Chapter 8: It Only Counts When Said in Person

“Wan Ming, what are you doing? You’re an ability user, how can you attack ordinary people?” Hao Ren, who had gone to check on Lou Su, returned just in time to witness Wan Ming striking Gao Lin.

His reprimand didn’t make Wan Ming restrain himself. Instead, Wan Ming scoffed and said, “He attacked first. Saving this kind of trash is a waste of abilities. It’d be better to let those big oxen eat them!”

After saying that, Wan Ming brushed past Hao Ren, heading towards Lou Su’s tent. Before turning away, he didn’t forget to threaten Chu Xihen, “You better remember what I just said, or I’ll kill you!”

Chu Xihen didn’t even lift his eyelids upon hearing this threat.

He asked Hao Ren, “How is Lou Su?”

Hao Ren had previously instructed people to arrange accommodations for these individuals, but no one had acted on it. Now, with some of them having been beaten by Wan Ming, he felt quite embarrassed and spoke directly to Chu Xihen.

“He’s fine. His ability is about to level up, so he might be unconscious for more than three days. We didn’t find many tents, so you six will have to squeeze into two tents. The conditions are difficult, but everyone please try to overcome it.” Although Hao Ren’s tone was polite, it carried an air of command.

Regardless of whether they agreed or not, there were only enough tents for two people each.

Zhuang Shi was the first to speak up, “That’s fine. My girlfriend and I will take one tent, and the four of them can have the other.”

Gao Lin, even with his injuries, couldn’t help but mock him, “You’re being quite generous. You could easily have a tent for you and your girlfriend, leaving the four of us to sleep on the grass. Yet, you insist on giving us a tent.”

“You didn’t get hit hard enough, did you? So much nonsense!” After saying that, Zhuang Shi ingratiatingly said to Hao Ren, “Mr. Hao, please don’t misunderstand that ability user. It’s really this guy’s foul mouth; he deserved to be beaten.”

Now that Zhuang Shi and Xiao Xi no longer needed to rely on these useless teammates, as long as they curried favor with the ability users, would they have to worry about not being able to kill mutated creatures?

“Let’s go to the tent; he’s injured and needs to rest,” Chu Xihen said to Zhou Quan and Su Yan.

The two of them supported Gao Lin on either side, while Chu Xihen walked ahead. The group followed Hao Ren to the tents at the far edge.

Seeing the location of the tents, Zhuang Shi somewhat timidly asked, “Mr. Hao, aren’t our tents too far away?”

If they encountered mutated creatures, the ability users wouldn’t have enough time to save them.

Hao Ren patiently explained to him, “Don’t worry, we have ability users patrolling at night. This place is very safe.”

Zhuang Shi was still uneasy and wanted to switch tents, but Xiao Xi stopped him by pulling on his arm.

“Mr. Hao, I want to ask, what was up with those cows we encountered earlier? They were so huge and even breathed fire?” The scene of the cow breathing fire and igniting the car had truly stunned Xiao Xi, leaving her reactions somewhat delayed even now.

“They’re mutated animals. I only found out that animals have also mutated after coming out to kill mutated creatures. But it’s not surprising; we humans have awakened abilities, so animals will naturally evolve. That cow just now was a mutated cow that awakened fire abilities. You’ll encounter more mutated animals like that in the future, so you must be careful.”

After saying that, Hao Ren suddenly remembered to ask, “Did you come from the airport? Why did you come out here?”

Zhuang Shi’s personality was a bit like bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Upon Hao Ren’s question, he revealed his intentions entirely.

But in the end, he couldn’t help but complain, “Originally, Xiao Xi and I wanted to find some daring people. If we obtained ability cards and had the ability to protect ourselves, we could also protect others. Who knew we’d encounter these four useless things? They don’t have that kind of thinking at all!”

Chu Xihen ignored Zhuang Shi’s words and instead asked Hao Ren, “The cow in front of the car that was suddenly dismembered, was that Lou Su’s doing?”

Hao Ren nodded. “That’s right, he used his ability to kill those two cows. And your transfer from the car was done using my skill.”

Abilities were awakened before the apocalypse, while skills couldn’t be awakened and required skill cards to learn. There wasn’t much difference between these two types of powers, except for the way they were obtained.

“Is this the legendary Teleportation? Mr. Hao, your ability is amazing!” Zhuang Shi complimented.

Hao Ren’s ears were already calloused from hearing such words, and he felt no emotional fluctuation in his heart.

“Alright, quickly get into the tents and rest. The food has all rotted, so there’s nothing to eat. Please bear with it for now. We’ll go back to the airport tomorrow and think of a solution.” After instructing them, Hao Ren prepared to leave. He was also starving and wanted to return to his tent to conserve his strength.

However, Zhuang Shi spoke up at this moment, “Mr. Hao, didn’t you kill two big cows on the highway earlier? Those mutated animals haven’t been infected or shown signs of decay; they should be edible, right?”

Upon hearing this, Hao Ren’s eyes immediately lit up. “That’s right, how did I not think of that? What’s your name, sir? This discovery of yours is truly saving everyone!”

Although he was a game survivor, he never had to worry about going hungry when clearing levels in the game, which made him completely overlook this.

Zhuang Shi scratched the back of his head shamelessly. “My name is Zhuang Shi. I’m honored to be able to help everyone, but the bodies of those cows are in front of the car. The car exploded earlier, so I don’t know if there’s anything left.”

“It’s alright. We’ve killed mutated cows in other places too. I’ll take a few ability users to carry them back. Thank you so much, Zhuang Shi!” After saying that, Hao Ren quickly ran off to find food.

Zhou Quan turned his head to look at Zhuang Shi with disdain. “You’re so shameless. The idea that the meat of mutated animals is edible was clearly Chu Xihen’s!”

“Then why didn’t he say it? Since I said it to Mr. Hao, then it’s my idea. If you’re not convinced, go find him and make it clear!” With his true nature exposed, Zhuang Shi became even more shameless.

Xiao Xi still tried to persuade him appropriately, “Alright, let’s quickly go back to the tent!”

After she pulled Zhuang Shi away, the remaining four, Chu Xihen, Su Yan, Zhou Quan, and Gao Lin, stared at the tent that could only sleep two people, facing each other in dismay.

“You guys stay in the tent, I’ll just sit outside,” Chu Xihen said first. After speaking, he went around to gather some things that could be burned and prepared to make a fire.

Su Yan looked at Gao Lin, who had a pale face. “I won’t sleep either. Gao Lin is injured, let him sleep.”

Since she had said so, Zhou Quan naturally had no objections.

After helping Gao Lin into the tent, Su Yan took the initiative to stay behind to take care of him, and Zhou Quan happily went to find his good brother.

Gao Lin saw Zhou Quan’s cheerful figure from the opened tent door and felt like he wanted to vomit blood again.

This heartless thing!

Zhou Quan caught up with Chu Xihen, helping him gather firewood while asking, “Brother, what’s your relationship with that ability user? Why is he so mean? And is the leader he mentioned a girl?”

Chu Xihen stopped what he was doing and looked at him. “I’m not familiar with that ability user. As for his leader, Lou Su is a man.”

Zhou Quan was shocked. “A man? Then you and him, you guys…”

“Homosexual, haven’t you seen one before?” Chu Xihen asked.

Zhou Quan shook his head blankly. “Never seen a live one.”

Chu Xihen felt somewhat sympathetic towards Gao Lin. With Zhou Quan’s lack of perception, he wondered when he would ever be able to see Gao Lin as a living person.

Zhou Quan’s train of thought was very jumpy. After just asking about Chu Xihen’s sexuality, he began to feel indignant for him. “Your boyfriend hasn’t even shown his face, so why is that guy named Wan saying you should break up? Does being an ability user make him great? If I awakened an ability, I would definitely help you beat him up!”

Chu Xihen thoughtfully asked Zhou Quan, “You also think that it only counts when he says it to me in person, right?”

Zhou Quan replied without thinking, “Of course, it’s a matter between you two. What right does Wan Ming, an outsider, have to interfere?”

Chu Xihen thought about it and felt that this was indeed the case. “Alright, then I’ll wait for Lou Su to wake up.”

Originally, after separating at the airport, he felt that he and Lou Su were forever parted. Who knew that they would meet again in less than a day?

Then he would say goodbye in person and bring their two-year relationship to a close.