Pang Cancan’s voice was not low—it was loud enough for nearly everyone to hear.
Pretty boy?
The Sun siblings instinctively turned to look inside the vehicle—what a rare sight! They hadn’t expected that someone like Su Su, a high-level ability user, would actually be into pretty boys!
However, before they could get a clear look, a blue flame suddenly appeared out of thin air, instantly burning off half of Pang Cancan’s bangs. Startled, she hurriedly jumped down from the car door, staring in shock and uncertainty at the man lurking in the shadows who had launched this sinister attack… That gaze… Why did it feel so much like, like…
Before her suspicions could settle, her sudden retreat allowed the sunlight to shine further into the car. The previously shadowed pair of vertical pupils became incomparably clear.
Pang Cancan was so frightened that she nearly screamed.
Wait! Wait!
She clutched her chest, mustered up her courage, and took another look… Xuan Mang??? He had taken human form???
The “pretty boy” from just now had instantly transformed into a living King of Hell.
For a moment, Pang Cancan was so stunned that she completely forgot about her half-burned bangs. She stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the backseat.
As if feeling that his scare wasn’t enough, Xuan Mang, still lurking in the shadows, maliciously lifted half of his snake tail and deliberately swayed it back and forth right in front of Pang Cancan, as if to intimidate her.
This vengeful and sinister serpent had no regard for the feelings of other humans.
Only when facing a female would he restrain his nature, presenting a docile appearance to coax greater indulgence. When it came to others, he couldn’t wait for them to bow and scrape before him—scaring one was one less to deal with.
Pang Cancan: “……”
She stumbled backward, and Sun Zhichun quickly stepped forward three paces to steady her.
Then… he saw it too. That inhuman snake tail, swaying wickedly right before his eyes.
Sun Zhichun: “……”
Taking several deep breaths, the man, valuing his dignity, pretended to be calm and stood his ground, forcing himself to process this terrifying scene.
Seeing the two of them speechless, Sun Zhixia curiously stepped forward. “What’s wrong? Shouldn’t we be happy that Miss Su is back—”
The latter half of her sentence got stuck in her throat.
Watching three people in a row display looks of shock and horror, Su Su quickly reached out and yanked Xuan Mang’s tail down.
“Ah Xuan—Ah Xuan took human form, but he can’t turn back right away. Also, don’t be fooled by his scary appearance—he’s actually very well-behaved…”
Well-behaved?
The three of them turned to look again, only to see that the sinister and handsome snake-man who had just been deliberately scaring them was now standing expressionlessly in the backseat. The tail that had been wildly swaying just moments ago had now obediently curled back beneath the car seat, making it hard to see.
Xuan Mang even forced out an obedient smile.
Only… the stiffened facial muscles that formed that expression made it look more like a smirk than an actual smile.
Even scarier!!!
Pang Cancan was the first to collapse and also the first to recover.
She was merely frightened, not unable to accept Xuan Mang’s human form.
“Sister Su Su, did Xiao Hei… reach Tier 7?”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s attention shifted to the more important matter.
The sudden transformation of Xuan Mang—could it really mean he had advanced to Tier 7?!
Su Su shook her head. “No, he’s currently at the peak of Tier 6.”
With her explanation, the others also came to their senses. If he had truly reached Tier 7, Xuan Mang wouldn’t still have so many inhuman traits.
After getting over their initial shock, the three present gradually calmed down.
After all, after their trip to the northern base, the transformation of battle pets was no longer considered a rare occurrence. Even Sun Zhixia’s Eagle King had successfully taken human form a week ago after consuming the Tier 6 crystal that Sun Zhichun had brought back. He had turned into a handsome and steady young man, but his arms had remained as wings. This half-human, half-bird form quickly made him lose interest in maintaining his human transformation, and he had since reverted to appearing as a regular eagle when in public.
But unexpectedly… Xuan Mang’s transformation was even more terrifying than Hei Bao’s…
Pang Cancan touched her scorched bangs, feeling both indignant and unwilling to be outdone. She muttered, “Xiao Hei sheds his scales so aggressively, yet after transforming, he didn’t go bald? That’s truly unexpected!”
“Hiss—”
A warning hiss rang out. Xuan Mang, who had kept his serpent tongue hidden until now, unhesitatingly flicked it out at Pang Cancan.
Pang Cancan clutched at her philtrum, pinching it hard.
She might as well have just stuck with thinking of him as a pretty boy!
Everyone’s ability to adapt was beyond expectations, and Su Su finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She had been afraid that her companions would feel repulsed by Xuan Mang’s new form, but now it seemed that while shock was inevitable, none of them showed any rejection in their eyes.
“By the way, I haven’t asked yet—how did you all make it back here?”
“That’s a long story!”
Since there were still too many people gathered around the city walls, the group moved to the deserted seaside before beginning to recount their journey.
“…After Zeng Zhuyue and Lan Jing fought off those tracking ability users and escaped, Zhichun-ge and I caught up with them. We had no idea how many people were still chasing us, so we planned multiple routes but couldn’t be sure we’d make it through. If we ended up getting stopped at some base and those people were colluding with the Research Guild, we’d be caught between a rock and a hard place.”
At that time, their team had been reduced to only two Tier 6 ability users—Pang Cancan and Sun Zhichun. Lan Jing had already fallen into a deep coma. After fleeing for over a hundred kilometers in a panic, Sun Zhichun made a decision—to bring all the remaining battle pets back to the seaside base.
It was an incredibly risky move.
The Sun siblings could have chosen to protect themselves and stay uninvolved. But by taking them in, they risked drawing the wrath of the Research Guild to the seaside base.
Whether to accept or refuse them had been a completely understandable choice either way.
But when the group and their battle pets finally arrived at the seaside base and Sun Zhixia learned everything… she still chose to let them in.
“We can’t risk encountering another Yu Zhenghong. As long as I can live with my conscience, that’s enough.” That was what Sun Zhixia had said at the time.
She still wanted to believe that kindness would be repaid with kindness.
Pang Cancan’s words were so emotional that even Su Su seemed deeply moved. The Sun siblings, on the other hand, looked incredibly uncomfortable, and Sun Zhichun quickly changed the subject. “The base is still close to the shore. For now, the battle pets are being housed in that area, keeping some distance from the base’s residents.”
Because of the presence of those eagles, the residents of the seaside base were relatively tolerant of battle pets, but after some discussion, they still decided to temporarily separate them.
Su Su gazed into the distance.
Expanses of coastal highlands were lined with rows of three-story houses, which, even before the apocalypse, would have been excellent seaside villas.
As she passed through this area, she caught sight of someone she hadn’t seen in a long time—Sister Yun.
The moment their eyes met, the latter froze for a few seconds, as if she hadn’t expected Su Su to appear here.
“You’re back?”
Her gaze swept over the half-human, half-snake being at the back, using its snake tail to lash at venomous insects. Though a hint of astonishment flickered in her eyes, her reaction was not overly dramatic.
It was only when her gaze landed on the lone cheetah at the very end that her eyes widened in shock, and she urgently questioned, “Why is Ah Bao here too? Where’s Boss Jiang? Where did he go?”
Hearing that name, Su Su moved her lips but gave no reply.
From Su Su’s reaction, Sister Yun’s arms began to tremble. “He… what happened to him?”
Sensing that something was wrong, the previously chatting crowd fell silent, all turning to look at Su Su.
They had yet to ask what had happened on her side.
Su Su remained silent for a long time before truthfully recounting everything that had occurred in the desert.
When she spoke of Jiang Hong’s cause of death, Sister Yun erupted with boundless hatred and roared, “The Research Guild! It’s all because of the Research Guild! I will never share the same sky with them!”
“Meow—”
The cheetah had unknowingly walked up to Sister Yun, rubbing against her leg.
It was comforting her.
She had lost a comrade who had been with her since the beginning of the apocalypse, and for the cheetah, it had lost its most important human companion.
Sister Yun could no longer support her weakening body. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to her knees, hugging the cheetah as she wailed in sorrow.
Seeing this, Pang Cancan, who had just been commanding her venomous insect babies to counterattack, couldn’t hold back either. She threw herself into Su Su’s arms, her tears falling like raindrops.
She hadn’t known Jiang Hong for long, but he had once helped them and had briefly traveled with them… Yet, he had died so unjustly, so senselessly—who wouldn’t feel grief?
The sorrowful atmosphere lingered for a long time.
In the end, the crowd slowly dispersed, leaving Sister Yun and the cheetah to grieve in solitude.
By comparison, Su Su advancing to the Tier 7 no longer seemed like such a significant event.
She took Xuan Mang’s hand, and the latter obediently followed her as they slid toward an empty, deserted area.
“Ah Xuan… if I die—”
“Hiss!”
The Xuan Mang cut her off with a fierce hiss.
He refused to accept such a thing. He didn’t even want to hear those words.
This made him recall everything that had happened in the desert laboratory—at that time, at that moment, if things had gone just a little differently, Su Su would have ended up just like Jiang Hong, completely leaving him forever.
After Sister Yun broke down crying, the ruthless snake-man finally stopped whipping that ugly venomous insect.
He, too, sank into a low mood.
“Hiss!”
Xuan Mang let out another fierce hiss at Su Su.
Su Su scratched his palm lightly. “Alright, alright, I won’t bring it up.”
His palm itched, but his heart still felt heavy.
Perhaps this was the downside of becoming human—he was increasingly able to feel those complicated emotions, possessing not just hunger but even stronger desires and attachments… He wanted to hold Su Su, to coil her within his snake body, to claim her as his own…
But before he could act on this thought, an extra human sat down on Su Su’s other side—and even rested her head on her shoulder!
“Hiss!!!”
Pang Cancan completely ignored the snake’s threatening hiss. She clung to Su Su’s arm as if doing so could dispel the fear in her heart.
“What exactly is the Research Guild trying to do… They spent so much time carefully plotting Jiang Hong’s death, but what about you? We had just arrived at the northern base—could it be that just because Jiang Hong intended to recruit us, they wanted to kill you too?”
Her eyes were already swollen from crying.
Because of Jiang Hong’s death, and because Su Su had almost died in the desert… For a moment, Pang Cancan had wondered—if Su Su had died, what would she do?
Return to the southern base, bide her time, and take revenge in blood—no, she might never even know how Su Su had died. She would always be kept in the dark.
Pang Cancan felt an overwhelming sense of unease, one that stemmed from her sharp instincts telling her that something was deeply wrong with the Research Guild.
There were many things she could be told now, after having traveled together for so long.
Su Su told her everything—about Lin Weiran’s betrayal and death, Qi Huiling’s schemes, and Si Zhe’s resurgence…
Pang Cancan was fuming with rage. “Those two bitches again!”
“Lin Weiran must have had water for brains, and Si Zhe is just downright insane!”
If she had to guess, Lin Weiran’s death was definitely a conspiracy by the Research Guild!
“They want to fuel Si Zhe’s hatred and use him as a weapon!”
Su Su had thought of this as well, but what puzzled her more was—how had Si Zhe managed to repair his crippled dantian and leap to Tier 7 as an ability user? Was the Research Guild’s research really that advanced? Had they truly solved something that, in her past life, no one had ever been able to fix, even up to her death?
The Tier 7 zombie left in the desert, the energy contamination that killed Jiang Hong, the detonated Grade 7 crystal… Su Su and Pang Cancan exchanged a look. The latter swallowed nervously, holding back her words for a long time before finally speaking.
“Sister Su Su, your ability… it should be related to crystal energy, right?”
Without waiting for Su Su to respond, she immediately brought up the most urgent matter at hand.
“Lan Jing suffered the same danger as Jiang Hong—his body is filled with energy contamination. He has already reverted to his original form… Sister Yun said that at this rate, he might only last a few more days.”
Su Su hadn’t known about this.
She only knew that Lan Jing was seriously injured.
After hesitating for two seconds, she finally spoke. “You want me to save him?”
This was an indirect admission of her ability.
Pang Cancan lowered her head. After a long pause, she shook it. “I don’t want to.”
Maybe she had wanted to before, but after hearing about all of the Research Guild’s actions and conspiracies, she had become extremely cautious.
…This organization—every single one of their experiments revolved around crystal energy.
They had even invented black metal blocks specifically designed to target ability users and battle pets. Once detonated, the overwhelming energy contamination could easily kill anyone.
If they discovered that Su Su could counteract it… would they start treating her as the next “Jiang Hong”?
Would they, one day in the future, set an inescapable trap for her as well?
Pang Cancan felt selfish.
“…How about we go back to the southern base?”
Su Su gently squeezed her hand and softly asked, “What do you think the Research Guild will do next once they gain control over the entire North?”
Pang Cancan was speechless.
Su Su smiled lightly. “Take me to see them.”