254: You guys aren't... you know... are you?

Ai Yue pulled out her satellite phone and informed Gong Qiuqiu of the situation she had observed and her specific location.

Gong Qiuqiu was much more relieved to hear that she was fine. He told her to head back quickly and wait for the main force to arrive before heading out together.

Ai Yue watched for a while longer, and after seeing no further changes, she left the area.

After Ai Yue's figure had completely disappeared...

Jing Xi's figure suddenly appeared on the head of the Nameless Monster. With her arms crossed, she looked toward where Ai Yue had vanished with a sneer.

Behind her, many zombies with intelligent-looking eyes appeared simultaneously. They stood quietly behind her, numbering in the dozens.

Ai Yue returned to the campsite, and Li Shilan's group of three surrounded her. "Yueyue, why were you gone for so long? I thought you'd started fighting the monster."

"No. The Nameless Monster has changed so much this time; I don't know what its strength has become. I'm not confident I could defeat it alone. It's better to wait for everyone to arrive and test the waters first."

Ai Yue spoke with a relaxed expression; she didn't want her parents to worry.

However, her heart was heavy. The zombies surrounding the Nameless Monster were also a major obstacle.

While waiting for Gong Qiuqiu and the others, Ai Yue spent the time accompanying her parents as they wandered through the entire small town.

Ai Guosheng and Li Shilan were filled with emotion, and even Ai Yue reminisced about the scenes of running wild through the town with her childhood friends.

Coming back to her senses and looking at the devastated scene before her, her expression became complicated.

As they strolled through the town, they killed the Ancient Centipedes that popped out from various nooks and crannies.

Although the Ancient Centipedes were much more powerful than at the beginning, they were no match for Ai Yue's family now. They were killed as soon as they appeared, posing no burden to Ai Yue and the others.

Ai Yue took some time to use the Earth Evasion Technique to scout out a nearby nest of Ancient Centipedes.

She discovered that even the strongest Ancient Centipede couldn't beat any member of her family, except for Li Shilan. However, Ai Guosheng was always by Li Shilan's side and never left her. Therefore, even the strongest Ancient Centipede couldn't harm them, which put Ai Yue at ease.

She didn't intend to wipe out the Ancient Centipedes in this area. Since they didn't affect them, she wouldn't waste the effort. She'd let them live; after all, it wasn't easy for them to develop into such a large swarm.

Half a month quickly passed, and people from the major Safety Towers began to arrive one after another.

For the first time in many years, the abandoned Ji County was filled with so much life.

With more people, even the sense of desolation dissipated quite a bit.

There were no houses here, so many people spontaneously began clearing the rubble from the streets to have a place to stay.

Those who could come here were all Ability Users capable of holding their own. Everyone showed off their skills, and in just one day, Ji County was transformed.

The messy small town became clean and tidy. Although it still looked bare, with people walking around, it began to resemble a town again.

Ai Yue paid no mind to the arrival of these people and continued to spend every day wandering the town with her parents.

As the population in the town grew, trouble followed in its wake.

Every day, people would start fighting over the slightest disagreement, catching passersby in the crossfire. None of the people who could make it here were pushovers; if a passerby was glared at, they would immediately strike back and join the fray. Over time, the situation gradually became chaotic.

Seeing that this couldn't continue, the high-level officials of the Safety Towers announced some regulations. Fighting was not permitted within the town limits. Anyone who knowingly violated this would be assigned to the first wave of the attack on the Nameless Monster—essentially, as 'cannon fodder'.

No one would joke with their own life, so they all settled down. No one dared to cause trouble openly, and for a time, the town regained its former tranquility.

Three more days passed. The Songzhou Safety Tower led by Gong Qiuqiu and the Yingjin Safety Tower led by Gu Xiheng arrived in Ji County one after the other.

The moment they arrived, after Gong Qiuqiu and Gu Xiheng met with the high-level officials of other bases, they hurried to see Ai Yue.

By the time Ai Yue noticed them, both were already standing before her.

Ai Yue looked at the two with a surprised expression. After a long pause, she squeezed out a sentence: "Are you two conjoined twins? Why are you always together wherever you go? Oh, you two aren't..."

Ai Yue looked at them with a suggestive expression.

Gu Xiheng's already stern face grew even colder as he gave Gong Qiuqiu a look of disdain. Gong Qiuqiu's constant gentle smile could no longer be maintained.

He smiled bitterly and said, "Stop making such jokes. I'm a person of pure character, but the way you put it makes it sound like I have a 'cut sleeve' preference. I don't mind, but Xiheng is a married man. If word of this gets out and his wife hears it, how is he supposed to explain it to her?"

When Gu Xiheng heard Gong Qiuqiu mention Cheng Siyu, his expression faltered slightly before quickly recovering. However, his attitude toward Ai Yue became considerably colder.

Ai Yue didn't care at all about the change in Gu Xiheng's expression. She smiled and added, "You guys are exactly three days late. For such punctual people to be so late, did something happen on the road?"

Gong Qiuqiu nodded. "Correct. We encountered two High-level Zombies on the way. I let the people from the base who hadn't faced High-level Zombies before practice on them, which delayed us until now."

"We ran into some trouble just as we were leaving the base gates. For some reason, before we could head out, zombies suddenly began to besiege the city. We had to deal with them first, which wasted some time," Gu Xiheng added an explanation.

Ai Yue nodded in understanding and didn't press further.

"We just consulted with the high-level officials of other bases. We plan to hold a brief meeting tomorrow to discuss how to deal with the Nameless Monster and the countless zombies surrounding it. You need to attend as well; they want to hear your thoughts," Gong Qiuqiu said.

"I'm not going to attend any meeting. You guys discuss it. Just tell me the result once you've decided," Ai Yue waved her hand, refusing repeatedly.

She didn't want to go and bicker with those people; it was incredibly boring.

Gong Qiuqiu showed no reaction to her answer, only asking, "Are you really not going?"

"Yes!"

Gong Qiuqiu had an 'I knew you'd do that' expression and didn't try to persuade her further.

To the side, Gu Xiheng's expression froze, and he seemed to want to say something but stopped.

Seeing Ai Yue and Gong Qiuqiu talking about other things, he didn't bring it up again.

After the three of them stood and talked for a while, they went their separate ways. Ai Yue only waited for them to finish their discussion and confirm the departure date before moving out.

During these few days, every base sent people to monitor the monster's movements.

The Nameless Monster remained lying in the mountains without the slightest movement, consistent with what Ai Yue had observed.

Ai Yue went back twice more later on, but she never saw Jing Xi on the Nameless Monster's body.

Ai Yue fell into thought. There were so many zombies around that monster, but they only surrounded it quietly. No matter how she looked at it, something felt wrong.