Chapter 131: Sang Chu Comes Looking

“Where… where am I? How did I end up here?”

Lin Z noticed someone approaching, his dark eyes fixed warily on the stone pillar not far away.

Sang Chu slowly stepped out from behind the pillar, saying, “I didn’t expect your base to be here.”

“Why are you following me?” Lin Z eyed the woman warily, a flicker of fear in his gaze—afraid she might pull out that fan again, the one that could cut him down.

Sang Chu replied, “I’m just here to make a deal. I want the food you’re hoarding for the people you’re keeping alive.”

“Mind your own business! If you keep following me, I’ll bite you to death!”

Lin Z bared his teeth, trying to look fierce, but Sang Chu just laughed. “You already bit me once. If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll probably turn too. But if I can cure myself, doesn’t that mean you could become human again as well?”

“Human? No, I don’t want to be human! If I become human, I’ll die!”

Lin Z kept his distance, maintaining a safe space between himself and Sang Chu.

Sang Chu paused, as if she hadn’t considered his situation before. But thinking it over, it made sense—if he became human, he’d lose his powers and probably wouldn’t survive in the apocalypse.

“Well, if that’s the case, let’s forget it. How about we talk business instead?”

That was Sang Chu’s real reason for coming. Lin Z didn’t know what she wanted, but he could tell she wasn’t someone to mess with. “What kind of deal do you want?”

“In this apocalypse, I can provide you with food—meat, fruits, vegetables, whatever you need. But I need crystal cores. Lots of them. For every trade, you can pick what you want, or I can bring it to you myself. As long as you agree, I’ll show you what I can offer.”

Lin Z grinned. “You need crystal cores to get stronger, and so do I. Why should I give you my crystal cores for food?”

“If you don’t have food, you’ll die. Crystal cores can make you stronger, but they can’t feed you. Besides, with those people, you only dare to take a small bite from each one—just enough to turn them, then you stop. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many survivors here.”

“No, that’s not it! You… you’re guessing!”

Lin Z was shocked. How did she know?

Sang Chu said, “It’s fine if you don’t admit it. I just want to make a deal. The power of the blood moon is waning; just eating ability users isn’t enough anymore. But I have a way to provide the energy it needs, as long as it doesn’t devour everyone.”

“I’ll give it the power it needs, and it can refine it into crystal cores. You get your cores, I get what I want. If you agree, come find me. Pei Zhao knows where I am. This is my token for you.”

Sang Chu tossed a fingernail-sized jade stone to the little servant. He hesitantly held it, clearly afraid to go to his master, and handed it back to Sang Chu.

“If you want to trade, go yourself. I’m not going to it!”

With that, he scurried away.

Sang Chu watched his panicked retreat, frowning slightly. “This thing might be even scarier than my base.”

Tu You went to check on the little servant’s hiding place and had already sent all the surveillance footage to Lu Minglang. His father and brother-in-law were there, and so was Pei Zhao.

When he got back, he went straight to Sang Chu and said:

“So what do we do now? There are so many people. If it wants to devour them all, we can’t stop it!”

Sang Chu was silent for a long time before finally saying, “The key is how to get tickets.”

Tu You said, “Mian-ge said there might be a place, but he’s not sure. You’ll have to find it yourself.”

“Where?”

“The Magic University. Tickets are expensive. You’re five thousand a month, and everyone else is three times that. Are you buying or not?”

“I’ll buy. How many jade stones do I have?”

Tu You replied, “I’ve put all the jade stones and jade liquid in your storage space. We’ve just hatched some new ones, but their quality isn’t as good as before, so the price is lower. But you’ll have to pay the full ticket price if you want to use them.”

In Tu You’s opinion, using so many jade stones for apocalypse tickets was a bit of a waste, but if Sang Chu insisted, there was nothing he could do.

Traveling as a person was much more expensive than as a ticket holder—not worth it at all.

Sang Chu said, “I’ll go back and think it over. You focus on your cultivation. Now that we know these mutated plants can hatch crystal cores, they’re not so rare anymore.”

“Alright, just let me know when you’ve decided.”

Sang Chu took the shortcut back. As she walked, she looked at Pei Zhao. “Are you coming back with me? If not, I’ll come find you later.”

Pei Zhao asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Mm, I’ve already gone back to the base with your uncle, Lu Minglang.”

At the mention of Lu Minglang, Lu stood up immediately. Pei Yiwen, who had been holding onto Pei Zhao, also became more alert.

Lu said, “Miss, do you know my son?”

“Yes, hello Uncle Lu. I’m friends with Lu Minglang. We survived together in Qingshi, but there are too many eyes in Qingliu City right now, so not many people know about it.”

Lu said, “That’s true. Most ordinary people and ability users aren’t good people. So, how is he now? Can you get him out?”

Pei Yiwen was anxious, all his attention on Sang Chu, watching her every expression.

Sang Chu said, “It should be possible. When the time comes, I’ll take you all out together.”

Pei Yiwen hurriedly pushed his wife and daughter forward. “It doesn’t matter if I go or not, but can you please get them out? Qingliu City isn’t safe. If you can, please take them.”

Lu said, “Whatever you want, just name it. If I have it, it’s yours!”

Sang Chu took Pei Zhao’s hand and smiled. “I’ll do my best to get you all out. You’re Lu Minglang’s family, and he’s my friend and a founding member of my base. Whether for personal or public reasons, I’ll take care of his family. If you’re hungry, here, take this.”

She handed him a fruit. As soon as he saw it, someone hiding in the shadows started to stir, but because of Sang Chu’s reputation as an ability user, they didn’t dare come forward.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman stepped out, asking, “Miss, could you spare me a little food too?”

Sang Chu looked her over and saw that she was already showing signs of mutation, but didn’t seem to have awakened any abilities.

Was she someone who had mutated but retained her consciousness?

Suddenly, Pei Zhao, who was holding Sang Chu’s hand, began to tremble, clutching her hand tightly, as if terrified."