Chapter 12: Rescued—Who Is My Savior?

Bian Changxi woke up to a cacophony of noise.

She cracked her eyes open a little. Above her was a steel beam, with a round incandescent lamp hanging from it—it looked a bit like a warehouse.

There were blurry figures moving nearby, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of rubber. She could vaguely make out snippets of conversation.

“When is she going to wake up? We’re leaving tomorrow—are we supposed to bring her along?”

“Wang Yan, don’t say that. We were all classmates, and she even helped us before. We can’t just leave her here alone.”

“Don’t mind her, Haijun. Some classmate she is—never seen anyone so cold-blooded. Anyway, we can’t go back on our word. We promised to take care of Bian, so there’s no reason to abandon her halfway.”

“So what if we’re classmates? That’s exactly why I have to speak up. She got mauled by zombies—who knows when she’ll turn or just die? She’s obviously a burden. We can barely save ourselves, and you want to drag her along? Zhang Yuwen, am I wrong?”

“……”

Bian Changxi listened in a daze for a while, her mind gradually clearing. It seemed she’d been rescued—and by Cheng Haijun’s group, no less.

But something didn’t add up. She remembered seeing a fireball before she passed out. The person who saved her must have awakened a fire ability. To awaken a fire power on the second day of the apocalypse, and to wield it with such speed and accuracy, meant they were already adept at using their ability.

Someone like that, if they survived, would surely shine in the apocalypse. Did Cheng Haijun’s team have such a person?

She set the question aside for now and closed her eyes again, focusing on her current state.

She was lying in a corner, with a thin blanket beneath and over her. She wiggled her fingers—they moved freely. The wounds on her shoulders and left arm still ached and itched faintly—a sign they were healing. She relaxed a little, concentrating inward, and found a gentle, warm energy slowly flowing inside her.

That energy was as light as smoke, as thin as a dozen strands of hair. If you tried to sense it closely, it felt like nothing at all, but if you waited quietly, it seemed to be everywhere, lazily roaming through her body, leaving a trail of comfort and making her feel so light she could jump three feet high.

Bian Changxi was overjoyed—her wood ability was back!

Most newly awakened ability users couldn’t sense their power directly; they only discovered it when it manifested physically. But Bian Changxi was different. With seven years of experience in her past life, she could find that dormant force just by calming her mind. That familiar presence, deep in her bones—though still weak, she couldn’t be mistaken.

She really wanted to summon her wood ability’s true form—that little green vine—and give it a big kiss.

But she held back.

Silently, she guided her wood energy to cover her shoulders and left arm. A soothing, cool sensation spread from those spots, and her wounds began to heal several times faster. She relaxed a bit more and reached for her waist.

Wait—where was her wooden box?

She sat up abruptly and lifted the blanket. The small pouch that had been at her waist was gone.

The people who’d been arguing all fell silent when they saw her awake, staring in surprise. Cheng Haijun looked visibly relieved. “Bian, you’re finally awake!”

Jiang Hui, standing nearby, was also delighted. As for the others she didn’t know, they each had their own reactions. She also noticed Wang Yan—the one who’d wanted to leave her behind—looking stiff and glaring at her with barely contained anger. Zhang Yuwen, who’d been silent, hurried over with a fawning smile. “Changxi, how do you feel? You’ve been out for a whole day and night—I was so worried!”

Bian Changxi didn’t see any sign of worry on his face.

She ignored him and was about to speak to Cheng Haijun when she suddenly felt something odd. Looking down, she saw she was still wearing her old clothes, but both shoulders had been torn, and her top was barely hanging on, exposing the half-healed, gruesome wounds beneath.

It was not a pretty sight. Zhang Yuwen quickly took off his jacket to cover her, but she raised a hand to stop him and asked Cheng Haijun, “Captain Cheng, where are my things?”

Cheng Haijun was momentarily stunned. Jiang Hui said, “I’ll get them for you!”

She ran to a corner and rummaged through a pile of bags. “I kept all your stuff safe—no one touched it.”

While she was busy, Bian Changxi took a look around. It really was a large warehouse. The main doors were wide open, and people were coming and going. Judging by the light, it was already evening. Small groups of people, all in their early twenties, sat scattered around. Bian Changxi could easily tell they were all students who’d fled here—maybe not from the same school, but they’d met along the way, gathered together, and decided to stick as a group. In her previous life, she and Chen Yisha had been among them.

She was in one corner of the warehouse, not far from a pile of black tires. Nearby was Cheng Haijun’s team. Besides the six she’d seen before, there were nearly twenty more people now. Zhang Yuwen had said she’d been unconscious for a day and a night, so these newcomers must have joined later. They all seemed to regard Cheng Haijun as their leader.

At the moment, these people were sitting on the floor, chatting, sorting supplies, or just staring blankly and wiping away tears. Someone was quietly boiling instant noodles. Everyone’s face showed exhaustion and fear; some had bloodstains on their clothes and cheeks, likely from recent encounters with zombies. The smell of food mixed with the rubber, making the warehouse atmosphere even more stifling.

Bian Changxi thought of how, in her previous life, she’d been just like these people—struggling in silence, afraid, hopeful, in pain, enduring endless loneliness and despair, escaping death again and again, forcing herself to be strong and grow, never knowing what lay ahead. She’d longed for the strength and warmth of a group, yet always kept her guard up against everyone.

Looking back now, it all felt like a lifetime ago.

Bian Changxi couldn’t help but relax a little and asked Cheng Haijun, “Captain Cheng, were you the ones who saved me?”

Wang Yan sneered, “Who else?”

Cheng Haijun shot her a glare and turned to Bian Changxi. “It wasn’t us who saved you. After we parted ways yesterday, we went back to University Town to check on the school. On the way, we ran into five young men—one of them was carrying you, unconscious, on his back…”

He trailed off, looking embarrassed, unable to continue. Zhang Yuwen quickly jumped in, “I recognized you, and those guys seemed to be in a hurry, so they left you with us to look after. Changxi, how do you know them? They seemed like soldiers to me.”

“Yeah, they all had an impressive air about them, wearing special combat uniforms and carrying real guns,” a girl added. “I didn’t even dare look at them directly. Luckily, their captain was easy to talk to.”

Bian Changxi frowned. So her hunch was right—someone else had saved her. Five soldiers? Fireball, soldiers, University Town… Something flashed through her mind, but she couldn’t piece it together. Seeing that Cheng Haijun and Zhang Yuwen seemed to be hiding something, she grew even more suspicious. “Did they leave their names?”

Just then, Jiang Hui came over with Bian Changxi’s hiking backpack. “Is this your bag?”

“Yes, thank you.” Bian Changxi happily opened it. On top was a spare black jacket, which she set aside. She immediately spotted her small black pouch that she used to wear at her waist, and couldn’t help but get excited.

Had the jade bracelet farm activated? Did it fail? What if it failed?

No, it couldn’t have. She remembered killing the zombie Director Zhu—she’d definitely gotten the tenth energy.

But when she opened the little wooden box, she was instantly dumbfounded, her face draining of color. “Where’s my jade bracelet?!”

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