Published: March 2, 2025
At the moment the sun rises, the warm sunlight shines upon the edges of the Eternal Sky City, heralding the start of a new day.
For ordinary people, today is no different from yesterday. No, it’s not just for ordinary people; even for those of relatively higher status, today remains just an ordinary day.
They need to eat normally, live and work normally, and continue to live well, breathing every breath of air they can. They even have to get up normally and go to school as usual.
Well, the term “school” seems a bit out of the ordinary in the apocalypse; but who could blame the child going to school for being named Lahar?
In fact, attending school in the Eternal Sky City isn’t a difficult task. The challenge doesn’t lie in the act of going to school itself, but rather in the conditions set forth by the Eternal Sky City.
When the sleepily Lahar forced himself to wash up, Shima had already prepared breakfast for him—soy milk and fried dough sticks, a small piece of freshly baked cake, a soft-boiled egg, and a glass of milk produced by Level 4 mutated cows.
This breakfast is as normal as it gets for Lahar, Dijang, and even Shima.
As he chewed on his favorite cake, Lahar watched Shima, who was bustling around the kitchen, and glanced at the empty seat next to him that belonged to the “head of the family.” He mumbled, “Ms. Shima, where’s Mr. Dijang?”
“Mr. Lahar, Mr. Dijang is busy with official duties and probably can’t join you for breakfast,” Shima replied while continuing her household chores, until a moment later when she finally brought a plate of vegetable salad to Lahar's table. She then removed her apron and sat beside him.
“How long has it been since he came home?” Lahar complained while eating, while Shima, more understanding of the “adult world,” gently stroked Lahar’s forehead and smiled without speaking.
“How’s life at school? By the way, I heard the midterm exams are coming up soon. This is your first midterm. Last time, Dijang said that if you can get into the top ten of your class, we’ll go to Beijing for a day. You can play whatever you want, go wherever you like.”
“Uh-huh.”
Lahar, with his mouth full, immediately perked up at these words. He swallowed hard and vividly described his wishes: “I heard from Barkel that he went to the military camp in the Inner City of Beijing with his dad last time. There are several interesting treasure lands there, with rabbits, bears, and lions. I want to go too!”
“And there’s the amusement park that Wang Yue talked about, Shima, do you know a new amusement park opened in Beijing?”
“And Lin Mengmeng told me there’s a Demonic Creatures Museum and a zombie museum in Beijing. I heard the zombie museum has recently updated to the latest Level 6 zombies, and they even sell zombie dolls! I want one!”
Shima looked at Lahar, who was energetically sharing the “intelligence” he brought back from school, with a mix of amusement and concern. She couldn’t help but feel that the world of children was even more exciting than her own. She didn’t interrupt Lahar's enthusiasm but simply listened to his stories.
“By the way, Shima, Ms. Lin Tianxue came to our school the day before yesterday…”
“Hmm?”
Shima immediately perked up her ears.
“Ms. Lin Tianxue gave a speech in the auditorium and treated us to a meal. Oh, she was holding a little child; that little brother was so cute! I even touched his hand!”
At this, Shima couldn’t help but feel a pang of emotion—Fang Yuqiong, the son of Fang Bai and Lin Tianxue, the grandson of Lin Haifeng, had stood atop everyone from the moment he was born. Even Lahar, with his status and connections, could only look up to him…
By the way, it was rumored that Commander Lin had another real grandson; what was that boy's name again?
Forgot…
These complicated thoughts involuntarily rose in Shima's mind, only to be forcefully suppressed. With Shima’s intelligence, she could already see the tangled relationships. Three months ago, when Commander Lin’s grandson Zi Xu was born, Fang Yuqiong was immediately placed in the spotlight. Even with Commander Lin’s tacit approval, Fang Bai held a three-day birthday banquet in the Eternal Sky City. However, the firstborn child, until now, had no news…