions she sensed from the potted asparagus fern were far more terrifying than she described.
Jiang Xiaoshu also ran over and stood in front of them, looking at his sister and mother with concern. But a careful observer would notice that his gaze towards his sister contained not only concern but also disapproval, while his gaze towards Jiang Wan held a hint of wariness.
Jiang Wan, however, did not notice Jiang Xiaoshu's gaze at all. She simply put her arm around Jiang Xiaoxin's small shoulders in surprise and asked, "Xinxin, you mean asparagus fern? Potted asparagus fern? You can hear its thoughts, and it says it wants to kill someone?"
"Yes!" Jiang Xiaoxin didn't know how to explain her special ability, but she instinctively trusted her mother and nodded with great certainty.
Jiang Xiaoshu sighed and rubbed her forehead. This silly girl, we agreed it was a secret and we couldn't tell anyone!
But she said she had already told them, and now he was more worried that his mother didn't believe them!
He frowned, wondering if he should say a word in their defense, but then he saw their mother stand up with a serious expression. The next second, she sprinted to the enclosed balcony, pressed the electric switch on the safety window, and shouted at them:
"Quick! Close all the security windows in the house! The switch is right next to the window!"
As Jiang Wan shouted, she stared intently out the window at the clusters of leaves that were gradually spreading down from the upper floor. They were a deep green with a purple sheen—what else could they be but mutated plants?!
"Hurry! Move quickly!" she yelled hysterically, ordering the twins to obey. Her mind was on edge, completely oblivious to a crucial problem—
Jiang Xiaoxin can hear the thoughts of plants, so does that mean she possesses supernatural abilities?!
The entire 18th floor of Building 1, Yincheng Yazuo, is completely enveloped by dense, dark green and purplish leaves. Those clusters of leaves, which look as if they are stained with blood, are gradually spreading towards the 17th floor.
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