Qin Ke only hesitated for a moment, then turned around to go back.
Kui Qingqing lay on the edge of the car, weakly but firmly grabbing Qin Ke's clothes. "You want to go back? I won't allow you to go back. If you go back now, you will die."
Qin Ke turned to look at Kui Qingqing, gazing at this comrade-in-arms who had faced life and death together with him. He said to Tao Ran, "Hold her."
Tao Ran reached out and embraced Kui Qingqing in his arms. Qin Ke smiled at Kui Qingqing, his smile as warm and radiant as always. He said, "I must go find her. Don't try to stop me."
Excitedly, Kui Qingqing asked, "Aren't you afraid you won't come back?"
"Don't be like that, Qingqing," Qin Ke said. "From now on, you're in charge of the town. I'm not a qualified leader. You have to lead our brothers and sisters to lead a good life."
After saying that, Qin Ke turned around and rushed back into the town. Lao Zhang wiped his face and shouted, "Let's go!"
The convoy accelerated and began to leave the town. The people were getting farther and farther away from the town, and the town that once sheltered everyone's life was now submerged in a sea of flames. Qin Ke's figure had long since disappeared, and no one believed he would ever come back.
Zhen Ling was running towards the gathering place, but she ran into several enemy supernatural beings on the way. She hurriedly hid, and when the danger passed, she came out only to find a raging fire everywhere. She couldn't even discern the direction and had no idea where to go.
Zhen Ling darted about in the town, not daring to call out loudly for fear of attracting the enemy.
"What the hell? Who are those people with Qin Ke? Who was that last guy to come out?"
"I've never heard of him."
"I've never heard of such a person under Qin Ke's command. Could he be a superhuman?"
"I think he might be Qin Ke's secret weapon..."
Voices of conversation reached Zhen Ling's ears, and she immediately turned and swiftly moved to the side, pressing her back against the wall, hiding in a corner. Those individuals checked their surroundings while passing by. Zhen Ling pressed against the wall, not daring to make a sound, but the entire town was being roasted by the intense fire. The walls couldn't burn, but they became scorching hot.
She took a deep breath, clenched her teeth, and closed her eyes. Her body was drenched in sweat, and her back couldn't bear the heat any longer. Zhen Ling was in pain, her vision turning dark, and a thick smoke wafted by due to the wind. She accidentally inhaled a breath of it and immediately started coughing uncontrollably.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"Who's there?"
"Who's there?"
When those supernatural beings heard the sound, they returned immediately. Zhen Ling turned and ran, but whether it was in terms of stamina or speed, she couldn't match them. She was soon caught up by a speed-user in front, and three supernatural beings behind her blocked her retreat.
"She seems like an ordinary person."
"I heard Qin Ke got infatuated with an ordinary girl, is it her they're talking about?"
"She's quite pretty. I wonder what she's capable of to capture Qin Ke's heart like that?"
"Should we try our luck together?"
Zhen Ling felt a wave of despair. It would be dangerous for a person with supernatural abilities to be surrounded by four, let alone an ordinary person like her. Zhen Ling clenched her fists, thinking that if worse came to worst, she would rather die. Qin Ke had rescued her from the blaze last time, but this time there was no one to save her.
A person grabbed Zhen Ling and started dragging her away. Zhen Ling despaired as she was pulled along. Was this the end? She had already prepared herself.
"Ah..."
"Who's there?"
The hand gripping Zhen Ling was flung away, and she uncontrollably rolled to the side. She was thrown quite forcefully and struggled to lift her head. What she saw was a dazzling electric light.
Just like that time, a person surrounded by lightning emerged from the sea of fire, and then she found redemption.
Qin Ke's hand, crackling with electricity, held onto a supernatural being, causing the person to tremble all over before becoming motionless. The electric light dissipated, revealing Qin Ke's bloodied body before Zhen Ling's eyes.
Zhen Ling lay on the ground, looking up at Qin Ke, and suddenly couldn't help but smile. "You came."
Qin Ke reached out and pulled her up, anxiously asking, "Are you injured anywhere?"
"No," Zhen Ling tightly gripped Qin Ke's clothes. "I thought you wouldn't come."
"How could I not?" Qin Ke said. "Even if it means dying, I want to die with you."
The sound of chaotic footsteps grew closer. Qin Ke swiftly took Zhen Ling and ran towards the outskirts of the city.
The convoy continued to move forward quickly. Lao Zhang rode his motorcycle to the side of Tao Ran's truck and asked, "Kui Qingqing, where are we going?"
Where are we going?
That was the question in the minds of all the residents of the town. Kui Qingqing sat in the vehicle with a cold expression, feeling just as lost. How could she know where they should go? Where was there to go?
Tao Ran handed a bottle of water to Kui Qingqing and said, "Don't worry. I'll go ahead and see if there's any place we can temporarily settle down."
Kui Qingqing didn't have any immediate solutions. She nodded and agreed.
Tao Ran recovered a little. He flew ahead at a low altitude, looking for abandoned towns or places along the way. Although the world was chaotic, most places still had people, either cities armed with ordinary humans, or places where supernatural beings gather.
The last thing they should do now was to alert other supernatural factions, regardless of whether they could defeat them or not. Most of these factions had formed alliances, so their mere presence would be tantamount to telling those who had attacked them that they were present in that location.
Tao Ran searched many places but found none suitable. Then he spotted a mountain, a small mountain range, to be precise. In the south, such mountains were quite common. He flew towards the mountain, passing over the peaks to the other side of the mountain. The air was filled with the fragrant scent of oranges. Tao Ran looked around and saw an orange tree full of green oranges hanging from its branches.
After being exhausted for so long without eating anything, Tao Ran was already starving. He landed under the orange tree and reached out to pluck a few. He peeled one and stuffed a few carpels into his mouth, but they were so sour that tears almost rolled down his cheeks. Tao Ran ate the oranges with teary eyes, thinking that sourness was fine as long as it wasn't bitter.
While he was eating, Xiao Mei suddenly said, "Host, be careful. There's something fluffy coming from your left."
Tao Ran wondered, "What do you mean by fluffy?"
A gust of rancid wind blew towards him, and Tao Ran's alarm bells immediately rang. He saw a massive tiger pouncing on the spot where he had just been standing. Tao Ran was speechless. Was this what he meant by something fluffy?
Xiao Mei floated in front of Tao Ran and said, "I envy people who have cats at a young age, I really want to have this furry one."
Tao Ran's mouth twitched, and he said, "Touch yourself if you want to. You're also fluffy."
That tiger should be a mutant tiger; otherwise, it wouldn't be so large in size. Tao Ran didn't plan to engage with it and was about to leave when the tiger suddenly let out a low roar, and the air around him immediately changed.
It became sticky and heavy, as if Tao Ran had fallen into a puddle of glue, making his movements extremely difficult.
Xiao Mei said, "This fluffy creature is a mutant. Wind retaining tiger, it can control the surrounding winds."
Tao Ran thought, You're really a hindsight Zhuge Liang. Didn't I get to know after feeling it now? The tiger roared angrily at Tao Ran, and the surrounding air wrapped around Tao Ran making him drift towards the tiger. If I knew it earlier, I would have fully recovered before coming out, would I still be afraid of this furry?
No matter how much he complained, it was useless. Tao Ran saw himself being drawn closer to the fluffy creature's bloodthirsty jaws. In a panic, Tao Ran looked around and saw a large slab of bluestone. He reached out his hand towards it, and the bluestone floated up. Controlling the bluestone, Tao Ran brought it in front of himself and gave up resisting. He hugged the bluestone tightly and was swiftly brought to the tiger's presence. Seeing that it was a large rock, the tiger closed its mouth hastily but still couldn't dodge and was struck on the face.
With a pained cry from the tiger, Tao Ran took the opportunity to fly up to a nearby tree. He raised his hand, and numerous small stones floated in the air. With a wave of his hand, the small stones shot towards the tiger like bullets.
The poor fluffy creature was bewildered and curled up on the ground, unable to move due to the pain. After a wave of attacks, the tiger was bleeding from its mouth and nose, emitting a low, mournful whine. Tao Ran landed on the ground, intending to deliver a fatal blow. Xiao Mei said, "Stop, it has surrendered."
Tao Ran asked, "How did you know?"
Xiao Mei replied, "I listened to its roar."
Tao Ran asked, "What level is your animal language?"
Xiao Mei fell silent and said, "After animals mutate, not only do they gain superpowers, but their intelligence also improves. This fluffy creature has been defeated so it has submitted to you."
Tao Ran cautiously approached the tiger and looked into its big eyes. He asked, "No more fighting?"
The tiger let out a low roar and lowered its head, adorned with beautiful patterns, rubbing against Tao Ran.
Tao Ran breathed a sigh of relief and sat down next to the tiger. At this moment, the sun finally emerged from behind the clouds. He gazed at the horizon, where the golden sunlight dispersed the darkness, enveloping the mountains in its morning glow. Tao Ran and the tiger watched the beautiful sunrise together, and a peaceful village appeared at the foot of the mountain. Such tranquility and harmony were feelings Tao Ran hadn't experienced since arriving in this world.
Qin Ke led Zhen Ling to a dilapidated wooden house. It was located near a large lake, and this wooden house seemed to have been built by a fishing enthusiast as a shelter from rain and a resting place. People who enjoy fishing by the lake usually have houses not far from where they eat by the lake.
Zhen Ling looked towards the shore and faintly saw a red roof on a hill covered with tall trees. It was a villa.
Zhen Ling said, "It seems like no one is chasing us. Let's hide in the villa later."
Qin Ke let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground.
Zhen Ling was startled and squatted down, shaking Qin Ke. She asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Qin Ke kept his eyes closed and didn't respond no matter how she shook him.
Zhen Ling checked Qin Ke's body. His clothes were tattered, and his exposed skin was in a terrible state. Zhen Ling felt a pang of sadness. He had become like this because he came back to save her; otherwise, he would have left long ago. Zhen Ling wiped away her tears. It wasn't the time to cry now.
She looked around the wooden house and found an iron can among the trash. Zhen Ling took the can and went to the lakeside to wash it before filling it with water. She used stones to create a makeshift stove and boiled the water in the can. When the water cooled slightly, she fed Qin Ke a little and used the rest to clean his wounds.
Qin Ke's body was covered in burns, frostbite, and wounds resembling knife cuts. Zhen Ling wiped his wounds while tears uncontrollably streamed down her face. How did he end up like this?
Tao Ran led the residents of the small town to the village behind the mountain. The village was deserted, overgrown with weeds and bird nests. Tao Ran said, "Let's tidy up this place. It's not bad. From now on, we're no longer city folks. We're all villagers."
With a sheltered place to stay, everyone's mood relaxed, and they began to smile. Kui Qingqing said, "Wood element ability users, clear away these weeds. Strong individuals, come and repair the houses. I'll lead some people to clean up. Chao Ge, how about you take charge of preparing dinner?"
Luo Shuang rushed over in a hurry and said, "Xiaohei is about to give birth... Xiaohei is about to give birth..."
Everyone asked, "Who is Xiaohei?"
Tao Ran replied, "It's that pig."
Upon hearing this, everyone's mouths watered. Lao Zhang suggested, "Why don't we have a roast suckling pig for dinner tonight?"