Zhaoxun was just about to use divination to determine Lou Lihan’s current situation when she suddenly sensed something and said in a deep voice:
“Drive, fast!”
Jiang Chuan did not hesitate, slamming his foot down on the accelerator.
In the back seat, Zhang Yuan and Jiang Qing were still puzzled when they heard a piercing sound from behind. Looking through the rear windshield, they saw several monkeys that had mutated into zombies, their eyes glowing blood-red, in hot pursuit.
Zhang Yuan felt a jolt of alarm. Where did these monkeys come from?! They are so fast; they are about to surround us!
Jiang Chuan’s voice was urgent:
“Sister Xun, these monkeys are too fast, our car can’t outrun them. What do we do?”
Zhaoxun: “Get out of the car and kill them.”
Jiang Chuan hit the brakes and spoke to Zhang Yuan and Jiang Qing simultaneously:
“Get out with me. We need to finish this quickly.”
Zhang Yuan and Jiang Qing had already been through many battles. Hearing this, they didn’t waste time, exiting the vehicle quickly and unleashing their abilities to fight the monkeys.
Jiang Chuan stood guard around the car. Any monkey that approached him was instantly sliced in two.
Zhang Yuan and Jiang Qing’s ability levels were not as high as his, and they were struggling slightly, but they worked together with good synergy, and the monkeys couldn’t get the upper hand against them.
After a while, Jiang Chuan looked at the monkey corpses littering the ground and said smugly, “Heaven had a road but you didn’t take it, hell had no door but you crashed in. You just had to chase our car. Now you’re dead; are you satisfied?”
He then turned to Zhang Yuan and Jiang Qing:
“You handle the monkeys you killed. The crystals you dig out belong to you. Make it quick.”
Crystals were pure energy that helped them recover and boost their abilities.
As he spoke, he was already using his knife to split open the brains of the zombie monkeys. The level of this pack wasn’t very high; out of ten monkeys, only one or two would yield a crystal.
The three of them were hard at work digging when Jiang Chuan suddenly felt a chill on his back. He hurriedly dodged to the side as a wind blade grazed his shoulder.
It was another monkey that had mutated into a zombie!
This monkey was larger, clearly the leader of the pack they had just defeated.
Jiang Chuan frowned, his vigilance reaching its peak. This monkey was stronger than him; it had to be at least Level 6.
The monkey eyed Jiang Chuan, thought for a moment, and changed its trajectory, charging toward Zhang Yuan and Jiang Qing.
Zhang Yuan’s expression changed.
“Damn it! This monkey knows how to pick on the weak!”
He couldn’t beat this thing! Was he going to die here today?
Jiang Chuan hadn’t even reacted in time to intervene.
In that split second, a cat’s meow echoed out. A wall of earth appeared out of thin air, blocking the zombie monkey’s attack. At the same time, an earthen cage trapped the creature, continuously shrinking until the struggling monkey was crushed into a bloody pulp, and a crystal fell out.
Zhang Yuan and Jiang Qing’s eyes widened. Following their line of sight, the orange cat that Zhaoxun had been holding the entire trip had somehow gotten onto the roof of the car and was looking down at them with an expression of disdain.
It had just saved them!
This cat—it has an ability! And it’s so powerful!
Jiang Chuan was also surprised. He knew Sister Xun’s orange cat, Qilin, was extraordinary, but he hadn’t expected it to be this strong! No wonder Sister Xun loved it; if it were him, he would be worshipping it like an ancestor.
Zhang Yuan and Jiang Qing stepped forward to offer their thanks.
Qilin gave a sweep of its disdainful, sovereign gaze, then extended a paw, and the crystal fell into it. With the crystal in hand, Qilin hopped back into the car, found a comfortable position in Zhaoxun’s arms, and nudged the crystal, trying to get Zhaoxun to accept it.
Zhaoxun smiled.
“That’s your spoil of war; you absorb it yourself.”
Qilin was a small cat she had picked up on the side of the road a few days ago. It had been critically injured and dying, looking pitiful, and her compassion had been stirred.
Back in the Immortal Spirit Continent, Zhaoxun had established a bond with the divine Qilin clan, who had gifted her several drops of Qilin essence blood, which were stored in her soul space. She had refined a drop into this cat, curing its wounds and granting it the bloodline of a divine Qilin, as well as awakening its earth-type ability. She had named it Qilin.
Qilin was extremely trusting and reliant on her now; it wanted to save every crystal it acquired for her first, which was rather endearing. However, crystals of this level were of little use to Zhaoxun’s cultivation; she was better off circulating her techniques to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy. Even though this was an apocalypse, the spiritual energy wasn’t as thin as she had expected—not quite comparable to the Immortal Spirit Continent, but still present.
At her words, Qilin let out a “meow” and swallowed the crystal whole.
Zhang Yuan and Jiang Qing walked over, excited to thank the cat but afraid of bothering it. They wanted a cat this cute and powerful too! Where on earth had Zhaoxun gotten it? Was it just a pet? Otherwise, how could Qilin be so intimate and trusting with her?
Though they called her “Sister Xun” to her face, Zhang Yuan and Jiang Qing still didn’t respect her in their hearts. After all, Zhaoxun was just an ordinary person; if it weren’t for the protection of Jiang Chuan and Qilin, she couldn’t possibly be living so comfortably in the apocalypse. If they weren’t trying to hitch a ride to the central base, they would never call an ordinary person “sister.”
Jiang Chuan was about to get back into the car when he heard movement in the distance and immediately became alert.
A vehicle appeared before them.
Jiang Chuan remained vigilant. In this day and age, besides defending against zombies and mutant creatures, one also had to watch out for people taking advantage of the chaos.
Su Jin’s gaze landed in front of her. Through the car windshield, she caught sight of Zhaoxun, and her heart relaxed. No matter what, at least she’s alive. She could report back to Commander Chu and Captain Lou now.
However, when she saw Jiang Chuan and the others, she couldn’t help but frown. All three of them were ability users, and the surrounding zombie monkey corpses showed they were the ones who had killed them.
Was Chu Zhaoxun sitting in the car, protected, or was she being held captive? Had she been bullied?
Su Jin’s heart sank at the thought. As the vehicles approached, she commanded, “Stop!”
She led her team out of the car and walked straight toward them.
Jiang Chuan saw the uniforms they were wearing, and his heart eased. They were government agents; they had definitely come to rescue Sister Xun! But why didn’t he see Lou Lihan?
Su Jin walked to the front of the car and said in a deep voice:
“Miss Chu, we are from the Dawn Rescue Team. We have come to take you back to the central base.”
Wang Peng, who had been warned by Su Jin, kept his mouth shut, but he felt a sense of extreme disdain. Chu Zhaoxun must have had a rough time lately; who knows how miserable she is. Seeing them now, she should be weeping with excitement.
Zhaoxun stepped out of the car, holding Qilin, and her gaze landed on Su Jin and her team.
As Su Jin felt her gaze, she felt a sense of tension, stronger even than the threat posed by the most powerful mutant creatures she had encountered so far. She frowned, thinking she was just overthinking things. The woman was, after all, just an ordinary person.
Su Jin looked at Zhaoxun and instantly froze.
How could someone still be this clean in the middle of the apocalypse?
Wang Peng and the others were equally stunned. In their imagination, as an ordinary person, Chu Zhaoxun should have been living in extreme hardship, looking disheveled and miserable. Yet, the person standing before them was immaculate, even the scent of her hair was pleasant.
Zhaoxun swept her gaze across the group, frowned, and spoke in a clear, cold voice:
“Where is Lou Lihan?”