Chapter 17: Intriguing

Li Luyan gently untied the ropes binding her. Half of her face was bathed in light, while the other half remained shrouded in shadow, leaving Lin Youwei unable to discern her expression.

"Yu Yue is hurt," Li Luyan said simply.

Lin Youwei’s hands, which had been rubbing her wrists, froze. "What?!" Her voice rose sharply. "What happened?"

Li Luyan tossed her a compressed food bar. "Eat this first."

Lin Youwei shoved the bar into her pocket, then grabbed Li Luyan’s arm with startling force. "Is it serious? Is she okay now? How did it happen?"

Each of her questions struck Li Luyan’s heart like a cannonball, especially the last one.

Li Luyan lowered her gaze. "Because of me." Those three words felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

The air grew still.

Lin Youwei released her arm, her tone brooking no argument. "I need to see her."

...

At that moment, Yu Yue lay on a gymnastics mat, listlessly counting the holes punched through the gymnasium's glass ceiling.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she looked up without hesitation, though the movement tugged at her injury, forcing a stifled groan.

"Don't move!" Hearing a familiar voice, Yu Yue looked up in surprise.

"Senior! You're okay." A smile tugged at her pale face.

Tears welled in Lin Youwei's eyes. "Are you an idiot? Why are you moving around when you're hurt?"

"Oh, don't worry about me, Senior." She wanted to reach out and pat Lin Youwei’s head, but fearing she would aggravate her wound, she could only offer a clumsy, strained smile.

"...Stop smiling." Lin Youwei turned her head away, saying under Yu Yue’s puzzled gaze, "It makes you look even more like an idiot."

"...Senior." Yu Yue pursed her lips, trying to look pitiful. "I’m an injured patient, you know!"

"Don't try that with me. A patient should know better than to disregard their own body." Lin Youwei gave her a look that said, "Don't try to fool me."

"Yu Yue," Lin Youwei asked, enunciating every word, "do you think playing the hero is impressive?" Her voice sounded as if it were being squeezed through gritted teeth.

Yu Yue opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Finally, she managed to choke out, "I was just scared... the situation was urgent, you don't know—"

"Alright, Yu Yue, stop," Lin Youwei interrupted. "What about you? When you're worrying about others, why don't you ever think about yourself?"

Li Luyan retreated silently into the shadows. The moonlight spilled through the shattered dome, fragmenting the three of them into a mosaic of light and dark.

Watching Lin Youwei’s trembling back, she was reminded of when her father had abandoned her in the countryside as a child. She had been the same way then, just as she was when Xiao Jun died, and when her grandmother passed away...

...

She stood outside the gymnasium, purposefully seeking out the shade.

In her palm lay a crystal core.

Without hesitation, she popped several cores into her mouth, feeling an endless surge of power coursing through her.

The foggy area in her mind was becoming clearer, too.

She closed her eyes to sense it; the space in her mind had expanded significantly—at least triple its original size.

It was still surrounded by mist, suggesting there was room for further upgrades. She grew increasingly curious: what exactly was hidden behind that fog?

The thought made her want to laugh out loud, and even her blood seemed to hum with excitement.

"So, this is where you are."

Pei Siying’s voice came from behind her.

Li Luyan turned to see her leaning against the doorframe, the cigarette tip between her fingers glowing and fading in the darkness.

She wiped the smile from her face and looked at her expressionlessly. "Is there something you need?"

Pei Siying exhaled a ring of smoke. "Nothing, just letting you know we’re leaving the school tomorrow."

"Leaving is inevitable, but where are we going?" Li Luyan shoved her hands into her pockets, her voice cold.

Pei Siying took another drag. "A survivor base is being built in the neighboring Tian'an City. If we travel without a vehicle, it should take about two months."

Her expression darkened. "Assuming, of course, that there are no unexpected incidents."

Li Luyan gave a soft, melodic laugh. "I’m curious. It’s only been two weeks since the apocalypse began."

She suddenly looked up, though her eyes remained cold. "How do you know that?"

She knew, of course, that Pei Siying was a "reborn" soul, but she wanted to see how she would spin it—or if she would simply refuse to answer.

It was clearly the latter. Pei Siying flicked her cigarette to the ground and crushed the embers with her heel.

When she looked up, her eyes were sharp.

"Some things, you just know," she said. "You can just assume I have a dual ability that allows for precognition."

Li Luyan shrugged disinterestedly, her voice cool. "Fine. But we should wait for Yu Yue to recover first."

"We leave tomorrow, at the latest." Pei Siying narrowed her eyes. It was a silent standoff, though she didn't realize how icy her own voice sounded. "After all, the speed at which those monsters are evolving won't wait for us."

"And you think you can take care of a patient on the run?" Li Luyan narrowed her eyes.

She refused to back down.

If they brought Yu Yue along in her current state—unable to use her abilities, slow, and requiring constant care—the outcome was predictable: she would be monster feed, or... well, still monster feed.

She didn't believe for a second that this group was kind enough to risk their own lives to look after Yu Yue.

Pei Siying eventually backed down, looking exasperated. "Fine, fine... we'll have Minmin force a recovery for her tomorrow."

"Agreed." Li Luyan swallowed the last crystal core and, without waiting for Pei Siying to speak further, turned and walked into the gymnasium.

Lying on the gymnastics mat, she closed her eyes and sent her consciousness into the space.

Since upgrading, she discovered that while her physical body remained outside, her consciousness could enter the space independently. She could stay as long as she liked without rejection—even twenty hours would be fine.

She scanned the space carefully. Aside from being much larger, there didn't seem to be anything special.

She had hoped for something unexpected, like a spiritual spring, a small cabin, or even an old sage.

Was that it? Just more room?

She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, but then she noticed that the lettuce she had planted was already sprouting tender leaves.

The bright green leaves emitted a faint, verdant glow. They looked a bit like the jade cabbage she used to see online before the apocalypse, though the jade cabbage was translucent, while these sprouts were opaque.

To put it simply, they had a frosted texture.

Still, they looked delicious.

What satisfied her most was that even though she hadn't watered them for days, they were still thriving.

It seemed this space was indeed well-suited for plant growth.

How interesting. She wondered what other fascinating experiences this space would bring her.