Bai Qingqing was almost crushed by a collapsing boulder in Wucheng. Instantly, her plant-controlling ability was triggered, and the purple grass in the vicinity automatically protected her.
When she woke up, she discovered that she could manipulate the purple grass for attacking. Although its power might not match that of other elemental abilities, as long as she allowed the purple grass to upgrade, it could become increasingly formidable.
Currently, she could still restrain an ordinary ability user using her plant-based ability.
“Do you have bread and water?” Bai Qingqing pretended to look a bit greedy, her eyes filled with desire.
The man’s lewd smile deepened upon seeing her interest, and he directly took out the bread and water to show her, coaxing, “Do you want them?”
He exaggeratedly said, “Even if you enter the survivor base and work hard, you won’t get much food. It’s been a long time since you last ate, right? These can all be yours.”
Using food as a bargaining chip was a common tactic among survivors. When people were afraid of dying, they would trade anything.
“Are you giving them to me for free?” Bai Qingqing pretended to look innocent.
The man smirked and decided to lure her down first. “It’s tiring to talk through the window like this. Come down and talk.”
Bai Qingqing lifted the blanket on her and opened the car door to get out.
The man acted nervous and said, “The things I have are communal resources of our team and can’t be seen by others. Come with me.”
“Oh,” Bai Qingqing followed him towards the restroom at the gas station.
There was some distance between the place they rested and their current location. Bai Qingqing looked at the man with a lewd expression and said, “Big brother, can I have the things now?”
“Not now. Resources are scarce in the post-apocalyptic world. You have to pay a price,” the man eagerly wanted to touch her face.
Bai Qingqing was about to teach him a lesson when a streak of silver light flashed through the air, and the man let out a scream, clutching his bleeding hand.
“Who? Who is it?” the man shouted.
A tall figure appeared in front of them.
Cheng Rui’s handsome face turned cold and fierce, his large hand mercilessly gripping the man’s throat, applying such force that it seemed like he could break the man’s neck.
Bai Qingqing was slightly stunned. It was the first time she saw Cheng Rui angry, and he looked terrifying. His entire demeanor was like the Grim Reaper emerging from a field of corpses and blood.
“Let him go!” Wang Feifei ran over in a disheveled state, begging, “Handsome guy, please let go of my boyfriend.”
Instead of releasing his grip, Cheng Rui increased the pressure and his killing intent was undisguised. “Dare to touch her! I’ll kill you!”
The man’s face turned a horrifying shade of purple, his eyes rolled back as he struggled, and his injured hand bled profusely.
Wang Feifei quickly realized that the man was taking the blame for the woman and hurriedly pleaded with Bai Qingqing, “Please make him let go of my boyfriend. He’s going to be strangled.”
The commotion attracted Zhou Hang, his girlfriend, and the long-haired middle-aged man who were resting nearby. They saw that the man was close to losing consciousness.
Bai Qingqing shouted, “Cheng Rui.”
Cheng Rui’s face turned dark. He threw the man to the ground with a thud.
The man crawled on the ground in a sorry state, coughing and appearing as if he was about
to pass out. Wang Feifei knelt beside him, repeatedly asking if he was okay.
Zhou Hang and Yang Li furrowed their brows. Wang Feifei’s boyfriend, Wu Chi, was a second-tier ability user, yet he had no power to resist Cheng Rui. It showed just how terrifying Cheng Rui’s strength was.
Normally, Wang Feifei and Wu Chi liked to engage in trades with the survivors they encountered, turning a blind eye to minor indiscretions. They didn’t expect to encounter such a tough opponent this time.
Cheng Rui glanced coldly at them, grabbed Bai Qingqing’s hand, and returned to the car.
Bai Qingqing was pushed into the car, stealing a glance at the man’s expression. She noticed that his thin lips had pressed into a straight line, and he was in a state of fury.
Cheng Rui was indeed angry. He didn’t care at all about other women approaching him.
When he returned after dealing with the man, he found Bai Qingqing was not in the car, and his heart skipped a beat, afraid that she might be in danger.
When he found her trapped in the corner, the man still attempted to touch her with his filthy hands. Uncontrollable rage surged in his heart, and he wished he could immediately take that man’s life.
“Cheng Rui,” Bai Qingqing reached out and tugged at his sleeve, acting coquettishly. “Don’t be angry, okay?”
Cheng Rui turned to look at her and asked in a deep voice, “Why didn’t you stay in the car?”
Bai Qingqing lowered her eyelashes, grasping the hidden darkness in her eyes, and said with grievance, “You left with another woman. I was worried for your safety. He said he could take me to find you.”
Cheng Rui felt a tightness in his chest. It turned out that he was the one who caused this situation. His Adam’s apple moved, and he grabbed her hand, pulling her into his embrace. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”
Bai Qingqing buried herself in his embrace, a slight smile on her lips.
Of course, she knew that he was testing whether she would get jealous, which was why he followed that woman. She also believed that he was not a promiscuous person.
So she played along with his game, trapping him in return.
“Now that you know it’s your fault, it’s good enough,” Bai Qingqing pushed him away, her watery eyes glaring at him with a hint of petulance. “If you ever abandon me again, I won’t bother with you anymore.”
Cheng Rui’s eyes showed remorse as he said, “I won’t.”
Satisfied, Bai Qingqing hmphed, “What did she want with you? Was it the same thing?”
A look of disgust flashed in Cheng Rui’s eyes. He didn’t want to tell her about the dirty business and changed the topic. “Aren’t you tired? Go to sleep.”
Bai Qingqing lazily yawned and wrapped herself in a small blanket. “I look terrible when I sleep, so you’re not allowed to peek.”
A faint smile flickered in Cheng Rui’s eyes as he said, “Okay, I won’t look.”
Before going to sleep, Bai Qingqing murmured, “I hope to see my brother at the Yaoyang Base tomorrow.”
Cheng Rui pursed his lips and said in a muffled voice, “The captain will be fine.”
He hardly slept the whole night, occasionally getting up to check the surroundings and straightening the messy blanket for her.
The next day, the two teams set off together towards the Yaoyang Base. After a journey of half a day, they arrived at one of the major bases before sunset.
Looking through the glass at the nearby Yaoyang Base, Bai Qingqing realized that there was a world of difference between the Wucheng Safe Zone and a true survivor base.
The procedure for survivors entering the base was still the same as before. They had to get off the vehicle for thorough inspections and scans, confirming that they were not infected before being allowed inside. Even after entering, they would still be isolated for a period of time before being able to move freely within the base.
The group lined up in a long queue, able to see the occasional ability users leaving the base in vehicles for missions.
When Yang Li went through the security check, the inspection device suddenly emitted an urgent beeping sound, startling everyone around.
“I’m not infected, I’m not…” Yang Li cried out in fear and despair.
Zhou Hang pushed through the crowd, protecting his girlfriend, and said anxiously, “You must have made a mistake. She’s an ability user, absolutely not infected.”
Bai Qingqing’s gaze fell on Yang
Li, and when she saw a red pimple on her face, her blood turned cold.
-A mutated species.
…
The day after the zombie tide.
The Thunder Squad returned to their original location, killing the fourth-tier mutated plant with the combined effort of the four members. Then they searched the surroundings for any trace of Bai Qingqing and Cheng Rui.
However, no matter how many times they searched, they couldn’t find Bai Qingqing and Cheng Rui. There wasn’t even a single clue.
Bai Tiantian felt worried and scared. In such a terrifying zombie tide, she wondered if something had happened to Bai Qingqing and Cheng Rui. What if they turned into zombies? She hid and secretly cried a few times.
The professor couple also felt uneasy. They didn’t urge the team to hurry to the Yaoyang Base, hoping they wouldn’t stay outside the dangerous base any longer.
Another day passed, and the team was exhausted from searching but couldn’t find a trace of Bai Qingqing and Cheng Rui.
Bai Tiantian’s eyes were swollen from crying, and she despairingly asked, “Could Qingqing have turned into a zombie?”
“Shut up!” Fu Chen looked at her with a gloomy expression. “Stop talking nonsense!”
Shen Mingxuan protected Bai Tiantian behind him and said, “Captain, Bai Tiantian is just speculating. She hasn’t said anything wrong. Don’t get angry at her.”
“We’ve been searching for Bai Qingqing and Cheng Rui for so many days, and they could have turned into zombies or returned to the Yaoyang Base,” Fu Chen said.
Liang Zhiyu pushed his glasses and looked at the emaciated face of Fu Chen through the lenses.
Fu Chen’s emotions were erratic. These past few days, he had been searching like a madman for Bai Qingqing, and it was not just because she had spatial abilities.
The team couldn’t continue like this. If they didn’t find anything in a day, they wouldn’t go to the Yaoyang Base. It had already been a week, and continuing to stay outside the base was just a waste of time.
They were still carrying three ordinary people without combat abilities. If they encountered another zombie tide or mutated plants and animals, it would be dangerous.
Liang Zhiyu said, “Tomorrow, we’ll go to the Yaoyang Base.”
“Are we just going to abandon Qingqing?” Xiao Yang’s eyes were red, and his tone was confrontational. “Maybe she’s waiting somewhere for us to rescue her!”
Shen Mingxuan scolded coldly, “Xiao Yang, can you use your brain? Is Bai Qingqing more important than everyone else?”
Xiao Yang lowered his head, gripping his hair tightly, regretting that he couldn’t protect Bai Qingqing, feeling pain and distress in his heart.
At that time, no one noticed if Bai Qingqing was with Cheng Rui. If she wasn’t with him, could she still be alive?
Liang Zhiyu looked at Fu Chen and said, “Captain, it’s up to you to decide.”
Fu Chen’s handsome face was unusually cold, and his tone was indifferent. “You all go to the Yaoyang Base.”
“Captain, are you staying here?” Bai Tiantian looked worried.
Shen Mingxuan’s face turned dark as water. He didn’t expect Bai Qingqing’s influence on Fu Chen to be so significant that he would choose to stay outside the dangerous base for her.
Could it be that Fu Chen wouldn’t give up until he found Bai Qingqing?
“Captain…” Liang Zhiyu spoke up.
“I have already made my decision.” Fu Chen cut him off fiercely.
Fu Chen returned to his resting bedroom, sat on the couch bathed in moonlight, and stared at the hair tie in his hand.
Bai Qingqing often liked to change her hair ties, so naturally, he had a black one on his wrist. Now that she was gone, only the hair tie remained by his side.
Fu Chen’s dark and cold eyes were profound, and his slender fingers caressed the hair tie.
He would definitely find her, without a doubt.
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