Chapter 97: Mutual Wounds, The Death of Boss Zhang (Second Update)

At this moment, his face was dark and gloomy, his bloodshot eyes filled with grief and despair so intense it seemed almost tangible, as if it could drip down at any moment. He was already on the verge of collapse.

“What are you looking at? Stay away from Xiao Ai from now on. I’ll be coming by often. If I ever catch you doing anything to hurt her…” he threatened.

Bian Changxi raised one eyebrow. She wasn’t exactly known for her good temper, but she wasn’t about to stoop to argue with someone like him. She glanced off into the distance and said, “I’d love to leave, but it seems your Xiao Ai doesn’t want to let me go.”

From all directions, mutant cats and dogs, giant rats, and even chickens and ducks began to appear in droves. Bian Changxi silently marveled—this summoning ability was truly something. That wedding-dress zombie was only at the second tier, yet it could already call together such a huge number of mutant beasts. Given time, it would definitely become a major threat.

A cold glint flashed in her eyes, but it vanished in an instant.

The man who could teleport suddenly looked alarmed. “Oh no, this isn’t good. We need to get out of here. I’ll teleport us away.” He grabbed each of them with one hand, closed his eyes, then opened them again—huh? They were still in the same place.

Bian Changxi eyed him suspiciously. “Are you sure you can do this?”

He tried twice more, getting so anxious he started hopping in place, his face twisted in distress. “It… it’s not working again…”

“Then run!” she snapped, picked a direction, lopped off a few mutant cat heads to carry with her, and dashed out of the encirclement with agile, athletic movements.

The teleporter was stunned for a second, then hurriedly dragged Lao Liu along to follow.

The three of them barreled down the street, with the mutant beasts hot on their heels. The mutant dogs were especially fierce—some of the larger ones could leap five or six meters at a time, while the smaller ones were incredibly nimble. It was like a high-speed chase, and the three of them were running for their lives, not daring to stop for a second.

Bian Changxi was the fastest, quickly leaving the two men far behind. When she looked back, the two were less than three meters from the beast horde, and mutant cats and dogs were constantly leaping up to bite them. Fortunately, Lao Liu could shoot flames—not the usual red-yellow kind, but with a streak of black-blue at the core. When it burned the mutant beasts, it had a corrosive effect. Bian Changxi narrowed her eyes—was this a mutated fire ability?

As more and more mutant beasts appeared, it was no longer just a result of summoning—they had caught the scent of humans and were now actively chasing them. If this kept up, zombies would be drawn in too. Bian Changxi released her senses, scanning her surroundings as she ran. She reached a row of buildings; the second-floor balconies had security bars, but the third-floor balconies did not. She leapt up, grabbed the bars, climbed to the third-floor balcony, and shouted to the two men behind her, “Up here!”

At the critical moment, just as the teleporter was about to be bitten to death by a giant wolfdog, his potential was suddenly triggered. He grabbed his companion and managed a teleport, landing them right in front of the building. Hearing Bian Changxi’s shout, he quickly urged his companion to climb up.

“You first!” Lao Liu turned to face the oncoming beasts.

The teleporter knew there was no time to waste, so he tightened his belt and scrambled up. Bian Changxi pulled out a handgun to cover them. Once both men were up, she pointed behind her. “Inside. It’s safe.”

Lao Liu eyed the tightly closed window, the curtains drawn so nothing was visible inside. He asked warily, “How do you know it’s safe?” Was she trying to use them as cannon fodder?

Bian Changxi ignored him. Down below, mutant cats and dogs were scrambling to leap up, several of them clinging to the security bars and barking furiously. Any that dared poke their heads up were shot down by her bullets or knocked off by her vines.

Her gaze locked onto the half-human-tall giant wolfdog below. Its fur gleamed, its eyes were fierce and alert, its body strong and powerful. Her eyes lit up—this one definitely had a crystal core, and a big one at that.

She fired two wooden spikes at it, but the wolfdog dodged easily. She fired two more, provoking the wolfdog into a low, angry growl as it paced back and forth, clearly trying to figure out how to drag Bian Changxi down and eat her.

Bian Changxi was also studying its weaknesses. It was fast—bullets might not hit, and vines might not hold it. If she scared it off, she’d lose her chance.

She glanced back to see the window was still closed, and the two men were standing there dumbfounded. She frowned, but then realized their suspicion was understandable. Without a word, she used her Tang sword to break the window, then sent a thick vine to wrap around the aluminum window frame. The other end shot across to hook onto the security bars of a second-floor window in the building opposite, forming a taut, slanted line.

She had her past vine-control training to thank for such speed and precision. The two men stared in shock.

The teleporter asked, “What are you doing?”

“Don’t touch the vine!” Bian Changxi said as she tied one end around her waist and locked a loop onto the vine so she could slide freely.

Once ready, she picked up a few cat heads at her feet. She’d originally wanted to keep them for the crystal cores, but now she split one open with her blade—if there was no core, she tossed it down; if there was, she dug it out and then threw the head down. The blood would rile up the mutant beasts below, so she threw them skillfully, stirring the beasts into a frenzy over the bloody heads and drawing them away from the wolfdog.

Each time she threw one, the wolfdog would glance over, but it wasn’t interested in the heads. Its gaze stayed locked on Bian Changxi. The higher the level and power of an ability user, the more attractive they were to these beasts—their flesh was more nourishing. The wolfdog hadn’t smelled such a delicious scent in ages; there was no way it was letting this prize go.

Of course, it didn’t know that in her eyes, it was also a juicy piece of meat.

Men die for wealth, birds die for food—it’s always been that way.

Bian Changxi curled her lip. Seeing that the other mutant beasts had mostly been lured away, she stepped to the edge of the balcony and kicked off, sliding down the vine. The wolfdog, seeing her coming, leapt up to attack.

That’s right, jump up!

Come closer!

In an instant, the distance closed. As the wolfdog lunged, its claws outstretched and its belly slightly exposed, Bian Changxi twisted her waist, hooked her legs around the vine like scissors, and stopped herself in midair.

The wolfdog’s leap—its force and height—had been calculated based on the target’s approach, not with computer precision but with animal instinct, just like how a human judges a soccer ball’s trajectory and meets it with the right force and angle. But the problem was, this “ball” suddenly stopped higher and farther than expected.

The wolfdog was stunned for a split second and started to fall. At that moment, Bian Changxi’s Tang sword flashed with blinding light as she swung with all her strength—shlick! The wolfdog’s massive head flew high into the air.

She reached out with her left hand, sent a thin vine after the flying head, and pulled it back. Then she released her legs, dropped onto the second-floor security bars, grabbed tight, and finally gasped for breath, wiping blood and sweat from her face.

The two men stared, dumbfounded.

A few minutes later, all three were inside the third-floor apartment. Bian Changxi plopped down on the floor, the wolfdog’s head in front of her. Its eyes were still bulging with terror, but she paid it no mind, pulling out a knife to dig for the crystal core.

The teleporter sat across from her, watching her work, feeling a bit creeped out. Was this fierce, terrifying person really a slender young woman? She looked more like a seasoned hunter, a born predator.

But then again, in the apocalypse, who could survive alone without some real skills?

Lao Liu stood by the window, watching the mutant beasts below fighting over the wolfdog’s corpse. He was shocked too, but after losing his lover to zombification, his heart was already numb and empty. He just glanced twice, then leaned quietly against the wall, staring blankly in the direction of the Wuzhou Grand Hotel.

The teleporter finally spoke up. “Um, hello, friend. My name is Chu Hao. I’ve been operating in this town for a while and haven’t seen you before. Did you just arrive today?”

Chu Hao’s tone was much more cautious than before—after all, the person in front of him was clearly a powerhouse, and he couldn’t afford to be careless.

Bian Changxi paused her digging, looked up in surprise. “Chu Hao?” Her eyes flickered with shock and uncertainty. “The nouveau riche surnamed Chu?”

Chu Hao’s face twitched, and he gave a dry laugh. “Those are the characters, yes. What, you know me?”

Bian Changxi stared at him for a moment. “I think… I’ve heard that name somewhere before. Can I see your face?” Could it really be that sucker? In her previous life, he was quite famous—always polite and friendly to everyone, and even when down and out, he was the best person to hit up for favors, whether you knew him or not. If you had even the slightest connection, he’d help you however he could, even at his own expense. The kind of guy who’d help count the money after being sold out.

Chu Hao hesitated, then took off his grimy hard hat and wiped his face, revealing a rough but handsome and well-shaped face. He looked a bit rustic, but also cheerful and approachable—a very likable face.

Bian Changxi mouthed silently: It really is him.

Though he looked a bit different from before, it was definitely the same person.

Her mind was spinning. In her previous life, Chu Hao was the most well-liked person in the Su City base. Because of his “selfless generosity” and loyal, honest nature, everyone privately called him “that nouveau riche surnamed Chu.” Though there was plenty of teasing in the nickname, there was also genuine respect. His broad generosity had helped many people who were down and out—some of whom later became big shots—so in the base, he could basically walk anywhere unchallenged.

PS:

Phew, finally finished! I really am one of those legendary slow typists. Posting this now—will proofread for typos later. Time to eat!