214: If you can't escape, then kill!

"I know, I know. Brother, you're so nagging! You never stop once you start on something."

"You brat, you're actually getting annoyed with me? Are you asking for a beating?" Gong Qiuqiu said sternly, his gaze sharpening.

Gong Qiumu immediately said in a pleasing tone, "No, no, how could I? You're my favorite brother; how could I ever be annoyed with you?"

Gong Qiuqiu rolled his eyes at his unreliable younger brother and said with a look of disbelief:

"Fine, stop trying to fool me. You say that every time; I've heard it so often I have calluses on my ears."

"This time, it's absolutely true!"

Gong Qiuqiu stopped looking at him and didn't reply. He knew his brother's character all too well.

Ai Yue ignored the brothers' bickering. She stared intently at the woods not far away, sensing that someone was peeking at them from behind the trees.

"Gong Qiuqiu, look closely over there. Is someone there?" Ai Yue pulled the fast-walking Gong Qiuqiu and pointed toward the spot.

Gong Qiuqiu immediately looked in the direction Ai Yue was pointing.

"I feel it. It's very dangerous there!" Gong Qiuqiu's expression instantly became grave as he spoke in a low voice.

"Is it a person or something else?" Ai Yue asked again.

Gong Qiuqiu shook his head. "I'm not sure. I just know they're very powerful. Let's leave first; don't get tangled up with them."

"Alright!" Ai Yue nodded.

The group stopped talking and accelerated toward the Songzhou Safety Tower.

"They're still following, and they're not slow!" Gong Qiuqiu said.

"What kind of thing is it? Let's just catch them and chop them up. We're so powerful, why should we be afraid?" Gong Qiumu suggested.

With a *smack*, Gong Qiuqiu slapped his head hard. "Who are you going to chop up? Don't get yourself chopped up before you can even touch them."

Gong Qiumu grumbled indignantly, "No matter how powerful they are, they can't be more powerful than the five of us combined!"

"That kind of attitude is unacceptable. What kind of dangerous thinking is that? Don't you know the saying, 'There is always someone better than you'?"

Ai Yue blinked and also gave Gong Qiumu's head a tap.

"Hiss..."

"Sister Ai Yue, you shouldn't learn from my brother. You hit too hard; there's definitely going to be a bump. Ow, ow..."

Gong Qiumu let out a strange cry, wailing repeatedly.

Ai Yue flexed the hand she had used to tap him, looking at Gong Qiumu speechlessly.

Was that really necessary? She hadn't even used any strength!

Ai Yue and the others remained secretly vigilant as they continued their journey.

It wasn't until they were only a day's journey from the Songzhou Safety Tower that the follower disappeared.

Ai Yue and her companions breathed a sigh of relief. That follower had a very strong sense of pressure; while Ai Guosheng and the others didn't feel it, both Gong Qiuqiu and Ai Yue had felt it clearly.

After being followed for so many days, Ai Yue felt that the opponent's strength was extremely formidable, giving her a sense of danger.

She didn't know if such a powerful person was friend or foe, or what their intentions were for following them, but fortunately, they had retreated for now.

Before everyone could fully relax, suddenly, an overwhelming tide of Zombies surged from the surroundings toward Ai Yue and the others.

These Zombies were extremely fast, unlike those slow, ordinary Zombies.

Seeing the scene before them, the group's pupils shrank. "Run!"

Ai Yue shouted.

Then she added, "Grab onto each other, I'll take you away!"

Hearing this, Gong Qiuqiu and the others quickly linked up. Ai Yue, standing in the middle, grabbed Ai Guosheng and Li Shilan on either side and activated her Extreme Speed Superpower to quickly leave the area.

Unexpectedly, Ye Rui had not eaten or rested well for several days and her body was weak. Under Ai Yue's Extreme Speed, she failed to hold onto Li Shilan firmly and was thrown off.

Li Shilan screamed, "Rui Rui!"

The incident happened so suddenly that Ai Yue didn't have time to think and immediately stopped.

She turned back to grab Ye Rui, intending to continue leading everyone away from the area.

In that brief moment, the group of level-one or even higher-level Zombies had already surrounded them completely.

The Zombies, emitting a foul stench of rot, bared their claws and fangs at Ai Yue and the others. Their eyes glowed red and they were drooling, yet they didn't take a step closer.

It was as if something was restraining them.

"Why are they just surrounding us and not coming to bite us?" Gong Qiumu asked curiously.

"They are waiting for an order!" Ai Yue's cold voice rang out.

"An order? Who can order them?" Gong Qiumu blinked his large, innocent eyes.

This time, no one spoke because the answer was obvious: only a higher-level Zombie could command them.

Moreover, this Zombie hiding in the shadows was extremely unusual.

"Sister," Ye Rui said with a pale face, trembling, "It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be trapped here."

Ai Yue said, "What are you talking about? If we can't escape, then we kill!"

"Exactly, silly child, what are you saying? We've long since become a family. Since we're family, there's no such thing as fault or no fault." Li Shilan grabbed her hand and patted it to comfort her.

Indeed, things had happened over the past two days that were hard for her to accept. What she couldn't move past most was that her beloved had died to save her.

This had made her heart turn completely dark, and she couldn't find the motivation to do anything.

To the point where at a critical moment, because of her, everyone was placed in danger. Her inner remorse was beyond measure.

Ye Rui's eyes were already moist. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't get any words out.

Finally, she made an effort to pull herself together and faced the Zombie horde with a determined gaze.

No matter what, even if she had to sacrifice her life, she would do her best to protect the others.

Seeing Ye Rui pull herself together, Ai Yue felt slightly relieved and focused all her attention on the Zombies in front of her.

The Zombies didn't move, and neither did Ai Yue and the others.

They just stared each other down like this.

The reason Ai Yue didn't strike first was that she wanted to find the leader hiding in the shadows.

As long as she killed it, Ai Yue and the others would face almost no pressure from these Zombies.

"Ai Yue, be careful. I sense that the Zombie behind this is very dangerous. When we start fighting in a moment, we must stay together and not get separated."

Ai Yue simply said one word: "Okay!"

The others also followed with a nod.

"Since it won't come out, we'll draw it out." Ai Yue flipped her hand, and a beam of light shot into the sky.

Then, a clap of thunder resounded through the heavens and earth.

Bolts of lightning as thick as wrists incessantly struck the surrounding Zombies, who roared in pain from being hit.

Despite this, they still retained their ability to move.

Finally, as if receiving some command, the Zombies suddenly lunged toward them all at once.

Gong Qiuqiu immediately released a layer of transparent Light Screen to cover them.

Seeing that her Lightning Superpower was not very effective, Ai Yue's gaze sharpened, a fierce aura rising in her eyes. She swung both hands violently, and those who threw themselves one after another against the Light Screen vanished, melting away like snowflakes before the naked eye.