After eating and drinking her fill, Qi Xiang felt drowsy.
She let out a lazy yawn and squinted her eyes. A glance at the ti showed it was 3:30 a.m. Not wanting to bother with the trek back to camp, she just got a sleeping bag and a waterproof mat from Gu Xi and lay down by the fire.
Wei Heng sighed and began efficiently cleaning up the pots and pans.
Gu Xi sat sideways by the fire, casually tossing a few branches into the flas. The firelight illuminated one side of her face, leaving the other in shadow and obscuring the expression in her eyes.
Out in the wilderness, beneath a sky full of stars, there was a mont when all surrounding sounds receded like the tide, leaving the world in profound silence.
In this quiet, Gu Xi gazed down at the small green sprout on her fingertip and couldn’t help but recall her conversation with Qee Ran before she left that morning.
"Xiaoxi, before you returned, many people thought your coback would unleash a bloodbath at the Central Base..."
But to everyone’s surprise, after returning to the Central Base, Gu Xi didn’t go looking for trouble with old acquaintances. Instead, she turned around and started working with the military to promote the developnt of agriculture.
Qee Ran looked down at the young woman before him. So many years had passed, yet she hadn’t changed at all. She was still the most dazzling Gu Xiaoxi in the world.
In the past, she had led them to fight zombies and slay the Zombie Emperor, ending the chaotic era of the undead. Now, she was single-handedly driving the reverse evolution of plants, tackling the food crisis, and guiding the world toward a brand new age.
There was a light in Qee Ran’s eyes as he looked at her, but it flickered and was quickly hidden away in their depths.
This young woman he had loved for so many years, the captain he had once looked up to, was this world’s true, undisputed hero.
No one could compare.
Not in the past, and not now.
"Qee Ran," Gu Xi said, looking up at him. "You and I both lived through the most chaotic and darkest days at the beginning of the apocalypse. Compared to back then, I much prefer the world as it is now."
’Because I like this world, I want to make it an even better place.’
Qee Ran lowered his gaze. "So, does that an you plan to give up on revenge?"
’As if!’
"You know I’m not that magnanimous." Gu Xi looked down and smiled, the small green sprout twining around her fingertip. She spoke slowly but firmly, "Those who owe a debt will always have to pay it back."
"Then... why did you let those people go?" ’And why did you let go?’
Qee Ran frowned slightly.
Gu Xi turned to look out the window. In the distance, a helicopter was making its final preparations for takeoff.
After a mont, she spoke softly, her eyes filled with firm resolve. "Because I like this world, I am willing to abide by the rules established to maintain its order."
Gu Xi turned back to face him. "Under the rules, without conclusive evidence, I won’t kill anyone lightly."
"But for people like us, who needs evidence to kill soone?" Qee Ran said, lowering his eyes to hide the emotion within them.
"We do." Gu Xi looked at him, her tone serious. "A person can’t just do whatever they want their whole life." ’Once your desires cross that line in your heart, there’s no turning back.’
’This is especially true for espers and people in power like us.’
’If everyone relied on their own strength and ignored the rules, then when the rules are gone, order will collapse, and malice will run rampant. The world would revert to the most chaotic and darkest era at the dawn of the apocalypse.’
’Because the evil in human nature is far more terrifying than any zombie.’
Being stared at by such calm, deep eyes, Qee Ran felt a sudden mont of panic and bewildernt, as if all his hidden thoughts had been seen through.
But he quickly composed himself, lowering his gaze to avoid Gu Xi’s. "But Xiaoxi, you also used to say that in this apocalypse, everyone has tis when their hands are tied. I..." ’am no different.’
Gu Xi cut him off. "Qee Ran, I truly like the world as it is now, and I want it to stay a world that I can continue to like."
’So don’t force to unleash the beast of slaughter locked within my heart. And don’t let the fruits of our past efforts be destroyed by our own hands.’
’I don’t want to be the one to break the rules and create chaos.’
’But if you force my hand, I can still kill, even within the rules.’
’It’s just that killing them so simply would be a bit of a waste... and far too easy on them.’
’So, for the sake of this world I like so much, I want to find another way... to get my justice.’
She stared into his eyes, watching him intently.
This ti, Qee Ran fell silent.
This wasn’t a threat of mutually assured destruction, because he knew Gu Xi’s power better than anyone.
’The fish would definitely die, but the net wouldn’t necessarily break.’
’But Xiaoxi, you’ve grown a little soft after all.’
’If it were , I wouldn’t care if the world was a better place or not. I’d just want to see my enemies suffer death by a thousand cuts.’
’Of course my enemies must suffer death by a thousand cuts, but after they’re dead and gone, life still has to go on.’
’So for my own sake, it’s better to make this world a better place.’
’After all, there’s really no rush to start killing people.’
The more patient she was, the more on edge certain people would be, living in constant fear, unable to find a mont’s peace.
In a way, this could be considered collecting so interest in advance.
「At five in the morning, the sky began to turn white.」
’A new day... Ti to get to work.’
Gu Xi tossed the dry branch in her hand into the fire, stood up, and brushed the dust off herself. Suddenly, she turned to look at the deep pit they had discovered yesterday, her brow slowly furrowing.
Not far away, Ye Junhan followed her gaze and saw He Yue leading mbers of the base’s Guard Team and a group of espers. They were gathered around the pit, discussing sothing.
"What’s wrong?" he asked in a low voice, striding over.
Gu Xi didn’t answer. She opened her personal terminal, took a photo of the area near the pit, and then woke up Qi Xiang. "Show the picture you took yesterday."
Qi Xiang reacted instantly, quickly sending Gu Xi the photo she had accidentally taken the day before.
Gu Xi compared the two photos, then turned, enlarged the Light Screen, and showed it to Ye Junhan. "Sothing’s not right."
After looking at the photos, Ye Junhan frowned slightly and strode toward the pit.
However, he didn’t get too close, stopping at the periter.
After extinguishing the fire, Wei Heng peeked at the photos and followed them.
Their movents drew the attention of others. Dongfang Yu and his patrol team were already heading their way.
"Captain?" Dongfang Yu walked up beside him and followed his gaze to the soil and plants at the edge of the pit. "Huh, wasn’t the soil here a different color yesterday? Haozi..."
Liu Hao was the first one to go down into the pit yesterday.
But at the ti, his attention was focused on the surrounding plants and whatever was at the bottom, so he hadn’t noticed the condition of the soil.
"It’s not just the soil," Gu Xi said, catching up. She frowned and looked around before asking Dongfang Yu, "When was your last patrol through this area last night?"
"The Guard Team was posted here all night." Dongfang Yu glanced toward the pit. Most of He Yue’s n had gone down, leaving only two or three espers lying at the edge.
Dongfang Xiao said with a smirk, "That Mr. He... he’s a clever one. He thinks he’s found so incredible treasure and wants it all for himself. Why would he trouble the brothers of the Special Service Team to co all the way out here to patrol at night?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Gu Xi saw Qi Xiang suddenly walk a few ters forward. A thought struck her, and she followed. "Find sothing?"
Qi Xiang crouched down and carefully sifted through the grass. After a mont of thought, she looked up at the others. "I tripped right here yesterday and almost twisted my ankle. That’s how I discovered the big pit up ahead. But look, there’s nothing here now..."
Even the mark she’d made when she stumbled was gone.
’This is seriously ssed up.’
Qi Xiang stood up and dusted off her hands.
Ye Junhan frowned slightly. Everyone knew Qi Xiang’s esper ability was a bit... strange.
His gaze fell on Gu Xi’s face, and he had a sudden premonition that she had definitely thought of sothing.
Sure enough, the next mont, her eyes shot up to et his. "When was the last ti the military searched this area?"
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