Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Reuniting with “Acquaintances”

“If apologies worked, what would we need knives for?” White Wolf smiled as he said this.

The atmosphere in the room instantly tensed up again.

Yan Yu seemed utterly terrified of White Wolf. Even though she had dared to threaten Gu Ning earlier with so many guns pointed at her, now, with just a casual remark from White Wolf, her face turned deathly pale.

Perhaps she felt that Gu Ning was just bluffing, but White Wolf would actually act.

Gu Ning sighed inwardly, thinking that no matter the era, it’s always the truly wicked who come out on top. She wasn’t wicked enough, or perhaps she hadn’t yet shown her wicked side.

She glanced at Pei Jing. Though he looked apologetic, there was also an unyielding firmness in his eyes. This meant that if Gu Ning were to make a move against Yan Yu, he would definitely stand in front of her. Gu Ning knew full well that his special ability hadn’t been revealed yet, and she couldn’t afford to take that risk.

She raised her hand slightly, and the soldiers lowered their guns. She coldly looked at Pei Jing and said, “One day, you’ll die because of her.” Her voice was calm, so calm that it didn’t sound like a threat but more like a prophecy.

Pei Jing’s expression changed slightly, but he said nothing.

Gu Ning chose a dry spot to rest and said, “I’ll take the first watch tonight. Zhang Xiaobai and Zhang Yang will take the second. At dawn, we’ll set out to find Third Brother.”

“I’ll take the first watch,” Cheng Ming offered.

But Gu Ning firmly refused.

Everyone knew that Gu Ning’s decisions weren’t easily changed, so they each found a comfortable position to sleep. Despite the earlier danger, they had been pushing through without sleep since nightfall. Their extreme physical exhaustion overpowered the lingering fear in their hearts. With Gu Ning on watch, their psychological fear gradually subsided, and they soon fell asleep.

Jia Daozhang, however, couldn’t sleep. The thought of having once chewed on human flesh made him nauseous. If it weren’t for Gu Ning forcibly stopping him, that human flesh would have ended up in his stomach.

Occasional retching sounds could be heard from the other side. Clearly, eating human flesh was something ordinary people couldn’t accept, and it would likely leave them with lifelong trauma. But by now, the meat soup and flesh they had consumed were mostly digested, and even if they tried to vomit, there wouldn’t be much left.

Gu Ning quietly walked to the window, looking out at the rain. Her heart felt heavy. They hadn’t returned tonight, and her parents at the gathering place must be worried sick. But tomorrow, they still had to continue searching for Third Brother’s trail. She had no idea if he was safe. Gu Ning frowned, feeling that this wasn’t a good sign.

The only reason she existed in this world was to protect her parents, but now she was starting to worry about the safety of others.

White Wolf had somehow appeared beside Gu Ning, also gazing out at the dark rain.

Gu Ning slightly furrowed her brows but didn’t speak or move away, as if White Wolf wasn’t there.

White Wolf also remained silent, both pretending the other didn’t exist.

The two stood quietly by the window, looking out at the pitch-black world that seemed as bright as day to them.

By seven o’clock, everyone was awake.

The rain outside had stopped.

Those with guns began checking their weapons.

Though yesterday was perilous, they had refrained from using their guns, so their ammunition was still plentiful.

After a night’s rest, their condition hadn’t improved. Instead, the sudden drop in temperature from last night’s heavy rain had left many with colds.

Jia Daozhang, with his thick robe, was fine, but the others showed signs of catching colds.

Even the air carried a chill, raising goosebumps on exposed skin.

Gu Ning zipped up her jacket. Her thick sportswear was enough to ward off the cold.

With her gun slung over her back, Gu Ning walked to the window and looked down. The zombies that had surrounded the area last night were now gone.

Gu Ning took out some food from her backpack, distributing a bit to each person. After eating, they showed no intention of greeting the other teams and headed straight outside.

The man in the white shirt glanced at White Wolf, who gave no indication, so he also remained silent.

On the second floor, the ropes were still hanging outside, indicating that those people had indeed escaped.

Gu Ning and the others climbed down the ropes.

After a night of heavy rain, the ground was wet and covered in puddles.

They followed Gu Ning as she led the way.

After walking for a while, Zhang Xiaobai stopped and mustered the courage to call out, “Aren’t we going to look for Third Brother?” They were now heading in the direction of their parked vehicles.

Gu Ning stopped but didn’t turn around. She asked, “Where should we look?”

Zhang Xiaobai was at a loss for words.

Gu Ning continued, “If Third Brother is still alive, he’ll come back to us. I’ll wait until 4:30. If he hasn’t shown up by then… we’ll return to the gathering place.”

She had thought about it all night and made her final decision. She had no confidence in venturing into the pedestrian street and coming back unscathed. Moreover, she couldn’t even determine Third Brother’s location. Even if White Wolf was telling the truth, the square was vast, and who knew which corner they were hiding in? It was highly likely that they would risk their lives only to find no trace of Third Brother, ending up trapped themselves.

So she would wait in the vehicle until 4:30. If Third Brother and the others hadn’t appeared by then, she would assume they were dead.

Many people died every day in this world. It was just the way things were.

Gu Ning thought this to herself and continued walking toward the parked vehicles.

“Let’s go,” Zhang Yang said to Zhang Xiaobai.

Zhang Xiaobai’s shoulders slumped. Even though Gu Ning hadn’t said much, he knew that even with Xiang Xu’s radar-like ability, finding Third Brother would be incredibly difficult. The other soldiers patted his shoulders in mutual comfort. Then, with heavy steps, they followed Gu Ning.

Though Gu Ning had convinced herself, her mood remained somber.

No one spoke along the way.

They silently dealt with a small group of zombies, successfully obtaining two colored crystal cores, but it didn’t lift the team’s spirits.

Continuing forward, they soon saw the two military trucks still parked quietly.

Xiang Xu suddenly stopped, tugging at Gu Ning’s clothes, and said, “There are people inside.”

The team immediately tensed up.

Everyone instinctively looked at Gu Ning.

“How many people are inside?” Gu Ning asked.

Xiang Xu paused, then said, “More than ten.”

Gu Ning exchanged glances with the soldiers, nodded, and they quickly changed positions, aiming their guns and finding the best shooting spots. They signaled to Gu Ning that they were ready.

Gu Ning glanced at Jia Daozhang, who looked startled, cleared his throat, and was about to call out.

But the tightly shut cabin door suddenly creaked open—and was pushed open from the inside.

A series of gun cocking sounds followed as all the soldiers immediately aimed their guns at the door, ready to fire at the slightest sign of trouble.

But when the door opened, both the soldiers and the people inside were stunned.

Zhang Xiaobai rubbed his eyes in disbelief and then exclaimed in shock, “Company Commander?!”

Including Gu Ning, everyone was utterly surprised. The person who had pushed open the door and stood in the cabin was none other than the Third Brother they had been searching for!

Third Brother was also taken aback. After a moment of shock, he shouted, “Gu Ning! Where have you all been all night?!” Then he turned to the cabin and yelled, “Get up, all of you! Gu Ning and the others are alive! They’re back!”

“What?!” The soldiers, still half-asleep, scrambled to their feet and rushed to the door, only to see Gu Ning and the others staring at them with looks of utter disbelief.

They all jumped out of the truck, running over excitedly and shouting, “Where did you go?! You scared us half to death! We thought you’d been dragged off by zombies to be their food reserves!”

It was only then that Gu Ning snapped out of her daze, staring in confusion at the jubilant soldiers, unable to comprehend the situation.

Zhang Xiaobai, with red eyes, said, “I was about to ask you where you went! Luo Long, you just shouted once and then went silent. We shouted into the walkie-talkies until the batteries died, but we never heard from you again. Then we heard gunshots and went to investigate, only to find Wu Qiang’s body. We searched the area for a long time but couldn’t find you. Last night, we were almost tricked into eating human flesh and almost became someone else’s food reserves!”

“Alright, alright, stop arguing. Gu Ning, let me show you my special ability!” Third Brother impatiently interrupted Zhang Xiaobai, eager to show off.

Then, three earth spikes appeared out of thin air, floating in front of his chest.

Gu Ning’s eyes lit up with surprise. “Third Brother, you succeeded?!” Zhang Xiaobai and the others crowded around, both amazed and envious of the three earth spikes.

Third Brother chuckled proudly but was abruptly pushed aside.

“Me next! Me next!” Zhong Xu, usually calm and composed, couldn’t hide his excitement as he pushed Third Brother aside and said to Gu Ning, “Gu Ning, let me show you my special ability!” He flipped his hand, and a football-sized water ball appeared. “I’m a water-type special ability user! I’ve tasted this water—it’s drinkable! We’ll never run out of water again!”

“Alright, alright! My turn now!” Luo Long pushed Zhong Xu aside and extended his hand to Gu Ning. “Gu Ning, try cutting my hand with your knife!”

Gu Ning was momentarily stunned, but before she could react, Zhong Xu said, “Let me do it!” and raised his knife, slashing it down on Luo Long’s arm!

Everyone in Gu Ning’s team was shocked. Huang Mengyao even screamed. But Gu Ning just watched calmly as the knife struck Luo Long’s arm. Instead of the expected bloody scene of an arm being severed, the knife made a metallic clang as if it had hit metal.

Zhang Xiaobai exclaimed excitedly, “Iron Body Technique!”

Luo Long’s face darkened.

“It’s a metal-type special ability,” Gu Ning said with a smile. “Third Brother is earth-type, Zhong Xu is water-type. I didn’t expect you to succeed with three special ability users.” According to Xiang Xu’s probability, their success rate was remarkably high.

“Alright, enough showing off. Shut up for now,” Third Brother said.

This immediately drew silent complaints from Zhong Xu and the others, as Third Brother himself had been the most eager to show off.

“Gu Ning, what about you? How many of you succeeded?” Third Brother asked.

Zhong Xu, Luo Long, and the others immediately turned their attention to Gu Ning, looking at her with some tension.

Gu Ning shrugged. “We haven’t started yet. We’ll do it when we get back to the gathering place.”

Last night, new dangers could have emerged at any moment. If she had passed out for several hours like last time, any mishap could have been disastrous. So, for safety’s sake, she decided to wait until they returned to the gathering place before consuming the crystal cores.

Third Brother and the others were visibly disappointed but then shouted, “Let’s go, back to the truck! Hurry back to the gathering place!” With that, they started heading back.

Gu Ning was surrounded like a star as they walked toward the truck, chatting and laughing with the soldiers. Suddenly, her gaze inadvertently swept over the cabin, and her smile froze. She stopped in her tracks.

“Gu Ning, what’s wrong?” They all looked at her, puzzled.

Third Brother turned around, following Gu Ning’s gaze to the cabin, and said, “Those are people we met at the square yesterday. They said they know you, so we brought them along…” His voice trailed off as he noticed Gu Ning’s expression.

The smile on Gu Ning’s face slowly faded, replaced by a cold, icy stare at the people inside the cabin.

She gave a cold smile. Know them? Oh, she knew them all too well.