Abnormal survival in the end times

Chapter 284 Abnormal Fetal Movement

"Xiao Chuan?"

As Zeng Xi spoke, Du Qiyan also spotted Xu Jingchuan. He was somewhat surprised, as he hadn't heard that Lü Siqi had led the team to Muye County.
Why.
The moment those three words appeared in his mind, Du Qiyan's eyes turned cold.

What else is unclear? Lü Chengqian is using Xiao Chuan as a tool to do his work in order to give credit to his precious son.

Although the patriarch of the Xu family is still alive, he is getting on in years and had already left the center of power before the apocalypse. His eldest son and his wife died in an accident ten years ago, his youngest daughter and her husband are in business and can't offer much help, and his most capable and talented grandson lost a leg four years ago.
Xiao Chuan is now the pillar and hope of the entire Xu family!
Lü Chengqian knew this all along, yet he still treated them so disrespectfully. He truly didn't value the past friendship between the two families.

Although I know that the Lü family has long been rotten to the core, I still can't help but feel chilled when I think about it.

Also good
Du Qiyan lowered his eyes, concealing the chill within. In this way, he no longer needed to feel any burden. Although he wouldn't have felt any in the first place, at this moment his determination to eradicate the rotten flesh of the Lü family was even stronger.

The Lü family should no longer exist in the Southern Province.

"Brother Yan Qi."

Although they hadn't seen each other for more than a decade, seeing Du Qiyan again felt like returning to his childhood. He seemed to still be the older brother who always protected him, patiently explained problems to him, and earnestly taught him.

There was absolutely no alienation or estrangement that arose over time.

The two talked for about an hour, after which Xu Jingchuan resolutely returned to his car and led his men away from the destroyed experimental base.

"Are you really planning to go to the south?"

Zeng Xi never expected his words to come true; Du Qiyan not only followed him to the Southwest, but also planned to go to the South afterward.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried. The western base was about to undergo a complete overhaul, and even with his older brother there to keep things in order, it would still take some time to stabilize.

If the south also descends into chaos at this time... He looked at the calm-faced Du Qiyan and asked, "Would you stay in the south?"

If Du Qiyan were to replace him as the commander of the southern base, he would be happy to see it happen. In any case, he had long disliked the Lü family, but since the emperor was far away, the capital authorities neither had the time nor the manpower to deal with them.

Upon hearing this, Du Qiyan paused slightly, then a smile appeared on his lips. He did not answer the question directly, but instead said, "I recommend someone to you, Xu Jingrui from the Xu family in Nan Province, the eldest brother of Xu Jingchuan."

Hearing this name, Zeng Xi wasn't surprised, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "His leg."

"What's needed to manage the base is brains."

Before Zeng Xi could finish speaking, Du Qiyan interrupted him, saying, "Moreover, he's not an ordinary person. He has special abilities, and like his younger brother Xu Jingchuan, he's a metal-type."

Xu Jingrui, who has only one leg, possesses metal-type superpowers, a fact known only to the Xu family patriarch and Xu Jingchuan.

As for why they kept Xu Jingchuan's current situation a secret, it's quite clear.

Whether it's the Lü family or any other family, they all want to completely suppress the Xu family. So, in their eyes, Xu Jingrui is still a useless person, whether he lives or dies doesn't matter.

But what if this useless person is no longer useless, but instead gains superpowers?

Therefore, given the current decline of the Xu family, Xu Jingrui can only endure the situation for now.

Du Qiyan and Xu Jingrui are childhood friends; they grew up wearing the same pair of pants and know each other very well.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that Grandpa Xu was still alive and had such deep feelings for Nan Province, he would have wanted to take the two brothers to Pengcheng.

"Whether it's character, ability, or familiarity with the Southern Province, Xu Jingrui is the most suitable candidate to take over the Southern Base. If you don't believe me, you can meet him when you have time."

After speaking, Du Qiyan pushed up his glasses. He knew that Zeng Xi had only heard of Jing Rui but had never met him, so it was normal for him to have doubts.

Zeng Xi didn't have much doubt, but it was a pity that Du Qiyan didn't stay.

Thinking of Xu Jingchuan who had just left, his eyes flickered. Perhaps the Southern Base could be overthrown without bloodshed this time.

If the Xu brothers can help Du Qiyan achieve this, he wouldn't mind submitting a report to his superiors to have Xu Jingrui temporarily take over as base chief.

Of course, it's only temporary at first. Once things are sorted out and the position is secure, the first two words can be completely removed.

"Mom, how many days has Dad been gone?"

The outside temperature has dropped to minus five degrees Celsius. Although it hasn't snowed yet, the weather has been bad lately, gloomy and overcast. The snowflakes condensing in the sky seem like they could fall at any moment.

Because of her special ability, Qiqi is becoming less and less afraid of the cold. In this kind of weather, she only needs to wear a thin sweatshirt.

Gigi is the same; the two young boys are incredibly powerful.

They went out to raid again today, but Ouyang Base Commander's guards didn't follow. Apart from the original group, only Kang Erbao followed in a carriage.

He wasn't helping out; he was hauling goods.

Because they sometimes run quite far, the two little ones, in their spare time while helping their mother clean up 'trash' and maintain order, always like to scavenge for scraps.

It's been less than three years since the apocalypse, and Pengcheng hasn't been damaged by earthquakes before. If they search carefully, they can still find quite a few useful things. However, the trunk of their jeep simply can't hold any large items.

So Kang Erbao volunteered to drive the carriage to help transport things. Firstly, it would save fuel, and secondly, he had been eyeing the two mutated horses for a long time. Uncle Bai treated them like treasures, so riding them was definitely out of the question.

If you can't ride a horse, driving a horse-drawn carriage will still give you the same thrill.

Therefore, Kang Erbao now drives the carriage around happily every day, no longer even taking turns with Shi Jiashu to stand guard, saying that the horse is shy and that having someone else would affect the horse's mood.

In any case, there's no way they'll give up the coachman's position.

"Twenty-three days."

Bai Li placed her hand on her stomach, stood in front of the car, looked around, and said to Xi Shuang, "Xiao Shuang, I feel the baby has engaged."

Just now, when she got off the bus, her belly suddenly dropped a little, just like when she was pregnant with Qiqi, her belly dropped into her pelvis.

At that time, her second aunt was accompanying her shopping in the city. Just like now, her belly, which was originally high up, suddenly sagged down.

At the time, she didn't understand what engagement was and was so scared that she stood still. It was her second aunt who, after asking her about her feelings, explained it to her at length.

Now, if she had to go through it again, she could face it calmly without batting an eye.

Xi Shuang's expression changed as soon as she heard the words "engagement." She held Bai Li's arm with one hand and felt her pulse with the other.

She breathed a sigh of relief only after feeling his pulse and finding everything normal. But after thinking for a moment, she said, "Sister, let's not go out tomorrow after today. Your due date is only a little over a month away. What if your water breaks on the way? As for the excess energy in your body, why don't you go back and encourage the fruit trees to grow? Or have some of all kinds of vegetables. It's okay if you can't eat them all. As long as you release the energy, that's fine."

Although Bai Li's sweeping campaign around Pengcheng was not just to release energy, but more importantly to eliminate existing or potential dangers in the area, she wanted to ensure peace and tranquility during her delivery.

The results achieved so far are quite good.

Wherever there are people around Shenzhen, these days, as soon as they see their car, they either stay quietly inside or work, or hide and don't dare to make a sound.

In short, not only were the ill-intentioned ones scared away, but those who committed crimes here also dared not harbor any more ulterior motives.

Now, the city and its surroundings have truly been brought under control and are now peaceful.

After all, the heatiness of a pregnant woman is not something that ordinary people can withstand.

"Okay, I'll do as you say. I won't go out starting tomorrow."

She actually felt fine. When she was pregnant with Qiqi, the baby was halfway down the pelvis a month before her due date. After that, apart from going to the toilet more frequently, everything else was normal.

Qiqi overheard her mother and aunt's conversation, turned around, blinked, and asked, "Mom, do you mean my little sister is coming out early?"

He didn't understand the concept of engagement, but from his aunt's words, it seemed like his mother could give birth at any moment.

Oh dear, we need to hurry back.

Upon realizing this, Qiqi immediately tensed up. He waved to Gigi, who was running ahead, and called out, "Lin Zhe, come back, we should go."

So, less than half a day after they left, the two cars turned around and headed back home.

Although Bai Li felt fine, what if something happened?
So since everyone's saying we should go back, let's go back then.

Now that the surrounding area has been thoroughly cleared, she can return to Yunxi Village with peace of mind and wait to give birth.

Before they even reached the city gate, the usually quiet little one suddenly started moving around inside her belly. Her belly bulged out here and there, and the fetal movements were more intense than ever before.

At the same time, Jiang Minglang, who was on his way from the southwest to the southern base, felt a sudden flutter in his heart.

He lowered his eyes and frowned slightly. Suddenly, his pupils contracted, and Jiang Minglang abruptly raised his hand. Above the four vehicles they were driving, a huge iron plate appeared out of thin air. Then, a shell from who-knows-where slammed into the iron plate with a bang!

boom!
The massive explosion caused the iron plate to shake violently, flames to shoot into the sky, and heat waves to roll.

However, it was only for a moment; the flames on the iron plate were quickly extinguished by the ice water.

The four cars did not stop and continued to drive forward at the original speed, but two earthen walls were erected on the left and right sides one after the other.

"Old Jiang"

"I'm fine. Tell Xi Yu to prepare to fire."

A huge, moving iron plate followed above the vehicle's roof. Just creating this one piece had consumed 60% of his energy. While maintaining his current condition wasn't too difficult, he definitely couldn't use his sniper rifle to fight back anymore.

Fortunately, his men were also good marksmen, and Xi Yu was more than capable of handling most opponents.

Even though the person hiding this time was someone of considerable importance, Xi Yu was still able to accurately locate their position thanks to his keen hearing.

boom!
boom!
boom!
The vehicles turned onto a side road and were blocked by a dilapidated building. The four vehicles stopped almost at the same time, and then everyone in the cars except Jiang Minglang and Zeng Mei got out.

Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Minglang sat in the car with a deathly pale face. Lao Sheng and his men had returned to the car, but they had only managed to catch four people; the rest had all escaped.

"Boss, it's those mercenaries who ran off to the border before. That woman should still be alive. I don't know when she sent people to follow us. Besides their base at the experimental base, they should have another stronghold in the southwest. Should I go back and inform Captain Zeng?"

"Okay, leave it to him. Let him clean it all up this time."

To reduce the number of targets, Lao Sheng and Zhao Kang simply ran there. Jiang Minglang's energy was almost completely depleted, so he stopped to rest and regroup.

Du Qiyan stared at the large iron plate placed on the ground beside the car. It was thick and had a black metallic sheen, with several dents from the impact of the shells.

That's not the point, though. The point is...
"Old Jiang, you can make metal now?"

Jiang Minglang nodded with his eyes closed, then held up one finger, "The first time."

He emerged from the crisis in a flash; not to mention others, even he himself almost didn't realize it at the time.

It can only be said that human potential is truly limitless.

However, Jiang Minglang felt something was off; he didn't think it was due to his own potential.

At the same time, Bai Li's belly finally calmed down, and the little one returned to quiet and stopped moving completely.

Bai Li lay half-reclined on the bed in the infirmary, surrounded by Xi Shuang, Dr. Su, and others. They were all terrified by her unusual fetal movements.

Fortunately, it didn't last too long, and her water didn't break. After things returned to normal, Bai Li didn't feel any discomfort.

She let out a soft sigh of relief and smiled, "Maybe she wanted to come out earlier."

After examining her again, Dr. Su shook her head. "There are no signs of premature labor. Your physical condition is good enough to last until full term."

Xi Shuang nodded, "That's right, my health has always been very good, and the baby's movements today don't seem to be related to premature birth."

If it's not related to premature birth, then what is it related to?

Bai Li looked down at her belly, slowly fading her smile. A guess formed in her mind: could something have happened to Jiang Minglang? Was it because her daughter and father were in sync that the abnormal fetal movements were so unusual?
After Lao Sheng and Zhao Kang informed Zeng Xi to return, Jiang Minglang had almost recovered. He looked at the huge iron plate, thought for a moment, and then clenched his fist. The iron plate began to bend towards the middle with a series of cracking sounds, and finally he rolled it into three solid iron balls.

Finally, they were placed separately into the three cars.

"Let's go."

Before getting on the bus, he raised one hand and placed it on his chest. It was normal there now, and he no longer had that strange, throbbing feeling from before.

Actually, that feeling wasn't uncomfortable at all; on the contrary, it was like he was being given some kind of energy. Otherwise, he doubted whether he could have just conjured up a large iron plate in one go.

In Shenzhen, after the unusual fetal movement that day, the little one didn't move at all for a week. If her heartbeat and other aspects hadn't been normal, Bai Li probably would have chosen to give birth to her prematurely.