Chapter 1056 - 768: Familiar Friends (Part 3)

Chapter 1056: Chapter 768: Familiar Friends (Part 3)

The remaining team members looked at each other, too afraid to make the first move.

The Tiger Clan Beastman couldn’t get up, the tall, thin one had fainted, and the elder Beastman was subdued in less than ten moves.

How were they going to fight this battle?

"What... do you really want?" the elder Beastman asked with difficulty.

Lu Xiao did not answer, he merely turned slightly to the side.

Shen Tang stepped out from the shadows.

She didn’t reveal her true appearance, her face covered with a faint mist of spiritual power, leaving only a blurry outline visible.

The survivors of the team subconsciously took a step back.

Shen Tang did not look at them; she walked directly towards Bai Lei, who was curled up in the corner.

Bai Lei’s face was pale, her whole body tense, with a faint blue superpower already gathered in her palm, ready to fight desperately at any moment.

But before her attack could reach Shen Tang, it dissipated instantly, like a drop of water falling into the ocean without even stirring a ripple.

Bai Lei’s pupils contracted sharply, and she turned to run.

Shen Tang raised her hand, and several vines burst from the ground, wrapping around Bai Lei’s wrists and ankles, gently holding her in place.

"Don’t be afraid." Shen Tang’s voice, altered through a voice changer, was low and neutral, "I won’t harm you. I just want to ask you some questions."

Bai Lei trembled all over, staring at the unrecognizable person in front of her. Her lips moved slightly, but she couldn’t utter a single word.

Shen Tang squatted down to meet her gaze.

"Weren’t you with Qin Han and the others? How did you end up joining a new mercenary team?"

Bai Lei was stunned.

She widened her eyes, her face full of confusion, with deep fear hidden in her eyes. How did this person know her past? How did they know Qin Han’s name?

"Who... who are you..." Her voice was trembling.

Shen Tang didn’t answer; she just looked at her quietly.

Bai Lei’s lips quivered, and under that calm yet irresistibly commanding gaze, she somehow found herself speaking.

"The team... disbanded a few months ago." Her voice was very soft, almost like she was talking to herself, "Brother Qin Han left, and everyone else... went their separate ways. I... couldn’t stay by myself, so I tagged along with this mercenary team, running errands. When there was a job, we’d gather; when there wasn’t, I’d just keep to myself..."

Shen Tang’s fingers tightened slightly.

Disbanded?

Qin Han left?

She remembered the reticent Lion Clan Beastman, who protected everyone in the team thoroughly, never letting anyone fall behind. How could he have left? How could he leave?

"Did something happen to them?" Shen Tang’s voice subconsciously softened.

Bai Lei lowered her head, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, her eyes rimmed red but without tears.

"Brother Qin Han... said he was tired." Her voice was muffled, "He said he couldn’t protect so many people anymore and told everyone to find their own way."

Shen Tang was silent for a long time.

She understood what that "tired" meant.

In the Wasteland Zone, when a Beastman said they were "tired," it usually wasn’t physical fatigue.

It was mental exhaustion.

It was the weariness of watching the people around you fall one by one and being powerless to do anything.

It was the tiredness of giving your all to protect those you want to protect, only to start doubting if it was worth it when even you couldn’t sustain anymore.

Shen Tang’s throat tightened, but she didn’t ask further.

She retrieved a backpack from the Space and stuffed it into Bai Lei’s arms. Inside were food, clean water, medical supplies, and some of the most scarce resources in this world.

Bai Lei looked down at the bag in her arms, stunned.

These items... were enough to last her more than half a year.

"Go." Shen Tang stood up, withdrawing the vines.

Bai Lei stood there blankly with the bag in her arms, not daring to move, not daring to leave.

She didn’t understand why this stranger let her go, why they were so kind to her.

"Still not leaving?" Shen Tang tilted her head.

Bai Lei snapped out of her daze, turning and running with the bag in her arms.

Just as she turned, Shen Tang spoke in her original voice,

"Goodbye, Ah Lei."

Bai Lei stopped abruptly.

She froze there, as if pinned in place by something. She slowly turned her head, her lips slightly parted, the fear in her eyes replaced by disbelief and an almost trembling excitement,

But before she could speak, a beam of silver-white spiritual power had already entered her forehead.

Bai Lei’s gaze unfocused for a moment, then she turned mechanically, walking out of the cave one step at a time.

Her steps were steady, her posture natural, as if she had never stopped.

It wasn’t until she had walked several miles that she came to herself.

She stood on a hill covered in wild grass, the heavy bag in her arms, her mind a complete blank.

She touched her head, feeling like she had forgotten something.

Thinking for a long time, she couldn’t remember anything.

Forget it.

She looked down at the bag in her arms, then at the sun setting in the distance, and turned to walk in another direction.

Without looking back.

In the cave, Shen Tang stood still, gazing in the direction of the entrance, unmoving for a long time.

Lu Xiao came over and gently held her hand.

Her hand was cold.

"Let’s go." Shen Tang took a deep breath, her voice returning to calm, "It’s time to meet that Mo Yan."