Holding Their Own Space, the Family Returns to the Apocalypse

79: The two of them were terrible with directions.”Ai Yue, are you at the Yingjin City Safety Tower now? Then are you going back? When are you going back?” Mo Li switched into chatterbox mode.

”Meeting you makes me so happy. You actually managed to travel so far alone; it’s clear you’re even more capable than I imagined. Following you is definitely safe.

Oh, right, why don’t you see your kindness through to the end? When you go back, take us with you. Don’t worry, we won’t let you hitch a ride for nothing...”

Mo Li didn’t know what had gotten into him, as he kept babbling incessantly.

Unable to take it anymore, Ai Yue barked, ”Shut up!”

Instantly, the car became so quiet that only the sound of the vehicle driving could be heard.

Seeing Ai Yue’s face darken, Mo Li sheepishly shut his mouth, fearing he’d be thrown out of the car the next second. He believed she was capable of it, so he immediately closed his eyes and obediently pretended to nap.

Ai Yue saw him playing dead through the rearview mirror. With the car quiet again, she quietly exhaled a breath of frustration.

This person was way too noisy. Since the Apocalypse began, she had grown used to quiet journeys. This sudden racket was giving her a massive headache.

Seeing that Ai Yue was a bit upset, Ye Rui shrank back and didn’t dare to speak. Her sister was terrifying when angry! Her aura was too powerful! She clearly looked so cute, so how could her face become so scary the moment it darkened?

Seeing Ye Rui huddling with her head down like a little quail, Ai Yue couldn’t help but want to laugh.

After a moment, Ai Yue asked casually, ”By the way, how did you two end up together?”

Ye Rui immediately looked up. ”It’s a long story, but I’ll keep it short. After you guys left, the other girls and I lived quite well for a few days with the remaining food. But the good times didn’t last; a group of bandits came and took over the place, even imprisoning us.

But I didn’t want to be treated like a plaything again, so I teamed up with two of the girls. We put sleeping pills in their water and killed them while they slept...” At this point, Ye Rui’s voice trailed off.

Ai Yue understood that the process of killing for the first time must have been painful. No one could help with that kind of pain; she had to heal slowly on her own.

”Later, I didn’t want to stay there waiting for death. Someone else would have shown up sooner or later. Successfully killing one group didn’t mean we could kill a second, so I left with those two girls.

The days that followed were hell. Eventually, the two girls died to save me...” Ye Rui spoke calmly, but even though she glossed over the details, one could imagine how cruel and painful her experiences were.

”When I was being hunted and had nowhere to go while starving, I accidentally found an Underground Bunker. It actually had food, electricity, and... Brother Mo Li.

Brother Mo Li took pity on me, helped me kill my pursuers, and even wanted to take me to the Yingjin City Safety Tower. We supported each other along the way, through all sorts of dangers. He even got injured to help us escape. It’s just a shame that we’ve been traveling for so long and still haven’t reached the Safety Tower. Sigh... but luckily, we ran into you, Sister.”

Hearing this, Ai Yue’s expression became somewhat incredulous. She couldn’t help but ask, ”Roughly how many days have you two been traveling toward the Safety Tower?”

”Hmm, over half a year,” Ye Rui said after thinking for a moment.

”Half a year? You’ve been traveling for half a year?” Ai Yue slammed on the brakes, stopping the car. She turned around and looked at Ye Rui, asking in disbelief.

”Yes, that’s right.”

Ai Yue was speechless, not knowing what to say.

It couldn’t be what she was thinking, right? Probably not. There shouldn’t be anyone that stupid in the world.

”Which city was that Underground Bunker in?” Ai Yue organized her thoughts; she wanted to figure out where they had started their journey to the Yingjin City Safety Tower.

”I think it was called Tong City. What’s wrong, Sister?” Ye Rui didn’t understand why Ai Yue’s mood had shifted so much, but she answered honestly.

”Tong City?” Ai Yue exclaimed.

Wasn’t that the Underground Bunker where she had stayed while waiting out the Virus Rain? All the food, water, and electricity inside were left behind by her.

At the time, she had done it on a whim, thinking it would be interesting to see who the lucky person would be. She never expected it to be them. She could only say it was fate!

However, she didn’t plan on revealing this to them.

Thinking about it this way, Ai Yue felt that the reason they hadn’t reached the Safety Tower was exactly what she suspected!

She could only continue helplessly, ”Do you know that Tong City is only two hundred kilometers from the Yingjin Safety Tower? It only takes three or four hours by car. Even if you were walking, you could have made ten round trips in half a year.

Tell me, how did you end up getting further and further away? Also, do you know where we are now?”

Hearing such explosive news, Ye Rui didn’t react for a moment. She sat there with her mouth agape in shock, blankly shaking her head.

Hearing Ai Yue’s words, Mo Li stopped playing dead. He bolted upright and asked in surprise, ”What? Are you saying we went the wrong way?”

Ai Yue laughed out of frustration. ”Are you stupid? You didn’t realize anything after not arriving for so long?”

Mo Li was dazed by the question and murmured, ”I... I didn’t think about it either. I was just angry that the road was so long.”

Ai Yue smacked her forehead. Great. She had praised him for being smart earlier. Smart, my foot! He clearly looked like a complete idiot; it was a miracle he had survived this long.

After her lament, Ai Yue said each word deliberately, ”Mo Li, don’t tell me you have no sense of direction.” That was the only explanation for why they were getting further away.

”Sister, I’m directionally challenged!”

Ai Yue looked at the dazed Little Girl, feeling both amused and exasperated.

”How did you know? No one knows I have no sense of direction,” Mo Li said, sheepishly rubbing his head in embarrassment.

”Before the Apocalypse, he was always surrounded by people whenever he went out. Even when he was a mercenary, someone else always pointed the way; he never had to worry about it.

Who would have known the Apocalypse would come so suddenly? Phones and other electronic products all became useless. When he came out for the last time, he didn’t bring any paper maps. Who could have known he’d end up in this state?

He had been relying entirely on intuition all this time. Ugh, he’ll never trust his intuition again.”

Ai Yue didn’t want to deal with this idiot anymore, fearing her own IQ would drop!

But Mo Li wasn’t planning on letting her go. ”Then, where is this? How far is it from the Safety Tower?”

Ai Yue closed her eyes but still answered, ”We’re almost at Xinjiang. Going back from here, it’ll take about eight or nine days at this speed.”

Mo Li’s lips trembled, and his eyes went blank. He stopped talking and began silently processing this explosive news.

After listening for a while, Ye Rui also understood. It wasn’t that the road to the Safety Tower was too long, but that they had gone the wrong way and were getting further and further away. For a moment, she found it absolutely ridiculous!

No one was in the mood to talk anymore, and the car fell silent.