Apocalyptic World: Surviving with my husband and my cute little babies

Elena lowered her glass slightly. "I’m certain it was the aliens. They’ve likely begun making their move. The reddish-black pus you collected came from them. It’s also the reason animals are mutating—it’s highly infectious and forces them into savage creatures."

This reddish-black substance stripped animals of their sanity, turning them into mutated beasts, unlike natural evolution, which allowed creatures like Poochi to remain rational and loyal.

But those infected became violent, driven purely by instinct and destruction.

The worst part was that these low-tier mutated creatures fell under the aliens’ control, nothing more than disposable pets and living weapons.

However, as the mutated creature grew stronger and reached higher tiers, they could break free from that control, turning into sentient beings and becoming unpredictable threats to both aliens and humans alike.

In a cruel way, the infection was both a curse and an opportunity.

For creatures that could never evolve naturally, it granted them power—at the cost of first becoming slaves to the very beings who created them.

Elena had seen many mutated animals rise into high-tier evolved creatures. One of them was a famous high-tier fox in her past life, possessing charm and mental abilities.

It could control anyone who entered its domain. It could trap victims in illusions, forcing them to see their deepest fears.

Its power was terrifying, and with people’s mental states already fragile, its influence became even stronger.

Even Elena had feared it back then. And even now, she silently hoped she would never encounter that again.

"That humanoid creature with six arms and reptile-like skin is the alien we must be wary of. For now, if you encounter one, run as fast as you can. Evolved humans are still no match for them," Elena warned.

She did not say it to belittle humans, but to make sure these first-generation ability users would not become reckless just because of their newfound strength.

These aliens were far more powerful than their current level. The best choice was to regroup first and strike when they were ready.

"I see.... Then, we should reunite with the main base soon," Brother Elias said after hearing her explanation.

"I’m afraid it won’t be long before these aliens appear around Camel Tower and start controlling mutated animals against us."

They needed to gather as many humans as possible to prepare for the coming battles. Their current numbers were far from enough.

"I agree. Oslo and Xander are already searching for a route to the military’s main base," Ethan replied.

He then told them everything they knew about the outside—the mutated tree blocking the way, the private survivor bases, and the dangerous creatures Oslo and Xander had encountered during their journey.

General Kaiser was deeply amazed by their progress. His team had barely moved beyond their immediate area, while Oslo and Xander were already nearing the military’s main base.

If not for the mutated tree blocking the route, they might have arrived by now. Instead, they were forced to search for another path.

"Then I’ll prepare my soldiers for a possible clash," General Kaiser said firmly. "The number of mutated animals around our area is increasing. They’re already stretching our forces thin."

"Okay, focus on recruiting and strengthening your side," Ethan replied. "Elena and I will head to Building C later to check the situation there."

General Kaiser wanted to join them, but he knew his responsibilities came first. He simply nodded, determined to gather more people and reinforce their defenses.

For now, they could only prepare for the worst. Evacuation was impossible with the extreme heat and mutated creatures roaming the wilderness.

Without a safe route or clear plan, leaving would only mean certain death.

Their only choice... was to defend their current base.

After a few minutes, Grandpa Caldwell finally arrived with Little Mia and her friends, chatting happily among themselves.

They were excited to learn that General Kaiser and Brother Elias had joined their group, and Little Mia proudly offered to guide them again—this time to the areas they had not yet seen.

General Kaiser laughed at the children’s enthusiasm and nodded in agreement.

"Grandpa, I’ll leave Uncle Kaiser and Brother Elias to you. Please give them the most spacious portable house," Elena said.

"Alright... Are you leaving now?" Grandpa Caldwell asked when he noticed that Elena and Ethan were not following.

"Yes. Ethan and I need to check something outside."

"Then be careful," he replied.

He glanced at Ethan, silently reminding him to protect Elena, before adding, "Don’t worry about the triplets. I’ll watch over them."

Elena nodded gratefully. She then reminded the children to continue their training later before she and Ethan vanished from their sight.

However, instead of leaving the space immediately, Elena teleported to the nursery first.

The room was quiet and warm, filled with the gentle rhythm of her babies’ breathing.

Her expression softened. She stepped closer, leaned down, and gave each of them a gentle kiss on the forehead .

"Sleep well. Mommy needs to go outside for now, so the babies have to behave," she whispered to the sleeping triplets before leaving the space.

******

Outside, the couple quickly went downstairs, trying not to attract attention.

They put on their masks and wore worn-looking clothes along with military-grade pants, blending easily into the crowd gathered around the Paradise Shop.

The shop had become a hub for ability users who came to exchange items after looting establishments known for storing jades.

Many of them were now capable of roaming outside, unfazed by the scorching heat and the dangerous mutated creatures around the area.

Though they still could not hunt Tier-1 creatures, escaping from them was no longer a problem.

Fortunately, the creature seemed to be resting somewhere around Building C, so people only needed to avoid that area.

But Elena knew that this calm would not last long.

Once the surrounding spiritual energy was depleted, the creature would begin hunting again—and its targets would be the awakeners whose bodies carried spiritual cores.

"Paradise Shop is thriving," Elena murmured. "It seems Building A Base already has plenty of ability users adapting to the new world."

She quietly observed the crowd. From what she could sense, most of them were doing quite well.

Even the non-awakeners living in the building seemed to be coping with the situation.

"Move! We’ve got an injured fire user! Request medicine and a nurse right now!" a base officer shouted as residents quickly gathered around.

"What happened?" a refugee asked anxiously.

"A mutated rat ambushed us... Luckily we managed to escape," one of the survivors replied, glancing at his teammate’s severely wounded leg.

Though the injury looked serious, ability users had enhanced physiques, and with the help of Paradise medicine, it was far from life-threatening.

Elena watched quietly. The officers handled the situation with practiced coordination, as if emergencies like this had already become routine.

After a moment, she glanced once more at the Paradise Shop before calmly walking past it.

"Should we pass through the entrance or leave quietly?" Ethan asked, holding his wife close.

"Let’s leave unnoticed," Elena replied. It would be too troublesome to explain things to the guards at the entrance.

She immediately used her skill [Blink], appearing beneath the ground outside the building.

Then she summoned Ethan through the Golden Tablet, allowing them to bypass everyone without being seen.

Soon after, the two rushed straight toward Building C at full speed.

Within minutes, the barren surroundings began to change. Trees and flowers bloomed wildly, spreading across the land like a natural paradise.

The contrast between Building A and Building C was like heaven and hell.

Along the way, they encountered mutated pests—rats, cockroaches, and even mosquitoes roaming freely.

These creatures had grown enormous, some nearly the size of an adult tiger. But with Ethan’s shadow ability, they were dealt with easily, as if they were nothing more than ordinary insects.

"Let’s kill as many of these mutated mosquitoes as we can. If we leave them, they might cause a mosquito tide," Elena said, watching the aggressive pests swarm toward them without fear.

"Hmph." Ethan nodded.

He then activated his skill [Shadow Forge], shaping the shadows into countless sharp needles that rained down on the mutated pests like a deadly storm.

Boom!

The ground was soon littered with the corpses of fallen pests, black pus spilling from their bodies after Ethan’s overwhelming attack.

’A Tier-2 user is far too powerful against these tierless creatures,’ Elena thought as she watched the result.

She smiled slightly, looking at Ethan.

Moments like this reminded her of how terrifying his abilities had once become in her previous life—an overwhelming force against swarms of enemies.

But before they could relax, they suddenly heard a desperate shout nearby.

"Help! Help! Please help!"

A skeletal-looking man stumbled toward them, exhausted and barely able to stand. His eyes were filled with desperate hope as he looked at them.

Behind him, a humanoid creature lunged forward, ready to tear him apart.

"[Spatial Slash]," Elena responded instantly, shocked by the unexpected encounter.

’We were just talking about them, and now they’re already rampaging around the area. Tsk... not on my watch.’

Two blades of condensed spatial energy shot forward at incredible speed, targeting the humanoid creature.

Sensing the attack, the creature abruptly leapt backward. It let out a sharp, furious screech, clearly annoyed that its hunt had been interrupted.