Apocalypse Survival Guide for a Beta [GB] - Chapter 38

“When I was going upstairs, I saw a man in black jumped down from the stairwell. The moment I looked up, Red Sand’s people pointed at me and accused me. I didn’t steal anything.” Even though everyone believed her, Elena still felt the need to clarify.

“I saw that man in black too,” Zhu Liang said slowly. “Tall and thin, stealing crystals on the eleventh floor while being chased by Red Sand’s people.”

As he spoke, he faced the group, but his peripheral vision stayed on Lin Bai, who was leaning against the wall.

However, Lin Bai kept her head down, making it impossible to read her expression.

“Stealing crystals?” Zhou Yu was confused. “In this apocalypse, what’s the point of having crystals?”

Song Yan speculated, “Could it be to frame Elena?”

“That’s possible!” Lu Jia, who had just returned from gathering intel outside, agreed.

He had taken a quick look at the situation outside. The gunfight at the Guangming Building had stopped and Blood Bone’s people were nowhere to be seen. The cars outside were riddled with bullet holes and aside from Red Sand’s men patrolling the streets, there was no sign of anyone else.

Lu Jia shared his guess, “Red Sand has locked things down outside. Maybe this was all to limit Elena’s movements.”

The theory made sense to some extent, though there were still some unanswered questions, like why Elena’s movements needed to be restricted and how they even knew she was in the Central-Southern border zone.

But one thing was certain: Red Sand’s people were actively searching for someone matching Elena’s height and face, making it difficult for her to move freely.

Since leaving wasn’t an option for now and Zhu Liang’s leg was injured, they decided to stay in the underground bunker, observe the situation in the Central-Southern border zone, and plan their next move.

“We’ll stick to the original teams,” Luo Tiannan said. “The identity of the man in black and his motives are still unknown. For now, we treat him as a third party or someone leaning toward Blood Bone. One thing is clear: the conflict between Blood Bone and Red Sand is deep. We can use that to create more chaos.”

“What do you mean, Captain Luo?”

“From the Blood Bone members we captured in Xihai City, we learned that their boss, Qiu Tu, is in Morda City in Southern District Three. It’s not far from here. We can disguise ourselves as Red Sand’s people and blow up Blood Bone’s base, escalating their conflict.”

“Sounds good!”

Luo Tiannan’s plan immediately gained everyone’s approval.

Blood Bone had been a persistent threat, constantly causing them trouble. Now that Red Sand was involved too, if they didn’t deal with both groups, their route to the Eastern District One would remain dangerous.

Besides, Blood Bone had been planting bombs in the Eastern District One. If they could take them out at the source, it would eliminate a major obstacle.

They wasted no time. Their ammunition stock from the New City was still plentiful. After confirming the route, Song Yan and Lu Jia were chosen as the main operatives for the mission.

After making all the arrangements, the nine of them rested on the floor in the cramped underground bunker.

After traveling for so long, they needed the rest.

Lin Bai leaned against the corner of the wall, her internal battery nearly drained. Fortunately, Luo Tiannan wasn’t far from her. The energy particles radiating from him were slowly replenishing the energy she had lost.

She moved her stiff fingers slightly. She knew very well that she didn’t have much time left. The Eastern District One was still quite a distance away and she hadn’t gathered enough high-level zombie crystal cores. She had to move faster.

Their rest didn’t last long. With Red Sand’s people searching everywhere, they were forced to relocate their temporary base.

Following Luo Tiannan’s plan, they split into three groups again, keeping a certain distance from each other and stopping in different areas.

Before dawn the next day, Song Yan, Zhou Yu, and Lu Jia carried black powder explosives and headed toward Southern District Three.

Wen Xiaxia stayed behind to care for the injured Zhu Liang. Since Elena was still wanted by Red Sand, she remained in the Central-Southern border zone for now. Meanwhile, Luo Tiannan took Xi Ya and Lin Bai with him, disguising themselves and following Song Yan’s group from a distance to provide cover.

There were few zombies in the Central-Southern border zone, but there were things far more terrifying than zombies.

Merciless raiders, cannibalistic Blood Bone members, alleyways that could erupt into explosions or battles at any moment; every second spent in the Central-Southern border zone required extreme caution. One wrong move and there wouldn’t even be bones left. Ordinary people had long disappeared from the area, leaving only ability users moving in and out.

The Central-Southern border zone was a major transportation hub connecting multiple areas, rich in resources. It didn’t take long after the apocalypse for it to become a haven for raiders. The strong took over buildings and ruled, while the weak were either absorbed or hunted down. The three dominant factions in the region were Blood Bone, Red Sand, and the black market hunters, while smaller groups struggled to survive in the cracks. Southern District Three bordered the Central-Southern border zone and served as Blood Bone’s main headquarters, where Qiu Tu was located.

Dressed in black robes, Song Yan, Zhou Yu, and Lu Jia disguised themselves as black market hunters and moved swiftly through the district’s alleyways, carrying black powder explosives. Those with a sharp eye knew better than to provoke them and those without were quickly taken down by Zhou Yu.

“Big brother, someone is watching us,” Xi Ya whispered, wrapping her arms around Luo Tiannan’s neck. She had always been observant and even while being carried by Luo Tiannan, she kept an eye on their surroundings. At first, she wasn’t sure, but after spotting two or three people subtly watching them, she became certain something was off.

Luo Tiannan continued walking as usual, only glancing at Lin Bai before lowering his voice to ask Xi Ya, “What kind of people?”

Xi Ya whispered, “People in white robes.”

Lin Bai also heard Xi Ya’s words. She exchanged a glance with Luo Tiannan and both of them continued walking as if nothing had happened. However, they discreetly observed their surroundings from the corners of their eyes. Soon, they noticed Aurora priests hidden among the ruins of buildings along the road.

Lin Bai spoke with a mocking tone, “Didn’t your Federation cooperate with Aurora? Did they recognize you and come to escort you safely?”

Luo Tiannan ignored the sarcasm in Lin Bai’s voice and said in a deep voice, “They’re watching us. We can’t follow Zhou Yu and the others anymore,” as he spoke, he turned his head slightly and relayed the message to Song Yan in a low voice.

By this time, they had already reached the border of Southern District Three. Looking up, they could see the distant logo on the Morda City building.

Luo Tiannan and Lin Bai entered Southern District Three, heading straight into the nearest shopping mall.

One of the Aurora priests saw the three of them enter the mall. He stopped outside and did not follow them recklessly. At the same time, he transmitted a message to Coomber, “Your Grace Deputy Coomber, I spotted the suspected target along with a child entering Southern District Three.”

While the Aurora priest was passing on the message, Qiu Tu was in the middle of a furious outburst, completely unaware that someone was planning to blow up his headquarters, “Third-tier crystal cores that we couldn’t retrieve! Lin Bai is still not captured! And we couldn’t even take down the Guangming Building!

“What the hell are you all doing?!

“Useless trash, every single one of you!”

His subordinates, knowing they had failed, kept their heads down in silence.

Blood Bone’s raid on the Guangming Building had yielded nothing. They had sent dozens of ability users, but only a handful had made it back alive.

“Boss Qiu Tu, Elena Herbert has arrived in the Central-Southern border zone,” Chang Qi spoke up cautiously.

“Elena?!” Qiu Tu’s eyes darkened instantly. “Where was she spotted?” No one in Blood Bone didn’t hate Elena, but Qiu Tu despised her the most.

Seeing that he had successfully diverted Qiu Tu’s anger, Chang Qi quickly continued, “At the Guangming Building. Word is, she stole something from Red Sand and is now being hunted by them.”

Qiu Tu’s scarred face twisted into a sinister grin. “And here I thought the great adjudicator was so righteous, but the apocalypse comes and she turns to petty theft like a common thief!”

His grin quickly faded. “Elena showed up in the Central-Southern border zone at a time like this? Did she come alone?”

“Reliable sources say she has accomplices. One of them was captured by Red Sand, which is why she went to negotiate at the Guangming Building.”

Chang Qi was about to say more when he noticed Qiu Tu’s face suddenly change.

Qiu Tu shoved him aside. “Get out, all of you!”

Though confused, Chang Qi and the others immediately bowed their heads and left the room.

Once the room was empty, the arrogance on Qiu Tu’s scarred face disappeared completely. Instead, he bowed his head respectfully toward the empty air and said, “My lord, what are your orders?”

No one else was in the room and no voice replied, yet Qiu Tu’s expression darkened as if he had received instructions. He hesitated. “My lord, why not continue bombing the Eastern District One? There are so many zombies there, all filled with crystal cores!”

Thanks to the crystal cores harvested from the Eastern District One, many Blood Bone ability users had recently grown stronger. Qiu Tu had tasted the benefits and was reluctant to abandon that plan.

It seemed he was being reprimanded. His expression turned ugly. “Luo Tiannan? Wasn’t he supposed to be dead in the ocean at Tongtian Port?”

“My lord, understood. I will immediately send people to track down Elena and Luo Tiannan. I will make sure they die in the Eastern District One.”

A few seconds later, Qiu Tu sat back on the couch, tapping his fingers on the map spread out before him. Just as he raised his hand to call someone in, a massive explosion suddenly roared outside the building.

“What’s going on?!”

Qiu Tu stormed out of the room in a fury, only to see someone rushing over to report, “Someone threw black gunpowder into Morda City.”

As soon as the words were spoken, several explosions erupted in succession. Chunks of the ceiling and chandeliers came crashing down, stirring up a cloud of dust.

“Black gunpowder?!” Qiu Tu’s mind instantly flashed to Bai Chuan’s face. The Red Sand had relied on Bai Chuan’s explosives to resist them for so long. He wasn’t surprised that Bai Chuan had made a move, but he hadn’t expected him to act so quickly. Without hesitation, he gave the order to relocate and continue hunting down the Red Sand.

Remembering his master’s earlier instructions, he also sent people to search for Elena and Lou Tiannan in the Central-Southern border zone.

Thinking about all the zombie crystal cores in Eastern District One that he couldn’t get his hands on, Qiu Tu’s expression grew irritated. He stomped on a fallen brick, cracking it underfoot, and clenched his teeth in thought. Then, he called Chang Qi over and ordered him to continue bombing the Eastern District One. As long as his master didn’t find out, it wouldn’t be a problem. He wasn’t going to give it up on that massive piece of fat meat.

At the time of the explosion, Lou Tiannan and Lin Bai were inside a store in the shopping mall. Zhou Yu’s voice came through the radio, “Captain Lou, the explosion is complete. The Blood Bone members are relocating. I spotted Qiu Tu.”

“Withdraw immediately after the bombing. Don’t linger,” Lou Tiannan ordered in a low voice. “Be careful to avoid Aurora’s people.”

“Understood.”

Ending the call with Zhou Yu, Lou Tiannan turned around to see Lin Bai stuffing cosmetics into her pockets.

Seeing that he was done talking, she waved him over. “Come here, let’s change your look.”

***

Beep, beep, beep.

The sound of a machine printing echoed. The printed paper revealed the side-by-side figures of Lou Tiannan and Lin Bai moving through the mall.

A slender, pale hand picked up the paper.