C4 I Love You

During one of their excavations, a father and son stumbled upon the recently deceased body of a beautiful woman. She was a true beauty, with fair skin and large eyes that seemed to protest her untimely death. Despite the dullness that had overtaken her gaze, there was still an enchanting allure about her.

What truly horrified them, though, was the state of her lower body—it was reduced to a bloody skeleton.

The sight of the woman, whose body had been gruesomely half-devoured for reasons unknown, presented a stark and terrifying contrast of red and white that made the father and son involuntarily retch.

This was the first time he had come face-to-face with the terror of a nuclear-mutated giant rat.

They had previously seen the carcasses of these giant rats on the black market. The creatures were as large as cats, with dull grey fur, deformed two-centimeter-long claws, and long, sharp teeth. Their dark red eyes gave them a menacing appearance.

However, giant rats were photophobic, living underground all year and only surfacing at night. This led survivors to adhere to a crucial rule of survival: never venture out after dark.

But outings were rare for the father and son, and finding a house untouched by other Excavators was even rarer. They couldn't bear the thought of returning empty-handed.

So, he made the tough call to spend the night in the unfamiliar house. The door was sturdy, and with a tripwire set up on the balcony, they felt a measure of safety.

It wasn't the giant rats he feared, but other creatures of the night. Although the rats ruled the darkness, they generally kept to the ground and avoided climbing, making any structure above the second floor relatively safe.

Resolved, he set down his backpack and pulled out a plush penguin. Digging through it, he found a strip of bruise plaster and applied it to his son's swollen ankle.

Their backpacks served multiple purposes: not only did they carry their tools and finds, but they also functioned as emergency kits.

Every time they left home, they made sure to pack essentials: a bag of compressed biscuits, a bottle of water, special candles, matches, walkie-talkies, gauze, bandages, bruise plaster, and other emergency medical supplies, ready for any eventuality.

He instructed his son to remain seated and motionless while he set up a makeshift alarm system. He strung several thin lines across the balcony, attaching them to empty bottles he had found around the house. Any disturbance to the lines would cause the bottles to topple and create a noise, alerting them to any intruders.

With the safety measures in place, he commenced his official work as an Excavator. The layer of dust on the floor suggested the homeowner had been gone for some time, yet had stayed long enough to cover the furniture and bed with a thin cloth. The neatly arranged bedding underneath spoke volumes of the owner's attachment and reluctance to leave.

In the study, he discovered a box of survival supplies within a cabinet. The food variety was impressive, with a significant amount of sought-after canned goods that were still within their expiration date. Among the medical supplies was a bottle of iodine tablets, an invaluable necessity for surviving in a nuclear-contaminated environment.

He also found a box of mineral water, a find so substantial that it momentarily eclipsed the worry over his son's twisted ankle. Indulging in a rare luxury, he lifted his son's mask and allowed him to gulp down half a bottle of the refreshing mineral water. He savored the remaining half, the cool, slightly sweet liquid conjuring memories of a famous water brand's pre-nuclear explosion advertising slogan.

Due to the nuclear fallout, the city's tap and surface water were undrinkable. Only deep groundwater remained uncontaminated, yet it was monopolized by the black market kingpins. These same figures dominated the trade of uncontaminated food and medicine, holding sway over the survival of the city's quarter-million survivors.

The government-run rescue station, having lost contact with the outside world, had devolved into a mere symbol of charity, relegated to a forgotten corner of the city.

He packed all the survival supplies into two backpacks, filling them to the brim, yet his scavenger's instinct kept him searching every nook and cranny for anything he might have missed. His diligence paid off when he stumbled upon an iPad 9, a valuable item that could be traded on the black market for a wealth of supplies.

After confirming it was charged and operational, he gleefully added it to his haul. This expedition would indeed yield a full return.

Throughout their tenure as Excavators, the father and son had evolved from the initial thrill of their covert operations to a smooth, seasoned proficiency. They had weathered all manner of experiences, and little could shake him now, yet there were still a few noteworthy incidents worth mentioning.

Once, he and his son broke into a villa and found the living room littered with cash – at least a few million yuan. Before the nuclear explosion, people would have done anything for that kind of money, but now it was less valuable than scrap paper, only good for lighting a cigarette, if he smoked.

On another occasion, to dodge nuclear zombies, they ducked into a dilapidated Jin Jide Roast Duck restaurant. Amidst the scattered duck bones, they found human skeletons, victims of a deadly struggle. The old adage "people die for wealth, birds die for food" seemed to need reversing.

He returned to his son, who was fast asleep in a chair, clutching a plush penguin – clearly exhausted, the poor kid.

Worn out himself, he sat at his son's feet and caught his breath.

Gazing at his son's narrowed eyes above the mask, the sparse eyelashes tugged at his heartstrings. He whispered, "I love you."

He had never openly expressed such affection to his son, believing that fostering strength was crucial and that familial attachment was a survival liability.

Despite his tough exterior and a failed marriage, he hadn't given up on love.

He and his son's mother had divorced before the catastrophe. Young and naive, they had married without truly understanding each other and separated when they did.

Winning custody, he embraced his role as a devoted father, running an online clothing store from home, which gave him more time with his son.

Eventually, he met a woman who stirred his heart. She became a part of their lives, and he encouraged his son to call her "stepmom."

They understood and loved each other deeply, and were on the brink of discussing marriage.

But the nuclear blast shattered it all, obliterating the most beautiful relationship of his life.

He'd never forget the day he picked up his son and then frantically drove to get her, navigating through congested roads and nearly hitting panicked pedestrians.

All forms of electronic communication had failed by then – landlines, cell phones, and the internet were all useless.

He could only hope that she would sense his intentions and wait for him, trusting that he would come to find her.

However, as he neared the last stretch of road to her workplace, he was blocked once again.

He was preparing to take his son in his arms and leave the car to search for her on foot when suddenly, a strange rain began to fall from the sky—a rain the likes of which no one had ever seen: black rain!

The black droplets plummeted to the earth, pouring down as if heralding the arrival of hell itself.