Rebirth of the Last Days: Double Pets - Chapter 74

Aside from Hu Haotian, there wasn’t much for the others to do, so they decided to relax in the yard and wait for Hu Haotian to come out and hold a meeting.

It was quite hot in the evening, around 27 or 28 degrees Celsius. The yard was bearable, but inside the house, it was already close to 30 degrees, so the yard was more comfortable.

Bai Qi had Tian Hai go to his kitchen to make bird’s nest soup for a pre-dinner snack for Tang Ruo.

Before long, Pan Xiaoxuan returned. She stepped into the yard, and Pan Dawei waved for her to sit next to him.

Pan Xiaoxuan handed over the seeds she had bought to Pan Dawei, then hesitated, looking at Tang Ruo.

After a while, Hu Father and Yang Li entered the courtyard, accompanied by a middle-aged man in military uniform.

The middle-aged man was tall and had an imposing appearance. His eyes were sharp and cold, giving the impression that he was a person who could take on a thousand men with ease.

Seeing the military decorations on his chest, everyone quickly deduced that this must be Qian Jinxin. They all stood up to greet him.

There was no way around it; they needed something from him, so they had to be polite.

“Where’s Haotian?” Hu Father asked, glancing around.

Pan Dawei pointed toward his villa. “He’s inside, working on some ideological education with someone.”

Hu Father was puzzled. “Since when has he been so enthusiastic?”

The people in the convoy: “…”

They would swear on instant noodles that it definitely wasn’t Hu Dawei’s enthusiasm!

Since Hu Haotian wasn’t around, Hu Father didn’t feel the need to call his son into the courtyard and immediately introduced the middle-aged man next to him. “This is General Qian. As soon as I mentioned you, he couldn’t wait to come meet you.”

Then, turning to Bai Qi, he continued, “This is the grandson of the Chief of Staff I told you about, Bai Yan.”

Qian Jinxin took a step forward and slapped Bai Qi on the shoulder. “Xiao Qi.”

With that slap, the shoulders of everyone in the convoy flinched in unison.

It seemed like the slap was pretty hard.

Tomorrow, would little Bai’s shoulder be swollen?

Hugging this big thigh certainly came with a hefty price.

But neither Qian Jinxin nor Bai Qi seemed to feel it.

Qian Jinxin spoke with a serious tone, but his words were full of deep concern: “It’s really great that you came to A City. I heard you were about to get engaged, and I was planning to fly to H City, but I missed it due to some last-minute issues. I’m so glad you came to A City instead, or I would have regretted it for the rest of my life…” Qian Jinxin rambled on as if he and Bai Qi had known each other for a long time.

In fact, they had only met once when Bai Qi was a freshman in high school, and they hadn’t seen each other since.

However, he could never forget the favor General Shi had shown him, like a father to him. He also remembered the words General Shi had entrusted him with before his death, asking him to look after the Bai family’s young master. How could he forget that?

By age, Bai Qi was like his son, and since he had no children of his own, it seemed only natural for him to regard Bai Qi as his son.

Bai Qi kept smiling faintly, and after Qian Jinxin finished speaking, he pulled Tang Ruo over from behind: “This is my fiancée, Tang Ruo. Uncle Qian, since you couldn’t make it to H City, it’s fine if you join us for a meal here. Just don’t mind if the food’s simple…”

Everyone: “…”

If it weren’t for their long familiarity with Bai Qi’s poker face, they might have thought this gentlemanly demeanor was his natural disposition.

You bad guy, treating your teammates with coldness like winter, but treating your big supporter as warmly as spring.

After Tang Ruo politely greeted “Uncle Qian,” Bai Qi introduced the members of the convoy to Qian Jinxin: “These are my teammates who came with me to A City. We’ve been through a lot together to get here.”

The members of the convoy immediately abandoned their previous thoughts of despising Bai Qi’s sycophantic behavior, all of them flashing warm smiles as if the sun had come out: “Hello, Uncle Qian.”

Qian Jinxin: “…”

I can accept being called ‘uncle’ by others, but why is this old man, who looks like he’s the same age as me, also calling me ‘uncle’?!

After the introductions, everyone sat down in the courtyard.

The courtyard was well-decorated, and the wives of the various families brought out dishes from the kitchen, quickly setting up a table full of delicious food.

At the dinner table, Qian Jinxin first asked about Bai Qi’s engagement banquet, then inquired about how Bai Qi and the others had arrived in A City, and once again marveled at his luck.

Facing so many zombies, not only did he survive, but he also made so many good friends.

Bai Qi kept smiling faintly: “It was indeed our good luck. When the zombies in the West District were overwhelming, we thought we could stay here since we had a house. We originally thought that the villa area my grandfather bought before the apocalypse would be sturdy, and at least it would provide us with a place to stay. Who would have known we ended up choosing the exact spot where the military planned to build their base?”

Qian Jinxin then said, “For just 16 of you to turn this place into what it is now, you truly are capable people.”

Bai Qi’s gaze darkened slightly: “The West District has always been unreachable, so we thought we’d make this place more livable for ourselves. When we went to get the solar panels, we accidentally ended up inside Blue Light Technologies, fighting zombies. Looking back, it was a miracle we made it out alive. But thankfully, we’ve managed to achieve a little bit and are now able to enjoy a couple of comfortable days.”

Qian Jinxin thought he was still shaken by the previous danger, so he comforted him: “Don’t worry, this place has become a base, and the military is planning to expand from here. It won’t just be two days of comfortable living in the future.”

Bai Qi’s expression darkened even more: “To be honest, Uncle Qian, we’re currently discussing that in a couple of days, we might leave the base to become hunters. The work we had planned to help with the base’s infrastructure might have to be put on hold.”

Qian Jinxin immediately asked, “Why?”

Bai Qi furrowed his brow, looking hesitant and troubled. There was an obvious sense of discomfort in his expression, as if he were reluctant to speak.

The slight pain in his expression made it seem like he was hiding some huge grievance or unspeakable burden.

Tang Ruo: “…”

The convoy members: “…”

Little Bai, your expression is full marks!

Damn, it’s true, the convoy is full of talent—each one more shameless than the last!

Pan Dawei, Hu Haotian—what are they? They’ve been completely outshined!

Unable to get an answer from Bai Qi, Qian Jinxin turned his gaze to the members of the convoy.

They all sighed and showed expressions of distress.

In fact, they were also very conflicted.

We’ve been robbed, and we don’t have any backup! We can’t just let this slide!

At that moment, Hu Haotian came out of the house, followed by the two power-type ability users.

As soon as they stepped outside and saw a group of people sitting in the courtyard, and then noticed the man next to his father with all those military medals, the atmosphere immediately felt heavy. Hu Haotian rolled up his sleeves and walked over: “Damn it, they’ve gone too far. It’s not just about robbing the solar panels; they were clearly trying to wipe me out! I can’t just let this slide!”

The two power-type ability users, who were trembling as they followed behind him: “…”

Hu Father stood up, slightly confused upon seeing unfamiliar faces. “Haotian, they said you were inside talking to them—was it just about talking to them?”

At this point, the atmosphere around them grew tense, and Hu Haotian adopted a serious tone as well. “Yeah, before we entered the base, everything was fine. Who would’ve known that once the military arrived, it felt like we’d walked right into a den of thieves? On the first day, we ran into a big problem…” He pointed at the two power-type ability users, “See, they came to rob us this morning. When that didn’t work, they resorted to dirty tricks. Look, we even got followed when we went outside. And these two are just some of them. There were others that Bai Brother let go.”

Hu Father exclaimed, “There are people robbing in broad daylight in the base?”

The convoy members all sighed and fell silent.

Hu Haotian walked over and sat next to his father. “Dad, this base is really frustrating. The ones who came to rob didn’t even get punished, and were released without a charge. Now, we’ve caught these two, and when we asked them, we were really shocked. It turns out their goal was to wipe us all out. We don’t even know them—where did all this hatred come from?”

Hu Father interrupted his son’s rambling and introduced Qian Jinxin.

Hu Haotian quickly apologized for getting too emotional, saying a few words of regret, and then offered some business-like compliments, saying it was an honor to finally meet Qian Jinxin in person.

After that, Qian Jinxin asked about the convoy’s situation.

Hu Haotian, ever the smooth talker, eloquently retold the story of what had happened to everyone in vivid detail.