Chapter 41 Going to Luozhou
“The monster is gone.” Zhou Zhuohua looked at their disheveled appearance and numerous wounds, and felt a pang of pity. “You can go home now.”
"No! Impossible! You're tricking us into going to our deaths!" the two men shouted, clutching their large bags tightly.
The group then noticed three or five large backpacks filled with goods next to them, clearly indicating they were also there to "buy" from the supermarket.
"Ignore them." Bai Tao was extremely annoyed and reached out to pull Zhou Zhuohua. "Go if you want, don't go if you don't."
Just then, Zhou Zhuohua caught sight of a dirty hand reaching towards Bai Tao. She suddenly stood up and pushed Bai Tao towards Jiang Ye. Her ponytail was grabbed hard, and just as she was about to fall backward, she bumped into a smelly, sticky chest, and a knife was pressed against her neck.
"I don't care how you got in!" one of the men in gray shouted, threatening, "You have to take us both out of here, or I'll kill this woman."
Bai Chenzhu coldly said, "If you kill her, you won't be leaving alive."
"If you don't let my brother and me leave, I'll kill her!" the gray-clad man said defiantly.
Bai Chenzhu scanned the area with his spiritual power, confirming that the two brothers were ordinary people. His face turned cold, and he gave Jiang Ye a wink, asking him if he wanted to make a move.
Jiang Ye narrowed his eyes. "You tell me, who should we kill?"
"I said I was going to kill this... Ah!"
Jiang Ye rushed over at an almost invisible speed, grabbed his wrist and twisted it back hard. The knife fell to the ground at his feet, and the man cried out as he looked at his twisted hand.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Bai Chenzhu pulled Zhou Zhuohua back to his side and said to Tang Zhao, "It was so easy to get them. Just confiscate their things."
Upon seeing their bulging backpacks, Tang Zhao exclaimed happily, "Alright!"
After settling in with the two people, the group's luggage increased again.
The third floor is mostly a cooked food section, and now most of it is moldy. They're taking away any usable necessities they can find.
Zhou Zhuohua parked the car at the side gate, and they carried the things up several times.
"Luckily, the car is big enough to hold everything." Bai Chenzhu carried the things onto the car.
Tang Zhao suddenly asked, "What about our things?"
They didn't have a car, so were they going to carry a bunch of stuff on their backs to escape? The amount and weight of the food and clothes they were carrying far exceeded their physical limits.
Bai Chenzhu looked at him, and Tang Zhao looked back at him innocently.
Jiang Ye's back was already soaked with sweat. He pulled up his collar to let in some air, and turned his head slightly to watch Bai Chenzhu's movements. Upon hearing this, he immediately interjected, "What do you mean 'yours' and 'mine'? You got in my car and you think you can just leave?"
Was this an invitation? Tang Zhao's eyes lit up immediately. He looked at Bai Chenzhu like a puppy and exclaimed excitedly, "Brother! Brother! Brother!!!"
"I can hear you," Bai Chenzhu said with a smile. He glanced at the trunk full of supplies and couldn't deny that he was tempted.
He looked at Jiang Ye again, and Jiang Ye was looking at him too. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes were full of light.
Bai Chenzhu's eyes softened. "Then I might have to trouble you again."
"Boss Jiang."
——
With ample supplies, they quickly drove away from the supermarket and headed out of the city.
That evening, they found a place to rest. After a day of moving things around, they were all exhausted. After dinner, they gathered together and began discussing their next destination.
Jiang Ye sketched something on the ground with a stone. "We're in Fuyun City now. As far as I know, the third fragment should be in Luozhou. We'll have to check for gas stations along the way..."
"Wait, I have a question!" Tang Zhao raised his hand like a good student and asked the question that had been bothering him for a long time: "Boss Jiang, why do we need to collect all those fragments?"
He is the only one among them who still doesn't understand the purpose.
"Because once we collect all five fragments," Bai Tao said solemnly, resting her chin on her hand, she stood up and explained passionately, "we can summon the dragon, make a wish upon it, and end the apocalypse! From then on, the world will be bathed in light! We will become the saviors of the land of China! Our great benefactors!"
Tang Zhao, head tilted back: ...
The naive high school student Tang Zhao was shocked. "Do I look that easy to fool?!"
Bai Tao nodded, then shook her head, and sat down. "It's true, you can ask your brother Bai if you don't believe me."
Bai Chenzhu smiled and nodded in agreement, "That's pretty much it, that's the idea."
Tang Zhao looked around in disbelief, and the attitudes of everyone present confirmed Bai Tao's words.
He was speechless, and finally accepted the explanation, cupping his face in astonishment, "My God, am I going to be a savior? Wait, how do I know you're not lying to me? Show me that legendary fragment!"
Bai Chenzhu looked at Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye took out two fragments from his chest pocket. As soon as he let go, the two fragments floated up and merged into one, becoming a fist-sized ring. Under the moonlight, the surface of the ring shimmered with the unique glimmer of a cold, technological creation.
Tang Zhao was so shocked that he lost the ability to speak and could only keep saying "Holy shit".
He reached out with trembling hands to touch the fragment, feeling its smooth, cool texture. A mysterious aura flowed from the fragment to his fingertips, making him sigh with pleasure.
"You know what mental energy is, right? Bai Tao and A Zhu's abilities are related to mental energy. And these fragments all retain a lot of mental energy, so you feel comfortable when you touch them," Jiang Ye explained.
Bai Chenzhu added, "One of them was taken from the body of the mutated cow. The fragment attracts mutants, and the mutated cow was obviously attracted to it. It ate the fragment and, like a big fish eating a small fish, rapidly grew stronger by devouring the zombies it was attracted to, until it became the 'Zombie King' of that area."
He paused, then realized what he had said and looked sharply at Jiang Ye, "Jiang Ye, zombies can grow stronger by devouring others?!"
Jiang Ye understood his shock. "Yes."
"But didn't you say before that superhumans can't level up by devouring others?"
“I didn’t say that superhumans can’t, but zombies can’t,” Jiang Ye sighed. “Superhumans break through by constantly challenging the limits of their abilities, while mutants only get stronger by consuming things with spiritual power.”
Something with spiritual power...
In that instant, Bai Chenzhu, who had been given countless food nicknames by Jiang Ye, felt a chill run down his spine. Bai Tao, standing beside him, was utterly astonished and touched her throat.
"This thing will attract zombies?" Tang Zhao was still immersed in the strange ring, his mind a beat slow. "Then won't we be chased? But we haven't seen any zombies chasing us these past few days."
Jiang Ye's expression was cold and stern. "Because A-Zhu and Bai Tao can both cover it with their own mental power, but their mental power is incompatible with it, and it will cause them discomfort if it is placed on them, so I will keep this thing."
Tang Zhao exclaimed in amazement, returned the ring, and gave it to Jiang Ye to keep safe.
"Let's get back to the main topic." Zhou Zhuohua turned to look at Jiang Ye. "Our next stop is Luozhou? Luozhou is a big city, and it's a coastal city. Where exactly are we going?"
“There’s a resort island there, we need to go there,” Jiang Ye said.
When Luo Zhou was mentioned, Bai Chenzhu and Jiang Ye both paused, their eyes meeting in a secret known only to each other.
Luozhou Base, the place where Bai Tao's father was in the original text.
Years later, Bai Tao had transformed from a pampered young lady into the person in charge of the base. However, after what happened with Tang Jie, they knew the situation was now completely messed up, and who knew what they would encounter on this trip to Luo Zhou?
Bai Chenzhu cleared his throat twice and said stiffly, "Speaking of islands, Bai Tao, do you like looking at the sea?"
Bai Tao looked at him, puzzled. "It's alright. What's wrong? Are you going to buy me a whole ocean?"
Bai Chenzhu was defeated and gave Jiang Ye a look.
Jiang Ye paused for a moment, then went straight to the point, "The Qingming Festival is in a few days. Bai Tao, I remember your mother told you to go find your father before she passed away. Where is your father?"
The death of a loved one is a taboo subject, yet Jiang Ye insists on jumping into that minefield. Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhuohua punched Jiang Ye on the shoulder and glared at him, "Jiang Ye, do you know Bai Tao's father?"
Jiang Ye shrugged. "I've heard of him, but I wouldn't say I know him."
It is said that Bai's father was a businessman in his early years, and he rarely saw his family, so Bai's mother divorced him.
Jiang Ye first met Bai's father at his funeral. Bai Tao took this opportunity to invite the base lords to participate in the funeral, and at the same time, she declared her identity as the new lord with absolute power.
A funeral was made to be a grand and festive affair; anyone who didn't know better would think it was some special holiday.
But now, Bai Tao, who was ten years ago, is staring blankly with her hands supporting her chin. "Who knows where he died? It doesn't matter. My mother won't want to see him. If you want to tell me anything about him, don't say anything. I don't want to know."
Bai Chenzhu breathed a sigh of relief.
He was already conflicted about whether to tell Bai Tao, but after reviewing the situation with Jiang Ye, they still couldn't confirm that the owner of Luozhou at this point in time was Bai's father.
Bai Tao fiddled with the silver bracelet on her wrist. Although the peony design looked a bit old-fashioned, the way the flowers bloomed was quite lively. She sighed, "Time flies so fast, it's Qingming Festival already."
Jiang Ye made the final decision: "In that case, let's head to Luozhou."
——
After driving on and off for almost a week, the car finally approached Luozhou.
It was morning. Bai Tao turned around and was playing cards with Tang Zhao in the back seat. Zhou Zhuohua was driving, and Jiang Ye, who was taking turns with her, was fast asleep next to Bai Chenzhu's shoulder.
At this moment, the car slowed down, and the other people in the car immediately became alert.
"Jiang Ye, look ahead." Zhou Zhuohua parked the car a hundred meters away from the gas station. She squinted and looked around cautiously. "There are people there."
Bai Tao rubbed her eyes, leaned forward to take a look, her vision blurry, and then her eyes widened. "There really is someone! And they don't look like ordinary people."
Four military vehicles were parked at the gas station, refueling in turn. A group of people stood upright nearby, their mannerisms and speech suggesting they were not ordinary people, and each of them carried a gun at their waist.
"Should we get closer?" Zhou Zhuohua asked.
Bai Chenzhu closed his eyes and made a decision, "No, let's go. There are psychic ability users there."
Judging from his and Bai Tao's situation, it's clear that the abilities of psychic beings are unpredictable and their characteristics are difficult to fathom. It's best not to rashly befriend them if you encounter them by chance.
In particular, this was the first psychic he had encountered besides Bai Tao.
Zhou Zhuohua said in a daze, "But they are government officials, and they seem very reliable."
Tang Zhao's tense muscles relaxed, as if he had let down his guard. "Sister Zhuohua is right. Maybe they're also going to Luozhou? In this world, we can't go wrong by following the authorities."
Zhou Zhuohua and Tang Zhao suddenly changed their attitude, seemingly wanting to befriend the other side. Bai Chenzhu and Bai Tao both frowned and looked at Jiang Ye simultaneously.
How could Jiang Ye not understand the meaning behind their glances? He sighed, "Don't look at me, I didn't fall for it. Sister Zhuohua, let's switch seats, I'll drive."
In the time it took to exchange just a few words, a military vehicle gradually approached.
Bai Chenzhu pressed Jiang Ye down as he was about to get up, "Don't change it, it's too late. Think about how to deal with this."
He looked intently at Zhou Zhuohua and Tang Zhao, saying, "You two are not allowed to speak."
Although she genuinely felt that the other party was harmless, Zhou Zhuohua still gestured as if she were zipping up her mouth. Tang Zhao sensed something was wrong and obediently nodded.
A military vehicle stopped next to their car. A serious-looking middle-aged man with a buzz cut got out of the driver's seat, while a woman wearing a white lab coat got out of the passenger seat.
She has a reserved and gentle demeanor, which fits people's image of experts and scholars.
The woman, with her hands in her pockets, calmly looked at the five people getting off the bus. "Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Han Yuyan."
She remained so calm, as if she weren't the one who had stopped the car.
Bai Chenzhu was the last to get off the bus, hiding behind the crowd and trying his best to conceal himself.
He didn't know if the other party could sense his mental power; Jiang Ye, Tang Zhao, and Zhou Zhuohua's mental power couldn't be concealed. But at least, they couldn't all be detected by the other party.
Unexpectedly, the woman's gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on the most handsome man in the group. She froze, then her face lit up with surprise, and she quickly walked over. "Xiaozhu, it's been so long! Don't you recognize your auntie?"
Several people tried to stop them, but the middle-aged man with a buzz cut was protecting Han Yuyan from the side. Neither side wanted to fight, so they were at a standstill and watched the two recognize each other.
Bai Chenzhu, whose name was called, looked up and saw Han Yuyan's gentle face.
She gazed at him, her eyes filled with longing.
As Han Yuyan drew closer and reached out to hug him, Bai Chenzhu took a step back, frowning as he assessed the situation.
He unexpectedly encountered a relative of the original owner, but did not inherit any of the original owner's memories.
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