Chapter 130 Slightly Swollen Lips

The next moment, the hand that had been resting lightly on her waist began to gently pat her back with a reassuring rhythm.

That action was just like how he patiently coaxed her to sleep when she was little and afraid of thunder.

As the familiar rhythm and sense of security washed over her, Josie's tense nerves strangely relaxed.

The fatigue from a busy day and the sense of relaxation after tension surged up like a tide. With each gentle pat, her consciousness gradually blurred and sank into deep darkness.

In the darkness, the rhythmic patting hand finally stopped, but did not move away from her slender waist.

Fu Jinxing opened his eyes silently. His dark, inky eyes showed no sign of sleepiness, only a surging undercurrent of deep desire.

He gazed silently at Josie's unguarded sleeping face, greedily tracing her silhouette in the faint moonlight filtering through the window.

After a long while, as if bewitched, he lowered his head very slowly and gently, with an almost devout yet possessive desire, pressed his warm lips onto her soft, slightly parted lips...

In the darkness, his suppressed and heavy breathing continued for a long time.

The next morning, Qiao Xi woke up naturally after a good night's sleep, only to find that Fu Jinxing was no longer beside her.

The drowsiness vanished instantly, and I quickly got up to tidy up.

Her lips felt a little strange, but she touched them and didn't think much of it.

Naturally, one cannot see one's own lips, red and luscious like ripe cherries, with a slight swelling as if they have been overly bruised.

As she finished packing and waited to leave, Fu Jinxing's gaze swept over her lips almost imperceptibly.

His eyes were terrifyingly deep, as if they carried a scorching heat.

"After breakfast, we'll set off." Fu Jinxing withdrew his gaze, his voice returning to its usual gentleness, even softer than usual.

He handed a relatively soft piece of compressed biscuit that he had just broken off to Josie, the gesture natural and affectionate.

Josie took the cookie, her fingertips inadvertently brushing against his palm. When the man withdrew his hand, they clenched together.

She lowered her head and ate casually, while Fu Jinxing stared at her slightly swollen red lips, his Adam's apple bobbing almost imperceptibly.

******

Inside the cold, temporary stronghold, Lu Yuyang's gaze swept over the fat man and Lu Zhan beside him.

The two of them were just one step away from breaking through to the second level in terms of their superpowers.

"Take them." Lu Yuyang said in a low voice, tossing the two crystal cores of the second-stage evolved zombies to the two of them without hesitation.

Without needing many words, trust and expectations were conveyed without being spoken.

Fatty and Lu Zhan's eyes burned with desire. The moment they received the crystal core, they sat down cross-legged and absorbed it with all their might.

The immense energy within the crystal core surged into their bodies like a flood bursting its banks, tearing, reshaping, and sublimating them! Beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads, but both gritted their teeth, awaiting this transformative moment.

Time passed second by second.

Finally, a completely different and powerful aura erupted from the two of them one after the other!

The fat man was surrounded by scorching flames, while Lu Zhan's muscles bulged and his skin had a rock-like texture.

A satisfied smile finally appeared on Lu Yuyang's tense lips. He then took out dozens of slightly lighter-colored first-tier crystal cores and distributed them to the dozen or so ability users who followed him in the stronghold.

"Seize the time to absorb and enhance your strength."

The light from the crystal cores rose and fell in the dim space, and everyone's aura steadily increased. The power core within the stronghold underwent a qualitative leap in a short period of time.

"Captain, people from the safe zone have arrived."

As soon as he finished speaking, a person with superpowers was brought before Lu Yuyang.

"Captain Lu, this is something Professor Fu specifically instructed me to hand over to you personally before he left." He handed over a specially made metal combination lock box.

Lu Yuyang frowned slightly, took the box, and entered the password that Fu Jinxing had given him.

With a soft "click," the lid of the box popped open.

Inside, twenty reagents emitting a faint blue fluorescence were neatly stacked, their cold glass tubes refracting a strange luster under the light.

He picked up a piece of paper that came with the box and unfolded it.

“Captain Lu, I have successfully left the safe zone. I am also given twenty superpower catalysts, with a success rate of about 70%. Consider this compensation for the time I used the laboratory. — Fu Jinxing”

The note was slightly wrinkled from being squeezed by Lu Yuyang's fingers.

He knew that if Fu Jinxing didn't leave, he would be forcibly taken away by those outsiders with superpowers.

But this sudden departure undoubtedly placed the safe zone at the center of a huge storm, adding another problem to his already overwhelming worries.

"Lu Zhan!"

Lu Yuyang gave the order in a deep voice, a decisive glint in his eyes, "You immediately take your men and secretly return to the safe zone to investigate the situation. If the safe zone is temporarily safe, select twenty ordinary people from the core members of the Lu family who are resolute and trustworthy, and bring them to see me!"

"Fatty!"

He turned to the other side and said, "Take a few brothers and find a way to lure a group of low-level evolved zombies over here."

The stone that can evolve zombies has a limited range of effects; it can only catalyze the evolution of nearby zombies.

The alien superhumans pose a constant threat to their safe zone, and now he has to race against time.

Instead of waiting for ordinary zombies to evolve slowly, it's better to directly catalyze the initial evolution of zombies.

There are quite a few zombies evolving outside now. If this stone were to catalyze their evolution, they would soon become secondary evolved zombies.

At that time, the number of second-tier crystal cores in his possession will increase rapidly.

The fat guy licked his lips. "Don't worry, senior, I've got your back!"

The fat man's efficiency is astonishing.

In less than half a day, the distinctive roars of zombies, filled with greed and excitement, echoed around the outskirts of the stronghold.

Seven evolved zombies, each with a different form and clearly stronger and faster than ordinary zombies, were successfully lured in.

They ignored the superhumans waiting outside the stronghold, their scarlet eyes fixed on the stones inside, revealing an almost human-like desire, like a hungry beast that had found the fattest prey.

At the same time, Lu Zhan also led twenty core members of the Lu family out of the safe zone.

The next morning, this group of people appeared in front of Lu Yuyang.

Among them were strong young people, steady and resolute middle-aged people, and even a few teenagers with stubborn eyes.

They are the foundation upon which the Lu family survived in the apocalypse.

Lu Yuyang stood in front of them, his gaze sweeping over each face, some familiar, some filled with anticipation.

He took a deep breath, his voice solemn: "You are all of the bloodline of the Lu family, the cornerstone of our family's survival in the apocalypse. Now, an opportunity is presented to you: if you could become superhumans, would you be willing?"

The crowd erupted in cheers, their suppressed excitement spreading.

"Yu Yang, is there really a way?" an elder of the Lu family asked excitedly.