Nan Muran didn’t answer Han Yingtian’s question — nor did she need to.

After all, no one present was a fool. They all understood that Han Yingtian’s suspicion was simply the reality of the situation.

Even before the apocalypse, various genetic laboratories had been repeatedly banned but never truly shut down. Experiments using infants, young girls, and youths as test subjects were all too common. Let alone now, after the world had fallen.

Humanity had regressed to a primitive state overnight; death had become an everyday occurrence. Naturally, genetic labs had grown even more rampant — using living people as experimental tools was probably the most basic thing they did now.

When Si Ye, Eagle, and Jiawu heard the name “Jin Tailin,” they already knew what decision Nan Muran would make.

She would stop at nothing to go after this man.

This wasn’t just Nan Muran’s personal obsession; it was a shared one among the three of them.

Of course, even without this shared obsession, they would stand unconditionally by Nan Muran’s side.

On one side, Qijin, who had remained silent, subconsciously began trying to predict what might happen in the next day. Various unbelievable scenes flashed through his mind.

In some, Nan Muran’s entire group collapsed, unable to rise. In others, Jin Tailin fled in panic. The visions overlapped and alternated, making the outcome hard to predict.

Suddenly, a huge vine appeared before them, blocking their path, leaving them powerless to resist.

“Big sister, I saw… a really thick, really long vine. It’s like Xiaobai,” Qijin said, uncertain whether the vine he saw was Xiaobai.

Xiaobai was Nan Muran’s contracted plant, but the vine Qijin saw was clearly different — though they looked strikingly similar.

Qijin’s words made Nan Muran and Jiawu both think of the time when they had first taken Xiaobai away. Xiaobai had once mentioned a giant vine that had been dug up by the underground lab’s staff.

Back then, on that land, Nan Muran had also suddenly lost her abilities.

However, after bringing Xiaobai along, her powers had never malfunctioned again, and they had almost forgotten about it.

If Jin Tailin’s trump card was that giant vine from before, their situation would become much more complicated.

After all, if the nine of them lost their abilities, fighting the entire Lan City Safe Base with just their physical strength would be pure wishful thinking.

“Xiaoliu, ask Xiaobai if the big vine is here,” Nan Muran said, gently touching the little plant, Xiaoliu, on her left wrist.

Xiaoliu: Xiaobaibai, can you sense where the big vine is?

Xiaobai: Big vine?

Xiaoliu: Yeah, do you know where it is?

Xiaobai: (carefully sensing the surrounding kindred aura) It seems to be nearby.

Xiaoliu: Ranran, Xiaobai says the big vine seems to be nearby.

Nan Muran turned to Si Ye and the others. “Jin Tailin has a vine from the same origin as Xiaobai. It can instantly seal our abilities.”

Han Yingtian and the others were visibly stunned. They had never even considered the possibility of their powers being sealed.

Clearly, the post-apocalyptic world was far more complicated than they had imagined. Ability users weren’t necessarily the strongest beings anymore.

“We have to decide now whether we get involved or not,” Nan Muran said, her tone carrying a hint of inquiry.

No matter what Han Yingtian and the others ultimately decided, Nan Muran would still go after Jin Tailin.

But their decision would directly determine her attitude toward them from now on.

“If we don’t interfere, a lot of people will probably die, right?” Chengcheng asked Nan Muran, her tone filled with helplessness.

“For their experiment to succeed completely, they’ll likely need a lot of living people as test subjects. And once they upgrade the experiments, they’ll need plenty of ability users too,” Nan Muran calmly stated the facts.

If it hadn’t been for her destroying the entire underground laboratory in her previous life, the number of victims would likely have kept growing indefinitely.

The room fell into a long, heavy silence because of her words.

After the apocalypse, humanity struggled to survive. Less than one-fifth of the population remained, and the number of awakened ability users was even smaller. What the underground lab was doing was practically leading humanity to extinction.

“Let’s just strike first and wipe them all out,” Fifteen — usually the silent one — suddenly spoke up after a long while.

Han Yingtian and Xiangxi looked at him in surprise.

Chengcheng, meanwhile, nodded silently on the side. She actually thought Fifteen’s idea was quite feasible.

“Don’t they deserve to die?” Fifteen asked, unable to resist when he saw Han Yingtian’s and Xiangxi’s reactions.

“I want to enter the venue first and see the situation,” Han Yingtian said, unable to accept indiscriminate killing just like that.

Still, this wasn’t something they could just ignore — even if it cost them their lives.

“The exchange meeting starts tomorrow afternoon at three. They’ll probably set up an opportunity for us to join in directly,” Nan Muran said, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

If Jin Tailin knew about her rebirth, that meant he could guess her attitude toward him.

Based on what he told Chen Shuhan at Villa No. 5, he was likely already waiting for her to come.

“So we just walk in openly?” Chengcheng asked, sounding a little unsure.

Eagle’s eyes lit up. “I think that sounds great.”

“But if we can confront them directly, why did we bother dealing with that Secretary Lin? Wasn’t that a bit redundant?” Xiangxi asked, voicing his confusion.

Chengcheng almost wanted to call him an idiot, but she held back. “We didn’t just take care of Secretary Lin, who could track abilities — we also dealt with two special-ability users.

And we discovered Dr. Jin’s secret. How was that redundant?”

Xiangxi still looked puzzled.

Chengcheng rolled her eyes and gave up trying to explain.

With a predictive-type ability user like Qijin and a spiritual-type like Nan Muran among them, Xiangxi still didn’t realize how dangerous special-ability users could be to them. It was exasperating.

“Since that’s settled, let’s each return to our rooms and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll meet Dr. Jin at the exchange,” Han Yingtian said, getting up.

Hearing their conversation, Zhou Ling finally understood the situation a bit more. He hesitated, then raised his hand shyly. “Um, guys, can I join you too?”

“It’s better if you don’t. This is the kind of mission where you risk your life. It’s not for you,” Eagle rejected him bluntly. Although Zhou Ling, this second-generation heir, wasn’t a bad person, this was really not something he should be involved in.

Zhou Ling looked at Nan Muran. “Miss Nan, is there anything I can help you with?”

“You want to use this to drive public opinion, weaken the Chen family’s authority at Lan City Safe Base, and shift the current power structure, right?” Nan Muran couldn’t help but look at Zhou Ling with new appreciation.

This rich kid might seem arrogant and unruly, but his brain was definitely sharp.

Zhou Ling scratched his head awkwardly. “If the Chen family really is colluding with the genetic labs, then they aren’t fit to control Lan City Safe Base.”

“Extremes breed disaster. Some things must be done in moderation. The Chen family’s roots beneath the surface aren’t as simple as you think,” Nan Muran said, smiling at him.

“Even if we can just peel off a layer of their skin, it’s still worth it,” Zhou Ling said with a free-spirited air.

Nan Muran nodded. “That’s one way to think about it. Make your arrangements.”