Chapter 485: Conspiracy
Jin Diao had considered attacking the man directly, but the difference between them was so vast that neither he nor his abilities could get close—any attempt would be futile.
Just as he saw his teammates through a gap in the trees, a heart-wrenching, tear-filled cry pierced the air:
“Stop—!”
Jin Diao froze. Without holding back any longer, he unleashed all of his energy forward. Amid the flurry of leaves and vines, he caught sight of Zheng Hong, a dozen meters away, clutching Xia Ming. Zheng Hong was gripping a thick mutated vine—the same one that had been relentlessly hunting them.
Zheng Hong let out a furious roar to the sky, and a powerful surge of energy burst from his body.
Jin Diao felt that even when he had first advanced to A-rank, his energy had never been this intense.
He saw the now-blood-soaked Xia Ming. A bullet-sized wound had pierced the center of his forehead, and the mutated plant Zheng Hong was clutching had wrapped around a translucent brown crystal core…
An ability user’s personal core—pure and gleaming.
That crystal had belonged at the center of Xia Ming’s forehead.
Zheng Hong, face twisted in rage, tried to snatch it back. But with a violent struggle, the mutated vine tore off his entire arm in an instant.
“Zheng Hong—!”
Jin Diao shouted, charging forward, only to be blocked by the thick branches of trees reforming ahead of him.
Zheng Hong turned and gave him a teary smile. A swirling vortex of energy formed around his body. In the next instant, it exploded from the center like an atomic blast, blasting the surrounding trees into shards and splinters.
Along with the explosion, both Zheng Hong and Xia Ming were reduced to bloody fragments. The shockwave sent Jin Diao flying. Dazed, he wiped his face and found only blood and pulp.
He clenched his hand tightly, as if he could hold on to what was left of his comrade.
His hoarse and despairing voice trembled in the air.
“Zheng Hong—!”
When the massive explosion echoed through the forest, it startled flocks of birds and shocked teammates nearby.
Xu Sa was currently settling Liu Rui into a temporary shelter, while fending off a mutated pheasant with wood-type abilities.
The forest was vast and dangerous, and Liu Rui needed time to recover. Lacking proper nourishment, Xu Sa couldn’t risk carrying him while advancing blindly. He’d seen what kind of terrifying mutated creatures lurked in the woods and didn’t dare take unnecessary risks.
All he could do was hunt relatively low-level mutated animals to harvest crystal cores while waiting for rescue.
Even after seeing the helicopter explode, he still believed Lu Weiyi was alive. That man had far too many secrets—he’d definitely find a way to survive.
Besides, with their prolonged radio silence, the base would eventually send reinforcements. All Xu Sa had to do was conserve his strength and protect Liu Rui.
Not too far away, Ai Ping was making his way toward the rendezvous point, following the direction of a river.
He had landed near a river—a stroke of luck for a water-type ability user. The river was teeming with aquatic life, so not only was he able to fill his belly, but he even managed to cook and dry some rations overnight.
He carried a grass-woven backpack filled with homemade weapons and food, moving along the river toward the gathering point.
Before the apocalypse, following a river would surely lead him out of the forest. But now, the wild was dangerous—traveling alone was even riskier without teammates.
That was why regrouping was vital.
Meanwhile, Li Ze had already left his safe zone. Song Xiao had woken up—although he was disheveled and slightly concussed, he could still walk.
He remained silent, closely trailing Li Ze. No matter what Li Ze asked, he responded timidly, like he knew nothing.
Unlike the others who had the time to hunt, Li Ze was more straightforward. He would pluck the heads and tails off any bugs they encountered and eat them without hesitation.
The first time Song Xiao saw this, he vomited violently while clutching a tree. When Li Ze, expressionless, handed him another bug, he fell flat on his butt in terror.
Li Ze was focused on reuniting with the team and didn’t have time to let him hunt—Song Xiao had no choice but to go hungry.
Then they were attacked by a mutated peregrine falcon. Though its large size limited its maneuverability, it was still extremely aggressive.
After several failed escape attempts, Li Ze decided to confront it head-on.
Repeated testing confirmed the falcon had no abilities. Since both he and Song Xiao were wood-type users, they held a natural advantage in the forest. It shouldn’t be too hard to trap the falcon with plants.
“If we kill it, we’ll have meat,” Li Ze tempted Song Xiao.
But even after starving for so long, Song Xiao wasn’t swayed. He kept pleading with him to leave. But Li Ze had made up his mind.
They were bound to encounter more mutated threats. He couldn’t afford to be shadowed by this bird forever. If they didn’t take care of it now, it could ambush them later.
As the peregrine falcon swooped down, Li Ze slapped a vine hanging between the trees. The previously dormant plant suddenly came to life and shot toward the attacking bird.
Standing under the tree, Li Ze moved his hands as if pulling invisible strings, and the vines in mid-air tangled with the mutated peregrine falcon. At the same time, more fine vines appeared above the falcon, weaving into a dense net that cut off its escape.
The mutated falcon wasn’t low-level. Even as Li Ze manipulated thick vines to entangle it, he still had to prevent it from diving down to attack them. He also had to keep part of his mental focus on guarding against the restless mutated plants nearby. The limited energy he had left to weave the net made it clearly flimsy and weak.
“Do something! Are you just going to watch, you son of a—?!” Li Ze roared angrily at Song Xiao, who was hiding behind him, while whipping a vine from the nearby tree at the diving falcon.
Song Xiao was curled up at the base of a tree thicker than a meter, hugging his head tightly, as if he were trying to will himself invisible.
The mutated falcon took a direct hit to the head from the vine, crashing into the tree trunk with a shriek. Its wings flapped wildly as it tried to charge again, but the interwoven vines in the forest had wrapped around its wings, halting it in place.
Now was the best time to strike.
Li Ze controlled the vines to coil tighter around the falcon, coldly warning, “If you don’t fight, then stay here and die.”
His voice wasn’t as angry as before, but it was calm—calm in a way that allowed no refusal.
Song Xiao glanced fearfully at the surrounding forest. He knew there was no way he could survive on his own.
But if he fought…
Li Ze had already started ignoring him. Gritting his teeth, Song Xiao stood up and released his power toward the vines entangling the falcon.
“…Are you kidding me?” Li Ze felt the pathetic trickle of power and was stunned.
It was so faint that if he hadn’t been so low on energy himself, he might not have noticed it at all. He looked back at Song Xiao after slicing down a mutated butterfly, only to see that he looked utterly drained—as if he had just unleashed all his power.
Everyone on this mission had followed Lu Xiao and fought on the front lines countless times. Li Ze had personally experienced the toll of overusing his powers. He could easily tell whether someone was faking exhaustion.
And that’s why this was so unbelievable.
Li Ze himself was an A-rank wood-type ability user. Even if someone’s combat capability was weak, they shouldn’t have such a low reserve of power.
Unless…
A terrible possibility flashed through his mind. The mental string he’d been holding taut trembled.
He abruptly unleashed the majority of his remaining power, quickly wrapping the falcon into a tight ball of vines.
As the vines constricted, the falcon’s wings cracked audibly. Its desperate screeches echoed in agony, scaring off many of the nearby mutated creatures that had been circling.
The falcon thrashed violently, but with one final effort from Li Ze, its neck was snapped cleanly.
He stumbled toward the dead bird, gripping his bloodied knife, and split its head in two with a slash. A colorless, translucent crystal core fell out.
Without caring about the brain matter smeared on it, Li Ze grabbed it and absorbed the core to replenish his energy. Then, he turned and walked toward Song Xiao.
To Song Xiao, he looked like a deranged killer approaching. He kept backing up, trying desperately not to draw attention.
“Do you have anything you want to tell me?” Li Ze grabbed the back of his collar and hoisted him up, his voice calm but unyielding.
“I…”
Song Xiao’s voice trembled so badly he could barely speak. Just as he was about to shake his head, Li Ze clutched his face with a blood-smeared hand, leaned in, and whispered, “Think carefully before you answer.”
His breath brushed against Song Xiao’s cheek, sending a cold sweat all over his body. It felt like a chill had swept through his soul.
Before he could respond, dripping noises began to sound from him.
Li Ze looked down—it was coming from Song Xiao’s pants. The sharp stench of urine filled the air between them.
So… this guy wasn’t pretending to be a coward. He really was a coward?
Li Ze let out a cold laugh, loosened his grip on Song Xiao’s collar, and repeated coldly, “Answer my question.”
The scent of blood and brain matter lingered in the air. Song Xiao shivered like a leaf in a storm.
Tears streamed down his face as he sobbed, “Please… don’t kill me…”
Li Ze said nothing.
Song Xiao hugged his head and cried harder. “I’m not an A-rank wood-type user. I’m just C-rank… not even B-rank.”
Li Ze’s expression darkened instantly.
He remembered that this temporary safe zone had been recommended by someone from Pan Shui Base. And along the way, Song Xiao had insisted on going there directly, refusing to stop or rest.
The scent of a conspiracy hit him hard.
