Chapter 109 - 101: The Real Crisis
Chapter 109: Chapter 101: The Real Crisis
The girl who went missing was named Nannan. Her body was only found after the group had traveled two kilometers.
When they found her, her body had been mauled beyond recognition by mutant beasts. She could only be faintly identified by the tattered pieces of her clothing. Uncle He didn’t let Nannan’s mother see the body.
If Nannan’s mother saw it and had a complete breakdown... well, things were difficult enough as it was. The group couldn’t bear the burden of another incapacitated person.
After what happened to Nannan, everyone in Uncle He’s group became much more careful.
They kept the two remaining children protected in the center of the group. At night, they even arranged for the children to sleep next to the superpower users.
Perhaps fearing that any more trouble on the road would cause an uproar, Wang Er and his men reined themselves in quite a bit.
When they encountered lone Basic-level Mutant Beasts on the road, they no longer waited for the group’s superpower users to make a move or hid behind Zhou Jian. Instead, they took the initiative to go up and test their skills.
Tang Mo made a point to observe their fighting skills and movements. They were basically just a tiny bit stronger than ordinary people.
Uncle He had really gotten a bad deal for the Crystal Cores he’d spent.
They didn’t run into any major dangers along the way, so Tang Mo was happy to just blend in with the group and take it easy.
For Tang Mo, life back at S Base had been anything but idle—what with going on missions, attending training camps, and even occasionally going on dates. This journey with Uncle He’s group was the first time she could truly relax, a real vacation.
Mao Tou still loved to stick to her. Even with Lin Wan right there, he would always grab Tang Mo’s hand as they walked.
Even when exhausted, the two-or-three-year-old never asked an adult to carry him. Tang Mo found herself admiring the way he was raised.
Besides Tang Mo, there was one other person Mao Tou liked: Zhou Jian.
At first, Lin Wan was a little wary of Mao Tou getting close to Zhou Jian.
Tang Mo understood. After all, Zhou Jian was a man they didn’t know well, and what had happened to Nannan was still fresh in everyone’s minds.
But later, when she saw that she couldn’t keep Mao Tou away, and that Zhou Jian clearly doted on children—always lifting Mao Tou high onto his shoulders—Lin Wan relented and let the boy have his fun.
She even joked, "This kid really has good taste. He only likes the impressive ones."
Tang Mo ruffled Mao Tou’s fine, soft hair, smiling without a word.
The days on the road fell into a routine: eating the same food, getting very little sleep. Protectors and protected alike had only one goal: get to B-City as fast as possible.
The people of the apocalypse had been forged into hardy survivors. No one complained of the hardship. Even Tang Mo, who was used to rich, oily foods, felt no discomfort after days of subsisting on nutrient solution. It was as if this was just how the apocalypse was meant to be.
However, Tang Mo was starting to get a little tired of her "vacation." After watching Zhou Jian and the others fight mutant beasts for so long, her hands started to itch for some action.
After that, Uncle He and the others noticed that Tang Mo would often vanish for a while—sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for half a day—before suddenly reappearing among them just as quickly.
No one asked her about it. And so, Tang Mo began to live a life of freedom within the structured group.
On another deep, quiet night, the group found themselves in an unfortunately vast forest. Night had fallen, and they still hadn’t found their way out.
With no other choice, they had to make camp in the forest for the night.
It was Zhou Jian’s turn to stand watch that night. Because it was him, everyone felt a little more at ease.
This wasn’t Tang Mo’s first time sleeping in a forest. She spread out her sleeping bag, crawled inside, and shut out the rest of the world.
But as fate would have it, their worst fears were about to come true.
In the middle of the night, a loud shout from Zhou Jian jolted everyone awake.
In truth, Zhou Jian’s shout wasn’t necessary. Tang Mo, who had left a wisp of her spiritual power extended around her, had already sensed the thing’s approach.
Tang Mo didn’t have time to get a clear picture with her spiritual power, but she knew one thing: it was a behemoth.
Tang Mo’s eyes snapped open. In mere seconds, she packed up all her belongings and stored them in her Space.
At a time like this, she couldn’t be bothered with keeping her secrets. A great battle was imminent, and it was anyone’s guess how many of these people would live to see the dawn.
No one slept too deeply in a forest like this anyway. The moment Zhou Jian shouted, everyone scrambled to their feet.
"If you ran into something, you could’ve just handled it yourself. Did you really have to wake everybody up?" Wang Er and his men grumbled, yawning with discontent.
Zhou Jian ignored Wang Er’s pointless troublemaking. He stood on a large rock, his gaze fixed on the pitch-black depths of the forest.
"This time," he muttered to himself, "we might be in real trouble."
"What is it?"
Uncle He was getting anxious. He knew who Zhou Jian was; if someone like him said that, it was definitely serious.
He wondered if the bodyguards he’d hired would be able to handle it.
Uncle He craned his neck, but he couldn’t see anything but inky blackness.
"Uncle He, gather everyone together! Get the superpower users to the front!"
Tang Mo had grown quite familiar with Uncle He and his group over this period. The people of Yunshui Town were so simple and earnest, it was almost as if they didn’t belong in the 21st century.
She didn’t need to crane her neck to see. She had already scanned the area with her spiritual power and knew exactly what was coming.
Tang Mo herself wasn’t afraid. No matter what she faced, even if she couldn’t win a fight, she knew she could always protect herself.
But having spent so much time with these people, she couldn’t bear the thought of letting them all die here.
Their determination to get home was so strong it had even moved Tang Mo.
"Right, okay."
Uncle He immediately turned to carry out her instructions. He had been desperate for someone to give him a clear order.
No matter how skilled a leader he was, or how much life experience he had, he was just an ordinary man. In the face of a powerful enemy, he was utterly helpless.
"Wang Er! You and your men, get over here. From now on, you’ll do as I say."
"Who do you think you are? ’Do as you say’? Are you insane?"
Even then, completely oblivious to the approaching danger, Wang Er and his men were still lounging on the ground, legs crossed, refusing to get up.
Tang Mo wasted no words. She strode over, grabbed Wang Er by the collar, and hauled him to his feet. Then she drew a dagger and stabbed him in the arm.
She pulled it out just as quickly, letting the blood gush freely.
"Ready to listen now?"
Tang Mo released her grip, and Wang Er collapsed to the ground in a heap.
There was poison on Tang Mo’s dagger. Wang Er was crippled.
But Tang Mo didn’t care. She hadn’t expected them to be of any help in the first place. She just needed them to stay out of the way.
The villagers of Yunshui Town were already gathered together, with the other three superpower users standing guard in front of them, weapons at the ready.