The World Ends In 27 Days

Jingwei discovered the government’s trace attempt seven hours after Hanchuan ended the transmission.

By then, Zhiyi had bathed, slept more than a few hours, and returned to the breakfast table with her tablet beside one hand. Hanchuan sat next to her, cutting fruit while she reviewed the overnight shelter reports.

Jingwei entered the dining room carrying his laptop instead of his phone.

That was enough to make Hanchuan look up.

"The government embedded a location request inside the communication handshake," Jingwei explained as he placed the laptop on the table.

His expression remained controlled, but the darkness beneath his eyes revealed how much of the night he had spent studying it. "They activated it 11 minutes after Director Han authorized the evacuation."

Hanchuan set down the knife. "Did they receive anything?"

"No." Jingwei enlarged the connection record, revealing the false routes he had placed between Xiling and the government command center. "The request reached six relay points before terminating at an office building your company owns in Haicheng."

Zeyu leaned over the table to examine the final location. "That building has been empty for renovations since February. I hope they enjoy searching it."

"They won’t search it for long," Jingwei warned, closing the route. "The trace failed too cleanly. Whoever reviews the data will know someone redirected it."

Zhiyi moved the laptop closer. "They will attempt a different method during the next call."

"There won’t be another call," Hanchuan replied as he returned the laptop to Jingwei. "Block every government connection."

Jingwei accepted the decision without argument. "Director Han may use one of the private numbers he already has."

"Then block him there too," Hanchuan stated, his voice cold.

Before Jingwei could close the communication controls, Hanchuan’s phone began vibrating against the table.

The screen displayed Mother.

His friends fell silent.

Hanchuan watched the name remain on the screen until the call ended without him touching the phone. It appeared again before he could return his attention to Zhiyi’s breakfast.

Zeyu glanced between Hanchuan and the phone. "She’s persistent."

"She always was," Hanchuan replied without reaching for it.

The third call arrived through the Pei Corporation emergency line. Jingwei checked the routing information before turning the screen toward Hanchuan.

"She’s calling from Pei headquarters," Jingwei explained, his attention sharpening on the building’s status. "The tower still has emergency power, but the district grid is down."

Hanchuan accepted the call and placed it on speaker.

His mother’s face appeared on the smaller dining-room screen.

Jiang Wenli had always presented herself with meticulous care, but heat and exhaustion had dismantled most of that composure. Damp strands of hair clung to her temples, and the emergency lights behind her cast shadows across an office crowded with senior employees and relatives.

"Hanchuan." Relief entered Jiang Wenli’s voice before anger overtook it. "Where have you been? We’ve called you all night."

"I was sleeping," Hanchuan answered as he placed another piece of fruit beside Zhiyi’s hand.

His mother stared at him as though sleeping during the end of the world were a personal offense. "The power has failed, the elevators aren’t working and the backup cooling system can’t maintain the entire building. Your father wants you to send vehicles before the roads become completely impassable."

Hanchuan looked past her toward the people occupying the office. "How many of you are there?"

Jiang Wenli glanced behind her before answering. "Thirty-seven on this floor. There may be more people elsewhere in the building."

"Our vehicles hold six," Hanchuan replied, his tone remaining practical. "Sending them wouldn’t solve your problem."

"Then send more than one." Jiang Wenli’s impatience returned now that she believed transportation was the only obstacle. "Your companies have hundreds of vehicles."

"Most are inaccessible, assigned elsewhere or unable to operate in the current temperature," he countered with a shrug.

His mother’s eyes narrowed. "You found somewhere safe for yourself."

"Yes," Hanchuan confirmed without offering more.

"Then tell us where you are." Jiang Wenli lowered her voice, attempting to make the demand sound reasonable. "Your father and I will bring only the immediate family."

Hanchuan picked up his phone and opened the government’s new shelter map. "The nearest primary shelter is the Dongan Exhibition Center. An underground commercial passage connects it to the shopping center beside it."

Jiang Wenli’s expression hardened when she recognized what he had given her. "I’m not asking for a public shelter."

"That is the only shelter available to you," Hanchuan advised her.

Behind her, Pei Zhengyuan moved into view. Hanchuan’s father looked less disordered than his wife, although sweat had darkened the collar of his shirt.

"You arranged private protection," Pei Zhengyuan accused, keeping his voice low enough to preserve the authority he expected his son to obey. "You will provide the location and send transportation for your mother."

"No," Hanchuan refused without changing his tone.

His father’s face became rigid. "This is not a negotiation."

"You’re correct." Hanchuan selected the safest route between Pei headquarters and the exhibition center, then sent it to his mother. "The decision has already been made."

Jiang Wenli looked beyond him and finally noticed Zhiyi sitting at his side.

Understanding changed her anger into something more personal.

"You’re refusing your parents because of that girl," Jiang Wenli said, her contempt surviving even when most other luxuries had failed. "We warned you that marrying her would separate you from your family."

Hanchuan’s hand stopped above Zhiyi’s plate.

"Do not speak about my wife that way again," Hanchuan warned, his voice becoming quiet enough to silence the conversations behind his mother.

Jiang Wenli flinched before recovering. "We are your parents. Are you truly prepared to leave us here while she lives comfortably with everything you prepared?"

"Yes," Hanchuan answered without hesitation.

The simplicity of his response disturbed everyone listening.

Jiang Wenli searched his face for some indication that he was punishing her or speaking from anger. Hanchuan offered neither.

She looked around the cooled dining room visible behind him, then returned her attention to Zhiyi. "You knew something was going to happen."

"I knew enough to prepare," Hanchuan acknowledged as he rested his hand against the back of Zhiyi’s chair.

"Then why didn’t you warn us?" Hurt entered Jiang Wenli’s voice, stripping away some of her outrage. "How could you leave your own family unprepared?"

Hanchuan had asked himself that question before the Heat began.

He had remembered mourning them during his first life. He remembered learning that they were dead, continuing without them and eventually finding Zhiyi.

He had already buried his parents once. Even after being reborn, he had continued to consider them as dead.

And there was no way he would endanger Zhiyi to avoid doing it again.

"You wouldn’t have believed me," Hanchuan told his mother without cruelty. "Your disbelief wasn’t worth risking her."

Jiang Wenli stared at him as though she no longer recognized the son she had raised.

Hanchuan looked at the route he had sent. "Leave within 20 minutes. Use the underground parking connection to reach the eastern road, and don’t take the surface route marked in red."

His father stepped closer to the camera. "Hanchuan, if you end this call—"

"The exhibition center is your best chance," Hanchuan interrupted, his voice carrying the finality his father had once expected only from himself. "Whether you take it is your decision."

He disconnected the call.

No one at the table spoke immediately.

Zhiyi examined the route Hanchuan had sent before returning her attention to him. "The route is viable."

"It was the most I could give them," Hanchuan replied as he moved another strawberry within her reach.

Across the table, Jingwei’s phone began to ring.

The screen displayed Mother.

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