novelraw Chapter 255 - 246: Silly and Sweet
Chapter 255 - 246: Silly and Sweet
After a moment, Zhuo Xing tentatively kicked a nearby root. "Am I crazy, or do I feel like these roots just saved us?"
He looked up at the others.
Lin Yuan tightened his grip on his gun, his gaze sweeping over both vehicles. "Be more confident. Drop the ’feel like’." If these roots hadn’t suddenly appeared and wrapped around their cars, they would have already fallen into the abyss and been buried alive.
"Look over there," someone said, pointing into the distance.
The group looked into the distance and discovered that these roots only appeared near their vehicles. Farther away, the roots exposed in the chasm were almost all withered.
—That malevolent plant had devoured the energy of these mutant plants.
But as everyone knew, when a malevolent plant devoured the energy in its surroundings, it would never spare a single mutant plant.
Survival of the fittest in the natural world had always been this cruel—it was kill or be killed.
But the root systems near their cars...
Things were getting stranger and stranger.
They all exchanged glances.
Zhao Qingxiao had a nagging feeling he was overlooking something, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
"Let’s get back up first."
On the surface, Ye Junhan was relentlessly slaughtering the roots erupting from the ground. In the distance, a vehicle was wobbling as it turned back.
After Zhuo Xing and the others climbed out of the chasm and were about to join the fight, Ye Junhan swung his blade. Through the curtain of rain, he turned his head to them and said, "Get in the car."
The returning SUV screeched to a halt beside them.
Once Zhuo Xing’s group was on board, Ye Junhan slashed out with his blade again, pulled open the front passenger door, and said expressionlessly, "Go."
Layers of a Thunder Net suddenly appeared around the SUV. The malevolent roots that had previously prevented their escape could no longer get near the vehicle.
In an instant, the thunder blasted them to bits.
In the back seat, Zhao Qingxiao watched through the window as swathes of the malevolent roots fell in the downpour, lost in thought.
’Everyone knew that besides the base’s Guard Team and the people from the research institute, there were spies from other factions planted in the convoy.’
’Until they found that spy, they couldn’t reveal all their cards.’
’So Mr. Ye must have been holding back some of his strength just now. But even so, these malevolent roots were being cut down far too easily.’
’Something’s not right.’
It wasn’t that Zhao Qingxiao doubted Ye Junhan’s strength. Rather, having fought alongside him for years, and being the team’s Spiritual Element user, he was keenly aware of every member’s capabilities.
Including Ye Junhan.
After a moment of thought, he stretched his spiritual power into a thread and wrapped it around the roots emerging from the ground outside the window... ’Strange. Why has their attack power suddenly weakened so much?’
Zhao Qingxiao was suddenly reminded of the plant roots that had emerged from the chasm and wrapped around their car...
Just then, Ye Junhan glanced at him coolly in the rearview mirror.
A chill ran through Zhao Qingxiao. He seemed to understand something.
—Those roots that had suddenly appeared were constantly devouring the energy of the malevolent roots.
And the one controlling those roots...
Zhao Qingxiao’s grip on his weapon tightened slightly.
’That Miss Gu is probably even stronger than we thought!’
’But why would someone as powerful as Miss Gu have been so unknown until now?’
「...」
A few kilometers ahead, the convoy, having wretchedly escaped the malevolent plant’s attack, was swerving in an S-pattern to avoid the countless fissures of all sizes created by the earthquake, struggling toward the designated location to the northeast.
After what felt like an eternity, the ground finally began to settle.
The sky was beginning to brighten, and the rain was letting up.
The Special Service Team member in the driver’s seat let out a small sigh of relief. "We’re finally out."
He parked the car in an open area and turned to the researchers inside. "Everyone can get out and stretch their legs, but remember, don’t go too far."
Because the convoy had been attacked earlier, this car’s windows had long since been shattered. Rain had been blowing in continuously, and the few researchers in the back who hadn’t had time to put on raincoats were already soaked to the bone.
Before getting out, one of them, a young woman, asked with trembling, pale lips, "Are we waiting for the others here?"
Her gaze shifted slightly downward, subtly landing on the walkie-talkie on the team member’s shoulder. "Did everyone make it out okay? And Miss Gu... where, where did she go?"
Not far away, Qi Xiang, who had just gotten out of Wei Heng’s car, couldn’t help but glance at the young woman. ’So this is the person Zhou Jing warned us to be careful of?’
’A Level 2 Wood Element user with a decent talent for cultivation. One of the original members selected by the military for Gu Xi’s team. A clean background, and she usually seems quiet and unassuming. Who would have thought...’
Qi Xiang sneered softly, averted her gaze, and walked toward Shen Yue’s car.
"Is everyone all right?" Qi Xiang leaned against the car window, poking her head in to look.
Shen Yue’s car had taken a heavy hit earlier; the front was slightly deformed. Several people inside were still unconscious, and even Shen Yue had a nasty, bloody gash on his head.
Shen Yue was already out of the car, quietly discussing something with a few Special Service Team members over there. The Qin sisters had stayed in the car to give water to Liu Jia and the others.
Liu Jia and the others had been through hell. They were still completely disoriented—forget getting out of the car, they didn’t even have the strength to open their eyes.
It was a pitiful sight.
Qi Xiang sighed, turned back to Wei Heng’s car, and pulled out a large bag, preparing to take it over to help them out in a pinch.
Who would have thought she’d be stopped halfway there.
Qi Xiang looked at the young woman in front of her—Tian Tian, she thought her name was—and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
’Interesting.’
’This girl actually came looking for me on her own.’
’Did I give her the wrong impression earlier? Does she think I’m an easy person to get information from?’
"Miss Qi," Tian Tian asked timidly, her little face pale. "Do you know where Miss Gu went? I just heard Mr. Yuan say that things were too chaotic earlier, and Miss Gu didn’t have a walkie-talkie. It seems she got separated from the convoy..."
Qi Xiang watched her with an amused expression, making no effort to hide her probing, assessing gaze. "Why are you asking?"
Tian Tian probably hadn’t expected Qi Xiang to react this way. She froze for a second before lowering her eyes uneasily and murmuring, "Just now... that malevolent plant was so terrifying, and Miss Gu is all by herself. I’m very worried about her safety..."
"After all, Miss Gu is our group leader and our teacher. The entire convoy can’t do without her..."
She secretly raised her eyes, as if trying to gauge Qi Xiang’s reaction, only to find... that the look Qi Xiang was giving her was inexplicably strange.
"Miss... Miss Qi?" she asked, a little nervous, wondering if she had somehow given herself away.
But Gu Xi was separated from the convoy, and her superiors had ordered her to find out Gu Xi’s whereabouts as soon as possible.
Tian Tian had no choice but to start with Qi Xiang, who was the most likely to be on her side.
"You say you’re worried about Gu Xi?" Qi Xiang’s expression grew even more amused. "Did you not have the projection screen on in your car earlier?"
’This girl can’t possibly think that just because she picked a fake name like Tian Tian, she can actually play the part of some sweet, simple, and pitiable damsel, can she?’
Tian Tian suddenly remembered what she had seen before.
—Gu Xi had single-handedly wiped out a whole group of High-level Zombies.
Why would someone as powerful as Gu Xi ever need anyone else to worry about her safety!
"Um," she quickly tried to backtrack, "of course I know Miss Gu is very strong, but there was that big earthquake, and Miss Gu is so slender, and those malevolent plants were..."
"That’s enough." Qi Xiang cut her off with a wave of her hand. "Even if something happened to every single one of us, nothing would happen to Gu Xi. Instead of wasting your time with this pointless worrying, you’d be better off thinking about yourself..."
’Look at this pathetic mess. No wonder she was chosen to be cannon fodder.’
After saying her piece, Qi Xiang strode past her and left.
Tian Tian felt that something was off about what Qi Xiang had said, but before she could think about it too deeply, an out-of-control SUV suddenly came barreling straight toward her.