Chapter Eleven: The Chatterbox

“Ah, I’m exhausted—finally, we’re almost there,” Yu Yue panted, quickening her pace as the gymnasium grew nearer.

Lin Youwei’s voice sounded muffled. “Am I really that heavy?”

Yu Yue stifled a laugh. “Of course—you’re even heavier than the centrifuge in the lab.” She gave Lin Youwei a playful shake.

“Yu! Yue!”

...

As they approached the side entrance of the gym, Li Luyan noticed several boys standing guard, each holding homemade “spears.”

The style of these spears resembled the kind Ye Zhouzhou had crafted earlier, but these looked more refined and securely bound.

The defenses were indeed well-prepared, though their trembling hands betrayed their nervousness.

Li Luyan sighed inwardly—after all, they were just a group of kids.

As the boys spotted them, the three standing at the entrance also caught sight of the girls.

“Don’t move!” the muscular leader barked, halting their advance.

“We’re students,” Li Luyan spoke first, with Yu Yue nodding in agreement behind her.

“Is she injured?” The muscular boy eyed Lin Youwei’s calf suspiciously, then noticed the lingering purple bruises and gasped, “That’s a mutation!”

At the mention of mutation, the two boys beside him raised their spears warily toward them.

Yet Li Luyan noticed that although the three stood upright, their grip on the spears tightened even more fiercely.

“It’s not an infection,” Li Luyan said calmly. “She was scratched by a plant. We’ve already treated it.”

“Why should we believe you?” The muscular boy seemed agitated, his muscles twitching.

“Chen Chen! Jiayi has awakened her powers too…” A girl with a high ponytail rushed out, then noticed them and her eyes lit up. “New survivors? Come in quickly.”

The muscular boy named Chen Chen blocked the door. “They can come in! But she,” he said, pointing at Lin Youwei, “cannot enter.”

“Why?” The high ponytail girl looked at Lin Youwei with confusion, then frowned. “Infected?”

Li Luyan tugged at the corner of her mouth and explained again, “She’s not infected—just scratched by a plant, and we’ve treated it.”

Li Luyan quickly considered what she could do if they still refused to let them in. Though she often watched short videos warning girls not to fall into self-justification traps, what else could she do now? She couldn’t just abandon Lin Youwei.

Fortunately, the high ponytail girl relaxed.

She squinted, then tilted her head. “Fine, let them in. But bind this girl,” she said, pointing at Lin Youwei.

Li Luyan breathed a sigh of relief.

This was indeed the best solution, even though they knew Lin Youwei wouldn’t mutate.

...

But rashly throwing a ‘potential’ mutator inside could cause panic among the students.

Lin Youwei was tied up with ropes by two girls and taken away.

Obviously, she knew struggling was useless—since she wouldn’t mutate anyway, she gave up resistance.

Muttering to herself, she thought it better to just let them take her away; after a few days of confinement, once they realized she was normal, she’d be free and back on her feet.

...

Li Luyan surveyed the interior of the gym.

The students had modified it somewhat: several ping-pong tables were pushed together, with a few sleeping bags laid out in the center.

Sleeping bags? Where did those come from? Though now was hardly the time to worry about that.

A girl with dreadlocks stood before her, holding a pen and paper. “Name, class, and…” she looked up, expressionless, staring at Li Luyan. “Do you have powers?”

“Li Luyan, Class 1, Grade 2054, Tourism Management. Yes, I have powers,” Li Luyan replied.

“What kind of powers?” The girl’s eyes brightened at the answer.

Li Luyan smirked slightly. “Psychic.” She wasn’t ready to reveal her spatial abilities, especially since she wasn’t familiar with these people yet—better to keep some cards close to her chest during such chaotic times.

The girl exclaimed excitedly, “No way! Psychic? You’re the first psychic I’ve met—so psychic powers really exist!”

“So what can psychic powers do?” the girl continued, rambling. “Can you control people’s minds? That’d be incredible.”

Li Luyan smiled wryly. “Not that amazing.” Then, she extended her palm and pinched at a distant ping-pong table.

To the girl’s astonishment, the table instantly collapsed.

Just like that?

Li Luyan nearly lost her balance, her face paling. Luckily, Yu Yue steadied her from behind as she weakened, explaining, “As you can see, my psychic level isn’t high yet. Using my powers consumes a lot of energy.”

The girl nodded admiringly. “But no doubt your powers are impressive. I thought you could control minds—that’d be even more amazing!”

Of course, Li Luyan’s abilities could control living beings, but she wouldn’t reveal that. Such powers consumed even more energy and would only be used in desperate situations.

The girl extended her hand, eyes sparkling as she stared at Li Luyan like a fan meeting her idol. “I’m Yu Niaoniao, a water-element user. Although I don’t produce much water each day...” She scratched her head awkwardly. “But it can be upgraded. A few days ago, Minmin dug out a black object from inside a water monster’s belly—about the size of a coin. That thing can be used to boost our powers. Though...” She leaned close to Li Luyan’s ear, whispering, “It smells awful. I’m too scared to touch it.”

The news that powers could be upgraded made Li Luyan’s heart race, though she kept her expression calm.

Looks like she’d have to hunt more water monsters in the future.

Yu Niaoniao continued, “Also, don’t take what Chen Chen said too seriously.”

Take it seriously? Of course not. The muscular boy had spoken loudly, probably heard by most of the students, but so what? In the apocalypse, survival came first—no one cared about others’ opinions.

Yu Niaoniao sighed with a mature air. “Chen Chen’s been through a lot, actually. Before you arrived, we let in a boy who’d been bitten.”

“No one expected the boy to mutate suddenly and bite Chen Chen’s girlfriend’s neck. She died instantly. That’s why they’re so sensitive about anyone bitten or scratched—anyone who might have a mutation risk.”

“So, now that I’ve told you all this, can we get to know each other?” She winked playfully.

Li Luyan smiled, her captivating beauty shining even more. She saw Yu Niaoniao momentarily stunned.

She clasped Yu Niaoniao’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Yu Niaoniao. Thanks for telling me so much.”

Yu Niaoniao suddenly squeezed her hand. “So smooth.” She immediately regretted it, sneaking a glance at Li Luyan, who showed no reaction.

Thank goodness.

“Hey, I’m talking to you, American girl. Can you get me registered already? You’ve been chatting with Sister Yan forever.” Yu Yue frowned at Yu Niaoniao and stepped forward, blocking Li Luyan as if Yu Niaoniao were some fierce beast trying to snatch her away.

Only then did Yu Niaoniao notice the short-haired girl with glasses standing behind Li Luyan. She returned to her original blank expression. “Name, class, powers?”

“What? You’re a plant-element user?”

“You’re also named Yu?”

“Oh, not the same Yu? I thought we shared the same surname.”

“I’m Yu Niaoniao—pleased to meet you.”

“We also have...” Yu Niaoniao repeated the registration process for Li Luyan and Yu Yue, her surprised expression at learning Yu Yue had powers exactly the same each time.

Yu Yue, tired, asked, “Sister Yan, is Yu Niaoniao some kind of big NPC? How come she talks more than me?”

She felt like she was going crazy—talking with Yu Niaoniao was like playing a never-ending Q&A game.

Even if she ignored her, Yu Niaoniao would keep talking, like an NPC in a newbie village who insists on explaining every little detail.

“Now you realize you’re the chatterbox? I thought you’d get along with her better,” Li Luyan teased Yu Yue.

Yu Yue awkwardly fiddled with her fingers. “No way.”

Alright, she might be a bit talkative, but standing next to Yu Niaoniao, she was just a minor player—no contest at all.