Chapter 35: The Call – Gu Xu’s Doubts

Shadow’s death hit Gu Xu the hardest, and left Gu Pei the most embarrassed.

If Gu Pei hadn’t asked, if Gu Xu hadn’t insisted, if they hadn’t gone to the city to pick up those students’ families, how would Shadow have gotten scratched by a zombie and lost his life?

Maybe even without this, Shadow would have gotten hurt, maybe even died, but now that it had happened, Gu Xu would never stop blaming himself.

Qiu Yun knew this too, but…

“I feel awful! Bro, how did it end up like this? Shadow, he…” He clutched his hair and slid down the wall, banging the back of his head against it.

Their team had been through life and death together on countless missions. Over the years, some had died, some had left, and now only five remained, close as brothers. Qiu Yun was the youngest and most looked after. Shadow, though quiet and reserved, was always thoughtful and caring. Everyone loved him as much as anyone else. His death was like having a piece of their heart cut out—painful beyond words.

Qiu Feng turned his head away.

The atmosphere in the supermarket was so heavy it was hard to breathe. No one spoke; everyone clenched their jaws, eyes red with grief.

Suddenly, Gu Pei cried out, “Bro, Shadow’s still breathing! Come look!”

The others rushed over in shock and delight, voices rising in excitement and disbelief, all talking at once. Gu Xu turned to look, overjoyed—only to find Bian Changxi was gone.

Not far away, by a shelf stacked with tissues, Lin Rongrong was trying to comfort Bian Changxi, though a bit at a loss. “Changxi, don’t pay attention to those brutes. They’re being unreasonable. It’s not your fault someone died.”

Before she could finish, shouts of “He’s alive! He’s alive!” erupted from the other side. Lin Rongrong froze. He’s not dead? Then why did they say he was? What a bunch of troublemakers!

“Let’s see what they have to say for themselves now!” Lin Rongrong looked at Bian Changxi triumphantly, but saw no sign of surprise or happiness on her face. “Did… did you already know?”

Bian Changxi just quietly held the broken pieces of her jade bracelet in her hands and said, “I want to be alone for a while.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll leave you be.” Even a fool could see she was in a bad mood—after being blamed like that, and with her bracelet inexplicably shattered, who wouldn’t be upset?

Lin Rongrong walked out, just as someone came toward her. She shone her flashlight warily—turns out it was that handsome team leader. She immediately put on a frosty face. “What, here to apologize now that he’s alive? No need, we’re not in the mood.”

Before Gu Xu could say anything, Qiu Yun, who had followed, hurriedly spoke up, “Miss Bian, I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I was just too worked up and blurted it out. I—I was a jerk. You can yell at me, or even hit me if you want.”

Lin Rongrong rolled her eyes inwardly. Well, at least he’s quick to apologize.

Bian Changxi came out, her voice calm. “No need to apologize. It’s only human. Besides, I didn’t lose anything.” Then she turned to Gu Xu. “Shadow’s fine now. The rest depends on when he wakes up. We’ll stay here for the night.”

Gu Xu saw how pale and exhausted she looked, barely able to speak, and swallowed the many questions he wanted to ask. He quickly nodded. “We’ve cleared out all the zombies in this building, and the main entrance downstairs is barricaded. We’ll take turns keeping watch tonight, so you can rest easy. There are some dangerous people downstairs, so don’t go down. We’ve left plenty of food upstairs. We’ll cook something hot later—make sure you eat.”

Bian Changxi’s gaze was cool and indifferent as she nodded. Gu Xu looked at her and said softly, “Miss Bian, I’m sorry. And… thank you.”

Bian Changxi gave a faint smile, accepting his words.

Qiu Yun was genuinely remorseful, running around to help. He brought over Bian Changxi and Lin Rongrong’s bags, plus lots of dried food, fruit, and several cases and buckets of bottled water. His eager, fawning manner even made Lin Rongrong, who’d been annoyed, break into a smile.

“This guy’s annoying, but at least he knows when he’s wrong. Still, he’s got a thick skin.” She rummaged through the food he’d brought—jerky, chicken legs, sausages, all lightweight and practical. There were only a few cans of porridge and bread, plus a good amount of candy and chips. The fruit included a big Hami melon, some apples, oranges, and bananas, all fresh and unspoiled.

These must have been grabbed after they entered the supermarket.

She wondered aloud, “Why bring so much water? We can’t drink it all. For bathing?”

Bian Changxi was holding a bag full of sparkling crystal nuclei—the payment she’d agreed on with Gu Xu, nearly two hundred of them, and quite heavy. She glanced over. “We can use it for bathing.”

“That’s such a waste.”

“We can’t take it all with us anyway. Might as well use it.”

“How could—” Lin Rongrong suddenly understood. None of the men had a spatial ability, so with so much stuff in the supermarket, they might as well use it up. Unlike her, always thinking about saving things for later.

“When I came in earlier, I saw the second floor was a mess. So much food, just nibbled and tossed on the floor. It broke my heart. If they couldn’t finish it, they could have left it for someone else. Now it’s all wasted.” Lin Rongrong grumbled softly.

Sitting on a treasure trove you can’t take with you—of course you’d splurge. Bian Changxi felt the same way. She’d known the pain of long-term hunger, and the despair of finally finding a supermarket only to discover it was empty. That’s why she cherished food and never liked to clear out a place all at once.

But honestly, Jiang City had fallen so early and so quickly, and even if things were well preserved here, not many people would come for them. If it’s wasted, so be it.

“There’s everything we need here. I’m definitely taking a shower. Do as you like.” Bian Changxi handed Lin Rongrong five white nuclei. “Half a second-tier green nucleus.”

“I thought you wanted information in exchange? I can’t take this.”

“I didn’t give you any info about crystal nuclei, did I?” Bian Changxi waved her off, then grabbed a flashlight and went searching. Soon she’d gathered everything she needed for a shower and hair wash, plus a full change of clothes from top to bottom. There was no food on the third floor, but plenty of daily necessities. She carried her things off to find a bathroom.

The public restroom was filthy, but there was a clean one in the staff lounge. She checked it out, found it suitable, then hauled in two four-liter bottles of water. As soon as she closed the door, she slid down against it, unable to hold herself up any longer.

So tired. So much pain. Every inch of her body ached. If all her energy hadn’t been pouring into the jade bracelet, she felt she might have exploded like a hydrogen balloon.

But why had the jade bracelet shattered? In that moment, she’d nearly lost her mind. Thankfully, she’d quickly checked and found the farm space was still there, which helped her calm down.

She raised her hand. There was a faint ring-shaped mark on her left wrist. She touched it, thinking about entering the farm—and in the next instant, her vision brightened. She was inside the farm.

She looked around in surprise. The farm seemed to have doubled in size—more land, more grass, the stream wider and deeper. She took a deep breath; even the air felt fresher, and all her discomfort vanished. The sky overhead was bluer and higher, sunlight falling like golden silk, the breeze gentle and soothing. It was like paradise.

She turned and saw, at the edge of the black soil, a small wooden house and a warehouse standing side by side, shrouded in white mist. The house had appeared too.

As the farm upgraded, it would gain living quarters—from a wooden hut to a brick house, from one story to two, eventually becoming a small, elegant villa. In her spare time, she loved spending time in the villa: reading, drinking tea, cooking, sleeping—utter peace. She could sleep for hours and wake to find only a few minutes had passed outside, as if she’d stolen another life.

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