Feeling the long-missed quiet atmosphere around him, Qijin’s exhausted eyes began to show a trace of surprise and joy. His whole body felt much lighter.

Nan Muran looked at the boy in front of her — about twelve or thirteen years old, not even 1.6 meters tall, with a bowl-cut hairstyle and a cute, pleasant face.

“Thank you, big sister.” Since the apocalypse began, Qijin had never felt so relaxed.

Nan Muran gazed at Qijin and said calmly,
“If you can’t learn to control your mental power, you’ll always hear every tiny, chaotic sound within your sensing range.

Every moment, you’ll be tortured by headaches and confusion.

Until one day you can no longer endure it, falling into cycles of pain, and eventually either becoming mentally impaired or losing your mind.”

Hearing Nan Muran’s words, Qijin lowered his head. He knew this pretty big sister was telling the truth and could feel his own loss of control.

But in order not to worry his grandpa, father, and mother, he had never told anyone about it.

Upon hearing Nan Muran’s explanation, everyone inside and outside the house was shaken.

Si Ye instinctively looked at Nan Muran — did her mental ability cause her this much pain too?

The old soldier and the middle-aged couple turned to look at the exhausted Qijin on the bed, their hearts aching for him.

Nan Muran continued calmly,
“Right now, only I can help you. But we’re leaving tomorrow morning. So, are you willing to leave this place with me?”

When they heard her, the old soldier’s family’s expressions all changed — she was trying to take their child away.

“No, you…” the old soldier’s daughter-in-law’s face turned pale and she was about to protest.

“Shut up,” the old soldier’s deep, commanding voice cut her off.

At the same time, he more or less understood Nan Muran’s intentions.

If it were before, he would never have agreed to let Qijin leave with this girl.
But hearing Nan Muran’s words and seeing his grandson’s reaction, he understood everything.

Qijin was suffering from the constant torment of his own powers and couldn’t endure it much longer. The old soldier’s heart hurt terribly.

No wonder his once lively grandson had become so quiet and withdrawn since the apocalypse began.

Qijin subconsciously looked at his mother.

The woman’s eyes were misty with tears, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to stop him.

Qijin lowered his head, thinking hard.
“But I have to protect Grandpa and the people in the village.”

“Your mental ability can only predict — it has no offensive power. And in your current condition, you won’t last much longer.
In the end, not only will you fail to protect them, but you’ll become a burden,” Nan Muran spoke plainly.

Qijin looked at her and asked,
“Why do you want me to go with you?”

“Because you’re useful to me,” Nan Muran answered honestly, looking at the boy.

For a psychic like him — one with no offensive ability but extreme sensitivity and predictive power — there was no need for lies.

Hearing Nan Muran’s straightforward answer, the middle-aged couple were stunned.

But the old soldier breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, in this cannibalistic apocalypse, someone with a purpose was more reassuring than someone offering kindness for no reason.

Qijin looked at the beautiful sister, trying to sense whether she was telling the truth.

“You actually dare to use your psychic ability on me?” Nan Muran chuckled, reaching out to tap his forehead.

“Kid, you have to see more of the world to learn fear.”
She said this both to Qijin and to the old soldier.

In this apocalypse, the village’s peace wouldn’t last much longer.
Qijin was a gifted psychic, but still just a child — if malicious people manipulated him, the only outcome would be death.

The old soldier sighed slightly as he watched his grandson.
No matter what Qijin thought, the elders had to help him make the right decision.

“Big sister, you’re amazing,” Qijin said, looking at Nan Muran.
Feeling her strong mental power, he didn’t feel fear — only admiration.

Nan Muran looked at the little guy. For a predictive psychic, she was determined to recruit him.
“So, are you willing to come with me?”

Qijin wanted to say yes but didn’t speak immediately.
Instead, he turned to look at his grandpa.

The old soldier stood up and gave a small nod.

The man next to him, eyes red, also nodded firmly in support.
The middle-aged woman, though reluctant to part with her son, understood there was no other choice.

“Big sister, can I still come back?” Qijin asked sadly — he couldn’t bear to leave his family.

“Why wouldn’t you? Are you planning to sell yourself to me?” Nan Muran found the little guy’s thinking very cute.

Hearing her answer, the whole family finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Since the decision was made, Nan Muran and the others quietly left the house, giving the family some space.

—

After separating from Han Yingting’s group, Si Ye finally voiced his deepest fear:
“Is it like this for all psychics?”

Nan Muran chuckled,
“Of course. You don’t remember?
Back then, you were the one who taught me how to control my mental power.”

“I did?” Si Ye looked surprised.

“My psychic ability was forcibly awakened in an underground lab.
Unlike Qijin, mine was an offensive mental ability.
Feeling everything around me drove me to unbearable pain and rage.

Later, you taught me to trap myself inside my own world, to feel every tiny ripple of my power, and that’s how I slowly learned to control it.”

Walking behind them, Eagle grew increasingly confused.
Nan Muran’s control of her mental power was taught by Wild Wolf?

“Wait, Nan-jie, I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”

Jiawu immediately pulled the clueless Eagle back:
“Shut up. That’s better than anything.”

Eagle was speechless.
Why did this guy always act like he knew everything?

In the front, Nan Muran and Si Ye smiled without explaining further.
Although they didn’t plan to tell the whole story yet, they weren’t planning to hide it forever either — after all, trust between teammates was crucial.

—

After the four returned to the house, not long after, they heard a knock on the door.

When they opened it, they found the old soldier standing there, holding two bowls of noodles.

Clearly, the noodles were meant for Nan Muran and Si Ye — the two who hadn’t eaten dinner.

“I want to talk to Miss Nan,” the old soldier said to Jiawu, who opened the door, with some hesitation.

Inside, Nan Muran looked up and smiled,
“Come in.
Oh, and Si Ye — you guys go take a walk.”

Hearing her blunt way of kicking them out, the three exchanged a look and left.
As they did, the old soldier handed one of the noodle bowls to Si Ye.

Si Ye quickly thanked him, then pulled the door shut behind them.

In an instant, only Nan Muran and the old soldier were left in the room.

Nan Muran picked up her chopsticks and began mixing the noodles — there was meat, vegetables, egg, and red peppers. It smelled heavenly.

“I…”
The old soldier was stunned.
It was the first time he had met a young woman who could face his killing aura so calmly.

“You’re worried about letting Qijin leave with me?” Nan Muran said, after taking a bite of noodles.

“Of course not,” the old soldier immediately replied.
In his mind, anyone able to work with the military must be trustworthy.

Nan Muran was a bit surprised.
“Then what is it?”

Her gentle, casual manner eased the old soldier’s worries.
Then he began to tell his story.