On the other side, Si Ye, Chen Dong, Wang Qiang, and Old Eagle—

They used the opportunity of the weekly supply delivery to escape from the underground lab. After passing through the final gate, they quickly hid themselves in the densest part of the nearby forest.

“How long have those sons of bitches had us locked up? It’s snowing already!” Qiangzi looked down at his feet, red and frozen, and cursed angrily.

Damn it. Wearing nothing but a white hospital gown was bad enough—but no shoes either? If not for years of training and tough soles, his feet would’ve been ruined by now.

“About two months, I think,” Chen Dong guessed, though he wasn’t entirely sure.

Si Ye examined the trees on either side of them, judging the growth patterns with precision. “One month and three days. It’s not even winter yet.”

“Not winter yet? Captain, look at all this snow! You telling me this ain’t winter?” Qiangzi rubbed his arms, shivering hard.

“This is Mount Tai, the highest peak in the southern mountain range near West City. There’s snow even in July and August, let alone now, with winter approaching,” Si Ye said as he quickly confirmed their direction using the trees around them. “We need to keep heading east.”

“Captain, doesn’t it seem weird how those people chasing us can always find us, no matter where we hide?” the usually quiet Old Eagle frowned.

Si Ye nodded. He found them strange too.

And everything that happened during the month they were imprisoned in that underground lab had completely changed his understanding of this post-apocalyptic world.

“That’s why we can’t just keep running. We need to find a suitable place and set up an ambush.”

Only by eliminating the pursuers could they truly escape.

Dealing with these trackers was like dealing with military dogs trained to remember your scent and never give up. Running was the first step, hiding was the second—but the third and most important step was to find the dog and kill it.

“Agreed. Let’s wipe those bastards out,” Qiangzi said with fierce hatred, raising both hands in approval.

“After the ambush, we’ll head toward the South Mountain area. There should be a secured base set up over there,” Si Ye exhaled a visible puff of breath and couldn’t help but shiver.

Chen Dong and Qiangzi both laughed. So even the captain was cold.

They’d always thought this bold, cool-headed type didn’t feel the cold.

“You think I’m made of iron or something? With clothes this thin in this weather? Of course I’m freezing,” Si Ye said, instantly reading their thoughts with a single glance.

Suddenly, faint footsteps came from not far away. The group could only keep sprinting eastward.

Behind them, the Venomous Centipede Squad cursed angrily as they stared at the rapidly moving red dots on their trackers.

Four HG soldiers, barefoot, freezing, weaving through a deadly jungle—and still moving that fast?

“Bring in that level-2 psychic from the lab. He’s coming with us,” the squad leader had a new level of respect for Si Ye and the others’ strength. He had no intention of facing them head-on.

Because when it came to psychic-types, even the best fighters had only one outcome—total annihilation.

As the four fled eastward, Chen Dong suddenly frowned. “Captain, you think that girl we saw at Cui Mountain is connected to the underground lab?”

“Are you stupid? Didn’t you see how she slaughtered all those people?” Qiangzi, who was closest to him, didn’t hesitate to slap him upside the head.

Chen Dong snapped back to his senses. Right—she had killed members of the Black Ice faction. “We were scared out of our minds when we saw her kill those people. Now I kinda wish she had destroyed the lab while she was at it.”

Si Ye couldn’t help but laugh. “But have you considered this—what if someone like her is among the people chasing us?”

“Captain, stop jinxing it! Only the ones who come to save us are allowed to be like that!” Chen Dong quickly waved his hands to stop him.

Si Ye just smiled slightly, the curve of his lips cold and unrestrained, but said nothing.

He didn’t tell them that his gut was screaming at him: there was a psychic among the pursuers. And a powerful one at that.

Maybe not as strong as that girl they’d seen, but more than enough to deal with the four of them.

Old Eagle looked at Si Ye and lowered his voice. “Captain, is this checkpoint… going to be a tough one?”

“Every checkpoint is tough. But if we don’t chicken out, we’ll make it through,” Si Ye said with a relaxed smile on his handsome face.

They were warriors born of hell, always walking the line between life and death. Their wills were drafted so many times they could fill a book. This time was no different from all the others.

Even Old Eagle, usually so calm, laughed. “Live and die together.”

“Live and die together.”

They were each other’s strongest support, each other’s flesh and blood. They were never alone.

As long as the enemy stood on the other side, they would never surrender. Even with just one breath left—or one bullet—they would use it.

---

Meanwhile, Nan Muran only returned to the mountainside villa at dusk.

When she walked in safe and sound, Jiawu and Bai Mei both breathed a sigh of relief.

Even Tank and Da Fu seemed much happier.

“Muran, thank goodness you’re back!”

Once she sat down, Nan Muran immediately had Xiaobai release energy to monitor everything within ten kilometers around the villa, making sure everything was under control.

“I feel like my ability improved a lot since this morning,” Jiawu said, a little excited.

Seeing him easily controlling small lightning bolts, Nan Muran was happy for him. “Mid-stage Level 1 already. Seems like Xiaobai’s fruit works really well for Awakened.”

“And you, Mei-jie? How do you feel?”

Bai Mei looked a little down. “I feel strong, full of energy—but nothing else changed.”

“Should I try helping you awaken your ability again?” Nan Muran had tried many times using her life force to help Bai Mei stand again, but nothing had worked.

Though she hadn’t seen a disabled person awaken powers in her previous life, she still wasn’t ready to give up.

Bai Mei smiled at her. “Muran, I’m already doing great like this.”

“Mei-jie…”

“I really mean it. I’m content. And we’ve already failed so many times—let’s stop trying, okay? Don’t waste more energy on my legs,” Bai Mei said gently.

Nan Muran looked at her, a little heartbroken. This gentle woman had endured so much.

“Okay.”

“By the way, where did you go? We woke up and didn’t see you—we were so scared,” Bai Mei asked, changing the subject to lighten the mood.

“I went to the city industrial zone.

Jiawu, Mei-jie, the person I’ve been waiting for… they’re going to show up soon,” Nan Muran bit her lower lip slightly, trying to calm her racing heart.

Bai Mei’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? When?”

“I’m not sure, but probably tonight or tomorrow.”

“Tonight?! Then we’re not sleeping—we’ll stay up with you and wait,” Jiawu said, sharing in her joy.

Even though he didn’t know who Nan Muran had been waiting for, he could feel how important that person was to her.

Nan Muran smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

“Go take a shower and change first, then come down and wait with us, alright?” Bai Mei coaxed her like she was talking to a child.