After that last time, Jiang Ruan spent several days with Zai Zai and Xiao's mother, playing together in the separate courtyard.

Everything was fine at first, and no one went to the front yard to bother those people, causing unnecessary trouble.

However, I check their movements from time to time.

But, to everyone's surprise, they were not content to stay put.

"You mean, there's been a breach at the outer settlement, zombies have infiltrated and killed nearly fifty civilians?"

Jiang Ruan repeated the information that Jiang Yan had just found out.

It wasn't that she didn't want to believe it, but rather that Xiao's father, as the head of a continent, actually thought of hiding such a big thing.

She remembered that a few days ago he had only reported about twenty people to the government, concealing nearly half of them.

"That's right. I felt that the courtyard had been eerily quiet lately. I thought they had all gone out to fight zombies, but after a little inquiry, I found out that quite a few scientists and experts had died."

Fearing the information might be false, they even took Xiaoyu to the resettlement center, where, sure enough, there was a discrepancy.

Jiang Yan pointed to the report written on the paper, his voice cold. He knew that the country would not ignore such a case of disregarding human life.

Although these people did not die from human harm, they were indeed caused by Chief Xiao's mismanagement, and he bears considerable responsibility.

“It seems he misplaced his trust in Xiao Xiang.” After a pause, Jiang Ruan looked at Jiang Yan and said, “Have you asked if they’ve been taking Xiao Xiang with them when they go out these past few days?”

Jiang Yan clicked his tongue. "They brought her, not only her, but also her mother, Bai Lu. They said both of them went."

"Oh, they all went. They really can't stay idle. Did you see her use her superpowers?"

Jiang Ruan thought for a long time but couldn't remember what other superpowers she had in her previous life besides hypnosis. She felt like she might have missed something.

"No, she didn't. It's just that everyone who saw her praised her for being amazing, and they didn't see any zombies. They returned empty-handed several times. But as soon as they left, the zombies came. So they planned to hold out for a day, and they're probably still there now."

Jiang Yan smiled contemptuously. That Xiao Xiang, ha, is nothing but a pretty face. How could someone like that be allowed to follow soldiers out to fight the enemy and investigate cases? This Xizhou is probably doomed.

His words suddenly reminded Jiang Ruan of something she had overlooked, something that was about to happen.

"Where is Xiao Ran? Haven't we seen him yet?" Xiao Ran is a key figure in the whole incident; his disappearance is going to cause some trouble.

"I checked on him while I was at it. After all, that guy on the road was quite polite, so I always felt something was off about his disappearance. Who knew I'd actually find out?" Zhang Yang said.

"Where is he now?"

"The Yihong Pavilion is a place of debauchery and decadence, where people are oblivious to the world around them," Zhang Yang said, his face flushed.

"What? Yihonglou? Isn't that an ancient building... Do we even have that kind of shop here?"

Jiang Ruan couldn't understand how Xiao Ran, who seemed so virtuous and aloof, could be there.

"At first I didn't believe it either. It was only after Xiao's father pulled him back from inside and brought him to the old house that I saw it. I overheard a few words and got the gist of it. Afraid of being discovered, I ran back."

Zhang Yang pouted. He finally understood the saying, "You can know a person's face but not their heart."

“No, something’s not right. It seems we’ve been too comfortable here and forgotten that while our main purpose in coming here was to heal Anxia’s injuries, the more important thing is the lives of all the people of Xizhou.”

She gently traced the patterns on her fingertips. Merit was what she desired, so saving lives was imperative. Therefore, she decided that she could begin her journey.

“Mom, we need to go to the resettlement center now. There are people we need to protect there. They need us now, and we must be there.”

Xiao's mother's eyes welled up with tears. She knew that this was her daughter—neither humble nor arrogant, and with a kind heart.

"Go ahead, daughter. I'll protect those two people for you. I won't let anyone hurt them. Just go, I'll take care of things behind you, don't worry!"

Xiao's mother pushed Jiang Ruan outside and nodded.

"Alright, then I'll entrust them both to you. As for the baby..."

"Mom, I want to stay with Grandma. Can I wait for you here?"

The little one looked at Jiang Ruan with an innocent expression, holding her hand and shaking it back and forth, being very well-behaved and cute.

"Okay, whatever you say. Stay here with Grandma. Wear the ring Grandma gave you carefully. It will protect you and all of you. Just wait for Mom to come back."

"Okay, Mom, I promise to complete the mission." The little one even gave a proper salute, looking like he'd watched too many spy movies and understood perfectly.

Jiang Ruan was amused by his actions and negotiated with him for a while before setting off.

It seemed everyone in the old house had gone out; it was quiet. No one stopped them from leaving.

"Miss Jiang, it's just ahead. The yellow sand is flying and it's extremely hot. I don't know why such a highly skilled person, who was specially locked up, is being kept in such a dilapidated place?"

Jiang Yan couldn't help but complain.

"You're wrong. This isn't some run-down place; it's a blessed land. It's precisely because it's a blessed land that these experts and scholars can live peacefully here. The fact that it attracts zombies suggests that someone has tampered with it. Let's go over there first."

Jiang Ruan remembered that after Xiao Ran brought her here, Xiao Xiang found him and hypnotized him.

Normally, given Xiao Ran's abilities, Xiao Xiang's special powers would have been completely insufficient. However, due to his long journey and Xiao Xiang's mention of the baby, he was momentarily distracted and fell victim to the attack.

The tampering with the place of refuge is the key to how he disturbed the blessed land after being hypnotized by Xiao Xiang. The towering giant tree is probably only the surface left.

Therefore, before it dies completely, all these people must be taken away and moved to another place, and this requires the use of Xiao Ran's special ability, namely the teleportation technique.

It means that it can instantly transport a person to a predetermined location.

However, there was no need to shout at this moment; Jiang Ruan already guessed that Xiao Ran must have been bewitched by her to dig up tree roots again.

"Boss, we're here. Shall we go in?" Zhang Yang was the fastest runner, arriving at the location in just a few strides. Jiang Ruan, who had been talking to him just moments before, had vanished.

"Huh? Where's the boss? Where did he go?" Zhang Yang looked around but didn't see anyone.

"Well, we've been here for a while now. You forgot she can teleport!" Duan Yu rolled his eyes and walked over.

"Ah..." Zhang Yang forgot. He thought the boss was going to run over, so he used all his strength to be the first to arrive. He didn't expect the boss to use teleportation. Why didn't they drive?

Only then did Zhang Yang realize something was wrong. He gave a wry smile and resignedly followed. He immediately spotted Xiao Xiang squatting down and chatting with a child in the crowd.