23 – General Xu
Ye Jin woke up in her Dimension and discovered that the wound she had sustained from the redwood tree yesterday had already mostly healed.
When she had entered the Dimension yesterday, her body had fallen into the Spirit Spring Water and then onto the ground. She stood up and glanced at the Spirit Spring Water beside her, applying a bit of it to the wound on her leg. To her astonishment, the wound healed rapidly.
Had the Spirit Spring Water upgraded after the Dimension expanded? It could actually heal wounds quickly! What a delightful surprise!
By the time Ye Jin emerged from the Dimension, the redwood tree had burned all night and now only its charred branches remained.
She approached with a knife, using it to dig around the base of the tree. The root area was the core crystal point for all mutated plants. The green Nucleus Crystal of this redwood tree was much larger than the one she had previously dug out from a first-level Zombie—it was a third-tier Wood core crystal.
This time, Ye Jin did not put the Nucleus Crystal into her Dimension. The first time she encountered a first-level Zombie’s Nucleus Crystal and placed it in the Dimension, it had been absorbed by the space. The Dimension not only absorbed jade but also Nucleus Crystal energy. Since she still had use for this Wood-type Nucleus Crystal, she stored it separately.
It had only been snowing for a few days, and there were already third-tier mutated plants?
It seemed that the Jade pendant space couldn’t be entered when facing someone of a higher level than herself. Last time at the armory, when confronted by the rat-headed human-bodied monster, she had been too panicked to notice this issue.
Now Ye Jin felt a sense of urgency. She needed to level up quickly. When facing enemies of a higher level, the Dimension couldn’t serve as a final refuge. She could no longer rely too heavily on it.
After the redwood tree burned down, Ye Jin discovered a cave behind its trunk. From outside, she could sense spiritual energy emanating from within.
Upon entering, she found a Jade mine! It seemed the tree had been blocking it.
No wonder this tree, though not particularly large, had such a high level—it must have absorbed a lot of spiritual energy.
There were many unexcavated jade stones here. Ye Jin pressed her hand against them, and spiritual energy continuously flowed into her Dimension.
After absorbing for just a short while, Ye Jin suddenly sensed danger and immediately stepped back several paces.
A cold shiver ran down Ye Jin’s spine as she saw what was before her!
Three meters ahead, a giant snake, pitch-black all over, about seven to eight meters long and nearly a meter wide, had its mouth wide open. A few drops of its saliva fell, instantly corroding the ground.
Holy crap! Run!
It wasn’t that Ye Jin was afraid of snakes, but she had completely forgotten—this very snake was the target of her final mission before her death in her previous life!
It suddenly dawned on her: wasn’t this place its lair? If she had remembered earlier, she would never have recklessly come up the mountain.
How long has it been? Judging by its appearance, that snake was almost fourth-tier! But she wasn’t Gu Jingzheng! Her life wasn’t that tough!
Ye Jin’s legs moved as if powered by the wind; in the past, she could have won a world championship in the hundred-meter sprint.
She ran far away before daring to look back. Fortunately, the creature hadn’t followed her down. It seemed the spiritual energy from the Jade mine could enhance these creatures’ strength.
Don’t blame her for being cowardly—in her previous life, this thing had devoured an entire small village. Standing up to an opponent of similar strength was cool, but charging into a fight with such a vast gap in power was just foolish. She wasn’t Yu Ruanruan, protected by the female lead’s halo.
There were still many people gathered in this town. Ye Jin didn’t dare stay any longer. She found the person who had told her the way and informed him about the giant python on the mountain, urging him to notify others to evacuate quickly.
Whether they believed her or were willing to leave was up to them, but she absolutely had to go.She had just moved the jade, alerting it. What if it couldn’t figure things out and came looking for trouble?
Ye Jin drove at breakneck speed. That thing definitely needed to be eliminated. If left to grow, it would become increasingly dangerous. At only fourth-tier now, its aura was already more threatening than the fifth-tier monster at the steel factory. Even its saliva could poison people to death.
In her previous life, the base had dispatched numerous Ability Users but failed to resolve the situation—even artillery bombardment hadn’t worked. She currently lacked the capability to handle it, so laying low was the best strategy.
As she approached the base, darkness had fallen. Driving so fast, she failed to notice someone ahead and accidentally collided with another vehicle.
Ye Jin promptly stopped and got out to apologize, “Sorry, it’s too dark—I didn’t see clearly. I’ll cover the damages properly.”
“Fuck! Are you fucking blind?”
The immediate profanity made Ye Jin frown; this person clearly wasn’t easy to deal with.
The person inside rolled down the window and swore, “You think you can afford to pay for Young Master’s car?”
When the window fully lowered and the person inside got a clear look at the woman’s striking appearance, his tone instantly shifted to a teasing one, “Well, hello there, beautiful!”
He even whistled, “How about you sleep with me, and we’ll call it even?”
Ye Jin never expected her luck to be this bad—she’d actually run into Xu Shuai, Xu Tian’s son.
This guy was a spoiled heir. Even before the apocalypse, he relied on his father’s official power and influence to wreak havoc, ruining who knows how many young women.
With a cold expression, Ye Jin retrieved two containers of gasoline from her trunk. “Consider this compensation.”
After setting down the gasoline, she turned to leave without another word.
Post-apocalypse, cars were everywhere. Regardless of the brand or how expensive they used to be, they were now far less valuable than gasoline. Those two containers could easily trade for a new vehicle at the base.
But just as she reached her car, Ye Jin was blocked by two lackeys who had emerged from Xu Shuai’s vehicle.
“Hey beautiful, big brother just wants to chat. Why the hurry to leave?” Xu Shuai remained in his car, signaling his underlings with a glance.
One of them attempted to grab her and drag her toward Xu Shuai’s car.
Ye Jin had no desire to provoke such people, but if they thought they could lay hands on her, they’d better check if they were even worthy!
She wasn’t like those vulnerable girls Xu Shuai used to bully—the kind who’d submit to any mistreatment.
Before the man’s hand could reach her, Ye Jin seized his wrist with her left hand, twisted it, and gripped the back of his neck with her right. Executing a flawless reverse grapple, she kicked him in the back, sending him flying several meters away.
The man never expected a young woman to possess such skill. The other lackey immediately unleashed his Wood ability, attempting to bind her with branches.
Annoyed, Ye Jin directly drew her blade and severed them.
A swift kick followed, knocking him aside.
She got into her car and prepared to drive off. If anyone dared block her again, she’d run them over. The man who’d been kicked several meters away struggled to his feet, trying to stop her, but she slammed the accelerator.
Seeing she had no intention of stopping, he hastily retreated, narrowly avoiding being run over.
Having failed to capture her, neither lackey dared face Xu Shuai directly, but they still trembled as they reported, “Young Master Xu, we’ll go after her right away.”
Xu Shuai shot them a vicious glare. “Useless trash!”
He watched Ye Jin’s departing figure. Interesting! It had been a long time since he encountered such a beautiful yet combative woman.
Xu Shuai lightly licked the corner of his lips. How should he have his fun with her?
He glanced at the gasoline Ye Jin had left on the ground. “Go retrieve that.”
After all, it had been touched by a beauty.
The two lackeys couldn’t decipher his rapidly shifting moods and cautiously asked, “Young Master Xu, are you giving up on her?”
“Of course not! I must have her!”
“Then…?””Useless! Can’t you see she’s heading toward the Base? The entire Base belongs to my father—are we afraid we can’t find one person?” Especially such a distinctively recognizable woman.
“Yes, yes, yes!” the two behind immediately chimed in.
Despite being Ability Users, they acted so subservient before this man. They had been Xu Tian’s subordinates even before the apocalypse, constantly cleaning up after Xu Shuai’s misdeeds. Both father and son of the Xu family were twisted—not to be trifled with—and their intimidation had long been deeply ingrained.