233: Departure and return

Seeing his sister's pale face, Gu Xiheng couldn't bear it. After a moment of consideration, he spoke, "I know she offended you, and you've already taught her a lesson. Can you... can you please heal her?"

Ai Yue refused without hesitation: "Impossible!"

"No room for negotiation?"

"None!"

"We'll pay with crystal cores," Cheng Siyu suddenly said.

Ai Yue glanced at them indifferently and said each word clearly: "Can't!"

Gu Xiheng squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that it was impossible to get Ai Yue to help heal Gu Xitian.

He stopped asking and looked at the scattered body parts on the ground again, his heart uncontrollably sinking.

"Alas, this mission is a failure. The Nameless Monster escaped, and so many of us died."

Gong Qiuqiu said with a heavy expression.

Ai Yue pulled a body bag from her backpack and silently walked towards the battlefield, where blood flowed like a river.

Gong Qiuqiu and the others watched Ai Yue's actions, their hearts trembling. Was she going to... Ai Yue emotionlessly picked up a piece of a corpse at her feet and placed it into the body bag.

She kept picking and packing until it was full.

She zipped it up, picked up the body bag with one hand, set it aside, and then went back to pick up more body parts, starting to piece them together.

Gong Qiuqiu sighed inwardly. He understood Ai Yue's intention; she wanted to bring them home. Even if she couldn't bring everyone back, she wanted to piece everyone together completely.

Gong Qiuqiu also followed behind Ai Yue, starting to move body parts and piece together corpses.

Looking at the pieces of corpses, Cheng Siyu and Gu Xitian couldn't help but turn paler and paler, their stomachs constantly churning.

Gu Xiheng had originally wanted to ask Cheng Siyu to help him collect the bodies, but seeing Cheng Siyu's state, he thought about it and decided against it. So he said, "Siyu, take care of Xitian. I'll go help."

Cheng Siyu really couldn't bring herself to move the body parts with her bare hands, so she could only nod and take Gu Xitian to a slightly further location.

Ai Yue and the two others worked for a whole morning before finally piecing together hundreds of bodies.

Ai Yue looked at the people who were laughing and talking with her not long ago, now in this state. A wave of bitterness surged in her heart. For a moment, she felt weak; humans truly were fragile.

"Let's go back. The base will send people to collect their bodies, and we also need to go back and track the monster's whereabouts," Gong Qiuqiu said, patting Ai Yue's shoulder.

Ai Yue nodded, her eyes becoming firm again. She wasn't a savior and couldn't save others. She only needed to protect her family and survive in the Apocalypse. For anything else, she didn't have the ability.

"Okay, let's go."

Ai Yue readjusted her protective suit, found no damage, and was the first to walk into the white mist.

Gong Qiuqiu and the other's protective suits were damaged, so they changed into new ones. Gu Xiheng carried Gu Xitian on his back, and the group followed behind Ai Yue, disappearing into the white mist.

As they walked, Ai Yue and the others noticed that the previously dense mist in front of them had become thinner, and they could all see each other.

"It seems there's no Nameless Monster here; this white mist is dissipating quickly," Ai Yue murmured.

Gong Qiuqiu, who was beside her, also said, "Yes, I wonder if the zombies hiding here have left. We still need to be careful."

Upon hearing this, Ai Yue said, "Watch me."

Ai Yue waved her hands, and a fire dragon circled above their heads, burning the mist ahead and revealing a wide path.

Gu Xiheng's pupils contracted. This was... his Superpower, golden flame?

How did Ai Yue awaken the same flame as him?

Ai Yue felt someone staring at her intently from behind.

She frowned, abruptly turned her head, and saw Gu Xiheng staring at her and the fire dragon with a puzzled expression.

Ai Yue raised her eyebrows, realizing he suspected her fire Superpower was related to his.

However, it didn't matter. She had already exposed most of her abilities during her fight with Jing Xi. Now, she wasn't afraid of others knowing her powers. After all, she now had the ability to protect herself and her family.

Ai Yue ignored Gu Xiheng's probing gaze and continued to clear the path with the fire dragon.

After walking for a long time, just as they felt they were about to exit the range of the white mist, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, two pitch-black figures leaped out from both sides of them, quickly attacking Gong Qiuqiu and Gu Xiheng, who was carrying Gu Xitian on his back.

Ai Yue instinctively threw an Annihilation towards the figure attacking Gong Qiuqiu.

When she saw the appearance of the two figures clearly, she realized they looked exactly like the figures she had killed when she first entered.

"Be careful, these are advanced zombies. They have developed intelligence and are very troublesome," Ai Yue immediately warned.

At this moment, Gu Xiheng, carrying Gu Xitian, barely dodged the figure's attack and fell awkwardly to the ground. The figure, like a maggot on a bone, pounced before Gu Xiheng could react.

"Xiheng!" In a flash, Cheng Siyu had no time to help and could only shriek in terror.

Gong Qiuqiu and Ai Yue, not far away, saw Gu Xiheng and Xitian in imminent danger. Gong Qiuqiu's Light Screen instantly appeared in front of them, blocking the zombie.

Ai Yue also didn't stand by idly; she then struck the zombie with an Annihilation.

The zombie shrieked a few times and retreated repeatedly.

Gu Xiheng quickly stood up, carrying Gu Xitian, and dodged to the side.

The two zombies seemed to have fixated on Gu Xiheng; wherever the siblings went, they followed.

Ai Yue and the two others helped Gu Xiheng attack the zombies, but the zombies were too fast, and their attacks repeatedly missed.

Because Gu Xiheng was carrying Gu Xitian, he couldn't fully utilize his abilities and could only flee in a panic.

Seeing that this wasn't a solution, Ai Yue sighed helplessly and shouted, "Gu Xiheng, come here."

Gu Xiheng immediately rushed towards Ai Yue, carrying Gu Xitian.

The two zombies chased behind them.

When Gu Xiheng got close, Ai Yue didn't hesitate, throwing a Healing onto Gu Xitian. "Put her down."

Gu Xiheng's eyes flashed, and he smiled gratefully at Ai Yue. He immediately put Gu Xitian down and quickly raised his ability gun, continuously firing at the approaching zombies.

Although the zombies flexibly dodged all the shots, their speed did slow down.

Ai Yue also threw Annihilation from the side. Other Superpowers couldn't cause substantial damage to these zombies; only Ai Yue's Annihilation could completely kill them.

One zombie was slow to dodge and was directly hit by Ai Yue's Annihilation; one of its legs instantly disappeared.

Strike while the iron is hot. Ai Yue abandoned the other zombie and continuously directed Annihilation at this one.

Missing a leg, this zombie couldn't dodge Ai Yue's continuous attacks in time. Multiple Annihilations struck its body. It roared unwillingly, turned into a pile of ash, and vanished.