Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Wen Jianshu, who had been somewhat hesitant, now made his decision.

He stretched out his arms, wanting to hold his potentially devastated wife and comfort her.

But to his surprise, Lin Yi pushed him away, turned over with Yangyang in her arms, and faced the other way to sleep.

For tonight, at least, Lin Yi wouldn’t forgive him for that momentary hesitation, even if it was understandable.

Seeing his wife’s reaction, Wen Jianshu was overcome with guilt. ‘I’m less than human,’ he thought.

He decided that when Qin Ling returned, regardless of whether the mission was a success, he would do everything in his power to make this happen and wake Momo up.

Meanwhile, the simple-minded Xiao Tao, who could never keep things to herself, had already told her husband, Lao San, everything.

While Lin Yi was eavesdropping at the tent entrance, Xiao Tao hadn’t been idle either. She had been straining her ears, listening to every word from inside.

Although there was much she didn’t quite understand, one thing was crystal clear: if Momo woke up, the world would not return to the way it was before.

But if the world were to be restored to its former prosperity and peace, Momo would have to die.

In Xiao Tao’s mind, the thought was simple: as long as Momo could wake up, nothing else mattered.

‘If it weren’t for Momo, there wouldn’t even be another choice, would there?’

Momo had given them this choice, so she could just as easily take it away.

The simpler the person, the simpler their thinking, yet they often grasp the most straightforward truths.

But Xiao Tao knew her own choice was useless in this matter. They had to wait for Qin Ling to return. His choice was the only one that truly counted.

Xiao Tao knew Qin Ling, but not well, so she was afraid he would make a different choice than she would.

She couldn’t sleep with such worries, so she blurted out everything to Lao San.

At first, Lao San was startled to hear that Momo was in trouble. But after hearing the whole story, he was completely relieved.

“Then we just have to wait for the boss to come back. What are you worrying about all this nonsense for?”

Lao San didn’t think it was a big deal at all.

“How can you be so nonchalant? Momo is always so good to you all, how can you not be worried about her at all? You’re heartless!”

Xiao Tao was furious. As expected of a goddaughter, her angry expression was a perfect mirror of Lin Yi’s.

“Worry about what?”

Lao San’s mind was even simpler; he didn’t understand what his wife was worried about.

“First, the boss will definitely come back safely. Second, the boss will definitely give that Agility Pearl to Momo. That way, Momo will be fine. She’s just sleeping a few extra days right now, so what’s there to worry about?”

In Lao San’s mind, Momo was always so exhausted. Resting a few extra days wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“How do you know for sure that Qin Ling will bring that pearl for Momo?”

Hearing her husband’s words, Xiao Tao breathed a sigh of relief, but still she had to ask.

“Don’t worry, honey. I’d bet my life on it. You don’t know the boss. The boss, he…”

Lao San’s voice trailed off. Xiao Tao kept waiting for him to continue, but after a long moment, there was only silence.

“Hey!”

Xiao Tao nudged the man beside her, only to find that Lao San was dead asleep.

“You oaf.”

Xiao Tao cursed under her breath, but she knew Lao San had followed Qin Ling for a very, very long time. For him to speak with such certainty eased her heart considerably, and she soon fell into a deep sleep herself.

* * *

“Brother, I can’t sleep.”

In Lin Yu’s tent, Xianxian was tightly clutching her blanket.

Unlike Yangyang, Xianxian was old enough to understand things.

Although she didn’t know exactly what had happened inside the tent, she knew that Sister Tang Mo had been in danger today.

And since her brother wouldn’t let her see Sister Tang Mo, even at the end, she was very worried.

“Nothing’s happened to Sister Tang Mo, has it?”

After a long hesitation, Xianxian finally asked.

“Xianxian, do you like Sister Tang Mo?”

Lin Yu didn’t answer his sister’s question, asking one of his own instead.

“Mhm, I like her a lot.”

Xianxian answered quickly, without the slightest hesitation.

“Then, Xianxian, do you want to go back to the world before the apocalypse? To a life like we had in Sand Town.”

“I do.”

Again, there was no hesitation. Although the little girl had slowly begun to conquer her fear of this world, not a single person didn’t miss the peace and happiness of the past.

“If the price for returning to the old world was that your favorite Sister Tang Mo had to die, what would you choose, Xianxian?”

Lin Yu posed the question to Xianxian.

Xianxian took a moment to process her brother’s words, then stood stunned, speechless for a long time.

This was the first great dilemma she had ever faced in her young life.

Xianxian thought about it seriously, but as she did, she couldn’t help but start to cry.

“I don’t want Sister Tang Mo to die! I don’t! Xianxian wants to go back to the old days, but if Sister Tang Mo has to die for it, then Xianxian doesn’t want it anymore! Sister Tang Mo didn’t do anything wrong! She saved everyone, she’s a great hero! Brother, don’t let Sister Tang Mo die!”

The more Xianxian thought about it, the more heartbroken she became, until she was finally wailing uncontrollably.

The little girl had made her heart’s choice.

Lin Yu quickly picked up his sister to comfort her, a smile playing on his lips.

‘As expected of my sister. She didn’t disappoint me.’

Tang Mo’s consciousness drifted in the air, having heard everyone’s conversations.

Although she had no physical form, her consciousness could roam freely. The range of her wandering was the area her body’s spiritual power could cover.

And that range was enormous. This meant that within this area, she could hear, see, and feel everything that happened, as long as she wished.

She could even witness everything happening to everyone, all at the same time.

Tang Mo and her mother hadn’t spent any real time together in a long time.

Ever since the apocalypse began, she had embarked on a journey alone. To outsiders, this journey might have seemed smooth, but only Tang Mo herself knew the truth.

Her original intention had been simple: to live a good life with the people she loved, to become strong enough to protect those she wanted to protect, and to absolutely avoid the fate of her previous life.

Originally, her wish was small, and the people she wanted to protect were few.

But as her journey lengthened, as she grew stronger and experienced more, Tang Mo’s ambitions gradually grew. She began to want more, to do more.

She witnessed the sorrows and joys of more families and began to feel empathy. She started to understand that in this world, good and evil were often not so clearly defined. For everyone living in this cruel world, life was not easy.