Feng Yun gave a wry smile. “Big shot, could you please stop joking around? Give me a hand.”

After everything that had happened, he no longer cared to ask who Jiang Le really was or what the story was with the mutated beasts on his body. He was simply grateful that Jiang Le possessed such extraordinary abilities and had saved his life.

Jiang Le helped him to his feet, but let go as soon as they reached the cave entrance. “I came out under the pretense of needing to use the restroom. You’ll have to come up with your own excuse to explain this situation—don’t drag me into it.”

Feng Yun hissed as he clutched his wound and drew in a sharp breath. Only after watching Jiang Le walk away out of the way did he begin to call for help.

Jiang Le took a short detour, pretending to return from relieving himself on the other side, and sat down behind them, keeping a very low profile.

As Feng Yun’s cries for help echoed, he noticed several transparent frog eggs lurking in the stream, quietly drifting away into the distance.

Jiang Le paid them no mind.

This was a world in the midst of mutation—an unstoppable force.

The advantages of being an ordinary person were once again evident. Jiang Le didn’t know how Feng Yun had communicated with the others, but as a member of the group who was just an ordinary person, he only needed to play the part of the ignorant and terrified. He wasn’t even given the chance to be questioned further and was sent back to Hope Base.

Jiang Le went straight back to his cabin and entered the farm space.

First, he checked on Xiao Lang and the blood vine, which had consumed the nucleus crystals of superpower users. Whether by deliberate allocation or sheer luck, although each had received two nucleus crystals, one of Little Wolf’s was the nucleus crystal of Level 4 superpower user Meng Changming, and the energy it contained was far beyond what the other three nucleus crystals could match.

At this moment, Xiao Lang and the blood vine had already passively entered the evolutionary process.

Jiang Le ran his hand over the little wolf’s fur. He could feel the skin beneath his palm alternately burning like a raging fire and freezing like an ice cube.

Jiang Le frowned slightly. Xiao Lang’s abilities leaned toward the fire element, while Meng Changming’s were primarily ice-based. He wondered if these two nucleus crystals would clash within Xiao Lang’s body.

Let’s hope everything goes smoothly.

The power of the nucleus crystals consumed by the blood vine didn’t match Xiao Lang’s, but a Level 3 Speed Nucleus Crystal and a Level 3 Strength Nucleus Crystal were enough to send it directly into the process of advancing from Level 2 to Level 3.

After checking the current stats of both pets, no abnormalities were found. Jiang Le opened the Creature Compendium to view the information on the Level 3 Mutant Frog.

The Level 3 Mutant Frog has a 3-star potential, making it a mutant creature with decent aptitude. Its strengths lie in high defense, attack speed, and venom. The exploration progress of the Creature Compendium has advanced significantly, and it’s not far from being fully unlocked.

As for Jiang Le himself, with his pets leveling up, his personal experience bar was also nearing full capacity.

After confirming this information, Jiang Le relaxed and closed his eyes to rest in the farm space. He only came out at night to give Zhang Haiyang and the others food in exchange for zombie nucleus crystals.

Three more days passed in this manner.

During those three days, massive upheaval occurred at the base’s upper echelons. Meng Changming, originally the strongest superpower user at Hope Base and its undisputed leader, naturally controlled the most resources.

After his unexpected death, his followers were left leaderless, and those who had previously been at odds with them seized the opportunity to assert themselves. Following a period of chaos, some left while others stayed, gradually forming new factions that filled the void left by Meng Changming.

Power and interests entered a phase of redistribution.

But in this redistribution, some accounts didn’t quite add up. While it was possible to blame everything on the dead man, one couldn’t take it too far.

As one of Meng Changming’s underlings, Wang Weifeng had secretly embezzled a considerable amount of base supplies. He had initially been relieved that he’d escaped unscathed by not joining the mission to kill the mutant frogs, but now the blame had fallen squarely on his shoulders.

Wang Weifeng was so furious that he was fuming. While his hands were indeed not clean, there was no reason for him to take the fall for such a massive scandal. As the blame gets passed around, if someone makes him take the fall, he’ll have to find a way to shift that burden onto someone else.

Just as Wang Weifeng was fretting, his gaze suddenly fell on Zhang Haiyang, who was passing by the trading market below the window.

It had been a while since he’d seen Zhang Haiyang. Surprisingly, he seemed to have shed some of his former dejected air and gained a new vigor; he was chatting and laughing with his companions, a far cry from the gaunt, starving man he used to be.

Wang Weifeng’s gaze fixed on Zhang Haiyang, and an idea suddenly formed in his mind. He called over one of his men and whispered a few words in his ear. The man nodded and turned to run out of the room.

Inside the system space, Jiang Le heard Li Jiajia’s frantic pounding on the door, accompanied by Tangyuan’s terrified, helpless sobs.

Jiang Le opened his eyes, stepped out of the system space, removed the wooden stick used as a doorstop, and opened the door. What met his gaze were the tear-streaked, panicked faces of Li Jiajia and her daughter.

“What happened?” Jiang Le asked.

It wasn’t yet time for Zhang Haiyang and the others to return to exchange the nucleus crystals. Could it be that something had gone wrong while they were out killing zombies today?

Li Jiajia sobbed, gasping for breath, “The base… people from the base came. They ransacked our house and found half a pack of cookies that hadn’t been finished. Now they’re saying our Haiyang is a thief who stole food from the base, and they forcibly took him away along with the other brothers who were killing zombies with him!”

That packet of cookies—neatly packaged and from a brand that had been quite famous before the apocalypse—Li Jiajia hadn’t been able to bring herself to eat all at once. Every day, she’d take two pieces to give to Tangyuan as a secret snack.

So, unlike other items, she hadn’t immediately destroyed the packaging—never imagining it would become evidence for the base to accuse them of theft. They forcibly dragged Zhang Haiyang away, claiming it was to make an example of him.

The ordinary people fell silent, and many of them were actually envious that the Zhang family had managed to find such supplies; quite a few joined in, accusing them of being thieves.

Holding Tangyuan, Li Jiajia could think of nothing but Jiang Le in her desperation, so she hurried over to ask for his help.

However, after knocking on Jiang Le’s door and explaining the situation, Li Jiajia suddenly realized that Jiang Le had already been more than generous by providing them with so much food. If she dragged him into this now, wouldn’t that be repaying kindness with ingratitude—and causing one more person to suffer?

Consequently, many of the words Li Jiajia wanted to say got stuck in her throat, and she didn’t know how to continue. Tears streamed down the corners of her eyes like a broken string, and her heart was filled with confusion and despair.

It wasn’t until Jiang Le spoke up: “Where are they now? Take me there.”

His calm tone offered immense comfort. After a moment’s daze, Li Jiajia quickly stood up. “Over there—at the trading market.” With a glimmer of hope, Li Jiajia hurried forward, while Tangyuan clung tightly to her mother’s neck, her sobs now quiet and restrained.

Zhang Haiyang had been mistaken for a thief for taking the food he’d given him, and Jiang Le simply couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

Pushing through the crowd, the two reached the center of the base. The area was bustling with activity; a large crowd had already gathered, chattering away with a jumble of voices.

Zhang Haiyang and several friends he usually hunted zombies with were now surrounded in the center, undergoing a public interrogation by Wang Weifeng.

Several food packaging bags lay at their feet. Jiang Le could tell at a glance that some of them hadn’t come from his supplies; they were likely items Wang Weifeng and his group had brought in to pad the evidence.

“And you still say you didn’t steal them? If it weren’t for parasites like you, how would supplies from the base warehouse have mysteriously disappeared in such large quantities? Or are you claiming you’re capable of gathering these high-grade supplies on your own?” Wang Weifeng argued forcefully.

Zhang Haiyang and the others bore wounds from their struggle, and now every one of them was bruised and battered.

“We didn’t steal anything from the base,” Zhang Haiyang said through gritted teeth.

“If you didn’t steal it, how did it end up in your possession? Then tell us exactly who did steal it,” Wang Weifeng said, glaring at Zhang Haiyang with a smug look, pleased to have found a scapegoat.

Zhang Haiyang opened his mouth but couldn’t bring himself to name Jiang Le. The others felt the same way; they had already received help from him, and at a time like this, they couldn’t possibly drag Jiang Le down.

Seeing their reaction, Wang Weifeng grew even more smug. “Can’t say, can you? That means you stole it!” It didn’t matter who the thief was—as long as he could shift the blame, Wang Weifeng was more than happy to be off the hook.

He raised his hand and slapped Zhang Haiyang hard across the face, then turned to the onlookers and said, “Stealing supplies from the base is unforgivable. The supplies that the superpower users worked so hard to retrieve from out there—are they meant for you lot to take advantage of?”

As he spoke, a malicious glint flashed in his eyes. “My suggestion is to execute these few right here and now, to set an example.”

The few superpower users standing nearby watched Wang Weifeng put on this show. Though they knew he was exaggerating, they felt no sympathy for Zhang Haiyang and the others. Making an example of a few to set a precedent wasn’t a bad idea, so they tacitly approved of Wang Weifeng’s actions.

Wang Weifeng didn’t want to drag this out. He tilted his head, signaling his henchman to carry out the execution.

The henchman obeyed the order and stepped forward, ready to act, but suddenly, a tremendous force—as if from nowhere—struck him in the lower back with a kick, sending him flying through the air.

Seeing someone flying through the air, the crowd immediately scattered to the sides, leaving the henchman enough space to fly through. Even after landing, he skidded another six or seven meters.

This sudden turn of events put Wang Weifeng and the other superpower users present on high alert. They sprang to their feet. “Who’s there?”

Although Wang Weifeng’s injuries had been treated by a healing-type superpower user, he hadn’t fully recovered yet. He couldn’t put full weight on his legs and was limping as he walked.

Jiang Le withdrew his leg and stepped out from behind the crowd, with Li Jiajia following behind him, sniffling.

Zhang Haiyang looked up at the commotion, his thoughts a mix of emotions. He finally shot Li Jiajia a reproachful glance, though he couldn’t bring himself to fully blame her for her actions.

“I gave them these,” Jiang Le said. “Let them go.”

The moment Wang Weifeng saw it was Jiang Le, he nearly laughed in exasperation: “Who do you think you are? You just tell us to let them go, and we’re supposed to?” He hadn’t even thought to go looking for Jiang Le, yet here the kid was, walking right into his hands.

“What gives?” Wang Weifeng was about to say more, but the next second, his eyes suddenly widened, and he was unable to utter a word.

He couldn’t fathom how Jiang Le had managed to appear right beside him in an instant from several meters away. At the same time, Jiang Le landed a punch on the side of his neck. With a crack, Wang Weifeng’s head snapped to the side. Before he could even comprehend what had happened, his body was already flying through the air, head lolling to one side, and he fell to the ground, lifeless.

The crowd immediately erupted into an uproar, and panic spread among them.

No matter how much of a scoundrel Wang Weifeng was, he was still a Level 3 superpower user. Yet when facing Jiang Le, he couldn’t even and was completely defenseless, his life taken by a single punch.

Jiang Le had shown him exactly what he was made of through his actions, though the price had been far too high for Wang Weifeng. Wang Weifeng’s henchman, who had been clutching his side as he struggled to his feet, had intended to demand justice for his boss. Now, however, he was too terrified to utter a word. He slipped into the crowd, using the cover to crouch low and hide in a corner, terrified that he might be Jiang Le’s next target.

The other superpower users also assumed defensive stances, but their hearts were still filled with anxiety. Given the gap in their abilities, they found it difficult to judge whether they truly had any chance of fighting back.

Jiang Le’s punch just now didn’t just land on Wang Weifeng—it also made it clear to the other superpower users present just how vast the gap in their abilities was.

Just as they had unjustly judged Zhang Haiyang under the law of the jungle, Jiang Le was using that same logic to show them that he, too, could do as he pleased.

When it comes to the disparity between the strong and the weak, the strong have no need to play by the rules.

“Let’s talk this out, let’s talk this out. Since you were the one who gave them the supplies, this must have been a misunderstanding. Quick, quick—let him go.” A quick-witted superpower user stepped forward to smooth things over.

The others snapped out of their daze and hurriedly chimed in.

“Right, right, right. Let them go. This was all Wang Weifeng’s doing to settle his own accounts. He was the one embezzling the base’s supplies, yet he turned the tables on us. Now that he’s dead, this matter is settled. Haha, it’s all in the past.”

Zhang Haiyang and his group had been roughly tied up, shoved here, and even beaten up quite a bit. Now that they were being released, everyone was suddenly being polite again. The stark contrast left them momentarily unable to process what was happening.

These superpower users weren’t much different from Wang Weifeng, but as for the finer details—matters that had nothing to do with him—Jiang Le couldn’t be bothered to pay attention.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Le said.

He led the way, and the crowd naturally parted to make a path; the other superpower users didn’t dare to block him. Jiang Le led Zhang Haiyang and the others out of the crowd to an open area on the outskirts.

Ignoring the crowd watching from a distance but too afraid to approach, and disregarding the gratitude of Zhang Haiyang and the others for having survived the ordeal, Jiang Le stated bluntly, “I plan to leave this base. Is anyone here willing to come with me?”

After this conflict, if Jiang Le simply left without looking after Zhang Haiyang and the others, these ordinary people would likely face countless unknown dangers ahead.

Zhang Haiyang and the others were stunned for only a moment before quickly coming to their senses. Led by Zhang Haiyang, they immediately nodded and said, “Brother Jiang, we’re coming with you!” There was no hope of survival in this base to begin with, and after what they’d just gone through—an experience that had left them feeling utterly disheartened—there was no hesitation.

Apart from Zhang Haiyang, who had a wife and daughter, others with relatives and friends also brought their loved ones along. Having spent these past days together, they didn’t hesitate for a second—everyone was determined to leave with Jiang Le.

Feng Yun, limping and lagging slightly behind, hurriedly pushed his way through the crowd and waved at Jiang Le: “Bro, bro, take me with you, will ya?” Following the boss was Feng Yun’s basic principle in life, especially when it came to the boss who had saved his life.

The current leadership at the base, upon seeing Jiang Le’s departure, felt a mix of emotions—whether joy or worry—but ultimately breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Le, accompanied by a dozen or so people plus Feng Yun, set off on the journey back to the farm.

Based solely on Jiang Le’s pace, the journey would take two or three days, but with ordinary people in the group to look after, plus a wounded man with a broken leg, their speed was inevitably slowed several times.

Fortunately, Jiang Le had no reason to rush.

After confirming that the river water showed no major abnormalities, Li Jiajia used a metal pot to draw a basin of water from it.

Although the river water was slightly murky, it hadn’t been significantly affected by the mutated creatures and was still drinkable.

They built a fire on the riverbank and brought the water to a boil in the pot. After filtering out the sediment, they finally began using it to cook noodles.

They took out a few packets of dried noodles, along with some mutated wild vegetables that Zhang Haiyang and the others had found nearby—which tasted decent enough—and two plump mutated rabbits that Jiang Le had casually caught in the woods.

Mutant rabbits are low-level, small-sized mutated animals. Aside from changes in body size and their frighteningly sharp fangs, they aren’t particularly aggressive. They also retain their rapid reproduction rate, making them a relatively common edible mutated creature found in the wild.

After stir-frying the wild vegetables and rabbit meat, the aroma of fat and fresh greens filled the air. The noodles were boiled in hot water, lightly seasoned, and served alongside the side dishes.

Everyone gathered around the pot, slurping up the noodles. The meal replenished their strength and calories, dispelling the fatigue from their journey.

After finishing dinner with the group, Jiang Le left on his own. He found a spot out of everyone’s sight but where he could still hear the sounds outside and entered the System Space.

Xiao Lang’s upgrade was still ongoing, but the fluctuating temperatures of the past few days had ceased. It seemed he had finally assimilated Meng Changming’s Level 4 nucleus crystal and entered the final stages of the upgrade.

As for the blood vine, it had awakened today. Since its evolution was at a higher level than Xiao Lang’s—and it lacked the performance conflicts associated with nucleus crystals—its progress was naturally faster.

Having upgraded to Level 3, the blood vine’s tendrils had become much denser, and the flexibility, hardness, and speed of its vines had all improved significantly.

The moment Jiang Le entered the space, it enthusiastically waved its vines, which suddenly extended to over ten meters, gently wrapping around Jiang Le’s arm from a distance.

Jiang Le checked the stats in the blood vine’s backend interface; compared to before the upgrade, there was a very noticeable improvement, and a satisfied smile spread across his face.

After confirming that the little wolf was unharmed, Jiang Le first brought the blood vine back to the real world, opened the lid of the cultivation dish, and let the vine come out for some fresh air.

As soon as it entered the real world, facing the low-level saplings and grasses of the mutated forest, the blood vine took on a completely different demeanor. It naturally exuded an aura of authority, instantly silencing the forest, which had been somewhat restless due to the darkness.

Even the mutated small animals fell silent.

When Jiang Le returned to the campfire, the blood vine slightly retracted its presence, leaving only a few vines—each about two or three feet long—extending outward, intently sensing the auras of those around it.

Humans and other animals were all on the blood vine’s hunting list, so right now, from the blood vine’s perspective, there was a plate of braised pork on the left, a plate of Xinjiang-style chicken on the right, a bowl of turkey noodles in front, and a bowl of snail noodles behind, with several cups of milk tea in various flavors in the middle—it was a never-ending feast.

But none of this is edible; these are the people the master is trying to protect, so they cannot be used as food. The blood vine thought with a touch of regret.

Jiang Le stroked its vine. Using his seated position as cover, he pulled a few pieces of mutant frog meat from his spatial pocket. These had been pre-sliced by Jiang Le into palm-sized pieces over the past few days. As he placed them next to the vine, it immediately wrapped around them and began sucking them up through the suction cups on its tendrils.

It finished a piece in just over ten seconds, and then Jiang Le handed it the next one.

Feng Yun watched enviously from the side. The vine looked so well-behaved that he almost wanted to reach out and pat its head.

“Brother Jiang, can I touch it?” Feng Yun leaned in, his hand already itching to reach out.

The blood vine sensed another presence at the top of its head and seemed somewhat curious; it extended a tendril to gently test Feng Yun’s fingertips.

It seemed very friendly.

But Jiang Le turned the planting dish away, creating some distance between the blood vine and Feng Yun: “Not really.”

Feng Yun pouted, thinking Jiang Le was being a bit stingy, and secretly reached out with his fingertip, hoping to sneak a touch. He and the vine moved toward each other, as if they were lovers torn apart by a strict parent.

But the very next second,

Feng Yun yelped and quickly pulled his hand back. Where his skin had just brushed against the blood vine, a piece of flesh the size of a broad bean had vanished, leaving a gaping, bloody hole.

The piece of flesh that had been bitten off had already been swallowed into the blood vine’s belly via its suction cups, and the supple vine writhing in the air seemed to still be salivating over Feng Yun’s flesh and blood.

Feng Yun finally realized that Jiang Le’s remark about “not really being able to” wasn’t out of stinginess, but out of concern for his safety.

He should have remembered how the blood vine had constricted Meng Changming’s neck that day, mercilessly piercing through his flesh.

It was obedient toward Jiang Le only because he was its master; in the blood vine’s eyes, everyone else was nothing more than food or a tool for evolution.

Feng Yun stared at the missing chunk of flesh on his finger, feeling like crying but unable to shed a tear.

Jiang Le turned around, saw the scene, and gently tapped the blood vine’s tendril, but he didn’t scold it. If you can’t keep your hands to yourself, you deserve a lesson—that way you’ll learn your place, so that one day, if he isn’t around to stop him, Feng Yun won’t end up feeding his hand to the blood vine.

In truth, however, the blood vine had shown mercy. It had merely bitten off a chunk of flesh without releasing its corrosive toxins into Feng Yun’s wound; otherwise, Feng Yun’s suffering would have been far worse than just a few cries of pain.

As night fell, the group lay down to sleep where they were. With Jiang Le by their side, the wilderness didn’t feel quite so terrifying. Exhausted from the journey, they soon drifted off to sleep.

Through the open cultivation vessel, the blood vine slowly extended its tendrils, wrapping around the nearby trees in concentric circles until it formed a protective barrier that enclosed the group. Only then did it cease its movements, using its remaining vine to coil around Jiang Le’s wrist before gradually relaxing its grip.

Two days passed in this manner, and they had finally covered one-third of the journey.

They occasionally encountered some zombies along the way, but even Zhang Haiyang and his group were able to kill them, so it did not hinder the party’s progress.

Until Jiang Le, following his memory, arrived at a large bridge they had crossed on the way there.

This bridge had once served as a vital transportation artery, effectively linking Jiang City and Xizhou City. But the last time Jiang Le had crossed it, it was already severely damaged; he hadn’t expected that by the time he returned, it would have collapsed entirely.

Concrete slabs and rebar lay twisted like crumbly cookies, snapped by the roots of mutated plants. A massive gaping breach had formed in the center, while the murky river water still raged ten meters below, completely severing any hope of reaching the other side.

Fortunately, this wasn’t the only route, but taking a detour would not only take more time but also require passing through the downtown area of Xizhou City.

The city, which once symbolized prosperity and bustle, now seemed to hold nothing but danger and a sense of impending doom.