Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]-Chapter 204 - Control blast

In the distant city S. inside the shin residence.

Shinju pranced around anxiously.

The overhead fan buzzed. The digital clock on the wall ticked closer to the final hours. Shinju’s fingers trembled as he gripped the edge of the desk. The call he’d just ended echoed in his ears.

"They’ve confirmed the strike," he whispered to himself, his voice hollow.

He had pleaded with them. Called every contact in every military sector. Begged them to wait—just a few more hours. His father was still in there. His son.

"They said it’s about the GDP," he muttered, the bitter taste of disgust rising in his throat. "About the country’s image..."

The attack on country C was unexpected but the country did not want any other countries to know about this. Any news about the infection was said as a rumor and buried up. the affected cities all had their network cut off with an emp attack. Yes it was the country that decided to attack these cities. They somehow got all info under wrap now all they had to do was destroy the evidence.

That’s where the bombing comes into picture.

All this because the country did not want its GDP to be affected. If the whole world knew that they had such a infection. Then their exports will be affected, tourism will be non existent. Their country will be hit badly.

So they collectively decided to hide this.

He slammed the phone against the desk. Hard. Once. Twice. It cracked and clattered to the ground in pieces. Shinju dropped his head into his hands, fingers clawing into his scalp as he let out a shaky breath.

"What’s the point of a country’s image if there’s no one left to live in it?"

He hadn’t eaten in almost a day. The coffee next to him had gone cold. His stomach churned with acid and his thoughts raced with panic. The room around him blurred—wooden walls, plush rugs, a house too clean, too big, too safe while outside, his bloodline was walking through hell.

He was safe.

They were not.

A sharp knock broke through the silence.

He didn’t move. Not until the door creaked open slightly, and a quiet voice whispered from the other side.

"A-am I disturbing you?"

Shinju looked up. Lin Jinjui stood in the doorway, clutching her sleeves like a child unsure of their welcome.

Her face had lost all of its color—the healthy flush replaced with a waxy paleness. Her eyes were rimmed with red, swollen from sleepless nights.

The confident, graceful woman he once knew looked like a ghost of herself.

"No, no, it’s okay," he said softly. "Please, come in."

She stepped in slowly, carefully. She then sat down on the couch, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

"I... I couldn’t stay alone in my house anymore," she whispered, her voice shaking. "Have you heard anything about the children?"

"Yes." Shinju nodded, gently reaching for the small tablet near him. He swiped through the encrypted feeds and pulled up the satellite footage.

A shaky image came into focus.

Yunfeng..... covered in soot, but alive.

Hana, too was alive and riding on the bike sitting behind Muchen.

"They’re safe," Shinju said with a soft smile, turning the screen toward her. "They’ve split into two groups, but both are heading for the barricade. They’ll be out before the airstrike."

Lin Jinjui leaned forward, trembling hands reaching for the screen like she could hold her children through the glass. Her lips parted in a sob she didn’t release.

"They look so thin..." she murmured.

"They’ll recover," Shinju said quickly, passing her a cup of hot tea. "My father is with them. They’re strong. They’ll make it."

She nodded, but her eyes stayed glued to the screen. Silent tears fell down her cheeks. She didn’t wipe them away.

Shinju sat beside her, not saying anything for a moment. Just watching. The city they saw on the feed wasn’t the city they once knew. Deserted buildings, crumbled roads, smoke drifting in the wind like a funeral shroud.

He hadn’t told her that only two men remained from the team of fifty he sent with his father. Two.

The rest had been overrun, even with the advanced weapons, even with all the training. That was the kind of nightmare they were surviving in.

His throat burned as he gulped down the hot tea. It scalded his tongue, but he needed something—anything—to keep from shaking.

"They’ll be fine," he said again. "By the grace of the gods... they’ll reach here soon."

"How long until they reach the barricade?" Lin Jinjui asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Shinju checked the coordinates on the feed. "Two, maybe three hours if they keep their pace. Longer if they need to rest."

Lin nodded, folding her arms tight over her chest. "the children... Yunfeng.. Hana had such soft hands. She couldn’t even hold a broom for long. Now she’s fighting... killing."

There was no judgment in her tone. Just grief. Just heartbreak.

Shinju’s jaw clenched. "He’s grown. They all have. I only wish I could’ve protected him better."

Lin turned to look at him, her eyes red and glistening. "It’s not your fault."

But he didn’t answer. Didn’t nod. Because in his heart, it was.

He had been the one to put his father on the front lines again. He didn’t pay much attention to his child that is why Jai and Yunfeng left without telling them anything.

His heart ached.

Boom.

A dull rumble echoed through the walls, distant but real.

Lin jolted. "What was that?"

Shinju shot to his feet, rushing toward the control panel. He pulled up a different feed, this one showing the sky near City A.

A column of smoke curled upwards like a black pillar, spiraling into the heavens.

"No," he muttered. "No, they started the preliminary strike—testing impact range—those bastards."

He scrambled to his communication array, trying to dial into the emergency channel. The connection buzzed. No reply.

"I told them they needed more time. Damn it!"

Lin stood as well, tears renewed in her eyes. "You said they had three hours!"

"They do! That wasn’t the final strike—it was a controlled blast. But still too close—too damn close!"