Chapter 471 - 84 - Leaving Fan xui

Chapter 471: Chapter 84 - Leaving Fan xui

Fan Xui did not take the news well.

"You’re leaving?"

Chen had expected the reaction, which was why he had waited until their supplies were packed before telling him.

They stood near the eastern side of City S, where soldiers were loading crates into transport vehicles and checking the roads beyond the barricade. Skyy waited a short distance away with Lili, giving father and son enough privacy to talk.

"We found out where her parents went," Chen explained. "Haicheng. They were part of an evacuation group sent there after the eastern district fell."

"I know where Haicheng is." Fan Xui frowned. "That’s not what I’m asking. You nearly died getting into City S yesterday, and now you’re telling me you’re walking back out?"

"We can’t leave her here when we know where her parents might be."

"Then I’ll find someone to take her."

Chen shook his head. "She’s staying with us."

Fan Xui stared at him for several seconds, clearly trying not to lose his temper.

Chen understood. They had only just found each other. To Fan Xui, his son had suddenly returned, looking completely different and carrying an impossible story about the future. He had barely gotten one night with him, and now Chen was leaving again.

But that was exactly why Chen couldn’t stay.

"Dad." Chen lowered his voice. "I don’t belong here."

Fan Xui’s expression tightened.

"I mean it. There is already a Chen in this time."

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

That was the part of the situation Chen had been trying not to think about too deeply. Somewhere in this world, his younger self existed. Fan Xui had confirmed as much the previous night. Chen didn’t know what would happen if they met. Maybe nothing. Maybe Trexa would laugh at him for worrying about it.

Or maybe putting two versions of the same person in one place would cause exactly the kind of disaster Chen had spent his entire life trying to avoid.

"I don’t understand enough about time travel to know what happens if I meet myself," Chen continued. "Trexa isn’t exactly giving me a manual. Staying here because it’s safer isn’t necessarily safer."

Fan Xui glanced toward Skyy and Lili before looking back at him.

"You could stay somewhere outside the main district."

"For how long? A year? Two?" Chen shook his head. "Trexa doesn’t even know when she’ll have enough power to send us back."

That finally silenced him.

Chen stepped closer.

"I’ll be careful."

Fan Xui let out a bitter laugh. "You’ve been saying that since you learned how to walk."

"And I’m still alive."

"That is not as reassuring as you think."

Chen smiled despite himself.

For a moment Fan Xui simply looked at him, and the anger gradually drained from his face. What remained was something Chen found much harder to face.

His father didn’t want him to leave.

Chen understood that feeling far too well.

Fan Xui finally sighed and reached into his jacket, pulling out a folded map.

"The eastern route toward Haicheng is blocked here." He pointed to a marked section. "A bridge collapsed two years ago. Take the southern road until you reach the old service highway, then follow it east. It’ll add distance, but it’s safer."

Chen accepted the map.

"I cleared patrol routes along the first section this morning. There shouldn’t be many infected for several kilometers, but don’t assume that means there aren’t any."

"I won’t."

Fan Xui had also arranged food, water, ammunition and medical supplies for them. Chen noticed there was far more than three people realistically needed.

He chose not to mention it.

Fan Xui would probably add another bag.

When everything was ready, neither of them seemed to know what to say.

Chen looked at his father.

Fan Xui looked back.

Then Chen stepped forward and hugged him.

Fan Xui’s arms closed around him immediately.

The strength of the embrace surprised Chen even after yesterday. His father held the back of his jacket tightly, as though some part of him still believed Chen might disappear the moment he released him.

"Don’t make me find you again," Fan Xui muttered.

Chen swallowed.

"I’ll try not to."

"That wasn’t a joke."

"I know."

Chen tightened his arms around him.

He had spent years taking his fathers’ presence for granted. They were simply there, irritating him, worrying about him, interfering with his decisions and embarrassing him whenever possible. He had never imagined he would one day stand in front of a younger version of his father and have to walk away without knowing when—or whether—he would see this version of him again.

Eventually Fan Xui pulled back.

His eyes were slightly red, but thankfully he didn’t mention Chen’s.

Instead, he reached up and roughly fixed Chen’s collar like he was still a child.

"Look after yourself."

"I will."

Fan Xui’s gaze moved toward Skyy.

"And look after him."

Chen smiled. "You don’t need to tell me that."

"I know."

Fan Xui went over to Skyy next. He spoke quietly to him for a moment before pulling the surprised man into a brief hug. Skyy stiffened at first, then smiled and hugged him back.

When Fan Xui released him, he crouched in front of Lili.

"You stay close to these two, understood?"

Lili nodded seriously.

"And don’t run away without telling them."

Her cheeks turned pink.

"I won’t."

"Good."

A few minutes later, they left City S.

The barricade closed behind them with a heavy metallic groan.

For the first several kilometers, traveling was surprisingly easy. Fan Xui had kept his word. Soldiers had recently cleared the route, leaving infected corpses scattered along the roadside but no living zombies in sight.

Abandoned vehicles crowded sections of the old highway. Some had crashed into barriers while others appeared to have simply been left when fuel ran out or their owners fled. After twenty years exposed to rain, snow and summer heat, most were little more than rusting shells. Chen checked a few anyway, but batteries were dead, engines had seized, tires had rotted away, and several vehicles had plants growing straight through them.

Walking it was.

Lili didn’t seem bothered.

She hopped along beside Skyy, carefully avoiding cracks in the road as though they were part of some private game. The letter from her parents was tucked safely inside her little bag.

Chen watched her for a while before speaking.

"Lili."

She looked back.

"You understand what I told you earlier, right?"

The happiness on her face dimmed slightly.

Chen hated doing this, but he wasn’t going to let her believe they were guaranteed a happy ending.

"It’s been a long time since your parents left that note. We’ll look for them, but I can’t promise we’ll find them."

Lili became quiet.

Skyy glanced toward Chen but didn’t interfere.

After several steps, Lili nodded.

"I know."

Chen was surprised by how calmly she said it.

"I just want to know what happened to them."

Her small fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.

"If Mommy and Daddy are safe, that would be the best."

She paused.

The brightness disappeared from her face, and she bit her lower lip before continuing.

"And if they’re not..."

For the first time that morning, her steps slowed.

"Then it was fate."

The words sounded strange coming from someone so young.

Skyy’s expression immediately softened.

He reached down and gently rubbed the top of her head.

Lili leaned into his hand for a moment before continuing forward.

Skyy watched her go.

Something about the little girl suddenly made his chest ache.

A child searching for her parents.

A mother and father who had left a message behind because they desperately wanted their daughter to find them.

Family.

Skyy’s hand slowly drifted downward.

His palm settled against his stomach.

There was nothing different about it. Nothing he could see or feel. It was still flat beneath his clothes.

But the possibility had been sitting quietly in the back of his mind ever since that night with Chen.

Maybe there was nothing there.

Maybe there was.

Skyy lifted his eyes.

Chen was already looking at him.

Their gazes met.

For a second, Skyy wondered whether Chen had noticed where his hand was resting.

If he did, he didn’t ask.

He simply smiled, stepped closer and slipped an arm around Skyy’s waist, pulling him gently against his side as they walked.

Skyy let himself lean into him.

His hand remained over his stomach.

He said nothing.