Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Qi Huai’s interference threw Qi Mo’s plans into disarray.

It forced Qi Mo to abandon the idea of driving openly toward Yuncheng.

Instead, he had to take refuge in the mountains to evade police pursuit or capture by Huo Liangzhou.

After Qi Huai reported the incident to the police, the tattooed thugs did not call the authorities themselves but managed to contact Third Master Bai, who then reached out to Huo Liangchuan.

Huo Liangzhou was not easy to get in touch with—he kept his hands clean of shady business.

Huo Liangchuan, still a student, was easier to reach. Upon hearing that his "younger brother-in-law," Qi Mo, was in trouble, he immediately called his elder brother.

When Huo Liangzhou received the news, he froze—what had happened? His young master had brandished a knife.

By the time the police arrived at the abandoned factory, the ambulance had just pulled in, and Huo Liangzhou arrived shortly after.

The tattooed thugs were already in police custody.

Upon seeing Huo Liangzhou, they shouted, “President Huo! We were the ones who called you! We know everything!”

Huo Liangzhou looked at the officer overseeing the detained thugs. “I want to know exactly what happened to my partner.”

“President Huo, we’re handling an investigation,” the officer replied, eyes fixed on him. He despised those who tried to use power to dominate.

Huo Liangzhou stepped back, and Special Assistant Wu Di stepped forward—he also held a law license.

“I’m a lawyer. This matter involves our young master’s husband, who is with a nine-month-old baby. If anything happens to them, can you bear the responsibility? We need to find my employer’s spouse and get the child to safety immediately,” Wu Di stated firmly.

Regardless of whether Qi Mo had injured anyone, the nine-month-old baby was completely innocent.

If any delay by the police led to harm, they could be sued for negligence.

When it came to children, public outrage was inevitable—no one dared act recklessly.

Wu Di turned to the tattooed thugs and asked, “What exactly happened?”

“Qi Huai paid us to track Qi Mo. He gave us photos and an address, but we didn’t know the young master’s identity. Qi Huai said he just wanted to talk—it wasn’t illegal—so we took the job,” the thug explained, gulping down some water.

He continued, “Qi Mo drove out of the city. After we reported his location to Qi Huai, he told us to bring him to the Two Peaks Mountain border area.”

“On the way, Qi Mo said he was Huo Liangzhou’s lover, so we got cautious. After all, he’s the richest man in Jiangcheng—we couldn’t afford to mess up. We didn’t dare let anything happen to him. When we got here, Qi Huai hardly said a word before ordering his two bodyguards to attack and knock him unconscious. Since we were the ones who brought him, we refused—we agreed it was just a talk, so it had to stay that way. We tried to stop the bodyguards, and a fight broke out,” the thug winced, clearly feeling pain from his wound.

Another thug chimed in, “The two bodyguards were ruthless. We barely managed to restrain them, but Qi Huai rushed in to attack Qi Mo. However, Qi Huai got overpowered and ended up with an injured hand from Qi Mo.”

Huo Liangzhou turned to the officer. “This entire incident was provoked by Qi Huai. Just days ago, he urged fans to splash sulfuric acid on my A-Mo. Seems he hasn’t learned his lesson.”

“You’re pushing your luck. Maybe I shouldn’t have left you any way out at all,” Huo Liangzhou snapped coldly, his anger palpable.

The officer glared at him. “You dare threaten the perpetrator in front of the police?”

“Is he the victim?” Huo Liangzhou shot back.

Wu Di eyed the officer who kept overstepping his authority. “Seems you haven’t studied police regulations properly. I’ll be reporting this misconduct.”

“President, the priority now is finding Qi Mo and the baby,” Wu Di reminded.

Huo Liangzhou nodded. “Call Third Master Bai. Ask him to help locate them. Tell him I owe him one.”

Huo Liangchuan had also taken leave to come over: "Where could Xiao Mo have taken the baby? He must’ve been terrified—he’s always been skittish."

Huo Liangzhou didn’t know either. Lately, his young master had been running around like a wild thing, causing havoc everywhere.

The Qi family had deep roots in Jiangcheng. Where exactly was Qi Mo headed?

This wasn't even the right road to Haicheng.

"See if A’Mo’s got any close buddies in other cities," Huo Liangzhou said.

Not only was Huo Liangzhou tracking down his young master’s whereabouts—so were the police.

CCTV showed that Qi Mo’s car never made it back to the highway, likely entering a rural area. But after checking, there was no record of his car passing through those intersections.

Though no armed police were deployed, they’d already brought in K9 units to pick up the trail.

Meanwhile, Qi Mo moved through the woods, finding a mountain path and continuing forward. Every so often, he'd spray scent-blocking chemicals along his route to throw off the dogs.

After the apocalypse, some people developed extremely sensitive noses, making this kind of chemical crucial. One whiff, and your nose would be out of commission for a day or two.

Standing on a hilltop, Qi Mo wasn't far from the national highway. He glanced at his watch—12:30.

He had an hour to kill, with the last thirty minutes set aside for the real move.

Qi Mo pressed on, rounding a bend and spotting an abandoned factory below. The huge yard was choked with weeds, dotted with massive coal piles.

Just like that, the exhaustion from his trek melted away.

He still hadn’t stocked up on coal.

Reaching the foot of the hill, Qi Mo shielded the baby’s head with one hand and kicked the factory’s side door open.

Then he closed it behind him.

He found some shade, pulled out a stool, and plopped down. He checked his watch—12:50.

Qi Mo pulled out a box of sushi and a bottle of milk.

He passed the milk to the baby, who clutched it and started chugging.

After scarfing down five or six sushi rolls and finishing a bottle of milk, Qi Mo glanced at the time—exactly 12:56.

He pulled out a burner phone and began dialing.

A number burned into his memory over two lifetimes.

The line connected. Someone answered.

Qi Mo’s voice wavered slightly: “Are you Grandpa Bai Bin? I’ve got something urgent to tell you—please don’t hang up. Listen to me. This is life-or-death—it could mean our people’s survival.”

“If you’re done, listen up. At exactly one o’clock, the Empire Tower will collapse. Then the Empire Bridge will follow. If both go down, you’ll know I’m not full of shit.”

Bai Cheng’s brow furrowed: “I heard what you said. Now tell me why Bai Bin gave you this number.”

“Who the hell is this doomsayer?” the gray-haired Minister of Defense scoffed. “The Empire Tower just opened—no way it’s collapsing already!”

Serves ’em right if it does. Let those Empire pricks keep crowing about their ‘cutting-edge tech.’

The Minister of National Security: "If it really collapses, that would be quite amusing. Whose young man is this calling? Bai Bin's friend? This is nonsense. How can this phone number be given out so casually?"

"Track down this number and see which reckless kid dares to make such wild claims," the Security Minister ordered.

Qi Mo...

Isn't the news of the Empire State Building collapsing far more shocking than Bai Bin giving me this phone number?

"Since you've already heard about the Empire State Building collapsing, let me tell you how Bai Bin gave me this number. Listen carefully, Grandpa Bai. I'm someone who's been reborn. Seven months into the apocalypse, your grandson escaped from cannibals, but he was burning up with fever." Qi Mo paused.

"Back then, there was no water, no electricity, and naturally, phones were useless. So, he was so fever-crazed—otherwise, he wouldn’t have given me a useless phone number. But because he gave me a piece of chocolate, in this second life, I’m calling to repay that kindness." Qi Mo said all at once.

Bai Cheng found this completely nuts—what apocalypse? No water or electricity? Impossible.

When Bai Cheng pushed back on these doubts, Qi Mo began explaining: "Starting at 1:30 today, electricity will vanish, and all electronics will fail. This isn’t the beginning of the apocalypse—that comes half a month later. As electricity disappears, so will water. There will be no rain for the next seven months, followed by extreme heat for about half a year, then bone-chilling cold."

"Water will vanish as if it never existed. By the time I died, not a single drop of rain had fallen. So, Grandpa Bai, you must warn all of Daxia—stockpile water, dig water storage pits, store at least seven months’ worth of water. Only then can people survive." Qi Mo finished in one breath.

The listeners fell silent, convinced the caller must be off his rocker.

However, the Security Minister soon received reports from those monitoring the Empire.

At exactly 1:01, the Empire State Building collapsed without warning. Before anyone could react, the Empire Bridge began shaking violently, then came crashing down too.

The bridge, spanning over a hundred miles, collapsed from the middle.

"It really collapsed," the Security Minister breathed, stunned.

Instantly, the previously relaxed atmosphere in the meeting room turned grave.

Qi Mo paused. "Don’t bother tracking me. I’ve told you everything I know. I only lived seven months—I know nothing beyond that."

"Stock up on food. Soon, plants will mutate and become toxic," Qi Mo added.

Then, hesitating, he finally steeled himself. "Also, the guy who ate Bai Bin was Chou Hu—that grandson of General Chou. He lived in the same neighborhood as Bai Bin. Even before the apocalypse, he was into eating people—aborted fetuses. Their bones were stored in a water tank on the top floor of Villa No. 14."

"But those fetuses weren't normal abortions—they were custom-ordered. Grandpa Bai, don’t worry about General Chou seeking revenge. His actual grandson—his real grandson—has been missing for a while, hasn’t he? Chou Hu once bragged about locking his grandfather’s favorite grandson in the basement, where he and his sick friends had their fun with him. If you kill Chou Hu, General Chou probably won’t object. After all, blood comes first. A real grandson matters more than a psychopath." Qi Mo recounted from memory.

Bai Cheng exhaled sharply. "You have a grudge against Chou Hu."

"Yes. Because he ate me too. But Bai Bin was eaten first—I died two days later. All this information came from Chou Hu himself, so it’s probably not entirely lies." Qi Mo rubbed his thumb and finger together.

Silence followed, then all hell broke loose on the other end.

Just as Qi Mo predicted, targeting Chou Hu alone wouldn’t work. But once the grandson was involved, General Chou personally led a search party—no need for Bai Cheng to intervene.

"Is there anything else?" Bai Cheng asked.

Qi Mo replied, "Yes—don’t come looking for me. I’ve said all I know. Also, tomorrow afternoon, there will be one last brief return of power, lasting about two or three hours. Make every minute count—hold emergency meetings, devise strategies, save as many lives as possible."

"Good. If what you say comes true, you’ll be a hero of Daxia," Bai Cheng said.

Qi Mo chuckled. "There aren’t enough airtight water jugs. Store water in anything sealed—even plastic bags. Otherwise, it’ll evaporate quickly. But with the coming heat, ordinary plastic might melt. Stash it in basements."

"Why didn’t you call earlier?" Bai Cheng pressed.

Qi Mo laughed. "If I had, and the Empire State Building hadn’t collapsed, you'd have thought I was crazy. Alright, goodbye, Grandpa Bai. Here's hoping we make it. Ba-ba, ba-ba..."

Hearing his child call out after finishing the milk, Qi Mo quickly ended the call.

He didn’t want to be exposed—getting locked in a lab didn't sound fun. This life, he just wanted to keep his kid safe.