Chapter 495: Continuing the Search
The drain of powered individuals from the base attracted the attention of several major teams. They sent people to investigate. The few who survived said the people there targeted ability users—everyone who went lost their crystal cores and powers.
“You didn’t resist?”
Qian Min buried his head in his arms. “We did, but we never even saw what the attackers looked like. The surrounding plants fought like living people.”
“They didn’t kill us—instead, they raised us like livestock, trapped us in the base. We couldn’t leave. And they occasionally sent supplies to the base civilians. Many of those civilians became their supporters, helped them hide the truth, even became their executioners.”
Qian Min let out a bitter laugh. Blood poured from his torn wounds. “These ignorant fools think those things are on their side—but they’re just monsters who eat people whole, bones and all.”
Lu Xiao listened without even furrowing his brow. “Why didn’t you call for help?”
“We did. We sent out a message—but they found out. That team was never heard from again.” Qian Min stared blankly at Lu Xiao. “Later, their leader heard about the Ability Users’ Summit and wanted us to lure more high-level ability users in, so they let a few of us go.”
“We all have people we care about in the base. If we don’t return in time, our families will suffer.” With things at this point, Qian Min had nothing left to hide. He gave Lu Xiao a twisted smile. “Better you than me, right?”
Lu Xiao kicked him hard. Qian Min flew across the room, slammed into the wall, then hit the ground with a thud and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“How many of them are there? Where are their bases?” Lu Xiao crouched down, grabbed him by the hair, and yanked his head up.
Qian Min’s bloodied teeth showed as he shook his head. “No one knows. They’ve only ever appeared outside. They’ve never let anyone get close. They come and go like ghosts. The civilians in the base call them Mountain Gods.”
Lu Xiao questioned the remaining prisoners and got the same answer. These people only targeted ability users. Every time they appeared, it was through civilians randomly relaying messages—too mysterious to track.
“Then why were there rumors of an SSS-level ability user in that area?”
“That was a rumor deliberately spread by the base—to reduce the number of ability users going in,” Qian Min replied, collapsing to the ground as if he’d expelled his final breath.
“I thought about calling for your help, calling for the strongest ability users. But there was no guarantee you’d respond. Rather than bet on a slim chance, we decided to gamble. If it worked, we’d benefit. If it didn’t…”
They wouldn’t care either way.
Lu Xiao’s teeth clenched with audible grinding. If this wasn’t the wrong time, he’d have burned this man to ashes on the spot.
No one even knew if that person truly existed—how many ability users they had, or what level they were.
It was the first time Lu Xiao felt so completely in the dark.
He had someone map the terrain around the Panshui Base and immediately sent the information to Lu Weiyi.
His plan was simple: retreat for now—after all, they were far from central authority. As for that mysterious place and those people, they’d deal with them later by mobilizing a large force when necessary.
Lu Weiyi, chewing on a greasy rabbit leg, reviewed the terrain and Lu Xiao’s intel, comparing it to where the self-detonation had occurred. He figured those people were likely located near the mutated plant area.
That so-called “Mountain God” was most likely a high-level wood-type ability user with a powerful mutated plant under control.
Seeing the message instructing them to return, Lu Weiyi hesitated.
[I’ve only regrouped with Li Ze, Ai Ping, Song Xiao, and Han Fei so far. No news from the others yet.]
He paused for quite a while, but ultimately chose to be honest.
[One of the remaining teammates was forced to self-detonate their crystal core. I’m not sure if any others were captured.]
Lu Xiao’s hand trembled violently when he read that.
Though he cared for his nephew, it didn’t mean he didn’t care about the lives of their teammates.
[I have a rough idea of where they are. I’ll take the others and avoid that area while searching for the rest. I’ll try to regroup with the scattered ones.]
If everyone had already been accounted for, Lu Weiyi would have turned back immediately. He never pretended to be a savior and was always clear on his own position—just a reluctant struggler, not someone out to save the world.
But he couldn’t leave his teammates behind without knowing their fate—dead or alive, there needed to be an answer.
He gazed toward the mutated plant’s territory, recalling the possible hiding spots he had seen from the sky.
Back on Lu Xiao’s side, after receiving Lu Weiyi’s response, he turned to discuss the next steps with Zhuang Mingxu.
Unlike Lu Xiao’s hesitation, Zhuang Mingxu was much more decisive.
[I’ve already gathered all the psychic-type ability users in the base for the rescue. The base will also send over a dozen S-class and several hundred A-class fighters. The initial deployment is set at 500 people.]
Even knowing they would need many, Lu Xiao was still surprised by the number.
[That many people—how are you going to transport them?]
[One passenger plane, three fighter jets, and four helicopters.]
That kind of deployment could have triggered a full-blown war even before the apocalypse. Zhuang Mingxu had the team ready for departure. He turned to one of the squad members.
“Antonio, take Dean to the island and bring back Zhuang Wukong’s three wolf cubs. They’re excellent at tracking in the jungle—they’ll be useful.”
Antonio gave an OK gesture and left with Dean.
[Uncle, the helicopters will reroute to your location. Have them bring along Taotao.]
Lu Xiao didn’t ask why.
[Send the passenger plane over. I’ll bring a group of our psychic-type ability users with them—it’ll make the journey safer.]
[Deal.]
The more psychic-type users, the better for safety.
After discussing with Lu Xiao, Zhuang Mingxu returned to his room. He emptied out all the supplies from his personal space and took out a knife. Standing in front of the mirror, he aimed at a specific location—where the jade stone was fused—and dug in.
A chunk of bloody flesh fell to the floor. The jade detached with a crisp sound as it hit the ground.
Zhuang Mingxu broke into a cold sweat, gripping the sink to catch his breath and suppress the pain.
“Xu Yi—”
“What is it?” Xu Yi, pretending nothing was wrong but actually sending off Li Zhuang, heard the noise from the bedroom. He opened the door and said, “You—”
“Close the door,” Zhuang Mingxu said shakily, struggling to pick up the blood-soaked jade, leaving a piece of flesh behind.
They were both men. Xu Yi immediately recognized where that patch of unique body hair had come from. Alarmed, he asked, “Did you just… castrate yourself?”
“Did you two have a fight? Isn’t that a bit extreme…?”
Zhuang Mingxu shot him a cold glare, stopping his wandering imagination. “Come here and heal me.”
“Oh, right!” Xu Yi quickly stepped forward, sent his power into the wound, and located the damaged area—but it only made him more confused. He glanced at Zhuang Mingxu, silently wondering if this man had lost his mind.
In just a few moments, the gouged-out area healed completely.
“If you want the hair follicles to grow back, it’ll take time. You—”
“This is fine.” It was just a bald patch, and in a private area no less—Zhuang Mingxu didn’t care. He tossed the bloody flesh into the trash, washed the jade, and exited the space with Xu Yi.
All the members set to depart had gathered on West Island. Li Zhuang and Ning Yuan had organized the ability users into groups, confirming with temporary squad leaders how to handle emergencies during the mission. When Zhuang Mingxu approached, the two nodded and continued their instructions.
Zhuang Mingxu called Li Zhuang over and handed him the jade.
“After you get there, give this to Xiao Yi.”
Li Zhuang rubbed the stone, his sensitive nose catching the scent of blood on Zhuang Mingxu. His gaze swept across the man before silently accepting the jade.
*
Lu Weiyi had already scouted the surrounding area and confirmed there wasn’t much danger. He originally intended to split the group into two teams, but sticking together was now clearly the safest plan.
He directed Little Green Vine to hang the damaged parachute on the surrounding treetops as a marker, then took a few bites and said, “Half Moon Bay should’ve already dispatched a rescue team. Based on the timing, they should arrive by the day after tomorrow at the latest. I plan to track Xu Sa’s trail tonight and try to return here as early as possible.”
“Then let’s go together while we’ve still got time,” Han Fei said without hesitation. He then turned and looked at Song Xiao coldly. “What about him? Kill him and dump him here?”
Song Xiao shivered all over. His panicked gaze darted between the others, and he tried to plead silently with Lu Weiyi, but Li Ze gave him a kick. “He’s coming with us. If he survives, then that’s his fate.”
The group finished eating quickly and returned to the place where Xu Sa’s trail had been found, following the marks he had left in the opposite direction.
With five ability users moving in a coordinated formation—defense, scouting, and pathfinding simultaneously—their speed was significantly faster. Within a few hours, they reached the area near the rift.
Before they even got close, they could already hear growling from underground. The vine that had been wrapped around Li Ze’s arm reached in the direction of the sound. After a moment, he said quietly, “There’s something down there.”
“An S-class mutated ape,” Lu Weiyi added. “Its arms are very long.”
That was its most obvious feature at a glance.
Hearing this, Li Ze immediately signaled everyone to fall back—especially since the cracks in the ground kept trembling under the ape’s roars, dislodging rocks and threatening to spread beneath their feet at any moment.
Sensing movement above, the mutated ape roared even more furiously. At the same time, moisture in the air began to condense. Ai Ping, also a water-type ability user, was the first to detect it and shouted, “It’s using water-type abilities!”
With a wave of his hand, he cleared a patch of the water droplets that had gathered. But the difference in levels meant that his control was far weaker than the ape’s. Thankfully, as a human, he was more strategic. Ai Ping quickly drew in all surrounding moisture, forming a ring of flowing water around himself like a protective barrier.
The air noticeably dried out. Sensing the resistance, the mutated ape began its final, desperate struggle.
