The Fo—Ti suddenly sprouted a vine over two meters long, which shot out and instantly wrapped itself around Zhang Meng.
“Ow! That hurts!”
The vine bound her tightly, leaving a long, bloody welt across her arm.
Its strength was astonishing.
The Fo—Ti didn’t drink Zhang Meng’s blood.
Instead, it simply held her captive with all its might.
“Help!”
Zhou Wen immediately activated his ability, attempting to control the berserk Fo—Ti.
To his surprise, his power had no effect whatsoever.
“It’s a mutated Fo—Ti. I can’t control it.”
It was the first time Zhou Wen had ever encountered such a situation.
Until now, he had been able to control every plant he came across.
Perhaps…
It was because this one wasn’t his to raise?
A fireball formed in Zhang Ye’s hand as he prepared to burn through the Fo—Ti’s vine.
Watching this, Zhou Wen actually felt sorry for the mutated plant.
Sizzle—
Sensing the searing heat, the Fo—Ti tightened its grip even further.
“My Fo—Ti!”
Wen Lan hurried over anxiously.
It seemed the Fo—Ti had sensed her call.
She had painstakingly nurtured it.
Almost every moment of every day, the twins inside her womb absorbed the Fo—Ti’s blood vitality before returning it to her doubled over.
She absolutely couldn’t let it be burned to death.
Miraculously, the Fo—Ti released Zhang Meng.
The vine immediately curled back toward Wen Lan.
Picking up its roots, Wen Lan watched as the long vine rapidly shrank and condensed, eventually returning to nothing more than a tiny white flower.
She carefully examined the Fo—Ti.
Fortunately, it hadn’t been burned.
Only the little white flower at the top had wilted.
It had probably dried out from the intense heat.
Wen Lan quickly scooped the spilled soil into a cup, tucked the black energy crystal back inside, and replanted the Fo—Ti.
Only after sensing that it had calmed down did she finally relax.
Seeing the Fo—Ti looking so weak made her heart ache.
Zhang Ye’s fire was especially harmful to plants.
She glared angrily at him.
Zhang Ye wore an awkward expression.
Meanwhile, Zhang Meng rubbed the red marks left on her arm.
“How is your plant mutated? It’s terrifying.”
The incident had genuinely traumatized her.
Zhou Wen, on the other hand, stared at the Fo—Ti with undisguised fascination.
His face was filled with nothing but envy.
“If you hadn’t tried touching my Fo—Ti out of curiosity, it wouldn’t have attacked you.”
Perhaps because it had absorbed a drop of her blood…
Wen Lan could now faintly sense the Fo—Ti’s emotions.
Everything under heaven has a spirit…
At that moment, a bold thought crossed her mind.
What if I kept feeding it my blood?
“I was only trying to help you move it somewhere safe.”
Zhang Meng still tried to defend herself.
“And I got hurt because of your Fo—Ti. Doesn’t that make it your responsibility?”
“I only have two words for you.”
“You deserved it.”
Her Fo—Ti had been injured too!
Zhang Meng felt guilty.
She had simply been curious about what kind of treasure Wen Lan always carried around.
Wen Che had already formed a poor opinion of Zhang Meng.
Whenever danger appeared, her first instinct was to abandon her teammates by activating her ability.
Even if it was out of fear, a person’s first reaction revealed their true character.
Yes, this was the apocalypse.
People’s hearts were unpredictable.
But when they stepped onto the battlefield…
They entrusted their backs to their comrades.
“You—”
“Enough. Stop arguing.”
“You two aren’t much different.”
Wang Hui shook her head.
“Hmph.”
Zhang Meng snorted.
She knew she was in the wrong.
Still, wasn’t the only reason Wen Lan dared act this way because she had Wen Che backing her up?
So what if she has a brother to protect her?
I’ll have someone too.
Her gaze quietly settled on Zhang Ye.
For no apparent reason, Zhang Ye suddenly sneezed twice.
“Brother Che…”
Xia Mo looked toward Wen Che but didn’t dare raise her head.
She felt inferior.
She was no longer the bright, confident young lady she used to be.
“Xia Mo, the fact that you survived is already the best outcome.”
Wen Che’s eyes remained as clear as ever.
The way he looked at Xia Mo hadn’t changed in the slightest.
That alone deeply moved her.
The more confident she had once been…
The more insecure she had become now.
Yet Wen Che was still the same gentle person he had always been.
He had never changed.
“Xia Mo, come with us.”
Wen Lan knew she hadn’t been living well with Zhou Feng.
She had been staying in makeshift shelters where more than a dozen people slept together.
On several occasions, she had nearly been assaulted.
“I…”
“I’m fine.”
Xia Mo didn’t want to cause trouble for Wen Lan and Wen Che.
“Captain Su… I’d like to speak with you privately.”
“…”
Su Han froze for a brief moment at being called out so suddenly.
“Lanlan?”
Wen Che frowned slightly.
Su Han was his closest friend…
But being alone with his little sister?
These days, every man looked like that bastard in his eyes.
Still…
Su Han probably wasn’t.
“Alright.”
A subtle flicker passed through Su Han’s eyes.
“How about my brother comes too?”
“…Alright.”
Su Han lowered his gaze slightly.
The others all looked puzzled.
Zhang Meng was still nursing her sore arm, looking aggrieved.
Wang Hui continued throwing sarcastic glances at Xia Mo.
Meanwhile, Xia Mo watched Wen Lan with worry.
She knew Wen Lan was trying to help her.
But she honestly didn’t know what to do anymore.
She certainly couldn’t return to the makeshift camp.
Zhou Feng would never let her go.
“What kind of ability do you have?”
“I can create spheres of light at night.”
“They can burn zombies.”
As she spoke, Xia Mo raised one finger.
A bright glow immediately appeared.
She looked just like a light bulb.
“So… basically a lamp?”
“Pfft…”
Zhang Meng couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Xia Mo frowned slightly.
She silently withdrew her ability and lowered her head.
“Wen Lan’s ability may be pretty useless, but at least it helps find energy crystals.”
“Yours is literally just being a flashlight.”
“No wonder you’re friends.”
“Both equally useless.”
Xia Mo’s face turned pale.
“You can insult me.”
“But you don’t get to insult Wen Lan.”
“So what if I do?”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“Hit me with your little flashlight?”
The atmosphere between Xia Mo and Wang Hui instantly became tense.
The others simply stood nearby.
None of them wanted to interfere.
As far as they were concerned…
It was a quarrel between women.
Zhou Wen’s thoughts were still completely occupied by the mutated plant.
As for Zhang Ye…
He kept looking into the distance.
He was curious.
Very curious.
He wanted to know what Wen Lan, Wen Che, and Su Han were discussing.
“Captain Su, can Xia Mo join our team?”
“…”
“The team already has enough people.”
Although Su Han didn’t want to make things difficult for Wen Lan…
“Anyone who joins the team has to contribute.”
“Otherwise, the other members won’t accept it.”
“Captain Su, there’s actually something I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time.”
“Why do you keep spying on me?”
“…”
Standing beside them, Wen Che’s face instantly turned green.
“Su Han?”
Even his voice became noticeably colder.
Spying on my sister?
What exactly does that mean?
Having been caught red—handed, a trace of embarrassment flashed across Su Han’s eyes before disappearing just as quickly.
“There are two children in your womb.”
“A boy and a girl.”
“Their psychic fields are growing stronger.”
“My ability is psychic.”
“I can sense the mental energy inside living bodies.”
Understanding immediately dawned on Wen Che.
“So…”
“You’ve known all along that Wen Lan was pregnant?”
“And you even knew she was carrying twins—a boy and a girl?”
His brows furrowed.
He hadn’t expected Su Han to be the first person to know.
Yet Su Han had never mentioned it to him.
“Yes.”
Even Wen Lan hadn’t expected Su Han to have known about her pregnancy all this time.
She had always assumed he had discovered her spatial ability instead.
For once, even Su Han looked slightly awkward.
“I can communicate with your babies through my psychic power.”
Wen Lan’s eyes immediately lit up.
So that’s why…
Back then, when Su Han sang… the babies’ feedback became incredibly powerful.
If Su Han were the one giving prenatal education…
Would the babies’ feedback become even stronger?
“In addition to my perception ability…”
“I also have a spatial ability.”
Su Han wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
“How about we make a deal?”
Su Han looked toward Wen Che.
Wen Che silently took a step back.
“You two decide.”
Although he was hopelessly protective of his sister…
He still respected her choices.
“My space can store some of the team’s supplies.”
“You can treat it as your own private warehouse.”
“In return…”
“I want you to let Xia Mo join the team.”
“That will still require approval from the majority of the team.”
After thinking for a moment, Wen Lan realized she had no better solution.
She nodded.
“Can you read?”
“I mean… read stories?”
“…”
“Singing works too.”
“…Yes.”
What did that have to do with their deal?
“You’ll need to read stories to me…”
“Or sing.”
“Ten minutes every day.”
“…”
The moment Wen Lan finished stating her condition…
Not only was Su Han stunned.
Even Wen Che was completely dumbfounded.
“Little Sister…”
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
He genuinely couldn’t understand this bizarre request.
Then something suddenly occurred to him.
Some time ago…
Wen Lan had also begged him to sing to her and read stories.
But it had only happened once.
After that, she had never asked again.
“You want Su Han to give your babies prenatal education?”
Wen Che’s voice was filled with disbelief.
He simply couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
People could actually do something like this?
“What about me?”
“I’m their uncle.”
Wen Che’s expression darkened.
“Why does it have to be Su Han?”
He frowned at his friend.
The two of them weren’t that different in looks.
More importantly…
He was the babies’ actual uncle.
Even if someone was going to provide prenatal education…
Shouldn’t it be family rather than an outsider?
“Because Su Han has a psychic ability.”
“He can communicate directly with the babies.”
Wen Lan answered matter—of—factly.
She had actually wanted to bring this up with Su Han for quite some time.
She simply hadn’t found the right opportunity.
Now seemed perfect.
She had assumed Su Han would refuse.
After all, it sounded like such an outrageous request.
Yet to her surprise…
He agreed.
“You’ll have access to ten square meters of my storage space.”
“My brother will act as guarantor.”
“No problem?”
Wen Che shook his head helplessly.
So they had only brought him along to serve as the guarantor.
After all…
Both sides trusted him.
“Deal.”
Both Wen Lan and Su Han were satisfied with the outcome.
The only one who seemed to have suffered any emotional damage…
Was Wen Che.
“I have one additional condition.”
“Whenever Su Han is giving prenatal education…”
“I have to be present.”
“Fine.”
Wen Lan had no objection.
Su Han frowned slightly.
Though somewhat reluctant, he still nodded.
With that, the matter was settled.
Now it was time to deal with Xia Mo’s situation.
The three of them returned.
Wen Lan and Su Han both looked rather relaxed.
Only Wen Che still wore a deep frown.
“Wen Lan has proposed that Xia Mo join our team.”
“Let’s vote.”
“The majority decides.”
Xia Mo frowned slightly.
Wen Lan gave her a reassuring look.
Then Wen Lan leaned over and whispered something into Zhou Wen’s ear.
At the same time, both Wen Che and Su Han turned to look at them.
For some reason…
Zhou Wen suddenly felt a great deal of pressure on his back.