As soon as the words left his mouth, Lu Tao regretted them.
He clearly knew that Su Su was a Tier 6 ability user, the python following her was also Tier 6, not to mention Jiang Hong and his battle pet—two people, two battle pets, entirely on the same side.
On his own side, however, they were exhausted, thirsty, and starving… After trekking continuously for two or three days, their bodies were already like spent bows with no strength left to fire.
Lu Tao’s facial muscles stiffened slightly.
Before he could figure out how to salvage the situation, he saw a half-serpent figure emerge from the tent!
“Fuck! What the hell?!”
He instinctively staggered backward several steps, his eyes widening in horror at the inhuman sight, nearly screaming out loud in shock.
Once he got a better look, Lu Tao forcefully shut his mouth, his heart still pounding.
It was the python that followed Su Su… It had transformed…
What the f was so shocking about that? A Tier 6 battle pet was supposed to be able to transform!
It was just that the form was so unsettlingly inhuman that it had given him a real scare.
Lu Tao spent a long moment steadying himself, but his feet, which had already retreated, refused to move forward again—in fact, they seemed to be inching back even more… Mostly because the half-serpent’s gaze was utterly terrifying, as if it was ready to crush him whole at any moment…
He was starting to regret coming here.
Originally, he had only spotted Jiang Hong’s vehicle and figured that, given the guy’s gravity-based ability and his battle pet’s metal-type powers, it would be no surprise if they had managed to survive the hurricanes and sinkholes while keeping their vehicle intact.
Lu Tao and his companion had already run out of supplies and were hoping to use what little rapport he had with Jiang Hong to beg for some rations—or at the very least, hitch a ride out of the desert.
He hadn’t expected… Su Su to be here too!
Thinking of the enmity between them and glancing at that half-serpent’s dangerously fixated gaze, the alarm bells in Lu Tao’s mind were clanging at full volume.
Unconsciously, he took several more steps back.
Su Su, however, was pleased by the arrival of these two unexpected guests.
Pleased that an enemy had delivered himself to her doorstep.
Pleased that his arrival had interrupted Xuan Mang’s mating attempt… If not for the cover of night, the redness and swelling at the corners of her lips would have been glaringly obvious.
Just moments ago, when they had heard movement outside the tent, he had been completely unwilling to let her go.
At the same time, though, she was furious.
Lu Tao’s words just now had been utterly repulsive.
Su Su’s expression turned cold as she let out a mocking laugh. “What a coincidence.”
Lu Tao: “……”
His unease grew stronger by the second, and he instinctively glanced toward another tent. “Where’s Jiang Hong? Get him out here to talk to me!”
He still held onto the hope that Jiang Hong, for the sake of their guilds, would step in and smooth things over—at the very least, hold Su Su back.
But his repeated shouting was only met with a cheetah’s furious roar.
“Meow!!”
A near-blurred figure of the cheetah lunged at him, sinking its teeth viciously into his calf. In an instant, blood seeped through his dirt-stained combat uniform.
“Ahhhhhh!!!”
A piercing scream tore through the sky.
The Tier 6 ability user standing beside Lu Tao immediately attacked. “Beast, let go!”
The moment he activated his ability, Xuan Mang moved as well.
Its bandaged tail viciously swept the Tier 6 ability user into the air. At the same time, blue flames engulfed the man, instantly turning him into a ball of fire.
Seeing that the fight had erupted without a word, Lu Tao abandoned his last shred of hope. A ruthless glint flickered in his eyes.
“Then let’s see whose fists are harder!”
They were all Tier 6 ability users—if they couldn’t win, could they at least escape?
Just as Lu Tao was about to move, his expression changed in terror—he couldn’t move at all!
It was Su Su’s ability… No, the suppression he felt was far stronger than before!
His frightened eyes met the woman’s gaze.
Lu Tao’s lips trembled—his only body part still capable of movement—but the words he wanted to say refused to come out.
This woman… this woman had advanced to Tier 7!
Impossible!
Completely impossible!
His emotions refused to believe it, but logic told him otherwise—this was entirely possible. That Tier 7 zombie was still in the desert. If Su Su had found and killed it, she would have become a Tier 7 ability user.
Then what about him? What would happen to someone who had repeatedly opposed her and even tried to kill her?
The terror in Lu Tao’s eyes deepened.
He regretted everything—why had he come here?! They were only a day’s journey from the desert’s edge. If they had just endured a little longer, they could have made it out. Once outside, even gnawing on tree bark would have kept them alive for a while.
Why did they have to come here?!
Just outside his field of vision, a thick serpent’s tail pierced through his chest…
In the final moment before death, Lu Tao still clung to the desperate hope that Jiang Hong would walk out of the other tent and, for the sake of the ability user guild, persuade Su Su to stop…
Bang! Bang!
Two lifeless bodies collapsed onto the desert sand.
Lu Tao died with his eyes wide open, unwilling to accept his fate.
Su Su, still holding a grudge over his earlier offensive words, frowned and ordered, “Ah Xuan, burn them clean.”
Hiss!
The blue flames consumed the two corpses completely, leaving behind only two small piles of ashes.
With that, the ability user guild was left with only one remaining Tier 6 powerhouse, who had stayed behind at the base.
As for the battle pet guild… their status was unknown.
And the most deeply hidden research guild… even Su Su couldn’t gauge their depths.
She took a deep breath and looked at the cheetah. “It’s already past midnight. Go get some rest, I’ll take the night watch.”
The cheetah shook its head and lay back down beside the fire, clearly determined to continue keeping watch.
It knew she was exhausted and wanted her to be in top condition the next day—to drive out of the desert and return to the Northern Base.
To take revenge.
In contrast, Xuan Mang was particularly insensible.
He even attempted to coil around Su Su’s waist, trying to drag her back into the tent to finish what had been interrupted earlier—
“Then let AhXuan keep watch,” Su Su decided outright.
Xuan Mang abruptly turned his head. “Hiss!”
Su Su had already figured out how to handle him. She blinked lightly and asked, “Or do you want me to keep watch?”
Of course not.
He had been counting on that cheetah to stand guard all night.
Xuan Mang stared at the female for a long moment before suddenly shifting his gaze toward the cheetah by the fire. But before he could even attempt to intimidate it, the cheetah stood up and, right in front of both the person and the snake, slipped into another tent.
Xuan Mang: “……”
Su Su chuckled, stepping forward to embrace him, giving him the warmest, softest hug.
Yet the words she spoke were utterly heartbreaking for a snake. “You’ve worked hard.”
With that, she slipped into the tent and pulled the flap tightly shut.
Leaving behind the half-serpent figure standing by the fire, his expression shifting unpredictably. In frustration, he lashed his tail—scattering Lu Tao’s ashes.
The dust vanished into the wind, blending with the sand and disappearing without a trace.
The night returned to silence.
The night wind stirred up layers of sand and gradually cooled Xuan Mang’s burning-hot serpent body.
The fire flickered in his slit-pupiled eyes.
Eventually, it turned into reluctant acceptance.
—
Deep in the night.
Inside the tent, the cheetah finally no longer detected that strong, intoxicating scent.
—
A few days later.
Outside a run-down hotel, a beautiful woman dressed in a sleek combat outfit stepped out.
As she walked down the worn-out streets, she effortlessly drew countless gazes.
This small base was located to the northeast of the Northern Base. There weren’t many local ability users here—most of the people passing through were ability users on missions who treated this place as a temporary rest stop.
A beautiful, lone, young woman.
Appearing in a place like this with such a calm demeanor—she was either a fool or a powerful expert with hidden trump cards. And since all the fools had already died off at the start of the apocalypse, she could only be the latter.
For a moment, the onlookers only dared to steal glances discreetly—none of them dared to make a move.
Su Su eventually sat down at a wonton stall.
“One bowl of wontons.”
The stall owner glanced at her a few times. Though somewhat impressed by her looks, business came first. “A large bowl has thirty wontons—Grade 4 crystal for one serving.”
That was a bit too expensive.
But any stall set up here must have some backing. The food they sold contained meat and fine grains, so the pricing was strictly “take it or leave it.”
In the apocalypse, prices were always chaotic.
Su Su wasn’t short on crystals these days. She tossed one onto the table. “Give me a large bowl.”
“Got it.”
The owner quickly served up a steaming bowl of wontons.
Su Su tasted one. Surprisingly, it was quite good, bringing back rare memories of life before the apocalypse—
“Hey, have you guys heard?”
“Heard what?”
“Something happened at the Northern Base!”
The one who spoke had just come from the Northern Base. The surrounding ability users were mostly people who had been on long-term missions and hadn’t returned yet. They immediately perked up their ears.
Su Su lowered her gaze, gently blowing on a wonton to cool it.
She had deliberately taken a detour, driving from the northwest to the northeast, avoiding the usual route back from the desert to the Northern Base. Her goal was to gather information.
And to stay clear of any potential traps.
“The Research Guild recently issued a mission to head west, kill a Tier 7 zombie, and retrieve research data. This mission practically emptied the Ability User Guild and the Battle Pet Guild of their high-tier members…”
“I heard about that. What? They failed?”
“That’s not it!” The man shuddered and continued, “The Research Guild took advantage of this mission to wipe out both the Ability User Guild and the Battle Pet Guild! The Tier 6 ability users and battle pets left behind at their bases were all killed!”
Su Su’s chewing came to an abrupt halt.
“Impossible!”
“The Research Guild only has the Scholar at Tier 6, and that’s a non-combat intelligence ability! How could they possibly have the power to wipe out two entire guilds?”
“It’s not like the Ability User Guild and the Battle Pet Guild went all in on the mission. They still had people left behind! There’s no way the Research Guild could have just wiped them out!”
For a moment, skepticism spread through the crowd.
For a long time, the Research Guild had given the survivors in the Northern Base the impression that they were intelligent but weak. They had built their foundation by selling research results, maintaining good relations with all factions because of it.
If someone claimed that the Ability User Guild had wiped out the Battle Pet Guild, or vice versa, it would have been more believable.
“Why the hell would I lie to you?” The first speaker frowned. “The Research Guild isn’t as weak as you all think. They fooled everyone!”
“What do you mean?”
“A week ago, the Research Guild dispatched over a dozen Tier 6 ability users—and a Tier 7 ability user! They stormed the headquarters of both guilds, slaughtering countless ability users in a single night. The next day, someone snuck over to check the scene… It was nothing but blood and dismembered limbs! The place was a goddamn massacre!”
Before the man had even finished speaking, a series of sharp intakes of breath echoed around them.
The atmosphere turned chillingly silent.
Everyone at the wonton stall exchanged uneasy glances until another ability user passing by confirmed the story with a heavy tone. “He’s telling the truth. I just came from the Northern Base as well.”
In an instant, the small wonton stall erupted into a flurry of shocked murmurs.
“How could the Research Guild suddenly have so many high-tier ability users?!”
“Were they hiding their strength all along? But why would they target the two guilds? The more ability users there are, the safer the base should be!”
“…They probably want to be the rulers of the Northern Base.”
“I still don’t get it. Where did they even get that many high-tier ability users? There were no reports of a Tier 7 zombie appearing anywhere nearby!”
“……”
The wontons in Su Su’s hand gradually cooled.
But inside, waves of shock crashed through her mind.
The Ability User Guild and the Battle Pet Guild were gone?
The Research Guild had a Tier 7 ability user?!
This was only the second year of the apocalypse. In her past life, even by the third year, most people’s strength had barely reached Tier 6… She had heard that the Northern Base was stronger, but there had never been any rumors of a Tier 7 ability user existing…
Then, a particular sentence rang sharply in her ears.
“So the Battle Pet Guild and the Ability User Guild… they were just completely wiped out?”
“Not exactly. A small group managed to escape. No one knows where they’re hiding now.”
Su Su silently finished her now lukewarm wontons.
Before leaving, she packed up two extra portions.
Only after everyone was engrossed in their heated discussions did she quietly slip away from the wonton stall, disappearing into the night without a trace.