Chapter 34: No Sooner Has One Wave Subsided Than Another Rises (New Book—Please Add to Your Collection)

That person was a woman, and not very tall—about the same height as Qingyan, actually. But… her face, her features… No matter how hard Xi Yan tried, he couldn’t recall what she looked like, and eventually gave up on the attempt.

He abandoned his thoughts because Qingyan had resumed her assault on Qu Ya.

“What just happened?” Xi Yan turned to Lin Shuang, for he’d been so absorbed in his thoughts that he’d missed what Qingyan and Qu Ya were saying.

Lin Shuang fought to hold back her laughter as she replied, “Just now, Qu Ya provoked Qingyan again. I have no idea where Qu Ya finds the courage.”

Seeing the mirth in Lin Shuang’s eyes, Xi Yan paused in surprise. He realized that when she looked at Qu Ya, her gaze was filled with love she could hardly conceal.

Then why were the two of them now at such odds, like fire and water? And why did Lin Shuang take such pains to hide her feelings for Qu Ya?

“Xi Yan! Save me! Please, save me!”

Qu Ya’s cry snapped Xi Yan from his thoughts. At that moment, Qu Ya was already being thrown toward Xi Yan’s bed by the muscular man.

In the apocalypse, Xi Yan had developed a habit: whenever he sensed something coming his way, it meant danger. Instinctively, he kicked whatever was flying at him away.

He stood, raised his foot, and kicked—one seamless motion.

If Qu Ya didn’t know Xi Yan as well as he did, he would have thought Xi Yan did it on purpose, teaming up with Qingyan to bully him.

Afterwards, Xi Yan froze, too. He looked down at his foot, then over to where Qu Ya had crashed into the broken wall, and scratched his head awkwardly.

At this moment, Qu Ya was truly at his wit’s end. Xi Yan had just woken up, and already two people were kicking him around.

Qu Ya simply gave up on standing and lay slumped against the wall, casting a resentful gaze at Xi Yan.

But Qingyan stepped in front of Xi Yan, blocking Qu Ya’s view. “Xi Yan, are you alright? If you’re fine, let’s get into the instance.”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Xi Yan replied.

“Let’s go.” Qingyan turned, walked over to the muscular man, and sat down beside him. Then they set off.

Xi Yan got off the bed and joined them on the floor. Watching Qingyan’s receding figure, a question suddenly flashed through his mind. He turned to Lin Shuang and asked, “Miss Lin, what is Qingyan’s ability? Can you tell me?”

“Her ability is Xiao Jin. Xiao Jin can take any form. As for the specifics, I’m not sure. Aside from the city lord, it seems no one knows,” Lin Shuang replied.

Xi Yan nodded and went over to help Qu Ya up from the broken wall. Then the group set off for the bus station instance.

The whole way, Xi Yan’s mind raced with thoughts.

Why had so many Lost Ones suddenly appeared, and acted as if they were waiting for them? Was it really a coincidence that people from the Fifth and Sixth Survival Zones were in the other two S-grade instances? And then there was Qingyan’s identity; she was probably more than just a city assassin. Lin Shuang seemed to know a lot, but she certainly wouldn’t tell him.

Wait!

A thought struck Xi Yan, and he turned, asking Qu Ya as they walked, “How did you deal with the Lost Ones?”

“The Lost Ones chasing us were all D-grade, except for one B-grade, who went after Qingyan. So it just took us longer to handle them, but it wasn’t too much trouble.”

Qu Ya paused, sighed, and went on, “But when we finally found you, we couldn’t believe how many Lost One corpses there were. There was even one A-grade, several B-grades, and who knows how many C- and D-grades.” His voice was thick with worry and lingering fear.

Xi Yan smiled and patted his shoulder. “It’s all over now. Let’s go.”

Xi Yan quickened his pace to catch up with Lin Shuang. Qu Ya heaved a sigh and followed.

Luocheng, Taihua Road Bus Stop.

Before the apocalypse, this was a bustling hub—one of the city’s most vital transport interchanges. Nearly every bus route passed through here.

But now, the wind carried scraps of paper across the empty station. There wasn’t a soul in sight, not even a single Lost One. The air was thick with desolation.

With dusk approaching, the place felt even more eerie and foreboding.

Qingyan was the first to walk to the station, taking a seat on the bench to rest.

“Qu Ya, something’s not right here,” Qu Ya said warily, scanning the surroundings and warning Xi Yan as well.

Xi Yan nodded. He, too, felt that something was off, but couldn’t put his finger on what.

“Wait! Don’t move!” Lin Shuang reached out and stopped Xi Yan and Qu Ya, then turned to Qingyan with anger in her eyes. “Qingyan! What’s the meaning of this?”

Qingyan sat on the bench, all smiles. At some point, a black cat had appeared in her arms, its sharp eyes locked on Xi Yan.

Xi Yan and Qu Ya were both stunned by Lin Shuang’s sudden outburst.

Wasn’t Lin Shuang on good terms with Qingyan? Why did it now feel like they were on the verge of becoming enemies?

Qingyan stroked the cat in her arms, a triumphant grin on her lips as she looked at Lin Shuang. “Sister Shuang, you know my goal is the same as yours—to kill Xi Yan. So...”

“So you deliberately lured Xi Yan here! Because you’ve already set your trap, haven’t you?” Lin Shuang’s voice was icy as she stared at Qingyan.

Even now, Xi Yan still couldn’t grasp what Lin Shuang meant.

A trap? What trap? What was this about a setup?

A low growl suddenly reverberated through the station. The sound instantly made Xi Yan realize what had been bothering him.

It was too quiet!

It was unnaturally quiet—not just because there were no people, but because there wasn’t a single Lost One to be seen. That was what felt wrong!

Lost Ones were people transformed by certain factors, and the change was irreversible. This was the largest transportation hub in Luocheng. When the change happened, how could there possibly have been no one here?

How could there be not a single Lost One?

He glanced at Qingyan again, and saw that behind her, more and more Lost Ones were gathering—far more than Xi Yan had encountered earlier!

But these Lost Ones showed no intention of attacking Qingyan. They stood at her side, drooling as they stared at Xi Yan and his companions.

Even Xi Yan, slow as he might be, understood now. Both the earlier and the current Lost Ones had been under Qingyan’s control!

Qingyan’s goal was to kill him!

The realization filled Xi Yan with grief. Just a short while ago, Qingyan had been laughing and bickering with Qu Ya—how had things turned so quickly to enmity?

He thought he’d gained another companion, but in the end… he’d only found another adversary.

Could they really not become allies?

A wave of despair washed over Xi Yan. At the edge of her vision, Lin Shuang noticed his state, her pupils contracting. She quickly produced a card, came to Xi Yan and Qu Ya’s side, and activated it.

A faint red glow shimmered, and the three of them were enveloped in a semi-transparent red shield. Lin Shuang then expanded the shield to cover a wider area.

But from not far away, Qingyan spoke up, “Sister Shuang, you should know that your red shield is useless.”