Apocalypse Survival Guide for a Beta [GB] - Chapter 37

“Where did your mom go?” Wen Xiaxia asked Xi Ya.

Xi Ya blinked her big, dark eyes and hugged her doll. “Mom said she was going to the bathroom.”

“Really?” Wen Xiaxia was a little skeptical but had no choice but to wait patiently for Lin Bai to return. However, her attention was soon drawn back to the movements inside the building. She needed to carefully track their locations so she could quickly guide them to an escape route if things got chaotic.

Meanwhile, Lin Bai had silently slipped away from the group and entered the Guangming Building.

She was crawling through the ventilation ducts, making her way upward. Through the vents below, she could see the fierce battles raging inside the building, but fighting wasn’t the reason she had come.

The Guangming Building contained a special type of diamond crystal that she needed, one that could further enhance and modify the energy storage battery inside her body.

Just like the one she had obtained from Peter before.

Down below, the chaos of battle ensured that no one noticed the figure crawling overhead.

As she reached the higher floors, there were almost no people around. Most of the fighting was happening below the fifth floor and the security systems became more difficult to bypass the higher she went.

Wearing a mask, Lin Bai emerged from a ventilation opening on the eleventh floor. She moved swiftly down the corridor, searching for a specific room. Each room there was locked with multiple layers of security codes, but for Lin Bai, it wasn’t a problem.

With practiced ease, she tapped the keypad and after a few beeps, she smoothly entered the room. She quickly spotted the password-protected safe containing the diamond crystals. Fortunately, Tang Mary hadn’t moved them. Lin Bai pressed her ear against the lock and carefully turned the dial.

Just as she heard the faint click of the lock mechanism, footsteps suddenly approached from behind. A sharp voice called out, “Who are you?!”

Lin Bai had just opened the safe and reached in to grab the diamond crystal when one of the intruders tried to stop her, speaking urgently into their earpiece, “President Tang, someone is stealing the crystals!”

Tang Mary’s sharp voice came through the radio, mixed with the sounds of gunfire, “Take them down!”

Following the command, the Red Sand members opened fire without hesitation.

But Lin Bai had already stuffed the diamond crystal into her pocket. She spun around, kicking the nearest person to the ground before sprinting out into the hallway.

Meanwhile, Zhu Liang, crawling through a ventilation duct, happened to look down and saw a tall, slender figure dressed in black, wearing a mask, running through the corridor below. The sight struck him as oddly familiar and he instinctively took a closer look.

The masked figure seemed to know the building’s layout well but was quickly cornered by Red Sand members. With a sudden spinning kick, they knocked down several enemies at once.

Zhu Liang’s eyes widened as he recognized the move.

That fighting style… That figure…

Why did they look so much like Lin Bai?

Seeing that a wood-based ability user behind him was weaving a vine net to capture him, the black-clad figure suddenly leaped straight toward the net.

A sharp glint flashed in midair and in the next instant, the vine net was shredded into countless pieces, scattering over the attackers. Meanwhile, the masked figure had already disappeared around the corridor’s corner.

Zhu Liang saw clearly when the black blades sliced through the vines… That person… was Lin Bai? What was she doing with the crystals? He pushed down his doubts. His top priority now was to escape the Guangming Building safely.

The deeper one went into the lower floors, the more intense the gunfire became. Blood Bone had been attacking for a long time without breaking through, yet they refused to retreat. They held their ground, exchanging fire with Red Sand.

It was as if they were determined to take the Guangming Building at all costs. However, as Red Sand’s reinforcements arrived, Blood Bone found itself surrounded, trapped between enemies.

But then, as if receiving some kind of order, they suddenly went berserk. One by one, they unleashed bursts of energy, using their own bodies as explosive charges to blast through Red Sand’s defenses.

Their energy explosions were far more powerful than conventional bombs. Doors that even high-grade explosives couldn’t breach were blown open by their self-destruction. Though the cost was their own flesh and blood, they charged forward like a suicide squad, completely undeterred by death.

Faced with such a desperate assault, Red Sand’s forces couldn’t help but fall back step by step.

Someone quickly reported the situation to Tang Mary and Bai Chuan, who were in the middle of fighting Elena together.

“President Bai! President Tang! Blood Bone has gone crazy. They’re using their bodies to break through!”

Elena summoned an ice shield to block their attacks. Hearing the report, she took advantage of their momentary distraction and, without hesitation, unleashed an ice spike before slipping onto the staircase.

“Damn it!” Tang Mary cursed as she saw Elena running upstairs. Then she suddenly remembered her subordinates had just reported someone stealing crystals from her private vault. A shocking thought struck her. “Is Elena after my personal collection?! She likes crystals too?”

Bai Chuan had no patience for this. “Forget about your damn rocks! Take care of the pests downstairs first!”

Tang Mary snapped, “Bai Chuan, what do you mean ‘damn rocks’? Those are priceless crystals! My daughter’s favorites!”

“Alright, whatever you say.” Bai Chuan shrugged. “But if you don’t deal with those maniacs soon, there won’t be a single crystal left for your daughter.”

Hearing this, Tang Mary grabbed her Gatling gun and charged downstairs.

Bai Chuan glanced at the staircase where Elena had disappeared but decided to follow Tang Mary down instead.

***

Elena carefully recalled the sound and speed of the Blood Bone member who had jumped earlier, then continued searching floor by floor.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lin Bai was also on the move, evading pursuers while searching the rooms for more crystals. She left a trail of empty safe boxes scattered all over the corridors.

After securing seven crystals, she decided it was time to retreat. She grabbed the stair railing with one hand and, with a swift slide, quickly descended, planning to find a window where she could remove her disguise and escape.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

Halfway down, her sharp eyes caught sight of Elena rapidly ascending from below.

Tsk. Lin Bai clicked her tongue in mild irritation. The moment Elena’s gaze locked onto her, she twisted her body and let herself fall through the gaps between the stair railings, plummeting downward.

Elena looked up just in time to see the tall, slender figure in black plummeting past her.

She quickly glanced down and saw the figure grab onto a railing two floors below, swinging agilely into a corridor before vanishing from sight.

What an incredible movement!

When she looked up again, she saw Red Sand’s subordinates standing above the stairwell.

They were both shocked and furious as they loudly reported to their communicators, “President Tang! We saw her! It’s Elena! Elena stole your crystals!!!”

Elena: “…?”

Luo Tiannan’s voice came through the radio, “Elena, I’m on the sixth floor. Where are you? Zhou Yu and the others found Zhu Liang. I told them to retreat first.”

“I’m on the tenth floor. Ran into some trouble. I’m retreating now.” Elena quickly ran down the stairs.

“I’ll come and cover you.”

Luo Tiannan and Elena met up on the eighth floor. Without needing to communicate, the two seamlessly coordinated and ran downward. The lower they went, the more intense the gunfight became. Taking advantage of the chaotic battle between the two factions, they managed to shake off the Red Sand pursuers.

Several floors had been completely blown open by Blood Bone members, leaving gaping holes throughout the building. The lobby was filled with smoke and fire and amidst the chaos, Tang Mary could still be seen wildly sweeping her heavy Gatling gun in all directions.

The only way to prevent Blood Bone members from self-destructing was to kill them before they could activate their abilities.

As Elena and Luo Tiannan retreated, they could still hear Tang Mary’s booming voice, “You really think I’m afraid of you?! Go ahead and try blowing up again, I dare you!”

***

Having secured several crystals, Lin Bai was in a great mood. Before Luo Tiannan and Elena returned, she had already removed her disguise and made her way back to the underground bunker.

As soon as she entered, she saw Wen Xiaxia tending to Zhu Liang’s leg injury.

“Where did you go?” Song Yan asked.

Lin Bai replied, “Bathroom.”

“You were gone that long just for that?” Lu Jia was skeptical. Wen Xiaxia had mentioned that Lin Bai had disappeared much earlier and she had only just returned now.

Lin Bai shot back, “We’ve been eating compressed rations every day. Don’t you get constipated?”

Everyone went silent. That was an irrefutable argument.

Zhu Liang’s gaze lingered on the black blades strapped to Lin Bai’s leg for a few seconds before he lifted his head, only to unexpectedly meet Lin Bai’s calm and unbothered eyes. He quickly looked away.

About eight minutes later, Luo Tiannan and Elena also returned to the underground bunker.

“How’s Brother Liang’s injury?” Luo Tiannan asked.

Wen Xiaxia responded, “Nothing too serious. I used the special medicine from Minister Xiang Cheng, but he’ll still need a couple of days to recover.”

“Good, as long as he’s okay.” Luo Tiannan sighed in relief.

Leaning against the wall, Zhu Liang spoke up, “I overheard some things while I was in Red Sand’s hands.”

“Oh? Not bad, Brother Liang! What did you find out?” Zhou Yu was both surprised and excited.

Everyone turned to Zhu Liang as he slowly said, “Tang Mary was interrogating some Blood Bone members because, over the past few days, Blood Bone has been planting bombs all over Eastern District One. Their goal is unknown.”

“Blood Bone wants to bomb Eastern District One?” That was bad news. Why was Blood Bone targeting that area?

“And one more thing, Tang Mary is working with Bai Chuan because she’s searching for her son and daughter. Bai Chuan is also looking for someone, but he left quickly, so I don’t know who he’s after.”

“Tang Mary is looking for a daughter?” Elena was puzzled. “Where did she get a daughter from? Before the apocalypse, her records only showed she had a son named Peter.”

She never forgot important details about key figures.

Zhu Liang shook his head as he wasn’t familiar with the Tang family’s relationships. “She said it herself. The girl’s name is Vera, a 23-year-old Beta. The last known contact with her was in Southern District Four.”

“Southern District Four?”

At the mention of that area, everyone immediately understood that the Vera girl was likely doomed. Ever since the apocalypse broke out, the Southern Districts had been overrun by Blood Bone’s violent thugs, claiming countless innocent lives.

“Yeah, but even Blood Bone’s people only knew about Peter. No one had ever heard of Vera.”

‘Vera?’ Lin Bai silently mouthed the name, slightly surprised.

No one noticed her reaction to hearing the name Vera.

The moment Lin Bai finished saying it in her mind, a sudden, crushing force struck her brain. Her vision went black and she instinctively gripped the dusty back of a chair for support, but the overwhelming blow left her powerless, her body about to collapse.

She could feel every function in her body shutting down. The energy stored inside her was rapidly being drained in a desperate attempt to resist the attack. Her body temperature plummeted. The attack was far more intense than before.

A strong arm caught her before she fell. “What’s wrong?”

It was Luo Tiannan.

Lin Bai’s head hung limply as her internal components struggled to restart under the last remnants of stored energy. She waited for the dizziness to fade while hearing Luo Tiannan call out beside her, “Xiaxia, come take a look.”

“I’m fine. Just low blood sugar. It happens all the time.” Lin Bai took a step back, subtly trying to shake off Luo Tiannan’s hand, but his grip on her wrist remained firm.

As her vision cleared, Lin Bai looked up to see Luo Tiannan staring at her. She feigned nonchalance. “Captain Luo, why do you look like that?”

Luo Tiannan held her gaze for a few seconds before releasing her. He rummaged through his pocket and then held out his palm.

Resting in his rough, calloused hand was a small candy wrapped in colorful foil.

Lin Bai took it, popped it into her mouth, and mumbled lazily, “Didn’t expect Captain Luo to carry candy around.”

Luo Tiannan didn’t respond. He just watched her, his expression darkening slightly. His palm still carried the lingering chill from her ice-cold skin. What was wrong with her?

A strange atmosphere settled over the underground bunker.

Zhu Liang observed Lin Bai, countless suspicions flashing through his mind.

Elena glanced between Luo Tiannan and Lin Bai, then focused back on Luo Tiannan. Her eyes narrowed in thought. Luo Tiannan’s panic just now didn’t seem like an act…

“Listen… is there something going on outside?” Song Yan suddenly whispered.

Everyone fell silent and strained their ears.

They could hear hurried footsteps, the rumbling of vehicle engines, and, cutting through it all, Tang Mary’s furious voice echoing through the walls, “Bring Elena back alive, no matter what! She dared to steal from me?! I swear I’ll teach her a lesson!”

Slowly, everyone in the underground bunker turned their stunned gazes toward Elena.

As an adjudicator for the Law Enforcement Department, she had never imagined that one day, she would be falsely accused of theft.

For a moment, Elena was completely speechless.