“It’s gold! Come with me!” Seeing his confusion, Fang Hao hurriedly pulled him up and ran back down, leading him to a showcase.
He Zizhong remembered that it was the showcase they had just collected that morning used to store gold and silver jewelry. But now, there was only gold and silver left inside. There was no trace of “jewelry”…
“I just found out now. All the gems and jades are gone! Including the bag we found in F city!” If there was only one or two missing, Fang Hao wouldn’t have discovered it. But he clearly remembered several showcases full of various jades, which were all gone now!
He Zizhong raised his eyebrows: “Only the gems are gone?”
Fang Hao thought for a while, and pointed to one of the cabinets. “Yes! The jade and gems are gone, but the gold, silver, and pearls are still there! Also, the diamonds inlaid on some jewelry are still there, but the gems are not.”
A thought suddenly flashed in He Zizhong’s mind. “Could it be… the same as the nucleus of a zombie?”
“Ah? Is senior saying they were absorbed by the space…?!” Fang Hao also woke up, his eyes widened.
“It’s possible.” He Zizhong nodded. When he took in these things, he hadn’t paid attention to the space’s reaction, so he would take a look next time. If these things can also be absorbed by space, it would be more convenient later. When everyone goes to collect materials now, almost no one cares about all kinds of gems. Luxury items are not as attractive as a pack of instant noodles.
After guessing the reason why those things disappeared, the two of them were relieved. Looking at the time – seven o’clock in the evening – He Zizhong decided to go out to see the situation outside, while Fang Hao stayed to prepare dinner.
He Zizhong was stunned as soon as he got out of space – there was light outside the window!!
Standing carefully by the window, off to the side, and opening a corner of the curtain – a car! The army!! It turns out that they only came here today…
From time to time, there were a few gunshots outside the community. Currently, only the vanguard troops cleaning up the zombies had arrived.
Government and city officials, wealthy businessmen, and some ordinary people who followed the convoy first evacuated to the northern base. After finding that there was a possibility that zombies might threaten them there, they decided to move again.
Through satellite scanning screening, they found the new city district He Zizhong was in. It was close to a military barracks, and surrounded by water on three sides. Although the community was well-established, the residential density was low and there was a large area of undeveloped land. It was the first choice for a temporary base.
Therefore, their superiors immediately issued a transfer order. But because of the many zombies and abandoned vehicles blocking the highway, the vanguard troops had only just arrived.
There was a recording playing from the loudspeaker, telling residents hiding at home not to worry, and to hang up white cloth strips or clothes on the window. Those places with quarantined zombies should hang red cloth or clothes, so soldiers can enter and clean it up the next morning. Houses without appropriate identification will be forcibly entered and expropriated by the troops afterwards.
After walking around the house, He Zizhong found a white towel and stuffed it through the bedroom window. Afterwards, he went to the kitchen and took out some ordinary rice, noodles, and other things he had collected previously, before entering the space.
Fang Hao was steaming steamed buns, and cooking porridge over the fire. He Zizhong looked at the big pot of well-made white noodles with a bit of surprise. “When did you prepare the dough?”
“When I made bread last time, I made some as well.”
“What about the meat?”
“That was when making wontons. The cabbage and leeks were just prepared.” Fang Hao admired the underground space the most. Whatever the prepared ingredients looked like when they enter, are the same when taken out! It’s so convenient! Could kitchen assistants do any better?1Real life you can’t prep too early since things won’t be as fresh, dry out, go stale; dough will over-proof, etc.
He Zizhong smiled helplessly again and shook his head. His luck was so good that he directly married a small housekeeping expert.
Thinking of the word “marry”, his heart suddenly moved. “I’ll go down and sort things out, and come up later.”
“Okay, I’ll call you when the meal is done.” Fang Hao’s hands were quick, and soon he wrapped a pocket2judging from the ingredients it should be something like chive pockets, thus the word hyperlinked., and now he was wrapping another one.
He Zizhong walked down the stairs to the gold and silver cabinet recovered earlier today, and rummaged through it. Sure enough, he found what he was looking for.
After finding what he needed, he searched for the carving knives and other objects used to carve seals from his old house, and went directly to the second floor bedroom.
“Senior, the meal is ready.” He Zizhong blew the powder clean when he heard Fang Hao’s voice, looked at the finished product in his hand in satisfaction, and then got up and went downstairs.
“Ah? You were upstairs?”
“Well, I made something. Tell me if you like it or not.” He held out the small black velvet box in his hands.
A pair of simple white gold rings slept quietly inside. The style was extremely simple – three interlaced smooth facets formed a whole ring.
Even if the rings collected below were inlaid with jewelry such as diamonds, they were all absorbed by the space, so on the contrary, the pure white gold rings without messy jewels were kept intact.
“I just engraved it. I don’t know if the size is appropriate…” He Zizhong engraved their names in small plum blossom typeface into the two rings. The fineness of the font was comparable to that of micro-engraving. But maybe… he should have chosen a time when the atmosphere was better?
Seeing Fang Hao stare at the rings in amazement, He Zizhong regretted his abruptness.
Fang Hao raised his hands tremblingly, took the box, and saw the two names carved side by side carved inside the ring.
He couldn’t recognize the words, but he knew it was the names of the two of them. “I’m… really… OK?”
Even if a relationship has already developed, even if He Zizhong personally confessed, Fang Hao still had some anxiety in his heart. He always looked for things to do to prevent himself from overthinking and become anxious. But now, this surprise was really too large…
“Of course.” He Zizhong breathed a sigh of relief, took out the smaller one, pulled his left hand, and put it on his ring finger. It turned out to be just the right size, proving that his eyesight was good.
Fang Hao kept his head down. After the ring was put on, he suddenly took the other one off and put it on He Zizhong’s ring finger. He then threw himself into his arms and hugged him tightly.
“You’re mine!”
He Zizhong laughed and hugged him. “En, I’m yours, and you are mine.”
“I won’t give you to others. No one!” A muffled voice came from He Zizhong’s chest, making him laugh again: “I won’t give you to anyone either. No one can take you away!”
At the bottom of their hearts, each of them had their own worries, anxiety, and fear. They were equally afraid of loss. Although one was afraid of losing this mirror-like perfect love, the other was afraid that everything after rebirth was just a dream.
But at this moment, the two trembling souls finally merged completely. No matter how the world changed, they had each other.
—————————— I am the dividing line of the dining table3T/N: I think this is the author’s way of saying sex happened?——————————
The rice porridge was fragrant and delicious, and the buns were delicious and juicy.
Adding the spices and vegetables produced in the space elevated the already delicious steamed buns several levels.
Together, the two people killed a total of twelve big buns. The rest were taken into the lower space to eat slowly later.
After eating, when the two leaned together to watch the variety shows downloaded before the apocalypse, He Zizhong remembered that he seemed to have forgotten something relatively important.
“The army just arrived here.”
“Ah?” Fang Hao quickly raised his head and looked at him. “They are here to…” What important person are they here to save? There’s still zombies outside to clean up!
“They should be here to clean up the zombies on the street. The speakers have been playing telling people to hang white cloth and clothes on their windows tomorrow morning. If there are zombies at home, to hang red cloth at home. They will enter the house to clean up.”
Fang Hao breathed a sigh of relief. Although he only needs to live with He Zizhong, the outside environment becoming safer was naturally not a bad thing for them.
“Clean up the zombies…Are they going to regain city A?”
He Zizhong shook his head. Regain city A? How is that possible? The population of city A is extremely dense, especially in several large residential areas. The city was not successfully recovered after half a year in his last life, let alone now. Even if there was an intention to do so, the army was powerless and could only take things slowly.
“I saw that there were many vehicles coming in. I suspect they might build a temporary base here or something.”
Fang Hao breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and said with a smile: “Ah, it’s still Zi…zhong who is powerful. Choosing a place where the military will come to clean up zombies as a temporary residence.”
Hearing the other party call his name directly, as if triggering a signal with a specific meaning, He Zizhong smiled heavily, leaned down, kissed his lips, and reached his hand in the round neckline of his T-shirt. The delicate feel made his hand hungry, pinching the point that has been tempting him.
After a while, the panting Fang Hao opened his eyes in a daze. He didn’t have any strength to sink into the sofa. The clothes on his body could no longer be found, and the moisture in his eyes made people sink in involuntarily. “Zi, Zizhong…”
He Zizhong felt that he had never lost control so much across two lifetimes. He wished he could rub the person in his embrace completely into his arms. Lowering his head, he kissed the intoxicating dimples of the upper and lower body.
In the early morning next day, He Zizhong took Fang Hao, who walked in a slightly strange manner, out of the space in a refreshing manner, sitting by the window holding a telescope to observe the situation of the troops outside.
Last night, under the protection of the army, most of the people who arrived here with the army were placed in the school or the bank near the school.
Compared to those who still have a roof to live in, most soldiers lived on the school playground with the scattered refugees who followed them there.
The weather was still very cold, and priority was given to clearing out residential areas and relocating those distinguished talents.
Early in the morning, except for some people who stayed close to the school to maintain safety, the troops began to clean up house by house. Among them, a squad of elite troops arrived at the villa area first.
Seeing the armored vehicles entering the community and the troops holding firearms, He Zizhong tsked with his mouth: “I’m guessing someone will be here soon.”
Fang Hao was a little surprised. “So fast?”
If only houses were that easy to get in real life…
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