Chapter 13 Jianggong's Big Problems
After checking the date, Jiang Rong sat up abruptly. The next moment, Jiang Xiaoheng threw himself into his arms and burst into tears, his small body trembling uncontrollably, "Daddy, why can't you wake me up? I'm so scared..."
Jiang Xiaoheng hugged his father's neck with both hands, sobbing softly. His voice was a little hoarse, showing that he had cried a lot these days. His eyes were red and swollen, and he had lost a lot of his baby fat, looking extremely pitiful.
Jiang Rong's hands trembled as he tightly embraced his son, kissing his soft hair repeatedly. Thinking of the hardships they had endured these past few days, and his son's fear and anxiety, he felt both guilty and remorseful. "I'm sorry, son, I made you worry. I'm so sorry."
Jiang Xiaoheng nestled in his father's arms, sobbing and whimpering incoherently. Jiang Rong couldn't understand a word he said, but she listened patiently, patting the child's soft back repeatedly. Soon, Jiang Xiaoheng's voice grew softer and softer until he finally fell asleep.
Jiang Rong lowered her head and wiped her son's face.
My son's face was red from crying, his double eyelids were swollen, and his fair face was covered with tear stains and dust, as well as several small, dry, cracked wounds from crying.
Jiang Rong felt a sharp pain in his heart. He closed his eyes, kissed his son's forehead, and remained motionless for a long time.
I never imagined he would awaken in this lifetime. Luckily, he survived the intense pain of awakening. What would have happened to Xiao Heng if he hadn't woken up?
After several days of high fever, Jiang Rong felt sticky and very uncomfortable. But what he wanted to do most right now wasn't to take a bath, but to eat something.
After awakening their superpowers, individuals will experience extreme hunger. If they do not receive timely replenishment, their superpowers will turn around and devour normal bodily functions.
After putting his son back in the bedroom, Jiang Rong went to the kitchen. As soon as he entered the kitchen, his eyes widened in shock: the entire kitchen was a mess, as if it had been bombed.
Upon closer inspection, the two pots on the stove were filled with a charred, unidentified substance, and the wall and floor opposite the stove were covered in oil splatters. The rice in the open rice cooker was almost moldy. The sink was clogged, and the pitiful rice-rinsing basket lay inside.
Seeing this, Jiang Rong lowered his head, his eyes welling up with tears. During the time he was unconscious, his son couldn't even get a hot meal; how desperate and helpless he must have felt.
Jiang Rong was starving. He sat in a chair in the kitchen, eating large mouthfuls of bread while pulling out his phone to check messages. His phone hadn't been charged for days, and soon after plugging it in, several missed calls popped up on the screen. During the days he was unconscious, the Chu family had been constantly calling him.
Seeing the phone call, Jiang Rong breathed a sigh of relief: the fact that the Chu family was calling him at least proved that they had survived the first wave of the crisis.
After drinking a large glass of milk, Jiang Rong called Chu Qiang back. The call was quickly answered, and Chu Qiang's voice came from the other end, thankfully saying, "Thank goodness you finally called back. We thought something had happened to you. Are you and Xiao Heng alright?"
Jiang Rong's phone was unreachable, and Jiang Xiaoheng's children's phone was constantly busy. The Jiang father and son had been out of contact for five or six days, causing great anxiety for the Chu family.
Jiang Rong quickly said, "My phone died, so I didn't answer your calls. I'm so sorry. How are you? Are your parents alright?"
Hearing this, Chu Qiang felt a surge of fear and gratitude. Thankfully, Jiang Rong had reminded them; otherwise, they would have been in grave danger. He had countless words of gratitude he wanted to express to Jiang Rong, but he knew that such formalities were inappropriate between childhood friends. He wiped his face and said, "It's all good, it's all good."
The excited voices of Uncle Chu and Aunt Chu came through the phone: "Xiao Jiang, we're all fine, don't worry. This time, thank you so much..."
When the great crisis first struck, they panicked. Seeing so many dead bodies along the way only intensified their fear. Fortunately, Jiang Rong had them stockpile a lot of supplies, which allowed them to calm down.
Seeing that the elderly couple were still alive, Jiang Rong breathed a sigh of relief without showing any sign of it. "That's good. By the way, Qiangzi, did your family leave City C?"
Chu Qiang sighed, "We're out, stuck in traffic. I should have listened to you and gone back to our hometown earlier. You have no idea how chaotic City C is right now."
Overnight, most of the people in City C died. Under the high temperature, the corpses quickly began to rot and stink, and the city's crematoriums couldn't keep up with the demand. The sudden deaths left people lying in every corner of the city, and the stench of decay permeated the air, making people want to vomit.
That's not all; stray cats and dogs roaming the streets have become extremely aggressive, daring to injure people in broad daylight. In just a few days, there have been over a thousand animal-related incidents in City C.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Rong frowned and rubbed his temples. "Where are we stuck? When will we get home?" The situation outside is only getting more chaotic, and every extra day we're delayed on the road increases the danger.
Chu Qiang understood this principle, of course. He was very helpless at the moment. "Don't even mention it. The traffic is terrible. The navigation system is all red. Cars can't move at all. I left home at dawn yesterday. It's been almost seven hours, and I'm still stuck on the Third Ring Road."
As a major city with a large population, if City C descends into chaos, the situation will spiral out of control. Survivors will try every means to escape. Even if half the population of a city of twenty to thirty million is gone, tens of millions will still remain. The highway leading to City C connects to several other large cities; if everyone tries to travel together, wouldn't it inevitably become a massive traffic jam?
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Rong suggested, "Can you buy high-speed rail tickets? If not, take the high-speed rail back. I'll pick you up; we don't need the car."
Chu Qiang had already tried every method Jiang Rong could think of. "My parents have been trying to buy tickets for the past few days, but they can't get any at all. I heard that it's really chaotic at the train station, with many people trying to squeeze on, which has actually prevented the high-speed train from departing."
Chu Qiang said thankfully, "Don't worry, Xiao Jiang, we've prepared a lot of food, and the trunk is full. Luckily, I listened to you and filled the car with gas the other day, so I'm not worried at all now. Even if we crawl, we'll definitely get home. Oh dear, the road ahead is starting to move, I have to go now."
Since the major crisis, many people have had money but didn't know where to buy things, but at least they didn't have to worry about going hungry like others. The roads were indeed congested, but their supplies were more than enough to get them home.
Jiang Rong drew circles on the table with her fingertips, neither too lightly nor too heavily. "Okay, be careful. Call me when you get home. By the way, be cautious on the road, watch out for mutated plants and animals and people with ill intentions."
Chu Qiang chuckled twice and lowered his voice, "Don't worry, Xiao Jiang, I can take care of myself and Mom and Dad. You don't need to worry about me. By the way, I've awakened my superpower! I think I've awakened an enhancement superpower. Now I'm strong enough to beat an ox. I want to see which fool dares to steal our things."
Jiang Rong's lips curled up slightly. "That's good news."
Chu Qiang asked, "By the way, Xiao Jiang, there's a post online by a guru who predicted the current situation months ago. I'll forward it to you in a bit."
A short while later, Jiang Rong received a link to a post from Chu Qiang on her phone. Upon opening it, she saw it was the very post Chu Qiang had made on Tieba. This time, the post was pushed to the top of all other posts, with tens of thousands of people replying to it.
The netizens' attitudes have completely reversed; the more they mocked the poster before, the more they now admire him.
"I recognized him by his eyes, he's a master."
"Hey boss, tell me what will happen to humanity next?"
"Damn, I thought the poster was just trying to attract attention, but it turns out it's true!"
Jiang Rong scrolled through a few pages of replies expressionlessly, then put down her phone and continued eating. After finishing her meal and taking a shower, Jiang Rong opened the blinds outside the windows. The bright sunlight streamed in. It was only 7:10 in the morning, but the outside temperature was already as high as 40 degrees Celsius.
In at most two weeks, the water and electricity in C and D cities will be shut down due to lack of maintenance. All household appliances that rely on electricity will become unusable, and people who depend on air conditioning for survival will face a severe test. Many of those who are lucky enough to survive will die from the heat, and the original half of the population will be significantly reduced after experiencing the extreme heat.
In the cool living room, a local TV station was broadcasting live news. Several fires had broken out in downtown D city due to the extreme heat. Because of a shortage of rescue personnel, the fires had not been brought under control, and several streets were already engulfed in flames.
Jiang Rong wasn't paying attention to the television; he was facing the door, frowning. He thought he'd heard someone calling his name earlier. The voice was crisp and clear, lively and cheerful, "Jiang Gong~ Jiang Gong~"
Jiang Rong: ...
Just as he was about to go out to investigate, Lele came out of Jiang Xiaoheng's bedroom. The mutated Lele had grown a size larger, and its fur was much thicker. It walked to Jiang Rong's side and nuzzled its owner's hand with its big head. Jiang Rong took the opportunity to rub Lele's head, and a gentle force rose from Lele's fur and swept across his palm.
It seems it wasn't just his imagination; since he woke up, his senses have become much more acute. Could he be an enhancement-type ability user like Chu Qiang?
There are five main categories of superhumans after mutation, the most common of which is the enhanced type. Enhanced superhumans are those whose organs or parts of their bodies become more powerful than before. Some become incredibly strong, while others can hear and see very clearly from a great distance.
Next are the Five Elements Ability Users. These ability users are incredibly powerful; they can manipulate the five elements of nature. Some can conjure water out of thin air, some can release fireballs, and others can create solid earth-based structures by slamming their hands on the ground.
There are also support-type ability users, among whom healing or spatial abilities are the most prominent.
The remaining two types of superhumans include nature-based superhumans, who can manipulate natural phenomena and possess immense power. Correspondingly, such individuals are rare, appearing only once in 100,000 mutants.
The last type is extremely rare: psychic ability users. These users can launch mental attacks, and some can even hypnotize and control other ability users.
The calls from outside grew louder and louder. Jiang Rong felt as if the voices were coming from the depths of his heart, making him unable to resist the urge to go outside.
Lele stood enthusiastically at the gate, wagging its tail. Having been cooped up at home for several days, it couldn't wait to go out for a stroll. Jiang Rong had barely opened the door a crack when it darted out with a whoosh. It was so fast that Jiang Rong couldn't see its face clearly, only a flash of yellow light disappearing into the yard.
However, the next moment Lele let out a pitiful cry and scurried back home with its tail between its legs. As soon as it entered the door, Lele howled pitifully at Jiang Rong, constantly turning its head and stretching out its rear end.
Jiang Rong looked closely and saw a needle, more than ten centimeters long, stuck in Lele's buttocks. The needle was yellowish and hard, with a waxy sheen. It also had fine barbs on it, and when it was pulled out of Lele's body, the dog whimpered in pain.
Jiang Rong held the long needle in his hand, lost in thought. What on earth was this? The quills of a porcupine? He had never seen anything so bizarre in his past life.
After applying a band-aid to Lele's wound, Jiang Rong slowly walked to the living room window. If she wasn't mistaken, the needle had come from the west side of the yard.
Jiang Rong pressed his face against the bulletproof window and glanced at the west wall of the courtyard. His pupils contracted. Outside the west wall, a patch of green was swaying. Upon closer inspection, he realized a huge cactus had appeared on the west side of his property.
The cactus stretched over a meter above the courtyard wall, its columnar body covered in long, yellowish spines. Its appearance seemed incredibly familiar to Jiang Rong. After a moment's thought, he realized… wasn't this the cactus he'd brought back from his office?!
Realizing this, Jiang Rong's breath caught in his throat. He had carefully chosen a place with few mutated plants to set up camp, never expecting that the first mutated plant he encountered after his rebirth would be the one he had brought back himself.
The calls from outside the window grew louder: "Jiang Gong~ Jiang Gong~ There's a problem..."
Jiang Rong gently tapped her forehead against the glass. Yes, now there's not only a problem, but a big one.
Author's Note:
If Lele awakens the ability to speak
Lele: Dad! Look at my butt! I got pricked!
Lele: Dad! My bottom hurts so much, waaaaah, look at my bottom!
Lele: Dad, you don't love me anymore. I've been pricked like this, and you still won't open the jar...
Jiang Rong: ...
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