Chapter 127: Lu Linlin

Lu Linlin was bold—she didn’t even spare a glance for the child in her arms. She rushed straight up to Sang Chu, her voice hoarse and urgent as she said, “Go, hurry, don’t worry about me! Take the child and leave right now!”

She grabbed Sang Chu with such force that Sang Chu was almost dragged along, completely stunned. She quickly tried to calm her, saying, “Don’t panic. Can you tell me slowly what happened?”

As Sang Chu spoke, she instinctively activated her psychic power, probing carefully. To her surprise, her psychic energy was actually being attacked by something on Lu Linlin’s body?

Sang Chu immediately formed a shield, dispersing divine power in response. Only then did she notice the child in Lu Linlin’s arms. The little girl had unusually large, pitch-black eyes that made Sang Chu’s heart skip a beat.

But at this moment, Lu Linlin seemed to have lost her senses, standing there in a daze. Sang Chu turned to the child and asked, “Are you a psychic too?”

The little girl was thin and frail, but her eyes were exceptionally large. She seemed not to understand what was being said, her innocent little hands resting on her shoulders.

Sang Chu took a step forward, but the girl immediately glared at her warily. Before Sang Chu could react, she was instantly pulled into the little girl’s psychic domain.

“Little one, I’m not a bad person. I’m your uncle’s friend, and I know your aunt and grandmother. I can take you with me, and from now on, you won’t have to suffer anymore!”

Unless absolutely necessary, Sang Chu didn’t want to confront a girl who was only four or five years old. But the little girl didn’t seem to believe her. Sang Chu could sense a pair of eyes watching her in the psychic domain, but she couldn’t figure out exactly where they were.

Sang Chu said, “You can sense it, can’t you? I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to help. Little one, you’re very powerful, but this power shouldn’t be used on people who want to help you. Don’t you think so?”

Sang Chu’s calmness seemed to have an effect. She realized that it was fear and terror that had made the girl lose control and attack. Now, it seemed the girl realized Sang Chu meant no harm, unlike the people they’d encountered before.

The psychic domain vanished instantly, and Lu Linlin snapped back to her senses. Seeing the shield in front of Sang Chu and then looking down at her daughter, she immediately understood—her daughter’s powers had gone out of control again.

She hurriedly covered her daughter’s eyes, pleading with Sang Chu, “Please, don’t tell anyone.”

The child’s powers were strong, and in this world, that was rarely a good thing. Sang Chu understood the dangers in Qingliu City and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t. But you can’t stay here. The child’s powers are too strong and unstable. If you stay, it’s only a matter of time before someone finds out.”

Of course Lu Linlin knew this. She hesitated, glanced outside, and after a long moment said, “My father and husband are at the base in Putian, so I can’t leave. Please take my brother away—don’t stay in Lucheng anymore. I’ll come find you tonight and help you leave.”

With that, she brushed past Sang Chu and hurried out. Liang Li, seeing her friend in distress, quickly went to support her. “Linlin?”

Lu Linlin just called her name in a daze. She didn’t want to know her brother’s whereabouts, but she couldn’t make it too obvious—there were too many eyes around, and who knew if there were spies among them.

Sang Chu was left pondering Lu Linlin’s words. What did she mean, her father and husband were in Putian?

Wasn’t Qingliu City supposed to be a plant-mutated zone? Why was Putian mentioned?

It seemed Lucheng wasn’t as safe as she’d imagined.

Sang Chu glanced at the crystal cores on the ground, tossed the cultivated items aside, and walked out. “Elder Yan, the people here seem to be under a lot of pressure. To avoid scaring everyone, I’ve left the supplies here for you to distribute. I’ll take the crystal cores. If you need anything else, you can find Song. I’ll be staying with him for now.”

Elder Yan looked at Sang Chu with deep meaning and nodded slightly. “Alright, I’ll see you out.”

“Mm.”

The whole time, Sang Chu didn’t look at Lu Linlin again, but left Tu You behind to keep watch, just in case anything happened.

...

Lu Minli asked, “You mean my sister wants me to leave with you?”

“Yes.”

Now that everyone else had left, only their own people remained. Sang Chu, exhausted, slumped into a chair.

Sang Jingwen had already taken Mu Xue back to the side room to rest. She was in a terrible state—after her outburst, her features had started bleeding, so he’d taken her away to recover.

After talking to Sang Chu, he thought of Mu Xue’s condition and his expression grew even more serious. Yi Ping, beside him, asked, “Awen, are you sure? Is Lucheng really that dangerous?”

Sang Chu and Lu Minli both looked at him. Sang Jingwen replied, “If there’s a Putian demon nearby, then what Xiaoxue sensed must be its minions. After you all left, Xiaoxue started bleeding from her orifices. She’s in bad shape.”

Sang Chu and Lu Minli both grew anxious. “What should we do now?”

“I’ve already taken her to rest. She’s waiting for me in the room.”

Lu Minli was both worried and relieved, but hearing Sang Jingwen’s words, he relaxed a little. “That’s good. Mu Xue is stubborn and proud—she’d tough it out even if she felt terrible.”

If it were just him and Sang Chu, she’d probably keep going despite her condition. Only Sang Jingwen could make her rest, which was a good thing.

Sang Chu asked, “Brother, what do you think?”

Sang Jingwen replied, “If there’s a Putian demon here, then what Yi and I saw makes sense.”

“You mean the people here?”

Sang Jingwen nodded, turning on his flashlight and pulling up a photo. “I took this when I left. Look at the bottom right corner.”

Zooming in, they saw a hole in the bottom right corner of the photo—completely empty, nothing there.

Yi Ping said, “Isn’t that just nothing?”

Lu Minli frowned slightly. “It’s the nothingness that’s scary. Maybe that’s the Putian demon my sister mentioned!”

Yi Ping looked at the other three’s serious faces, then back at the empty spot in the photo, feeling confused.

“Wait, are you all serious? How can a hole the size of half a person be a demon? Don’t scare yourselves. Maybe my eyes are just playing tricks on me.”"

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

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**Chapter 128: The Little Servant Z1**

Sang Jingwen looked at him helplessly and explained, “The mutated plants here…”

“Yeah!”

“The mutated plants…”

“So, what’s your point?”

Lu Min pointed at the person lying in the corner who had been sucked dry, “That person was a ‘tired one’ too. The people trapped with him must have been the same. Now that only he’s left, what about him?”

Lu Min pointed at the hole in the lower right corner, peering over as well. Xizi finally caught on, “You mean he escaped?”

Sang Chu said, “It takes a lot of luck to escape from mutated plants like that. He was one of the ‘tired ones’—the survivors from the Song base. In Qingliu City, Song is a level-seven ability user, but even he couldn’t get out of here. So, that means this guy isn’t a mutated plant either. He must have some special ability to get through that hole.”

Yi Ping couldn’t help but swallow, staring blankly, “No way, right? Are you sure you’re not just guessing?”

Sang Jingwen replied, “I am guessing, but if my guess is right, that little servant’s threat level isn’t small.”

Kids do whatever they want—it’s not good if you run into a bratty one!

Sang Chu sighed quietly, “Let’s all be extra careful. If anything truly unpredictable happens, I’ll just use the emergency escape route.”

That was the last-resort option. After all, she didn’t know how strong the little servant was, or what his ability was.

……

Inside the air-raid shelter, Lu Linlin looked at her daughter, patted her on the back, and saw her big, round eyes instantly light up with a smile.

“Mom, are you going to find Grandpa and Dad now?”

“Mm, I’ll take your uncle out first, then go find your dad. Everyone’s waiting outside.”

“Okay, and don’t wake Grandma either.”

Lu Linlin hesitated for a long time, finally deciding to just talk to her daughter, “You’re a big girl now. No more fussing. I’m leaving.”

With her daughter’s ability, she left the shelter without being noticed by anyone.

Arriving at the agreed meeting spot, she saw her younger brother. She was stunned—she hadn’t expected to see him again after the apocalypse.

“Big sis.”

Lu Min was the first to walk up to Lu Linlin, but before he could say anything, a little girl grabbed him.

The little girl’s eyes were pitch black and a bit intimidating.

Lu Linlin quickly squatted down and covered her eyes, speaking gently in her ear, “Zhao Zhao, this is your uncle. You just got startled, that’s all.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Uncle would never hurt you.”

Lu Linlin’s voice was calm and soft, instantly soothing the child’s ability. The group watched quietly from the side.

“I believe you.”

After that, Pei Zhao obediently put her little hand in Lu Linlin’s palm, still a bit scared.

Lu Linlin said, “Xiao Lu, come with me. I’ll take you out of here.”

“Go? Where are we going? Weren’t we supposed to leave together?”

Song and his brothers came over, and the four of them had already formed a water shield.

Lu Linlin picked up her daughter and held her in her arms. Pei Zhao looked up at her innocently, “Mom, is he going to die?”

“No, not at all.”

“But Lin Zhi-ge said that’s called a ‘wrap-up’—he wants to wrap me up. So, can I eat him?”

Lu Linlin was shocked, and even Lu Min and the others nearby looked uneasy.

Lu Linlin said, “No, Zhao Zhao, you can’t eat people.”

“Okay…”

Pei Zhao licked her lips in disappointment. Lin Zhi-ge said she should, but if Mom says no, then she won’t.

Sang Chu saw that Pei Zhao had calmed down and walked out, saying to Song, “If you want to leave, let’s just go together. No need to make such a fuss. It’s not good if the kids get scared.”

Lu Linlin looked at her with difficulty, “But there are guards on the road. I can’t get so many people out.”

If it were just her and her daughter, she could manage, but with all these people from Qingliu City, they’d definitely be discovered.

If that happened, she and her daughter wouldn’t be able to return to Qingliu City.

If they couldn’t go back, they wouldn’t get crystal cores, and her husband and father wouldn’t survive at the base.

Song said, “You’re joking, right? How could there be ‘tired ones’ around here? If you’re going to make excuses, at least make them believable!”

As he spoke, he raised his ability, ready to attack Lu Linlin.

Lu Min was faster, jumping in front of Lu Linlin and activating his earth ability.

Sang Chu said, “Song, I don’t want to fight you because you’re talented, but if you insist on blocking the way, I won’t hold back!”

No matter how strong his ability was, escaping wasn’t impossible. She was about to use her weapon when—

Tang Lei suddenly said, “I just want to leave this place. If you have a way, I’m happy to follow. But if you want to go alone, then let’s not waste time.”

Sang Chu said, “Big sis already said there are guards on the road. She can’t get so many people out. So here’s my suggestion: I’ll go with you first, and my brother will stay behind. After you come back, we’ll take him out. How about that?”

Lu Linlin looked at her, “No, I have to take Xiao Lu out first!”

Seeing her so insistent, Song finally noticed Lu Min standing in front of her and said, “I think that works. Since she cares so much about this Lu Min, let him be the last to leave. As long as he’s here, she won’t run off.”

Lu Linlin said, “No! If my brother doesn’t go, I’m not taking anyone!”

She glared at Sang Chu, not understanding why, as her brother’s friend, Sang Chu wouldn’t let her take her brother out first, but instead wanted to help these unrelated people.

Suddenly, Lu Linlin’s eyes went blank. After Pei Zhao gave Sang Chu a look, Sang Chu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If Lu Linlin hadn’t been so stubborn, she wouldn’t have used this last resort.

Sang Chu said, “Big sis, let’s take it step by step. No rush. For now, take me and him out first.”

Lu Linlin nodded stiffly, “Come with me.”

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