Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Central-South Base

When Gu Ning stepped out of her space, she didn’t notice anything unusual at first. However, as she pushed the door open and walked out, she was completely stunned. The ground was littered with broken vines and dried bloodstains, and for a moment, she felt dizzy. She had no time to think about what had happened last night while she was away. Frantically, she rushed to the next room—her parents’ room—only to find it empty, with nothing but shattered vines and bloodstains scattered across the floor. Her legs felt weak, but she forced herself to stay focused, scanning the room to make sure there were no human body parts lying around. Then, she quickly dashed downstairs.

Shattered doors, severed and scorched vines, and dried bloodstains everywhere painted a vivid picture of the intense battle that had taken place the night before. But after searching the entire house, Gu Ning found no trace of anyone.

At the same time, she didn’t find any human remains either.

Maybe they had managed to evacuate safely last night.

Gu Ning took a deep breath and slowly walked out the front door. She soon spotted three vehicles parked not far away, and on the roof of one of them stood Zhang Xiaobai, who was looking in her direction.

The moment Gu Ning saw Zhang Xiaobai, he saw her too. He froze for a moment, rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and then let out a scream: “Third Brother! Gu Ning is back!” As he shouted, he stomped on the roof of the car.

Soon, everyone inside the vehicles came rushing out.

Gu Ning ran toward them, and when she saw her parents, her knees nearly gave way. A cold sweat broke out on her back, and the chilly wind made her shiver. She felt a wave of fear and relief wash over her.

Surrounded by people whose faces were filled with joy and concern, Gu Ning felt a lump in her throat. She had so much to say, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Third Brother seemed to sense her emotional state and patted her shoulder. “Gu Ning, let’s talk in the car first.”

Gu Ning nodded, and everyone got back into the vehicles.

Third Brother began recounting everything that had happened the night before.

As Gu Ning listened, she felt a mix of fear and relief. “Thankfully, there were no casualties…” she said, but then she noticed a subtle change in Third Brother’s expression. Her heart sank, and she scanned the faces around her. Everyone avoided her gaze. Finally, she looked at Third Brother and asked slowly, “…Who died?”

Third Brother took a drag of his cigarette and spoke in a low voice. “Four children, and one of my soldiers.” He forced a smile, but it looked more like a grimace. “Dying isn’t anything unusual these days. We might be sitting here safely now, but who knows? We could be next. No need to feel too bad about it.”

Gu Ning fell into a long silence before finally saying, “If I had been here last night, maybe they wouldn’t have died… Even if they were on their last breath, I could have saved them…” Her head hung low, her golden bangs covering her eyes, hiding her expression. Her voice remained steady, but her shoulders, which had been tense, now slumped.

“Gu Ning,” Third Brother said, placing both hands on her shoulders and forcing her to look at him. “You’ve already done more than enough.”

Gu Ning gave a bitter smile and leaned against the car wall. Suddenly, she said, “I didn’t just disappear last night. Every day, after you all fall asleep, I disappear. Every day, I have to return to my space at night. There’s a reason I have to go back.”

The people in the car exchanged glances, but no one asked what that reason was. Zhang Xiaobai opened his mouth but ultimately stayed silent.

Gu Ning felt grateful for their understanding and said, “From now on, no matter what, we must have someone on night watch.”

Third Brother nodded. “That was my oversight. Everyone, eat something and get some rest. Zhang Xiaobai and Zhong Xu, you two worked hard last night. You probably didn’t sleep well. Go get some sleep over there.” They were in a large truck, and the floor was covered with mats. As Third Brother said, most people hadn’t slept well the night before. Now that they saw Gu Ning, they felt at ease. They lay down on the mats, covered themselves with blankets, and within minutes, the entire cabin was filled with loud snoring.

The vehicles soon started moving.

They needed to hurry to the Central-South Base.

Perhaps because of the ordeal they had just been through, the journey was smoother than expected. They reached Central-South City in just half a day.

According to the information Jia Daozhang had gathered from some people, the Central-South Base was located in the southern campus of Central-South University. The campus was backed by Qilu Mountain and faced the Lu River to the east.

Since they didn’t know the exact direction, they ended up taking a long detour. It wasn’t until after 4 PM, when it was already dark, that they finally stumbled upon the Central-South Base.

Compared to their small survivor gathering place in Jin Yong, this base was dozens of times larger. Even though it was already very dark, Gu Ning’s vision wasn’t affected.

Before the three vehicles could get within 20 meters of the base, a bright beam of light illuminated them.

Then, a loudspeaker blared: “Attention, people in the vehicles! The base does not accept survivors at night. Come back tomorrow at dawn!”

The people in the car exchanged surprised glances, but there was nothing they could do. They found a spot to park the vehicles.

Third Brother began assigning night watch duties. “Tonight, Luo Long and Shi Tou will take the first shift. Method and Zhang Xiaobai will take the second shift.”

As soon as he finished, Jia Daozhang protested, “Hey, Third Brother, are you looking down on me? Don’t think just because I’m older than you that I’m any less capable. Zhang Xiaobai was on watch last night. Tonight, it’s my turn.”

Third Brother knew he was just looking out for the younger ones and didn’t argue.

The night passed without incident. Throughout the night, more vehicles arrived, but due to the base’s rules, they all waited outside.

By 8:30 AM the next day, when the sky was just beginning to lighten, everyone in the vehicles woke up and stepped outside to wash up with cups and basins.

Overnight, more than ten vehicles had parked nearby.

As the people from those vehicles woke up and stepped out to stretch, they were stunned to see the group from Third Brother’s team washing their faces and brushing their teeth with what seemed like an abundance of water.

In this world, water had become an extremely scarce resource. Although there were water-type special ability users, the probability of someone evolving such an ability was about one in ten thousand. And even among those, most were very stingy with their abilities, only using them when absolutely necessary. It was rare to find someone like Zhong Xu, who was constantly being pushed by Third Brother to practice his water manipulation. But this also meant that Zhong Xu had become quite skilled at controlling his ability.

For ordinary people, water was even harder to come by.

So, you can imagine how shocked the newcomers were when they saw this long line of people casually using water to wash their faces and brush their teeth.

Third Brother and the others hadn’t noticed anything unusual at first. It wasn’t until Gu Ning stepped out with her basin, saw the newcomers staring at them, and immediately turned back that they realized something was off.

After a quick wash, they all hurried back into the vehicles.

Gu Ning said, “Once we enter the base, we need to keep a low profile.”

Third Brother and the others, who had just been showing off their “wealth,” nodded in agreement.

Then, they began lining up to enter the base.

“Are your vehicles coming into the base?” asked a man at the entrance, holding a notebook for registration. He glanced at the three vehicles outside.

“Can they?” Third Brother asked.

The man replied, “They can. The parking fee is one pound of food per vehicle per month.”

Although they had plenty of supplies, Third Brother still felt a pang of pain at the cost. He glanced at Gu Ning, who thought for a moment and then asked, “Can we pay with water?”

The man’s eyes lit up. “Of course! The base is in desperate need of water right now. 500 milliliters can be exchanged for one pound of supplies.”

Third Brother immediately brightened. “We’ll pay with water, then.”

The man pointed to a nearby window. “Go to that window over there.”

Third Brother looked at Zhong Xu, who sighed and walked over empty-handed.

The man noticed Zhong Xu wasn’t carrying anything and exclaimed, “A water-type special ability user?” He quickly recalled how Third Brother had just glanced at Zhong Xu, and the latter had obediently gone over. In the base, special ability users were usually quite arrogant. This man must be someone important. His attitude shifted from casual to respectful as he pulled out some forms from a drawer. “Please fill out these forms.”

Then he asked, “Are you individuals or a team?”

Third Brother replied, “A team.”

“Hmm… Do you have a team name?”

“Three…” Third Brother was about to say “Three-Linked Team,” but after saying “Three,” he glanced back at Gu Ning for her opinion. She nodded.

Third Brother smiled and said, “Three-Linked Team.”

The man said, “You must have been a soldier before, right?”

Third Brother nodded.

The man cleared his throat and continued, “Let me explain something to you. Our Central-South Base currently has over 100,000 survivors, and hundreds of new people join every day. The base provides shelter, but in return, everyone must follow the base’s rules and fulfill certain obligations. Special ability users, because they take on part of the responsibility for protecting the base, don’t need to pay any supplies. However, ordinary people must pay three pounds of supplies. If they can’t pay, they must join the base’s construction team and work for free until they’ve earned the equivalent of three pounds of supplies.”

Third Brother nodded in agreement, then glanced at Zhong Xu, who had just finished creating the water. Zhong Xu rolled his eyes and obediently went back to the window.