Chapter 133: Shadow—Who Is the Reborn One?

Bian Changxi said, “Go ahead with the treatment. I’ll observe from the side—it’s good to learn more.”

Liang Ziyin glanced at her, a hint of displeasure in his eyes. After all, there are many unspoken rules among those with abilities. Unless absolutely necessary or with the patient’s consent, those with the same type of power are supposed to avoid watching each other work. Even the most unreasonable people follow this unwritten rule in public.

Liang Ziyin immediately thought less of this Miss Bian, who was rumored to be so talented. If she wasn’t acting spoiled because Gu Xu favored her, then she simply didn’t understand the rules. Either way, people like that don’t tend to last long.

The corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

“Alright.”

He sat down, opened his toolkit, and put on a pair of white, semi-transparent gloves.

Bian Changxi raised an eyebrow.

Gu Xu quietly explained, “These are the latest tech from the base—called ‘energy-stabilizing gloves.’ Wearing them reduces energy leakage and increases the efficiency of using abilities.”

Of course, Bian Changxi knew what these gloves were. The problem was, in her previous life, these gloves weren’t invented until about a year and a half into the apocalypse. They became popular for a while, but by year two, they were obsolete—only useful for low-level ability users. More advanced users had their own ways to minimize energy waste, and since the gloves were expensive, most low-level users couldn’t afford them. Even if they could, by then the world was full of powerful people, so the gloves didn’t really matter.

A gap in power isn’t something a thin pair of gloves can bridge.

But here the gloves were, appearing so early.

First it was the communicator, now these gloves—which would be highly sought-after at this stage, but would later become useless. Whoever the reborn person is, they’re certainly busy.

Liang Ziyin put on the gloves, placed both hands over Wu Dalang’s injured leg, hovering above the wound. The semi-transparent gloves began to emit a green glow, which, focused by the gloves, became quite concentrated. Threads of light covered the wound and slowly seeped in.

His healing technique wasn’t anything special.

In fact, all wood-type healing methods are pretty similar. From the moment an ability awakens, it’s like the user receives an innate inheritance—they just know how to use it. There are exceptions, of course, and this “knowing” is very basic. Only those with deep understanding and unique insight develop their own style.

In her previous life, Bian Changxi’s abilities were cut short, so even after being reborn, she was far from that level. Just watching Liang Ziyin’s surface actions, she really couldn’t judge his skill.

Qiu Yun, who couldn’t stand silence, finally asked, “Old Wu’s leg was cut by a spatial blade. Can it really be healed? I heard spatial blades actually move part of an object into another space—didn’t Old Wu just lose a chunk of his leg for good?”

Liang Ziyin, just finishing up, shot another look at Bian Changxi—clearly blaming her for prompting the question. Otherwise, Qiu Yun wouldn’t have asked something he’d never brought up before.

Not knowing what she’d said, Liang Ziyin thought for a moment and answered modestly, “Wounds from spatial blades are indeed more complicated, but not impossible to heal. There’s still a small gap in Mr. Wu’s wound, but with daily treatment, full recovery isn’t out of the question.”

Hmm, so he does understand the nature of spatial blade wounds. He could see the gap in Wu Dalang’s leg, but didn’t make it sound as serious as Bian Changxi had. Was he sugarcoating things, or did he just lack the foresight?

Next, he went to treat Shadow.

His actions were similar, but Bian Changxi noticed that first Qiu Feng gave Shadow an injection, and then Liang Ziyin simply infused energy into Shadow’s body—patching up his broken shell, making it more stable. In short, he was just buying time, not providing any real help. Of course, without his repairs, Shadow wouldn’t have lasted this long.

That was the end of the day’s routine treatments. Liang Ziyin hesitated, then asked Gu Xu to speak with him privately. Gu Pei’s eyes nearly popped out at the sight, which Bian Changxi found hilarious. Unable to resist, she let him tug her along, eyes wide as she watched them go off.

Hmm, Gu Xu really was good-looking. Standing by the door in the morning light, he was tall, handsome, and striking. Liang Ziyin was a good-looking, masculine man himself, but he couldn’t hold a candle to Gu Xu—he just didn’t have that aura.

She reassured Gu Pei, “Even if he’s interested, look at them—do they match? Your brother won’t be led astray, don’t worry.” She paused, then muttered, “Even if there was a chance, it’d have to be someone on Qiu Feng’s level. That would be worth watching.”

Gu Pei stared at her in surprise. She shrugged. “Forget I said anything.” Then she asked, “By the way, do you know who invented those energy-stabilizing gloves?”

Gu Pei froze, looking a bit down, then smiled. “A tech maniac. Not only does he invent things, he’s published lots of papers on the changing environment. He’s become the base’s tech guru and a trendsetter in theory. His name is Qu Yi.”

It really is…

Bian Changxi grabbed Gu Pei’s shoulder. “Which Qu? Which Yi?”

Gu Xu finished talking to Liang Ziyin and sent him off. Turning around, he saw Bian Changxi and his little brother huddled together, whispering and even with their arms around each other—closer than close. His eyes narrowed. “Changxi.”

“Here!” Bian Changxi straightened up. “What is it?”

“Just now, Liang Ziyin said that everything in nature has its counter. Folk remedies for snake venom use herbs found near the snakes. Recently, someone found a nest of five-colored snakes on the west side of the base, with all sorts of colorful plants growing nearby. He thinks those plants might be worth a try. What do you think?”

Five-colored snakes? Five-colored herbs?

Wow, Liang Ziyin really is something—stealing her lines. She’d been planning to bring this up herself. Those five-colored herbs are powerful antidotes for all kinds of snake venom, including Shadow’s. But in her previous life, it took the deaths of many people from snake bites before a large-scale search for an antidote was launched. After countless trials, they finally discovered that five-colored herbs could cure most snake venoms.

No, no, this won’t do. There are reborn people everywhere—this one’s a prophet, that one could be too. How is she supposed to live like this?

After a few hurried bites of breakfast, Bian Changxi, feeling the pressure, left the house and headed to the villa district entrance. Bian Kuang hadn’t arrived yet—their family’s place was far from here—so she didn’t bother waiting. She walked down the main road, then turned into an old residential area.

Most of the buildings here were four or five stories tall, clearly aged, with roads showing signs of long neglect. Survivors, poorly dressed but still spirited, came and went. At first glance, they were drawn to the cute little animal on Bian Changxi’s shoulder; at second glance, they noticed the gun at her waist and the knife on her back, and immediately knew better than to approach or cause trouble.

That was exactly the effect Bian Changxi wanted. Otherwise, a young woman traveling alone in this lawless era would have to be constantly on guard—her life could be written as a tale of wits and courage.

After a while, she found No. 81 Dianzi Alley—a small, standalone courtyard with a two-story building, shaped like a U, with many rooms on both floors.

At the moment, George and Anran were hanging laundry, Chen Guanqing was dumping dirty water from a pot onto the vegetable patch before heading back to the kitchen, and Chu Hao was helping an elderly lady pick greens by the garden, chatting as they worked.

Anran spotted Bian Changxi first and called out in delight, “Sister Bian!”

The others saw her too, happily gathering to open the door. “Miss Bian, what brings you here?”

“I came to see how you’re all doing.”

Last night, thanks to Gu Xu’s instructions, Qiu Feng arranged for Chu Hao and the others’ accommodation while escorting Bian Changxi back to the villa.

The villa wasn’t a shelter—unknown people weren’t allowed in, so they couldn’t follow her home. For now, they were settled in No. 81 Dianzi Alley, which had only two elderly residents and a few young people—plenty of space. The original residents were friendly, most of the young people were ability users, strong enough not to be bullied and not likely to bully others. The spare rooms were meant for people with similar backgrounds.

Chu Hao and the others were Bian Changxi’s companions and seemed trustworthy. With a high proportion of ability users, it made sense to let them stay. So, Chu Hao’s group of four, Chai Zhong’s group of six (they lost another member escaping the tunnel), and Bald Qiang—after barely escaping with their lives in the middle of the night, they hadn’t even figured out which way was north before being whisked away by a group of stern, efficient people. They were nervous, but in the blink of an eye, they had a place to stay. Even though two or three people had to share a room, they were moved to tears. Most importantly, they received some supplies, and the neighbors were so warm and welcoming, immediately expressing their goodwill.

After struggling to survive and being swindled by Old Qian, they felt like they’d gone from hell back to the human world—the atmosphere was wonderful.

They knew it was all thanks to Bian Changxi. Otherwise, they’d be lucky just to get through the base gates.

“Miss Bian, thank you so much. This place is really great. Every household has to fetch water these days, but this courtyard makes it easy. Those apartment buildings would kill you with all the stairs. And this little vegetable patch—so convenient for growing things. The courtyard is spacious, and there are plenty of rooms…”

Chu Hao listed all the benefits, and Chen Guanqing summed it up, “Basically, we’re just really grateful. Come in and have a seat.”

Bian Changxi smiled and went in. Since she’d already done them a favor, she might as well see it through. After all the hardship it took to reach the base and build these bonds, it wouldn’t make sense to just cut them off. Of course she had to check in.

She patted Anran’s head and habitually handed her a box of milk. “You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? Don’t worry about me, I’ll just stand here for a bit. You all go about your business.”

ps:

Thanks to Red Wolf No. 1 for a pink ticket!

Thanks to Zhilong Kid for a pink ticket!

Two more new faces—old and new friends (please let me call you that), you’re all so enthusiastic! Mwah!

I’m a little embarrassed, I’ll reflect on it. Don’t be annoyed that there are so many reborn characters. In this story, besides Xiaoxi, there’s only one other reborn—classmate Wen. But she’s ambitious, with powerful backers and countless minions. With all these red herrings, doesn’t everyone seem suspicious? Xiaoxi especially! The more confused she is, the more others can sit back and watch. Like I said, she’s not fighting alone! Don’t believe me? I’ll bring her out soon for a spin~~

Ahem, I rambled again. Why do I always talk so much ╮╭