"Meow, I didn't do it on purpose, don't be mad~"
Ye Qing'er covered her mouth, suppressing the laughter in her heart. This little troublemaker had picked out some pink and white athletic wear and put it on, looking utterly adorable.
Especially her puffed-up little face—she really wanted to give it a few good squeezes. It must feel wonderful.
"Meow, come here and help push this generator out. The smell in this basement is unbearable."
Chen Yi wiped his face with his oily hands. He was practically suffocating—hot and exhausted. If he'd known, he wouldn't have done this himself.
"Brother, go outside and rest for a bit."
Li Miao'er's little face was full of concern. Her brother's body was so delicate, and this "Milk Qing" was still making him work. She really didn't deserve any affection!
She hurriedly hugged her brother's arm and pulled him to the cooler, ventilated area by the door, then gently wiped the blackened sweat from his face with her small hand.
"It's fine, Meow. Once the generator's installed, we can go home and shower."
Chen Yi smiled lightly and sat down to catch his breath. It was as hot as a steamer in here; if they had no electricity…
In less than two days, they'd get heatstroke. And getting heatstroke in this environment… you'd die very quickly.
Li Miao'er pursed her lips and nodded, shooting a vicious glare at Ye Qing'er before saying softly, "Brother, just rest here for a while. Sister Qing'er and I will get the generator out."
Ye Qing'er looked at the young man sitting on the ground, his face smudged with grime, and felt a pang of guilt. But it was too late to say anything now—she'd just have to find a chance to make it up to him.
After the second blood rain, the temperature shot up by over ten degrees straight away. It really doesn't give ordinary people any chance to survive, Chen Yi thought quietly, squinting his eyes. He had a feeling this trend wouldn't take long to develop.
There were no "ordinary people" in this world anymore—not unless they clung to the strong or sold their bodies for a sliver of survival.
The evolution of species was cruel. Only the truly strong could live comfortably.
"Milk Qing, someone like you has no consideration for my brother at all."
Li Miao'er's beautiful eyes blazed with anger. If she didn't have any reservations, she would've lunged at her long ago.
"Let's lift the generator out first, fix the stuck wheel, and then just push it back. It'll save us a lot of effort."
Ye Qing'er pressed her lips together and didn't retort. Putting her strength into it, she lifted the steel frame at the back of the generator. She didn't want to argue right now.
Huff…
The two worked together to maneuver the generator to the center of the basement, but the wheel on the right side of the steel frame was jammed. It took them a while prying with steel bars before they got all four wheels rolling properly again.
Li Miao'er found a steel chain and tied it to the front frame. She took her greatsword and cleared the zombies by the door aside, then commanded, panting heavily, "Milk Qing, I'll pull from the front. You just push from behind."
"It'll be tough to move such a heavy generator later on."
Ye Qing'er pushed hard against the water-cooled panel at the back of the generator. Luckily it had wheels—if they'd had to carry it back, it would've been exhausting beyond belief.
"Brother, don't sit on the ground. We're going home."
Li Miao'er stopped and called out. She and Sister Qing'er were both covered in dust; their hands, faces, and legs were smeared with grease, as if they'd just been rolling in mud.
"Meow, let's clean this generator up first. We still have to go to the hardware store to get some tools later."
Chen Yi got up and walked into the inner office. He washed his face with water from the dispenser and handed two brooms to Sister Meow behind him.
"Sister Qing'er, Meow, clean the dust out from inside the generator. We'll replace it with a fresh drum of oil. That'll cut down on a lot of noise and lower the chance of breakdowns."
Chen Yi took a screwdriver and removed the heat sink and the engine casing, both covered in a thick layer of dust.
"The air vent is almost completely blocked. They probably never cleaned or maintained it once after buying it. If we don't clean it, the noise will be deafening."
"Brother, let me do it. You rest for a bit."
Li Miao'er smiled and nudged her brother toward the door. It was better not to let him handle such a simple task.
Chen Yi smiled lightly and sat on the ground by the entrance. His adorable little sister had turned into a little gray cat—totally worth the effort.
Once the generator was done, they wouldn't have to worry about power outages anymore, and they could enjoy the air conditioning in comfort.
Cough, cough…
It took Li Miao'er and the others over ten minutes to clean the generator inside and out, finishing up by wiping it down with a damp cloth.
"That's about enough. Meow, Sister Qing'er, let's take a break."
Chen Yi smiled and handed over two bottles of green tea. He'd looked around the office earlier but only found a few computers, phones, and some useless junk.
Gulp, gulp.
Li Miao'er and Sister Qing'er took the green tea and downed it in one go. Their pretty faces were streaked with sweat and grime, so dirty they were almost unrecognizable.
"Brother, I'm so tired~"
Li Miao'er blinked her beautiful eyes. She wanted to eat the delicious food her brother would make, and she wanted to lie in the air-conditioned room while he gave her a massage—and maybe do some naughty, enjoyable things along the way.
"Meow, just pull the generator back and it'll be over. Hang in there a little longer."
Chen Yi smiled and pinched Sister Meow's cheek—it was coated with dust. One could only imagine how filthy it was.
"Xiao Yi, do you know how to wire and install a generator?" Ye Qing'er asked doubtfully as she pushed.
"Sister Qing'er, what's the problem? We just connect the wires and hook up the generator."
Chen Yi took a broom and walked ahead, clearing small stones from the path. The cement road was quite smooth, so the two of them didn't have to exert much effort at all.
"...Mm."
Ye Qing'er and Li Miao'er fell silent immediately, both lost in deep thought.
Even their delicate little man knew this stuff, yet neither of them understood any of it.
Is it because we're too stupid? Or is he just too smart?
The two silently pushed the generator to the entrance of their building's corridor.
"Brother, I'm so exhausted!"
Li Miao'er hugged his soft arm and gently nuzzled against it. A faint mist seemed to float in her beautiful eyes, her little face flushed. She really wanted to receive his gentle caress.
"Meow, Sister Qing'er, push the generator into the front parking shed. No need to bring it into the house—the threshold is too high to lift it over."
Chen Yi rubbed Sister Meow's little face and said softly.
Bam!
Ye Qing'er pursed her red lips, ran over, and kicked open the locked iron shed door, then dragged the tricycle out from inside.
Watching the intimate scene between the two, a faint red glimmer rose in her eyes. A thought suddenly flashed through her mind: She wanted to bully her brother right in front of Little White Cat.
"The electric meters out here have been corroded by the blood rain. We'll have to bury the wires in the soil later or protect them with steel pipes."
Chen Yi stared at the blackened, burnt wires on the wall. If the air conditioner and the wiring inside the house needed repairs or replacements, it would be a real headache.
"Meow, Sister Qing'er, get the generator in first. I'll go upstairs and take a look."
After speaking, Chen Yi quickly ran up to the rooftop. He saw that the components inside the air conditioner's external unit had melted, but the copper pipes and steel rods nearby were still in good condition.
Sigh, we'll have to bring a new air conditioner back. Even if we repaired this one, it wouldn't be usable anymore.
Chen Yi rubbed his forehead and sighed. The wiring and the air conditioner both needed replacing, and the wiring had to be reinstalled. Looking up at the scorching sun overhead was genuinely painful.
He leaned against the wall to open the apartment door, ran to the bathroom, and rinsed off with warm water. Blackish, hot water streamed continuously down his fair legs.
"Brother, are you showering in there?"
Standing outside the door, Li Miao'er swallowed excitedly. She wanted to go in and bathe with her brother, to taste his fragrant lips. She was truly parched.