Chapter 163 Saving Lives
Xie Jue, who was walking in front, raised his hand to signal the team to stop.
Josie stared at the humans pleading for help. If this were at the beginning of the apocalypse, her heart might have been harder than this frozen ground, and she wouldn't have been easily moved by the pleas of strangers.
But things are different now; Brother Jinxing possesses a catalyst for supernatural abilities. This means that every surviving individual is a valuable resource.
Even the most ordinary superpowers are useful.
Fire elements can start fires for warmth, water elements can provide clean water, and wood elements can try to cultivate food in harsh environments... Their value far outweighs their burden.
"Trapped? What's going on?" Josie slowly stepped forward, her voice cold, her gaze still scrutinizing the three of them.
The three of them grasped at straws and eagerly began to tell their stories.
"We were a small team that came out to find food, and on our way back we encountered a highly evolved zombie."
"It's too fast! Our attacks are like tickling it!"
Another man, panting, added, "We were lucky to escape, but... but we still have two superhuman brothers and a dozen or so elderly, weak, women, and children in our stronghold! If we don't take people back to help, they... they definitely won't survive!"
His voice was filled with pain and self-blame.
Josie's gaze swept across their anxious and indignant faces as she asked a sharp question: "You are superhumans, why are you risking your lives to care about the lives of ordinary people? In the apocalypse, carrying burdens will only reduce your chances of survival."
"We were just ordinary people who turned into humans!" the young man who spoke first exclaimed excitedly, his eyes red-rimmed. "Without their shelter and food, we would have starved to death long ago, and we would never have had the chance to awaken our superpowers!"
“Aunt Zhao and the others saved our lives.” Another woman, who had been silent all along but whose eyes were unusually firm, spoke in a hoarse voice. She pointed to a long scar on her arm. “Without the ointment they gave me, this arm would have rotted away long ago.”
Josie's gaze swept over their battered bodies and the heavy sense of loyalty in their eyes, and she made a decision.
Even though those people were very anxious, Josie did not immediately express her opinion.
She turned and walked toward Fu Jinxing in the center of the group, and quickly explained the situation in a low voice.
"You want to save him?"
"They are grateful and loyal. Saving them will win people's hearts and also increase the number of people with superpowers."
Fu Jinxing adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze behind the lenses falling on Qiao Xi's face. His voice was gentle yet decisive, "If Xi Xi wants to be saved, then she will be saved."
The three superhumans quickly received a reply, and they excitedly led the way.
“It’s not far from here, come with us.”
Guided anxiously by the three superhumans, the main force quickly turned onto a side road.
Before long, a six-story residential building, looking dilapidated in the cold wind, came into view.
However, the heavy iron door of the building, which should have been the last barrier, was now twisted and deformed, wide open like a gaping black maw of despair.
Inside the doorway was a bottomless darkness, with only the cold wind howling as it passed through the opening.
"Oh no! The door has been broken open!" The three men's expressions changed drastically, their eyes widened in horror, and they rushed inside without regard for anything else.
"Xie Jue!" Qiao Xi shouted in a low voice, "You stay by Jin Xing's side!"
Xie Jue responded and quickly moved to Fu Jinxing's side.
Before Qiao Xi could even say another word to Fu Jinxing, she and Shen Han followed the three anxious superhumans into the dark stairwell.
Fu Jinxing was worried, so he took the superhumans with him and followed.
The hallway was filled with a strong smell of blood, decay, and dust.
The emergency lights overhead were broken, and only the faint light from the broken windows could barely outline the distorted staircase and the mess on the floor.
Qiao Xi and Shen Han maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far, their senses heightened to the extreme.
Suddenly, a tooth-grinding, ear-piercing sound of metal being smashed with tremendous force came from upstairs, accompanied by desperate cries and beast-like roars!
"Up there!" The three superhumans burst forth with astonishing speed, rushing upwards madly.
Qiao Xi and Shen Han followed closely behind.
As soon as I rushed up to the third floor, the scene before me was breathtaking.
An unusually large zombie with dark blue metallic skin was violently smashing a severely deformed security door with its mutated, battering ram-like giant arm!
Each impact sent dust flying from the walls, and the door groaned under the strain.
Suppressed sobs and terrified screams came from behind the door.
The three superhumans who arrived were furious and launched an attack: fireballs, earth spikes, and wind blades whistled as they smashed into the three-stage evolved zombie!
However, their attacks landed on the zombies' metallic skin, leaving only shallow scorch marks or frost, and were unable to cause any real damage.
The zombie seemed to be enraged, and suddenly turned around, letting out a deafening roar from its mouth full of fangs. Its giant arm, covered with bone spikes, swept out with a shrill sound that tore through the air!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three muffled thuds sounded almost simultaneously as three second-tier ability users were violently thrown back like broken sacks, crashing heavily into the cold wall. They spat out blood, instantly losing their fighting ability, their eyes filled with despair.
Just as the three evolved zombies were about to deliver the fatal blow, Shen Han moved.
He was like a shadow that blended into the darkness, leaving behind an afterimage. The next second, thick, ink-black, surging black mist appeared out of thin air and instantly swallowed the arrogant monster whole!
From within the black mist came the chilling sound of bones cracking and the brief, mournful howls of zombies, before everything fell silent.
As the black mist dissipated, only the twisted, lifeless remains of a zombie remained on the ground. Chen Han's figure appeared beside the remains, expressionless as he bent down and deftly used his dagger to carve out a crystal core that emitted a warm yellow light.
Everyone was shocked by Shen Han's power; the zombies they saw as invincible were instantly killed by him in one move.
But they were only stunned for a moment.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" The three survivors struggled to their feet, ignoring their injuries, and staggered to the deformed security door, pounding on it: "Aunt Zhao, open the door! It's us! The monster is dead, we've brought reinforcements!"
After a brief silence inside the door, a series of rapid unlocking sounds and the clanging of chains sliding could be heard.
The door was pulled open a crack with difficulty, revealing the face of a middle-aged woman covered in tears and fear.
Upon seeing the familiar faces outside the door and the monster's corpse lying not far away, she suddenly flung open the door, rushed out, hugged one of the young men, and burst into tears.
Upon learning of their rescue, the survivors emerged from their hiding places, their faces a mixture of grief, relief, and lingering fear...
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