“Everyone’s been busy all night, injured and exhausted. I didn’t originally want to say much,” Wang ng said as she closed the lid of the first aid kit and handed it to the next person in need. Then she turned to face Yu Xi directly. “First, I want to thank you for the sparrow at the other day—”
Before she could finish, Zheng Feng’s mother cut in with a loud outburst, “What’s wrong with you? Saying thanks now?”
Wang ng’s expression stiffened, almost breaking her composure from the sudden yell. Internally rolling her eyes, she maintained a calm deanor and continued, “The mutated sparrows were hunted by her. You ate them, I ate them—it’s only right to say thank you.”
Hearing this, Ma Tiantian, Xia Xuan, and Chen Tong, who were sitting in a corner cleaning blood stains and fixing each other’s hair, exchanged glances.
Ma Tiantian smirked and mouthed, “Such bad acting.” Xia Xuan shook her head in response.
anwhile, Wang ng turned back to Yu Xi. “With the thanks out of the way, let’s talk about last night. Everyone knows that among us, you’re the strongest. You told Xu Yan to pass on the ssage not to disturb you because you had sothing important to do. While many of us wanted to involve you in discussions, we respected your wishes and didn’t bother you.
“But last night, the mutated boars attacked for nearly twelve hours, from dusk until dawn. Everyone fought hard to protect the buildings—including the one you live in! I don’t understand what could possibly be so important that it outweighed what happened last night. Don’t tell you and your family slept through it all and didn’t hear anything.
“Multiple groups went to your door to knock and plead for help. Even if you were busy, you could’ve at least responded!”
Wang ng’s voice grew louder as her indignation mounted. A singer by profession, her raised tone filled the activity room and even carried to those from nearby buildings.
“What, because the people knocking weren’t Xu Yan? Sure, you’re strong, but that doesn’t an we can’t handle things without you! We’ve already driven the mutated boars away together, and now you suddenly show up, acting calm and rational as if nothing happened, like you’re here to call the shots. Who do you think you are? Why should we answer your questions? If you have any decency, get lost!”
Her words reignited the simring anger of several others, especially Zou Yan.
He had stayed in his room as instructed but nearly had his ho destroyed by the boars. After Zheng Feng’s parents failed to get a response from Yu Xi, he had tried knocking twice himself, to no avail.
The sense of helplessness he felt at being ignored in such a crisis now boiled over into rage. “Disappearing when it matters most—real impressive!”
Soone chid in, “She probably did it on purpose, knowing exactly what was happening outside but refusing to co out.”
“Of course, she knew! The noise was impossible to miss. Everyone in the guesthouse heard it!”
“Then why didn’t she co out?”
“Didn’t Wang ng say it? Because the people knocking weren’t close to her. She picks and chooses who to help!”
“More like picking which man to help, am I right…?”
…
Yu Xi swept her gaze over the angry crowd and turned to Wang ng. “Are you finished?”
What Wang ng hated most about Yu Xi was exactly this deanor. Despite being young and facing the apocalypse like everyone else, Yu Xi remained composed, unflinching in the face of any challenge.
As a singer, especially one who had achieved fa, Wang ng was used to being admired and fawned over. But now, with the shift in circumstances, she couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge Yu Xi as a stronger, more capable figure.
What made it worse was sensing that the most intelligent man in their group seed to hold so admiration for Yu Xi. And with her no longer being the center of attention in the group, her dislike for Yu Xi had beco almost automatic, an emotion she couldn’t shake off.
“Nobody wants you here. Get lost already!” Wang ng snapped.
Huang Hui glanced at Wang ng, her expression twisting slightly. She knew Wang ng too well—having been her manager, she could tell exactly what was going through her mind. But she hadn’t expected Wang ng to deliberately stoke everyone’s anger at such a critical mont.
Just as Huang Hui furrowed her brow and prepared to intervene, Yu Xi suddenly smiled.
“So eager to drive out? You must be scared—scared of what I’m about to say.”
“Who’s afraid of you! I just don’t want to waste ti listening to your nonsense. No one will believe you—just leave already…” Wang ng’s voice faltered as Yu Xi stepped closer.
The other woman was too near—so close that if Yu Xi rely reached out, she could wrap her fingers around Wang ng’s neck and suffocate her.
Wang ng couldn’t explain why such a thought crossed her mind. Yu Xi was smiling, yet an icy chill seed to radiate from her, leaving Wang ng unable to utter another word.
Yu Xi withdrew her gaze from Wang ng and turned to the others. “Now that you’re all done talking, let explain why you need to listen carefully to and answer my questions.
“Humans are not the natural prey of mutated boars. These creatures don’t randomly show up at guesthouses. Even if they accidentally wandered here, they wouldn’t single out two specific buildings among all the nearby ones and wage a relentless battle for an entire night.
“From this, we can conclude: soone among you did sothing that attracted the boars. Their departure is only a temporary retreat. Once they recover, they may return to attack the buildings again.
“Do you want to go through another night like last night? Can you guarantee victory if they co back? If not, it’s ti to think carefully and answer honestly.
“Over the past ten or so days, has anyone in our group done anything that could provoke these boars? Or have you seen or heard anything, even the smallest detail? Only by identifying the cause can we avoid another fight.”
Yu Xi scanned the room. “And let be clear why I’m the one asking: everyone knows that my family hasn’t stepped out of our room in these ten days. That ans we’re the only ones without any suspicion. On the other hand, every single one of you might have done sothing to provoke the boars—or at least seen or heard sothing relevant.”
The crowd, initially furious and expecting Yu Xi to defend herself, was caught off guard by her direct and chilling logic. The re ntion of being targeted by the boars again had so visibly trembling.
Soone tried to retort, “You’re making this up! Trying to scare us!”
Yu Xi’s expression didn’t change. “Sounds like you enjoy fighting mutated boars. Fine, let’s call it nonsense. But why does the courtyard reek of urine? That stench has soaked into your clothes, and it’s not sothing a shower can wash off easily.”
Her words hit a nerve. Though the group was still simring with resentnt over her absence during the fight, her analysis had brought so clarity to their minds. Anger was now competing with fear of another boar attack.
People began murmuring as logic began to creep back into their thoughts:
“Do you rember soone cooking braised pork one day? The sll was so strong… I thought it was strange since the breeding area is shut down…”
“Wasn’t it from Zheng Feng’s place? They said it was at they’d stored before, but when I asked to buy so, they refused, saying their son loved it too much to sell.”
“Don’t start nonsense!” Zheng Feng’s mother snapped, both angry and flustered.
“Braised pork is made with pork, isn’t it? It’s not chicken or duck. All the pigs from the breeding area escaped a long ti ago. Could it be that your family caught a pig and triggered a revenge attack from the boars?”
“Enough!” she shouted. “Let tell you the truth: we bought that at from Lu Bin’s family!”
Lu Bin’s parents were imdiately indignant. “Don’t drag us into this! That at ca from Gou Mingfeng’s family!”
Gou Mingfeng’s parents, already furious, retorted, “How dare you bring us into this? My son is lying injured because he saved all of you, and this is how you repay us?”
“Then get your son up to explain it clearly!” soone countered.
anwhile, Wang ng’s face turned pale. She instinctively tried to back away from the activity room but was stopped by Wang Yin, who grabbed her arm.
With Gou Mingfeng unconscious and the group’s attention focused on him, Wang ng realized the situation didn’t directly implicate them yet. Leaving now would only arouse suspicion.
As expected, the Gou family was quickly surrounded by people questioning the source of the pork. So accused Gou Mingfeng of endangering the entire team, even suggesting that since he brought the mutant boars, he should bear the consequences alone.
“What do you an by that? You want my son to die? Why don’t you send your son? Didn’t your family eat the at too?”
The scene quickly descended into chaos. Xu Yan tried to interject several tis but couldn’t get a word in. He stepped forward, but soone shoved him, causing him to stumble due to his injured arm. Thankfully, Xiao Gao and Huang Hui, who were nearby, caught him on either side.
anwhile, Chen Tong, Xia Xuan, and Ma Tiantian sat together, watching the once-united team devolve into infighting, their eyes filled with sadness.
In the midst of the commotion, Gou Yaoyang finally lost his patience. He grabbed a nearby dical kit and slamd it to the ground with a resounding thud. The kit shattered, scattering its contents, but no one had the mind to feel bad about it.
The group turned in shock toward Gou Yaoyang, only for him to call out the retreating figures of Wang ng and Wang Yin at the activity room’s door.
“The pork has nothing to do with my brother or my parents. It was Wang ng and Wang Yin’s idea to go out and try our luck. That day, the group included the two of them, , and Lu Bin. We found so piglets in a cave. We wanted to bring them all back, but they were too heavy, so we slaughtered one on the spot and carried it back. Plenty of people ate the at—not just one family. Everyone is involved. If I hear one more person saying my brother should take the bla alone, I’ll knock their teeth out!”
Wang Yin froze in place, clearly not expecting Gou Yaoyang to know the full story or to stand up for his brother.
Lu Bin opened his mouth as if to speak but quickly closed it again under Gou Yaoyang’s sharp glare.
The group wasn’t large to begin with, and now nearly half of them were implicated—most of whom had been yelling and accusing the loudest earlier. Now, they each tried to distance themselves from the bla.
The finger-pointing eventually zeroed in on the masterminds of the plan: Wang ng and Wang Yin. Even those who had supported Wang ng earlier turned against her, hurling insults.
“Typical entertainnt industry filth! She might look innocent, but she knows how to manipulate n. She’s been using Gou Mingfeng as her errand boy this whole ti. Everyone could see it, but no one bothered to speak up.”
“Seriously, for what? A bit of at? How cheap can you get? No dignity at all.”
Wang ng, unused to such verbal abuse, was trembling with rage. Wang Yin, anwhile, was pale as a sheet. Gou Mingfeng had been gravely injured protecting her, and now this. One son had gone hunting and provoked the mutant boars, and the other was now half-dead because of her. The Gou parents clung to Wang Yin, refusing to let her go, their grip leaving her and Wang ng in a pitiful state.
The chaos was too much. Huang Hui and Xu Yan tried to step in multiple tis, but it was futile.
In the end, Xu Yan gave up. “Forget it. Let them argue. The bigger issue is what Yu Xi said—if the mutant boars recover and co back, what then? We’ve already lost one building. If this one goes too, we’ll have nowhere to stay.”
What worried him even more was that Wang ng’s shouting had drawn attention from others in the guesthouse. Now, everyone knew it was their team that had provoked the mutant boars.
To outsiders, it didn’t matter who within the group was responsible. As far as they were concerned, the entire team was to bla. Xu Yan had to start thinking about what might happen next. The guesthouse owner might decide to kick them out because of this.
“I’m friends with the owner. He might give so leeway,” Huang Hui said, glancing sideways—only to see Yu Xi quietly leaving the activity room. Unable to hold back, she called out to her, “Yu Xi!”
Yu Xi turned back. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry if this cos off as impolite, but I have to ask: why didn’t you co out to help last night?”
“I was sick and only got out of bed this morning,” Yu Xi said, her expression neutral as she looked at Huang Hui. “Also, whether I have the ability or not, I have no responsibility toward any of you. Helping is a favor; not helping is my right. If I were in your shoes, I would never place my hopes on others, much less question soone for not helping.”
She then turned her gaze to Xu Yan. “I know you don’t want to admit it, but the team is already broken.”
That night, the mutant boars ca back.
After the chaotic drama earlier that morning, Xu Yan had no choice but to rally the group again and set up several defensive lines around the building.
The boars, with their thick hides, seed hell-bent on tearing the place down. Even the injured ones relentlessly charged at the building.
Yu Xi, planning to head to S City in a few days after adjusting to her new plant affinity, wasn’t ready to move out of the guesthouse just yet. Since the location was close to her destination, it was convenient to stay a bit longer.
For now, the building couldn’t be destroyed. Although the star house wouldn’t be affected, losing the building would make it impossible for her to take her parents out for training over the next few days. Appearing out of thin air from the second floor in front of everyone would raise too many questions.
But to be honest, Yu Xi didn’t want to kill all the mutant boars. These creatures had been living freely and peacefully until their piglets were stolen, slaughtered, and eaten. It wasn’t their fault they went mad with rage.
As the battle escalated, Yu Xi stood by the second-floor railing, carefully aiming and throwing two tear gas grenades into the boar herd. The pungent smoke made both humans and boars cough and choke uncontrollably. For the boars, whose enhanced senses made them particularly sensitive, the effect was even more severe, eventually driving them away.
Xu Yan glanced up at her from below, his expression complex. He knew she had a gun and could have easily killed the boars, but she chose not to. He also knew he had no grounds to ask why.
Over the next few days, Yu Xi spent her nights in the star house accelerating plant growth to adapt to her abilities and her days leading her fully ard parents into the forest for practice.
For Yu Xi, being in the forest felt more comfortable than staying indoors. Surrounded by plants, she found a deep sense of peace. Although plants couldn’t speak, through touch, she could sense their state—whether they were healthy, thriving, or even happy.
She could also convey her feelings to the plants, assuring them that her parents were important to her and ant no harm, asking them not to harm her family in return.
During this ti, both Fan Qi and Yu Feng made noticeable progress. Initially clumsy and struggling to fend off small mutated creatures, they soon learned to react quickly and strike back effectively.
anwhile, sporadic internet access allowed them to catch glimpses of the outside world’s worsening situation. Beyond the early outbreaks of mutant plants in S City and nearby areas, other cities were now also under relentless assault from mutated flora and fauna, steadily losing ground.
Satellite imagery revealed cities and wilderness blending into each other, with dense vegetation consuming low-rise structures, leaving only the tallest buildings and towers visible.
Farmlands saw mutated crops, livestock farms faced rebellion from mutant animals, and factories, even with the tiniest seed landing unnoticed, were overtaken by sprawling green vines that covered walls and machinery.
So mutated plants and animals were harmless, but many possessed extre lethality.
As social order collapsed, the chaos rippled outward from one city to the next.
Five days later, after reminding her parents to stay in the star house, Yu Xi donned waterproof athletic gear, a hat, and a mask. She climbed into her all-terrain vehicle and began the drive toward S City.
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