Su Yunjin was alone and had no close friends or family at Base 3. The only people he knew at all were the roommates he rented a place with, but they hadn’t spoken much.
As for the two people in front of him, he was sure he didn’t know them at all.
If it weren’t for their clean clothes and their aura that seemed completely out of place in Zone D, he would have suspected that they had come to collect protection money or rob him. After all, he couldn’t imagine they’d be interested in his modest contributions and supplies.
Gu Yicheng looked at Su Yunjin’s face, which was familiar but still youthful, confirming that he was the person he had been looking for. A faint smile tugged at his lips, and his voice was gentle, “Whether you recognize us or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that I know what’s troubling you right now. That’s why we’re here.”
Gu Yicheng knew that although Su Yunjin had awakened his supernatural ability, he had kept it hidden. He had concealed it because of the traumatic experience he had before arriving at Base 3.
“I think you’ve got the wrong person. I’ve been fine at the base, and I have no troubles. If there’s nothing else, please leave.” Su Yunjin clenched his fingers tightly, a wave of nervousness sweeping over him. No, it’s impossible. He hadn’t told anyone about this. There’s no way they could know.
The young man was still too naive. Although he spoke harshly, the unease that flashed in his eyes betrayed his emotions.
Gu Yicheng remained calm and didn’t pay much attention to his resistance. He continued, “Do you really want to continue like this? Don’t you want to know how to control this power? Don’t you want the ability to survive in this apocalypse?”
His tone was not forceful, and his expression was indifferent, as though he was just asking a few simple questions.
To others, Gu Yicheng’s words might sound vague and unclear, but Su Yunjin, who had something on his mind, immediately understood what he meant, and his heart raced.
“I…I…” Of course, he didn’t want to continue living like this at the base, but he also didn’t dare expose his differences from others. These conflicting thoughts had kept him restless for the past few days.
“There are too many people here. How about we go somewhere quiet to talk?” Gu Yicheng suggested.
He believed that even if he hadn’t approached Su Yunjin now, there would eventually come a day when an opportunity would arise for Su Yunjin to face the issue that had been troubling him. After all, this person in his past life had eventually taken that step.
However, if it weren’t for Ruan Ning awakening her supernatural ability, Gu Yicheng might not have been so blunt about it. He was well aware of the value of a healing-type ability. In fact, he had considered coming to B City just to recruit him.
But now, this person had already become dispensable to him.
If Su Yunjin refused to leave with them today, Gu Yicheng would have no hesitation in knocking him out and taking him. Then, he would have ways to force him to use his healing ability.
Gu Yicheng had never been a benevolent person, and he had no patience for those he didn’t care about.
“Fine, I’ll go with you.” Su Yunjin bit his lip, remaining silent for a long time before finally agreeing.
He could sense that this person wasn’t lying to him.
…
Su Yunjin followed Ruan Ning and Gu Yicheng to a house.
He only glanced inside when he first entered but didn’t look around much afterward.
This must be their place. Although it was still in Zone D, a quick glance made it clear that the environment here was much better than where he lived.
However, in Su Yunjin’s understanding, these two should be living in District A or B. Zone D didn’t seem like the kind of place they would stay.
Especially when the girl beside the man took off her mask, Su Yunjin became even more certain of his assumption.
Gu Yicheng didn’t waste words explaining things to Su Yunjin, instead pulling out a knife from his space and cutting his palm, letting blood flow immediately.
This sight left Ruan Ning, who was considering whether to make tea for the two of them, stunned.
She rushed over, “Brother, what are you doing?!” Why would he suddenly hurt himself?
Gu Yicheng, without a hint of discomfort, calmly said, “Ning Ning, use your ability to heal me.”
Ruan Ning finally understood his intention and, seeing the blood pouring from his palm, didn’t have time to think too much and quickly grabbed a crystal core from her space.
But this was her first time healing someone else, and she wasn’t sure if it would work. If it didn’t heal, while the injury wasn’t dangerous, it certainly looked painful.
With the experience from previous treatments, Ruan Ning remained calm. After the crystal core melted, the energy flowed through her body, but it couldn’t effectively transfer to the person beside her.
“Brother, give me your hand.” She thought for a moment before speaking.
Gu Yicheng, his expression still calm, stretched out his hand without hesitation. Ruan Ning tried holding it, wondering if physical contact was needed for the healing process.
Luckily, after a bit of trial and error, Ruan Ning managed to use the correct method to heal him.
The energy from the crystal core transferred through their hands, eventually healing the wound in Gu Yicheng’s palm.
Gu Yicheng could already feel a warmth at the wound.
During this process, Ruan Ning realized that healing others used up more crystal cores and took more time than healing herself. But it definitely worked. Her ability could heal others.
Su Yunjin watched as the wound on Gu Yicheng’s palm slowly healed and was struck by a thought.
Three days ago, when he was repairing the wall, a stone had scratched his hand, leaving many cuts. He hadn’t paid much attention, planning to treat them with herbs when he got back, but to his surprise, the wounds started healing right before his eyes.
However, instead of feeling excited, Su Yunjin felt fear.
He wasn’t originally from Base 3; he had first gone to another safe base in B City. The management there was chaotic, and one faction had taken control. One day, they had rounded up all the supernatural users. Su Yunjin’s uncle had been among the first to awaken his ability.
Su Yunjin’s mother had died during childbirth, and his father, a drunkard, wasn’t around much, so he was raised by his uncle and aunt, who treated him like their own child. He was much closer to them than to his irresponsible father.
Unfortunately, his aunt had turned into a zombie during the apocalypse, and his drunk father had let the zombies in, ultimately dying at their hands.
To Su Yunjin, his uncle had been his only family. When his uncle was taken, Su Yunjin couldn’t just sit by. He gave away all his food and managed to infiltrate the research facility where supernatural users were held captive.
But he was too late. By the time he arrived, one of the supernatural users, unable to withstand the torture, had self-destructed. The entire facility collapsed. Su Yunjin narrowly escaped because he had just entered the building, far from the epicentre of the explosion, suffering only minor injuries. However, none of the other supernatural users, including his uncle, survived.
Soon after, the explosion attracted a horde of zombies. The base, a small one beside a biological research institute in B City, was overwhelmed. The survivors either died or fled.
Su Yunjin was one of the survivors who escaped. He was fortunate enough to meet a rescue team on his way out, and together, they made it to Base 3.
So when he suddenly discovered his healing ability, his first reaction was not excitement, but fear.
He couldn’t forget the death of his uncle. He feared that he might end up like the supernatural users who died in the research facility. He blamed himself for not saving his uncle sooner.
Su Yunjin would rather be an ordinary person. Furthermore, he had never heard of any supernatural users having his kind of ability. He was afraid of becoming an outlier, repeating the same tragedy.
But now…
Su Yunjin looked at the brother and sister for a long while before making a decision. He stood up and grabbed the knife from the table that Gu Yicheng had used earlier. Just as Ruan Ning was startled by his actions, she saw him imitate Gu Yicheng and make a similar cut on his palm.
Ruan Ning frowned, thinking, These two are really ruthless to themselves. Even if they want to test their abilities, they could have made a lighter cut.
Su Yunjin closed his eyes for a moment, and after a while, a faint white light appeared from his palm. The light enveloped the wound, absorbing the blood, and the wound began to heal at a visible rate.
However, his healing speed was slower than when Ruan Ning healed Gu Yicheng.
Ruan Ning had never seen another healing-type supernatural user in person. Watching Su Yunjin now, she realized that his ability was completely different from hers. Her power didn’t seem like a half-awakened ability at all.
In fact, Su Yunjin seemed to be much stronger than her. How could someone with an incomplete awakening be more powerful than someone whose ability was fully activated? She even wondered if the two of them had swapped roles.
She looked up at Gu Yicheng, whose gaze met hers, and he ruffled her hair. “It doesn’t matter if they’re different.”
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