"You?!"

Chen Xue was the first to object, her voice choked with sobs as she looked at the hideous wound on Ling Chen's back.

"No! It's too dangerous! And you're so injured! You'll die!"

"Ling Shao!" Li Mingyu also stood up abruptly, feeling the surging new power within him, and said urgently, "Let me go! I feel like I can take on ten people right now! Sun Qiang and I will go together! You stay and recover!"

Sun Qiang didn't speak, but simply took a step forward, his metallic body standing straight, his meaning clear. With Zhou Yunguang unconscious, he was the strongest shield.

Ling Chen shook his head, a wry smile on his face. He glanced out the window: "There are some things your current abilities can't handle. I'm 'familiar' with certain dangerous auras. I'll go... lure them away... or... eliminate them... Don't worry, I won't fight head-on..."

He pointed to the three bats on his shoulder that had been as still as stone statues, "They are my... eyes and ears. They know how to avoid danger and can lead the way to safe areas for supplies."

This reason seemed irrefutable. Li Mingyu and Sun Qiang exchanged glances, seeing the helplessness and worry in each other's eyes.

Ling Chen's 'perception' ability (beast control) of the environment was indeed far superior to theirs, and his several warnings had saved everyone's lives.

But looking at his tottering body, it was truly heart-wrenching.

"I must go," Ling Chen's tone was decisive and beyond question. "Otherwise, staying trapped here is just waiting for death."

The atmosphere fell silent. The heavy reality suffocated everyone.

Finally, Wu Tao spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse: "Ling Chen... be careful... go quickly and come back quickly... we... will guard this place..."

Ling Chen nodded, saying no more.

Under the complex and worried gazes of everyone, he dragged his still slowly bleeding, hideous back, swaying with each step, incredibly difficult, as he once again walked towards the back door blocked by debris, to face the ruined purgatory outside, which was even more dangerous and unpredictable than last night.

Every movement made one suspect he would collapse the next moment. But he still steadily moved the obstacles, his figure merging into the inky, dead silent shadows that seemed to hide countless gazes.

The door was re-blocked behind him.

Li Mingyu and Sun Qiang walked to the window, staring intently at the view, which was oddly shaped by the dilapidated buildings.

Li Mingyu clenched his fists, his knuckles white from the excessive force, the newly acquired sense of power now only making him feel a suffocating urge to tear something apart, yet being unable to act.

Sun Qiang's metallic fist unconsciously clenched and relaxed, leaving several clear indentations on the cold windowsill.

The surviving students in the classroom also cast concerned and sympathetic glances at Ling Chen.

But, there was one person who wasn't!

When Ling Chen was guiding the crystal core, Lin Wei's gaze was like a cold probe!

When Zhou Yunguang suddenly screamed and spat blood, and everyone was in a panic, Lin Wei's pupils locked onto Ling Chen!

She clearly caught it—in the instant before Zhou Yunguang lost control, the pad of Ling Chen's right thumb, which was holding the crystal core, curled inward ever so slightly, with terrifying precision!

The movement was as fast as lightning, as subtle as a hair's tremor, yet it carried a sense of muscle memory etched into the bone! As if it had been rehearsed thousands of times!

A cold intuition, like a poisonous snake, instantly bit into her spine—was this an accident or was he doing it on purpose?

Was it really Zhou Yunguang who overexerted his stamina?

Her hands, hanging by her sides, had white knuckles, and the chill in her heart was colder and more piercing than the ruins outside the window.

She dared not think further.

At this moment, Ling Chen's figure moved with difficulty through the shadows of the ruins, like an inkblot about to be swallowed. His steps were nimble, his figure agile; where was the appearance of blood loss or severe pain?

He needed blood food, he needed energy, and even more... to expand his territory and control.

This was his reason for going out!

A horse doesn't get fat without eating night grass.

They, as his disguise, could cultivate slowly, but he, the mastermind behind it all, absolutely could not, otherwise... he might truly be beaten to death when exposed.

Manipulating people's hearts is not as simple as just moving one's lips, especially manipulating hearts in a post-apocalyptic world completely free of laws and rules.

He left the school building area and stepped into a relatively open area that used to be a small campus flower garden. The plants here grew wildly like a verdant maze, and broken trees and branches resembled twisted monster arms.

But in his memory, this was one of the quickest ways to exit the school gate.

The air still carried the scent of blood from last night's fierce battle, and also... a faint, extremely elegant scent of gardenias? This scent appearing in this slaughterhouse was as bizarre as the most deadly aphrodisiac.

Ling Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

Just then, one of the bats on his shoulder suddenly emitted an extremely sharp, short sonic warning! Not for a physical threat, but... for some invisible force!

Ling Chen's steps suddenly halted! A bone-chilling coldness, without warning, grabbed his heart like a ghostly claw!

Not a physical attack!

The surrounding light... changed.

It was no longer the dilapidated tones of the ruins, but instantly became incredibly bright, warm, and even somewhat dazzling.

Outside the window, it was... the bright afternoon sun of midsummer?

The shadows of plane trees cast dappled light spots on the tiled ground. In his ears, it was... the crisp, pleasant sound of the school bell?

And the carefree laughter of students chasing and playing in the corridor.

At the tip of his nose, it was... the rich, intoxicating scent of gardenias blooming outside the window? And even... Mu Xi's familiar, slightly coquettish laughter?

She seemed to be sitting next to him, nudging his arm: "Ling Chen, want to come over to my house after school? My family made super awesome French food!"

A strong, indescribable sense of tranquility, warmth, and unconditional trust, like a warm tide, instantly enveloped his entire will, trying to drag him into that soft, bright, bloodless, beautiful illusion!

This feeling was too real, too familiar, even stirring the deepest, deliberately frozen soft memories in his heart.

But just at the critical point of mental sinking! His Soul Jade Physique suddenly erupted with cold resistance! Like a ten-thousand-year-old iceberg crashing into warm water! Ling Chen fiercely bit through the tip of his tongue! The sharp pain and taste of rust instantly stimulated him back to the cold reality!

"Illusion!"

The moment his will broke free from the beautiful dream, reality... was more hideous than a nightmare!

A fishy wind, reeking of thick blood, like a foul breath from hell, lunged out from behind the wildly growing wisteria bushes, which emitted a strong gardenia scent, at a speed beyond vision! Its target was his stiff neck, due to his momentary mental lapse!

A cold, pale hand with long, sharp, dagger-like fingernails was less than twenty centimeters from his Adam's apple!