Chapter 526 - 520: Striking Back

"Su Xiyue, you dared to stab me! You bitch, you actually dared to use a knife on me! Just watch, I’ll kill you! You shameless, gutless coward! Let’s see you hide in there for the rest of your life!"

"Stay in there forever if you have the guts!"

"Lin Yiyi, what are you up to in there?"

Just then, Zhuang Lei kicked down the door of the old generator room and burst in. He couldn’t help but frown at the scene before him.

"Lin Yiyi, are you throwing a fit again?"

"Making all this noise—are you afraid no one will find us?"

Xu Yu followed him in, glancing at Su Xiyue before asking in a cold voice, "Yiyi, what’s your plan?"

"If Xie Ning and her people follow the trail here, things will get messy."

"See? This is why I always say you have to be thorough and leave no trace. How can you ever accomplish anything great when you’re so sentimental?"

Zhuang Lei said with a cold expression, "Just set it on fire! Burn it all to ash and be done with it! Not a single trace left."

"No." Lin Yiyi, her eyes red, was the first to object.

"I have a use for the bitch’s backpack. I’m sure it’s full of good things."

Zhuang Lei glanced doubtfully at Su Xiyue inside the Wood Vine Ball.

Afraid he didn’t believe her, Lin Yiyi said quickly, "We can keep everything in her backpack. Zhuang, I’m positive her bag is full of good stuff."

Zhuang Lei glanced at Su Xiyue’s overstuffed backpack, and a flicker of greed crossed his eyes.

"Makes sense. As the sister of the Captain of Star Fire, she’s bound to have something good on her."

"So what’s the plan? You can’t break this ball of vines, so how are we supposed to get her backpack?"

’Setting it on fire would be the easiest solution, but that would probably destroy the girl’s backpack too.’

’So we can’t just handle this with brute force.’

A calculating glint appeared in Xu Yu’s eyes. "I remember this girl didn’t have a superpower before, right?"

"Don’t you find it strange? We’re so deep into the apocalypse, so how did this girl suddenly awaken a superpower? And her Rank doesn’t seem low, either—Third Rank, maybe? How long has she been awakened for her Wood Element to reach this level of advancement?"

’There’s no way something fishy isn’t going on! The advancement speed of the Starfire Team Members is definitely not normal!’

"That’s right. Isn’t the rumor going around that after the first year of the apocalypse, the chances of awakening a superpower are extremely low, practically Zero?" Lin Yiyi nodded in agreement, her eyes lighting up.

Zhuang Lei’s heart stirred, and a spark ignited in his eyes. "Are you saying that Xie Ning’s Starfire Team has some kind of potion that lets people awaken a superpower and rapidly increase their Superpower Rank?"

’If that’s the case, then the Starfire Team is just too selfish!’

’How could they have something this good and not know to share it with the rest of the world?’

’Hoarding it and using it in secret is the very definition of selfish.’

’Don’t they know what the situation is right now?’

’The post-apocalyptic environment is already so harsh. We’re living alongside all sorts of creatures with superpowers, barely scraping by.’

’And in an environment this terrible, there are still selfish people like the Starfire Team.’

’Starfire has something good, and they only think of enjoying it themselves. They have no intention of sharing it with others. Their selfishness is plain to see.’

Xu Yu walked forward with a smile, deliberately putting on a saccharine tone—a voice that could give you goosebumps—and said gently, "Little miss, if you can just honestly answer a few questions for us... I promise we won’t hurt you."

"Ma’am, could you please not use that tone with me? I’m not a little kid. Just say what you want to say. There’s no need to put on that condescending voice, like you’re talking to a simpleton."

Xu Yu’s face went cold with anger.

"Who are you calling ’Ma’am’? I’m only a few years older than your sister. How does that make me a ’Ma’am’?"

"Oh, maybe it’s because your ugly face makes you look particularly old," Su Xiyue said with a smile. "After all, your face reflects your heart, doesn’t it?"

’Is this little brat actually mocking me, saying my heart is ugly and my face is even uglier??’

’How am I ugly? I’ve been doing nothing but good deeds since the apocalypse started!’

’Starfire, on the other hand, acts so high and mighty, completely detached from everything. They’ve never made a single great contribution for the good of humankind.’

’With great power comes great responsibility, doesn’t it?’

’But some people just hoard their powers, making no effort to improve the world, content with the status quo. It’s shameful and despicable.’

Xu Yu’s face flushed red. She was about to step forward and argue with Su Xiyue, but Zhuang Lei pushed her back.

Zhuang Lei took the large machete from Lin Yiyi’s hand and gave Su Xiyue a sinister smile. "You think you’re safe just because you’ve locked yourself in this cage of vines? That we can’t touch you?"

His expression turned sinister as he raised the machete and thrust it through a gap in the vines.

He was clearly aiming to stab her and teach her a harsh lesson.

Su Xiyue quickly curled into a ball, pulling her backpack in front of her chest just in time to block Zhuang Lei’s strike.

Xie Ning had modified all the backpacks for the Starfire Team.

The outer layer was reinforced with a black metallic substance, making it nearly impervious to blades and bullets.

Zhuang Lei’s thrust through the narrow gap already lacked force. Against the blade-resistant backpack, the strike didn’t stand a chance of penetrating and was instead repelled.

Xu Yu shot Lin Yiyi a meaningful glance. The two women, also holding blades, flanked the ball and, copying Zhuang Lei, thrust their weapons through the gaps.

’Attacked from two directions at once, let’s see how the little bitch dodges this.’

Su Xiyue frantically chugged a large mouthful of Replenishing Well Water, and her body erupted with an unprecedented amount of superpower energy.

In an instant, a layer of Wood Armor formed over her body, cleanly deflecting the two strikes from Lin Yiyi and Xu Yu.

Lin Yiyi was about to go insane with rage, spewing curses at Su Xiyue. "You bitch! You think this can stop us? I’ll hack you to pieces! I’ll kill you! What are you all waiting for?" she screamed at the animals. "Bite her! Bite her to death!"

"What was that she drank?! It can replenish energy that fast? Brother Lei, that stuff is a real treasure, Brother Lei!" Xu Yu shouted in excitement.

At the same time, a few of the cats and dogs that had been ferociously tearing at the Wood Vine Ball suddenly shook their heads, turned, and fixed Zhuang Lei and Xu Yu with a predatory stare.

The pair didn’t realize what was happening at first. It wasn’t until a few of the mutated dogs and cats lunged at them, nearly biting their arms, that they finally reacted.

Panicked and bewildered, Xu Yu couldn’t help but cry out, "What’s happening?"

Zhuang Lei roared as well, "Lin Yiyi, what the hell are you doing?!"