He Fang and the others watched the scene, speechless for a long time.

The more beautiful the flowers bloomed, the more terrifying they seemed. To be able to instantly spread such a boundless sea of vines as if it were a trivial matter... Even the Seventh Rank Liang Yushuang was completely helpless before him. Was this man’s superpower really only Eighth Rank?

’Could it be...’

He Fang seemed to realize something and stammered, "S-so... you knew where we were all along?! Then why did you still..."

Li Xingye was noncommittal. "Your answer."

Liang Yushuang let out a soft breath. "Actually, you’re right. I don’t really have much of a choice. Just getting here was our limit. As long as you can protect Xiao Liu, we’re willing! I know you only want to take us in because of Xiao Liu’s superpower..."

"Wrong." Li Xingye stood up. "My base needs to grow, and it needs talented people. That’s all. And my ambitions aren’t limited to just the Huazhong Region. The Healing system is just a pleasant surprise."

In fact, Liang Yushuang had herself to thank. Her attitude toward He Fang and the others was what had saved them all.

Liang Yushuang froze, then looked as if she had heard something unbelievable. "You mean, you want to... But that’s impossible, unless..."

Li Xingye chuckled and casually tossed something over.

Liang Yushuang caught it instinctively. Before she could even get a clear look at what it was, the sweet fragrance of fruit hit her nose.

And before they could even process it, they had already followed their instincts and taken a bite.

"Boss, am I dreaming...?" He Fang looked like he wanted to shove the entire apple into his mouth. "This is an apple, isn’t it? An apple! I can’t even remember what apples taste like... How can it be so sweet..."

Liang Yushuang looked at the second apple in her hands and guessed it must be for Xiao Liu.

She held back the tears welling in her eyes and stared intently at Li Xingye, her words sounding like a prayer. "In your base... you have a stable food source, don’t you..."

At her words, He Fang and the others instinctively stopped chewing and looked over.

Li Xingye didn’t deny it. "In my base, no one goes hungry. The only rule is to always remember that you are human."

"We’ll join... No, I should say, thank you for taking us in, Leader!" Liang Yushuang bowed deeply to Li Xingye. This time, her words were exceptionally firm.

Afterward, Liang Yushuang introduced the members of her squad one by one. Besides Xiao Liu, whose real name was Liu Zhenzhen and who was a Fourth Rank Healing Ability User, there was He Fang, a Fifth Rank Earth Element superpower user, somewhat similar to Qiangzi.

The other three were Le Ya, a Fourth-rank Space Ability User and a woman in her late thirties; Tang Fan, a Fourth-tier Gravity Superpower User and an unremarkable thirty-year-old man; and one other who was rather unique—a Fifth-rank Breath Shielding Ability User named Wu Yao. She was a twenty-eight-year-old woman with hair cut so short it was almost flush with her scalp.

Li Xingye understood. With a lineup like this, it was no wonder they had managed to make it all the way here after escaping the Imperial City.

He nodded, and a thin vine slowly wrapped around Liang Yushuang’s wrist. "Follow it. It will lead you to my base. The guards at the gate will see it and let you in."

After a brief discussion, Liang Yushuang proposed, "Leader, are you going to continue toward the city center? I can go with you."

But Li Xingye refused. "It’s more convenient for me to go alone."

With that, he gave them some more food and water. "The base is some distance from here. Just follow it. If you run into any stray zombies, keep the Crystal Cores. You can trade them for points at the base."

Liang Yushuang and the others agreed, their eyes filled with excitement and relief. Who would have thought that a simple robbery could lead to a bright future?

They couldn’t wait to bring the food back to Xiao Liu, who was exhausted from healing Liang Yushuang, and to tell her that they might not have to wander anymore.

After parting ways with Liang Yushuang’s group, Li Xingye was about to head deeper inside when he heard Chi Wan’s irrepressible voice. "Brother Xingye, you were so incredibly cool just now, AHHHHH!!"

*

Chi Wan hadn’t wanted to disturb Li Xingye, which was why she had voluntarily "hung up."

But then she remembered the new orchid Li Xingye had mentioned, and her curiosity got the better of her. She entered the space to inspect her flowerbeds.

These days, the space was constantly nourished by the High-level Crystal Cores Li Xingye put inside, so there were subtle changes every time she entered.

Lately, however, Chi Wan had a faint feeling that the space’s expansion was nearing its limit. Or perhaps, once the soil completely covered the ground, the space would finally settle into its final form.

’But this is already more than enough.’

The space now had mountains and water, with soil covering nearly all the ground. Its total area was comparable to a small town.

The original clear pond had expanded several times over, and Li Xingye had taken the opportunity to dig a small stream leading from it.

The meandering stream flowed gently through the orchard and past the flowerbeds, creating a scene of peaceful, idyllic beauty. Li Xingye had even built several bridges.

From there, the stream flowed through the livestock area before finally emptying into a pool Li Xingye used for raising fish.

As for the original pond, Li Xingye had planted a large patch of lotuses in it and built a gazebo over the water.

Chi Wan suspected that Li Xingye was basically treating the space like a farming simulator, even paying attention to the aesthetic placement of each area. ’In the modern world, he would have been a master landscape architect.’

As a result, whenever she was bored, she would go fishing in the space or simply lie back and relax in the gazebo.

This time was no different. She casually picked some fruit, grabbed a few snacks, and flopped onto a rattan chair in the gazebo. It was far more comfortable than being in an air-conditioned room.

Just as the gentle rocking of the chair was lulling Chi Wan to sleep, she was startled awake by Li Xingye opening the space to grab the apples.

She peered through the opening Li Xingye had made and was thrilled to discover that as the space had grown, her view of his world had expanded from a tiny frame that couldn’t even show his whole face to a full panoramic window!!

Even better, the viewpoint could apparently move according to her will!

This meant Chi Wan had basically been forced to watch a live broadcast of everything happening on Li Xingye’s end, just like watching a movie.

She watched Li Xingye lean back lazily in his chair, his handsome face a picture of nonchalance.

The sharp blade, normally meant for killing enemies, now held a juicy slice of fruit, slowly bringing it to his lips.

The silvery glint of the blade pressing lightly against his rosy lips was, for some reason, strangely sensual.

Chi Wan stared, dumbfounded. For some reason, she could feel her face starting to burn. ’Oh my god, why does Li Xingye look even more handsome from a full-body view??’