Chapter 126: Vengeful Spirits, Death Race Outside

Gu Xu instinctively reached out his hand, and the little white creature floated gently into his palm. Its soft, warm fur was so lovable that even the coldest heart would be moved.

Watching the little thing burrow around happily in his hand, whining and nuzzling up to him with playful affection, Gu Xu’s usually frosty expression softened. He caught the little animal as it tried to leap onto him in excitement and asked Bian Changxi, “Is this... Milk?”

Bian Changxi withdrew her gaze from the darkness outside, nodded, and couldn’t help but laugh at Milk’s antics, though her tone carried a hint of pride. “I’ve been taking care of your pet—look how chubby and healthy it is! But, as expected, this little guy just can’t be tamed. It’s much more attached to you.”

She had just figured things out: it couldn’t possibly have been Gu Xu. For one, he wasn’t a reincarnator, and if he wanted to do anything to her, he wouldn’t need to use someone else as a proxy, let alone resort to such crude, despicable means. Someone like Old Qian was beneath Gu Xu, who was principled and kept himself clean—he wouldn’t even bother dealing with that sort of person, let alone establish a superior-subordinate relationship.

That left only the so-called Sun Buqun’s side.

Old Qian’s communicator had confirmed her suspicions: there were other reincarnators in this world. Otherwise, something like that—an item that shouldn’t appear until a year or two into the apocalypse—would never have shown up. She even suspected it was made by Qu Yi, since he had a habit of engraving “qy” in hidden places on his creations, and sure enough, that communicator bore the mark.

But it was also possible that the reincarnator knew of Qu Yi’s habit and was deliberately imitating him to throw her off.

That was actually a good thing. Since this reincarnator had repeatedly tried to steal her core and had produced a crystal-core communicator, he was clearly using his knowledge of the future to gain huge advantages. That meant he’d leave traces—clues she could follow.

She wasn’t afraid of him making moves; she was only worried he’d stay hidden and strike out of nowhere. Honestly, having another reincarnator around didn’t bother her—she might even have enjoyed exchanging notes about their experiences, or asking about the world’s development after her death. But since the other party wasn’t interested in peaceful coexistence, she wasn’t about to play the pushover. If it’s a fight to the death, so be it!

A cold glint flashed in her eyes, but her body relaxed. The tension left her face as she asked Gu Xu, “Why are you here? How did you know I was here?”

Gu Xu watched her carefully, seeing that she wasn’t suspicious of him. He explained, “Commander Zhu got some intel that something happened here, so I came along to check it out.”

“‘Came along’?” Zhu Yiming thought to himself. “You rushed over here like your life depended on it.”

“Who gave you the tip?” Bian Changxi asked.

“I haven’t asked yet,” Gu Xu replied.

Bian Changxi regretted not interrogating Old Qian more harshly. But she’d spent all her energy that afternoon and evening investigating the tunnel anomaly, with no time for anything else. Now everyone was still inside the tunnel, their fate unknown, so there was no one left to question.

Wait—Old Qian had said he’d notified someone behind him via communicator right away. That person could have arrived at the tunnel quickly.

She asked, “How long does it take to get from here to the base?”

This time, Zhu Yiming answered, “We’re taking the main road, which the military has cleared and controls. It’s smooth all the way—just two hours.”

“And if you take another route?”

“That’s unpredictable. It could be half a day, or several days, depending on your luck.”

What a difference, Bian Changxi thought. The so-called “main road” had a hidden entrance—if you didn’t have the right connections, you’d never find it, and even if you did, you’d rarely be allowed through. Taking another route was far riskier. Su City Base’s decision to keep the main road closed to outsiders did make the base safer, but it also created a clear hierarchy.

“So who can use this main road?”

“It’s not hard to get a pass,” Gu Xu said, stroking the lively Milk as it wriggled in his arms. “As long as you’re registered at the base, have a regional administrator vouch for you, and pay enough resources, you can get a pass. But every time you use the main road, you have to pay a toll. A large part of the base’s income comes from this.”

So passes were easy to get now. That meant whoever got the intel would have come by the main road. She’d entered the tunnel just before 4 p.m., and now it was 8:30 p.m.—if someone wanted to come, they’d have arrived already. But Zhu Yiming’s people hadn’t found any suspicious individuals during their search. Had the person come and gone?

Maybe if she checked the list of people and vehicles that passed through during that time, she could narrow down the suspects.

Bian Changxi was lost in thought, chin in hand, when she suddenly sensed something off. Looking up, she saw both men staring at her. She blinked. “What?”

Zhu Yiming burst out laughing, half in admiration, half in realization. He said to Gu Xu, “No wonder she’s the one you’ve been searching for. She’s not like other girls at all. Not at all.”

Normally, if someone believed dead suddenly reappeared, they’d have gone through all sorts of ordeals. At a reunion like this, even if they didn’t pour out their hardships, they’d at least be moved, emotional, showing some sign of inner turmoil.

Especially given her unusual relationship with Gu Xu.

In Zhu Yiming’s mind, girls were delicate and made of water. The first time he saw Bian Changxi—a slender, beautiful young woman—he’d imagined her throwing herself into Gu Xu’s arms, eyes brimming with tears.

But instead of tears, he got a pair of cold, clear eyes. Instead of emotional outbursts, she was asking questions and thinking things through, clearly trying to solve a problem—on her own. The two capable men here were just people she could question, not people she needed to rely on.

Bian Changxi’s calm, thoughtful demeanor was striking and completely overturned his first impression of her.

Bian Changxi was baffled by Zhu Yiming’s laughter. What was so funny? She turned to Gu Xu, who was also smiling slightly. He started to say, “You—”

But before he could finish, the ground suddenly shook violently. Something slammed hard into the rear of the vehicle, making it lurch forward and fishtail.

Milk flew straight into the windshield with a splat, flattening itself, while Bian Changxi nearly crashed into the front seat. She grabbed the door handle, struggling to steady herself. “What’s going on?”

At that moment, the roof was struck again, caving in with a loud bang. Gu Xu quickly pulled her over, saving her from having her head crushed. She tumbled next to him, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her, then looked out the window. “It’s coming after us.”

“Damn it, how far have we gotten? This thing is too long!” Zhu Yiming cursed.

“It must be focusing its power here,” Gu Xu said grimly, listening to the shrill howls outside. Suddenly, the window next to Bian Changxi shattered, and a grotesque white-green tendril flashed past. The whole vehicle was knocked sideways, slamming into the mountainside.

Gu Xu’s back slammed into the door with a terrifying crash, his arms shielding Bian Changxi’s head as he pulled her into his embrace. Glass shards sprayed across his arms.

As soon as the car stopped, he let go of Bian Changxi, eyes flashing coldly. He switched places with her, leaned out the window, and saw the monstrous thing: the road had split open, revealing a deep chasm, and the creature was rising from it like a primordial serpent, showing off its might in the night.

Gu Xu hated snakes more than anything.

“Don’t stop! Keep driving!” he shouted, hurling a fireball at the creature. He smashed the remaining glass with his elbow and leapt out. The SUV, stuck in a pit, was shoved free by a powerful force. Zhu Yiming, sweating profusely, shoved the panicked driver aside and took the wheel himself, slamming on the gas. The car shot forward, swerving wildly as it caught up with the convoy ahead.

Bian Changxi clung to the window. “Gu Xu!”

Gu Xu caught up with the SUV and leapt onto the roof. The thick tendril chased after him, rising from the ground, seemingly endless.

With a wave of his hand, walls of fire erupted from the earth, one after another. Each wall slowed the tendril, burning it blacker and weaker with every pass. Finally, the tendril lunged at Gu Xu.

He grabbed it with both hands. Countless fiery chains shot from his palms, wrapping around the tendril at blinding speed, biting deep into its flesh with a metallic clatter.

Thin, razor-sharp blades of fire spun out from the chains, embedding themselves in the tendril and leaving charred wounds that oozed white-green fluid. The tendril writhed in agony.

Suddenly, something large surged up from underground, pushing past the fire chains until it reached the tip. The end of the tendril twisted and swelled, gradually forming the outline of a human face—features blurred but complete. It opened a toothless mouth at Gu Xu and let out a thunderous roar.

Gu Xu arched his body back, and the thing yanked him off the roof, dragging him along the road in a shower of sparks. Bian Changxi watched in horror as he was pulled farther and farther away. “Stop the car!” she shouted, grabbing the warped window, ready to jump out.

Zhu Yiming said, “Don’t! Can’t you see? He’s buying us time. He’ll catch up.” At the same time, he ordered the driver to signal the convoy ahead to keep moving and not stop to help.

Bian Changxi froze. Milk struggled back onto her lap, and together they watched out the rear window.

Sure enough, another explosion erupted in the distance, flames shooting skyward. A figure flew through the fire. Zhu Yiming stopped the car, and it took all their strength to force the door open and let Gu Xu in.

Gu Xu was steaming, badly burned, half his body scraped raw and bleeding. But he grinned and held up a crystal core. Zhu Yiming was both shocked and delighted. “You took that thing down?”

Gu Xu, chest heaving, gasped, “I think that was just one of them. There’s more than one core down there.”"