Chapter 31: Successfully Spiriting Away the Little Girl (Please Add the New Book to Your Collection)

“What’s good about it? Hurry up and tell me!” Qingyan urged impatiently.

Looking at Lin Shuang beside him, Lin Shuang smiled at him, her eyes carrying a hint of encouragement. Xi Yan took a deep breath and turned to Qingyan, saying, “It’s simple. Help me earn enough points to leave this place, and that’s enough.”

He’d expected Qingyan to become furious or even hit him after he spoke, but to his surprise, she fell silent, her face showing a trace of confusion.

It seemed she didn’t understand what Xi Yan meant.

Xi Yan glanced at Qu Ya, his eyes asking: Was I unclear? Was I speaking an alien language?

Qu Ya could only smile helplessly.

The air grew quiet. After a few seconds, Qingyan’s crisp voice broke the silence. “Are you... sure?”

Qingyan’s incredulous expression made Xi Yan doubt himself.

Was there something wrong with what he’d said? Or did she simply not want to help him? If so, there was nothing he could do.

“You’re sure you just want me to help you with something so simple? That’s great! Don’t regret it! Sister Shuang, you heard him, right? As long as I help him get enough points to leave, you can’t report to the City Lord!”

Qingyan put on a face she thought intimidating, but to Lin Shuang, it was clear Qingyan was just being cute, though Qingyan herself was oblivious.

Lin Shuang suppressed a laugh and nodded. “I won’t go back on my word. But there’s one small condition—you must guarantee Xi Yan’s safety. How about that?”

“Deal!” Qingyan agreed immediately, as though afraid Lin Shuang would change her mind.

Seeing Qingyan like this, Xi Yan grew curious. Why was she so afraid of the City Lord of the main city? Lin Shuang seemed familiar with the City Lord too.

It shouldn’t be. Lin Shuang looked like an ordinary survivor, while the City Lord managed all the lands of survival; how could Lin Shuang be connected with them?

But those were questions Xi Yan didn’t need to worry about now. What mattered was earning enough points.

Qingyan hopped off the muscle man’s shoulder, then turned her back to him and snapped her fingers. The muscle man vanished instantly, and as he disappeared, a ring on Qingyan’s hand flashed briefly.

Xi Yan noted this detail silently. Qingyan approached him, circled him once, scrutinizing him seriously before stopping in front of him.

Standing at his full height of 1.8 meters against Qingyan’s 1.6 meters, Xi Yan couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation.

Qingyan wanted to intimidate him, but the height difference was too obvious. Unless she sat atop the muscle man, she could only look up at Xi Yan, which annoyed her greatly.

Qingyan looked at Xi Yan with a face of utter indifference and said, “Let me tell you, after I help you earn those points, I’ll still come for your life!”

Xi Yan nodded. At this moment, he suddenly felt this little girl wasn’t so terrifying after all—in fact, she was rather adorable.

He’d completely forgotten the terror of being hunted by Qingyan.

“Next, let’s rest a bit, then head to the first location: Lok City, Road 78, Linxin Hospital. How about that?” Xi Yan looked at the group.

Qingyan replied coolly, “That place currently has people from the Fifth Survival Zone. Are you sure you want to go?”

“Then… the Central Amusement Park?” Xi Yan tried tentatively.

“People from the Sixth Survival Zone,” Qingyan answered in the same indifferent tone.

Xi Yan pursed his lips. “Let’s go with this one then—Lok City, Taihua Road Bus Stop. There’s nothing else left.”

Qingyan thought for a moment, then nodded. “Fine, that’s settled. Let’s go.”

She went to stand beside Lin Shuang and, in a show of defiance, summoned the muscle man at her side.

The moment the muscle man appeared, dust billowed from the ground, not only blocking everyone’s vision but causing a bout of coughing among them.

When the dust cleared, Xi Yan saw the muscle man crouch and extend his arm to the ground, letting Qingyan climb up.

Qingyan lifted her lovely white dress, her twin ponytails swaying, and walked elegantly to the muscle man’s shoulder, settling herself securely.

She then cast a provocative glance at Lin Shuang.

But Lin Shuang merely smiled at Qingyan’s antics, turned around, and walked to stand by Xi Yan’s side.

The two stood shoulder to shoulder—one facing forward, the other backward.

Lin Shuang placed her hand on Xi Yan’s shoulder and spoke softly, “If you want to leave here alive, you must make Qingyan your partner.”

With that, Lin Shuang headed toward the bus stop.

Xi Yan was momentarily stunned, not understanding why Lin Shuang had suddenly said such things to him.

He glanced at Qingyan out of the corner of his eye. She didn’t seem particularly special, just stronger than most—why was it so crucial to make her his partner?

Watching Lin Shuang’s receding figure, Qu Ya walked over to Xi Yan and patted him. “Let’s go.”

Xi Yan nodded, following the two as they left, while Qingyan, still wearing her indifferent face, rode atop the muscle man, trailing behind them at some distance—clearly not wanting others to know she was part of Xi Yan’s group.

But before they'd gone a hundred meters, Lin Shuang suddenly stopped in her tracks. Qu Ya and Xi Yan caught up and halted as well, their faces immediately turning pale.

Qingyan, who followed behind, was much calmer. She sat quietly on the muscle man, waiting nearby.

The reason they stopped was because, ahead of them, hundreds of Lost Ones had appeared, some of them clearly grade A.

“How are there so many Lost Ones here…” Qu Ya’s expression was grim. Though they weren’t afraid of Lost Ones, with so many of them, even a battle of attrition could exhaust them to death.

Even with Qingyan and Lin Shuang as high-level fighters, the number of Lost Ones was simply overwhelming!

It seemed as if someone was controlling these hundreds of Lost Ones—they stood there, unmoving, eerily silent.

But their low growls made it clear they were about to break free and charge at Xi Yan’s group.

The Lost Ones’ mouths dripped with fetid liquid, their bodies twisted in all sorts of ways, and dismembered limbs were everywhere.

All the Lost Ones with eyes stared at Xi Yan’s group with milky white pupils; those without eyes gazed at them with hollow sockets.

One or two would have been manageable, but when hundreds of Lost Ones with white eyes or empty sockets fixed their gaze on a person, the feeling was truly chilling.

“Beep…”

A strange “beep” sounded suddenly, and immediately the Lost Ones seemed to receive some signal.

First, they all fell silent, then a deafening roar erupted as the Lost Ones charged toward the group.

“Run! Run back! What are you standing there for?!” Qingyan’s voice snapped everyone back to their senses, and they bolted, running swiftly in retreat.