Chen Lian frowned and looked at Wen Xian. “What do you think by that?”
Chen Lian had always been the leader of the group from the hostel, and Wen Xian had always been wary of him. Fortunately, he wasn’t disregarding her wishes, and Wen Xian finally relaxed.
Ignoring Shouzi’s eager and excited expression, she looked at Chen Lian. “I’m going out too.”
Chen Lian was a little surprised and glanced at her. “Are you sure?”
Ding Wei set down her bowl and wrapped her arm around Chen Lian. Chen Lian looked at Wen Xian and let out a cold laugh. “It’s not like before outside. The plants eat people, the animals eat people. Someone like you, staying home all day, never stepping out, timid and untrained, going out is just asking to die.”
He then glanced at the other men. “If you want to risk your life, fine, but don’t drag your teammates down. After all, everyone only has one life.”
The men, who had been indifferent about whether she went out or not, all furrowed their brows in unison.
Ding Wei smiled at Chen Lian, who was also concerned about his teammates’ safety. He hesitated, about to refuse, when Wen Xian said, “I’m going out no matter what. If you think I’ll be a burden, then don’t count me as part of your team.”
Everyone was stunned, no one expected her to say that. Chen Lian’s brow furrowed, and he seemed at a loss for words. Ding Wei’s smile fell, and her expression soured.
Wen Xian stood up. “Thank you for your hospitality. When I find food later, I’ll return it to you.”
She was about to go upstairs when a voice said, “I agree to let you go. Starting tomorrow, you’ll stay by my side. Your life and death will be my responsibility.”
Wen Xian looked over. Shouzi was smiling as he spoke, but the smile was forced. His gaze toward her was dark and restrained, like a snake ready to strike.
Wen Xian’s scalp tingled. Knowing better than to provoke him, she casually nodded and left. Only then did Shouzi’s expression lighten a little.
But Wen Xian’s determination surprised everyone, and no one moved for a moment.
After all, in the past three days, under Chen Lian’s arrangement, those who went out to scout for news or gather supplies had been mostly men. Ding Wei and Shao Qingqing stayed back because of their awakened abilities, while Cai Cai, the innkeeper, and her son Xiao Tong, who hadn’t awakened any powers, remained in the relatively safe inn.
Cai Cai was somewhat considered a friend of the travelers. The innkeeper and Xiao Tong were the most unfortunate, they had lost their families and now not only couldn’t protect themselves, but also had to hand over the inn and the food.
The small inn had quietly established a hierarchy of strength and rank, though no one had realized it yet.
Wen Xian’s choice inadvertently disrupted this unspoken order, making many realize that they still had other options.
The atmosphere subtly shifted. Qi Hao and Fan Yaohui exchanged a glance and stood up. “Brother Lian, then we’ll head back first.”
Chen Lian waved them off. The innkeeper gathered Xiao Tong and went to the kitchen to clean up, leaving only the travelers in the room.
Cai Cai suddenly said, “Brother Lian, I’ll go with them tomorrow too.”
Chen Lian stepped onto a chair, a faint crease forming between his brows. “Your body’s too weak. If you go, someone will have to be assigned to protect you.”
Cai Cai replied, “I’m only going out once. Didn’t you say that after being attacked by mutated plants or animals, a person might mutate and gain abilities? I want to try. I can’t always rely on you guys for everything.”
Chen Lian said, “It’s not guaranteed. Zhang Jun didn’t mutate, did he?”
Zhang Jun was the man sitting next to Shouzi, just over thirty, not very tall, with medium-length hair tied into a ponytail at the back, and a small mustache on his chin. He looked a bit timid.
Hearing Chen Lian’s words, he couldn’t help spitting in frustration. He had been attacked by mutated plants and animals, yet nothing had happened to him, it was exasperating.
Cai Xin, whom Zhang Jun had hit earlier, patted him on the shoulder to console him, earning a wry smile in return.
Chen Lian continued to warn Cai Cai, “And if you’re not careful, not only might you fail to mutate, you could lose your life.”
But Cai Cai seemed resolute. “Brother Lian, life and death are determined by fate. If I can’t be saved, you don’t have to worry about me.”
Chen Lian had no choice but to stop persuading her.
Ding Wei couldn’t help but say, “It’s all that Wen Xian’s fault. Everything was fine before, and now with her here, everyone’s uneasy.”
Chen Lian lit a cigarette, the curling smoke hiding his expression, but Ding Wei could already sense his displeasure and secretly felt pleased.
Chen Lian looked at Shouzi. “Keep an eye on Wen Xian tomorrow. I don’t think she’s telling the whole truth, and she probably gained abilities too, possibly even offensive ones. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have the confidence to face the dangers outside alone.”
Shouzi grinned, clearly enjoying the task. “Don’t worry, Brother Lian. I’ll stick close to her, guarantee it.”
Shao Qingqing, who had been silent until now, glanced at him. “Don’t be too careless. I feel she’s not ordinary.”
Shao Qingqing was about twenty-five or twenty-six, with long black straight hair past her shoulders, two streaks dyed blue on the sides, wearing heavy makeup. Her oval face and cool demeanor made her striking. She had gained speed abilities and a heightened sixth sense. Although usually quiet, her words often proved true, and the group had relied on her to avoid danger multiple times.
Everyone exchanged glances. Chen Lian blew out a smoke ring and reminded Shouzi, “Pay attention.”
Shouzi nodded eagerly. “Don’t worry, Brother Lian. Even if she’s gained some powerful abilities, our levels aren’t far apart, and I’ve got strength abilities. They say one strength can take down ten. Just wait, I’ll subdue her and add a strong member to our team, hehe.”
Zhang Jun couldn’t stand his boasting and sneered, “Keep dreaming. Beautiful women are all prickly. If you think she’s weak, just wait, don’t be surprised if you don’t even know how you die.”
Shouzi, thinking only of winning over the difficult beauty, couldn’t tolerate the jinx and lunged at Zhang Jun. The two instantly tumbled into a fight, while the others watched the commotion.
Wen Xian didn’t know about the discussion targeting her downstairs. After locking herself in her room, she shivered at the memory of Shouzi’s gaze. It made her feel she couldn’t rely on them and had to save herself.
So she focused on practicing her abilities.
She called her ability the “Wood Ability.” First, she practiced all the ways she could transform her power, but then she realized her ability was limited, spreading herself thin wouldn’t be as effective as focusing on one specialty.
Moreover, mutated plants posed far less of a threat to her than mutated animals did. The only mutated animal she had encountered was the cat seeking help, which was too singular a target to provide meaningful reference, so she couldn’t gauge how aggressive other animals might be.
That meant the ability she trained should ideally be capable of killing a target in a single strike.
Obviously, this required not just strength, but precision, and a calm, fearless mindset in dangerous situations.
And she lacked almost all of these qualities.
Wen Xian sighed. The road ahead seemed bleak.
She practiced until after two in the morning. By the end, she could barely lift her hands, utterly exhausted. Several times she nearly fainted, probably due to the energy consumption of her ability, but it wasn’t without reward; in the end, she was reasonably satisfied with the results.
There was no electricity in the room, so she used her phone’s flashlight to illuminate the space, though her phone was nearly out of power. Fortunately, she had a 20,000 mAh power bank. Charging her phone, she thought about finding several more power banks tomorrow if possible.
When she brushed her teeth, she remembered Chen Lian saying the water could stop at any time, so she hurriedly filled all her containers. She even tried “storing” the water in that mysterious space and, surprisingly, it worked.
With this success, Wen Xian went to bed smiling.
Later, in a dream, she found herself in a vast, empty space. She saw the white tubes that had once pierced her body to drain her blood and flesh, but her fear and disgust were not as strong as before.
The place was strange. In this wide space, the white tubes had transformed into an inverted, open-ended oval, resembling a flower bud. In the center of the bud floated a vivid crystal bead, like the flower’s pistil, quietly suspended above Wen Xian’s head.
Beneath her feet was a solid, dark gray floor that looked like iron, stretching outward for perhaps a hundred square meters. Around the edges floated a layer of white mist, moving slowly, like an inverted dome covering the entire space.
Wen Xian had never been here before, yet she felt an inexplicable closeness. The moment she stepped inside, she sensed every pore of her body opening. Invisible yet perceptible forces flowed in and out through her pores, instantly washing away her fatigue, sharpening her senses, and making her alert and clear-headed.
She felt that she could easily run three kilometers right now without even getting winded.
This was a good place.
As she looked around, she noticed something not far off that seemed familiar.
Walking closer, she saw mushrooms, bread, potato chips, bottled water, bowls and chopsticks…
Wen Xian: !
These were the items she had stored!
Could they have been sent here?
But what was this place?
A thrill ran through her, she sensed that she had discovered something extraordinary.
Instinctively, she pressed her racing heart and looked more closely. The sight made a memory flicker in her mind.
Frowning, she thought for a moment, then slightly parted her lips and whispered in disbelief: “Could this… be the belly of that giant tree?”
A flood of unbelievable thoughts surged into her mind, and Wen Xian struggled to piece together the connections:
「That giant tree had tried to devour her. At the last moment, in a desperate counterattack, she had bitten and shattered that crystal bead. When she woke up, the giant tree was gone, leaving only a pile of animal bones. After that, she gained the Wood Ability, but the tree shields, vines, branches, and even the leaves she conjured were actually part of that giant tree. Now, this storage space could very well be the belly of the giant tree she had once been trapped in!」
Wen Xian’s eyes widened in disbelief. She could hardly believe it: “So… I inherited the abilities of that giant tree?”