Chapter 60

Chapter 60

At the young master’s accusation, Huo Liangzhou laughed.

The rumble of his laughter made Qi Mo feel at ease—he was still alive.

His chubby baby was also alive, still just as chubby as ever. He was even planning to help the little one lose some weight.

Holding the young master who had thrown himself into his arms, Huo Liangzhou murmured in his ear, “Did it work on you?”

Originally only slightly tempted, Qi Mo felt a rush of heat as Huo Liangzhou’s hot breath ghosted over his ear. His cheeks flamed red—blood surged upward, pooling in his face, his whole body warming with an uncontrollable fire. He couldn’t calm down, couldn’t resist, couldn’t extinguish it…

“Yes. You’re dead today, Huo Liangzhou,” Qi Mo said with an adorably fierce look, wrapping his arms around the man’s neck and pressing forward to kiss him.

Caught off guard by the young master’s sudden affection, Huo Liangzhou let him clumsily kiss and bite at his chin and lips before chuckling in response, “Gladly… my young master.”

Lifting the smaller man into his arms, Huo Liangzhou turned to Snowball and the lazy Qiu Qiu and said, “Watch your brother. Don’t let him sneak into tight spaces.”

Golden Kitty’s eyes widened.

It stretched its tail forward, biting down and cutting off its psychic senses.

*Little brother really is smarter. Last night I reacted just a bit too slowly, and the baby almost saw something he shouldn’t have!*

*Dad really can laugh and be happy too.*

*Hmm, Qiu Qiu thinks the young master is pretty cute—no wonder Dad likes him so much.*

*After the young master disappeared, Dad never smiled again, not even when we were around.*

*This feels good now.*

*Except Dad keeps strutting like a peacock, trying way too hard to impress the young master.*

*Considering how small the young master is… is he even up for this?*

*Qiu Qiu is a little worried.*

*Hope Dad knows when to stop.*

*Maybe I should go catch something to get Daddy energized—he looks exhausted.*

If Qi Mo knew he’d been called petite, he would definitely protest. *Where am I small?*

*One hundred seventy-six centimeters isn’t the tallest, but it’s still above average, okay?*

*And how old are you two anyway? Little brats, daring to look down on Daddy?*

*Just wait until you're born—I’ll paddle your bottoms.*

Golden Kitty gave a few meows at its younger brother, who was playing a boring game with their older sibling, then signaled him to keep watch while it headed up the mountain to scrounge up some treats.

Kitty Snowball, stuck in the living room with their big brother, gave the chubby brother a lick and meowed. *Looks like it’s just the two of us stuck together now.*

After who knows how long, the chubby baby’s stomach growled with hunger, and his diaper was soggy—it was time for a change.

But where were the parents? Where was Daddy?

Unable to speak, the poor chubby baby began waddling around the house, crawling from room to room, searching for Daddy.

Snuggled against the man, a massive block of ice sat in the room, now mostly melted.

Pale, delicate fingers poked the man’s chest. Qi Mo’s voice was hoarse: “When’s this heatwave gonna end?”

Huo Liangzhou stroked the young master’s back. “One month after the twins are born, the rainy season hits, with nonstop rain every day.”

“During the rainy season, plants start mutating and growing out of control—super dangerous. Peppers burst—super spicy, can cause allergies and rashes. Corn turns stringy, impossible to digest even when ground into flour, and grows thorns. Potatoes taste like gravel and are rock-hard…” Huo Liangzhou listed off the weirder changes.

Qi Mo listened intently. “And then? Do people start developing psychic powers? What about animals—do they mutate too?”

Huo Liangzhou tapped the young master’s nose. “Yeah, animals mutate—some get really strong. Especially insects. We think they’re dead, but they’ve just been hiding, secretly evolving. Locust swarms are practically guaranteed—nothing survives where they go.”

“After the rainy season comes extreme cold. The world only has three seasons now: eight months of brutal heat, four of rain, and seven of bitter cold. Survival’s gotten brutal.” Huo Liangzhou shared what he knew.

Seeing the young master’s worried look, Huo Liangzhou chuckled. “Relax. Even if things get worse, I’ve got memory flashes of those chubby babies growing up. So yeah, I raised them—and they turned out amazing. Our little badasses.”

Hearing that made Qi Mo smile.

Huo Liangzhou continued, “When I went to the village committee, Director Huang said—‘In chaotic times, strict laws are needed.’ Those guys robbed tons of people, committed several massacres, so they’re getting executed tomorrow night at 8 PM in the poplar grove by town entrance. Wanna go see?”

“For the show?” Qi Mo looked up, big eyes sparkling.

Huo Liangzhou nodded. “Anyone who messed with you had it coming.”

“Then let’s go see what they get. Maybe we’ll catch ’em bawling their eyes out—serves ‘em right.” Qi Mo said. In his past life, he’d seen worse—beheadings, dismemberment, even cannibalism.

As they spoke, a *tap-tap-tapping* came from the door. Qi Mo glanced toward it.

Huo Liangzhou checked the time—past two.

“Bet the kiddo’s hungry,” he said. The younger cat could watch his brother, sure—but taking care of him? Way beyond kitty’s skill set. Feeding and diaper-changing were asking way too much.

At that, Qi Mo bolted upright—then winced. His waist ached, felt like it might snap.

He shot the man a glare that was more cute than threatening.

No time to even shower. He threw on clothes, opened the door, and there was the chubby baby, pawing at it.

He scooped the baby up and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Then came the routine: off with the diaper, wash the little bottom, air it out, shove the bottle into his mouth.

All done in one smooth motion, no pause.

Huo Liangzhou pulled on his pants. “Hungry for anything?”

Without looking up, Qi Mo muttered, “You’ll do.”

Huo Liangzhou smirked—the young master was teasing him now.

“You’ll get yours later. First, feed the baby,” he said.

Qi Mo brought out steamed buns he’d made, rice, braised pork, tomato beef brisket…

Looking at all the meat, he shrugged. “No greens. Meat’s fine.”

After all that action, they needed protein. Can’t have their health dropping—gotta stay strong for the long haul.

Yeah, that's how it goes.

Looking at the young master’s random blushing, who knows what he’s thinking about now.

Huo Liangzhou isn’t bothered.

“I’ll take Chubby baby. You must be hungry—eat first. I’ll make you a fruit platter,” Huo Liangzhou says.

Qi Mo doesn’t object. He hands Chubby baby over, then places watermelon, cantaloupe, dragon fruit, oranges, bananas, and strawberries on the coffee table.

Huo Liangzhou plops Chubby baby down next to him, washes the fruits, then grabs a knife. In a blur of motion, he slices them all into a steel basin before portioning them into containers.

He hands one to the young master. “Put the rest away for later.”

Scooping up Chubby baby from the floor, Huo Liangzhou finally sits down to eat.

“You cooked this?” Huo Liangzhou asks.

Qi Mo nods. “Of course. I can do more than just draw.”

“You’re incredible—you’re killing it with the baby,” Huo Liangzhou praises. Honestly, his Chubby baby has never even needed the hospital—all thanks to the young master.

Usually busy with work, Huo Liangzhou only gets to hold and play with Chubby baby when he has time. Kid duty is exhausting—enough to drive you nuts.

The young master is truly remarkable, managing the baby so well while still finding time to sketch Chubby baby.

After the meal, a meow rings out outside the door.

Qi Mo glances over.

Huo Liangzhou sighs. “Qiu Qiu was on brother-duty but sneaked out.”

Opening the door, Golden Kitty bursts in.

The little one is clutching a Ziploc bag in her mouth—no idea where she got it. Inside are… bees.

These bees are huge, as big as a thumb.

Qi Mo blinks at the dead bees in the bag. “Huo Liangzhou, why’d the baby haul these back?”

“Qiu Qiu, these are nasty stingers! Did you get stung? It hurts,” Qi Mo crouches to check Golden Kitty.

Huo Liangzhou doesn’t know how to answer. After the Collapse, these became… “manhood boosters.”

“Toss ’em on the grill, not bad. Just clip the wings and pull out the stingers,” Huo Liangzhou says. Better skip the… performance benefits.

Does the kid think I’m running on empty?

Patting the second child’s head, Huo Liangzhou grips Golden Kitty by the neck fur. “Go bug your brothers.”

Eyeing the bag of bees, Qi Mo shakes his head. “You deal with this. I don’t do bugs.”

The young master, deathly afraid of bugs, would skip three meals before touching those things.

Seeing these insects, he was reminded of the terrifying sight of moss ants eating humans in his previous life.

Huo Liangzhou nodded. "I'll go."

"These really are delicious when roasted. Try them later. Even Chubby baby eats them—don’t let him outdo you," Huo Liangzhou said with a laugh.

He didn’t need them, but the young master definitely did.

The twins weren’t planned—it was too soon, and the young master’s body hadn’t recovered yet. After Chubby baby was born, they should have waited at least two more years. But it happened too soon, and Huo Liangzhou couldn’t bring himself to kill his own child.

Besides, doing so might have upset the young master.

Once the stingers were removed and the wings clipped, these mutant bees were about the size of a pinky finger. He washed them and lit a fire with wooden sticks to roast them.

Huo Liangzhou finally snapped out of it. He turned to look at the golden kitten inside the house: "Qiu Qiu, come here. Daddy wants to ask you something."

The golden kitten, lazing on the mat and wagging her tail, looked up at her father.

Gracefully, the golden kitten walked toward her dad.

Qi Mo finally remembered something. He glanced at the kitty playing with her brother: "Snowball, was it you who killed those mutant wolves before?"

Snowball raised her tail and wagged it, then ran over to rub against her daddy’s hand.

Her big, pleading eyes seemed to say, "It was me! Praise me already!"

Qi Mo laughed happily at the kitten seeking praise, picking her up and kissing her. No wonder he had liked her so much the first time he saw her.

It was just like with Chubby baby—an irresistible fondness. That’s the power of family.

Sure, other pets were cute too, and with his family’s wealth, he could buy any pet he wanted. But Qi Mo had never once considered buying or raising one.

One Chubby baby was enough. But that day, the moment he saw the kitten, he couldn’t say no to her.

Huo Liangzhou patted the kitten’s round head. "Where’d you find these bees? How big is the hive?"

If the hive was left to expand and the number of mutant bees grew, they wouldn’t just feed on nectar after mutating—they’d start eating meat.

Golden Kitty meowed a few times, then trotted back to the mat, plopping back down lazily with droopy eyelids.

Huo Liangzhou finished roasting several skewers of mutant bees. His second child told him the mutant hive was three hundred miles away by the sea, along the mountain range, perched on a cliff...

Sea City. That explained why mutant bees hadn’t appeared near Huo Village—otherwise, in his past life, the villagers would have been wiped out, and the young master wouldn’t have thought this place was safe.

Qi Mo watched as Snowball and Qiu Qiu munched on a mutant bee together. "Is it really tasty?"

"Delicious. Crispy. The protein content is dozens of times higher than beef—very nourishing." Huo Liangzhou handed one to the young master. "Try it. Don’t be scared. If it’s bad, I won’t make you eat it."

Qi Mo gripped the bamboo skewer before finally asking, "Huo Liangzhou, do you know how to end the apocalypse?"

Huo Liangzhou glanced at the golden kitten before answering, "Don’t worry. When the time comes, it’ll end on its own."

This time, it won’t be as difficult as it was before.