Chapter 46: Breaking Through—The Art of Feinting East and Striking West

After paying the toll, they were finally allowed into the new district. Gu Xu made it clear: once inside, everyone would go their separate ways. As for Leopard Bro, Zhao Cheng, and their crew, they could do whatever they wanted—Gu Xu wouldn’t meddle in the slightest.

Some people still wanted to stick around, but seeing the cold faces of Gu Xu’s group, they didn’t dare make a scene. Thinking themselves safe at last, they arrogantly went their own ways. Only Chen Haitao pleaded to stay with Gu Xu’s team. Zhao Cheng and Guo Ziyue, unable to persuade him otherwise, just watched coldly, waiting for him to be rejected.

They thought it was simple: among them, only Chen Haitao had awakened a speed ability, and his family was just four people—a small group compared to theirs. If they could recruit him, whether heading for the station or just surviving outside waiting for the army, it would be all gain and no loss. Unfortunately, Chen Haitao had no interest in being their “leader” and instead wanted to stick with Gu Xu, which infuriated them. But to their surprise, Gu Xu actually agreed to let Chen Haitao join. At that moment, their anger was mixed with deep disappointment and confusion.

No one had time to care about their feelings. Gu Xu’s temporary team now had twelve people, and three vehicles headed deeper into the new district.

The district was still under intense construction when disaster struck and brought everything to a halt. As the car drove on, Bian Changxi could only see half-finished high-rises, overpasses with scaffolding, and construction sites piled with steel equipment. In the fading light, these frozen scenes had a kind of desolate, aborted beauty.

After driving a while, they finally saw a completed block of apartment buildings. These had already been opened before the apocalypse, with clear signs of life. Survivors crowded the streets—some, like them, were new arrivals searching for a place to stay; others were scavenging for supplies.

Qiu Yun went to scout ahead and found that all the well-located apartments were already occupied, and the residents were a mixed bag. After some discussion, the group decided to look for a place in a row of four- or five-story street-facing buildings across a block. They settled on a former snack shop at street level.

The building was an old one, untouched for a long time. It had four floors, and after breaking in, they found that each floor (except the first) had two rooms front and back. Gu Xu’s group of six took the second floor, the Chen family of four the third, and Bian Changxi and Lin Rongrong claimed the fourth.

Bian Changxi carried her bag into the front room on the fourth floor. The wooden floor was thick with dust, there was an old single bed, two vintage wardrobes, and some miscellaneous junk. It looked like a storage room.

She opened the window to air the place out, rolled up her sleeves, and did a quick clean. She found a quilt in the wardrobe, laid it at the foot of the bed, and arranged it so she could sleep at any time. Standing by the window, she realized she could see the massive white train station just two streets away—even part of the station plaza was visible, bustling with people and vehicles. That was good; she could keep an eye on things over there.

She sat on the bed, took a second-tier green core from her bag, and held it in her palm, closing her eyes to absorb its energy.

When she opened her eyes again, night had fallen completely. Bian Changxi felt her strength restored, a warm, comfortable sensation filling her body, all fatigue swept away.

That was the benefit of the wood element—its recovery ability was stronger than any other. She was about to practice her powers when a gentle voice came from the doorway: “Changxi, can I come in?”

Lin Rongrong stood at the door with a candle in hand. “I just wanted to check if you needed anything. I didn’t disturb you, did I?”

“No, come in.”

Lin Rongrong set down the candle and touched the quilt at the foot of the bed. “This is so dry and stiff, and it smells musty. I have plenty of quilts—let me bring you a couple.”

“No need, this is fine. You should keep your new quilts; you’ll need them later.”

Lin Rongrong ignored her, took two quilts from her space, and quickly made the bed. “Don’t worry, everyone basically knows I have a space now, so I don’t need to hide it. Quilts aren’t some rare treasure or disposable item—I’ll just collect them when we leave. There, all done.”

She even added a pillow, clapped her hands in satisfaction, and grinned at Bian Changxi, then sidled up to her. “Were you cultivating just now?”

“Sort of. I was absorbing energy from a crystal core.” Bian Changxi showed her the green core. “Didn’t you get a white core? Have you tried it yet?”

“Not yet, I haven’t had time, and I’m a bit nervous.” Lin Rongrong examined the core in the light. “The color’s so pale. I remember it was much greener at first.”

“That’s because most of the energy is gone.”

“How much longer can you use it?”

“If I completely run out of energy, I can probably absorb from it four or five more times,” Bian Changxi estimated. Actually, four or five was an understatement—she could probably use it seven or eight more times. For other ability users at this stage, two or three times would be good. That was the benefit of experience: her control over her powers, for a first-tier, was practically flawless, letting her use energy with almost no waste.

But that was all. In her previous life, she’d focused on healing, not wood-element attack skills, and after being injured, her powers stalled at tier six. Compared to the real experts, she was nothing. To reach the level where a single move could shake the heavens—if Gu Xu had been reborn, maybe he’d have a shot.

She still had to work her way up, step by step. For now, her main goal was to strengthen this fragile body.

Lin Rongrong eagerly took out a white core. “I want to cultivate too—can you watch me and see if I’m doing it right?”

Bian Changxi tilted her head. “Someone’s coming up.” Sure enough, Qiu Yun called from the stairs, “Miss Bian, Rongrong, are you busy? Come down for a bit, the boss has something to say.”

Everyone gathered on the second floor. Two candles flickered on the table, casting dim light so no one’s expression was clear. Gu Xu was saying, “We’ll probably be staying here a few days. We need to gather intel, collect supplies, and, if possible, find some zombies to practice fighting and using our abilities. Everyone can act freely, but be careful. Someone should stay behind to guard the place. Let’s hear everyone’s thoughts.”

The Chen family was all present—besides Chen Haitao, there was his grandfather and parents. When Gu Xu finished, Grandpa Chen spoke first: “I’m an old man, my bones are stiff, can’t do much. Since Captain Gu is kind enough to take us in, I don’t want to be a burden. I’ll just stay here, cook, and watch the place.”

Mrs. Chen agreed. Chen Haitao and his father said they’d go out to help and gain some experience. Everyone understood: Gu Xu let their family join because Chen Haitao had taken the right side and helped during the supermarket escape—he wanted to look after them. But they couldn’t take advantage; the smartest thing was to use this time to train themselves.

Gu Xu nodded. “Someone also needs to stay to look after Shadow. To avoid accidents, at least one ability user should stay behind.”

Wu Dalang volunteered. “I’ll stay.” He glanced at Bian Changxi and smiled. “We haven’t had time to try Miss Bian’s cultivation method—now’s a good chance.”

Qiu Yun chimed in, “I’ll take shifts with you. I want to cultivate too.” He asked Bian Changxi, “Miss Bian, for wind users like me, do we use white cores?”

“Mm.”

“That’s good—white cores are the most common, so no worries. The boss and the others only have a few usable cores—we need to bring back more.”

“Exactly. And most of the supplies in this area have already been cleaned out by the people at the train station. Tomorrow, we’ll head to Area B.” Gu Xu looked up at Bian Changxi. “Miss Bian, you…”

“I’ll just wander around, maybe look for my family. By now, they should have arrived.” Her tone was distant, and Gu Xu didn’t react, but Qiu Feng asked, “Miss Bian, your family? Want us to help look?”

“Thank you, but no need.” Bian Changxi’s voice was cool but clear, so everyone could hear. “We agreed to meet in the new district and have our own way of contacting each other. When the time comes, I’ll say goodbye to everyone.”

Qiu Feng and the others felt a bit regretful. After all, having a teammate with healing abilities, good marksmanship, and strong combat sense was a big asset. Losing Bian Changxi would be a blow. Gu Pei and Lin Rongrong, on the other hand, were surprised—wasn’t Bian Changxi supposed to have a bad relationship with her family? This didn’t make sense."