Gu Zhuoye reacted extremely quickly. He immediately sidestepped the incoming claws and formed a fireball in his palm, hurling it straight at the zombie’s face.
At the same time, Ye Huizhou’s lightning blade shot forward, slicing through the air toward the zombie’s temple.
Even an E-rank Zombie couldn’t evade the combined attack of two high-level ability users.
The fireball staggered the zombie for an instant, and the lightning blade plunged into its skull.
The zombie collapsed unwillingly.
Gu Zhuoye leaned against a tree, somewhat exhausted, loose strands of hair falling across his forehead.
The flame barrier and fireball from earlier had consumed a significant amount of his ability energy.
Su Nian cried out, “Your arm!”
A section of fabric on Gu Zhuoye’s upper arm had been torn away, and blood trickled steadily down his hanging arm.
Ye Huizhou kept Ye Xihe firmly at his side, stopping her from stepping forward.
Ye Xihe’s ability was far too special. He didn’t want to take even the slightest risk of exposing it.
The image of Xihe dying in his arms, her breathing stopped forever, constantly haunted his nightmares.
He was terrified. Ye Xihe pressed her lips together.
“Big Brother, Gu Zhuoye saved us before. At that time, he could have easily left us to die.”
Before Ye Huizhou could finish responding, the hand holding Ye Xihe was shaken off.
She was a little upset.
She felt that Ye Huizhou shouldn’t be acting like this.
In the original novel, Ye Huizhou was decisive and ruthless, yet he carried great compassion and was always willing to save others.
Gu Zhuoye watched the siblings without much expression, as though the person about to be infected wasn’t himself.
Ye Huizhou was so angry that he laughed.
He lowered his hand to his side and slowly clenched it into a fist.
Warm light spread over Gu Zhuoye’s injured arm.
Su Nian’s mouth gradually fell open.
This was actually a healing-type ability user…
Then she felt a sharp gaze pierce into her. Turning around, she found Ye Huizhou staring directly at her.
Su Nian immediately understood.
She quickly indicated that she would never reveal this secret to anyone.
Meanwhile, as the healing continued, Ye Xihe soon sensed that something was wrong.
It felt as though her power…
Was being drawn directly into Gu Zhuoye’s body?
Looking down at the girl’s slightly furrowed brows, Gu Zhuoye reached out and gently covered the back of her hand with his own.
“It’s already fine. Don’t use too much mental energy.”
As he looked at her delicate face, his gaze softened slightly.
“But…” Ye Xihe said worriedly. “The virus is gone, but the wound hasn’t healed yet.”
“It’s only a small injury.”
Gu Zhuoye leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against her ear.
“You don’t need to waste too much of your mental energy.”
Looking at the handsome man only inches away, a faint blush spread across Ye Xihe’s cheeks.
“Oh… okay.”
Crack! Ye Huizhou’s knuckles popped audibly.
Su Nian glanced from one side to the other and swallowed nervously.
“Um…” She raised her hand.
Several pairs of eyes turned toward her simultaneously.
“Where are we going next?”
“Huxi Town.”
“Qingmang Mountain.”
Gu Zhuoye and Ye Xihe spoke at the same time.
Ye Xihe turned around in surprise.
“The concentration of gray mist around Huxi Town is getting heavier. It’s no longer safe,” Gu Zhuoye explained.
But in the original novel, Huxi Town was safe!
Of course, she couldn’t say that aloud, so she insisted,
“But Qingmang Mountain is a massive mountain range. We still don’t know what’s inside.”
The two reached an impasse.
Su Nian suddenly spoke up.
“I’ll go scout ahead. If the gray mist concentration really is increasing, then Huxi Town isn’t suitable. If not, we should still go there and gather supplies.”
It was indeed a feasible solution.
Su Nian needed to prove her value if she wanted to remain with a team that contained two powerful ability users.
After all, Ye Huizhou seemed to care about no one’s life except his Little Sister’s.
As for the other one, there was no need to mention him. He acted as though being scratched by a zombie was no different from being bitten by a mosquito.
After a moment of thought, Ye Huizhou nodded.
“Alright. We’ll follow behind you. If anything feels wrong, come back immediately.”
Su Nian nodded.
Soon, her figure disappeared from sight while Ye Huizhou and the others followed slowly in the vehicle.
Half an hour later, a staggering silhouette emerged from the gray mist ahead.
Ye Xihe quickly helped Su Nian into the car.
“How is it?”
Su Nian’s face was pale as she shook her head.
“I couldn’t reach the center. The mist concentration is too high. There definitely aren’t any survivors left inside.”
The gray mist was the direct cause of the Apocalypse.
It appeared out of nowhere. Many people transformed into zombies simply by breathing it in, while survivors bitten or scratched by zombies would quickly undergo the same transformation.
The world’s population had plummeted.
Yet Ye Xihe found it strange.
In the original novel, Ye Huizhou had stayed in Huxi Town for an entire week, gathering large amounts of supplies. He had even reunited with two former comrades there, forming a team that continued forward together.
What were their names again?
She couldn’t remember.
Meanwhile, Gu Zhuoye cast a deep glance at Ye Xihe.
“Huxi Town is no longer an option. We can only change course for Qingmang Mountain.”
Ye Huizhou’s expression remained stern.
“The supplies in the vehicle aren’t enough, especially food. We’ll have to ration everything from now on.”
“There should be rabbits, pheasants, and other animals in the mountains. We can hunt them for food.”
…
The group traveled in silence and soon arrived at the edge of Qingmang Mountain.
At first, the vehicle progressed relatively smoothly. However, as they ventured deeper, the wildly overgrown vegetation and muddy mountain roads made driving increasingly difficult.
After some discussion, they decided to abandon the vehicle.
Each person carried a portion of the supplies on their back and continued on foot.
Su Nian led the way as the scout.
Ye Huizhou walked second. Ye Xihe followed in third.
Gu Zhuoye took the rear position.
With a cold expression, Ye Huizhou quietly transferred most of Ye Xihe’s share of the supplies onto his own back.
The atmosphere between the siblings had become somewhat awkward because of their earlier disagreement.
Even so, he couldn’t bear to let his Little Sister suffer.
Still, he stubbornly refused to speak to her.
He was still angry.
Looking at the tall figure in front of her, Ye Xihe felt as though a damp lump of cotton was pressing down on her heart.
She tugged gently at Ye Huizhou’s sleeve.
“Big Brother…”
Ye Huizhou paused. After a long moment, he sighed and placed a hand on her forehead.
“You silly girl.”
Ye Xihe immediately flashed a flattering grin.
“Hehe.”
Watching them, Su Nian felt a little envious.
She also had a younger brother.
Their relationship could only be described as terrible.
Qingmang Mountain was actually quite famous.
Its mountain range was majestic, its forests lush and dense, and its main peak was towering and perilous. It was a well-known uninhabited region. Before the Apocalypse, development had just begun around the edges of the main peak, with plans to turn the area into a natural scenic attraction.
At this moment, whether it was the towering trees reaching toward the sky or the low shrubs carpeting the ground, everything emitted a strange dark red glow.
A sense of unease crept into Ye Xihe’s heart.
In the original novel, there had been no Mutated Animals and Plants during the early stages of the Apocalypse.
Thinking of that, she relaxed slightly.
The group continued forward.
None of them noticed a strange vine hidden among the sounds of their footsteps as it slowly approached.
Silently, it climbed onto the top of Ye Xihe’s foot and gently wrapped around her slender ankle.
“Hm?”
Sensing something was wrong, Ye Xihe lowered her head.
Reaching down, she tried to pull away the vine that had somehow become wrapped around her leg.