Xia Qing froze for a moment, her fingertips curling in slightly.
Her mind felt hazy within the dream…
“Revenge?”
She repeated the word in a low whisper, as if chewing over its weight.
“If you want revenge right now, I can kill Lin Yao directly.”
After all, in her previous life, Lin Yao was the one who had brought about Xia Qing’s death.
She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow over her cheeks.
The figure in the dream—bearing an identical face to her own—replied softy:
“No, I don’t want her to die that easily.”
A slow smile curved Xia Qing’s lips—a subtle, icy smirk, like a hidden dagger kept inside a sleeve that revealed no gleam yet had already been unsheathed.
“Understood.”
In the dark space, a quiet response echoed back.
Though neither understood how it had happened, the Xia Qing from one dimension had transmigrated into the other’s timeline.
She became the Xia Qing of this world.
While the other became the Xia Qing of the wasteland world.
In her sleep, Xia Qing snapped her eyes open.
Her chest heaved violently, and a thin sheen of cold sweat glistened on her forehead.
Everything from just now—she couldn’t tell whether it was merely a dream or something that had truly taken place.
Staring up at the mottled ceiling, it took her several seconds to regulate her breathing.
Squeak, squeak—
The little mouse squeezed through a crack in the window frame, its belly round and bulging, clearly having just returned from a successful forage.
With practiced ease, it hopped onto the bed and wriggled into Xia Qing’s coat pocket, poking out only its tiny head while its bead-like black eyes darted around.
Xia Qing reached out and gently stroked it, though her mind remained fixed on Lin Yao.
Lin Yao had been reborn as well.
She foolishly assumed that Xia Qing had managed to survive and thrive in her past life solely because of that spatial storage.
She believed that as long as she seized the energy core that unlocked the spatial ability, she would emerge as the ultimate victor.
This was her deep-seated obsession.
Therefore, what Xia Qing needed to do was neither hide nor flee—
It was to level up her own ability as quickly as possible.
To strike before Lin Yao could make a move.
Having Lin Yao die right now would be far too easy on her.
Even with spatial storage, it was entirely useless in her hands.
An ability’s true value always depended on who possessed it.
Early the next morning.
The sky hung gray and overcast, resembling a dirty, unwashed rag that could never be cleaned.
Jin Chao gathered his teammates along with everyone else to discuss their route for the day.
Xia Ran also called Su Bai and Wu Fang over.
Wu Fang’s son, the chubby boy, cowered in her arms with a sallow complexion and dry, cracked lips, whimpering softly—
Deprived of a proper meal, the child was naturally throwing a fit.
Xia Ran lowered his voice and explained: “For the next few days, we’ll be accompanying Captain Jin’s squad to the research facility. We’ll help them complete their mission before heading back to North City together.”
“After all, there’s still a considerable distance between here and North City.”
He paused, glancing over toward Jin Chao’s group.
Captain Jin and his team were all ability users as well as seasoned special forces soldiers; their strength was indisputable.
Traveling with them offered everyone a far greater margin of safety.
Having always followed Xia Ran, Su Bai naturally deferred to his judgment, nodding silently without objection.
The only person among them consumed by anxiety was Wu Fang.
Standing in the corner, her lips twitched repeatedly, but she lacked the courage to speak up.
Instead, she instinctively pulled the chubby boy tighter into her arms, clutching him with desperate force.
She was terrified.
Terrified that accompanying a dangerous mission would get them killed, terrified that dragging a child along would make them a burden to the group, and even more terrified—
What if they were abandoned along the way?
In an apocalyptic world overrun by mutants, the mother and son wouldn’t stand a chance on their own.
Noticing her unease, Xia Qing offered in a relaxed tone: “Alright, don’t worry. We can take care of ourselves and definitely won’t cause any trouble.”
Su Bai immediately chimed in: “No need to worry, I will definitely protect you.”
As he spoke, his gaze rested squarely on Xia Qing, a fleeting glint flashing deep within his eyes—
A faint purple glow, gone in an instant.
It resembled an imprint, or perhaps a subtle leash.
Xia Qing caught it.
To make Su Bai submit to her completely, she needed to level up further and solidify the imprint.
With her current level, she couldn’t fully anchor it, meaning it would only hold for a few days at a time…
She needed to apply multiple consecutive reinforcements before it could be permanently etched into his subconscious.
If the man’s willpower experienced a sudden spike in the interim, the imprint carried a chance of breaking on its own.
Lin Yao lacked true talent; even a top-tier ability would perform poorly in her hands.
It was just that she failed to grasp this fundamental reality.
Ahem—
Xia Ran cleared his throat, his brows knotting slightly as his eyes darted back and forth between Su Bai and his younger sister.
As an older brother, watching another man display such eager attentiveness toward his sister was inherently irritating.
Su Bai remained completely oblivious, still pondering how he could best shield Xia Qing when the time came.
Not far off, Lin Yao watched the scene unfold in silence.
Her gaze swept past Su Bai before settling on Xia Qing, a knowing, cold smirk flashing in her eyes.
Hmph.
Su Bai should have died a long time ago, yet he’s still breathing.
Well, his time is coming soon enough.
Withdrawing her line of sight, she lowered her head to adjust her backpack, her mind rapidly calculating—
Right now, I need to hoard as many supplies as possible.
Once we reach North City and the severe food crisis erupts, people will have no choice but to bring energy cores to trade with me.
I won’t be like the foolish Xia Qing from our past life, handing out good things for free.
Spatial storage is the ultimate cheat code in the apocalypse.
She tightened her grip on her backpack straps, her knuckles turning slightly pale.
The sun finally peeked through the thick cloud layer, casting a pale, ghastly light over the ruined streets.
Everyone packed up their belongings, preparing to set off.
They had not yet entered the urban center of Tianjin City…
The research facility sat in the eastern suburbs of the Tiancheng District, but the shortest and fastest route required cutting straight through the downtown area…
The city center also held abundant supplies for them to replenish.
Since mutants lacked body heat, thermal imaging was useless, leaving drones as their only reliable reconnaissance option.
Jin Chao and his squad had brought reconnaissance drones along…
Before stepping into the urban zone, they deployed a drone to conduct a preliminary sweep.
Qiao Sheng operated the drone controls.
Through the feed, everyone could observe the layout.
Jin Chao’s expression remained dark and unreadable.
Qiao Sheng reported: “Main traffic arteries in the city center are completely destroyed or blocked. Vehicles can’t get through.”
When mutants invaded globally, they hunted freely across the streets…
Abandoned cars littered the roads, left driverless…
Wrecked vehicles choked every corner.
Things were growing increasingly complicated.
“Mutants spotted here.”
“More over here.”
As Qiao Sheng scanned the area, his expression turned grim; mutants infested every surrounding road in the district.
Through the drone’s camera, they also spotted trapped survivors peering out from upper-floor apartments…
Foolishly assuming help had arrived.
Regrettably…
The mutant crisis had caused a nationwide power grid failure…
Triggering simultaneous chaos across the board, the mutants possessed terrifying physical strength, and the firearms humanity once prided itself on proved ineffective against them.
In fact, heavy weapons only accelerated their mutation and evolution.
Only awakened ability users remained as a beacon of hope…
Combat had ironically regressed from the firearm era back into a cold-weapon era.
One had to sever a mutant’s head and gouge out its energy core.
Otherwise, even if its torso was blown to shreds, the creature wouldn’t die.
Navigating through several main thoroughfares, Qiao Sheng mapped out a few narrow alleyways that bypassed the residential towers. Though more tedious, it offered a safer passage.
Time waited for no one…
Mutants had already claimed the city, and their reproductive speed was horrifying.
Every extra day spent here brought exponential danger.
“We take this route on foot.”
Qiao Sheng noted: “Captain Jin, setting off on foot is fine for us since we move fast, but Xia Ran’s group still has a child with them.”
As special forces soldiers, they were built for rapid foot marches without fatigue…
Plus, there was Lin Yao.
Lin Yao appeared frail and delicate.
Jin Chao ordered: “Move out.”
Jin Chao offered no further explanation.
The rest of the team refrained from raising objections…
Their primary objective was to retrieve the scientific instruments. Even with tens of thousands of civilians trapped across Tianjin City, there was nothing they could do…
Retrieving those instruments was paramount.
They couldn’t possibly save everyone; the pressing priority was researching where these mutants originated and analyzing their biological structure.
That was the true key to survival.
As of now, only two or three cities nationwide remained partially un-overrun by mutants, and maintaining them cost an appalling price.
Those without strength were destined to be left behind.