Chapter 9

The torrential rain poured down recklessly, drenching the city in an instant. Yun Luo stood by the glass windowsill, quietly gazing at the endless curtain of rain, watching the flowers and leaves fall under the wind and rain, and the streets being flooded by the water.

He listened to the sound of the rain, feeling nothing but loneliness.

The ethereal sound of a wind chime rang out—it was his phone ringing. Yun Luo didn't move, pulling out his black phone from his pocket. It was a call from his girlfriend: "Hello, Chuyu." His voice was gentle and warm, though he didn't really love An Chuyu, he couldn't let her know.

"I'm so proud of you, A Luo. A wealthy reader just tipped you a 'Guild Leader' badge, calling himself 'I Am Liu Xun.' Do you know him?" An Chuyu's clear and soft voice couldn't hide her excitement. She had long considered her relationship with Yun Luo as a family, with Yun Luo responsible for earning a living and her responsible for being beautiful.

"I don't know him." Yun Luo really didn't know this reader 'I Am Liu Xun.' His eyes were calm, with a deep and mysterious look.

In An Chuyu's memory, Yun Luo was always honest and wouldn't lie to her: "A 'Guild Leader' badge means 500 yuan in royalties. That's really rich. If more people did that, A Luo, you could have meat every meal."

Yun Luo was speechless. It seemed his girlfriend ate more meat than he did. He couldn't say this, as mentioning it would surely lead to An Chuyu complaining that he didn't even give her a full meal. At 1.8 meters tall, An Chuyu needed to eat more to keep up with her hunger.

"Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law, I miss you so much. Do you miss me?" An Qingju, her sister, playfully snatched the pink phone from An Chuyu, ran out of their room, and spoke clearly without a hint of breathlessness.

An Chuyu didn't chase after her. She smiled at her sister's occasional mischief, as she doted on An Qingju.

"Of course I miss you, Qingju. A day without you feels like three autumns. I miss you a lot." Yun Luo used a tone familiar to An Qingju, teasing her without letting the playful girl notice anything amiss.

"Hmph, you never call me, only remember my sister. I'm not happy." An Qingju pouted on the soft sofa, her voice filled with coquettishness. Yun Luo had raised An Qingju since she was little, and they had a very close relationship.

"Oh, Qingju, you're talking about this. Maybe I have amnesia. Someone hasn't sent a text or made a call since they got home. If we're talking about being heartless, you're the winner." Yun Luo was very skilled at banter, and he wouldn't let his sister-in-law get the upper hand. In a few words, he left An Qingju speechless.

"Ugh, it's all because of my big bad sister, making me do this and that all day. I'm so tired when I get home that I fall asleep. I also have to find time to study and memorize all the laws of Huaguo. My time is completely taken up. Sister-in-law, you're so generous." An Qingju pouted and cooed, her voice sweet and shy, her oval face blushing pink, even her jade-like ears turning red.

"Um, forgive you, Qingju. Has your tummy grown and moved to your chest?" Yun Luo, with their twenty-year relationship, spoke without much restraint, joking around.

"No, Sister-in-law, do you want to feel it and see if it's bigger?" An Qingju spoke softly, her voice shy and beautiful, her face blushing, even her small, jade-like ears turning red.

"Cough, cough, let your sister feel it. I have to go, I have something to do." Yun Luo, following his old habits, ended the call with a slightly awkward tone.

His eyes were indifferent. When he talked to the An sisters, he showed no emotional changes. Looking out the window at the rain, he remembered the three-month drought in the post-apocalyptic world, where the gray sky didn't drop a single raindrop. That year, he was just an ordinary person, drinking fresh red blood to quench his thirst...

Yun Luo sat back at his computer, continuing to type, recording the details of his life in the second year of the apocalypse. That year, his parents took him to a survival base deep underground, where he lived a relatively easy life. But he saw countless zombies, bio-beasts, mutated plants, viruses, radiation, and mutated humans... being dissected, studied, parasitized, and infected.

He saw towering metal mechs over thirty meters high being mass-produced, and terrifying guns over ten meters long that could blow the head off a bio-beast as big as a mountain with one shot. He saw viruses so vicious that even zombies couldn't resist, exploding into blood mist.

Bit by bit, the memories were awakened. Yun Luo quietly recorded them, using a cold and indifferent writing style, writing each word into the deepest part of everyone's hearts, bringing indescribable terror. Even in dreams, people would be startled awake. That was the world.

...

Lunch was instant noodles with a sweet and sour pork flavor. Yun Luo ate all the broth, not leaving a single drop. Then he logged into an account that wasn't his, went to the author's backend, and changed the volume name. The sixteen chapters of the first year were moved to the first volume.

Yun Luo created the second volume for the second year and uploaded 50,000 out of the 130,000 words he had written that morning. If nothing unexpected happened, he would update five chapters a day, 15,000 words. He was enjoying the feeling of recording his memories, not really writing a fantasy novel. The words behind them were all real from the post-apocalyptic world.

The rain outside was still pouring, and the clear sound of rain came in. Yun Luo listened, smiling slightly.

On the page of "237 Years After the Apocalypse," Yun Luo saw two new deputy moderators, Qingmei and Qingju, both slightly sour. He didn't expect the sisters to be so interested. Seeing the top post with a 100,000 Qidian Coin 'Guild Leader' badge, he clicked to take a look. The four words "SF Express" made him think.

Yun Luo quickly focused on 'I Am Liu Xun' and figured it out. The first 'Guild Leader' was a Level 4 Evolved being, Baxia, whose real name was Liu Xun. The mysterious message he received in the early morning was likely from her.

Yun Luo didn't expect Liu Xun to be like a flame, burning others and herself. He took out his black phone and cleared the recent call records, just in case his girlfriend found something wrong one day. He believed Liu Xun wouldn't mind tarnishing herself to make Yun Luo feel the loving punches and kicks from his girlfriend.

Evolved beings were unpredictable. With strange abilities, it was easy to go down the wrong path.

The appearance of a 'Guild Leader' was a good thing. On the Qidian Chinese homepage, there was a daily bestseller list. During non-monthly ticket battles, a 'Guild Leader' could help a novel enter the top ten. "237 Years After the Apocalypse" thus entered the view of many readers. After all, a 'Guild Leader' badge cost a thousand yuan, and it would certainly make a splash.

Yun Luo noticed the number of favorites in the author's backend slowly rising, smoothly breaking the hundred mark, with 109 favorites. He didn't pay much attention to it. The book review section had meaningful posts, and readers were generous with tips and ratings.

Turning off the computer, Yun Luo picked up a large black umbrella, big enough for three people, bought by An Chuyu. He quietly left the house, enjoying a leisurely walk in the rain, something he hadn't done in many years.

...

The rain was pouring down, and a white minivan was driving leisurely. Liu Xun lay lazily in the back seat, her delicate fingers tapping the red phone screen, reading the newly updated "237 Years After the Apocalypse." The pig was still full of integrity, updating over 50,000 words at once, enough to read for a while.

"Captain, the rain is getting heavier, and some parts of the road are deeply flooded. Our minivan's ground clearance isn't high," White Lion said, full of energy. With his imagination manifestation ability, White Lion loved transforming into a beast, using his wild strength to conquer everything and tear through all obstacles.

Yuan Lai's face was pale, his energy detection ability on and off, almost draining all his true energy and mental power, which couldn't recover fast enough. 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