Chapter 176: The Plague

The days that followed were unusually calm.

The scorching sixty-degree heat outside lasted just over a month before dropping back down to fifty degrees. In Annan’s memory, the entire extreme heat period was always like this—temperatures would soar from forty or fifty degrees up to over sixty, then fall back down again, repeating in cycles.

It seemed to give humanity a chance to catch its breath, but in reality, every spike in temperature brought even more deaths.

But no matter how hot it got, it didn’t affect Annan, who was holed up in her air-conditioned room.

Inside her home, the temperature was still over thirty degrees, but compared to the outside, it was already quite comfortable.

During this time, Fugui had grown bigger and bigger, almost catching up to a golden retriever in size. At a glance, he looked like a big, creamy-white pig!

Whether it was the effect of the spring water or Annan’s intentional training, even Fugui—who had always been most afraid of the heat—had started to tolerate high temperatures. Even without wearing a temperature-regulating suit, he could train in over thirty degrees without getting heatstroke.

Not only that, his tiny, rice-grain-sized teeth had grown sharper and longer. Both his size and his bite were developing in a much more powerful direction.

Annan felt that Fugui’s weaknesses as a French bulldog were gradually disappearing.

It was as if he was transforming from a show pet into a true fighting dog. He wasn’t as cute as before, but he was much better suited to surviving in the apocalypse.

Of course, his rough habits—chewing things, farting, snoring—hadn’t changed at all. Except during training, he was as lazy as ever: if he could lie down, he’d never sit; if he could sit, he’d never stand.

Aside from the dog, the rooster, Laifu, had changed a lot too.

The most obvious change was his growing size and increasingly colorful feathers. At a glance, he really looked like a miniature phoenix.

His wings had evolved to become even stronger. Although he was much bigger than an average rooster, he could still fly higher than any other chicken.

As for the newcomer, the little white rabbit…

It was now a big, fat rabbit. Maybe it was because it started drinking spring water early, but its growth was like a runaway horse—fast, big, and strong.

As Annan munched on beef jerky and watched a movie, she nudged the rabbit with her foot, a bit exasperated:

“Go on, shoo! Stop eyeing my snacks! What kind of rabbit eats only meat and never touches veggies?”

The fat rabbit kept inching closer, so Annan called the dog, “Fugui, take care of Lord Rabbit!”

Fugui immediately trotted over and swatted the greedy rabbit, sending it tumbling.

That’s right, the fat rabbit’s name was Lord Rabbit.

She’d originally named it Lucky, but this guy was so feisty that Annan ended up calling it Lord Rabbit all the time. Eventually, the name just stuck.

Lord Rabbit wasn’t afraid of Annan or Laifu—he only listened to Fugui. Now, he’d become Fugui’s loyal little sidekick.

Whenever Fugui and Laifu had a spat, Lord Rabbit would always rush in to defend the boss. If Laifu didn’t have wings, he would’ve been bitten more than once.

Who says rabbits don’t bite?

Her Lord Rabbit was a muscle-bound, sharp-toothed bruiser.

Watching him fawn over her dog, Annan couldn’t help but smirk:

“If your wife knew you were working for her killer, she’d be so mad she’d come back to life.”

Ever since Lord Rabbit arrived, apartment 1402 had become even livelier.

Besides passing the time with movies, Annan could now play with her three high-IQ pets. Sometimes she’d visit Chu Peipei and Zhao Ping’an, making her days full and fun.

Until one day, two green-headed flies followed her into the house.

Laifu was the first to react, flapping his wings and resuming his role as the great bug-catcher.

But Annan frowned.

There had been flies at the start of the extreme heat, but as the high temperatures continued, they’d all but disappeared. In Annan’s memory, these things only came back in droves during the plague period.

Could the plague be coming?

Annan thought about it and realized the timing was about right.

She quickly slipped into her space to check on the second batch of isatis root (banlangen).

This time, she hadn’t used fertilizer, but the medicinal herbs had grown exceptionally well and were already mature.

After inspecting them and finding their quality just as good as the first batch, she happily began harvesting.

With the harvester she’d found at the machinery factory, the job was much easier than doing it by hand. Even though she’d planted more than last time, it didn’t take long to finish.

With medicine in hand, she felt at ease.

Isatis root might not be a precious herb or cure any rare diseases, but for the plague during the extreme heat, it was remarkably effective.

After harvesting, Annan went back to relaxing.

Over the next few days, more and more green-headed flies appeared. Sometimes, she could see huge swarms flying past her window.

Who knew where they got the strength to fly so high?

Annan stopped going out, afraid the flies would follow her home.

Although Laifu could easily deal with them, Annan suspected these big green-headed flies were probably the main culprits spreading viruses and bacteria.

Best to keep them out entirely.

It wasn’t long before the neighborhood was filled with the sound of coughing.

With the heat, everyone’s windows were open, and the mingled coughing created a strange, anxious atmosphere.

Annan put on a mask and brought some isatis root to Chu Peipei and Zhao Ping’an.

“A lot of people in the complex are coughing. I happen to have some isatis root at home—it can prevent ordinary colds. I brought some for you, too.”

Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei gladly accepted.

Back home, Annan took out her disinfectant gun and alcohol from her space, thoroughly disinfected the whole apartment, then made isatis root tea for herself and her three pets.

A few days later, the sound of crying and wailing increased in the neighborhood.

Annan knew people had started dying from the illness.

Before the apocalypse, this plague would have been just a highly contagious flu.

But in the medicine-starved world after the apocalypse, with persistent inflammation and prolonged high fevers, it was enough to claim lives.

In just over a week, large-scale deaths broke out in Linbei City. Coughing and groaning could be heard everywhere.

One day, while Annan was doing her routine disinfection, she suddenly heard a roar growing louder outside.

She walked to the window and saw a helicopter speeding toward her apartment complex.

Annan quickly searched her memory—was there anything like this in her previous life?

No…

Her expression hardened. Could something have changed in this life?

Soon, the sound of the rotors stopped. The helicopter must have landed on a rooftop.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door of the 14th floor.

Annan tensed up, grabbed her assault rifle, and carefully checked the security cameras.

When she saw the figure on the screen, her mind went blank.

Then her heart started pounding wildly."