By the time Zhang Ye’s energy was nearly exhausted, he could barely maintain the shape of his fireballs.
“You’re all strong, I’ll give you that,” one of the men sneered. “But no matter how strong you are, you can’t beat superior numbers—or what we’re carrying.”
“Enough talking. Take the prisoner and kill the rest!”
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the men pulled the trigger.
The bullet spun through the air—
Only to stop dead one meter away from them.
The others immediately opened fire as well.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dozens of bullets froze in midair.
Then, with a metallic clatter—
Every single one dropped harmlessly onto the ground.
At that very instant, Su Han’s vision went completely black.
The attackers had emptied every magazine they had.
Zhang Ye’s injured arm throbbed with unbearable pain whenever he moved.
Zhou Wen was still unconscious.
Wen Che was badly outnumbered.
Although Su Han had gone blind, his combat instincts and hearing remained intact.
Two of the attackers had once served with the official forces and had received professional combat training.
A powerful kick sent Zhang Ye crashing to the ground.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Su Han fought three men at once despite his blindness.
“Su Han can’t see anymore!” one of them shouted excitedly. “Don’t be afraid of him! Get him!”
Just moments earlier, Su Han had slaughtered their way through the encirclement with his telekinetic abilities. His psychic power—killing from a distance without even touching anyone—had terrified them.
Now that they realized he had truly gone blind, four men surrounded him and charged in.
Even someone as powerful as Su Han needed time to adjust to sudden blindness.
Meanwhile, Wen Che was also fighting three opponents by himself.
Another attacker raised his blade, preparing to finish Zhang Ye off.
Zhang Ye slowly closed his eyes.
Blood filled his mouth.
So this was where it would end.
He had lived more than twenty years…
There were still plenty of regrets.
But if death came, then so be it.
He wasn’t afraid.
The expected end never arrived.
Instead—
A spray of warm blood splashed across his face.
The thick scent of fresh blood filled the air.
Startled, Zhang Ye opened his eyes.
Standing before him was Wen Lan.
A military dagger was clenched in her hand, driven cleanly through a man’s back and out his chest.
One strike.
Clean.
Precise.
Merciless.
Blood erupted like a fountain, scattering crimson droplets across Wen Lan’s face, giving her delicate features an almost bewitching, bloodthirsty beauty.
Her eyes were colder than ice.
At that moment—
Wen Lan looked less like an ordinary woman…
And more like a savior.
His savior.
A breathtaking beauty bathed in blood.
The overwhelming contrast left Zhang Ye utterly stunned.
Behind them, Su Han was also wounded.
The backlash from exhausting his psychic power had left him with a splitting headache.
Even so, he was still barely holding the enemy back.
But everyone knew Su Han couldn’t keep this up for long.
As for Wen Che…
Water abilities simply lacked killing power.
“He Shou Wu!”
The man who had stolen the mutated He Shou Wu suddenly cried out.
The lid of the cup burst open.
Two vines over three meters long shot out instantly, wrapping around two nearby attackers.
The vines tightened mercilessly, leaving bloody welts.
One of the trapped men was a Strength Evolver, yet he couldn’t break free.
It felt as though all the blood and vitality in his body were being drained away, leaving him weak and powerless.
Seeing the opportunity, Wen Che lunged forward and buried his blade in the man’s vital point.
Another attacker rushed straight at Wen Lan.
He believed that controlling Wen Lan would mean controlling the He Shou Wu.
He was wrong.
Wen Lan reacted with astonishing speed.
Her perception ability had already predicted his next move.
Her dagger thrust forward first.
She possessed almost no formal combat training.
Everything she did relied entirely on her extraordinary perception, allowing her to anticipate every action before it happened.
Simple.
Efficient.
Deadly.
There were no flashy techniques.
Only overwhelming strength.
Her blade pierced straight through the man’s shoulder.
Completely through.
Pain twisted his face.
At that moment, ice blades bloomed behind her.
One sliced across Wen Lan’s skin.
Blood appeared—
Then the wound healed almost instantly.
An Ice—type ability!
The He Shou Wu released the man it had been restraining and immediately lashed toward the one attacking Wen Lan.
The man holding the flowerpot, now free, slammed the cup violently onto the ground.
He assumed the mutated plant would die once separated from its soil.
But this wasn’t an ordinary plant.
It was mutated He Shou Wu.
Its vines stretched out again, binding anyone who tried to harm Wen Lan.
Wen Lan seized the opening.
She lifted her leg and delivered a vicious kick directly between the man’s legs.
Some were wounded.
Some passed out.
Some died.
“Wen Lan! Are you okay?”
After finally defeating the Strength Evolver, Wen Che hurried over despite his own injuries.
The first thing he did wasn’t check himself.
It was check on his sister.
Seeing her covered in blood made his heart nearly stop.
“I’m fine!”
“There are only two left. Let me finish them!”
At that moment, Wen Lan looked like a blood—soaked demon who had killed without mercy.
Fresh blood dripped from the military dagger in her hand.
“…”
When had his little sister become this fierce?
“We’re retreating!”
The remaining two men looked at the carnage around them.
Fear filled their eyes.
A failed mission was one thing.
Losing their lives was another.
Especially Wen Lan.
They had assumed she would be the easiest target.
Instead…
She killed without even blinking.
Once someone crossed that line for the first time…
The second time became much easier.
From the terror she felt during her first encounter with zombies…
To now—
She actually felt a trace of excitement when facing them.
The survivors lay scattered around them.
Some were wounded.
Some were blind.
Some unconscious.
Wen Lan hurried over and picked up the He Shou Wu from the ground.
It wouldn’t die just because it had temporarily lost its soil.
After all…
It was no longer an ordinary plant.
She immediately stored it inside her space.
“I’ll find you a better home later.”
Turning around, she looked at Zhang Ye.
“How are your injuries?”
“I’m fine!”
“Go look at Su Han—he’s the blind one…”
“…”
“I’m only temporarily blind,” Su Han said calmly. “Once my psychic power recovers, my eyesight should return.”
“We should leave first.”
“Who knows if they’ll come back with reinforcements.”
“Agreed.”
Zhang Ye’s arm was injured, and he’d taken a heavy kick to the stomach.
Even so, he managed to stand.
Zhou Wen, however, remained unconscious.
With no choice, Wen Che carried Zhou Wen onto his back.
As for Su Han…
He couldn’t see.
Wen Lan found a rope and tied one end around him.
“Follow me.”
“Pfft…”
“Cough… cough…”
Seeing Su Han being led around by a rope like a dog, Zhang Ye couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
But after only two chuckles—
His wound pulled painfully.
The pain made him cough even harder.
If he hadn’t possessed such remarkable endurance…
He would have collapsed long ago.
Thud.
He fell flat onto the ground.
Instant karma.
Wen Che hurried over to examine him.
“This idiot…”
“His injuries are severe, yet he’s still pretending to be tough.”
“I’ll carry him.”
“No.”
“No.”
Wen Che and Su Han spoke simultaneously.
“I’ll do it,” Su Han said with a frown.
Wen Che was already carrying Zhou Wen.
There was no way Wen Lan—a pregnant woman—would be allowed to carry anyone.
Though Wen Lan wanted to say she was perfectly capable of carrying him…
Under the combined stares of the two men, she wisely gave up.
In the end…
Su Han carried Zhang Ye.
Wen Lan walked ahead, guiding them.
After walking for quite some time—
Sweat covered Su Han’s forehead.
Yet Zhang Ye remained strangely still.
He had developed a high fever.
Night was falling.
At last, they found a place to stay.
A row of storefronts lined the provincial highway.
One of them was a Lanzhou Beef Noodle restaurant.
Wen Lan spread out her perception.
“No zombies within fifty meters.”
“Fifty meters?”
“I thought your range was only five?”
Wen Che stared at her in surprise.
“My abilities improve too…”
Her brother always treated her like a child.
He knew she hadn’t absorbed nearly as many energy beads as everyone else, so he never imagined her perception had expanded all the way to fifty meters.
Then again…
His own powers had grown as well.
Now he could shape water into almost any form.
Once his abilities improved further…
He would be able to freeze water into ice.
Still, to be safe…
Wen Che entered first with his weapon and thoroughly searched the place.
Inside was nothing but dust and scattered debris.
Once he confirmed it was safe, everyone finally went in to rest.
Wen Lan took a rechargeable desk lamp out of her space to use as lighting.
After quickly cleaning the room—
Su Han laid Zhang Ye on the bed.
“What’s wrong with Zhou Wen?”
“When will he wake up?”
Looking around, Wen Lan couldn’t help thinking that their team had somehow become a collection of the old, weak, sick, and injured.
They had never looked this miserable fighting zombies.
Yet after leaving the safe zone…
One was unconscious.
Several were wounded.
One had gone blind.
Humans…
Were proving far more dangerous than zombies.
“They extracted Zhou Wen’s cerebrospinal fluid.”
“Cerebrospinal fluid?”
“They believe the source of awakened abilities lies in the brain.”
“They found energy beads inside zombies…”
“So they assumed awakened humans must have something similar.”
“I examined Zhou Wen’s brain.”
“The energy is slowly recovering.”
“But for now…”
“He’s essentially in a vegetative state.”
“…”
For the moment…
Zhang Ye’s life—threatening injuries took priority.
Wen Lan took medicine from her space.
Wen Che was injured too, though only lightly.
There hadn’t been time to treat his wounds.
After removing Zhang Ye’s shirt—
Wen Che immediately looked at his sister.
“Lan Lan, go wait outside.”
“…”
She had already caught a glimpse of Zhang Ye’s wounds.
The man had incredible endurance.
Outside, Wen Lan lit some charcoal.
She took a pot from her space and asked her brother for some water.
Once it boiled, she planned to cook a few packets of instant noodles.
Before long—
Her brother called her back.
They needed even more boiling water.
Zhang Ye’s injuries were serious.
Every basin of water Wen Lan carried inside came back out stained completely red with blood.
Although she couldn’t directly see Zhang Ye’s wounds…
Her perception allowed her to sense them clearly.
He had far more than external injuries.
He was bleeding internally.
That was why he’d been coughing up blood.
Under their current conditions…
There was a very real chance Zhang Ye would die.
“Zhang Ye has internal bleeding.”
“If we can’t treat him in time…”
Wen Che’s voice grew heavy.
His brows knitted tightly together.
He never finished the sentence.
But Su Han understood exactly what he meant.
“I’ll go look for medicine.”
Su Han clenched his fists.
“Where are you going to find medicine now?”
“You’re blind.”
“And we don’t have professional doctors or equipment…”
Wen Che couldn’t bring himself to continue.
His face turned pale.
As soldiers and former special police officers, they had all received emergency medical training.
Suddenly—
Something occurred to Wen Lan.
Those people who had tried to seize her He Shou Wu…
Had claimed it could heal injuries.
She didn’t know where they’d gotten that information.
But with Zhang Ye critically injured…
There was only one thing left to try.
Besides…
He Shou Wu itself was a medicinal herb.
And honestly…
She didn’t dislike Zhang Ye.
She took the He Shou Wu out of her space and found a new cup.
After filling it with soil and adding a little water, she replanted it.
“He Shou Wu…”
“I’m going to cut off a tiny piece of you to save someone.”
“Just a little.”
“You’ll grow it back, so don’t worry.”
“I’ll give you a drop of my blood as compensation first.”
Through her perception, she sensed that He Shou Wu’s emotions remained calm.
It wasn’t resisting at all.
Only then did Wen Lan finally relax.