Chapter 2

Guan Yue had found a wet nurse for Gou Sheng’er, and it was a lactating she-wolf. Guan Yue stood there holding the little pup, not moving, facing off against a pack of wolves by himself.

The wood-based ability was activated, and starting from the lead wolf, one by one, every single wolf was bound tightly by vines created from the soil, including the wet nurse that Guan Yue had been watching.

The only exception was Gou Sheng’er’s milk brothers. They yelped, running a few steps before tumbling over, their little short legs still wobbly.

Guan Yue found a good spot for Gou Sheng’er: “Eat more, okay? Eat your fill, and we won’t come back tonight!”

The lead wolf glared at Guan Yue fiercely, its throat growling low, baring its teeth, almost ready to pounce on Guan Yue.

Gou Sheng’er gulped down milk, and after a while, started to play.

Guan Yue kicked its meaty backside. “Hurry up, drink your fill, and we can go home.”

Gou Sheng’er whimpered, lying down on the ground, showing its round belly, and Guan Yue rubbed it.

Alright, once it’s full, they would leave.

After they had walked quite a distance, the vines binding the wolf pack loosened. The wolves tore at the vines, charging out, but by then, Guan Yue had already gone far away, traveling through the air. The wolves couldn’t find her, not even a scent.

Guan Yue was running through the trees with Gou Sheng’er in her arms. With her ability clearing the way, the branches automatically shifted under her feet, and she glided through the forest like walking on flat ground. It felt as if she was flying—it was exhilarating.

As she ran, the mountain breeze mixed with the natural scent of the forest’s plants surrounded her, making Guan Yue nearly forget the pervasive stench and constant battles of the apocalypse.

One morning at the end of the 21st century, when Guan Yue woke up, everything in the world had changed. Some people had awakened abilities, some had transformed into zombie-like monsters, and others remained just ordinary humans.

The apocalyptic scenes from movies and novels had become a reality. People around the world speculated about the origin of the apocalyptic magic. Some said it was a virus mutation, others claimed that global warming caused a dormant virus trapped under glaciers to spread across the world through ocean currents.

There were also those who said that, during the peak of mechanization, humans had reached a point where machines could do everything. There was no need to feed so many people that consumed the Earth’s resources. This apocalypse was a massacre orchestrated by the elite class to hunt the surplus population and seize more resources!

But regardless of the cause, the virus reshuffled the world. The old social rules and the distribution of resources no longer applied. In the world after the apocalypse, everyone was both a hunter and prey, and no one could escape.

Before the apocalypse, Guan Yue was just a sixteen-year-old high school student. Her mother ran a company, and her father was a doctor. The family lived in the best villa area of the city, and she attended the best international school.

She was pampered by her parents and was as delicate as a little princess. After the apocalypse, she was the only one in the family to awaken an ability. She had to protect her parents, so she forced herself to become cruel and indifferent. However, every time her hands were stained with blood, she would hide in her mother’s arms and cry.

Her mother comforted her every day: “Baby, be good. Your father and the others are researching the virus. Experts all over the world are studying it. This will all pass soon.”

As her mother had said, everyone around the world was doing the same thing. The research branch of the virus at her father’s institute had made some progress, and they needed to report it quickly.

However, once the progress was known to others, some of the lower-class rebels who had awakened abilities didn’t want the apocalypse to end so easily.

They ambushed the group while they were on their way to Base One, killing them all.

Guan Yue’s parents and the other scientists and scholars perished in the ambush. Before her mother died, she handed Guan Yue the family heirloom jade pendant and said, “I’m not going to make it, Yueyue. You have to live well on your own. Mommy and Daddy will always love you.”

Guan Yue went mad. Her ability went wild, and countless towering trees and toxic vines sprang up from the ground. Anyone who hadn’t managed to escape was hanged in the trees by her.

Those who tried to flee didn’t stand a chance.

Guan Yue sought help from fire-based ability users. She collected her parents’ ashes and placed them in the jade pendant’s space.

Yes, the jade pendant was a space tool passed down in her family. Her mother had always used it to pose as a space ability user.

She sent the information from the space to Base One, then returned to take revenge on those responsible.

Guan Yue’s eruption was terrifying. When they saw her, those people instinctively tried to flee. Guan Yue had no intention of talking to them; she attacked immediately, sparing none.

If they were going to risk their lives, she would go all out. When she killed the last person, she was exhausted. That person, too, had gone mad and exploded, taking them both to their deaths.

Guan Yue thought it was fine. The family should be whole, and without her parents, she had no hope for the future of this world.

Before closing her eyes, she silently apologized to her mother: I’m sorry, I didn’t survive.

After closing her eyes, she realized she hadn’t died. She had come back to life!

Since she hadn’t died, she decided to live well!

She was not alone; not only had she come back, but her family’s heirloom jade pendant had also followed her.

Guan Yue grasped the jade pendant, relieved that her parents were still with her.

The mutated iron vine on her wrist sought attention. The two pointed dark green leaves at the tip swayed and brushed against her chin.

Guan Yue smiled. “Xiao Hei, stop fooling around.”

Xiao Hei was a mutated species she had discovered in the second month of the apocalypse. It could absorb her wood-based abilities, but unlike other mutated plants, it didn’t need to consume humans.

After the transmigration, it seemed to have gained intelligence. Guan Yue didn’t know why it had turned out this way.

After returning to the small cabin, Guan Yue tidied up the place, locked the door, and headed into the deep mountains.

The small cabin that her teacher had left her was on the ridge of Daqing Mountain. A few dozen meters ahead, a towering cliff extended out from Daqing Mountain, and from that cliff, one could see the entire Qingxi Village down below.

To the right of the cliff was a small hill, connecting to Xiaoqing Mountain to the south, which enclosed Qingxi Village in a valley.

Guan Yue felt that the small cabin was too close to the people of Qingxi Village, and it wasn’t secure enough here. In fact, in an environment like the apocalypse, any place with people wasn’t safe, even if her abilities were extraordinary.

After arriving here, she was safe, but she still didn’t like interacting with crowds. Rather than associating with the people in Qingxi Village down the mountain, she preferred living in isolation.

There was a philosopher who once said that those who live in isolation are either beasts or gods.

Guan Yue hid in the giant treehouse she had created using her abilities. The treehouse was twenty or thirty meters above the ground, and the scorching sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting warm light on the bed inside, making her feel both comfortable and safe.

Perhaps, she was just a beast that lived in isolation.

Down in Qingxi Village, Gu Sui was carrying the detoxifying medicine to the Li family. When he saw the familiar detox pills, Zhang Cuihua almost kneeled and bowed to him in gratitude.

After taking the medicine, they waited for a while. Without needing Gu Sui to check, Li Da could already tell he was feeling much better.

Gu Sui took out the herbs he had gathered and handed them to him. “Boil two bowls of water down to one bowl, just to be safe.”

Li Da was strong enough to smile. “Doctor Xu’s medicine is really good. We live in the mountains, and getting bitten by snakes happens a lot. Just two pills, and nothing happened.”

Li Da’s sister, Li Tao, was curious. “In the morning, Wu Gui went up the mountain but didn’t bring back any medicine. He even got beaten. How come Doctor Gu got the medicine?”

“That’s right, wasn’t it said that Guan Yue, that dead girl, wouldn’t give any?”

Gu Sui: “I actually ran into Guan Yue while collecting herbs. She’s quite a nice person and even helped me find some medicinal plants.”

“Well, that’s strange, isn’t it?”

Gu Sui: “It’s not strange that she got beaten. From what I heard from Guan Yue, the one called Wu Gui, when he went up, he immediately clashed with her. He wasn’t polite at all and even messed up her house. It didn’t look like he was there to ask for medicine; it looked more like he was there to cause trouble.”

Li Da scratched his head: “But Wu Gui is a pretty good guy!”

The Li family, both father and son, were simple, honest people. Zhang Cuihua, as the woman of the house, had been forced to become a sharp-witted rural woman. After hearing Gu Sui’s words, she quickly grasped the key to the situation.

She slapped her foolish son’s head: “You’re such a fool, thick-headed. Don’t you get it? If someone offends the doctor, they won’t get medicine. They’re trying to kill you, do you understand?”

Li Tao was more like her mother, quicker-witted. The Li family had no grievances with the Wu family, but the only possible conflict might have been her engagement.

Li Tao’s fiancé, He Wen, had taken over as the accountant of the Qingsong Brigade just last year. It was rumored that Wu Min had also shown interest in He Wen, and it spread with some credibility. But Wu Min had dismissed it as mere gossip, telling her not to overthink it.

Today’s events all seemed to line up, and it was clear that the Wu family had designs on He Wen after all.

Zhang Cuihua spat angrily: “I’ve always said there’s no good in the Wu family. Wu Min, that little wench, is as cold-hearted as they come. She acts like she doesn’t care, but she must be so jealous inside that she’s going crazy. She’s really taking advantage of us. Does she think I, Zhang Cuihua, am someone she can just push around?”

Her son was in trouble, and Zhang Cuihua hadn’t even gone to work. She hadn’t expected something like this to happen.

The frustration in her chest couldn’t be released, and she couldn’t let it go today!

Zhang Cuihua picked up a fire poker from the kitchen and set off to find trouble with the Wu family.

Li Da panicked and hurriedly called his sister: “Hurry up! They have a lot of people. If we’re late, Mom will be the one to suffer!”

Li Tao grabbed a stick and followed. She wasn’t afraid of going one-on-one with Wu Min, that two-faced woman.

The Li family ran out, leaving only Gu Sui, an outsider, standing in the yard.

Gu Sui sneered. How did he become a busybody, a gossiping old woman?

These four Educated Youths from the city had been in Qingxi Village for less than half a day and had already witnessed rural women fighting and cursing each other’s ancestors.

This scene had frightened them. Two of the female Educated Youth even had second thoughts and wondered if they should go to another brigade.

The group of Educated Youths—two men and three women—were talking about the fight between the Li and Wu families at dinner that night.

“It was so terrifying. I saw Zhang Cuihua yank Liu Yufeng’s hair.”

Liu Yufeng was Wu Min’s mother.

“Yeah, and that girl, Li Tao, she looked so skinny, but when she fought, it was really scary.”

“Exactly, it was terrifying. I don’t want to stay here anymore! Lulu, can you think of a way for us to move to another brigade?” Fang Jie smiled sweetly as she hooked her arm around Wang Lu’s, trying to flatter her.

Wang Lu glanced at Gu Sui. “I’m afraid that won’t work.”

Fang Jie stamped her foot. “Why not? Your family is so powerful; surely you can make it happen…”

“Fang Jie!” Wang Lu snapped, clearly irritated.

Fang Jie pretended to cover her mouth. “Oh, I won’t say anything more.”

Another carefree young man, Liu Kai, with a sly look on his face, asked, “What’s so powerful about Wang Lu’s family?”

Wang Lu didn’t speak, her gaze fixed on Gu Sui.

Liu Kai, being perceptive, quickly understood. With such a good background and still coming to the countryside, it was clear that Wang Lu had come to Qingxi Village because of Gu Sui.

Lin Haiyin, who had been silent until now, added with a sharp tone, “Fang Jie, if you want to leave, they definitely won’t keep you.”

“Really?”

“We’re the ones who get to stay because Qingxi Village needs Gu Sui, the Barefoot Doctor. You’re just an extra, don’t kid yourself into thinking you’re important.”

Fang Jie, who hated being looked down upon, shot back angrily, “No matter what, I come from a respectable family. Who do you think you are, with no home to go to, bringing your dowry to support construction? It’s honestly laughable!”

Lin Haiyin shot back even harder, “At least I have a dowry. When you get married, let’s see if your mom will even let you have a piece of red cloth to wear.”

“You…!”

They were all from Beijing, and with no entertainment on the road, what else could they talk about but their own family matters? Apart from Gu Sui, who was quiet and didn’t participate, and Wang Lu, who held herself aloof, the other three had exchanged their stories.

Gu Sui frowned. “I’m full, you all can take your time.”

Gu Sui walked out of the house and stood in the yard, looking up at the moon in the night sky, wondering how his parents were doing far away.