Chapter 125: The Mutant Plants of Qingliu City

“I’ve already been there. As for those ordinary people’s defense, I’ll leave it to you to find him yourself.”

Ning Song kept staring at Sang Chu, trying to read something from her expression.

“Alright, I’ll go with you. But wait a moment—my brother is nearby, just out for a walk. He’ll be back soon. Once he’s back, I’ll go with you.”

At this moment, the dimly lit room only had Sang Chu and another girl inside.

That girl was exquisitely beautiful, with fair skin like a porcelain doll. If this were before the apocalypse, he might have gone up to chat her up or something, but now, with all the things he’d been through, he didn’t dare make any moves.

Still, he understood why Sang Chu wanted to wait for the others to return before leaving. Leaving such a pretty doll here alone would make anyone uneasy.

“Alright, let’s wait a bit. There’s no rush.”

Sang Chu nodded. Seeing that he was behaving himself, she didn’t say anything more. Mu Xue was standing beside Sang Chu. She had been holding Sang Chu’s hand, but suddenly let go, her face turning a little pale.

“Xiaoxue, what’s wrong?”

“There’s a high-level mutant nearby.”

Upon hearing this, both Sang Chu and Ning Song were startled. Ning Song hadn’t sensed anything unusual at all. “Are you sure? I didn’t notice anything.”

Sang Chu looked at her and asked, “Can you tell where it is?”

Mu Xue shook her head. “No, it’s just within my perception range. It’s strange—it’s very strong, but it seems to be hesitating, not daring to come closer. Ah Chu, I have a really bad feeling about this. I don’t want to go out.”

Looking at Mu Xue’s pale face, Sang Chu nodded. “Alright, when my brother comes back, you and he stay here and wait for me. I’ll go check on those ordinary people. If I can find him, I’ll bring him back here, then I’ll head out.”

“Okay, be quick. I feel like something bad is about to happen.”

“Don’t worry, I’m here. Nothing will happen.”

Sang Chu comforted her patiently. Only then did Ning Song take a good look at Mu Xue. He realized that this woman wasn’t just beautiful—she had abilities he didn’t understand, and her perception was very strong.

Ning Song said, “Since you’re going to check on those ordinary people, can I bring my brother along? His ability is about the same as mine—both of us are level six or seven. Your base must be short on people now, right? We can both join you!”

Sang Chu smiled at him. “There’s a rule at my base: if you want to bring someone in for protection, once you vouch for them, you’re responsible for everything they do. That means if you bring someone in and they do anything to harm the base or betray us, you’ll be held accountable.”

Ning Song stared at her in disbelief. “What? We’re all adults here—why do I have to take responsibility for someone else’s actions?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t dare to make promises, but people’s hearts were too unpredictable these days. Someone you call brother today could stab you in the back the next second.

Sang Chu smiled and explained, “It might seem a bit harsh, but it’s to prevent a lot of unnecessary trouble. Ordinary people can’t do much damage even if they make a fuss, but ability users are different. My base can’t afford to take risks.”

Ning Song didn’t really get it—he just felt the rule was too strict. “If that’s the rule, then let’s talk about joining the base later.”

“Alright.”

At this point, Ning Song breathed a sigh of relief. If Sang Chu had insisted he join the base or else not let him leave, he wouldn’t have wanted to betray his brother, nor did he want to take responsibility for something he couldn’t control.

He felt that as a level seven ability user, he could still get by outside. He and his brother could even start their own base if they wanted.

“Sang Sang.”

From outside came Sang Jingwen’s voice. Ning Song happened to be sitting by the door and opened it. Sang Jingwen and Yi Ping walked in together.

Behind them was Lu Minli, who only nodded slightly. He looked a bit downcast—his father was still missing.

Sang Chu said, “Now that everyone’s back, you stay here and wait for me. I’ll go with Ning Song to check on those ordinary people. If there are any ability users with crystal cores, just keep an eye on them.”

As soon as he heard this, Lu Minli’s gloomy eyes lit up. Right! He’d only checked on the ordinary people before and hadn’t seen any ability users. What if his dad had awakened an ability?

Sang Jingwen patted Lu Minli on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, take your time.”

At this point, Mu Xue finally looked up. Her face was so pale it was almost bloodless. Lu Minli rushed over. “Xiaoxue, what’s wrong? Why do you look so pale?”

Sang Jingwen was about to reach out, but Lu Minli had already rushed over. Yi Ping couldn’t help but laugh. “I told you, Minli, you don’t need to worry about being a lone wolf—there’s someone here who needs you.”

“Idiot!”

Sang Jingwen could only glare at him. Sang Chu looked at him helplessly and said, “I’m heading out now. You… have fun.”

With that, she turned and followed Ning Song out. At the same time, Sang Jingwen closed the door and walked toward Mu Xue. “Xiaoxue, what’s wrong?”

Lin Muxue was clutching her ears, her fingertips turning white. “I… I hear a lot of sharp, piercing screams. It’s like a high-level mutant is getting closer. It’s very dangerous, but it seems terrified and keeps howling.”

Lu Minli gently pried her hands away from her ears. “Why don’t you come inside with me? At least it’ll muffle the sound a bit.”

Mu Xue shook her head. “If I go inside, how will you know how close it is? I can’t hold on much longer—we need to hurry.”

Yi Ping looked at her, then at Sang Jingwen. “I think it’s best if Xiaoxue stays away from others for now. You and I can go outside and help collect crystal cores.”

Mu Xue’s hands were wrapped in Lu Minli’s, so she could only kick him lightly. “I’m fine. You go with Wen-ge and Yi-ge. What if your dad is among the ability users?”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Sang Jingwen said, “Lu Minli, you and Ah Yi go outside. I’ll stay here with Xiaoxue. If anything happens, I’ll call you.”

Mu Xue and Lu Minli both looked like they didn’t want to leave, but eventually nodded. “Wen-ge staying is enough. You go out. Once you find your dad, I’ll be able to leave too.”

“Alright, but if anything happens, call me, okay?”

“Mm.”

Mu Xue forced a smile, but with her pale face, it had no reassuring effect at all.

When Lu Minli and Yi Ping left the room, Mu Xue, whose eardrums were nearly pierced by the screams, couldn’t hold back any longer. She hugged Sang Jingwen tightly, burying her face in his chest, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Brother, my head hurts so much…”"

"Here is a fluent, natural English translation of your provided Chinese text:

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**Chapter 126**

**Underground Air-Raid Shelter**

When Sang Chu and Lin Song arrived, Old Yan pointed to a small hole off to the side. “Just... just the girl can crawl in!”

Looking at the dog-sized hole, Sang Chu glanced at Lin Song and took a deep breath. “Alright.”

Sang Chu was slim and petite, so crawling through the hole was manageable for her, but Lin Song, with his broad shoulders, definitely wouldn’t fit. Seeing Sang Chu’s determined expression, Old Yan let out a small sigh of relief.

It was precisely because she looked so thin and frail that Old Yan allowed her to enter the air-raid shelter.

As soon as she entered the cave, the scene was even more heartbreaking than the photos she’d seen before.

Looking at the sparse supplies on the ground, Sang Chu’s voice softened, “Elder, what do you eat here?”

Old Yan gave a bitter smile. “As long as it fills our stomachs, it’s fine. Girl, you crawled in through the small hole yourself—honestly, the people outside can’t be trusted.”

“Don’t worry, Elder. How many people are here in total? I need quite a few crystal cores. If everyone has some, I can exchange food for them.”

As soon as she said this, everyone who had been sitting or lying down stood up, their eyes fixed intently on Sang Chu.

Old Yan said, “My surname is Yan, everyone calls me Old Yan. Girl, it’s not that I don’t trust you—I do have crystal cores, but food...?”

Sang Chu raised her hand and produced a small sapling. “I’m a wood-type ability user, Elder. Don’t worry, as long as you have crystal cores, there will be plenty of food for everyone.”

“Big sister, if I have a crystal core, can I exchange it too?”

A little boy, holding a piece of dry bread, looked at her expectantly. Seeing how thin he was, Sang Chu’s heart ached, but before she could answer, Old Yan quickly pulled the boy to his side.

“Mumu, this thing can’t be eaten. Wait, I’ll get you something to eat later.”

After comforting the child, Old Yan turned to Sang Chu with a slightly apologetic look. “Sorry, girl, the child is young and doesn’t understand. The crystal cores are over there—come with me.”

He patted Mumu’s head and gently said, “Mumu, the big sister wants crystal cores. You keep your bread and wait here, be good, okay?”

“Mm, I’ll be good. You have to come back quickly!”

Although he said he’d be good, Mumu still clung tightly to Old Yan’s clothes, as if afraid that once he left, he’d never return.

Old Yan gently pried his hands off. “I’m not leaving, just taking the big sister to see where we keep the crystal cores. Don’t worry.”

At that moment, a woman came over and took Mumu’s hand. “Mumu, don’t worry. Old Yan isn’t leaving. I’ll stay here with you, okay?”

“Auntie, really?”

“Really. I’ll stay here with you. If he tries to leave, we’ll grab him together, alright?”

After a while, Mumu finally let go, his eyes still fixed on Old Yan.

As Old Yan led Sang Chu deeper into the cave, he explained, “Mumu’s parents went out to look for food and crystal cores, but they never came back. So now, he’s terrified of anyone going out to search for food or cores—he’s afraid they’ll never return.”

Sang Chu said, “I can understand searching for food, but why was he looking for crystal cores? Did he want to use them to awaken an ability?”

Old Yan shook his head. “No one knows if it’s possible, but we have to try everything. What if it works, right?”

After walking for a while, they reached a room that looked like a storage area. Old Yan pushed open the heavy door, revealing piles of crystal cores of all sizes scattered on the ground.

Seeing the pile of crystal cores, Sang Chu’s eyes widened slightly. “Old Yan, how do you have so many crystal cores?”

Old Yan walked over. “These are what everyone has saved up. At first, we all thought there was hope, so we hoarded them like crazy. But who knew—awakening an ability is something you’re born with. Even with crystal cores, if you can’t awaken, you just can’t. Over time, we just accumulated more and more.”

He looked at the scattered crystal cores, some even stained with blood. “Girl, see how much food these are worth. If possible, could you give us a little extra?”

Sang Chu glanced over the pile—there were at least several dozen. “I have seeds for cucumbers and tomatoes, so for now I can only grow those for everyone. But my friend is a space-type ability user and has cooked food. If you’d like, I can ask her to bring some over for you?”

At this, Old Yan’s eyes immediately filled with caution. “I’m not going outside. Cucumbers and tomatoes are fine, but you have to give me the actual fruit.”

“That’s no problem. But Old Yan, don’t you want to take the others and leave?”

As Sang Chu had walked through the shelter, she’d noticed that most of the people inside were elderly, women, and children. It was obvious that someone had been sacrificing themselves to keep them alive. In an apocalypse, anyone who survived this long must have paid a heavy price.

Especially with so many dangerous ability users outside.

The shelter had clearly been modified, which meant there was once an ability user here—most likely one of Old Yan’s people.

That was probably how he’d managed to keep everyone safe in the shelter.

Old Yan stared intently at Sang Chu, as if trying to see through her. “What are you planning?”

“My vehicle is parked outside Qingliu City. If you want to leave with us, I can arrange for you to go first.”

“You can’t get out of Qingliu City.”

When Old Yan said this, his tone was heavy. He immediately walked to a window and looked at the tightly sealed opening. “You used to be able to see outside from here, but now it’s all sealed up. There’s no way out of Qingliu City.”

“I have a way to get you out. How you want to proceed is up to you. I’ll start growing the fruits and vegetables here. You can organize people to exchange their crystal cores for food. For each core, I’ll give a cucumber or tomato. Any extras I grow, I’ll count as food and leave them here for you.”

Old Yan didn’t know what she was planning, but as long as she stayed in the shelter, he wasn’t worried. “Alright, I’ll go make arrangements now.”

Sang Chu nodded slightly, then got to work. As people came to exchange their crystal cores, each person received food from Sang Chu.

When it was Lu Linlin’s turn, she hugged her daughter tightly, hesitated for a moment, then quietly placed a crystal core on the table and slowly approached Sang Chu.

Seeing her face, which matched the one in the photo, Sang Chu glanced at the scar on her arm and took out a photo. The person in the photo was unmistakably Lu Minli.

“You…”

“Shh!”

Sang Chu made a hushing gesture and lowered her voice. “I’m a friend of Lu Minli. He’s also in Qingliu City. I’m here to find him, but I’ve searched everywhere and haven’t found your father. Do you know where he is? If I find him, I’ll leave right away.”

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