Chapter 7
Qian Hui was at a loss, the presence of the constriction in his throat was so strong that it filled him with a fear he had never felt before.
But the person in front of him was Nan Tingjin, and even his aura was exactly the same. He would never mistake him for someone else.
For Qian Hui, they had only been apart for less than three days, so why did Nan Tingjin seem not to recognize her?
From the moment she heard Nan Tingjin's voice until she finally saw him, Qian Hui's emotions went through ups and downs, and she felt especially aggrieved at this moment.
A layer of mist quickly rose before his eyes, and he stared blankly at Nan Tingjin.
Perhaps it was because Qian Hui looked so aggrieved that Nan Tingjin loosened his grip slightly, but his gaze still carried a cold and scrutinizing tone.
Although Qian Hui has zombie-like features, upon closer inspection, she doesn't actually look like one at all.
His skin was pale, yet still somewhat rosy; his pupils were clear and clean, and his thick, light-colored eyelashes gave him an innocent look.
It doesn't resemble a zombie, nor does it resemble a human undergoing zombification; rather, it seems like some kind of spirit or monster that has appeared out of nowhere.
“Xiao Jin…” Qian Hui’s breath trembled slightly as she stammered, “It’s…it’s me…don’t you remember?”
Nan Tingjin remained unmoved, his gaze sweeping downwards, passing over Qian Hui's right wrist and pocket.
She tried to bury the chili peppers and hide them while pressing down the heads of the small cabbages, but the leaves of the soft vines were still sticking out of her sleeves.
Furthermore, the disparity in strength between the two sides was too great; no matter how faint the plants' aura was, they could not completely hide from Nan Tingjin.
Qian Hui was also very weak; her delicate bones seemed as if they could be crushed with a single pinch.
Its peculiar appearance, unpredictable behavior, and the presence of mutated plants on its body.
Nan Tingjin's expression grew even colder: "Experimental subject?"
Of the major bases, only the Sky Base is most fond of researching strange and unusual things. Recently, it has captured many mutated plants, the purpose of which is unknown.
Wen Jue, the highest-ranking official at the base, was once a researcher, and the medicine he developed could indeed significantly alleviate the disorientation symptoms of those with superpowers.
However, Nan Tingjin alone did not use it, nor did he allow his subordinates to purchase it openly.
Sky Base had been trying to negotiate with him and find out his preferences, and had even sent him a lot of random items.
Unfortunately, Nan Tingjin was capricious and eccentric, uninterested in anything, and at most willing to accept some high-value bounty missions.
Therefore, the boy in front of us is most likely related to the Sky Base.
It is no secret that Nan Tingjin has no relatives or past.
At the beginning of the apocalypse, he seemed to appear out of thin air, and later quickly became the leader of the Blackridge Mountain base.
Wen Jue must have investigated his past, perhaps he really found something, or perhaps he simply made one up and then gave him a "gift".
Nan Tingjin's expression grew increasingly gloomy. The recently deceased zombie's corpse lay at his feet, the stench of blood wafting through the air, causing his thoughts to become somewhat chaotic, and his patience was about to run out.
Qian Hui looked confused and tilted her head: "What..."
As the two stood close together, Nan Tingjin caught a whiff of a unique herbal scent and gradually calmed down.
“Isn’t that so?” he said in a deep voice, his eyes dark. “I can kill you right now.”
Qian Hui was frightened by him and tried to back away, but her neck was still held and she couldn't move.
At this moment, the chili peppers in his pocket were almost frantic.
What's going on?! This human has a very strong aura. Judging from Qian Hui's reaction, could he be the leader of that Blackridge Mountain base...?
Could it be that they actually know each other?
But judging from the other side's attitude, it doesn't seem like it.
Chili regretted following Qianhui, and was also worried that Qianhui had no sense of caution at all.
They're saying they're going to kill him, so why aren't you running for your life!
Chili peppers felt they couldn't just sit and wait to die, so they quietly prepared their chili seeds.
It seized the opportunity, poked its head out, and launched an attack on the Southern Court.
The outer shells of the two chili seeds are scorching hot; any clothing or skin that comes into contact with them will be burned immediately.
But this attack couldn't hurt Nan Tingjin at all. He turned his head to dodge, and the force in his hand loosened.
At the same time, the soft vines worked together seamlessly, sprouting two branches that hooked onto Qian Hui's body, pulling him back to a relatively safe position.
Nan Tingjin's arms were suddenly empty, and his gaze swept to the chili peppers that were sticking out of his pocket.
His face was expressionless, clearly showing he didn't take the plants in front of him seriously.
At that moment, the screams of several zombies rang out, accompanied by the sound of trampling on some discarded bricks, coming from above the building.
In the blink of an eye, a mid-level zombie smelled the scent of its companion's corpse and crawled in through the window.
It roared at Qian Hui and Nan Tingjin and pounced at them.
Nan Tingjin raised his hand, and a wooden plank beneath his feet smashed down on the zombie, knocking it down in time.
He glanced sideways and saw that Qian Hui had already protected the plant in her arms and quickly slipped to a safe corner at the back.
Qian Hui took out a dagger and held it in her hand, looking uneasily towards the window. Beside the abandoned wardrobe, a pair of beautiful red eyes looked over: "You need to be careful..."
With so many fresh zombie corpses outside, and Nan Tingjin conveniently located here, it could only have been him who did it.
Qianhui guessed that Nantingjin was very powerful, but she still couldn't help but worry.
Nan Tingjin paused slightly, then looked away from him.
The zombies that were knocked down by the wooden planks got up again and launched another attack.
Intermediate-level zombies all have varying degrees of enhancement or mutation; this one is robust with bronze-colored skin.
Its body was as hard as iron, but it couldn't last even half a minute in front of Nan Tingjin, when a steel bar pierced its throat.
Qian Hui was extremely nervous and even tried to help, but Chili grabbed her sleeve tightly.
He was only slightly relieved after confirming that Nan Tingjin had not been harmed in the slightest by the zombies.
Then, another zombie, also of intermediate level, crawled through the window.
There must be advanced zombies nearby that are about to evolve. These intermediate zombies will do everything in their power to protect the danger they find.
Judging from the noise, there were two more outside the window, constantly making noises to attract other low- to mid-level zombies.
Nan Tingjin pulled the steel bars off the zombie and walked out of the room.
His aura was the strongest, and his presence and threat were the greatest. Several zombies focused their attention on him, abandoning Qian Hui in the corner of the room.
Qian Hui waited anxiously in the corner for a while, then couldn't resist going out to take a look.
Chili pepper emerged just in time, pointed at the zombies on the ground, and gestured for them to quickly dig out the crystal cores.
Mutant plants lack the various conditions available to human superhumans; the only way to enhance their abilities is by consuming crystal cores, which does not conflict with leveling up in the game.
However, since the zombies were killed by Nan Tingjin, Qian Hui thought that perhaps Nan Tingjin would need these crystal cores. If he didn't want them, she would give them to the plants instead.
So he endured the smell of blood, used his dagger to dig out the crystal core, and tore off a piece of fabric from his clothes to wipe it clean.
Little Cabbage also came to help, and they dug out a total of three crystal cores from the room to the outside corridor.
Go down the stairs again, and you'll find another mid-level zombie.
Chili, who has difficulty moving, is responsible for identifying the level of zombies, while Soft Vine clears away the debris under Qianhui's feet.
Downstairs, Qianhui climbed onto the ruins and found the last intermediate-level zombie.
He dug out the crystal core and put it away, then stood up and looked around, searching for Nan Tingjin's figure.
While Qian Hui was busy digging for crystal cores, all the approaching intermediate-level zombies were dealt with.
The surroundings quieted down, and Nan Tingjin was about to leave when he had already gone to a more distant place.
Qian Hui immediately jumped off the rubble and hurriedly chased after him.
He no longer needed to worry about mistaking someone, and called out, "Xiao Jin..."
Nan Tingjin continued to leave at a rapid pace; it's unclear whether he heard anything.
Chili tugged at Qian Hui's sleeve and shook her head at him, "Waaah!"
It wanted Qianhui to give up and stay away from that human.
Although Chili was happy to get a few crystal cores for free, she felt that the human was more dangerous than the zombie.
Qian Hui understood what the chili pepper meant, so he pursed his lips and remained silent.
The soft vines slowly climbed up his shoulder, affectionately brushing against him with their leaves, moving their branches to wrap around Qian Hui's shoulder and arm.
Then, the branches that sprouted from its two ends instantly extended and climbed up the surrounding ruins.
Qian Hui's feet suddenly lost their footing, and with the help of the vines, she suddenly moved forward a long distance.
He steadied himself, touched the soft vine leaves, and exclaimed in surprise, "Amazing..."
The little cabbage peeked out from the pocket, its eyes filled with admiration, and Chili, seeing this, shut her mouth.
Soft Vine was using this skill for the first time and wasn't very skilled yet, but it was enough to help Qianhui speed up.
He drew closer to Nan Tingjin, climbed over a section of broken wall, and, gazing at the figure ahead, Qian Hui called out again, "Xiao Jin..."
This time, Nan Tingjin stopped and turned around.
Qianhui was overjoyed at the sight and jumped down from the broken wall to go over, when a sharp brick suddenly blocked her way.
Nan Tingjin coldly said, "You are not allowed to follow me."
Just because he didn't kill Qian Hui before doesn't mean he won't now or in the future, regardless of whether Qian Hui is connected to the Sky Base.
If the suspended bricks were any closer, they would pierce Qianhui's throat.
As for the mutated plants around him, they too must die.
Qian Hui didn't dare to step forward, and asked with a wronged expression, "Why?"
Nan Tingjin didn't answer. Qian Hui looked at him and then took out a few crystal cores from her pocket: "Th-then these..."
"I don't need it."
Upon hearing this, Chili grabbed the cloth bag containing the crystal core and stuffed it back into her pocket.
Qian Hui said "Oh," her nose stinging with tears: "You...don't you remember me?"
Nan Tingjin seemed to have forgotten him and didn't know who he was, otherwise why would he have rejected him?
Qian Hui's speech was never very fluent to begin with, and when she got emotional, her words became mumbled and sounded like she was being coquettish.
Nan Tingjin remained silent, his gaze fixed quietly on the scene.
Suddenly, he walked slowly forward.
The bricks blocking their path remained, but Qian Hui did not move, watching Nan Tingjin get closer and closer.
"Then tell me,"
Nan Tingjin stopped half a step away, lowered his eyes, and asked, "Who am I?"
The bricks trembled slightly; if Qianhui's answer was wrong, she would be stabbed in the throat.
Qian Hui was completely unaware and did not notice the subtlety in Nan Ting's words.
He looked up and said earnestly, "You are my boyfriend."
The bricks wobbled slightly, then returned to their normal position.
A moment later, Nan Tingjin, expressionless, bent down slightly and leaned closer.
He stared at Qian Hui and asked in a low voice, word by word, "Boyfriend?"
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