End of the World, Night
Creak, creak... A half-track motorcycle rumbled out of the dilapidated building.
The motorcycle, having just emerged, suddenly stopped. Two little girls wearing green steel helmets looked up at the sky.
Yuri, with her golden hair, excitedly hugged Xiao Qian's neck and shouted, "Awesome! It's sparkling! Xiao Qian!"
Hearing Yuri's excited words, Xiao Qian also stared blankly at the sky, and after a long while, she softly said, "So it's night!"
Just as the two were gazing at the sky in a daze, Yuri's stomach suddenly rumbled.
"Hehe! We're finally outside, how about we have some soup!"
Yuri clung tightly to Xiao Qian, pressing her face against Xiao Qian's as she whined.
"Mmm mmm... Alright, let's consider it a celebration of our return to the light!"
Xiao Qian, feeling uncomfortable from Yuri's closeness, spoke with difficulty.
"Hooray! Time to eat!"
Having gotten permission, Yuri let go of Xiao Qian and shouted excitedly.
A long while later, the two stared intently at the tin can placed over the bonfire.
"Gulp! Is it ready!"
Yuri swallowed hard, looking at Xiao Qian with anticipation.
"Yes, it is!"
Xiao Qian nodded, then picked up the can and poured the food into their respective mugs.
"Here you go! This is the last can!"
Yuri looked at the mug Xiao Qian handed her and eagerly took it.
"Ah! So hot!"
The two looked at the steaming hot soup in their hands, blew on it in unison, and then took a sip.
"Ah! It's so delicious!"
Feeling the warmth spreading through her body, Yuri's face was filled with satisfaction.
"I didn't even know that night was so bright!"
"Because we've always been in the pitch-black underground, we've become more sensitive to light!"
After finishing their meal, Yuri hugged Xiao Qian as they looked at the sky and sighed.
"Then, when the sun rises, what will that feel like!"
Yuri looked at the star-filled sky with unfocused eyes and couldn't help but ask.
"We'll get roasted alive!"
"Eh eh eh!!!"
"You're so loud!"
Just as the two were bickering, streaks of meteors suddenly streaked across the sky, catching their attention.
As time passed, it was daytime in the blink of an eye.
Unfortunately, the entire world was submerged in snow.
A faint white mist permeated the air, preventing direct sunlight from reaching the ground.
Bang!
"Hit!"
Bang!
"Hit!"
"Xiao Qian, aren't you going to try?"
Yuri, holding a rifle, looked at the distant, flying tin can and spoke.
"No!"
Xiao Qian shook her head, holding binoculars, indicating refusal.
"That's right! Xiao Qian's marksmanship has always been terrible!"
"But you should still carry a weapon!"
Xiao Qian looked at the surrounding ruins and whispered, "What use are weapons now!"
Seeing the downcast Xiao Qian, Yuri's face broke into an excited smile and she shouted, "Xiao Qian! Let's go find something to eat!"
Hearing Yuri's words, Xiao Qian looked at the various weapons covered in deep snow around them and said in a low voice, "That might be a bit difficult, but military rations, perhaps..."
"But it's good to explore more!"
Just as the two were searching for survival supplies in the snow, Zhong Chen and Sakuya strolled through the city's ruins.
The snowflakes falling from the sky seemed to narrate the world's inevitable demise.
Zhong Chen, seeing all this, couldn't help but exclaim, "The afterglow of the apocalypse highlights the past prosperity of human civilization, the arrogant humans... humans... human..."
"Damn it! I can't keep going, I don't have such high cultural literacy."
"The humans in this world are really good at courting death, they practically played themselves to death!"
Sakuya, standing beside Zhong Chen holding an umbrella, slowly said, "Humans are always like this, they never learn their lesson!"
"Hahaha! The only lesson humans learn from history is that they never learn from history!"
"Master, you're being a literary youth!"
"Oh my! I didn't expect you, Sakuya, to also learn to joke with me!"
Zhong Chen looked at Izayoi Sakuya beside him with a surprised expression. He felt that Sakuya had changed a lot now.
One must know that when he first summoned Izayoi Sakuya, she had always maintained a cold and unsmiling demeanor.
Now, she not only occasionally showed a smile but also joked with him.
"People change, don't they?"
Hearing Sakuya say this, Zhong Chen thought of the bits and pieces after being sent to Slime World by Chinese-style Iaido.
After showing a heartfelt smile, he said faintly, "Yes! People change!"
Just like him, he used to be a 996 workhorse, thinking only of work, getting off work, eating, and sleeping every day.
Infinitely cycling through such a life, he now also had family he could protect for a lifetime, and friends he could playfully bicker with without reservation.
And a large group of loyal subordinates. He liked this kind of life very much.
To make his subordinates stronger, he could unhesitatingly absorb the souls of an entire world.
To make his friends happy, he could also disregard his status and be mischievous with them.
Zhong Chen had even secretly sworn in his heart that whoever dared to disturb this peace, he would send them on a vacation to the human emperor banner.
"Aren't you still looking for those two children? Is it really alright to stroll so leisurely?"
Sakuya looked at Zhong Chen, who was lost in thought, and asked softly.
"Hahaha! My apologies, I was thinking about old times for a moment! Let's go, let's meet those two little ones!"
...Inside a discarded transport plane, Xiao Qian and Yuri looked at the military ration box before them, their eyes gleaming with unparalleled excitement.
Yuri, on the other hand, had completely pounced onto the military ration box.
"Yuri! We need to move it out!"
"Hai (Okay)!"
After the two moved the military ration box to the ground, Xiao Qian took out a pack from the box and opened it.
After both of them ate two pieces of dry ration each, Xiao Qian whispered to the last piece of dry ration in the package, "There are five pieces in one pack! It's an odd number! So, we'll split it evenly..."
But before Xiao Qian could break the dry ration, Yuri snatched the entire piece away.
"Hey!"
Xiao Qian was about to question Yuri when she saw a dark gun barrel pointed at herself, and Yuri's eyes were surprisingly cold.
"So that's how it is! Indeed, I should also carry a weapon!"
Xiao Qian said, her face showing an 'I see' expression.
"Right! This is called war!"
After saying that, Yuri opened her mouth and ate the entire dry ration. Xiao Qian, seeing this, shouted with a hint of surprise in her voice, "Ah! You actually ate it!"
Chew, chew, chew... Hearing Xiao Qian's question, Yuri turned her head and chewed furiously.
"You, you!"
Saying that, Xiao Qian tackled Yuri to the ground, frantically shaking Yuri's collar.
Yuri, meanwhile, responded to Xiao Qian's attack with a silly grin.
"Hehehe!!!"
"Thump!"
"Itai (Ouch)!"
"Hit you, hit you..."
Just as the two were bickering and passing the time, human voices miraculously appeared nearby.
"How is it, Sakuya! I was right, weren't I? They are two very sensible children..."