Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Would You Like to Join Our Base?

Li Xingye’s gaze flickered. He finally spoke up. "So, how did you all escape from Dawn Base?"

Liang Yushuang let out a low sigh. "Because... they finally made a move on Baiyi Base. Rumor has it they were after that Seventh Rank Healing Ability User."

"But Baiyi Base has its own ways of surviving this long; they’d never just hand over their core asset. The fierce conflict between them destroyed part of the research facility and gave us a chance to escape."

"But aside from us, many people couldn’t escape, and many more didn’t dare to try."

"After all, only a small minority of people in Dawn Base were actually being used as test subjects. Unless you’d been inside the labs, no one knew the edible mushrooms were actually cultivated using human bodies. Perhaps some suspected something, but as long as they weren’t personally threatened, they could pretend not to know."

"Most people just felt that under the protection of Dawn Base, they could get enough to eat. Even if it was mushroom soup for every meal, they were more than content."

In times like these, any food you could get your hands on was incredibly precious.

Li Xingye listened quietly to Liang Yushuang. After a moment of silence, he said, "A Seventh Rank Fire Ability User would receive preferential treatment anywhere."

After the apocalypse, information was primarily relayed via radio. While it wasn’t always timely, everyone knew the basics.

For example, besides Li Xingye, the highest-level superpower user humanity had ever heard of was an Eighth Rank. And Seventh Rank zombies not only had their own intelligence but could potentially wield two superpowers simultaneously.

And normally, a Seventh Rank superpower user, especially one with an offensive ability like Liang Yushuang, should never have been treated like that.

Liang Yushuang gave a bitter laugh. "I used to think the same thing. That’s why I led my team to join Dawn Base, a place that never lacked food."

"On one hand, Dawn had a good public image and was always willing to take in superpower users. On the other, Baiyi Base’s entry requirements had become much stricter after that schism, and I wasn’t confident I could get all of my people inside."

"But I was wrong. Even though I have a Seventh Rank superpower, in the eyes of those researchers, I was probably no different from an ant. They invited me to participate in their experiments, saying it would help my team accumulate contribution points for more resources."

"I didn’t suspect a thing. I thought I would just be cooperating for a few days. I never imagined they had no intention of letting anyone who entered the laboratory leave alive. It was because of this, inside that well-hidden lab, that I finally learned the truth behind how Dawn Base kept everyone fed."

"And about their insane experiments."

"They were trying to find the link between Zombie Crystal Cores and superpowers. They thought superpower users might have Crystal Cores in their bodies just like zombies, so they would cut open their brains to look for one, then close them back up. They would also implant Zombie Crystal Cores into the brains of ordinary people, trying to force them to develop superpowers..."

"Those who didn’t survive were turned into fertilizer for the mushrooms. But no one knew where those mushrooms came from in the first place. After all, no such mushrooms ever appeared in Baiyi Base."

"They claimed that everything they did was to uncover the secrets of the apocalypse and bring it to an end. But anyone who had seen the horrific state of their experiments and the crazed expressions on their faces could never believe such a thing."

"In their twisted experiments, they had long since lost all their humanity. For people like that to claim they’re trying to save the world... what a joke!"

Hearing Liang Yushuang calmly recount her experience in the laboratory, the eyes of the tightly bound captives turned red. He Fang, a big, scruffy-bearded man, even started to cry.

They didn’t know what kind of inhuman torture Liang Yushuang had endured in that wicked laboratory. All they knew was that when she escaped and found them, wanting to lead them away, there wasn’t a single patch of uninjured skin on her body.

If it weren’t for Xiao Liu... Liang Yushuang probably wouldn’t have survived.

After Liang Yushuang finished, Li Xingye remained silent. He didn’t release them, either, merely lowering his gaze as if lost in thought.

Just as everyone held their breath, awaiting their fate, Li Xingye finally spoke, slowly and deliberately.

But his very first words put everyone on high alert.

"So... which one of you is the Healing Ability User?" Li Xingye tapped his finger on the armrest of the vine chair, then added as if in sudden realization, "It’s the so-called ’injured companion,’ isn’t it?"

Liang Yushuang’s calm expression, which she had maintained the entire time, suddenly shattered.

"Impossible! How could you have guessed...?"

He Fang was so shocked he didn’t even realize the bonds on his mouth had vanished at some point. The words that tumbled out of his mouth directly confirmed Li Xingye’s suspicion.

The moment the words were out, he realized his mistake and clamped his mouth shut.

But it was too late.

In the dead silent atmosphere, Li Xingye chuckled. "No need to be so nervous. Or... was your companion the one those people from Dawn really wanted? Is that why you fled the Imperial City so desperately, heading south all this way?"

Liang Yushuang opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say.

’She had never thought that someone of Li Xingye’s age and power, who had survived this long in the apocalypse, would be easy to fool.’

But Li Xingye’s perceptiveness still stunned her.

Liang Yushuang tried to suppress the panic on her face, but she couldn’t let it go. "Why?"

’How on earth did he guess?!’

But Li Xingye had no interest in explaining. He just waved his hand, and the vines binding them vanished instantly.

He said calmly, "If you keep heading south, you might be able to find a base on your own and live a decent life. But protecting them? Impossible. So, are you willing to join our base?"

Liang Yushuang was still reeling from the shock and hadn’t fully recovered. For a moment, she barely registered what Li Xingye was saying.

Her gaze fell to the bare skin of her arm, and she suddenly understood. "It’s my body! There are no scars left from the experiments... But how did you rule out that it was because Dawn has a Healing System..."

Before she could finish, she recalled what she had said about the conflict between Baiyi Base and Dawn Base. Liang Yushuang finally gave a wry laugh. "I’m the fool."

Once freed, He Fang and the other three immediately moved to stand behind Liang Yushuang. He Fang whispered nervously, "Boss, should we trust him?"

Liang Yushuang looked at the perfectly composed Li Xingye and asked one last question. "Can you protect Xiao Liu?"

Li Xingye chuckled and snapped his fingers.

To the utter astonishment of Liang Yushuang and her companions, the very vines that had threatened their lives now silently spread to cover the entire landscape.

As far as the eye could see, a sea of small flowers bloomed, blanketing everything.

Against the dim sky, they were more dazzling than fresh blood.