Central and eastern Chunan are dotted with lakes and rivers, which is precisely where they are now. Resting in the wilderness at night is dangerous, so after discussion, they decided to divide into several small teams for guard duty, each team consisting of three people.
Shen Chongyan, who participated in the day's fighting, was exempt from night watch. There were quite a few of them, but most were ordinary people, making it difficult to form three teams with capable individuals in each.
Just as they were selecting members, a man in his thirties stepped forward, offering to take a watch with two others.
His team was newly formed. Besides him, there was a skinny, monkey-like man in his forties and a shapely, strong woman who claimed to be a former Sanda instructor from a boxing gym.
Two of them even put on a demonstration for the crowd, appearing to be skilled practitioners. Now, they were all in this together; at least, that's what Old Jin and the others thought. These people had no reason to cause trouble. After all, without them, a few individuals would have little chance of surviving and reaching Chunan.
After assigning guard duties, everyone found a place to rest. Seeing that Jin Wanye was not assigned to guard duty, perhaps out of compensation or some other sentiment, Lin Wan asked Jin Wanye to fetch several bottles of spiritual spring water for the guards to help them stay alert.
Little did she know that this act of perceived kindness would almost cost her her life.
Zhuo Yan immediately sensed something was wrong with those three individuals but wasn't sure of their intentions. She was also on guard duty, taking the latter half of the night until dawn, planning to observe them then.
She and Shen Chongyan rested in the back seat of a car, leaning against each other. Shen Chongyan had questions for her but was unsure how to begin, feeling conflicted. Her precise stopping action today, and how she had brought him back mid-swing with the sword, struck him as very strange.
Furthermore, Zhuo Yan's attitude and demeanor were unlike those of a pampered girl who had suddenly experienced the apocalypse after years of comfort.
Besides that, there were several instances where the system's timely appearances were too coincidental. He didn't know if the system was always so prompt when helping others, but its appearances whenever they were around were always perfectly timed, even prompting them to speed up today.
"What are you thinking about?"
Shen Chongyan stroked her hair. "Thinking… about things. My mind is a mess. It feels so unreal. The nuclear explosion, the apocalypse, me awakening my powers – it all feels like a dream… I wish it were a dream."
"Everyone feels that way." Unfortunately, everything happening now was real.
Shen Chongyan spoke with some difficulty. "You… feel that way too?"
Zhuo Yan paused. She knew Shen Chongyan suspected her; it was no secret, and he would find out eventually. She didn't lie but didn't answer directly. "It's already happened. No amount of thinking can change the facts."
Shen Chongyan wanted to press further but gave up, the words dying on his lips. He thought they had a long future ahead of them, and he would know one day.
Neither of them felt sleepy. They had finally drifted into a light doze when the commotion outside woke them.
"Someone's stealing!"
Shen Chongyan sat up abruptly, instinctively moving to get out of the car. Zhuo Yan grabbed his hand. "Slowly. Be safe."
"Okay."
[Host, there are xenomorphs approaching.]
"With so many people gathered, it would be a shame not to come for this buffet," Zhuo Yan muttered.
System: [...]
Despite her words, Zhuo Yan got out of the car and stood by it, observing the unfolding events. As expected, it was the group who had volunteered for guard duty. Before their shift even began, they had approached, asking to be relieved. Everyone was tired and readily agreed. Fortunately, Shen Qian had stayed alert and kept an eye on them.
He then witnessed them stealing other people's food and attempting to pilfer water from Jin Wanye's car. Jin Wanye, having only awakened his powers today, seemed to have been completely drained and unaware. It was Lin Wan who woke up in time and alerted everyone.
This led to her now being held hostage by the trio. Many people were awake, and their car headlights illuminated the scene near the road. The woman's dagger was pressed against Lin Wan's throat. Her two companions held two large bags, surrounded by the crowd.
Jin Wanye's face was pale. Seeing Lin Wan held captive, he was both shocked and enraged. He stared intensely at the woman. "Take the things. Let her go!"
"Boss, no water found!"
The spiritual spring water was their precious resource. Lin Wan would never have given up so much at once if everyone hadn't worked so hard today. To quickly upgrade her spatial level, she had stayed up all night farming in her space. Therefore, when someone rummaged through their car, she sensed it immediately and rushed out to alert everyone. Then she was taken hostage.
"You can have a person, but in exchange for that water."
Jin Wanye's brow twitched. She calmly asked, "What water? What do you really want?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" the man in his thirties roared. "Water that can boost an esper's energy. Fill this bucket, and we'll release her. Otherwise, this woman's life is forfeit!" He brought forward a large bucket, glaring menacingly at the crowd.
Except for the members of the Jin and Shen families, everyone else was bewildered. Jin Wanye tried to stall for time, as the space was with Lin Wan, and he couldn't produce the water.
However, the woman dug her dagger into Lin Wan's neck. "Stop the nonsense. I know you have it. You traded all your water for gasoline at the gas station; you must still have that water. Who produced it? Step forward now."
Seeing the blood trickling from Lin Wan's neck, Jin Wanye’s heart hardened, and he was about to speak when Zhuo Yan stepped forward instead, walking towards the bucket and simultaneously approaching the woman.
[Host, twenty meters left, sixteen meters.]
Zhuo Yan picked up the bucket and dangled it, drawing their attention while shouting at Lin Wan. "Into the space!"
The bucket in her hand suddenly flew out, smashing into one of the men and knocking him to the ground. The woman hadn't heard her clearly. By the time she realized what was happening, she instinctively tried to kill Lin Wan. Lin Wan instantly flickered into her space. In the one or two seconds of the woman's stunned silence, a colossal creature lunged from behind, latching onto her neck and biting down.
"Get in the car! Everyone, quickly, get in the car!"
The woman's carotid artery was severed. When the xenomorph released her, she wasn't completely dead. She lay on the ground, gasping for breath. With each inhale, blood gushed into her throat, choking her, making her want to cough. The metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils and mouth. The feeling of life draining away, the suffocating pain and despair, prevented her from even a brief moment of reflection on her life.
One minute felt both endless and fleeting. Blood flowed back to her heart, and her body's warmth receded towards it. Her consciousness grew heavier until it finally vanished. Her eyes were wide open, unclosed in death.