Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Gu Ning, the Cheat Code

The earth-type ability user had a thick green vine piercing his chest, seemingly unaware of what had just happened. The excited and cruel smile was still frozen on his face as he looked down in shock, seeing the green vine plunge into his chest, the tip emerging from his back, completely piercing his body. The tip, nourished by blood, bloomed into a crimson flower. The half-meter-long earth spikes, conjured by the earth-type ability user, lost control and clattered to the ground.

Next, the earth-type ability user was swung by the vine embedded in his chest, slamming into the wall with a loud *thud*. The vine’s tip dug deep into the wall, pinning the earth-type ability user to it. The man convulsed in pain, his face drained of color, barely clinging to life as blood dripped down the vine and pooled on the floor.

Everyone present was stunned, the air itself seeming to freeze. Third Brother stopped his cursing, staring dumbfounded at the earth-type ability user who had just been about to kill them, now pinned to the wall by what seemed like vines from heaven.

Jia Daozhang squinted, breathing heavily, his body trembling as he struggled to move. He followed the vine that pinned the earth-type ability user, his eyes widening in disbelief as he saw the person standing atop a massive vine as thick as a barrel.

Cheng Ming lay on the ground, his expression unreadable, staring at the figure rapidly approaching on the vine. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Only Third Brother, still with some strength, shouted in shock, “Gu Ning?!”

Gu Ning stood steadily on the giant vine, the wind whistling past her ears, her short golden hair shimmering in the wind. She looked at Third Brother and Jia Daozhang, who were hanging upside down, and at Cheng Ming, who lay weakly on the ground. Her ability surged wildly as the giant vine beneath her feet moved swiftly forward. Behind her, Zhang Xiaobai, Xiang Xu, Xiang Yi, and Hong Jie clung desperately to the vine, gripping the tendrils for dear life, afraid of being thrown off.

The scene was so surreal that no one could speak.

Just as they were struck dumb with shock—

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

Three heavy objects hit the ground.

Three people fell from the sky like sacks, crashing to the ground.

“Jiang Xue?!” the wood-type ability user exclaimed in shock, staring at the person who had been thrown down by the vine.

The three who had fallen from the sky were Jiang Xue, Sun Guang, and Liang Long, who had been chasing Zhang Xiaobai and Xiang Xu!

Jiang Xue lay on the ground, pale and in pain, her body broken in several places, a far cry from her earlier confident demeanor. The other two lay motionless, their condition unknown.

“Help… me…” Jiang Xue gasped weakly.

Wang Bo, shocked by the sight of Jiang Xue and the others, snapped out of his daze. Without a second thought, his ability surged, and countless water walls materialized around him! In an instant, over a dozen water walls stood tall!

Gu Ning waved her hand, and several vines as thick as arms burst from the ground! They twisted together as they grew rapidly, forming a massive vine that arced through the air, crashing into the water walls! The once-supple vines, known for their binding abilities, had now become deadly weapons!

The sound of rushing water filled the air as the vine effortlessly destroyed the first water wall, then the second, the third, the fourth—what had seemed like impenetrable barriers now crumbled like tofu under the vine’s assault. The water walls only slowed the vine for a moment before it continued its unstoppable charge toward Wang Bo!

The dozen water walls were destroyed in less than a minute! Wang Bo’s pupils constricted as he retreated rapidly, no longer caring about conserving his energy. His ability surged wildly as he conjured countless water arrows, draining a third of his energy in an instant! With a wave of his hands, the hundreds of water arrows shot toward the oncoming vine!

The water arrows, though transparent, were deadly. A hundred arrows flying in unison were a force to be reckoned with! They collided with the vine mid-air, and the arrows’ power was unleashed. The vine, already weakened from piercing through the water walls, shattered into pieces within seconds!

Seeing his water arrows destroy the vine, Wang Bo’s spirits lifted. He shouted at the stunned wood-type ability user, “Huang Fei!”

Huang Fei finally snapped out of his shock. Seeing the fate of the earth-type ability user and Jiang Xue’s group, he knew he had to give it his all or suffer the same fate. He steeled himself and prepared to attack.

Gu Ning had already arrived. Zhang Xiaobai and the others jumped off the giant vine, Luo Long even vomiting before rushing to rescue Jia Daozhang and Third Brother, who were still hanging upside down. The others went to check on Cheng Ming.

“Attack, Huang Fei!” Wang Bo commanded.

Huang Fei immediately activated his ability, and dozens of vines burst from the ground, aiming to entangle Gu Ning!

As Huang Fei focused on attacking Gu Ning, Wang Bo popped a crystal core into his mouth and conjured dozens more water walls before retreating rapidly, running in the opposite direction!

Huang Fei couldn’t believe his eyes as Wang Bo fled, realizing he had been used as a distraction so Wang Bo could escape!

Gu Ning waved her hand, and countless vines grew, entangling Huang Fei’s vines. One vine pierced Huang Fei’s body, pinning him next to the earth-type ability user.

Gu Ning’s gaze turned cold as she watched Wang Bo’s fleeing figure. She was about to give chase when Hong Jie’s urgent voice called out, “Gu Ning! Cheng Ming’s not going to make it!”

Seeing Wang Bo disappear behind a building, Gu Ning immediately abandoned the pursuit and rushed to Cheng Ming’s side.

Cheng Ming lay flat on the ground, his eyes closed in pain. Hearing Gu Ning’s footsteps, he struggled to open his eyes a crack, and when he saw it was really her, he tried to smile but couldn’t even move his lips. The earth spike had pierced his abdomen, and he had lost too much blood. He was probably going to die, Cheng Ming thought, but at least he got to see Gu Ning one last time. Still, there were things he wanted to say. He struggled to swallow and prepared to speak.

“Shut up,” Gu Ning said coldly. “Don’t talk. Close your eyes.”

Cheng Ming almost choked but obediently closed his mouth, though he refused to close his eyes completely, peeking at Gu Ning through a slit.

“Give me the knife,” Gu Ning said, reaching out to the side.

Luo Long quickly handed her the knife, and Gu Ning carefully cut away the clothing around the wound, revealing the full extent of the injury. The earth spike was deeply embedded in his flesh, a horrifying sight.

Gu Ning glanced at Cheng Ming and said, “Zhang Xiaobai, come here.”

Zhang Xiaobai hurried over.

Gu Ning continued, “Pull out this earth spike.”

“What?!?!” Zhang Xiaobai stared at Gu Ning in shock. The spike had pierced Cheng Ming’s entire abdomen. Pulling it out could kill him on the spot.

Gu Ning didn’t have time to explain further. “I’ll count to three, and you pull it out.”

Zhang Xiaobai looked into Gu Ning’s eyes and nodded reluctantly, trembling as he gripped the exposed part of the spike.

Gu Ning’s gaze was steady as she looked at Cheng Ming. “One.”

Zhang Xiaobai tensed.

“Two.”

Xiang Yi covered Xiang Xu’s eyes.

Gu Ning focused entirely on Cheng Ming’s wound, her hands placed on either side of the spike.

“Three—”

Everyone’s hearts were in their throats—

“Ah!” Zhang Xiaobai shouted, yanking the spike out of Cheng Ming’s body in one swift motion! Blood spurted out, and Cheng Ming’s face turned deathly pale. His body convulsed violently, and he passed out from the pain—

Gu Ning’s hands, which had been on the spike, immediately pressed down on the wound as she closed her eyes.

The green ocean within her space began to churn, forming a massive whirlpool. A column of water rose from the center, spiraling upward—countless green light points flowed from Gu Ning’s palms into Cheng Ming’s wound, rapidly repairing the damaged organs—

Third Brother and the barely conscious Jia Daozhang watched in awe as green light occasionally leaked from Gu Ning’s hands. Though they didn’t know what the light was, they understood that Gu Ning was saving Cheng Ming.

Even Zhang Xiaobai and Zhong Xu, who had seen Gu Ning’s healing before, were still amazed.

Gu Ning’s hands slowly left Cheng Ming’s abdomen.

The onlookers instinctively leaned in.

The gaping hole in Cheng Ming’s abdomen was gone. If not for the bloodstains, it was as if he had never been injured. However, due to blood loss, he remained unconscious.

Jia Daozhang was speechless. “This…”

Gu Ning smiled. “This is my ability—wood-type and healing.”

Jia Daozhang swallowed hard. “This is unbelievable.”

Gu Ning then used the same method to heal Jia Daozhang and Third Brother’s injuries.

Jia Daozhang was still reeling from the shock.

Third Brother asked, “Gu Ning, why did you disappear earlier?”

Gu Ning replied mysteriously, “I’ll explain later.”

When they reached the supermarket, Gu Ning waved her hand, and the entire shelf’s contents vanished into thin air!

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Third Brother stared at the empty floor, his tongue tied from a mix of tension, excitement, and fear. “What… what’s going on?”

“This is my other ability. I call it the space system,” Gu Ning said, opening her hand to reveal a bag of chips, then closing it to make them disappear again. “Think of it as a giant storage locker, but only I have the key.”

Everyone’s jaws dropped.

Jia Daozhang asked, “How much can your storage locker hold?”

Gu Ning thought for a moment. Even she didn’t know the limits of her space. She smiled mysteriously again. “Follow me.”

They followed her in a daze, watching as everything in her path vanished! The entire first floor of the supermarket was cleared out.

The once-bustling supermarket now looked eerily empty, as if they were hallucinating.

They followed Gu Ning to the second floor, which was filled with clothing.

Gu Ning walked through, and it was emptied.

The third floor was home to various appliances. Gu Ning walked through, and it was emptied.

On the fourth floor, filled with household items, Gu Ning walked through, and it was emptied.

The group stood behind Gu Ning, completely bewildered.

Finally, Third Brother broke down. “Gu Ning, that’s not a storage locker! Where do you find a locker that can hold so much?!”

Zhang Xiaobai also lost it. “Gu Ning, you’re practically cheating! You didn’t have any abilities before, and now you have three?! Three abilities?! Is that even fair?! How are the rest of us supposed to compete?!”

Only Jia Daozhang’s eyes sparkled with delight, proud of his foresight in recognizing Gu Ning’s extraordinary potential. Now that she had three abilities, what did that mean?

The soldiers were all going crazy.

Gu Ning spoke seriously, “I hope you can keep my healing ability a secret. It’s best not to tell anyone about my space ability either.”

Third Brother calmed down and said, “You’re right. If word gets out about your healing ability, it could cause huge trouble.” In the apocalypse, where medical resources were scarce, knowing Gu Ning could heal would bring unimaginable problems.

Everyone present understood the gravity of the situation and agreed.

They then happily followed Gu Ning back to the first floor.

When White Wolf and Zhuang Chen arrived at Haining Department Store, they saw the shattered earth walls and the wet ground, realizing someone had already been there. However, when they entered and saw the completely empty first floor, they were still shocked into silence.

One man exclaimed, “How is this possible?!”

Zhuang Chen was also stunned.

She had been here the day before the apocalypse. The store had been filled with a vast variety of items. There was no way it could have been cleared out so thoroughly—not even a single crumb or shelf remained. How was this possible?

As they stood there in confusion, someone descended from the second floor.

The sound of footsteps and light chatter was unmistakable.

White Wolf raised his hand, and all the ability users, including Zhuang Chen, prepared for a potential confrontation.

When the two groups met, they were equally surprised.

Especially Zhuang Chen, who blurted out upon seeing Gu Ning on the escalator, “Gu Ning?!”

Zhuang Chen’s bright red hair was hard to miss, and Gu Ning immediately recognized her. “Zhuang Chen? What are you doing here?”

Gu Ning was genuinely surprised. If nothing had gone wrong, Zhuang Chen should have been with Fang Fa, either already in the Capital or on the way there. Her heart skipped a beat as she quickly scanned the group beside Zhuang Chen, not seeing the familiar face she was looking for. Her expression darkened. “Where’s Fang Fa? Is he okay?”

Seeing Gu Ning’s concern, Zhuang Chen quickly explained, “He’s fine for now. He’s at your gathering place.”

Gu Ning relaxed slightly but pressed further. “What do you mean ‘for now’?”

Zhuang Chen said, “He’s injured. I came out to find medicine for him.”

As Gu Ning stepped off the escalator, she asked, “How bad is it?”

Third Brother and Jia Daozhang, unfamiliar with the name Fang Fa, were now deeply curious. It was clear this person was very close to Gu Ning.

“It’s a bit complicated,” Zhuang Chen frowned. “The doctor said he needs surgery, but we don’t have the tools or medicine. I came out to find them, but I ran into you first.”

Gu Ning said, “I have those things.” She asked directly, “Do you want to come with me now, or…?”

Zhuang Chen didn’t hesitate. “I’ll go with you.”

White Wolf looked surprised. “Zhuang Chen?”

Zhuang Chen looked at him matter-of-factly. “What? I came out to find medicine and Gu Ning. Now that I’ve found both, of course I’m leaving.”

White Wolf was speechless.