Chapter 19
by LhaoziChapter 19: Solve It My Own Way [1]
Upon hearing Qin Xi’s words, Qin Song immediately realized what she needed for her current system upgrade.
The task came with a strict time limit, so there was no waiting around.
Agreeing on the plan, the two decided to set out at once.
Before leaving, however, Qin Xi turned around and walked back toward the crowd of people from moments ago.
Sweeping her gaze across the crowd, she finally stopped before the young man who had spoken earlier, stating:
“This rain will likely fall for several days, and it’s hard to say if it’ll trigger urban waterlogging [2]. It’s best if you don’t head into the city; just stay right here, and you might even run into other refugees coming up the mountain to take shelter.”
Provided it didn’t compromise her own interests, Qin Xi was still willing to offer a bit of well-meaning advice to others.
The young man likely hadn’t expected Qin Xi to specifically give them a heads-up.
Stunned for a moment, he replied with gratitude:
“A-Alright, thank you so much! And for earlier—thank you for saving my life as well!”
Qin Xi nodded to acknowledge his thanks.
Her warning delivered, she and Qin Song turned to head downstairs.
It was only then that the others realized Qin Xi and Qin Song were actually planning to leave.
The crowd instantly erupted into a commotion!
The middle-aged man who had shrieked about a ghost upon seeing Qin Xi rushed over frantically, stepping in front of the two to block their way downstairs:
“You… you two are leaving?! The rain is so heavy outside, and there are monsters out there—you’re still going out?!”
With her path blocked, Qin Xi was forced to stop. She replied with a reasonable degree of patience:
“We are heading out. You folks just stay right here.”
Yet the moment her words fell, the terror on the man’s face instantly mutated into resentment:
“If you leave, what are we supposed to do?! There are so many of us here—if we run into monsters, are you just going to leave us to die?!”
Hearing this, Qin Xi’s steps paused, and she burst out laughing on the spot.
She looked at the middle-aged man with a look of genuine marvel:
“Listen to the way you talk—why on earth should I care about you? What relationship do I have with you? Killing those few zombies earlier was just something I did along the way; you didn’t actually mistake me for a savior who came here specifically for you, did you?”
The irony dripping from Qin Xi’s words was unmistakably sharp.
Upon hearing it, the middle-aged man’s expression turned fleetingly awkward, but he quickly yelled back as if it were only natural:
“How does it have nothing to do with you?! You have the ability, so you should protect us! This is a matter of life and death—are you really going to stand by and watch people die?!”
Wu Dongyan spoke with utter self-righteousness.
Further up the stairs, the group that had just cheated death was also listening closely to the commotion down here.
Hearing Wu Dongyan’s words, someone immediately joined in shouting:
“That’s right! Young lady, young man, look at how hard it’s raining outside—how about you don’t go out after all? Let’s wait here together for rescue! If anything happens, we can look out for one another!”
The person speaking assumed that since Qin Xi was just a young girl, she would be thin-skinned [3] and too embarrassed to refuse after being pressured like this.
Little did they expect that the girl standing on the steps merely cast a freezing glance over at them:
“Look out for one another? When this young man was about to be devoured by a zombie just now, how come I didn’t see a single one of you dare to step up and help?”
Qin Xi’s words were steeped in heavy sarcasm. Choking on her retort, the woman was rendered completely speechless.
On the other hand, Wu Dongyan—who was still blocking the way—acted as though he had seized some kind of dirt on Qin Xi. He immediately pointed a finger at her, his eyes glaring:
“Hey! You little girl, how can you be so impolite speaking to your elders…”
As he spouted his rant, he raised his foot to step further up, extending his neck as he leaned toward Qin Xi.
Before he could finish his sentence, however, a flash of cold light suddenly swept past his eyes, and an agonizing, terrifying sting erupted right across his forward-moving neck!
Above the steps, someone shrieked:
“Ah! Watch out!”
Wu Dongyan’s footsteps froze on the spot!
His eyes bulged round and wide as his entire body stiffened up. He lowered his gaze bit by bit, not daring to shift his body a single millimeter further.
A thin, gleaming longsword pressed firmly against his neck, its tip already sinking slightly into his flesh.
He could feel the sensation of warm blood trickling down his neck.
Looking up, the man who had been standing behind the girl without uttering a word was now standing above him on the steps, looking down at him with a menacing, dark gaze.
Wu Dongyan’s legs went soft in an instant:
“W-What are you trying to do?!”
He stood frozen in place, afraid to move even a muscle.
Even his voice shrank down to a faint whisper.
Yet the man on the steps spoke no words. Keeping the sword pressed against the man’s neck, he took a step downward.
Scared out of his wits by the sudden, sharp pain at his neck, Wu Dongyan scrambled backward in sheer terror!
Qin Song continued walking forward until Wu Dongyan stumbled back step by step, retreating clear past Qin Xi and leaving an open gap for passage.
Only when Qin Xi walked past to head downstairs did he retract the sword resting at the man’s neck.
Lowering his eyes to look down at the short man before him, his voice sounded dark and deadly cold:
“Spout any more nonsense, and I’ll kill you.”
The man’s voice carried no emotion whatsoever, making it all the more terrifyingly believable that he would carry out his words.
Wu Dongyan was stiffened with terror, not daring to move again.
Walking ahead, Qin Xi heard Qin Song’s words behind her and curled her lips slightly.
Handling things like this was indeed best suited for her big brother.
This time, she and Qin Song finally made their way downstairs completely unhindered.
Reaching the first floor, they saw two zombie corpses lying in the entrance hall.
By the looks of it, they were likely cleared out by the group up on the top floor before they fled upstairs.
Right at that moment, a faint set of footsteps suddenly sounded from the quiet stairwell.
Qin Xi instantly went on high alert.
Tightening her grip on the machete, she turned her head to look, only to freeze when she saw the newcomer!
It was actually the young girl from that group upstairs!
Seeing that she had already been spotted, the girl stopped trying to hide.
With a clear objective in mind, she walked straight toward Qin Xi and Qin Song!
Bai Hanyue came to a stop in front of the two. Her gaze swept back and forth across them before finally settling on the girl, who was clearly the decision-maker of the pair. She opened her mouth and asked:
“I overheard you saying earlier that you’re heading up to the village. Can you give me a ride?”
Qin Xi was caught completely by surprise!
After a moment’s thought, she asked in confusion:
“You just managed to escape from the mountain with great difficulty—why are you going back?”
To her surprise, the answer she received caught her even more off guard.
The girl opposite her answered in a tone of supreme composure:
“To take revenge.”
Noticing the bewildered expression on Qin Xi’s face, Bai Hanyue maintained her cool composure and added another sentence of explanation:
“When I escaped down the mountain, I was panicked and flustered, so I didn’t have time to think too much. Now that I know the world outside has changed, I figure I can solve it my own way [1]!”
After speaking, seemingly afraid that Qin Xi might refuse, Bai Hanyue continued:
“If you bring me along, I can guide your way around the village or do whatever else you need. Just get me up there!”
Qin Xi remained silent.
She turned her head to exchange a glance with Qin Song. Having someone who knew the lay of the land in the village would indeed make things a bit more convenient.
And so, she agreed:
“Alright then. What’s your name?”
The girl answered:
“Bai Hanyue!”
“Okay!” Qin Xi looked at Bai Hanyue:
“My name is Qin Xi, and he is Qin Song.”
She pointed to the expressionless Qin Song beside her, then set off walking toward the main entrance on the ground floor.
Reaching the doorway, she pulled the off-road SUV out of her spatial dimension, placing it beneath the rain-shelter canopy in front of the entrance.
Qin Xi had no intention of hiding the fact that she possessed a spatial ability.
After all, starting tomorrow, people would begin awakening supernatural abilities one after another; a spatial ability wasn’t particularly rare or unique.
She got straight into the back seat, rolled down the car window, and looked out at the girl outside:
“Get in. Take the back seat.”
Seeing this, Bai Hanyue quickly reined in the shock in her heart and quietly climbed into the car.
This world truly has turned completely upside down!
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