Chapter 123: Don’t Believe His Words

"Chu Che, look, this school is the main base of our Death God Church.""This school worships our Death God; she is a true deity. You will see her."

"As long as we stay on school grounds, there's no danger, because this is the Death God's territory."

Chu Che had no interest in listening to Wu Jianshan’s nonsense. His eyes scanned everywhere.

If another pathfinder had left a marking here, then there had to be other markings, there definitely had to be.

The vehicles slowly approached the school through the swirling snow.

Dusk was approaching, the light faint and yellowed.

Besides the heavy snowfall, the cold in the air made people shiver.

Even wearing thick cold-resistant clothing, people still felt chilled to the bone.

The warm breath that escaped their mouths instantly turned into white mist and drifted away.

The black-robed figures standing at the gate all had calm, peaceful expressions, as if they didn’t care at all about this biting cold.

Chu Che’s heart felt like it was growing grass.

He kept thinking about what “run away” could possibly mean.

What exactly had happened here? Why would the pathfinder leave the words “run away”?

It seemed that aside from himself, no one else could see those two words.

"Chu Che, we’re here. What are you thinking about?"

Wu Jianshan’s voice sounded, jolting Chu Che awake.

Wu Jianshan’s eyes suspiciously scanned the surroundings, focusing on the direction Chu Che had zoned out toward.

He saw nothing.

"Oh—I'll get down right away!"

The convoy had already stopped.

Chen Ye climbed down from the vehicle, curiosity written all over his face as he surveyed the school.

He walked up to Wu Jianshan and threw an arm around his neck. "Damn, Old Wu, you son of a—this is something else. I didn’t expect that even in the apocalypse you’d make a paradise like this. Not bad!"

"If I’d known earlier, brother, I would’ve joined you sooner to avoid so much suffering."

Chen Ye’s tone would be perfectly fine between close friends or brothers.

Some people are socially awkward in general.

But in front of close friends, they become someone else entirely.

To outsiders, Chen Ye was vicious and dangerous.

But in front of a longtime friend he hadn’t seen in years, he became another person.

The Chen Ye before them now was a different version.

But Wu Jianshan was more than a decade older than Chen Ye and was the archbishop of the Death God Church.

He wasn’t the same person Chen Ye remembered.

Wu Jianshan froze for a moment; a vein throbbed on his forehead, but he forced himself to stay calm and quietly put Chen Ye’s arm down.

Chen Ye looked at his lowered arm, his expression turning from surprise to puzzlement, then to suspicion.

"What? Old Wu, you’ve made it big now and don’t recognize your brother?"

"Did you forget when you were still in school…"

"You’re not real, are you?"

Chen Ye’s tone shifted into something ambiguous.

Wu Jianshan inwardly cursed. Especially the line, "You’re not real, are you?"

If Chen Ye discovered that he wasn’t the same "Old Wu" he’d known, it could create countless problems later.

It would derail all of Wu Jianshan’s plans.

He forced a dry laugh and hurriedly explained, "Yezi, look where we are. No matter what, I’m the archbishop of the Death God Church. Have some respect for me…"

At that moment, Wu Jianshan regretted his chosen identity a hundred times over.

The black-robed people saw their archbishop treated like that and were furious.

Their eyes nearly popped out, and at the same time they gave Chen Ye a deep look, mentally sticking a label on him: "This person is very close to the assistant; don’t mess with him in the future."

Little did they know that this mentality later made many things easier for Chen Ye inside the Death God Church’s base.

As for the others, their gazes were full of envy and longing, with a dash of excitement.

Before the apocalypse, a school was a solemn place of learning, not a hotel.

But now, to these people, this school looked like an ultra-luxurious villa.

Chu Che took in everyone’s reactions and felt his heart slowly sink.

Pink-haired Girl looked expectant, clearly wanting to live here.

Ding Dong said nothing; she’d already started planning where to plant vegetables. In a school that big, finding a plot to grow food shouldn’t be hard.

They hadn’t had fresh vegetables in a long time.

Iron Lion grinned foolishly, his other head already asleep.

Chu Che knew that if he didn’t produce solid evidence proving this place was dangerous, his teammates would likely doubt him.

He was their leader.

Were Wu’s people not their relatives or friends?

Maybe even closer.

Even Chu Che himself didn’t want to believe the pathfinder’s marking he’d just seen.

Those two glowing characters were now within less than two meters of Chen Ye.

Speaking of Chen Ye…

Right, that guy…

Chu Che looked at Chen Ye. Chen Ye was behaving shamelessly, grabbing at Wu Jianshan and talking as if he’d won some argument—like a rogue.

This guy had no shame and was suspicious by nature; maybe he could be…

"Our Lord above, we welcome all surviving compatriots to the Death God Church!"

Dozens at the school gate said in unison.

"Reaper who wields the scythe of the end, we beg your mercy—guide the lost souls…"

Chants rolled from their mouths, seeming to carry some indescribable power.

The falling snowflakes seemed to avoid these black-robed people because of that power.

Some mystical force appeared to be descending.

Chen Ye let go of Wu Jianshan’s collar.

Wu Jianshan’s face flushed with rage as he smoothed the folds of his collar, trying to regain composure.

He had already mentally sentenced Chen Ye to death.

Wu Jianshan stepped forward to the school gate to address the convoy survivors.

Two factions of black-robed people stood behind him.

Now he looked like the real archbishop of the Death God Church—solemn, sacred, and cold.

The person who had been joking around with Chen Ye a moment ago was a completely different man.

Only Chen Ye’s face shifted slightly.

This Old Wu was truly different.

Had their brotherly feelings faded over the years?

People change; love disappears!

Or…

Maybe Chen Ye’s earlier behavior had all been a test.

Sure enough, an old schemer.

At that moment, Chu Che’s gaze met Chen Ye’s.

The two men’s eyes connected, and in each other’s gaze they read the same emotion.

Chen Ye didn’t doubt the archbishop’s identity, but he did suspect Old Wu had changed.

Chu Che had similar thoughts.

Because of the pathfinder’s marking, his doubts and confusion only grew.

Seeing Chen Ye’s expression, Chu Che felt something like "a warrior dying for a knowing friend."

Indeed, in the whole convoy, the only one they could truly trust was Chen Ye!

"Everyone, this is where our Death God Church is stationed. While you’re here, I guarantee none of you will suffer any anomaly attacks."

"Rong City is huge. Before the apocalypse it was a tourist city; the permanent population exceeded a million, and with tourists the number was even higher…"

"And now, as you know, after the apocalypse, the bigger the city, the more dangerous it becomes. Don’t assume that because this place is safe, all of Rong City is safe."

"In Changwang District alone, there are two incredibly powerful anomalies. Some people have already seen one—the Eight-Limbed Human Face. The other is even more terrifying than the Eight-Limbed Human Face. You will never want to see it."

"As for outside Changwang District, I guarantee it’s no better than hell on earth."

"…"

A bunch of blather, basically saying how dangerous the rest of Rong City was and how safe this place was.

It sounded like a hint: you better behave and don’t wander off.

Chu Che’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Because he saw the second marking.

It was the pathfinder’s marking ability again; the glowing characters looked like neon outdoor advertisement letters.

"Don’t believe a single word he says!"