Apocalyptic Reincarnation: Start with a 30-million Bonus

The setting sun hung low in the west, the heat unyielding.

On the road, such temperatures seemed visible to the naked eye.

The air itself appeared blurred by the heat.

In these concrete buildings, a middle-aged woman had little Fish lie down in a cool spot, fanning her occasionally and refreshing her with water.

But her entire body was soaked in sweat, with large beads of perspiration falling from her forehead.

Brother Sun walked over, recalling Little Fish’s previous heatstroke episode when her face turned red.

Now her complexion was ashen, and despite being fanned, she was still sweating profusely. He reached out to touch Little Fish’s forehead and then checked her heart rate.

Hiss!

”So hot, it must be over 40 degrees!” Brother Sun said worriedly, ”Little Fish is in bad shape. This is a severe case of heatstroke, and it could very well be heatstroke illness.”

Hearing the gravity in his tone, the middle-aged woman anxiously asked, ”Brother Sun, what is heatstroke illness? Is it serious?”

Before becoming a restauranteur, Brother Sun had been a barefoot doctor in his village for two years. As the village population shrank with people moving to cities, he eventually followed suit.

Once in the city, he found that running a clinic was not as simple as in the countryside; a whole slew of certifications were needed, and his half-baked medical background was insufficient, leading him to change careers.

So, he had some medical knowledge, not extensive, but useful enough to treat minor ailments.

Listening to the woman’s question, Brother Sun explained, ”The most severe form of heatstroke is known as heatstroke illness, caused by a dysregulation of the body’s temperature control in the presence of high heat, resulting in excessive heat accumulation and damage to the nervous system.”

He sighed before continuing, ”Heatstroke illness is the most severe level of heatstroke, a potentially fatal condition with a high mortality rate.”

Upon hearing the word ”death,” the surrounding people couldn’t bear it, their hearts in agony at the sight of the pale-faced young girl.

Brother Sun looked at Little Fish with a mournful expression, ”Her face is so pale, her heart rate so fast and weak. We must quickly rehydrate her, providing saline, glucose solution, and potassium chloride promptly.

She also needs external cooling and deep body cooling treatment, ideally with ice packs applied externally.”

”But we have nothing here now, alas!”

Fate sometimes plays cruel tricks on people. Long ago, Li Yu had stocked up on a vast array of medical equipment and consulted his sister about the basic drugs commonly used in hospitals.

Then, he found a familiar clinic in the county and, after offering a significant incentive, stocked up on a considerable amount of medication.

After the zombies emerged, he led his workers to clear out the nearby town clinics, health stations, county hospitals, taking much of their supplies. Even in the city, they would habitually collect some drugs from drugstores and hospitals.

Not everything was taken, though; some medications were left behind for others.

Li Yu knew well that a few things are most crucial in a post-apocalyptic world: a safe shelter, food, medicine, and weapons. And, trustworthy people.

After they took much of the medicine, what was left was gradually carried away by subsequent scavengers.

Chinese people have a habit of hoarding, collecting items that might not be useful now but could be in the future.

Thus, the habit of hoarding was common.

But for Tan Guohua and his small group, hoarding was a luxury—they had no stable homes and spent every day searching for food and safer places.

So for them, the less they carried, the better, as it allowed them to move more easily.

Brother Sun looked at Little Fish, his heart aching.

Heatstroke illness, with a mortality rate between 20-80%.

Thud thud thud!

The sound of hurried footsteps grew louder. Everyone turned their attention in that direction.

It was Tan Guohua, carrying a backpack, his face tense.

Tan Guohua didn’t glance at anyone; his focus was solely on the small figure lying on the bamboo chair below the house.

A trace of tenderness flashed in his eyes—it was his precious daughter.

But seeing her pale face, his heart clenched, breathless with pain.

He rushed forward, and without catching a breath, opened his backpack and said:

”Sun, Brother Sun, my daughter, I, I’ve only found a bit of Ten Drops Water, cough cough cough cough.

And, there is also some saline, and some infusion things,” Tan Guohua panted as he rushed to speak.

Brother Sun looked at Tan Guohua, sweating profusely, with a sense of helplessness, but he still needed to inform him of the worst-case scenario, finally saying:

”Brother Hua, Little Fish has a heatstroke illness, with a very high mortality rate. We don’t have ice now, and we’re missing other medications—it’s tough. Also, we’ve been delaying for too long. Sigh.”

With that, he took the backpack from Tan Guohua’s hands, fed Little Fish the Ten Drops Water, then inserted an IV for the infusions.

Hearing Brother Sun’s words, Tan Guohua momentarily froze, incredulous.

Always decisive and tough, Tan Guohua was a ruffian in his youth, having bullied honest folk and committed many wrongs.

Only after he became a father did he mature, taking on responsibility.

Now his wife had been killed by the Salvation Army.

His daughter had survived through heavy rains and zombies, but now, in this scorching weather.

Severe heatstroke? Heatstroke illness? A high mortality rate?

These few words, in his mind, suddenly exploded.

The explosion resounded incessantly in his mind, buzzing and echoing.

His daughter was only a few years old. She had never lived a good day with him.

In the early years due to his own misdeeds, he did not work hard, bullied many, and offended many.

Only later did he finally get married, have a daughter, and start a catering business.

Just as it was taking off, the zombie outbreak erupted, and his daughter lived in fear with him.

Now, he can’t even save his daughter?!!

Tan Guohua, stumbling, fell backward.

As if struck by a heavy hammer, he slumped to the ground.

”Cough cough cough cough...”

The sound of a child’s coughing came through, Tan Guohua hurriedly sat up, only to see, his little girl coughing up blood from the corner of her mouth.

The medicine he had just fed her was all coughed up, and fresh blood kept spewing out.

Seeing this, Tan Guohua’s heart shattered, unable to breathe, his hands trembling, he gently wiped the blood from his daughter’s mouth, speaking softly, ”Little Fish, Daddy’s here, Daddy’s here, Daddy’s here, Little Fish, don’t be scared, don’t be scared, Daddy’s here, wuu wuu wuu wuu.”

The blood at Little Fish’s mouth was still being coughed up.

The man, bowing his head, wept bitterly.

A feeling of despair swept through his entire body.

He cried for less than 3 seconds, then as if he remembered something, Tan Guohua hurriedly turned back.

Thud!

He knelt down directly in front of Brother Zhou: ”Brother Zhou, I beg you, please, think of a way to save my daughter, I will do anything. Even if it means my death. Please.”

He kowtowed!

Tan Guohua knelt on the ground, his voice was hoarse with desperation.

Begging as he looked at Brother Zhou.

Brother Zhou, too, was in agony; he was fond of Little Fish as well, but her coughing up blood indicated a coagulation dysfunction, the heatstroke was very serious.

He had no solution either!

The temperature was too high, 48 degrees! Coupled with dragging on for too long, without medication, and Little Fish’s poor nutrition post-apocalypse, she was now as skinny as a stick.

Seeing Brother Zhou’s expression, Tan Guohua seemed to understand something.

Tears streamed down his face.

...

12 hours passed, Little Fish stopped coughing blood, but she never woke up again.

A sudden convulsion.

Her small body also started to turn cold.

No more breathing.

In an instant, the pair of rough and warm hands holding Little Fish trembled.

Trembled, his whole body began to shake.

Tan Guohua clenched Little Fish’s hand, guarding by her side,

Watching over her for the entire night.

Until that small body slowly turned cold.

Tan Guohua, his lips turned pale, his appearance withered.

His hair turned white overnight.

His eyes were red as blood.

The next day before dawn, morning light began to show.

The morning looked up at the sky, where the clouds were thinly veiled. It crept into the woods, looking around, all was quiet, silent as crows, in complete serenity.

He climbed up the highest building by the river.

And leapt down.

Plunged!

In the moment of the descent, dawn, like a sharp sword, split the silent night curtain, welcoming the rising sun.

The sun just emerged from behind the vast mountain peaks, the warmth of its first few rays mingling with the cool of the fading night, bringing about a sweet sense of drowsiness.

In this radiant light, he saw his wife leading his daughter, smiling as they walked towards him.

Behind them was the house he had always wanted to buy.

He smiled.

Thump! A muffled sound.