Chapter 32: Fugitive

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Fugitive

An escaped convict?!

Huai Yu was startled. "A Water Ability can also identify people?!" she asked, thinking it was absolutely incredible.

Her words made the man opposite her pause for a moment. "No, it’s just that he’s wearing a prison uniform. Look at his chest."

As he spoke, another stream of water swiftly climbed up the middle-aged man’s chest. It quickly washed away the mud in that area, revealing a few small embroidered characters.

[Third Prison—III]

Before she could ask anything else, the man pressed an index finger to his lips and gave her a playful wink.

"Shh.

"I sneaked over here, so it’s best if no one finds out.

"Can I hand the prisoner over to you? By daybreak tomorrow, you should be able to deliver him to the Defense Army. I’ll probably be gone by then, so it won’t matter if people find out."

Huai Yu sighed. "Why do you think so highly of me? The Defense Army said we shouldn’t get caught in this rain."

"It’s fine," the man smiled. "You have a Superpower, so your resistance is much stronger. As long as you don’t come into close contact with mutated plants, it won’t be a problem."

Huai Yu was speechless. She remembered that not only had she come into close contact with them, but she had also practically kowtowed to the Roses a few times.

Turning her head to look at the stubborn Rose branch still blooming in the hollow-brick vase inside her house, she fell silent for a moment before stepping aside to make room. "Come in."

"Hmm?"

"You can stay here for the night and leave at daybreak. Once you’re gone, I’ll take the prisoner over. Did you tie him up securely?"

Seeing her act so generously, the man was actually a little surprised. "Are you not afraid anymore?"

Huai Yu shook her head. "I want you to teach me how to use this Superpower."

He was so powerful that subduing her would only take the blink of an eye. Previously, she had relied too heavily on the Rose Corridor after hearing how formidable it was. Now, it seemed she needed to have her own skills.

The young man smiled. With a flip of his fingers, the water rope binding the middle-aged man quickly burrowed into the ground, pinning the criminal down in the pouring rain, completely immobilized. Then, he extended his hand toward Huai Yu. His knuckles were broad, and his palm was dry.

"Hello, I’m Lin Xuefeng."

Huai Yu nodded and reached out as well. "I’m Huai Yu. ’Yu’ as in elm tree."

As the two hands, one large and one small, clasped together, Lin Xuefeng stared at her for a moment. Then, he suddenly broke into a smile, looking as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Huai Yu, who still held the multi-purpose shovel in her other hand, let go of the handshake. She immediately turned around to pick up her bowl of soybeans and entered the house under his appraising gaze.

Upon entering the treehouse, Lin Xuefeng looked a bit surprised. "Did you build this all by yourself? It’s quite spacious."

"Of course!" Huai Yu said proudly. "It took a ton of effort."

Lin Xuefeng’s gaze swept over the wisteria root system, and he nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Your abilities don’t seem very strong, so accelerating the growth of the vines to take root must have been quite difficult."

Huai Yu poured the soybeans from her bowl back into the pot and sighed. "If I had known you would see through it at a glance, I wouldn’t have bothered trying to hide it. You scared me to death in the middle of the night. My soybeans have gotten damp, so I need to roast them again."

"If you don’t want to join the Guard Army, there’s nothing wrong with hiding it a bit. It’s just a matter of personal freedom."

There was only one stool made of stacked bricks in the room, but Lin Xuefeng had already made himself right at home by grabbing a few bricks to build a seat for himself. An invisible stream of water washed over them, making the years of accumulated grime on the gray bricks vanish instantly. Watching this made Huai Yu feel another pang of envy.

"Then, can you drive out the moisture in these soybeans?" she asked, looking at Lin Xuefeng expectantly.

He rested his chin on his hand and smiled. "I can.

"But I won’t," he continued, wagging an index finger. "Because the aroma of these beans is only at its most enticing when roasted over a fire.

"I had actually planned to set off overnight. But as I passed by, I saw the firelight and came over out of curiosity to take a look. I didn’t expect to smell that delicious aroma right away."

Perhaps they had grown more familiar after exchanging names, because he tucked away his originally composed demeanor. Now, he seemed just like a boy next door casually chatting with a friend.

"I intentionally left only two hundred points on my account when I set off, but a handful of soybeans ruined my plan... Take these points for taking me in for the night—for the lodging and the beans."

This time, Huai Yu didn’t refuse. She simply handed over her trading bracelet again and asked curiously, "Where are you setting off to?"

"Mmm..." Lin Xuefeng stared intently at the soybeans in the pot and replied casually, "To the Wilderness."

"Are you an Explorer?" she asked curiously. "How are you going to get there? Didn’t they say the Rose Corridor can’t be approached? Why are you going this way?"

"It’s alright." Lin Xuefeng smiled, a hint of smugness in his expression. "If you’re strong enough, you can get out before the Rose Corridor even has time to react! If it weren’t for this rain, it actually wouldn’t be this aggressive. Most of the time, it’s more like a quiet little girl."

A quiet little girl? What a fascinating comparison.

Huai Yu slowly stirred the soybeans, acting as if she had opened an encyclopedia of endless questions. "What does the Roman numeral III on that prison uniform mean?"

Just as she asked, she saw Lin Xuefeng seize the moment. With quick reflexes, he plucked a bean from the pot and instantly popped it into his mouth—

"Mmm, hot!"

He mumbled. After a moment, he bit down on it—CRUNCH—and his expression became particularly delighted. "It really is an uncontaminated bean... Huai Yu, you have a lot of secrets!"

Even so, his tone was light and casual. He clearly didn’t care much about it, making it impossible for Huai Yu to feel tense.

"Needs more salt," Lin Xuefeng commented quietly before answering her previous question. "The numeral refers to the criminal grade. He’s a major felon—and, though you’re too weak to sense it right now, he possesses the Fire Element.

"Coincidentally, a rainy day is the best opportunity to subdue him. Whatever you do, don’t let your heart soften and let him inside to shelter from the rain. Being drenched for one night won’t kill him... Well, if he gets drenched too much and ends up going mad or dying, it wouldn’t be a pity anyway."

Getting drenched in the rain too much could cause madness or death... Was it because the rain’s contamination would increase one’s Mutant Value?

Huai Yu pondered this for a moment. "What kind of person becomes a major felon? A murderer?"

"More than that," Lin Xuefeng said, shaking his head. "It’s a new classification made after the cataclysm—someone who, for their own selfish interests during the unrest, directly or indirectly caused the deaths of many people.

"So, when you see a criminal, don’t show any mercy."

Huai Yu nodded and solemnly agreed. "Since your abilities are so strong, how did you train them? I want to learn."

However, Lin Xuefeng advised against it. "If possible, I suggest you don’t learn.

"The enhancement of a Superpower is accompanied by an increase in Mutant Value. The closer your Mutant Value is to the critical point, the stronger your abilities become. As for the methods of application, it’s nothing more than your perspective and proficiency.

"Take me, for example. Although I belong to the Water System, as long as my abilities are strong enough, I can instantly drain the moisture from a plant’s body, or cause its sap to boil through oscillation.

"It’s highly effective against mutated plants."

Huai Yu looked thoughtful. "Then... what about against people?"

He smiled faintly, his expression gentle and kind. "It’s the same for people."