Chapter 153

Chapter 153

‘Ruff! Ruff!’

‘Bark bark bark—’

“Cough… Hah! Still not working…”

Retracting his superpower, Jiang Nian, wearing a straw hat, dropped to one knee weakly on the ground, sweat pouring down his pallid face. His vision swam slightly—nothing serious, but the sweltering heat amplified the discomfort from overusing his abilities.

He’d been *this* close. He could even feel his core thrumming with change, a persistent heat and swelling sensation whenever he used his superpower. But it just wouldn’t give!

‘Woof woof woof—’

“Xiao Qi (lit. ‘Little Seven’), stop barking. I’m fine.”

Jiang Nian worried the dog might start scratching the door to call for help, so he reached out to pat its head, soothing it into calmness.

‘Whimper…’

Xiao Qi anxiously nuzzled him and even licked his face.

“Good boy, I’m really okay…”

“Stop licking… It’s too hot…”

Jiang Nian exhaled in defeat, hauling himself up and heading back to the rest area. After downing a bottle of water, he slumped onto the cot, a leg hanging off the side.

Xiao Qi fetched a small handheld fan from the table across the room and dropped it by his side before sitting down to watch.

“Good boy!”

Jiang Nian praised it. This dog was truly thoughtful and a fast learner.

After about ten minutes, he finally recovered. The discomfort from energy drain eased—as long as he didn’t push himself to the point of blacking out or nosebleeds, his recovery speed was fairly quick.

Jiang Nian recalled the method he used in his past life to break through the critical point:

That Dog Doctor had increased his medication dosage, causing such white-hot pain that he felt like his entire body was splitting apart…

‘Ring ring ring—’

Just as Jiang Nian’s thoughts wandered, the tinny ringtone of his phone abruptly cut through the silence. Thinking it was Jing-ge calling, he pulled it out—only to see an unknown number blinking on the display.

His gut twisted with worry. Had something happened to the team outside, forcing them to call from an unfamiliar number?

Such anxious thoughts were uncontrollable. He stared at the screen for a few seconds before answering:

“Hello?”

A moment later, a hoarse yet familiar voice came through:

“Nian Nian, it’s Dad.”

“…”

His shoulders loosened in relief first—it wasn’t Jing-ge or his teammates calling.

Then, he wondered if he’d hallucinated it. After freezing for several seconds, he abruptly sat up, the small fan in his hand clattering to the floor and hitting Xiao Qi. The fluffball picked it up in confusion, squinting as the fan gusted into its snout.

Jiang Nian took the small fan back and gave it a reassuring pat, then spoke up when the questioning voice came through the phone again:

"Wrong number. My dad died before I was born."

Once he’d secured stability in the apocalypse, driven by thoughts of revenge, he had imagined many scenarios of "reuniting" with the "enemies" from his past life—including phone calls.

Now, he had finally said those words.

"..."

Chen Shanmin was momentarily stunned. Based on Jiang Nian's understanding of him, he should have been furious, but after suppressing it for a while, the other party spoke again in a gentle tone:

"Jiang Nian... Dad was wrong. Can’t you let it go? After the apocalypse began, I’ve been trying to find you, but I couldn’t get through. I was so worried about you. The world went to hell, and you didn’t even think to come to us. If I’d known you’d hold a grudge like this, I shouldn’t have... Ah..."

"Shouldn’t have what?"

Jiang Nian sneered and retorted:

"Shouldn’t have strong-armed me into repaying that 20k because you couldn’t take advantage of my house? Shouldn’t have arrogantly declared you were cutting off our father-son relationship?"

"Jiang Nian, I was just angry at the time. You went behind my back on something this big. I was afraid you’d suffer losses..."

Chen Shanmin spoke earnestly, not angry, just sighing repeatedly.

But Jiang Nian refused to let him save face:

"Really? Like I’d come out ahead selling to you at market rate? And if I had, would you have actually paid me? You can’t seriously believe your own bullshit."

When Mom died, in his helplessness and confusion, he had indeed considered whether it was his relatives—eager to get their money back—who stopped him. They figured if you got your hands in it, he wouldn’t receive the full payment from selling the house.

Now, looking back, he was truly grateful to those relatives who cut ties with him after he repaid them.

"Jiang Nian!"

Chen Shanmin couldn’t help raising his voice:

"I’m your father! What kind of person do you take me for?"

"Chen Shanmin, do you even have any self-awareness? When have you ever stepped up for me? What right do you have to act like a father in front of me?"

Jiang Nian shouted into the phone, startling his dog, Xiao Qi, beside him, who pricked up its ears and let out two sharp barks—*what’s your problem?*

"..."

Dead silence on the other end.

His eyes burned. Jiang Nian blinked hard, patted Xiao Qi, and poured out the emotions he had long suppressed:

"Chen Shanmin, the only reason you can still affect me is because of my mother’s kindness. She called your split mutual—no hard feelings—so she wanted me to acknowledge you. That was one of her few regrets."

"I had no say in your divorce agreement. All these years, not one dime of child support. But what did you do after she died?"

"If you had one ounce of fucking decency, if you remembered the years she wasted on you, you wouldn’t have tried to screw me over! Chen Shanmin, look in the mirror—what gives you the right to play dad now?"

"..."

Jiang Nian only wanted to vent his anger, not cry. But emotions surged out with his rage, his ribs aching with every breath. The hatred was a physical pain.

When his mother was critically ill, he’d kneel by her hospital bed, torturing himself: If he hadn’t existed, maybe she wouldn’t have worked so hard, maybe she’d still be alive.

He was an accident in his parents' perfect life plan, a deadweight, but it's not like he asked for this!

"......"

After a long silence, Chen Shanmin finally spoke in a raspy voice:

"I just wanted to mess with you back then, not scheme against you... I'm sorry, Nian Nian. Come find me, and I'll kneel to apologize in person. I promise to take good care of you from now on..."

"Shut up! The hell I need your care!"

Jiang Nian shouted, cutting him off. He clenched his teeth, wiped his face, and tilted his head back with a sharp exhale, quickly regaining control of his emotions.

After a moment, he asked in an icy tone:

"Who gave you my phone number?"

Speculation was one thing—he needed a definite answer.

Chen Shanmin put on a show of helplessness with a sigh before replying:

"It was Weiwei who gave it to me. You probably know her—she's Xiao Yue's girlfriend. She's helped our family a lot. Nian Nian, your aunt, Xiao Yue, Lin Lin, and I are all worried about you. Weiwei helped us find you so we could reunite..."

His tone was forced, still desperately sucking up, but to Jiang Nian, who carried the memories and emotions of his past life, this was nothing but a pathetic joke full of holes.

"That's your family's business, not mine! Can you stop pretending? If you don’t get to the point, I’m hanging up."

Jiang Nian couldn’t be bothered to drag this out any longer. He was afraid he'd puke if he had to listen to more. No way in hell would he soften—he'd meet them alright, but it depended on how. To hell with them all!

Contacting him now of all times? Even Xiao Qi would smell something fishy about this timing!

So Xia Weiwei didn’t leave the base to meet up with her father—instead, they split up to cover both fronts, figuring that Brother Jing would definitely go for his family’s sake, knowing Jiang Nian himself would stay at the base...

"......"

Someone on the other end seemed to be urging Chen Shanmin. Seeing that Jiang Nian was like talking to a brick wall, Chen Shanmin stopped beating around the bush:

"Nian Nian, we originally planned to find you after reaching the Southern City base, but now we can’t. We’re in a civilian house outside the Southern City base. Can you come?"

"......"

Jiang Nian didn’t answer. After a pause, Chen Shanmin continued in a sorrowful tone:

"Xiao Yue is infected... He wants to see you... You’re his brother. He's saying you're the only one who can save him."

"......"