Chapter 12: Parting Ways

Chu Xihen helped Lou Suo to his tent. Now that Wan Ming was dead, Han Chong’s side had an opening, which was perfect for Bai Jinli.

“You didn’t sleep well last night, did you? Rest for a bit.” Lou Suo knew that Chu Xihen was particular about where he slept. In these chaotic times, he probably wouldn’t be able to get a good night’s sleep easily.

“Okay, you sleep with me.” Chu Xihen was indeed feeling quite tired. He had been leaning against the tent all night and hadn’t slept at all.

Even if he was in the tent now, he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep without Lou Suo by his side.

Lou Suo was also very weak and needed to rest. Besides, since Chu Xihen had made such a request, even if he was full of energy, he wouldn’t be able to refuse.

Chu Xihen lay down with Lou Suo. Lou Suo habitually wrapped his arms around his waist, and he didn’t push him away. He fell asleep in Lou Suo’s arms, breathing in the familiar scent that put him at ease.

Later, he was awakened by a commotion. When he opened his eyes, Lou Suo wasn’t in the tent but was outside facing the crowd.

The reason for the argument was that Han Chong, along with other ability users, wanted Chu Xihen to explain in detail what had happened by the river that morning. He didn’t believe it was an accident and insisted that Wan Ming had been killed by Chu Xihen.

“Boss, Chu Xihen is your lover, but Wan Ming was also our brother. He can’t just die like this without a clear explanation!” Although Lou Suo’s behavior seemed to prioritize his romantic interest over his friends, Han Chong still acknowledged him as his boss. Otherwise, he would have rushed into the tent and dragged Chu Xihen out long ago.

Lou Suo had spent the whole morning sleeping with Chu Xihen, so his energy had mostly recovered.

He stood in front of the tent with his arms crossed, not budging an inch.

“You are all ability users, and many of you don’t even know Wan Ming. Yet, you’re willing to be here to demand justice for him. Is it because you feel it’s a pity that an ability user died? Or perhaps, as fellow ability users, you see him as one of your own, and you feel humiliated that he died because of an ordinary person. So, you insist on having this ordinary person come out and admit responsibility?”

Lou Suo calmly asked Han Chong.

When Han Chong brought people over, he immediately noticed that almost all the ability users in the camp had come.

It was fortunate that Hao Ren wasn’t here. If he were, these ability users definitely wouldn’t have acted this way.

“Lou-ge, we don’t want to make things difficult for Chu-da… Chu-xiongdi. We just want him to tell the truth. What exactly happened between him and Wan Ming by the river?” Bai Jinli, standing next to Han Chong, also said.

He might have genuinely just wanted to know the truth, but by standing with the ability users to pressure Chu Xihen, his position was already clear.

Since he had already taken a side, yet still spoke such sanctimonious words, Lou Suo couldn’t stand such behavior.

“That sounds better than it is. So many people have gathered here, and you’re still saying you’re not trying to make things difficult for my good brother?” Zhou Quan, hearing the commotion, guessed that Chu Xihen was in trouble and quickly ran over, just in time to hear Bai Jinli’s hypocritical statement.

Lou Suo saw Zhou Quan coming to help. Although he was on Chu Xihen’s side, he still found the young man very unpleasant.

“This is none of your business. If you don’t want to die, get lost!” Han Chong shouted angrily at Zhou Quan.

Zhou Quan had to look up to see Han Chong’s chin, but he wasn’t afraid at all. “Listen to your tone. Do you think you’re precious just because you awakened an ability? Aren’t you just bullying people because Chu Xihen has no one to help him? If you ask me, that Wan Ming deserved to die. Heaven couldn’t stand his arrogance and took him away!”

“You’re asking for death!” Han Chong was enraged and threw a punch at Zhou Quan.

However, before he could touch Zhou Quan, his fist was stopped by Lou Suo.

“Boss, did you hear what he said? Chu Xihen must have thought the same way, that’s why he killed Wan Ming!” Han Chong was furious.

But despite awakening his power, he was being held by Lou Suo’s fist, unable to move at all!

“Have you ever considered what Wan Ming’s intentions were when he, an ability user, took Chu Xihen, who hadn’t awakened any abilities, to the river?” Lou Suo looked coldly at Han Chong.

If they hadn’t known each other before the apocalypse and promised to survive together, he wouldn’t have shown Han Chong any mercy now. He would have just beaten him down and been done with it, explaining so much to him was simply a waste of time.

“That’s right, Mr. Hao told everyone not to go near the river. Wan Ming must have wanted to harm Chu Xihen, but he ended up failing and becoming fish food. You’re Wan Ming’s good brother, so now that he’s dead, you should apologize to the frightened Chu Xihen on his behalf!” Zhou Quan followed Lou Suo’s words.

Once Lou Suo raised this question, anyone with a brain would know that Wan Ming had ulterior motives.

As an ability user, he failed to harm someone and instead became food for mutated fish. Now he was calling so many people here to make a fool of himself!

“Um… Mr. Hao and the others should be back soon. I’ll go take a look at the hillside.” Someone felt embarrassed, touched his nose, and made a random excuse to leave.

Several voices echoed in agreement, “I’ll go too!”

“Me too, a larger group offers better protection!”

In the blink of an eye, the group scattered in different directions, leaving only Han Chong and Bai Jinli.

“You…” Han Chong looked incredulously at the ability users who had come to demand justice for Wan Ming. He thought, they were all just acquaintances. They weren’t here to help at all, but to join in the fun!

“Sorry Lou-ge, I didn’t think clearly and misunderstood Xihen.” Bai Jinli was quick to admit his mistake.

“Knowing it was a misunderstanding, is it only your Lou-ge who you owe an apology to? You owe an apology to Chu Xihen!” Zhou Quan reminded him.

These words made Bai Jinli’s expression freeze for a moment.

However, he didn’t argue with Zhou Quan and said modestly, “I’ll apologize to Xihen when he wakes up.”

Seeing that Bai Jinli had also compromised, Han Chong was extremely angry.

“Boss, are you determined to protect that useless pretty boy and not investigate Wan Ming’s death at all?” Han Chong’s tone carried a sense of determination and warning.

“What? Are you going to break up with me?” Lou Suo saw through his intentions.

Han Chong took a deep breath, his eyes red, and threatened through gritted teeth, “If you choose Chu Xihen, then we’ll go our separate ways and wish each other well!”

“I choose Chu Xihen.” Lou Suo gave his answer without hesitation, not giving Han Chong any chance to struggle or regret.

Han Chong gasped heavily, didn’t say another word, and turned to leave.

Bai Jinli didn’t expect such a result. He thought that Lou Suo, Han Chong, and Wan Ming had a life-or-death friendship, after all, Lou Suo had saved them both several times when they were killing the alien species yesterday.

Now it seemed that Han Chong and Wan Ming were somewhat unappreciative. They were being protected by Lou Suo, yet they still wanted to interfere in his personal affairs.

However, his current situation was a bit awkward, so he casually said, “I’ll go check on him.”

As a result, as soon as he turned around, he bumped into an ability user who was passing by. In the next moment, his delicate face turned as pale as paper.

“Mr. Bai, are you alright?” The ability user saw that Bai Jinli was stunned and asked worriedly.

Before Bai Jinli could speak, Chu Xihen suddenly pulled open the tent door and rushed out. He had already put on his backpack. “Let’s go, the alien species are here!”

Chu Xihen said this to Lou Suo, his voice not loud, only he and Zhou Quan beside him heard it.

Before the two could react, they heard Bai Jinli shout out, “Everyone, leave the camp quickly, many alien species will crawl out from underground!”