“A natural hot spring resort?”
Inside a supermarket in G City.
Lin Weiran picked up a flyer stuck to the floor and fell into brief contemplation.
Si Zhe and the remaining three teammates had just finished loading all the supplies into the vehicle when they looked over in confusion. “What’s wrong?”
Lin Weiran handed over the flyer. “There’s a hot spring nearby.”
“A hot spring nearby?” The teammates immediately crowded around in excitement.
Ever since they entered the provincial capital where G City was located, the temperature had been dropping by the day. At that time, they had only been wearing thin mountaineering jackets and had nearly frozen to death on the way.
It had been difficult enough to reach a few small towns, but all the cold-weather gear had long been looted.
In the end, they had to rush to G City, where they finally found a few sets of down jackets and quilts in this large town. But by then, snow had already begun falling from the sky.
For two days, the snow had continued, turning the outdoors into an ice cellar. If it weren’t for their strong physiques and high body heat, they would have frozen to death in the cold night.
The flyer had been stored indoors and was still relatively new.
Si Zhe scanned through it quickly and also fell into contemplation.
With the heavy snowfall and ice starting to form on the roads, their original plan was to stock up on enough supplies, find a suitable place to stay in G City, and wait for the snowstorm to pass before setting out again.
Now, knowing there was a natural hot spring nearby in G City… Lin Weiran’s gaze fell on the back of the flyer, where a small line of text was printed—“You’re invited to Hot Spring Village for a three-day rural retreat!”
She was completely tempted.
“Si Zhe.” Lin Weiran tugged on Si Zhe’s hand. “Let’s go there, okay?”
“Why are your hands so cold?”
Si Zhe’s first reaction was to hold Lin Weiran’s hands in his palms and rub them a few times.
Ever since they found medicine in X City, Si Zhe’s injuries had finally healed. Thanks to Lin Weiran’s unwavering care during that time, their relationship had already deepened significantly—only one step remained to confirm it. (TL: Huh? They’re not yet a couple??)
The warmth from his palm spread straight to her heart. The biting cold wind and the large snowflakes drifting from the sky couldn’t chase away the warmth inside Lin Weiran.
“It’ll be fine once we get in the car.”
“Si Zhe, while the ice on the road isn’t too thick yet, let’s drive to Hot Spring Village. Since it’s advertised as a rural retreat, it must have cultivated a lot of crops. Even if they’ve all frozen by now, as long as there are still seeds left, we can try planting them again.”
Back in X City, they had been in a hurry to find medicine and leave the zombie-infested area, only gathering a bit of food before rushing on the road. From X City to G City, their meals had been pitifully simple. At first, they could still dig up some wild vegetables by the roadside, but after the cold wave arrived, they had been forced to survive on plain porridge.
Lin Weiran had an inexplicable sense of unease. She felt that things weren’t supposed to turn out this way.
They were strong. Even when facing zombie hordes and the harsh cold, they should have been able to push forward with confidence, fighting and leveling up until they reached the Southern Base. After all, before they left the highway, everything had been going according to plan.
Until… her cousin concealed her ability and left the team. That was when everything changed beyond recognition.
Si Zhe keenly caught the fleeting trace of disappointment in Lin Weiran’s eyes and took a deep breath.
He also knew that it was his injury that had dragged her down. If she hadn’t been taking care of him, she could have had a much better life.
Now that he had recovered, Si Zhe, carrying a sense of guilt and the desire to make up for it, found himself agreeing with whatever Lin Weiran wanted.
“Alright, let’s go find this Hot Spring Village now.”
Si Zhe agreed without hesitation, instantly sweeping away the chaotic thoughts in Lin Weiran’s mind. She cast him a sweet, playful glare. “Hurry up and get in the car! If we don’t leave now, the snow will get even heavier!”
The vehicle drove toward Hot Spring Village, following the exact same route as in Lin Weiran’s previous life.
The only two differences were that Su Su was no longer with them, and their timing had changed.
Screech—
In just a few dozen kilometers, the car skidded multiple times, and only Si Zhe’s exceptional driving skills kept it under control.
A teammate voiced their concern. “Weiran, if we don’t find Hot Spring Village, won’t we end up stranded on the road?”
Lin Weiran had no immediate answer.
The road signs in the area had been deliberately destroyed by someone, leaving them to navigate using only a pre-apocalypse map.
She, too, was anxious, her eyes scanning the surroundings constantly. When she finally recognized the foothills marked on the map, her face lit up with joy. “We’re here!”
At the base of the mountain stood an empty sentry post, eerily silent, with no one standing guard.
In the midst of their excitement, only Si Zhe frowned slightly.
He had keenly noticed that, despite being covered in snow, the sentry post was incredibly clean—as if it had been maintained and guarded even after the apocalypse began.
“Si Zhe, what are you thinking about?” Lin Weiran waved a hand in front of his face. “Come on, let’s head up the mountain!”
Si Zhe withdrew his gaze, suppressing the unease in his heart. “Alright.”
As they drove from the base to the mountainside, the sign for Hot Spring Village came into view, and the signs of human activity grew more apparent.
A teammate rolled down the window, staring in disbelief at the villagers moving about inside. “There are actually still people living here!”
Seeing an unfamiliar vehicle enter the village, the villagers by the entrance flashed expressions of resentment but remained powerless.
For the past two or three days, with Wei Yan and Zou Gaoming absent, more and more outsiders had arrived at Hot Spring Village to escape the cold.
At first, the villagers had been reluctant.
Those who were easy to talk to handed over supplies and crystals and were let in with a smile. Those who resisted… usually received a beating. In worse cases, an outsider with a bad temper would kill a villager on the spot.
After that, the entire village understood—anyone who could drive into Hot Spring Village in the middle of a blizzard was likely an ability user, someone they couldn’t afford to provoke. From that day on, no one dared to charge “residence fees” anymore.
Not only that, but these outsiders had begun to act with complete impunity, seizing control of the hot springs, inns, and even the greenhouse farms.
Some ability users who lacked supplies would even break into villagers’ homes, loot their goods, and leave without a second thought.
By the time Lin Weiran and her team got out of the car, the villagers had already scattered, only daring to steal furtive glances without uttering a word.
“Si Zhe, don’t you think this village is strange?” Lin Weiran’s gaze swept over the powerless villagers. “How have they survived the apocalypse until now? Is it just because they’re far from the city?”
As she spoke, a miserable scream echoed in the distance.
“That’s my rice! Give me back my rice!”
Two Tier 2 ability users leaped over a courtyard wall, each carrying a sack of rice on their shoulders.
A desperate villager chased after them, wailing in agony—only to become yet another corpse under the blade of an ability user.
The group silently watched until the commotion subsided before exchanging glances.
Lin Weiran came to a conclusion. “It seems that the cold wave and heavy snow have driven many people to discover this Hot Spring Village, disrupting the village’s original ecological balance.”
They continued forward when suddenly, a teammate exclaimed in excitement, “Look over there!”
Lin Weiran and Si Zhe followed the voice and turned their heads.
It was a greenhouse. Several vegetable greenhouses had been built in the fields near the back mountain.
Lin Weiran was delighted. “There are greenhouses here! We can grow vegetables!”
As long as the temperature inside could be controlled, they could even grow tomatoes!
One teammate had already jumped into the field ahead of them, roughly lifting the heavy curtain covering the greenhouse entrance.
“Tomatoes! There are tomatoes inside!”
It was exactly what they needed. Lin Weiran excitedly walked to the greenhouse as the teammate inside picked two half-ripe tomatoes—one he bit into, the juice splattering everywhere, and the other he handed to her.
“Try it!”
Just as Lin Weiran was about to take it, a gust of wind and sand suddenly slashed at them from the side.
“Watch out!” Si Zhe reacted quickly, yanking her back in time.
The sneak attack missed its mark. Lin Weiran’s heart pounded as she turned to the source. “Who’s there?”
Several ability users swaggered out, their eyes filled with malice as they locked onto this unfamiliar team.
“Newcomers, huh? Don’t you know these greenhouses are ours? Get lost!”
Lin Weiran scoffed in disbelief. “Did you build these greenhouses? Did you plant these crops? What gives you the right to claim them?”
“This does.”
The opposing group revealed their abilities—two Tier 3 ability users and two Tier 2 ability users. With such a lineup, they could dominate almost anywhere.
Si Zhe’s expression instantly turned serious.
He silently released his own ability—Tier 3 lightning. His oppressive aura alone was enough to intimidate most people.
Lin Weiran followed suit, summoning a fireball. During the zombie horde incident in X City, she had obtained a Grade 3 crystal, successfully advancing to a Tier 3 ability user.
If it came down to pure strength, their team had two Tier 3 ability users and three Tier 2 ability users, giving them an advantage in numbers.
Now, it was the other side’s turn to look grim.
But in the apocalypse, greenhouses were a rare survival resource—there was no way they would give them up without a fight.
A loud roar erupted. “Fine! Let’s see whose fists are stronger!”
The enemy ability users charged first. Si Zhe and Lin Weiran didn’t back down, leading the counterattack.
Four Tier 3 ability users and five Tier 2 ability users clashed in battle, instantly kicking up a storm of dust and debris, turning the sky dark.
Aside from the greenhouses, which both sides deliberately avoided, the surrounding houses were completely destroyed. The villagers hiding nearby either fled in terror or were caught in the crossfire, injured in the chaos.
In an instant, the village had completely fallen into a battleground for outsiders.
“AHHHHHH!!!”
The scorching flames engulfed a Tier 3 ability user, turning him into a fireball. Lin Weiran turned her head and saw that Si Zhe was about to deal a heavy blow to his opponent, while the other three teammates were close to subduing the remaining two Tier 2 ability users.
Victory was in sight. A smile curled at the corner of Lin Weiran’s lips—sixty percent exhilaration, forty percent triumph…
But the smile didn’t last long. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble.
“What’s going on?”
“An earthquake?!”
Lin Weiran felt the tremors for a few seconds before shouting, “No! It’s not an earthquake! It’s…”
It was a localized tremor, as if some massive creature was about to emerge from the mountains.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the back mountain, where a deep, pitch-black cavern trembled. Then, from the darkness, a colossal form slithered out—a monstrous creature, five to six meters wide.
A black-scaled serpent twisted through the mountain ridges and pools, its massive body coiling and writhing. In that instant, no one could tell just how long it truly was.
“Hiss!!!”
A gigantic head burst forth from a molten crevice, shooting toward the village with terrifying speed.
“It’s a giant python! An underground python!”
“Hiss!!!”
Its deafening hiss rumbled like thunder, casting a dark shadow over everyone.
Wherever its massive head passed, villagers who failed to flee in time were swallowed whole.
Its speed was overwhelming, and its ever-emerging body crushed all the buildings in its path. Those who had hidden inside their homes didn’t even have time to scream before they were flattened into pulp.
The giant python surged forward at an alarming pace, reaching them in the blink of an eye.
Si Zhe immediately grabbed Lin Weiran’s arm. “Run!!!”