Apocalypse Survival Guide for a Beta [GB] - Chapter 19

Zhu Liang was shoved aside by Lin Bai’s palm. He looked up in surprise, only to see the unsteady Lin Bai caught by Lou Tiannan.

Lou Tiannan hadn’t expected Lin Bai to push Zhu Liang away, but when he saw her about to collapse, he reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist.

The moment his fingers touched her skin, he froze for half a second.

Her hand was ice-cold.

Colder than any living person’s hand should be.

As Lin Bai’s body fell backward, Lou Tiannan bent his knees slightly, stepped forward, and caught her firmly.

She was so light.

Lighter than a normal person should be.

Lou Tiannan’s left hand grasped her left wrist, while Lin Bai’s head, following inertia, leaned against his shoulder. She was almost entirely within his embrace.

Lin Bai’s mind was hazy, her vision blurred. The scorching heat from his body pressed against her back and arms, and she instinctively absorbed it.

The rapid replenishment of energy cleared her mind.

As soon as her vision sharpened, she quickly pulled away from the burning-hot embrace supporting her.

Lou Tiannan felt the sudden emptiness in his arms, the icy wrist slipping from his fingertips. His fingers unconsciously curled slightly.

Lin Bai leaned against the wall, holding her head, her entire presence exuding an unapproachable aura.

Zhu Liang and the others exchanged looks, unsure of what was happening to Lin Bai.

“Are you okay?” Wen Xiaxia asked softly.

Lin Bai kept her eyes shut, unable to speak.

A long time ago, back when she first woke up in this body, when her energy reserves were critically low, the same thing used to happen frequently. But over time, under the scorching sun, she had replenished her energy and gained full control over her body. It had been a long time since she last felt this way, until today.

She had overestimated herself. The energy depletion was real.

“Mom!” Xi Ya ran over, looking at her with concern.

Lin Bai steadied herself against Xi Ya’s shoulders, pausing for a few seconds before saying, “It’s nothing, just low blood sugar.”

She didn’t care whether the others believed her or not. Slowly, she walked to a corner and sat down.

Even though she sat there alone, no one dared to disturb her.

Xi Ya studied Lin Bai, recalling something. She suddenly said, “Mom, I think my ability has gotten stronger. Let me show you!”

As she spoke, flames ignited in her hands, which she lifted toward Lin Bai like a child eager for praise. “Look, isn’t it?”

The orange-red flames flickered across Lin Bai’s expressionless face.

Compared to the small sparks from a few days ago, the flames had indeed grown stronger.

The heat and light slowly seeped into Lin Bai.

It was nothing compared to Lou Tiannan’s black flames, but it was better than nothing.

To outsiders, Xi Ya seemed like a child showing off to her mother. She played with her flames, demonstrating different variations she had learned, while the survivors without abilities looked on with envy.

“Not bad,” Lin Bai said calmly.

Xi Ya immediately beamed with joy and repeatedly promised, “Mom, I will definitely become very strong!”

Lou Tiannan gazed at Lin Bai, who was sitting in the corner. Something about her felt off.

Someone sat down beside him. It was Wen Xiaxia.

She spoke softly, “Captain Lou, Li Fan’s condition is stable. His leg was saved.”

“Lin Bai performed the surgery?”

“Yes, her technique is very professional, definitely not that of an ordinary doctor.” Wen Xiaxia thought for a moment before adding, “She doesn’t seem like an ordinary person either.”

Not an ordinary person.

“Mm,” Lou Tiannan repeated those words in his mind and responded noncommittally to Wen Xiaxia’s comment.

“Captain Lou,” Wen Xiaxia suddenly called out.

Lou Tiannan: “?”

“Have you noticed that recently, after using your ability, your body temperature drops faster than before? Are you about to break through a new tier?” Wen Xiaxia’s tone carried a hint of excitement.

As the team’s medic, Wen Xiaxia was familiar with everyone’s physical condition, especially Captain Lou, whose body temperature would rise abnormally after using his ability.

She had kept records and previously, after each use of his ability, his body would remain at a high temperature for about an hour. If he overused his ability, the duration would extend accordingly. Today, he had clearly pushed his limits, yet his body temperature had dropped within an hour.

Hearing Wen Xiaxia’s question, Lou Tiannan extended his left hand. His palm felt empty, as if it still held the sensation of that cold, slender wrist.

She really wasn’t like an ordinary person. In fact… she didn’t seem like a person at all.

“Captain Lou?” Wen Xiaxia, not receiving an answer, called him again in confusion.

“Something is off about her,” Lou Tiannan said, his brows furrowed, his gaze deep and unreadable.

“Off? Who’s off?” Wen Xiaxia didn’t immediately grasp what he meant.

But before she could react further, Lou Tiannan abruptly stood up, striding straight toward Lin Bai.

Lin Bai remained in the same position, sitting on the ground with her knees bent, eyes closed, and hands resting on her knees, appearing to be resting.

Footsteps approached. Then, a sudden force tightened around her wrist, pulling her up.

The people nearby gasped in surprise.

Lin Bai’s right wrist was gripped by Lou Tiannan, while her left hand held a black blade, the sharp tip now pressed directly against Lou Tiannan’s temple. The atmosphere between them turned unbearably tense.

She looked sluggish and unenergetic, but the emotion in her eyes told a different story. “Captain Lou, what are you trying to do?”

Lou Tiannan’s thumb moved slightly, his fingertip brushing over her cool skin. He frowned. Something was different.

It was not the same as before!

Her body was still slightly cool, but now it was the natural kind of coolness with warmth underneath. Had the bone-chilling cold from earlier just been his imagination?

And when he pulled her up, her weight had felt completely normal.

Lou Tiannan’s fingers traced over Lin Bai’s wrist once more.

“Captain Lou, are you…” Lin Bai paused, then tilted her head slightly, her voice slow and deliberate, “Sexually harassing a military family member?”

Her voice wasn’t quiet. Those around them heard it clearly. The survivors covered one ear while straining the other, subtly edging away from the two at a snail’s pace.

Lou Tiannan’s gray eyes carried a deadly sharpness as he stared at her. Then, he released his grip, letting her wrist fall to her side.

“I was checking your condition,” he said.

“Thanks for your concern, but I think I’m fine for now,” Lin Bai replied as she slid the black blade back into its sheath at her thigh and sat down again.

The tension in the air seemed to ease.

It was as if nothing had happened, just a simple misunderstanding.

Lou Tiannan lowered his gaze, staring at her for a few seconds before turning to leave.

No one noticed the slight twitch at the corner of Lin Bai’s lips as she subtly adjusted her body’s temperature control system back to energy-saving mode.

How annoying. She was already low on energy. She needed to figure something out.

Lin Bai frowned, calculating how to recharge her energy. Her gaze swept past the surgical remnants that Wen Xiaxia was cleaning up and when she saw the bloodstained metal shard, an idea came to her.

Lou Tiannan’s earlier actions had drawn quite a bit of attention.

Song Yan whispered, “Captain Lou, I’ve been watching her the whole time. I didn’t see anything unusual.”

Lou Tiannan knew that, over the past few days, she hadn’t displayed any obvious abnormalities. But when he thought about it carefully, everything about her felt off.

She was skilled in combat with blades, guns, and staves, but her techniques were an odd mix. When fighting against the Blood Bone people, she showed no hesitation, striking to kill with ruthless efficiency, moves that only hardened criminals or assassins would use. Yet when she trained Xi Ya, her instructions faintly carried the structured discipline found only in the military.

She also had professional medical knowledge and an astonishing level of perception. But the moment she collapsed from exhaustion, he was certain her body temperature was abnormally low. Something wasn’t right and yet, her behavior was completely normal.

And what did she need a third-tier crystal core for?

Earlier, he had examined her pupils and nails carefully. There were no signs of mutation.

Who exactly was she?

The question surfaced again in Lou Tiannan’s mind. He closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them, pushing down his doubts. He believed that once they reached the safe zone, he would find the answers.

After a short rest, the convoy set off again.

The roads in Western District One were a mess, littered with wrecked vehicles and aircraft. More concerningly, the number of zombies was increasing dramatically.

Fortunately, they were all low-level zombies and not difficult to deal with.

To avoid drawing more zombies with gunfire, Zhou Yu used his abilities to silently kill them in the initial phase.

Lu Jia, who was less proficient with his abilities than Zhou Yu, could only assist by covering him. His wood-based abilities lacked the offensive power of Zhou Yu’s metal-based ones.

But as the zombie numbers surged, Zhou Yu started to struggle.

Others joined in with handguns fitted with silencers, but it was barely making a difference.

Unseen by the group, blood was dripping from beneath the vehicles. The moving Federal military convoy was like dangling bait, attracting zombies from all directions.

The worsening road conditions made it harder to advance and more zombies poured in from all sides. Even when Lou Tiannan intervened, it only provided brief relief.

“We’re about to get stuck up ahead!” Zhu Liang, who was driving, frowned. From his perspective, he could already see the dense swaying heads of zombies ahead. To make matters worse, the rough terrain was making the vehicle bounce violently as he tried to avoid nearby zombies.

“Goddamn it! Why the hell are there so many?!” Zhou Yu cursed as he saw wave after wave of white-eyed zombies emerging from the streets.

They had anticipated that Western District One would be heavily infested, but no matter how much they had prepared, they hadn’t expected this many zombies along what they thought was a carefully chosen route.

Sweat beaded on his forehead. His arm moved like a blur as he flung sharp metal spikes, each one piercing the zombies’ brains.

Lou Tiannan also sensed something was wrong. He flipped onto the roof of the vehicle, quickly scanning the surroundings before calling to Zhu Liang, “Pass the order. Prepare to disembark in one minute. Cover the survivors and lead them to the Yunhuan Toy Store ahead.”

Zhu Liang relayed the order through the convoy’s radio system.

Once the two vehicles behind them confirmed the command, he yanked the steering wheel sharply and slammed the brakes just before reaching the toy store.

Standing atop the vehicle, Lou Tiannan unleashed two roaring fire dragons, clearing a path for the transport vehicles behind them.

Under Song Yan’s lead, the survivors ran toward the toy store, their faces tense with fear.

Xi Ya instinctively stayed behind to help cover the retreat. Lin Bai, however, walked at the very end of the survivor group.

Just before entering the store, she flicked her fingers. A shadowy blur flashed and an iron shard fell into her hand, still dripping with blood, before disappearing into the black flames, consumed entirely before it could hit the ground.