Chapter 60: Ants, and the Giant Insect That Flew In

Bian Changxi shot Lin Rongrong a look, her expression saying, “I saw this coming.”

“That’s what it’s like to have connections in high places,” she sighed after Yue Li left.

Gu Xu and Qu Nan had made connections, contributed to the Jiangcheng military, and given that all of them—by pre-apocalypse status and ability—were rare talents, now Gu Xu, Qiu Feng, and Wu Dalang all held positions in the army. Qiu Yun and Shadow, though not officially enlisted, had distinguished themselves in yesterday’s defense battle and were now on the roster as well. The five of them had become key figures in the military, busy to the point of exhaustion since yesterday. Thanks to them, Bian Changxi, Lin Rongrong, and the four members of the Chen family were also being treated with respect by the army.

With these connections, Bian Changxi and Lin Rongrong could have lived comfortably without worry. But neither of them were the type to just rely on others—they didn’t like living off someone else’s coattails. That’s why they signed up for today’s mission.

It wasn’t just the two girls; Chen Haitao and Uncle Chen had also signed up and were in the same squad, though they kept a low profile and didn’t go out of their way to meet up.

As for Gu Pei—well, it seemed his brother had other plans for him.

As she chatted with Lin Rongrong, Bian Changxi suddenly felt someone’s gaze sticking to her. She looked over and saw a group of unfriendly faces in a nearby squad. A skinny man was eyeing her while whispering to someone who seemed to be their leader. That leader forced a smile at Bian Changxi, pulling at his face awkwardly.

Bian Changxi was a bit puzzled—she didn’t know these people, though they did seem vaguely familiar. She thought for a moment, and then it clicked: wasn’t that skinny guy Zhang Hu’s driver?

Back when Zhang Hu had threatened her at gunpoint to force her into submission, she hadn’t just taken it lying down. She pretended to obey, then lured zombies to attack Zhang Hu and made her escape. Later, she found the corpses of Zhang Hu and two of his lackeys, but the driver and the VW Sagitar were gone—she’d guessed he’d managed to escape.

If she remembered correctly, that guy didn’t have any outstanding abilities, so she hadn’t given him much thought. She hadn’t expected to run into him again—and judging by the look on his face, he remembered her and was out for revenge.

So the leader he was reporting to must be Liu Meng—Zhang Hu’s boss, and the head of the “Fierce Tiger Hunting Group” in her previous life. Bian Changxi had seen him many times before: an imposing, shrewd man, though compared to Zhang Hu’s vicious cunning, Liu Meng was at least a bit more trustworthy.

She glanced at Liu Meng again, but he had already turned away to talk to someone else. She couldn’t guess his intentions, but thought to herself: if he’s looking for trouble, she’ll deal with it.

They waited a while as the other squads assembled. The team leader gave some instructions, and then Colonel Yue Fushan, the military commander, gave a rousing speech over the loudspeakers—nothing more than the usual words to boost morale. When he finished, he announced the departure: eight o’clock sharp.

The rough checkpoint was built along the river, with several gates opening onto an artificial canal. The bridges had all been blown up early on to prevent zombies from crossing; only two makeshift wooden planks remained, which could be laid down to connect both sides when needed and pulled away at other times.

A few squads quickly lined up to claim the planks.

Yue Li, the squad leader of Bian Changxi’s team, was in no rush. With a wave, four strong men brought over two long, thick bamboo poles. They lashed the ends together with rope, laid them across the canal, and made a temporary bridge.

Yue Li led the way, crossing first with agile, confident steps—befitting a leader. Next was Su Chensi. She looked like a young girl and a spatial ability user, but as soon as she stepped out, Bian Changxi could tell she was no pushover—she must have had formal training. Without using her ability or any weapons, Bian Changxi knew she was no match for her.

Of course, with the nurturing effect of her wood-type ability, Bian Changxi’s own physique would keep improving. Given time, she’d catch up.

She glanced at the neighboring squad just as Liu Meng crossed. He ran quickly and steadily across the slick, round bamboo, arms out for balance, earning cheers from his men.

It wasn’t easy to be a “big ox”—having some skills was normal. If she remembered right, his ability was earth-type, which emphasized stability—maybe his power gave him an edge here. Hmm, he wouldn’t be easy to deal with either.

When it was Bian Changxi’s turn, she crossed with an average performance. The bamboo was springy and wobbly, the canal five or six meters wide. The center sagged, and the water below was filthy and black, impossible to see through. Anyone with weak nerves would easily panic and slip.

Sure enough, halfway across, there was a splash—a girl had fallen in, flailing and calling for help, swallowing several mouthfuls of the foul water. Her thrashing stirred up rotting weeds and filth, sending a stench into the air and making people cover their noses and back away.

Yue Li frowned and had a soldier extend a bamboo pole to rescue her. The girl, still rational, grabbed it quickly—but suddenly began to struggle and scream, “Something’s biting me! Something’s biting me!”

Bian Changxi’s face tightened. She whipped out a vine, wrapped it around the girl, and yanked her out of the water, tossing her onto the bank. Everyone could now see: a huge, lumpy crab was clamped onto her calf, its massive claw sunk deep into her flesh, blood streaming out.

The crowd erupted in shock.

Bian Changxi was about to raise her fire axe, but a burst of power flashed by even faster. Before anyone could see what happened, the crab’s body and claw were neatly severed. The crab thrashed wildly, spewing bubbles and letting out bizarre shrieks.

A fireball blasted it away, and then a group of brave souls rushed in to finish it off.

The fireball came from Yue Li, but Bian Changxi’s eyes snapped to Su Chensi, unable to hide her shock.

Spatial Blade!

Su Chensi’s face was a bit pale. She glanced at Bian Changxi, her gaze cold as floating shards of ice—just like her, serious and hard to approach.

Bian Changxi took a quiet breath, suppressing her thoughts and turning back. The girl was nearly fainting from pain. Yue Li quickly told her two companions to step aside, pulled out a small knife, and pried the claw from her flesh. Blood gushed out, streaked with black. Someone gasped, “Is she infected?”

People immediately stepped back—even the girl’s friends looked scared. Yue Li frowned and said, “We’ve already checked—no one bitten by mutant animals has turned into a zombie. At worst, they bleed out, get poisoned, or die of fever. The black in her blood is just toxin. Take her to the infirmary.”

Bian Changxi saw the girl’s lips turning purple and her body shivering. She couldn’t help but add, “She swallowed a lot of dirty water—make her vomit, and she’ll need her stomach pumped.”

The two friends hurried to help. The girl vomited up a puddle of black filth, filling the air with stench.

Yue Li glanced at Bian Changxi, then said to the others, “Hurry back—take the wooden plank bridge. Saving her is important, but once you leave, you can’t come back. The team won’t wait for you.”

The two hesitated only briefly before carrying the girl away. On the other side, their male companion hadn’t crossed yet, so the three of them left together without looking back. Bian Changxi smiled faintly. Even in hard times, there were still people willing to stick together.

******

Author’s Note:

Tomorrow the book goes premium. To earn the 600-tier full attendance bonus, there’ll be a 12,000-word update tomorrow to make up for today—yes, it’ll be a big, fat chapter. If nothing unexpected happens, there’ll be double updates all through June. I won’t write a long “going premium” speech—just hope everyone supports the official version. Writing is a passion, but I’m still a regular person hoping to make a little extra. I’m counting on this to help pay next semester’s tuition… sigh…"