Chapter 65: The Sorrow of Life and Death

Chapter 65: The Sorrow of Life and Death

Since the advent of the apocalypse, Gu Pan had killed her fair share of people and witnessed countless deaths. It was common to see people she knew pass away, and she had seen plenty of corpses in those apartment buildings. However, this was the first time someone close to her had died. Such emotions could not be easily expressed in words.

Yet she knew she could not afford to grieve for too long. This was the apocalyptic era, and the living had to carry on with their lives.

She took out the New Year gifts she had brought for them and placed them on the table, intending to exchange a few words before heading back. At a time like this, it was impossible to stay here until Tian Zhenzhen’s final moment.

To her surprise, however, the cries of Tian’s parents soon drifted out from the bedroom.

Gu Pan knew that Tian Zhenzhen was gone.

She took a new set of clothes from her backpack, walked into the room, and said to Tian’s mother, "Auntie, let's change Zhenzhen into these."

Tian’s mother nodded and helped Gu Pan dress Tian Zhenzhen in the new garments.

Because the Tian family wanted to spend a little more time looking at Tian Zhenzhen, the cremation was delayed until later in the day.

Gu Pan could not stay here indefinitely either; otherwise, the people at home would start to worry. At times like this, it was impossible to cater to everything.

Thus, Gu Pan bid farewell to the Tian family. Before leaving, she left behind the New Year gifts she had brought them. These would allow them to spend the New Year in relative comfort, and Tian Zhenzhen could finally rest in peace.

Leaving the Tian residence, Gu Pan, Lu Ruisheng, and Feng Zhekai were all silent. The grief they felt was identical, born not only from the death of someone they knew, but also from everyone's deep-seated fear of an unknown future.

After dropping Feng Zhekai off first, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng went to Dong Mingyue's place to inform her, otherwise Dong Mingyue would have sent someone to look for them, which would have wasted a lot of effort.

Upon hearing the news, Dong Mingyue was also consumed by grief. She couldn't cry outside; the temperature was simply too low, and tears could easily cause frostbite on her face.

Dong Mingyue tilted her head back to look at the sky, taking a long time to compose herself. Then she embraced Gu Pan. "Panpan, human beings are truly so fragile."

Gu Pan let out a soft sigh as well. "Indeed. In this apocalypse, we live one day at a time, so we can't afford to think too much."

"I understand. I always thought I had grown strong. I told myself that tears are utterly useless and that I would never cry again, but just now, I wanted to cry so badly."

"I cried too. Actually, crying doesn't necessarily mean you aren't strong; it just means we still have emotions, that we are still human."

"Panpan, sometimes I get so scared, terrified that one day I might turn into a monster."

"You won't. I heard that bases in many places are about to be completed. By then, we'll find a peaceful living space."

"Mm. The New Year is coming. I thought the three of us would welcome our twenty-sixth year together, but I never expected Zhenzhen would remain forever twenty-five."

"That's why we must carry her with us to celebrate more New Years and survive this apocalypse." With that, Gu Pan checked her watch. "We need to head back now. We've been out for quite a while."

Dong Mingyue nodded. "Alright, go back and get some good rest. Don't be too sad."

"I know, you take care too." After saying this, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng bid farewell to Dong Mingyue.

No matter what, Dong Mingyue insisted on taking them to her residence and handed them a whole box of supplies.

They were all daily necessities—shampoo, facial cleanser, sanitary pads, and the like. These things were genuinely difficult to come by nowadays. Seeing this, Gu Pan felt even more reassured about Dong Mingyue's survival.

Bidding farewell once more, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng finally returned home.

Once inside, they changed their clothes. Gu Pan dug out some childhood photos and talked to Lu Ruisheng about things from the past—a way of offering solace to Tian Zhenzhen's memory. Wasn't it said that true disappearance isn't death, but rather when no one remembers you anymore?

After chatting with Lu Ruisheng for a while, Gu Pan felt much more at ease. Then, thinking that the weather was about to turn warm and remembering how mice had infested their home in her past life, chewing through numerous items, she decided to take this opportunity to pack everything up and store it in her spatial dimension.

Anyway, feeling the way she did right now, keeping busy was the best way to distract herself.

The two of them packed up their old photographs, various birthday gifts, and anniversary presents into boxes and placed them inside the spatial dimension.

When they were sorting through Lu Ruisheng's belongings, Gu Pan opened the file folder again, taking out the letter and the fountain pen that had been left with Lu Ruisheng when he was abandoned at the doorstep of the orphanage.

Written on top of the letter were only Lu Ruisheng's name, his date of birth, and a single sentence of blessing.

Lu Ruisheng had long since made peace with this. "You're still keeping this so carefully. Actually, I never really cared about it to begin with. Now that the apocalypse is here, there's even less reason to hold onto it."

Gu Pan packed the items away and placed them in the space. "Keep it. What if your biological parents genuinely had hidden hardships? The fact that they left your name means they didn't truly want to abandon you."

Lu Ruisheng sneered softly, "If they didn't want to abandon me, I grew up in the orphanage until adulthood. All these years, why haven't they resolved their difficulties? Abandoned is abandoned. I truly don't care anymore."

"Maybe there were other extenuating circumstances? Just keep it, it doesn't take up much space anyway. When I first met you, I thought the names given in your orphanage were quite elaborate, but only later did I find out that you came into the orphanage already bearing that name."

"When I was little, I accidentally overheard the director and the supervisor talking about my background, and I learned that my name was with me when I was abandoned. After that, I never wanted to be adopted. I was afraid that if I were adopted, my biological parents wouldn't be able to find me anymore. And what was the result? I waited in vain for all these years."

"Actually, not being adopted wasn't a bad thing for you. We couldn't be sure whether an adoptive family would be good or bad, but at the orphanage, you at least had a decent upbringing."

"That's true. And more importantly, I met you, and I married you. All the bitterness I've tasted in this lifetime has turned sweet because of you."

Gu Pan leaned against Lu Ruisheng. "I am also deeply fortunate to have married you."

That night, Gu Pan held Lu Ruisheng and fell asleep very late. Although she knew this wasn't the time for sentimental melancholy, Tian Zhenzhen's death was still deeply painful for her.

The next day, Gu Pan forced herself to set aside her sorrow and went out with Lu Ruisheng to exchange for gold. This opportunity could not be missed.

On this day, across four exchange points, they accumulated a total of 2 hours of space time. Previously, the space had 3 hours and 28 minutes remaining; subtracting the two hours left them with 1 hour and 28 minutes.

Gu Pan was genuinely thrilled with this outcome. The spatial duration only needed to be filled before the extreme heat ended, because later on, there would be tornadoes, sandstorms, acidic rain, and the like. Encountering those in open areas without the space essentially meant waiting for death. Furthermore, those weather conditions were continuous, so if the spatial duration wasn't full, being ejected outside would still spell danger—unless one wore a hazardous materials suit. However, they only had a few sets of protective suits and naturally couldn't use them casually. Therefore, as long as the duration was filled before the extreme heat ended, there would be no danger.

On the way back, watching the hurried pedestrians clutching knives, Gu Pan couldn't help but let out a soft sigh. Things were only just beginning; they hadn't reached the point of cannibalism yet. But after enduring the plague and the extreme heat, this world would truly transform into a living purgatory.

The vegetables they had planted over the past two days had also sprouted, so the plastic wrap was no longer needed; daily watering while controlling the humidity would suffice.