Apocalyptic World: Surviving with my husband and my cute little babies-Chapter 264: Going closer

Trexie finally snapped out of her delusional state and pushed herself up from the bed.

She stood before her grandfather and explained everything, recounting how she had managed to join her cousin Troy on his trip to City B, where they checked on the local gangs their clan had recruited.

From there, they traveled to City A, tasked with the mission of establishing cooperation between the military forces of City D and City A—but the mission had failed.

Worse, the sudden disaster had struck while they were unprepared, throwing everything into chaos.

"You also said, Grandpa, that the disaster would come in two months," she said bitterly. "But you were wrong—it came much earlier."

Jack’s brows furrowed deeply as he fixed his granddaughter with a sharp glare.

He hadn’t expected her to throw the blame back at him. The truth was, he himself had been caught off guard as well.

According to his insight ability, the disaster should have struck two months after the day Trexie left City D.

Their clan elder had also confirmed it—but in the end, they had both been wrong.

Not only had the disaster come sooner, but it had been far more devastating than anything they had foreseen.

"Are you blaming me now?" Jack’s tone was cold, though controlled.

"I had warned you a lot of times to stay in the camp and If only you had listened to me... Tsk. Go on—what happened next?"

Though irritation simmered inside him, he kept himself in check.

After all, he still trusted the elder who had risked his life for the sake of their clan.

The elder had spoken clearly of Trexie’s destiny—to be the one who would lead their clan to rise to the highest position in this apocalypse.

That belief was the only reason Jack held his tongue and endured his granddaughter’s sharp words, no matter how disrespectful she became.

Trexie continued, her voice a mix of complaint and drama, explaining how hard it had been to find food and how Troy had treated her.

She painted her cousin as someone controlling and harsh, but to Jack, it was clear Troy had only been trying to keep her safe.

But the way Trexie told it, though, she sounded like a bullied victim.

"He didn’t even let me take any makeup products from the mall... That was free..." she said, her lips twisting in a pout. "he said they were useless. Grandpa, he’s really too much."

Jack raised a hand, cutting her off.

"Stop. Go on with what happened at the mall. I’ll deal with him about the rest when he shows up."

Trexie huffed but obeyed, recounting the chaos that followed—the sudden clash with a woman named Elena, the tense fight that left their team shaken, and the terrifying moment when a bomb nearly wiped them all out.

"That b*tch ruined everything," she spat, eyes flashing with fury. "And that man—he should have been mine."

Jack’s eyes narrowed. "What man?"

"Remember the Caldwell family’s grandson? The one you were supposed to betroth me to? He was there."

"The Caldwell?" Jack repeated, surprise flickering in his expression.

The last he’d heard of them was when General Caldwell had stepped down, a move that allowed him to rise in rank and take his place.

"They seem to be doing well, though," Trexie added bitterly, still unable to let go of her jealousy over the woman she’d seen with him. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Jack’s voice hardened, leaving no room for argument. "If that man is already taken, we’ll find a way to bring him to our side—or find someone even better. For now, stop talking about him."

But even as he dismissed the subject, the memory of the boy lingered.

Jack could recall him clearly—the sharp presence, the strong and cold aura that set him apart.

The first time they met, his own insight ability had flared without warning, showing a sudden vision: Ethan standing tall in a future Jack could barely comprehend, a figure of undeniable power and triumph.

It had been enough to make him act.

Determined not to let such potential slip away, he’d quickly approached the Caldwell family, proposing a marriage alliance that would bind their fates together.

But the Caldwells had refused, polite yet unyielding.

After that rejection, Jack had set the matter aside—or at least tried to. He’d told himself the boy was no longer worth his time.

Yet now, hearing of Ethan’s survival and strength in the chaos of the apocalypse, that old spark of interest stirred again, sharper than before.

"Alright," he said, masking his thoughts. "Anything else worth reporting?"

Under her grandfather’s increasingly sharp gaze, Trexie then remembered more.

"There’s a strange merchant," she said slowly.

"They sell goods and items like they have endless resources. Even during the extreme cold, they kept their shop open and kept selling. Troy once tried to deal with them, maybe even conquer them, but... they were far too strong."

"A merchant thriving in the middle of an apocalypse?" Jack leaned forward, his curiosity piqued.

"The last I heard, they made a deal with the military in City A," Trexie continued.

"Because of them, the area became stable and secure. The people there aren’t as desperate or savage. Everyone said this mysterious merchant kept them alive."

Jack’s eyes glinted with interest. "Interesting indeed. Anything else?"

Trexie shook her head. "No. I stayed in my room most of the time, so I don’t know much about the area. The people around our current hideout are crazy—they’d do anything to survive."

"Alright, rest for a while. I have things to do. And stop being so difficult—don’t disappoint me again," Jack warned before leaving the room.

****

Days passed in the blink of an eye, and the floodwaters finally receded, leaving behind only garbage and debris.

Aside from that, the rising temperature was alarming, making the heat unbearable even with the use of multiple cooling devices.

Elena sighed as she looked outside, but what truly alarmed her was a feeling of unease she couldn’t explain.

Perhaps she was growing closer to her labor, which made her anxious.