Chapter 20: CH 19.2

The raging flames burned throughout the afternoon, and it wasn’t until the sky gradually darkened that they slowly died out. 

Chu Qianxun stayed by the side the entire time, waiting for the temperature of the pool’s interior to slightly reduce. Afterwards, she climbed down with a rope. 

After searching for some time, she found two green crystals not too different from the size of dried fruits. 

Despite the risks undergone in the battle, the gains were truly a pleasant surprise. 

Two second-order monster seeds!

Provided that she increased her efforts to advance into the critical state of Tier One, she could rely on these two rare seeds to break into Tier Two.

When everyone else would be just stepping into the Tier One threshold, she could already surmount the ranks and become a Tier Two powerhouse. 

Even if her ability had no combat utility, her substantially upgraded strength and speed alone were enough to crush those people who have just entered the early stage of Tier One, whose abilities were still incredibly weak. 

Chu Qianxun climbed out with a heart full of satisfaction and showed everyone the two green crystals in her hand. 

“I found these from the monsters’ bodies. I heard before from the special forces that all powerful monsters have these.” Chu Qianxun gazed at Feng Qianqian and Jiang Xiaojie, “They said that consuming these can enhance your special abilities.” 

“Eat? Eat them?” Gao Yan and the others were stupefied. “Can these really be eaten? Wouldn’t eating these cause some issues?”

“I’m not too clear on the details. Of course they shouldn’t be eaten indiscriminately. I’ve heard that when some people eat them, they don’t gain abilities and instead directly turn into monsters. Anyways, if you get one of these things, keep it close. I’m sure they will have many uses in the future.” Chu Qianxun closed her hand and put the crystals in her pocket. 

“Turn into a monster? Even if you killed me, I wouldn’t dare to eat one.” Gan Xiaodan hurriedly shook her head like a pellet drum. 

But Gao Yan seemed lost in thought. 

Inwardly, she very much wished to have a special ability like Feng Qianqian. 

Even if it was only a little, it would still be a measure of survival in the apocalypse. 

Gao Yan was experienced in dealing with people, and clearly knew that when faced with imminent disaster, she couldn’t rely on anyone but herself. 

The reason why Qianxun can be this amazing must be due to the fact she has gained some “superpower.” 

She didn’t have to try to please others like Gao Yan does. She could stand before anyone with freedom and ease, and walk whatever path she wanted to walk. 

This kind of girl was often impossible for Gao Yan, the type that she particularly envied. 

Presently, Chu Qianxun no longer intends to completely conceal the matter of the monster seeds to everyone. 

But for the sake of her safety, she wouldn’t speak out all at once. 

At any rate, the people of the base will gradually begin to understand the effects of the monster seeds before long. As long as they arrived at the base, Feng Qianqian and Jiang Xiaojie would slowly learn how the monster seeds could be used for their powers. 

Tier One monster seeds will lose their effect on Chu Qianxun very quickly. 

When it came time to part ways, if she had some extras on hand, she may consider sharing them with Feng Qianqian and Jiang Xiaojie to upgrade their abilities. 

Chu Qianxun put on her backpack. She had some misgivings about that sealed room, especially whatever that living yet dead corpse was. She wanted to go back and investigate one more time. 

“I’m going in again to see if there’s any food.” 

“Qianxun jiejie, you’re really going? What if two more monsters like that appear again, what will we do?” Feng Qianqian uneasily pulled at Chu Qianxun. 

“There was such a big commotion earlier, if there were any more monsters, they would’ve come out at that time. I will be careful.” Chu Qianxun patted Feng Qianqian’s hand, reassuring her. 

Then she glanced over at Jiang Xiaojie, calling his name: “Jiang Xiaojie, do you want to come with me?” 

Jiang Xiaojie put down the sweet potato piece he was nibbling on at once, happily standing and catching up with Chu Qianxun to leave. 

He felt that being allowed to be by Chu Qianxun, Chu Qianxun just calling his name, could be considered as receiving Chu Qianxun’s approval. In his heart he was extraordinarily happy. 

The two people raised their flashlights and cautiously entered the pitch-black warehouse. In the black hole of the warehouse, the two’s soft footsteps echoed. 

There were no other movements, there were no other monsters encountered.

Chu Qianxun arrived at the previous room, blocked Jiang Xiaojie behind her, and carefully explored the room with the circle of her flashlight before entering. 

There wasn’t a soul in sight inside the room, only the figure of a person’s body tied to the shelf. 

The ray of the flashlight shined, and that body slightly stirred. 

It was indeed alive, although it didn’t seem too far from death. 

Chu Qianxun slowly entered the room, using her flashlight to illuminate the horrific body from top to bottom. It was indeed wholly human, not a monster. 

The man even squinted as the light hit his eyes, slightly turning his head away. 

It looked like his wounds were at least a little better than Chu Qianxun thought they had appeared at noon. 

Jiang Xiaojie started rummaging around in the warehouse. 

Chu Qianxun pried open the chains binding the person’s body to the shelf. 

She released him, letting him lie on the ground. 

“Xiaojie, I’ll go inside and search around.” Chu Qianxun told Jiang Xiaojie.

She took a step, intending to walk towards the depths of the room. A hand extended from the ground and caught the leg of her trousers. 

Chu Qianxun turned around. 

In the darkness, the mutilated man lay on the ground, extending a pale hand and tightly pulled Chu Qianxun’s pant leg. 

“You let go first, we’ll go to find things inside. When we leave again, you’ll come with us.” Chu Qianxun falsely coaxed him.

In her eyes, this person was basically a dead man. Chu Qianxun felt it was impossible for him to survive. 

She laid him on the ground out of sympathy, but didn’t plan to do any more than that. Perhaps by the time she finished searching the warehouse and left, this person would have already stopped breathing. 

But those pale fingers were firmly pulling at her pant leg, stubbornly refusing to let go even though they were trembling a little. 

It made her embarrassed enough to nearly kick him off with her foot. 

Chu Qianxun sighed, feeling that she’d provoked trouble for herself.

“Qianxun jie, I found a box of biscuits. There were also some everyday necessities; apparently someone has been hiding inside this room for a while.” Jiang Xiaojie excitedly came over with a large box on his shoulders and two backpacks hanging in his hands. After becoming a saint, his physical strength has increased imperceptibly. The weight he would ordinarily struggle to carry is now not too difficult for him. 

Chu Qianxun looked through the box with the light of her flashlight. 

“All right, this is enough. Bring everything with you and go out.” 

“This person… what about him?” 

Chu Qianxun tugged at her trouser leg, but was unable to pull it from his grip. 

So in the end she squatted down and put the man over her shoulders. 

Forget it, this man probably doesn’t want to die in this room, alone in the darkness and waiting for death, Chu Qianxun thought,

It won’t be too much trouble to bring him out and let him die with some ease of mind. 

He had been locked in here for a while, certainly not by the monsters’ doing. Presumably it was a good deed done by fellow humans. 

This sort of deed can’t be considered uncommon. In the apocalypse, many shameless people have pushed their companions to the monsters for the sake of their own escape. 

Simply being alone and tied up to a shelf like this, let alone being locked inside a sealed space with monsters, endless fear while helplessly watching the monsters devouring his own body… it was truly too vile. 

This man was thin, but he was quite tall. 

Chu Qianxun had no choice but to fight to keep his whole person atop her shoulders. 

One of his arms fell from Chu Qianxun’s shoulder. 

Chu Qianxun could clearly see that a large chunk of flesh was missing from that arm, revealing the ghastly white bone within. 

Chu Qianxun was carrying a grown adult man on her back without feeling even slightly fatigued, and was even able to take the backpacks from Jiang Xiaojie’s hands. 

Two people carrying supplies emerged from the warehouse interior. 

Gan Xiaodan, Gao Yan, and the others came up to help take the goods. 

“What happened to this man?” 

“He’s seriously injured.”

“This… he’s still alive?”

Placing the man on her shoulders onto the grass outside, Chu Qianxun suddenly discovered that the wound on his arm seemed to be much better than it had been only a moment ago.

Just before, there was obviously a place where bone was showing, yet now it was already covered in flesh. 

Despite the severity of the wound, it was clearly recovering at a speed different from that of an ordinary person’s. 

Chu Qianxun furrowed her brow. 

Outside the warehouse, the sky was not yet completely dark, and she could distinctly see this man’s appearance. 

Although he was mutilated and bloody all over, it could definitely be seen that he was a young man. 

He was rather frail, his limbs were slender and straight. His messy hair was slightly curly and tangled with blood, obscuring his face so that his features could not be seen. 

His wounds looked serious, but Chu Qianxun could perceive them being rapidly restored. 

In the later stage of the apocalypse, some healers had the ability to restore hideous wounds at a speed visible to the naked eye. Though this man hadn’t quite reached that extent, he could still be considered absolutely amazing. 

When Chu Qianxun entered the warehouse at noon for the first time, she hurriedly glanced through the door. The shape of this person’s body was definitely not as it is now, otherwise Chu Qianxun definitely wouldn’t have dismissed him as a corpse. 

This person must be a saint with a first-rate ability. 

However; right now it is still early in the apocalypse. No matter how quickly he advanced, it shouldn’t be possible for him to have such strong healing abilities. 

Immortal?

This word flashed through Chu Qianxun’s mind. 

Saints possessing undying abilities are incredibly rare, and they are called Immortals. 

These people have extremely powerful self-recovery abilities. It is said that even if their limbs were cut off, they could still regenerate. 

After their vitality is severed, given some time, they can be resurrected anew. 

But their ability generally lacked offensive power, and they were unable to help others with their powers like healers could. 

So besides saving one’s own life, this ability was totally useless. 

Furthermore, these so-called Immortals weren’t truly immortal. Particularly grave wounds would still cause their death. 

In the later stage of the apocalypse, this rare type of saint no longer appeared. 

Except for one person. 

The demon who terrified other men, Ye Peitian, who abnormally possessed the dual abilities of immortality and sand manipulation. 

The rumors said that even if Ye Peitian’s head was severed from his body and scattered in eight pieces across the ends of the earth, he would ultimately still resurrect. 

So no matter how many foes there were, they could never truly kill him. 

Chu Qianxun recalled the face of the demon Ye Peitian and couldn’t help but shiver. 

Gan Xiaodan and the others arranged the supplies brought out from the warehouse.

They were pleasantly surprised to discover that in addition to the whole box of biscuits, the two backpacks were stuffed with two blankets, four to five items of clothing, and half a pack of salt, along with other odds and ends such as a water flask. 

All of them were pleased– with these, their short-term survival issues no longer seem so pressing. 

Everyone shared the burden of carrying the things, preparing to drive away from here. 

Before their departure, Chu Qianxun turned back to look at the man she had set down in the grass. 

The man couldn’t move, but he managed to keep his eyes open, focusing his gaze on her. 

Chu Qianxun hesitated for a moment, then put the Immortal, who she’d originally planned to carry from the warehouse and brush aside, back on her shoulders again. 

As she pushed the man back on top of her shoulders, 

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she heard a muffled, guttural sound from that drooping head. 

It seemed like a thank you. 

* * *

The car drove all the way until it reached a remote field. 

At this time, uninhabited places had fewer monsters. Contrary to expectations, they were somewhat safer. 

The commercial vehicle was parked by a natural pond. 

The girls slept inside the car. 

The three men slept in the grass next to the side of the car, having used foam mats gathered from the factory production area to make their beds. 

Except for Feng Qianqian, the rest of them had to take turns keeping watch through the night. 

Gan Xiaodan and Gao Yan were on a shift, Feng Junlei and Jiang Xiaojie were on another shift, and Chu Qianxun was by herself. 

The countryside at night seemed especially quiet, the rustling of animals and leaves stirring in the wind all the more clear. 

Chu Qianxun sat alone on the car roof. 

She intently listened to every sound from the dark, not being careless despite their distance from other people. 

In the darkness of the night, the bright moon was in the sky, its light shedding on the silver frost covering the ground and reflecting off the clear surface of the pond. 

There were some noises from the grass by the side of the car. 

The man who had been at death’s door in the evening, unexpectedly could already slowly prop himself up in the moonlight. 

Chu Qianxun sat on the car roof, watching the bare-chested man silently sit in the moonlight for a moment, then he slowly stood up, putting his hand on the side of the car for support. 

He seemed lacking in strength, his back hunched and movements sluggish. Smooth new skin covered his back, and that transparent skin was dazzlingly pale in the moonlight. 

He used his bloodstained arm to support himself on the car and slightly raised his head to gaze at the moon in the night sky. His pale body seemed to be slightly trembling. 

Chu Qianxun suddenly reacted. 

This man is an Immortal. 

When she found him before, it wasn’t at the beginning of his confinement. Perhaps he had already been locked inside the warehouse with those monsters for a good many days. 

He must have undergone being bitten by monsters and resurrecting many times. After regaining consciousness each time, he once again experienced the process of getting eaten alive by monsters. 

In this hellish environment, who knows how many times he went from dead to alive. 

No wonder he was able to recover so quickly, it was because he passively improved his abilities through repeated death and rebirth. 

What was even more painful was that due to his elevated ability, the speed of his resurrection accelerated, increasing the torment he suffered. 

The reason why the warehouse monsters could advance to a higher level than usual is precisely because they had this saint who could provide them with flesh and blood again and again.

Thinking of this horrifying scene, even Chu Qianxun felt her hair standing on end. 

She looked at the man’s back in the moonlight. 

Even if an ordinary person is imprisoned in a cruel hell like this, they would inevitably fall into a state of madness. 

Could the man before her eyes truly keep his human heart?

Chu Qianxun recalled an age-old fairytale: the devil king was sealed in a narrow bottle and sank to the dark seafloor, alone and suffering. Every hundred years, he made a wish to repay the person who rescued him from his cage. After waiting in agony for four hundred years, excessive suffering caused hatred to grow in his heart, and he vowed to kill the benefactor who released him from his bottle. 

In her previous life, the warehouse door was only opened three months after the apocalypse befell. 

This man had been cruelly locked inside the warehouse all that time. 

Chu Qianxun felt a chill in her heart. 

She didn’t know why those people wanted to lock a fellow human together with monsters. 

But she has experienced ten years of the apocalypse and seen countless sins. Sometimes the evils of human nature could truly reach a level with no bottom line, to the extent where they were worse than the terrors caused by demons. 

The man before her slowly took his arm from the car. He tried to walk forward but stumbled. 

A hand stretched out from the roof of the car, steadily supporting him.

He turned his head, catching sight of the girl sitting on the car roof. The girl extended half her body to reach out with her slender arm, but firmly supported his weight. 

Before, this girl had used the same slender arm to carry him on her back all the way out of that collapsing hell. 

“Don’t force it, rest a moment.” The girl said, her eyes filled with moonlight. She passed a packet of biscuits and half a bottle of water from the car roof. 

The man’s eyes were hidden under the tangled, bloody mess of his hair. His bloodless lips parted, but he didn’t say anything. 

After a long time, he lifted his pale fingers and took the food. 

The next morning, 

Chu Qianxun awoke from the seat of the car. 

Eyes heavy with sleep, she got out of the car. 

The Feng father and daughter were in the middle of making a fire for cooking. Though a mishap had covered their faces in soot, the fire was already rising. 

Jiang Xiaojie discovered a few fish in the pond, and was excitedly using a dagger to deal with the numerous fish flailing around. 

Gan Xiaodan and Gao Yan were preparing food for breakfast. 

Everything seemed calm and stable. 

Splashing sounds came from the pool, and a strange man walked ashore from the water.

The young man had a tall figure and fair skin. His drenched hair was slightly curly. 

As he walked, he swept his dripping hair back, revealing his smooth, clean forehead. 

His eyebrows were a little light, the front ends slightly furrowed. His eyelashes were exceptionally slender, clear droplets falling from them and catching in the morning sunlight, delicate and lovely. The slender corners of his eyes were slightly downturned, the straight bridge of his nose, the dispirited back, together the whole person revealed an unusual, decadent beauty. 

Last night’s bloodstained, half-dead Immortal washed himself clean in the cool water, transforming into a handsome man who made the girls scream. 

Gao Yan was taken by surprise when she caught sight of this drenched, handsome man only wearing tattered trousers, narrowly stopping herself from screaming. 

She shook Gan Xiaodan’s arm: “Look, look, he turns out to be so handsome.” 

Gan Xiaodan looked into the distance and couldn’t help but blush and lower her head: “I’ll go find him some clothes.” 

The girls barely managed to turn away from the man who had just bathed.

Ask how he’s doing, ask for his name. 

But Chu Qianxun silently turned away, her back against a large tree. 

She pressed against the tree, tightly gripping the blade in her hand, the hairs on her back standing on end. 

Because of her terror, she couldn’t surpress the violent murderous aura erupting from her whole body. 

“What demon did I release? What kind of demon did I release!” 

Chu Qianxun hid under the deep shadow of the tree, her pupils shaking as she stared at the knife in her hand. 

Ye Peitian!

This man was actually Ye Peitian, the devil whose hands were stained with blood.

Chu Qianxun thought of the only time she had met Ye Peitian, simply not wanting to remember that terrifying episode. 

At that time Chu Qianxun was hiding behind a dilapidated wall, hugging her head and holding her breath, praying she wouldn’t be discovered by the murderer who just happened to be passing by. 

The Ye Peitian of those days was not as young and bright as he is now. His hair was longer and swept towards the back of his head, his hands were in his pockets, and his back was slouched. Asura passed through as yellow sands filled the sky, a coat with a large fur collar draped loosely off him. The hem of that coat was soaked in blood, leaving a trail on the ground behind him. 

Just when Chu Qianxun thought this terrifying existence had gone, the earthen wall at her back suddenly turned to yellow sand, collapsing in an instant. 

Without warning, Chu Qianxun rolled from the sand and stopped in front of that blood-red coat. 

Even now, she still remembers the way he glanced down at her with his ice-cold gaze, a derisive smirk hooking at the corner of his lips, as if he was too lazy to pay attention to such a small fly. 

He assumed an expression that had no interest in life and leisurely walked away. 

Chu Qianxun was left alone, shivering in fright amidst the yellow sand.

From that moment on, Chu Qianxun distanced herself far from Ye Peitian’s sphere of influence and never saw that fierce devil again. 

“Please introduce yourself, what’s your name?” 

“I… …  Ye Peitian.”

“How old are you? How did you recover so quickly?” 

“……” 

The sound of conversation pulled Chu Qianxun out from her recollections. 

Kill him, take advantage of this time when he’s still so weak! Chu Qianxun tightened her grip on the knife handle. 

No, no, this man is still an Immortal, who knows how powerful he already is? If he can’t die, she’ll have made a terrifying enemy for no reason. 

Chu Qianxun deliberated, quietly relaxing her hold on the knife in her hand at last. 

“Qianxun jie, what are you doing?” Jiang Xiaojie came over to stand beside her. He handed her a grilled fish. 

“No, nothing.” Chu Qianxun was too absorbed in her thoughts, and was startled by his sudden appearance. 

Jiang Xiaojie looked at Chu Qianxun’s hand holding the knife, then turned to look over at Ye Peitian. 

“You hate that gege? Want to beat him up? Do you need my help?” 

“No, I don’t know that person, how could I hate him. Don’t talk nonsense.” Chu Qianxun patted Jiang Xiaojie’s shoulder, taking the grilled fish from his outstretched hand. 

Don’t hate him?

Jiang Xiaojie stood there and rolled his eyes.

But he had obviously just seen it clearly. When Qianxun jie saw that gege, she showed a face with real killing intent, even quietly unsheathing her weapon.

It’s really strange, since she hated him that much, why did she save him again? Jiang Xiaojie thought, puzzled. 

During the meal, everyone noticed that something was wrong with Chu Qianxun. She, who was consistently cold and steady, unexpectedly bumped into things several times for no reason, as if she was nervous. 

Even Ye Peitian, the new addition to the group, raised his pale face to silently look at her a few times. 

You must stay calm, you cannot betray any hints. Chu Qianxun thought in her mind. 

Be nice to Ye Peitian, don’t show the slightest ill will. 

No, no, no, not too nice, it would be best if he doesn’t pay attention to her, and doesn’t take note of Chu Qianxun. 

By the time they reached the base, she would find an excuse to slip away and never come back. Just get there and go, and everything would be fine. She must by all means not provoke this devil. 

After she made up her mind, Chu Qianxun gradually calmed down. She secretly glanced at Ye Peitian. 

The human demon of this time didn’t yet have the lifeless, strange appearance of the late stage apocalypse. 

His face was young and clean, and apart from his slight reticence, it was almost impossible to see that he had just experienced such a cruel ordeal. 

He caught sight of Chu Qianxun looking over, and managed to send her a faint smile. 

Chu Qianxun sighed in her heart. Ye Peitian was locked in the same room as those monsters for three months. Afterwards, he had likely been found by the Shen’ai Group, and who knows what they did to him. Whatever it was, it made him into a person who madly retaliated against the Shen’ai Group. 

It turns out that the monsters that strike terror in all mankind, are also the monsters created by mankind itself. 

TL notes: That was a lot longer than a day, my bad. Somehow took even longer to translate than expected. If anyone’s curious of the final word count, it’s 5,888 words. No thanks to the random repetitive statements and gratuitous descriptions of YPT’s handsomeness. Seriously, I have no idea why the author kept repeating some sentences, don’t shoot the messenger/translator pls T_T

Finals week is coming up for me, but after that, my tentative posting schedule will be 2x a week, likely on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

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