“So, you’ve all already decided?”
The mayor, who had been watching the spectacle unfold, finally spoke. He had enjoyed quite the show and was now in an exceptionally good mood.
“Mayor, thank you for hosting us these past few days,” Si Zhe said, his voice calm. “We don’t need too many supplies—just give us what was originally agreed upon.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
At some point, Sun Wan had brought over a chair, and the mayor leisurely sat down, sweeping a meaningful gaze over everyone present.
“But I’ve changed my mind.”
Lin Weiran’s expression darkened instantly. “What does the mayor mean by this?”
“It means…” The mayor’s smile deepened. “You’ll have to offer more if you want to leave this town successfully.”
As soon as he finished speaking, every teammate shot to their feet, their presence fierce and hostile.
“What do you mean by that? Are you going back on your word?”
“What right do you have to stop us from leaving?!”
Six ability users glared at the mayor in unison, their overwhelming presence enough to intimidate most people.
But the mayor wasn’t one of them. He smiled faintly. “No rush, sit down and let’s talk.”
“You think we’ll just sit because you said so—”
The teammate who spoke suddenly wavered, his expression turning dazed before he uncontrollably collapsed into his chair.
Soon, the others followed, one by one, slumping down as if they had truly obeyed the mayor’s command.
Only three remained standing: Si Zhe, Lin Weiran, and Zhao Zhenyu.
Zhao Zhenyu’s face was filled with shock and rage. “Did you poison us?!”
His voice was too loud, and the mayor frowned. “Shut up.”
The next second, Zhao Zhenyu found himself unable to open his mouth!
The mayor finally smiled in satisfaction and turned to Si Zhe, the highest-ranking leader among them.
“That Grade 3 crystal—you haven’t absorbed it yet, have you?”
Si Zhe immediately understood the underlying message and his expression turned grim. “Mayor, you’re quite ambitious, aren’t you? Even a Grade 3 crystal that you already promised away—you’re still scheming to take it back.”
“No choice,” the mayor admitted, no longer bothering to hide his true intentions. “That other Tier 3 zombie got away, after all.”
Casually, he continued, “My original plan was to use you all to secure both Grade 3 crystals. Unfortunately, Ability User Zhao ruined my plan. So, I’ll just have to take compensation from you. That’s fair, isn’t it?”
Lin Weiran clenched her teeth. “Despicable!”
“Despicable? Compared to you, I don’t even come close.” The mayor laughed heartily. “Judging by what I just witnessed, it seems like you all are even more disgraceful than me, aren’t you?”
His gaze fell on Su Su.
A powerless beauty like her posed no threat. Thus, she was the only one unaffected by any restraints.
She was gripping the edge of the table, her face pale as she stared at the sudden turn of events.
“I should actually thank you.”
Seeing a beautiful woman in distress lightly satisfied some of the mayor’s darker urges.
“From the moment you entered the town, I knew I could use your strained relationship with these ability users to my advantage.”
“Look—this entire celebration, all of their attention ended up on you just as I expected!”
The mayor clapped his hands and laughed.
There was no way he would give up eighty percent of the supplies just for a pretty girl.
Hidden within the hall was a Tier 1 psychic ability user. That person had to maintain their ability at full force just to barely control Tier 2 ability users like Lin Weiran and Si Zhe.
The so-called supplies had only ever been a “bait.” Every event had been carefully orchestrated to divert the ability users’ attention.
And looking at the current situation—it had worked.
“Hand over that Grade 3 crystal, and I’ll let you all leave.”
Si Zhe didn’t believe him for a second. “And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll kill your lover first.”
Before Si Zhe could react, the mayor gestured toward Lin Weiran. “Come here.”
“Get lost!”
Lin Weiran cursed furiously, yet her body still moved uncontrollably toward the mayor.
Until the dagger in his hand pressed against her neck.
The mayor exerted a slight downward pressure with the blade. “Even an ability user can’t withstand a slit throat, can they?”
“Let her go! I’ll give you the crystal!”
The mayor scrutinized Si Zhe. The man who was always calm and composed now had fire and hatred in his eyes for the first time—all because his lover was being held hostage.
Raising an eyebrow, the mayor sneered, “How touching. Then toss the crystal over!”
“Then you’d better have your people release their control over me first.”
Si Zhe had already figured out that there was a psychic ability user hidden in the hall, someone whose level wasn’t high enough to completely control his mind but still strong enough to restrict his movements.
“Release his arms.”
At once, Si Zhe felt his arms regain mobility.
He took a deep breath, reached into his pocket, pulled out the orange crystal, and threw it toward the mayor.
“You have what you wanted. Now give Weiran back to me!”
The mayor’s eyes were locked onto the crystal, and he eagerly reached out to grab it—only for his entire arm to go numb in an instant.
Clatter.
His grip faltered, and the dagger slipped from his hand, falling straight to the ground.
In that brief moment, a figure darted toward the mayor at lightning speed. A swift strike knocked Lin Weiran aside, and a faint electric current jolted through her nerves the moment their skin made contact.
“Si Zhe!”
It was only then that Lin Weiran realized she could move again!
Years of fighting side by side meant she didn’t immediately charge at the mayor. Instead, she turned on her heels, catching Sun Wan off guard. She conjured a blazing wall of fire, blocking the mayor’s subordinates, before directly facing off against the only other Tier 2 ability user in the room—Sun Wan.
“You actually broke free!”
The mayor sucked in a sharp breath. Ignoring his numbed arm, he hurled a spike of hardened earth at Si Zhe.
“It’s useless.”
Si Zhe’s eyes were cold. The lightning blade in his hand not only sliced through the spike but also carried forward, striking the mayor before he could dodge.
The overwhelming force of the ability made the mayor cry out in disbelief. “You… you’re already at Tier 3?!”
The orange crystal?
He glanced down at his hand—only to realize he was holding nothing more than a cheap, orange-colored “gemstone,” the kind sold at street stalls for two yuan apiece.
Si Zhe… had already risked consuming the real Grade 3 crystal before attending this so-called celebration!
Was he not afraid that, with so little time, he wouldn’t be able to absorb it fully and would end up exploding from the energy overload?!
The mayor couldn’t believe it, but the undeniable reality of his steady defeat proved that Si Zhe had indeed reached Tier 3 in a short time using the crystal.
“Surprised?” Si Zhe said coldly. “I did it just to guard against you.”
Crackling lightning filled the entire hall.
Faced with the incoming onslaught, the mayor gritted his teeth and swallowed the newly acquired Grade 3 crystal.
The battle instantly plunged into chaos.
Su Su couldn’t get out through the main door, and moving recklessly risked getting caught in the crossfire of stray abilities. She had no choice but to clutch her backpack and hide behind a pillar.
Clatter—
A pile of stacked canned meat was suddenly knocked over, sending them rolling toward her.
Su Su’s heart pounded as she quickly scanned the surroundings—no one was paying attention to this corner.
Without hesitation, she snatched up two cans and unzipped her backpack.
“Xiao Hei! Store these for me!”
The black python hiding inside poked its head out, flicking its tongue lazily, showing no intention of opening its mouth.
Su Su was anxious. Ignoring her fear, she reached out and stroked its head.
“Xiao Hei, please? Help me, okay?”
A familiar white glow appeared, but even that wasn’t as pleasant to the snake as the warmth of her touch.
And on top of that, the human was coaxing it in an extra sweet and gentle voice, making the words sound especially pleasing to its ears.
At last, Xiao Hei deigned to open its mouth and swallowed the two cans.
Where there was one, there would be more.
Taking advantage of the ongoing battle, Su Su quietly gathered over a dozen more cans and an entire bag of sausages.
If the bags of rice and instant noodles hadn’t been so far away, she would’ve found a way to drag them over too and let Xiao Hei store them in its mysterious space.
Once she had stored everything she could, Su Su stroked the black snake’s head again.
Cold, smooth, and slippery—her instincts screamed in fear at the sensation.
Suppressing the urge to jerk her hand back, she softly said, “Thank you, Xiao Hei.”
The black snake seemed to notice her fear… or maybe it didn’t. It simply glanced at her before slowly retreating back into the backpack.
Su Su zipped it shut.
The fight was still raging on, but as she quietly observed the chaotic battle, the pieces of a long-overlooked truth from her past life began to fall into place—
Back then, she had refused the mayor’s demand and fled from the hall. Did this same battle unfold afterward?
The mayor had tried to take the only Grade 3 crystal from Si Zhe, but instead, after their clash, Si Zhe’s side had ended up with another one?
If that was the case…
Su Su’s gaze settled on Si Zhe. He would definitely win.
Even if both sides suffered heavy injuries, he would still come out on top.
Sure enough, the moment the thought crossed her mind, the mayor was unable to match Si Zhe’s strength and was swiftly defeated.
But at the same time, all the ability users under the mayor’s command, upon hearing the commotion, had already surrounded the hall from the outside.
Si Zhe clutched his bleeding abdomen, his face cold as he glared at the ability users outside who were trying to storm in. Suddenly, he grabbed the mayor by the collar.
“Make your people stand down. Let us leave the town, and tonight’s events will end here!”
Both Grade 3 crystals—one was in his stomach, the other in the mayor’s.
This battle had ended in mutual destruction. If they continued fighting, even if he managed to kill all of the town’s ability users, he would be so severely injured that continuing their journey would be impossible.
Leaving now was the better option.
At the doorway, Sun Wan stood in silence. She and Lin Weiran hadn’t decided a victor, but her injuries were severe—one of her arms had been burned so badly by fire that she had completely lost feeling in it.
“mayor?”
The mayor’s expression was dark. “Let them go!”
Sun Wan silently signaled for the others to disperse. Seeing the shift in situation, Lin Weiran quickly moved to support Si Zhe.
“Zhenyu, move! Now!”
Zhao Zhenyu, finally freed from control, was unwilling to leave empty-handed. Driven by resentment, he grabbed two boxes of instant noodles and a twenty-pound bag of rice before following the others out of the hall.
No one noticed that Su Su had been left behind.
Or rather, they deliberately ignored her.
They rushed toward the SUV parked outside the town. But just as they were about to get in, Si Zhe suddenly blocked Lin Weiran’s way.
“Get in that car.”
Which car?
Everyone turned to look and saw nothing but a plain, ordinary van—one of the vehicles used by the regular survivors who had been following them.
“Why that one?”
Si Zhe, still pressing a hand to his abdomen, silently opened the SUV’s trunk. Inside was a familiar medical kit.
“I said I’d return it. From today onward, no one owes anyone anything.”
He slammed the trunk shut with force, turned away without hesitation, and got into the van.
Zhao Zhenyu stared at Lin Weiran in disbelief. “Weiran, Si Zhe is being unreasonable—aren’t you going to do something?”
Lin Weiran hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “I think he’s right.”
“Right? How? Giving away something we already got? That bitch is never getting out of the mayor’s hands—”
“Enough!”
Si Zhe shot him a sharp glare. “Get in the car!”
With the captain’s authority suppressing him, Zhao Zhenyu, no matter how unwilling, could only comply and get in the van.
The vehicle sped away from the town.
A heavy silence filled the air.
No one spoke.
And so, no one noticed the growing darkness in the back seat—
Zhao Zhenyu’s fists clenched tighter and tighter, his expression twisting with barely contained malice.
Why?
How many times did they have to play this righteous act before they started believing they were actually noble?
The more he thought about it, the more resentment festered in his heart.
Apart from Si Zhe’s successful advancement to Tier 3, everyone else had gained nothing from this trip. They hadn’t gotten the supplies, they had lost a vehicle, and all their efforts had been wasted…
As his thoughts spiraled, the dissatisfaction in Zhao Zhenyu’s heart began to fester into something far more sinister.