Chapter 146 - 143: The Apocalyptic Big Shot Arrives 20

Chapter 146: Chapter 143: The Apocalyptic Big Shot Arrives 20

Ever since she arrived at the Southern City Base and met Zhou Jian Country for the first time, Ji Xiaosong had sensed his insincerity.

His son had gone missing after the apocalypse, but he’d had a full day beforehand to find out where he was.

The incident that day had been no small affair; anyone who attended the birthday party knew about Ji Xiaosong’s outburst.

So, for him to act so cordially toward Ji Xiaosong now... No matter how hard she racked her brain, Ji Xiaosong couldn’t believe his intentions were good.

"Thank you, Uncle Zhou, but I have my own car. I need to check the city for supplies soon, and if I find any, I’ll have to bring them back to the base. So I won’t be going with you."

Having politely declined Zhou Jian Country’s offer, Ji Xiaosong walked toward her own car.

Zhou Jian Country, still wearing that same amiable smile, got out of his car. He strode forward and gently blocked Ji Xiaosong’s path with an outstretched hand. His tone was sincere, yet it carried an undertone that brooked no refusal.

"Xiaosong, you’re being too distant. Going out to scavenge for supplies is a serious matter. There’s strength in numbers, and it’s safer. Besides, if we go together, we can talk along the way. We might even come up with a better search plan."

He sighed softly, a flicker of imperceptible sorrow in his eyes. "You know, ever since the apocalypse began, I’ve just wanted to do more for the base. And with still no word from Ziheng... my heart just feels so empty. Just think of it as keeping an old man like me company. It would put my mind at ease."

After much persuasion, Ji Xiaosong finally found herself in the passenger seat of Zhou Jian Country’s car.

On the way, Zhou Jian Country talked nonstop about the Southern City Base, occasionally mentioning day-to-day life as well.

"After the apocalypse began, I was the only one left in my family. Your Aunt Qin turned into a zombie after the acid rain. I opened my eyes to see her skin had turned a deathly gray."

At this, Zhou Jian Country’s expression grew somber.

"After the apocalypse, I donated a large portion of my family’s fortune. What’s the point? I’m the only one left in this world. It doesn’t matter whether I live or die."

Ji Xiaosong listened in silence. Before she knew it, Zhou Jian Country had been driving for over an hour.

Perhaps because she hadn’t slept well the previous night, Ji Xiaosong started to feel drowsy.

Her head began to nod. Zhou Jian Country glanced at her, then slowed the car, driving even more smoothly.

As the tires rolled over a broken highway guardrail, Ji Xiaosong suddenly caught a faint, almost imperceptible scent of bitter almonds.

Instincts honed from years of slaughtering her way through zombie hordes made her instantly hold her breath. An ice blade had already formed at her fingertips, pressed against Zhou Jian Country’s throat.

"Is there a cyanide generator hidden in your car?"

Frost crept across the steering wheel. "I’ll give you three seconds to explain."

But Zhou Jian Country just laughed, a crazed look spreading through the wrinkles on his face. "You’re just like Ziheng said you were... sensitive to smells as a hyena."

He suddenly wrenched the steering wheel, sending the SUV roaring toward an abandoned gas station.

Amid the massive impact, Ji Xiaosong’s pupils contracted. ’This is no ordinary car crash!’

The angle of impact had been perfectly calculated to avoid deploying the airbags. This was clearly a premeditated murder.

The thought of entering her pocket dimension had barely formed when a sharp, stabbing pain shot through her temples.

"Don’t waste your energy."

Zhou Jian Country wiped the blood from his temple, a miniature device in his hand sparking with purple arcs of electricity. "Do you know what my superpower is? It’s a mutated Thunder Ability. An 8-million-volt electromagnetic pulse is enough to interrupt your spatial jump for 0.3 seconds."

Three modified zombies emerged from the shadows of the gas station, their metallic bone claws sizzling.

"You modified them?"

Ji Xiaosong couldn’t quite believe it. The apocalypse had only just begun, yet something like this was already happening.

She glanced at the pocket dimension within her sea of consciousness. She could, in fact, enter it. The sudden jolt of electricity to her temples had just broken her concentration for a moment.

"Hah, of course. The moment I learned that the Ji family had become the top masters in the Jian Country after the apocalypse, I began all sorts of experiments."

Zhou Jian Country glared viciously at Ji Xiaosong. "The day Ziheng was at your house, he went to the basement, didn’t he? I went to your house again afterward and found this in a corner by the stairs."

He held up half of a melted wedding ring, his hand trembling. "Why did he go into your family’s basement? And why did he vanish without a trace?"

Ji Xiaosong had no intention of explaining, because she had, in fact, killed Zhou Ziheng.

But she didn’t regret it. After all, if Zhou Ziheng hadn’t died, her entire family would have.

Zhou Jian Country suddenly pressed a switch, and the collars on the zombies’ necks all lit up red. "These darlings have been injected with a sample of your blood. Now, you can go have a nice reunion with my son! Since you were his fiancée, you ought to be his!"

Ji Xiaosong didn’t know how Zhou Jian Country had obtained a sample of her blood. Perhaps it was from a medical check-up at her family’s hospital, or some other way.

But it was clearly true.

Just as the car was about to slam into the gas station, Ji Xiaosong unleashed all her Spiritual Power, forcing the vehicle to an abrupt halt.

Zhou Jian Country wasn’t surprised by this.

"A Tenth-rank Superpower User is truly formidable. I just wonder if you’re more formidable than my modified zombies."

The instant the metallic bone claws ripped the car door open, Ji Xiaosong flipped out of the passenger seat and rolled to safety.

Ice condensed in her palm, forming a Tang Blade. Its edge scraped across a zombie’s neck, but only produced a shower of sparks.

Ji Xiaosong frowned, realizing that the monsters’ skeletons were plated in some kind of liquid metal.

"They were modified with nanomaterials from a military-grade lab. A special gift prepared just for your ice blades."

Zhou Jian Country sneered from inside the mangled frame of the car.

The three zombies closed in, forming a triangular pincer. As they rotated their eyeballs, they made the CLICKING sound of mechanical gears.

Ji Xiaosong suddenly realized something. She deliberately slowed her next swing by half a beat and, just as she expected, saw the zombie’s metal claw move to block her attack path ahead of time.

It was then she realized with a jolt that the zombies were equipped with dynamic visual-capture devices. That was how these monsters could predict her attack trajectories.

Just then, the zombie to her left suddenly opened its mouth. Embedded in its crimson tongue was a tiny syringe.

Ji Xiaosong spun and leaned back in a flash. The needle grazed the tip of her nose, its contents glinting with a faint blue light in the sun.

It was clearly filled with a neurotoxin capable of neutralizing superpowers.

Ji Xiaosong plunged her ice blade into the ground, sending up a massive wave of asphalt. She used the momentum to leap onto the roof of the gas station.

Sweat dripped from her chin onto the rusted metal sheeting, instantly freezing into tiny pearls of ice.

Now, she could finally see the faint blue chips flashing on the backs of the zombies’ necks.

’So each modified body is a mobile electromagnetic node,’ she realized. ’They form a closed-loop force field with Zhou Jian Country’s pulse device.’

"Figured it out?"

Zhou Jian Country shook the controller on his wrist. "Your blood flows through the veins of these three ’children.’ This entire area is now a dead zone for your superpower."

As if to prove his point, the Ice Crystal in Ji Xiaosong’s palm suddenly shattered.

The electromagnetic pulse felt like countless steel needles piercing her marrow. The three zombies seized the opportunity, lunging at her from different angles.

Metal claws tore through the combat suit on Ji Xiaosong’s shoulder, splattering blood across the gas pump’s meter.

The scent of blood sent the zombies into an excited frenzy of roars. Ji Xiaosong scoffed. In the next instant, the wound was sealed by her Spiritual Power.