As humans grow older, their metabolism slows down. Especially during infancy, Ding Yao’s little bottom, exposed to the sun for two days, scabbed over and began to heal. Han Yanyan carefully applied ointment to him and even changed his diapers at home.
“If you wet or dirty your diaper, you have to cry, okay?” she said. “That way, Mommy will know.”
Since she didn’t mind, Ding Yao decided not to feel wronged. He drank a lot more water than an average baby to fight against the constipation caused by the rice soup he was eating. And indeed, things improved a lot.
After two days, Han Yanyan bundled him up even more snugly than usual. She took him first on a mine cart, then on an elevator, and they arrived at the mountain top, stepping out of the mine. This was Ding Yao’s first time seeing the “outside” world since he opened his eyes.
Unfortunately, everything appeared blurry. He could faintly see some large shapes in the sky.
Suddenly, Han Yanyan said, “Another ship is coming.”
A ship? Was this place near the sea? Ding Yao listened carefully, his infant hearing sharp, but he heard no crashing waves, only the sound of wind all around. The temperature felt like late autumn, a little chilly.
Han Yanyan seemed to be in a difficult situation, hesitating for a while before finally sighing and giving up. “When you grow a bit more, it will be easier. You’re too small and soft right now; it’s not safe to take you out with others around.” She gently patted him and said, “You have to grow up quickly. The environment is getting worse and worse. Even the weaker animals here are struggling to survive, let alone human children.”
Ding Yao had closed his eyes, but now he opened them again. His little mouth pressed tight, he gazed at the sky, which he still couldn’t clearly see.
Although he hadn’t seen the “ship,” he guessed it must mean there was a chance to earn coins or materials. But because of him, the girl hadn’t gone out again. She only took him down to the mine every day.
The mine was not only deep but also complex, like an ant nest. Ding Yao had never encountered anyone inside; he deduced it must be an abandoned mine, already depleted. The girl was probably mining whatever small bits were left, simply scavenging.
It seemed she relied on this for survival. However, scavenging was uncertain work. She could dig all day and only find a few bits, and on a bad day, she might find nothing. Her scanning instrument was also unreliable, working only sporadically.
One day, upon returning to their cave, Han Yanyan pulled out several pieces from her waist pouch and tossed them onto a wooden box serving as a table. The largest piece was only about the size of a baby’s fist.
Ding Yao couldn’t see clearly, but the clinking sound drew his attention. This sound was unmistakably the same as the coins she used during their visits to the market. It turned out that these ores could be used as currency here.
Ding Yao began to realize that this world was quite different from the ordinary world he once knew. Having come from a post-apocalyptic scenario, he was hardly surprised by anything in this world.
What mattered to him was his ability to survive safely, to grow up healthy, and to become strong. But to grow, he still had to drink that rice soup one mouthful at a time.
Ding Yao felt a bit anxious. He thought he was growing too slowly, while Han Yanyan seemed to puff up like she was filled with air, visibly changing by the day.
His vision was improving day by day, and by the time he reached one month old, he could focus on things. One day, when he woke up, everything seemed clearer. When Han Yanyan held him in her arms, he stared at her intently and finally saw her face clearly for the first time.
Just as he had imagined, the girl who called herself “Mommy” was just a teenage girl, definitely no older than twenty. Strictly speaking, she was a youthful beauty.
Although her hair was as messy as a bird’s nest, it didn’t prevent her elegant face from showing through.
Regrettably, seeing her face didn’t bring Ding Yao any joy. He would have preferred she was an old lady instead. In this clearly unstable environment, having such a pretty face was undoubtedly making survival harder for both of them.
Seeing this girl made him recall the last woman from his previous life, also named Han Yanyan. She had been eighteen or nineteen when she was with him, looking a bit older and infinitely more mature. After all, she had been around people, had experienced many things.
But this girl lived in solitude, alone. Her eyes still held a kind of innocent quality that made Ding Yao worried. She had the face of a beauty, but if her personality remained naive and innocent… Ding Yao’s heart sank.
At that moment, he could not help but miss Han Yanyan, the one from his previous life. She had a fierce determination, and how surprising she had become after his careful shaping.
For the dead… don’t look back, Ding Yao reminded himself, trying to collect his thoughts.
But this girl was truly very gentle with him. She never left his side, always stayed with him for twenty-four hours. Every day, she cooked the rice soup thick and fed him, ensuring he was full. She bathed him every few days, applied what seemed like medicine on his bottom to prevent it from becoming sore. She would hold him in her arms, gently rocking him, soothing him with kind words.
Every night before bed, she would nibble on his little chubby hands and whisper, “Mommy loves little Yao so much.”
Ding Yao grumbled silently about her insistence on calling herself “Mommy,” but gradually, he found himself accustomed to her presence.
When Ding Yao was over two months old, their supplies began to run low. Han Yanyan decided to take him to the market.
He knew what she intended, as she often “talked” to him—if talking to herself could be considered speaking. She must have been lonely for too long, and finally having a listener, even if he couldn’t even babble yet, she found comfort in speaking to him about family matters or the things they needed to do.
This allowed Ding Yao to gather more information, and he found it quite enjoyable, no longer seeing her chatter as a sign of craziness.
When she prepared to leave, Han Yanyan seemed to don her battle attire. She strapped two guns to her waist and a dagger to her thigh. Her already wild hair was tangled even further, and she painted her face with black designs, resembling a tribal warrior. It was almost impossible to recognize the lovely face beneath that mask of chaos…
Seeing her this way put Ding Yao at ease. She may look innocent but wasn’t foolish.
Then it struck him—she bathed frequently, but her hair was always a mess, which seemed intentional. And for this outing, she hadn’t bathed in days, working in the mine all this time. Once close, he could finally smell the sour scent emanating from her.
That sour smell had enveloped Ding Yao for days, but now he understood it was part of her protective measures, and he felt delighted.
This girl wasn’t just not foolish—she was quite clever. Her cleverness was his assurance. Given the current conditions, at least for the next decade, his safety depended on her. The smarter she was, the better.
As the weather turned chilly, Han Yanyan nearly never took Ding Yao out of the mine. She only brought him a few times to bask in the sun. Ding Yao felt the hot springs beneath the mountains, as the deeper they ventured into the mine, the warmer it became.
This marked the second time Ding Yao had left the mine since opening his eyes. The last time, he vaguely sensed gigantic shadows overhead, but now, brought outside by Han Yanyan, he finally saw the sky.
Although his vision was still weak, the objects in the sky were so large that it compensated for his lack of depth perception. He could clearly see five or six giant planets floating against the gray sky.
So that’s what it was.
Since Ding Yao opened his eyes, he had seen the various strange devices inside Han Yanyan’s cave, leading him to a suspicion. Now, witnessing these planets confirmed his speculations. He had been reincarnated into another world.
Looking at those items in her cave, a pot of rice and water, exposed to the light for less than a minute, turned into thick porridge. It was evident that the technology on this planet far exceeded that of his homeland.
Thus, when he beheld Han Yanyan's hover bike, which had no wheels and floated above the ground, Ding Yao was not even surprised.
The environment mattered little; what mattered was how he would survive within it.
Before leaving, Han Yanyan made sure to feed Ding Yao well and wrapped him in a diaper, so it would be more convenient when they were outside. As the hover bike soared over the mountain ridges toward a populated area, a huge shadow loomed overhead.
Upon seeing that shadow, Ding Yao understood what Han Yanyan meant two months earlier when she said, “A ship is coming.” It turned out… a spaceship was arriving, which explained why he hadn’t heard the sound of waves.
The hover bike carried Han Yanyan and Ding Yao in the opposite direction of the spaceship, and Ding Yao fell asleep on the way, waking up to find they had arrived at the market. Calling it a market seemed inaccurate; it was more of a small town.
Upon entering the town, though Ding Yao couldn’t see well, he could feel a familiar atmosphere—tense and dangerous, as if he had suddenly returned to the apocalypse. In a place strained for resources and with chaos reigning, such an atmosphere naturally formed.
Han Yanyan seemed to understand this, painting her face black and wearing a mask, her hair frizzy and dirty. These were all disguises for her self-protection. Ding Yao hoped her disguise would prove effective.
This time, Han Yanyan wasn’t selling anything. She went straight to the shop where she had bulk-purchased supplies last time.
She needed many things this time. Besides daily necessities, she asked, “Do you have any warm fabric?”
The shopkeeper replied, “Can’t make it, we lack materials.”
Han Yanyan inquired what they were missing, and the shopkeeper told her. Han Yanyan said, “I just saw someone selling on the cross street.”
The shopkeeper lazily replied, “Then you can buy it. If you bring it back, I’ll make it for you. I’m not running around for it.”
With no other choice, Han Yanyan had to run back to buy it. The cross street was busier, filled with people hawking their goods. Han Yanyan dared not linger, quickly haggling a good price and dragging a half bag of materials back.
Upon receiving the materials, the shopkeeper instructed her to wait. As he went inside, Han Yanyan leaned closer to Ding Yao and whispered, “This is for recycling materials, they’ll disinfect them for reuse.”
Seeing Ding Yao’s big, bright eyes watching him, she added in a low voice, “It’s getting colder; we’ll make you some clothes and bags from this warm fabric.”
She had been chatting this way in their cave as well. Ding Yao had grown accustomed to it, feeling that she was just lonely and needed to talk to someone.
After a moment, Han Yanyan said, “It’ll take a while, so let’s go buy some food first.”
She carried Ding Yao through three streets, arriving at another shop. Although it was called a “grain store,” they only bought a few small tea boxes. Han Yanyan opened one box to look, sniffed it, and then paid before packing it in her backpack.
Leaving the food shop with Ding Yao, they had just crossed one street when she suddenly quickened her pace and changed direction.
Ding Yao couldn’t see well, but his hearing was exceptional. As soon as she changed her rhythm, he immediately opened his eyes.
Han Yanyan’s steps hurriedly took her away from the crowd, twisting through alleyways away from the busy area.
Beyond the prosperous district, numerous houses still stood. It was clear that this town had once thrived, possibly deserving the title of a city, but now outside the bustling area, the buildings crumbled, abandoned for long, reduced to ruins.
Despite carrying Ding Yao and wearing a backpack, Han Yanyan remained light on her feet, quickly finding a place to hide.
Once hidden, her left hand reached into her apron, pressing her fingertip against Ding Yao’s lips. Ding Yao understood it was to keep him from crying out. He opened his mouth and gently held her fingertip, reassuring her.
At that moment, he heard clear footsteps. Someone on the commercial street had spotted Han Yanyan and was tracking her. In this environment, it was clear that it couldn’t be a good thing.
Ding Yao felt tense.
What would this seemingly underage girl do? He was curious about whether this girl, whom he would have to rely on for at least the next ten years, could be trusted.
Just then, Han Yanyan’s right arm bent, reaching toward her waist…
With two flashes of light, the man who was following her collapsed to the ground, dark red blood pooling beneath him.
Quickly, Han Yanyan seized the backpack and waist pouch from the body. Without a second glance, she dumped the contents into her own bag, discarded the empty pouch, and turned to leave swiftly.
If anyone were to see her at that moment, they would notice that the baby in her embrace was grinning happily.
I underestimated her, Ding Yao thought. Upon further reflection, it was clear she had been living alone for quite some time. In such an environment, surviving until now meant she certainly had her skills.
When she bent down to snatch the backpack from the corpse, her face had been very close to him. Ding Yao clearly saw that the gentleness she usually showed him was absent now, replaced by indifference toward life.
This was good, very good.
He had found a reliable ticket for survival.