187: Breakfast on the wrong route

When Gu Zhixia's consciousness cleared, she was standing at the exit of the Gena Ku, feeling the dampness and saltiness of a tropical island carried by the sea breeze.

"Sister, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up!"

Gu Nianqiu's voice came from behind, a cheerful urging.

Gu Zhixia turned around and saw her sister carrying a large picnic basket, her other hand tightly gripping Lin Mo's. Lin Mo was as expressionless as ever, but there was a hint of imperceptible softness in his eyes.

This scene... it felt so familiar.

"What are you thinking about?" Lin Mo's voice pulled her back from her momentary daze.

"Nothing." Gu Zhixia shook her head, dismissing the fleeting, inexplicable sense of déjà vu from her mind. "I just feel like we might be too rash. Landing directly on a completely unfamiliar LV3 island without even basic reconnaissance."

"Risk and reward coexist." Lin Mo's answer strikingly overlapped with a fragment in her memory. "Our ship is SSS-class, capable of flight, and has missiles. Even if we can't win, we can leave at any time. The initiative is in our hands."

He looked at her, his gaze calm and profound.

"Moreover, survival of the fittest."

Gu Zhixia frowned, feeling as if he had said this before. But when she tried to recall, she couldn't remember when or where. Perhaps it was just similar circumstances that led him to similar conclusions.

"Hehe, Sister, you just overthink things!" Gu Nianqiu ran over, stuffing the picnic basket into her hands, then, as if presenting a treasure, pulled out a warm slice of toasted bread wrapped in oil paper from her small pocket. "Quick, try it! My new invention, 'Energetic Courage Bread'! It has courage fruit jam! After eating it, you'll be full of courage all day long!"

Gu Zhixia looked at her sister's big eyes, sparkling with anticipation, and her heart warmed, her doubts vanishing. She took the bread, bit into it; the crust was crispy, the inside soft, and the sweet and sour jam exploded on her taste buds, instantly dispelling all fatigue.

"It's delicious." She rarely offered such praise.

"Of course it is!" Gu Nianqiu puffed out her small chest proudly.

Their simple breakfast was eaten on the beach. Gu Nianqiu had prepared an unusually rich spread; besides toast, there were perfectly fried sunny-side-up eggs with runny yolks and warm milk. The three sat around a piece of driftwood covered with a checkered tablecloth, the atmosphere so cozy it didn't feel like the perilous apocalypse, but rather a pleasant weekend, a family out for a picnic.

Gu Zhixia watched the scene before her, watching Lin Mo clumsily trying to cut a sunny-side-up egg neatly, watching Gu Nianqiu sipping her milk in small mouthfuls, a white milk mustache on her lips. The string in her heart, taut from the apocalypse, unconsciously relaxed.

Perhaps, this wasn't so bad.

After eating their fill, the three began to venture deeper into the island's primeval jungle.

The vegetation here was astonishingly dense, with giant ferns and tangled vines blocking out the sky. The air was hot and humid, filled with the buzzing of mosquitoes and the chirping of unknown creatures.

Gu Zhixia walked at the front, holding her Six-Harmony Long Spear, using the shaft to push aside obstructing branches, her expression vigilant. Gu Nianqiu followed closely behind her, her small face a bit pale, her beautiful Lolita dress stained with numerous mud splatters. Lin Mo brought up the rear, his hand always on the desert eagle at his waist, his sharp eyes scanning every corner of their surroundings.

"Sister... I... I'm a little scared." Gu Nianqiu's voice was tearful. "There are so many bugs here..."

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm here." Gu Zhixia said without looking back, her voice cool but with a reassuring strength.

After walking for another ten minutes, Gu Zhixia, who was leading, suddenly stopped and raised her hand in a halt gesture.

Lin Mo immediately stepped forward, following her gaze.

Not far ahead, in a clearing in the woods, a small camp had appeared. Several crude shacks made of animal hides and rotten wood, a bonfire burning in the center, and seven or eight dark-skinned, shirtless savages holding bone clubs and stone hammers were moving around the camp.

"Gunshots are too loud, they'll attract other things on the island." Lin Mo whispered.

Gu Zhixia didn't speak, just nodded slightly. The next second, she moved. Her figure, like a black lightning bolt, instantly shot out from the hiding bushes, directly charging towards the savage camp!

The battle unfolded smoothly, without any suspense. In front of an S-Class Weapon Master, these savages were as fragile as paper. In less than thirty seconds, the savages in the camp were slaughtered by her.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred!

"Roar!"

A furious roar came from above! An Elite Savage, whose body was a circle sturdier than ordinary savages, had climbed onto a nearby large tree at some unknown point. It raised a boulder the size of a millstone high, and with all its strength, smashed it down fiercely towards Gu Zhixia, who had just finished fighting and was still catching her breath!

The huge rock, whistling through the air, obscured the sky!

"Watch out!" Lin Mo's pupils suddenly contracted.

But this time, Gu Zhixia reacted faster than him. After witnessing the same trick once before, she had already become highly vigilant of her surroundings. Just before the boulder crashed down, she tipped her toes, and her figure drifted backward and to the side like a ghost, easily dodging the fatal blow.

"Boom—!"

The boulder crashed to the ground, creating a terrifying deep pit where it landed.

The Elite Savage, having missed its attack, seemed to be momentarily stunned. It didn't choose to continue attacking, but instead let out a strange cry, turned, and fled rapidly into the depths of the jungle, moving with a nimbleness that belied its massive size.

"Trying to run?" A cold glint flashed in Gu Zhixia's eyes, and she raised her spear, ready to pursue.

"Don't chase it. It's just an Elite Savage, nothing good to gain." Lin Mo stopped her. "Our goal this time is to collect unique plants on the island. Let's not get sidetracked."

Gu Zhixia thought about it and felt he had a point, so she didn't insist.

But just then, Gu Nianqiu suddenly shrieked, "Ah! My spice pouch!"

It turned out that while dodging the boulder earlier, a spice pouch she had hanging at her waist, used to collect plant samples and emitting a special fragrance, had accidentally fallen to the ground. And the fleeing Elite Savage, as it passed by, actually scooped up the spice pouch and ran off with it in its hand.

That spice pouch was made by Gu Nianqiu using pollen from over a dozen rare plants and was extremely important to her.

"I'll go get it back!" Lin Mo reacted extremely quickly. Seeing Gu Nianqiu's almost tearful expression, he didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately said, "You two wait for me here, be careful, I'll be back soon!"

With that, he shot off like a cannonball in the direction the Elite Savage had disappeared, his figure quickly vanishing into the dense jungle.

Only the two sisters were left in the jungle.

Gu Zhixia comforted her somewhat self-reproaching sister, while vigilantly observing her surroundings. She always felt a sense of unease, as if something bad was about to happen.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

A series of chaotic footsteps came from the other side of the forest.

Gu Zhixia's heart tightened, and she immediately shielded Gu Nianqiu behind her, gripping the Six-Harmony Long Spear in her hand.

Soon, seven or eight men carrying various crude weapons emerged from behind the trees. The leader was tall and fierce-looking, with eyes like a hungry wolf, openly scanning their curvaceous bodies, the greed and desire in his gaze almost overflowing.

It was Chen Feng and his group.

"Oh, what's all this commotion, I thought. Turns out it's two lost little beauties." Chen Feng spoke in a mocking tone. When he realized there were only two women around and not that annoying man, the smile on his face became even more unbridled.

"No man around, and you two still dare to run around in a place like this? Quite bold, aren't you?"

Gu Nianqiu's small face turned pale with fright, and she clutched her sister's clothes tightly.

Gu Zhixia, hearing their vulgar words, was already seething with rage, her phoenix eyes radiating chilling intent.

"Get out." She squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth.

"Damn it! This chick's feisty!" Chen Feng was completely enraged. He gestured to his subordinates beside him, a sinister grin on his face. "Brothers, we're in luck today! These two chicks are top-notch! Get 'em! Take 'em alive! Tonight, let's all have a good feast!"

"Awooo!"

The group of men, already overcome by lust, howled like a pack of hyenas smelling blood, swarming forward!

Looking at those faces twisted by greed, Gu Zhixia's actions hesitated.

They... they were human... Although their words were worse than beasts, they were, after all, human, just like her, who had once lived in a civilized society.

She could mercilessly slaughter savages because they were monsters. But to kill these humans, just like her... In that moment of hesitation, the battle had already erupted!

Gu Zhixia gritted her teeth and met their charge. Her wrists flickered, spear shadows overlapping, as she parried with the charging thugs.

"Clang!" The long spear precisely knocked away a machete.

"Bang!" The spear shaft heavily struck a man's wrist, making him cry out in pain and drop his weapon.

She was strong, strong enough to easily crush these men. But she couldn't bring herself to kill, only constantly knocking away their weapons, blocking fatal attacks, trying to force them back.

"Damn it! This woman's a witch! Don't go head-to-head with her! Go grab the little one!" Chen Feng, watching from behind, saw through her hesitation and roared malevolently.

Instantly, two thugs changed their target, bypassed Gu Zhixia's attack range, and lunged with sinister grins at Gu Nianqiu behind her!

"Nianqiu!" Gu Zhixia's pupils suddenly constricted. She wanted to defend, but she was tightly entangled by the other five men, unable to break free!

"Sister!" Gu Nianqiu let out a terrified scream. She wanted to run, but her feet, clad in Lolita leather shoes, felt like they were filled with lead due to extreme fear, completely unresponsive.

She watched helplessly as those two distorted, foul-smelling faces grew larger and larger before her eyes.

A rough hand suddenly grabbed her arm.

Another hand took a dirty strip of cloth, torn from who knows where, and violently stuffed it into her mouth!

"Mmph! Mmph mph!"

Gu Nianqiu struggled violently, tears instantly gushing out. But her strength, in front of two adult men, seemed so insignificant.

She was roughly lifted by the two men and dragged into the depths of the jungle.

"Let her go!" Gu Zhixia's eyes were bloodshot. She had gone completely mad, her long spear no longer holding back, transforming into streaks of deadly cold light!

"Pfft!"

One spear thrust pierced a man's throat.

"Crack!"

One spear strike shattered another man's skull.

But it was too late.

Chen Feng, with the remaining men, stood in front of her with a sinister grin, while her sister had already been dragged into the pitch-black, impenetrable jungle.

"Want to save your sister?" Chen Feng licked his chapped lips, his smile utterly lewd. "You can. Throw away your weapon, then strip off your clothes and crawl over here. Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll even let you see her again."

"You... you'll all die!" Gu Zhixia's voice was squeezed out through gritted teeth, carrying endless killing intent and monstrous rage.

But she was hesitant, afraid to act rashly.

Her sister was in their hands.

She stared intently at Chen Feng, all the confusion and struggle in her beautiful phoenix eyes vanishing, replaced by a soul-freezing coldness and... despair.

Why... why did I hesitate just now... If I had killed them from the start... If...