20. Keep moving forward

The setting sun shone like blood, drenching the vast, desolate landscape in a startling ochre-red. Cracked soil, withered vegetation, and the distant silhouettes of abandoned buildings, like giant skeletons, cast long, twisting shadows in the twilight. A dusty, scratched, and exceptionally heavy off-road vehicle, like a weary steel behemoth, stubbornly drove north along the winding, dilapidated road. Its wheels churned over gravel and potholes, making a monotonous, dull sound and stirring up a trail of yellow dust.

Inside the car, the space felt unprecedentedly cramped and cramped with the sudden arrival of a fifth person. An invisible yet thick barrier and tension, like a viscous liquid, filled every corner, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Lei Qing remained in the driver's seat, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel. His expression was cold and hard, his sharply defined profile etched in the setting sun like a knife's chisel, devoid of any unnecessary expression. Only his eagle-like eyes, sharp as a hawk, peered through the dusty windshield, warily scanning the road ahead and any potential dangers lurking on either side. Occasionally, his deep gaze would quickly glance across the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of movement in the back seat.

Mu Lin sat in the passenger seat, his posture maintaining his usual elegance. He tilted his head slightly, seemingly observing the desolate scenery outside the window, but his peripheral vision constantly flickered through the rearview mirror, keeping an eye on Su Lin in the back seat and the young man sitting next to him, his head bowed. Occasionally, he would speak gently, chatting with Su Lin in the back seat, asking for more specific details about his experiences over the past few days. His voice flowed like a clear spring, trying to dispel some of the dullness.

"Su Lin, you said before that you encountered a tide of zombies. How did you get rid of it? I see that you seem to be very exhausted." Mu Lin's voice was gentle and concerned.

Su Lin leaned against the window, his face still pale. He sighed softly when he heard this and briefly avoided the main point: "The situation was very chaotic at the time. Fortunately, we found a ruin that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and hid there. It's just that the consumption of superpowers was indeed a bit large." He subconsciously glanced at Stardust beside him and did not mention the crucial and incredible turn of events.

Mu Lin nodded, without asking any further questions, but said in a gentle voice: "Fortunately, you are okay. Never take such risks again in the future." His gaze lingered on Xingchen for a moment, and the young man immediately lowered his head.

The back seat of the car was the center of this silent storm, filled with a thick, sour smell of gunpowder.

A Yan openly and almost forcefully squeezed in on Su Lin's other side, taking up most of the seat and forcing Xingchen into the narrow corner closest to the window. He was like an angry lion whose territory had been invaded, his hair standing on end, declaring his ownership and presence in every way possible.

"Su Lin! Drink some water! Your lips are dry!" He unscrewed the lid of the kettle and roughly stuffed it into Su Lin's hand, staring at him with scorching eyes until Su Lin reluctantly took a small sip. The kettle was his own, with obvious personal markings.

After a while, he took out a piece of energy bar from his pocket. The packaging was wrinkled, but in his opinion, it was an excellent energy bar. He tore it open without saying anything and handed it to Su Lin's mouth: "Eat something quickly to replenish your energy! You see, you have lost weight!" His voice was loud and carried an irresistible tone. He even tried to feed it to him with his own hands.

He acted as if he were treating Su Lin like a fragile, rare treasure, completely confined and labeled as belonging to A Yan. The fiery aura and overt concern he exuded made Su Lin feel awkward, but he couldn't refuse harshly. He could only accept the item and whisper, "I'll do it myself." This earned A Yan a brilliant, even slightly silly, smile, as if he had received a huge reward.

Xingchen, on the other hand, pursed his pale lips, his thin body huddled in the limited space, minimizing his presence, like an inconspicuous speck of dust in the shadows. He lowered his head, his gaze fixed on his worn, mud-stained shoes, his fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his shirt. But whenever Ayan came too close to Su Lin, or his words laced with that familiar, stinging sarcasm, he would subconsciously raise his eyelids and quickly glance at Ayan's hostile profile, a look that concealed subtle vigilance and a hint of suppressed resentment.

Then, he would ask Su Lin in a smaller voice, with cautious tentativeness, in a mosquito-like voice: "Brother Su Lin, are you tired? Do you want to lean on me and rest for a while?" Or, he would take out a little bit of dry food or wild fruit that he had saved before, with the packaging wrinkled, from his small backpack that was so worn out that the original color could not be seen, but was kept extremely cherished, and carefully hand it to Su Lin, trying to express the same sincere concern with his meager but clean possessions.

Su Lin, caught in the middle, felt his temples pounding, and waves of helpless exhaustion washed over him. He was grateful for his teammates' unabashed, almost overflowing care; the warmth he'd regained made his heart ache. But he couldn't ignore the humble, cautious reliance and overtures of the young man beside him. He could only try his best to maintain his balance, accepting the water offered by A Yan and savoring Xing Chen's warm snacks. He responded to A Yan's overly enthusiastic, almost overbearing, gestures with a helpless, soothing smile, and to Xing Chen's timid overtures with an encouraging, gentle look.

This "tangle," like walking on a tightrope, brought him warmth, yet also a headache and exhaustion. He clearly felt the emotional pressure coming from three different directions, each equally heavy: A Yan's fiery possessiveness, Mu Lin's gentle protection, Lei Qing's silent focus, and Xing Chen's desperate dependence.

The journey was not smooth sailing. The road to the north became increasingly rugged and difficult to travel, and zombies and creatures that had become more ferocious due to environmental changes appeared more frequently.

When encountering several mutant hyenas that were as fast as ghosts and had exposed fangs, the battle broke out instantly!

Like two unsheathed blades, Lei Qing and A Yan immediately flung open the car door and rushed out. Lei Qing's movements were concise and efficient, his military dagger gleaming with a cold gleam in the twilight. With a single strike, he precisely slit a hyena's throat, sending blood splattering. A Yan, like a human turret, roared and thrust both fists forward. A blazing white fireball, tinged with destructive energy, roared and instantly ignited another hyena. A shrill cry and the smell of scorched fur filled the air.

Mu Lin quickly stood guard beside the car. He did not get out, but his whole body was filled with cold air. Several sharp-edged ice cones condensed out of thin air, with a whistling sound that tore through the air, accurately intercepting the monsters that tried to attack the vehicle from the flank or sneak attack from behind, nailing them to the ground or freezing them into stiff ice sculptures.

Su Lin also gripped his dagger tightly, his body tense, ready to get out of the car to provide support at any moment. Xingchen stood nervously beside him, his face pale, his breathing rapid, his fingers unconsciously clenched into fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.

At this moment, an extremely cunning and smaller hyena took advantage of the chaos created by its companions and the shadow of the vehicle as cover, quietly crawled out from under the car, opened its smelly mouth, and pounced on Su Lin's calf standing outside the car door!

"Be careful!" Stardust exclaimed, almost instinctively. A weak but extremely concentrated mental shock with a strong sense of interference, like an invisible needle, slammed into the relatively fragile brain of the hyena!

The hyena's lunging movement faltered for a moment, and it uttered a confused and painful whimper. The direction and force of its attack deviated significantly, and it was slowed down! This crucial half-second was enough!

Su Lin reacted extremely quickly, seizing this fleeting opportunity and thrusting his dagger sharply, accurately piercing the hyena's neck! Almost at the same time, an ice cone controlled by Mu Lin also whizzed over, completely piercing its head with a "puff" sound. The icy cold air instantly spread, completely freezing the struggling monster.

The battle ended quickly, and the remaining hyenas quickly dispersed under the efficient cleaning of Lei Qing and A Yan.

A Yan shook off the ashes and a few specks of blood from his hands, then walked back, cursing. He just happened to see Su Lin sheathing his knife and steadying himself. Xingchen, still shaken and pale, looked frail, as if he had exhausted all his energy. He couldn't help but sneer again, his tone dripping with his usual disdain: "Just stay hidden. Why are you yelling? You're just causing trouble!" He was completely oblivious to the subtle mental fluctuations, assuming Xingchen was simply frightened and frozen in place.

Mu Lin looked thoughtfully at Xingchen, who was breathing slightly and sweating on his forehead. He then looked at the hyena, whose death seemed a little strange. In addition to the knife wounds and ice spikes, it seemed that its nervous system had been disturbed in some way before. A trace of extremely quick doubt and deep thought flashed in his gentle eyes, but he did not say anything. He just silently began to clean up the battlefield, using ice mist to purify the smell of blood in the air.

Lei Qing came back after cleaning up the battlefield on his side, and his eyes swept across the entire place. He paused for a moment on Xingchen's pale face, which was obviously different from usual fright and showed signs of mental overdraft. His eyes were deep, like a deep cold pool. He was also silent and began to check the damage to the vehicle.

Xingchen lowered his head, not daring to look at anyone, his palms dripping with cold sweat from the fear of consequences and the risk of his secret being exposed. Su Lin quietly leaned over, using his body as a shield to gently pat his slightly trembling back, and gave him a complex look that said, "Well done, but be more careful," containing both praise and deeper concern.

Several similar small skirmishes occurred during the rest of the journey. Xingchen gradually experimented with using his abilities more stealthily and subtly. Sometimes, it was a subtle mental interference, causing a zombie charging towards a vehicle's tires to slip and fall. Sometimes, it was a fraction of a second's warning of danger, allowing him to tug at Su Lin's sleeve in terror, signaling movement in a certain direction. Sometimes, he used a subtle mental cue to guide a small group of zombies off their intended path.

His contribution was small and insignificant, like a pebble dropped into the ocean, barely stirring a ripple. Aside from the perceptive, ever-observant Mu Lin and the observant Lei Qing, who occasionally cast thoughtful, inquiring glances, A Yan, with his carefree personality and brutal, direct fighting style, simply attributed it to luck, coincidence, or simply believed that the aftermath of his own battles had intimidated these low-level monsters.

But Su Lin could clearly sense Xingchen's efforts and progress, as well as his eagerness to prove his worth and be accepted. In his own way, the young man was carefully and persistently trying to take root in this land that rejected him, driven solely by the desire to stay by Su Lin's side and fulfill his oath of protection.

This persistence made Su Lin feel complicated, both pity and worry.

He would privately encourage and guide Xingchen in more detail, not only on power control, but also on how to better conceal himself and survive within the team. "Power needs to be used at critical moments, Xingchen," Su Lin whispered to Xingchen, who was sitting beside him and sipping water, during a short break. "What you did just now was very dangerous. Be more careful next time, and don't use it lightly unless absolutely necessary. Your safety is equally important."

Xingchen raised his head, looked at the genuine worry in Su Lin's eyes, nodded vigorously, and whispered: "I understand, Brother Su Lin. I will be more careful and will not cause you any trouble." As long as I can stay by your side, I am willing to do anything.

This invisible closer communication and shared secrets obviously could not completely escape the sharp eyes of the other three.

Ah Yan's jealousy grew day by day. Whenever Xingchen came within three meters of Su Lin, he would begin to release his negative pressure, or deliberately find something to separate the two. Mu Lin's smile grew gentler and more innocent, but his glances at Xingchen became noticeably more frequent, a gaze that seemed to penetrate the surface and see deeper. Lei Qing grew even more silent, but his gaze, ever so powerful, became especially deep and unfathomable when Su Lin and Xingchen occasionally retreated from the crowd and spoke in low voices, like the oppressive ocean before a storm.

As the vehicle heads north, the wasteland's eternal desolation and ever-present dangers loom outside, while inside, undercurrents surge, jealousy permeates, and delicate relationships unfold among a makeshift team. Five people, each carrying their own thoughts, emotions, and secrets, continue to move forward toward their legendary final destination, a symbol of order and hope.

In the far north, the outline of a huge and cold gray wall, symbolizing the last bastion of mankind and the unknown rules, has become increasingly clear on the horizon, like a crawling giant beast, waiting for their arrival.