"Those people are just awful!" Song Kexin huffed, her cheeks puffed out. "We helped them so many times, and they still won’t let us leave?"
"And that Li Dawei! He’s been following us day in and day out, clinging to us like a ghost. What does he even want?!"
Song Shijun nodded. "Li Dawei is probably just hoping to pick up some scraps behind us. In any case, they’re not good people."
Song Kexin tilted her head to look at Xie Ning in the front seat. "Elder Sister, aren’t you angry?"
"Why would I be angry with them? We never knew them that well to begin with." Xie Ning turned to glance at the siblings, a helpless smile on her face. "You’ve never seen truly evil people, which is why you think Li Dawei and his group are so bad."
"Honestly, people like them are just... ordinary folks who might get greedy, or who have a little bit of jealousy or selfishness in them."
"At least their minds are still relatively normal. They’re still human."
Xie Ning’s gaze grew distant as she looked out the windshield at the sky, which was gradually dimming as the sun set in the west.
"The real scum, the ones who have crossed every line and lost all humanity, are actually terrifying."
"Because in this world, there’s nothing left to restrain them."
Lu Zhong and Cao Fa from Oasis Base were rapidly developing into that kind of inhuman creature.
For the sake of the thick jealousy in their hearts, they could attack, imprison, and even kill Superpower Users without any hesitation.
In the future, it was highly likely they would cross the bottom line of humanity for a mouthful of supplies, resorting to cannibalism or even more outrageous acts.
Of course, that wasn’t to say all Superpower Users were completely innocent.
Before long, the advantages of the Superpower User collective would surely become apparent.
At that time, it would probably be just as it was in her past life: Superpower Users would run rampant across the Kyushu Continent, and ordinary people would inevitably become their vassals and servants.
’Looking at the current development of the mutated creatures...’
’The apocalypse is progressing at a rate that’s probably five, six, seven, or even eight times faster than in my previous life, isn’t it?’
’In other words...’
’The twenty years of apocalyptic experience from my past life might be compressed into just three to five years?’
At this thought, Xie Ning’s brow twitched.
She didn’t know if this could be considered a butterfly effect, a disadvantage brought about by her rebirth.
For now, all she could do was take things one step at a time and see how they unfolded.
Song You’ai’s warm hand squeezed Xie Ning’s tightly.
The latter snapped out of her daze and gave her a small smile.
Song Kexin and Song Shijun, however, looked at each other, both falling into thought.
’What Elder Sister said... seems to make a lot of sense.’
’True evil might not be visible on the surface.’
’Compared to the filth hidden in the depths, people like Li Dawei at least have some semblance of a bottom line.’
’It’s precisely because Elder Sister doesn’t see Li Dawei and his people as truly bad or evil that she’s let them follow us all this time.’
’Elder Sister is clearly not that much older than us, but it feels like... her life experience far surpasses ours.’
’Looks like we’ll have to work hard from now on. As we get older, we need to get wiser!’
"ACHOO." Ji Taixian rubbed his nose.
This guy had no idea that he had already been branded a thief.
The sun was gradually setting as Zhu Yong stepped on the gas, heading straight for Golden City Base.
The reason Golden City Base would one day become one of the five great bases of the Kyushu Continent was primarily thanks to its ancient city walls.
As a capital of several ancient dynasties, its history was long and profound. No matter how much time passed, its cultural heritage and ancient architecture remained.
Even now, Xie Ning could picture that magnificent era.
Countless Earth, Gold, and Wood Element Superpower Users stood atop the vast, unbroken stretch of ancient walls, casting one apocalyptic defense line after another.
The people of Jiuzhou, full of fiery enthusiasm, were always able to find a sliver of sweetness for themselves amidst the bitter desolation and ruins.
Right now, Golden City Base was probably just a safe zone so small it could hardly be smaller.
Located at the southern end of Huai Xi Gate, its predecessor was the Golden City Ancient Town.
"If we go around the outskirts, it’ll probably take us over two hours," Zhu Yong said.
Xie Ning nodded slightly and glanced down at the time on her wristband. 5:30.
"Going through the city is too dangerous. Skirting around it is less risky. We should be able to get there before eight."
She took out a transparent storage crate from her personal Space and placed twenty self-heating meals—hot pots, rice dishes, and rice noodles of various flavors—inside.
"Uncle Yong, let’s pull over up ahead and eat first. After dark, we’ll probably have to clear out zombies along the way, so we won’t be able to eat in peace."
Zhu Yong agreed and drove the vehicle ahead, finding a sheltered spot to park and turn off the engine.
Everyone pulled the window curtains shut and picked out a self-heating meal they liked.
Meanwhile, Zhu Yong jumped out of the vehicle, inspected the front and back and saw nothing wrong with the tires, then added some fuel to the tank.
When he got back in, Song You’ai quickly called him over to wash his hands and eat.
Twenty minutes later, everyone was happily digging into a hot meal.
In a rare act of kindness, Xie Ning took out a box of eight cream puffs and handed it to Cres.
Cres, who had originally planned to devour the entire box himself, was nearly blinded by the sparkling gazes of Song Kexin, Song Shijun, Su Xiyue, and Zhu Nanxing.
In the end, he could only reluctantly share all eight cream puffs, managing to snag just two for himself.
’That woman did it on purpose!’ Cres felt.
’If she really wanted to give him the whole box, she wouldn’t have handed it over so openly and brazenly!’
Xie Ning then took out two large bags of whole wheat bread for the others.
If they were still hungry, they could make do with bread.
At 6:15, the group set off again.
This time, everyone was full, hydrated, and in high spirits, occasionally getting out to clear away some of the zombies wandering on either side of the road.
The closer they got to Golden City Base, the more vehicles they saw converging up ahead, and the number of zombies on the roadsides had clearly dwindled.
Xie Ning slid open the car window and glanced outside.
She saw two heavy armored vehicles parked on a dirt road across the way. It looked like they were from the base’s official forces, out on a mission.
...
Just before 8:00, high-powered searchlights illuminated the area beneath a half-finished earthen city gate at the entrance to the base.
Seven or eight people were scattered sparsely along the top of the wall. It seemed the base had already started gathering teams of Superpower Users to repair the ancient city walls.
1.5 kilometers from the base entrance, there was a long line.
On one side was a line of vehicles, and on the other, a crowd of people entering the base on foot.
When they were still a short distance from the base, Xie Ning had already instructed Zhu Yong to find a hidden spot to park and put the vehicle away.
It was best to be careful about everything.
She didn’t know if the Golden City safe zone of this life would be any different from the one in her last.
To avoid trouble, she had put the minibus away early. Now, she led the group of men and women, old and young, as they joined the crowd of refugees on foot.
Compared to those who arrived in vehicles, these refugees were clearly far more exhausted.
Xie Ning’s group of "invalids" stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd of refugees.
Because they... seemed a little too clean.