Chapter 214.1: Xue Xiangrong
Xue Qi didn’t find anything wrong with what Wu Heng said. He shouted back an “Alright!” and, in the blink of an eye, left Wu Heng’s side.
Wu Heng wore knee-high rain boots. A man and a woman followed behind him as the three of them walked down the steps. Under their technical guidance, he controlled the growth of the vines, probing into the sewer system that had already been completely blocked. Without damaging the structure, he carefully carried out the clearing work.
But he could clearly sense that the underground passages were not quite as the two had described. Some sections were dead ends. He stopped paying attention to what they were saying and instead filled the city’s entire underground drainage network with vines, sending everything out of the city. Otherwise, the base would face either flooding or collapse—this was an abandoned, riddled, dying city that couldn’t even withstand a minor “cold.”
There were three people on gate duty outside the city today. Since no one was leaving, they had nothing to do, so they sat on the city wall, gazing into the thick fog stretching into the distance.
“Damn it, staying here is suffocating. It’s not even as free as when we used to struggle just to get by.”
“No idea what’s gotten into the boss—he couldn’t even beat some kid. Now look, he’s turned into someone else’s puppet, dragging all of us down with him.”
“How about we run?”
“Run where?” This time it was clearly a woman speaking. “Didn’t you hear that poker-faced Wen Yuan say that everywhere else will eventually disappear? Deathlands is Earth’s lost city. This might be the safest place there is. If you want to run, go ahead. I’m not going anywhere. Even if I have to live here like a dog, I’m still not leaving.”
“Typical—women are always so timid. No matter when, you’ll never amount to anything!”
As soon as the man finished speaking, the woman reached out and shoved him straight off the city wall. From a height of over thirty meters, he managed to use his ability midair, barely avoiding being smashed into a pulp.
Up on the high wall, the woman folded her arms and looked down at her cursing teammate below, shouting back:
“There are plenty of people in this world—if they could at least understand how to be a dog properly, they wouldn’t spend their lives blaming the heavens and everyone else while achieving nothing!”
She was just like the man—no sooner had she finished speaking than her expression suddenly changed.
“Watch out!”
“Damn woman, I don’t trust you—you bully people all day!” He scrambled up from the ground, already soaked through. Before he could hurl a few more insults, from within the dense fog, soft, dense, and enormous vines surged forward.
There were too many of them, and they were far too fast. He didn’t even have time to dodge. Even beneath his feet—before he could realize it—the ground had already been covered with finer, softer tendrils.
It was as if, in an instant, he had entered a world entirely overrun by mutated plants—a world where there was no place for humans.
He stood frozen in place, his teeth chattering, having even forgotten how to use his ability.
At that moment, within the rain-mist that had been stirred apart, an enormous green mass raised its head. Its entire body was smooth and slick, covered in water droplets. If it weren’t clearly some kind of plant, then judging by its strange movements and posture, it would have looked more like a mutated beast.
‘It’s going to eat me.’ The thought surfaced uncontrollably in the man’s mind.
The instinctive sense of danger that comes from being alive knows no borders.
Just as his muscles and bones finally began to react on their own, the massive vine above him suddenly swayed, then lunged straight at him.
Crash—
The two people on the city wall stared in shock at what was happening below. A stream of thick, yellowish sludge suddenly burst out from within the plant.
At the same time, rushing, splashing sounds echoed everywhere. If not for the city itself remaining completely unmoved, they might have thought the sky was collapsing and the earth splitting apart.
Outside the city wall, a torrent surged. The man could only watch as he was carried farther and farther away by the flood.
But as the current gradually slowed, several vines reached down into the water, precisely grabbed the man—now like a drenched stray dog—and hauled him up. They even lashed his abdomen over a dozen times until he coughed up the water he had swallowed, before tossing him back onto the city wall. He tumbled across it several times, and when he opened his eyes, he was already at his teammates’ feet.
“W-why… why didn’t you save me?”
The woman crouched down. “Not really. I only just realized that those things that suddenly showed up were probably the Lord. I thought he was going to deal with you himself—how would we dare interfere? I was even wondering whether we should go help him.”
The man’s eyes turned bloodshot. “Bullshit! Don’t think I don’t know he’s inside the city!”
“No, really. I made a point of asking around these past couple of days. The Lord’s ability probably covers the entire Deathlands, so it’s perfectly reasonable for him to appear anywhere at any time. You’re just not sensitive enough.”
“Then why the hell didn’t you tell me?!”
“Look at you—you’re being stupid again.” The woman pinched his cheek hard enough to make him bare his teeth in pain before letting go. Then she continued, “Why should I share information that I worked to get on my own? Didn’t I already tell you—know your place, and you’ll be the first one to catch the flying disc.”
“Heh. What a good dog.”
“You flatter me.”
“But… where did all that sludge come from? It looked like it was drained out from the city?”
The wilderness stretched endlessly, vast and boundless. The flood that had just poured out quickly soaked into the ground, and everything returned to calm.
Jiang Xun planned to build two additional layers of defense outside the city, while also selecting the most suitable areas—based on soil, sunlight, water sources, and other conditions—to designate as farmland and lush pasture for livestock. However, it had been raining constantly these past few days, and she hadn’t had the chance to carry out her plans.
The lush, green expanse outside the city was actually quite ideal—close to the city and therefore safer. Still, Jiang Xun was determined to turn the surrounding area into a defensive zone. She also believed that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket; it would be best to grow crops in all four directions—north, south, east, and west.
Leaning against the city wall with her arms crossed, the woman gazed at the drizzling rain in the distance. The rain here seemed different from the outside world. Every rainfall outside was like an outbreak of energy—once it stopped, any living thing that had been “baptized” by it would become even harder to deal with. In her view, rain outside was no different from blades falling from the sky.
But the rain here was gentle—there was none of that life-threatening, blood-soaked aura mixed into it. The land itself was already clean, and so it became even softer and purer under the rain’s nourishment.
It looked like a boundless gray-white ocean. The falling raindrops kept trembling, distorting the vision of anyone staring at them for too long.
Gradually, the swaying of the raindrops became more intense, and even the shadows behind the curtain of rain seemed to deepen.
The woman finally snapped out of it. She rubbed her eyes, stepped forward a couple of paces, leaned out to take a closer look, then kicked the man still lying on the ground. “Get up! Something’s approaching!”
“Probably the Lord again.”
“The hell it is.” This time she kicked him even farther away. Placing a hand on the stone pillar, she vaulted up in one motion, fully entering a state of alert.
“Who goes—” The man climbed up from the ground and leaned over the city wall. But when he clearly saw the group that had reached the base of the wall—half of them dressed in military uniforms—the confidence he had tried to muster vanished. Lacking any real courage, he weakly called down, “What… what are you here for?”
Xue Qi arrived through the rain. He climbed up the wall from behind the three of them, tossed out a quick “Open the gate,” and immediately jumped back down.
The energy barrier began to flicker faintly. Xue Qi couldn’t wait any longer and ran out.
“Father!”
Xue Xianrong looked at the young man running toward him. He froze for a moment, then suppressed his excitement and simply patted Xue Qi on the shoulder. “Your brother said your leg was healed. I didn’t quite believe it at first.”
But what Xue Qi cared about was something else. “Why are you here? Didn’t they say specialists would be prioritized for transport? What’s your specialty?”
“Cut the nonsense,” Mr. Xue said, adjusting the brim of his hat as he looked toward the inside of the gate. “Take me to meet whoever’s in charge here first. I heard it’s Xiao Xie and his boyfriend handling things?”
“How do you not know anything?” Xue Qi said as he turned around, and the large group began moving forward.
He went on to tell Xue Xianrong that everyone now had their own roles and jobs—except for Xie Chongyi. He was staying at home as the “supportive partner,” and over the past couple of days, he had even started learning baking.
Walking beside his son, Xue Xianrong fell into thought, frowning slightly. “What’s going on here?”
“What do you mean, what’s going on?” Xue Qi didn’t understand what his father was referring to.
“With Xiao Xie’s abilities, being in charge of a base should be no problem. Yet he’s staying at home all day—has he run into some kind of difficult situation?” Xue Xianrong sounded concerned. No matter how capable they were, in his eyes they were still just a group of young people whose wings hadn’t fully grown.
“You know what his biggest issue is—and so do we. That’s why Wu Heng told him to rest as much as possible.”
Xue Xianrong’s thoughts deepened. “There’s no other reason?”
‘Ugh, annoying adults…’ Xue Qi grumbled inwardly. He turned to look at his father. “Why do you always make everything so complicated? Can’t it just be because of love?”
Having spent years in the military, Xue Xianrong might appear straightforward at first glance, but his gaze was deep and unyielding. Facing Xue Qi’s irritation, he said in a low voice:
“Just yesterday, a riot broke out at the southern base. Everyone wanted to be selected and sent into Deathlands. Deputy General Li defected, attempted to assassinate the General, and led a large group ahead of us toward Deathlands. But we intercepted him halfway, brought him back to the base, and executed him. Xiao Qi, I’m telling you this because you shouldn’t assume everyone is as kind as you are. People outside the Deathlands are already watching it like predators—let alone those who have successfully entered its territory.”
Xue Qi walked forward in silence. After a long while, he finally said, “Got it.”
Then, almost immediately, he perked up again. “Wait—Deputy General Li, is that your old classmate? The one who worked under Auntie Xie?”
Xue Xianrong nodded.
“Then that general is…”
“Xie Yi.”
“Auntie Xie?! Then is she—”
—
“She’s fine. The doctors treated her in time. When I left the southern base, she had just woken up in the intensive care unit,” Xue Xianrong replied to Xie Chongyi.
“That’s a relief.” Xie Chongyi relaxed a little, then looked at him. “Did Xue Qi take you to meet Wu Heng yet?”
Xue Xianrong, who had come alone, shook his head. “Xiao Qi searched everywhere but couldn’t find him. Even using his ability, he couldn’t locate him either. So I had him bring me here first to see you. The people I brought have already been handed over to Wen Yuan. Tonight we’ll hold a meeting to arrange this batch of personnel, and to sort out the supplies you’ll need next—as well as the people we hope you can take in. I’ll have to head back early tomorrow morning.”
Xie Chongyi poured him a cup of hot water. A few tea leaves floated on the surface. Xue Xianrong lowered his gaze and choked up slightly at the sight—let alone tea, the water they drank outside now was murky and yellowish.
“The situation outside is that bad?”
“It’s not good,” Xue Xianrong replied. “The weakening of the magnetic field is reversible, but humanity doesn’t have the lifespan to wait it out. After the last rainy season ended, the population dropped by another third. Even now, it’s still decreasing by tens of thousands every day. And the zombies have also become… different from before. The research institute estimates that within three months, humans on Earth may face extinction—like the dinosaurs.” His voice grew heavier. “That’s why this time we also brought Wu Mo and his team. If it’s confirmed that Deathlands doesn’t belong to anywhere on Earth, then, Xiao Xie, there are responsibilities you’ll have to take on in place of your mother. But I’ve heard from Xiao Qi—you’re not in charge of anything?”
“I know.” Xie Chongyi leaned back against the sofa. “But I need to discuss it with Wu Heng first.”
Xue Xianrong let out a slight breath of relief.
But then Xie Chongyi added, “However, I can tell you right now—anyone, including you and my mother, once you enter Deathlands, must accept the authority here and obey Wu Heng unconditionally.”
“But—”
“Colonel,” Xie Chongyi slowly sat up straight, glancing at the insignia on Xue Xianrong’s shoulder as he cut him off, “if I wanted control over Deathlands, it would be very easy. As long as I asked, Wu Heng would give it to me. But you should understand why I don’t even hold the simplest position here.”
Xue Xianrong slowly clenched the hand resting on his knee into a fist. After a long while, he finally sighed. “Alright… we’ll cooperate with all of his arrangements.”
“Then I’ll take you to find Wu Heng now. You can meet him,” Xie Chongyi said as he stood up. Compared to the last time Xue Xianrong had seen him, he seemed a little taller, and much of the sharp edge around him had been reined in—not gone, just restrained.
After watching him head upstairs, Xue Xianrong began to take in the interior of the house. There was less furniture, making it feel especially spacious. Yet several corners on the first floor were decorated with vases of flowers, and by the window there was even a jabuticaba tree growing all the way up to the second floor. He picked up the hat from the table and placed it back on his head, a faint sense of melancholy rising within him. It had been a long time since he had seen such a peaceful scene—almost like the world before the apocalypse.
The young man came back downstairs quickly, and the sight made Xue Xianrong pause again.
Before going upstairs, he had been wearing simple home clothes—a white top and black pants. Now he had changed into something else entirely: a black collared outfit, with a brooch shaped like the head of a black insect pinned to his chest. It wasn’t as rigid and formal as a uniform, yet it was completely different from his earlier relaxed demeanor.
“If the General saw how well you’re living now, she’d probably feel very relieved,” Xue Xianrong said, unable to hide a trace of bitterness in his tone.
“At your age, being jealous of the younger generation—how impressive,” Xie Chongyi shot back, giving him a sidelong glance. He picked up an umbrella from the corner and walked out the door.
But soon, his voice drifted faintly back to Xue Xianrong’s ears:
“Still… it’s about time you stepped off the stage. Now, it’s ours.”