Chapter 88: Rumors, a Lifetime of Honor (Part 1)

This place was close to the wild woods—not exactly an ideal spot to set up camp, but at least it was quiet.

When Bian Changxi entered the tent, she found, as expected, several wounded soldiers on the verge of death, and a few others critically ill with high fevers.

The weather was brutal: scorching hot during the day, freezing cold at night. With the constant swing between heat and cold, over a hundred people died every day.

But she couldn’t just stand by and watch people die in front of her. With a silent sigh, she began treating them. As usual, she didn’t heal them back to full health—just stabilized them enough so they wouldn’t die right away. The rest could be left to the many wood-type and medical personnel; they’d figure something out.

After treating seven or eight people in a row, her energy was half spent, and a light sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead. “They’ll be fine for now,” she said.

As she spoke, she suddenly noticed the lamp’s shadow flicker, and an almost imperceptible gust of wind sounded behind her.

Startled, she quickly dodged to the side—just in time to hear a fierce howl. She turned to see Milk (her pet rat) clawing at someone’s face, only to be knocked aside. The man cried out in pain, six bloody scratches clear on his face, and in his hand was a device just like Zhang Yuwen’s stun gun—he’d been standing right behind her.

Bian Changxi froze for a second, recognizing him as the elite man who always accompanied Boss Zhang.

A flurry of thoughts flashed through her mind. Zhang Yuwen must have been sent by Boss Zhang. Was her being brought here part of their plan? Or did they act when Zhang Yuwen failed, taking advantage of the situation?

She looked down at Milk, who had landed on the ground, twitching. The fur on his belly was singed—he’d been badly shocked.

The elite man was clearly well-trained. Though he’d lost the initiative, he hesitated for only a split second. As Bian Changxi moved to pick up Milk, he lunged at her.

He was fast and aggressive. Bian Changxi knew she couldn’t handle him the way she had Zhang Yuwen. She quickly pulled back from Milk, leaped backward, and drew her straight blade. Just then, the doctor who’d been giving an IV to a patient suddenly tossed aside his needle and grabbed Bian Changxi from behind.

She kicked him away. The elite man closed in—she dodged his electric arc by a hair’s breadth and swung her blade at his hand.

He quickly withdrew, dropping the stun gun into his left hand and stabbing it toward her abdomen. Suddenly, a thick vine appeared out of nowhere, twisting itself into a knot in front of her and then wrapping tightly around his hand. The man yelped and staggered back.

At the same time, the doctor cried out and charged at her, now wielding a scalpel.

It was as if Bian Changxi had eyes in the back of her head. With a flick of her left hand, a slender vine shot out, hooking a heavy bottle of saline from the table behind the doctor and smashing it into the back of his head.

With a crash, blood and saline splattered everywhere, and the doctor collapsed.

Bian Changxi scooped up Milk and dashed out of the tent.

Outside, soldiers and members of the warrior squad were smoking and chatting. The fight inside had lasted only a moment, and aside from the shouts of the elite man and the doctor, there’d been no warning. Before anyone could react, Bian Changxi burst out of the tent.

She radiated murderous intent. Her delicate, refined face was icy cold, her slender brows slanted upward, and her eyes shone with a startling light. Without waiting for anyone to react, she lashed out with two vines.

Those struck in the face screamed, collapsing to the ground, spitting out blood and teeth as red welts instantly swelled up.

But two people were exceptions.

One vine was sliced apart by a flurry of golden blades, while the other was frozen solid by a layer of ice, the chill biting back at Bian Changxi’s hand. She quickly let go, and the vine fell heavily to the ground.

She looked up and recognized both men. The metal-type user was the one who’d performed a deadly acrobatic feat at the train station, killing a man mid-zombification. He’d once been a SWAT captain and was part of Xiao Jing’s faction—Boss Zhang was also from that group, so his presence here was no surprise. But the other man was worth noting: A-Gang, who usually stuck close to Qu Nan.

“Miss Bian, I advise you not to struggle pointlessly,” the metal-type man said. “With the two of us and so many others here, you’re not getting away.”

People were quietly appearing all around the camp—some with powers, some in military uniforms, others looking like thugs. Boss Zhang ran an internet café and had plenty of men; with his connections, it wasn’t surprising he could gather a crowd.

Bian Changxi gently stroked Milk, who was still breathing, his little belly rising and falling as he struggled for air. She asked A-Gang, “Who sent you here?”

A-Gang snorted coldly. “Because of you, Qu Nan demoted me to driving and running errands. What a joke! Who does he think he is? Some good-for-nothing rich kid—I’ll make him regret it!”

As he spoke, two icicles shot toward Bian Changxi.

She slung Milk over her shoulder, summoned four wooden spikes to block one icicle, and smashed the other with her blade. Ice shards sprayed her face and slipped down her collar, stabbing her skin with cold.

The force pushed her back two steps.

A-Gang grinned smugly. Did she really think her flimsy wooden spikes could compete with his ice?

But he hadn’t expected the four spikes to move as if alive, scraping against the icicle and forcing it off course in an arc—striking one of his own men. The spikes didn’t stop, whistling toward his head.

He conjured an ice shield in front of himself.

But he wasn’t skilled enough. Those two icicles had taken a long time to charge up—he couldn’t unleash them as quickly as Bian Changxi could her powers. The hastily formed ice shield was weak and shattered instantly. Luckily, his special forces training kicked in, and he dodged the spikes with a backward lean.

But he still ended up soaked by his own melting ice.

The metal-type man’s face changed. He’d thought he was the ace here, and that dealing with a wood-type girl—especially since they needed her alive—wouldn’t require him to act. But now he saw that, in this woman’s hands, the supposedly fragile wood-type could be deadly.

“All of you, get her!” he ordered.

Bian Changxi drew her pistol, flicked off the safety, and fired at the attackers without even blinking.

People dropped instantly.

“Damn it!” the metal-type man cursed. This woman was ruthless! Facing so many people, she didn’t hesitate to open fire. Wasn’t she just a college student a couple weeks ago? And the gunshots would bring even more trouble.

Among the fallen were many of his old subordinates. Furious, he strode forward, hands raised. Suddenly, someone shouted, “We need her alive! Don’t kill her!”

A car pulled up, and Boss Zhang stuck his head out the window.

Bian Changxi looked up at the sound, just as the metal-type man prepared to get serious.

Metal powers were the sharpest among all abilities. Even if he wasn’t as strong as she was, his blades weren’t just for show—she couldn’t withstand them.

Retreat!

They’d blocked the main exit, so her only option was to run into the woods.

She’d barely moved when a vine wrapped around her. A woman shouted excitedly, “Look, I caught her!”

Bian Changxi twisted her waist and slashed in a circle with her blade. The woman’s head flew off before her face could even register, and with a flex of her arms, Bian Changxi snapped the vine. Its toughness was nothing compared to hers—like tofu. But the next moment, a shower of yellow sand poured down from above, and a water-type user on the outskirts, seeing an opportunity, prepared to turn it all into mud and splatter Bian Changxi.

Milk, perched on her shoulder, finally seemed to recover. With a glare, he leapt off, bounding over people’s shoulders to the water-type user, where he scratched and bit, making the man scream.

Bian Changxi unleashed several vines, swinging them in all directions to force people back. She wiped her face, got her bearings, and slung the headless woman’s corpse over her back as she ran for the woods, calling to Milk, “Come on!”

Milk quickly caught up, but instead of jumping into her hand, he ran ahead to lead the way.

Anyone who tried to block her got a bullet for their trouble, and all attacks from behind landed on the corpse she carried.

She reached the edge of the woods, tossed the corpse aside, and slipped into the darkness.

“Catch her!” Boss Zhang shouted furiously from behind.

The wild woods were pitch black, the ground covered in thorns, vines, weeds, and rocks. But Bian Changxi figured that since they’d dared to set up camp here, the woods must have been checked and deemed safe.

She ran for her life, debating whether to escape into her farm dimension. But the farm didn’t have any way to see outside—she wouldn’t know when it was safe to come out. If she stayed too long, her sudden reappearance would be suspicious.

So, she decided to avoid the farm if possible.

She searched for a way out, hoping to circle around and escape. Boss Zhang couldn’t cover the sky with one hand—if she reached a crowded place, they wouldn’t dare act recklessly.

The gunshots just now should have already drawn attention.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded behind her. Bian Changxi dove forward as two golden blades whistled past, embedding themselves in a tree trunk.

In an instant, four people emerged from the woods.

They were dressed identically: bulletproof vests, SWAT pants, gun holsters at their waists, batons in hand, and helmets on their heads—fully armed.

Unlike the previous attackers, these four were organized and efficient, clearly seasoned and well-trained.

Bian Changxi pressed her hands into the cold dirt and pushed herself up. Four wooden spikes shot toward the four men, while four slender vines snaked through the undergrowth, wrapping around their legs, ready to tighten. At the same time, Bian Changxi flipped her hands, drew two submachine guns, switched them to full-auto, and unleashed a torrent of bullets straight at them."