Chapter 71 Hostage

Chapter 71: Chapter 70: Hostage

"To prevent you from pulling any tricks or backing out halfway... she will stay by my side the entire time."

Han Ning pointed at a woman standing not far from Zou Yu, who exuded a highly mature and sophisticated aura.

"What?!" Zou Yu’s expression changed, his voice urgent. "No! Absolutely not!"

"I’m not discussing this with you; I’m telling you," Han Ning interrupted.

A dark green vine shot out silently from beside Han Ning, moving at extreme speed. The woman only felt a tightness around her waist. A tremendous force was transmitted through it, yanking her forward into an uncontrollable stumble.

Just as the vine pulled her over, a thick, ink-like black mist suddenly surged around her, enveloping her body. Under Han Ning’s slightly surprised gaze, the woman’s physical outline rapidly blurred, becoming transparent. Her figure rippled like water, seemingly about to slip out of the dark green vine’s restraints.

"Interesting. What kind of ability is this?" Han Ning raised an eyebrow.

The Molten Gold Tiger Head Mark between his eyebrows flashed slightly, coating his eyes with a Molten Gold luster.

BUZZ!

In his vision, the woman’s ethereal Energy form was outlined in gold, becoming clearly visible.

"Trying to run?"

Han Ning’s mind raced. On the surface of the vine wrapped around the woman, the radiance of Natural Blessing lit up. Flowing with an emerald halo, the vine darted to the left and caught up to the woman.

"Ugh..." The woman let out a muffled groan.

Her ethereal body fluctuated violently like a hologram with a bad signal, forced to ’squeeze’ out of its Energy form and solidify once again. The vine took the opportunity to tighten, firmly locking around her waist and forcefully dragging her entirely away from Zou Yu’s group to Han Ning’s side.

Sensing the unfathomable aura radiating from Han Ning, as well as the terrifying power contained within the vine, the woman finally gave up her futile struggles. Biting her lip, she simply looked at Han Ning, who was now close at hand, with a complex gaze.

The entire process happened in a flash. It was so fast that even an Awakened like Zou Yu only had time to adopt a forward-lunging posture, his hand raised halfway, before the woman was "snatched" away by Han Ning.

"You!" Zou Yu’s aura surged. Faint blue flames flickered in his palms; he could barely control himself from attacking.

"Relax," Han Ning said, turning his head. It was unclear whether he was speaking to the pale-faced woman or to Zou Yu. "I won’t do anything to you.

"As long as you cooperate honestly until I confirm that the agricultural expert actually has real skills, I will let her go."

He could clearly sense that the Energy Fluctuations surging within this woman’s body were the strongest in the entire group, aside from Zou Yu. In this apocalypse where order had collapsed, what was the most valuable? Not food, nor weapons, but Awakened with special abilities!

Taking a capable Awakened as a hostage was like gripping the opponent by the throat. This was enough to make them hesitate, preventing them from pulling any tricks during the subsequent operation or backing out halfway.

He leaned leisurely against the cold wall. The vine relaxed slightly, just enough to ensure she couldn’t break free. Using an "agricultural expert" as an empty promise to get him to help first—Han Ning naturally wouldn’t let them have their way.

Next, his gaze swept over the shocked and furious faces opposite him. "Do you want to go back and discuss it again? I’ll be right here, waiting ten minutes for you."

Zou Yu’s chest heaved violently, his expression constantly changing.

"..."

"Brother Zou, we can’t let him take Teacher Su away!"

"Let’s fight him to the death!"

Zou Yu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his eyes had returned to calmness.

"No more discussion," he said, waving his hand abruptly. "All Awakened, go back and prepare. We assemble downstairs in ten minutes."

He didn’t dare to look at the woman again, afraid he wouldn’t be able to control his emotions, and turned to stride toward the stairwell.

The other Awakened exchanged glances. Ultimately, they could only shoot Han Ning a fierce glare. Full of unwillingness and helplessness, they followed in Zou Yu’s footsteps and scattered quickly to prepare for the upcoming operation.

In the corridor, only Han Ning, the woman bound by the vine, and some ordinary students peeking out with terrified expressions in the distance remained. The sound of raindrops drumming against the windows seemed exceptionally clear.

"What’s your name? I heard the students call you Teacher Su earlier. Are you a teacher at the Agricultural and Forestry University?" Han Ning didn’t mind the stares from the ordinary students. While waiting for Zou Yu and the others to return, he asked for the name of the mature woman beside him and waved his hand, scattering the vine.

The mature woman snorted softly and turned her head away, ignoring him.

"Heh, I didn’t hurt a single one of you the entire time, and I even helped treat one of your companions. Is this your attitude?" Han Ning smiled dismissively.

As the one in the position of power, this little temper tantrum of hers wasn’t enough to evoke any emotion from him, let alone anger. How did the saying go? When you are weak, even your anger is nothing but "cute" in the eyes of others.

"Your behavior is extremely rude and presumptuous," the mature woman replied coldly.

"But effective."

"Your ability is very interesting. Is it akin to a darkness Concealment ability?" Han Ning continued to ask.

"..." She kept her head down, ignoring him.

At that moment, Han Ning noticed a girl secretly peeking from the corner of the corridor and waved at her. "You... your name is Lin Wei, right? Come here."

"Oh..."

Lin Wei was different from the mature woman beside him; she had been personally saved by Han Ning. Hearing his call, she obediently walked over.

"What is her name? And her position?" Han Ning asked Lin Wei.

"Wei, don’t say it..." the mature woman said, glancing at Lin Wei.

"I-I’m sorry, Teacher Su. This guy isn’t a bad person; he saved my and Jun’s lives..." Lin Wei lowered her head, not daring to meet the mature woman’s eyes. She answered quietly, "Teacher Su’s full name is Su Mingke. She’s a teacher in our school’s Chinese Language and Literature major."

"Chinese Language..." Han Ning had thought the subjects Su Mingke taught would be related to agriculture, but to his surprise, it was a completely unrelated major. However, given her delicate skin and refined appearance, she didn’t look like a teacher who frequently went out for agricultural field experiments anyway.

"Oh. What’s her relationship with your Leader, Zou Yu?"

"Uh, I’m not too sure either. Teacher Zou Yu... seems to—"

"Don’t talk nonsense! I have no relationship with him whatsoever!" Su Mingke interrupted.

"Oh..." Lin Wei glanced cautiously at Su Mingke and said nothing more.

"Is Zou Yu a teacher too?"

"Yeah! He’s a PE teacher."

Han Ning thought, "Why is it that all the capable ones are teachers who have nothing to do with agriculture or forestry..."

Ten minutes later.

Under Zou Yu’s leadership, about twenty men and women returned to Han Ning. They were clad in raincoats, carrying backpacks, and wielding various makeshift weapons.

"We’re ready. Let’s go!" Zou Yu said in a deep voice.

"Alright."

The group walked out of the dormitory building, advancing into the heavy curtain of rain, leaving behind a crowd of ordinary people without Extraordinary Awakened abilities to watch them depart in silence.