Urban Powers After the Apocalypse

"By the way, Uncle, how come you're here?"

Women are truly the most gossip-driven creatures in the world. Even a pint-sized, youthful version has this instinct. Not long after quieting down, the little girl, Tang Guo, began probing Xu Mo's background.

"Because of a misunderstanding. It's a long story..." Xu Mo sighed helplessly, though he had no intention of elaborating further, especially since peeking into women's restrooms wasn't exactly a flattering reputation. "Let's not talk about that. What about you? How did you end up here?"

"Hehe... I took a box of chocolate from the supermarket on the first floor and didn't pay for it." Tang Guo smiled shyly, but there was a hint of pride in her expression. Xu Mo couldn't understand what she was proud of.

"Took? Doesn't that mean you stole it?" Xu Mo thought to himself. This little girl was certainly trying to downplay things.

Looking at Tang Guo's outfit, she didn't seem like a poor child. Though not rich, she didn't seem like she'd be the type to steal, especially over a box of chocolate. It was hard to grasp her mindset.

"Why did you take the chocolate?" Xu Mo carefully avoided using the word "steal," considering Tang Guo was still a child, and labeling her behavior as a crime might be too harsh.

"Because I didn't bring any money!"

Tang Guo's answer was unexpectedly simple, but what was with that defiant attitude?

However, Xu Mo figured the mall security guards wouldn't be too hard on her, seeing as she was just a child. He stopped chatting with her and went over to the wall, opening the window again to continue with his escape plan.

Seeing Xu Mo climb onto the windowsill, Tang Guo panicked and rushed over to grab his arm, trying to pull him back. "Hey, hey! Uncle, this is the third floor! Are you crazy?"

"Let go of me, it's not that high. People don't just die from this..." Xu Mo was a bit amused. Despite her somewhat unlikable words, this girl was quite concerned.

"Nothing is absolute! What if... what if you hit your face on the ground first while falling?" Tang Guo stubbornly held onto his arm and said seriously.

"...Can't you be a little more positive?" Xu Mo felt a sudden chill, as if he were being cursed.

Just as Xu Mo and Tang Guo were still tangled up, a series of beeping sounds came from Tang Guo's body. The little girl seemed to have been shocked, quickly pulling her hand away from Xu Mo and rummaging through her pocket. She pulled out a white phone, checked it, and her face immediately changed.

"What's wrong?" Xu Mo asked, puzzled.

"My sixty kilograms of explosives that I placed in the mall are about to explode..." Tang Guo said nervously.

"What?!" Xu Mo almost fell headfirst from the third floor in shock.

"...Just kidding. It's just a text message." Tang Guo's expression shifted so quickly it was like flipping a page of a book. In an instant, she put on an innocent, pure face, shrugged, and said, "Uncle, you're really naive. Do I look like a girl who could carry sixty kilograms of explosives?"

"..." Xu Mo felt that continuing this conversation with this girl would surely drive him insane.

Tang Guo took a deep breath, then switched to a face full of irresistible charm. She tugged at Xu Mo's arm and pouted. "Uncle, help me out. Take me with you, please?"

"Give me one good reason to take you with me."

Xu Mo wasn't petty enough to start an argument with a little girl, but Tang Guo was just too quirky. If he didn't quickly put her in her place, who knew what trouble she might cause next.

Tang Guo pouted, looking like she was about to cry. She grabbed Xu Mo's arm, pleading with a pitiful tone. "The security guards are so mean. They won't let me go home unless I give them my family's phone number. I don't want to stay here..."

At that moment, Tang Guo looked so pitiful that it was almost unbearable. Her tearful attack was incredibly effective. Xu Mo, though he considered himself not particularly susceptible to cute girls, suddenly understood why He Shang kept shouting "Loli is the best" all the time. It was hard for any man to refuse such a gentle and helpless plea.

"Alright, alright, you win. I'll take you down."

Since Xu Mo was planning to take Tang Guo with him, he couldn't use the original plan of simply jumping down. He might be fine, but if Tang Guo jumped from that height, she'd end up as more than just "candy."

Xu Mo quickly ripped down the two curtains from the window, tied one end to a chair, and wedged the chair across the window frame. The curtain hung down and just barely reached about three meters from the ground, a height where falling wouldn't result in serious injury.

After giving Tang Guo a few instructions, Xu Mo slowly slid down the curtain. The fabric of the curtain seemed old and frayed, and every tug of Xu Mo's 100-plus kilograms caused it to tear with terrifying sounds. Fortunately, nothing serious happened until Xu Mo reached the ground safely.

Seeing Xu Mo land safely, Tang Guo eagerly followed. Though her movements were a bit clumsy, she had the advantage of being light and small, so there were no major issues on the way down.

Just as Tang Guo was about to land on the second floor, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the third-floor window. Two security guards grabbed the curtain and shouted, "What are you two doing?! No running!"

Seeing them pull the curtain back, Xu Mo quickly shouted, "Tang Guo, jump down! Don't worry, I'll catch you!"

"Okay... okay! Uncle, you'd better catch me! My future happiness depends on you! Ah~!"

This little girl, even at a time like this, was still joking around...

Xu Mo dashed under her, arms outstretched to catch her like a princess carry. The impact from her fall made him sink down a bit, but he managed to cushion it and catch all her weight.

"Hey, Uncle, I didn't know you were so reliable!"

"Enough with the jokes, let's go!"

Xu Mo grabbed Tang Guo, who was still making faces at the security guards, and they ran like mad. To avoid getting caught by the security, they took every alleyway and narrow path they could find. Whether or not they were lost didn't matter; Xu Mo just had to make sure they weren't caught.

No matter what, the biggest stain on his life was now cleared, and it seemed like peace had been restored.

Checking the time, it was almost noon. Xu Mo took out his phone, planning to check the time, only to find over twenty missed calls. Apart from two from He Shang, the rest were from his mother calling from the home phone, with a final message asking him to call back as soon as he saw it.

Xu Mo smiled bitterly. In the apocalypse illusion, without phone signal, his parents had probably been going crazy looking for him all night.

To avoid causing more worry at home, Xu Mo quickly called his home phone. The call connected almost immediately, as though his mother had been waiting right next to it.

"Hello, Xiao Mo, where are you? Where did you go all night? Why didn't you call home? Your dad almost called the police!" His mother's voice was filled with worry, tinged with a raspy tone, clearly showing she hadn't slept much.

"Mom, don't worry. I'm fine. I'm out right now. I'm an adult, nothing's going to happen to me. Don't worry! I'll be home soon, and we'll talk about it when I get back, okay?" Xu Mo felt guilty, but there was no way he could tell his family the truth. He could only continue with the white lies.

"Alright... as long as you're okay. Remember to come back early. I'll call your dad and tell him. I'll hang up now..."

Hearing the familiar busy tone, Xu Mo finally sighed in relief. Although his father would likely punish him again when he got home, with his mother protecting him, he would at least avoid the worst of it.

By the way, what about "Unyielding as a Mountain"? Oh no! Could this useless ability have been created just for this "family punishment" incident? That's too ridiculous!