Chapter Thirty-Six: Misgivings

It's late today, so I'm posting two chapters together!

Chapter Thirty-Six

After traveling the entire morning, the group encountered a horde of nearly a thousand zombies.

Two teams responded. The Moonlight Base dispatched two-thirds of their forces, leaving the remaining third to guard the base. In contrast, the Xiao siblings' team sent out fewer than ten people, and not a single person from the minibus got off.

Those who went into battle appeared calm, clearly accustomed to such situations. No one from Moonlight Base had any complaints.

Mei stood on the roof of the vehicle, watching as everyone coordinated their efforts to repel the enemy. She rarely intervened unless someone was truly in danger.

It was precisely her presence that put the zombie fighters at ease, allowing them to focus without worry. For this, the people of Moonlight Base were grateful to her, even showing her more warmth than they did Yang Hao.

The battle did not last long, and soon everyone was back on the road.

Taking advantage of the break, Mo Chen swapped seats with Ye Jingxuan. Mei originally intended to linger in the front passenger seat, but An Ziyou called her back.

“Xiaoyou, what is it?” Returning to the rear compartment, Mei saw An Ziyou sitting in his seat, absentmindedly fiddling with a bracelet made from three psychic-type crystals. He looked somewhat agitated.

“Mei, is there any other way to quickly improve my strength?” Upon seeing her, An Ziyou seemed less desperate than before, hesitating before he spoke.

“Quickly? Do you think your current rate of improvement is too slow?” Mei wondered if he was being overly impatient.

The Great Prophecy was notoriously difficult to master. The fact that he could now speak specific words with effects lasting ten minutes was already impressive—yet he was still dissatisfied?

Seeing her disapproving expression, An Ziyou smiled wryly and explained, “I know you can’t become powerful overnight—it takes steady effort. But right now, my abilities are of such limited use. So…”

He left the sentence unfinished, for Mei already understood. His Great Prophecy was still a long way from being truly useful.

Mei bit her fingertip, pacing back and forth in the compartment as she racked her brain for ways to help him.

A solution hadn’t come to her yet when Ye Jingxuan grabbed her hand.

“Don’t bite your fingers.” Seeing Mei’s puzzled look, Ye Jingxuan spoke with a hint of possessiveness.

Mei didn’t take it to heart; seeing it was just about her biting her fingers, she continued to think deeply, not even noticing that Ye Jingxuan was still holding her hand.

An Ziyou, however, noticed. He opened his mouth as if to ask Ye Jingxuan to let go, but, feeling he had no place to say so, closed it again.

Qu Wenjuan also observed but pretended not to see. She thought as long as Ye Jingxuan wasn’t interested in Xiao Keran, it wasn’t a problem. If he redirected his attention to Mei, all the better; at least Mei’s temperament was perfectly normal, and she wouldn’t have to worry about the team breaking up.

As for Lin Shaojie, he was looking at Mei expectantly, hoping she’d come up with a way to boost his strength. He was dissatisfied with his current abilities and urgently needed a quick method to improve.

After pondering for quite some time, Mei finally raised her head and said to An Ziyou, “Actually, there is a way. I can’t guarantee it’ll work, but if you’re willing, you can try.”

“Tell me!” An Ziyou replied without hesitation.

Seeing his willingness, Mei nodded.

“This method shouldn’t be difficult for you. Listen carefully—don’t make any mistakes!”

With that, Mei began to sing a melody. There were no lyrics, but it sounded as if she were reciting something. The melody was short, neither fully sung nor spoken, yet it carried an ethereal, transcendent, mysterious quality.

The moment Mei’s voice ceased, everyone in the vehicle—including Mo Chen up front—suddenly felt their power increase at least twofold.

But just as quickly, the surge of strength faded away.

“Hey, what are you guys doing back there?” Mo Chen asked through the intercom, unsettled by the abrupt rise and fall of power.

“Sorry, Ah Chen, we were doing an experiment and lost control of the range. You got caught up in it,” Mei replied, her voice apologetic through the intercom.

“An experiment? What kind of experiment?” Mo Chen had only been complaining in passing, but now, intrigued by her explanation, he pressed for more.

“An experiment to help Xiaoyou improve his combat ability. If you’re interested, just listen in on the intercom,” Mei replied simply.

“Xiaoyou, did you memorize that melody?” Mei asked through the intercom before turning to An Ziyou.

An Ziyou replayed the tune in his mind a couple of times, then nodded and began to hum. To the others, what he sang was identical to what Mei had just performed—perhaps even more beautiful. Yet, when he finished, no one felt anything at all.

“You missed the breathing pattern in three places,” Mei immediately pointed out. “Listen carefully—every detail must be exactly the same, not a single mistake allowed.”

Mei demonstrated again.

After mentally rehearsing several times, An Ziyou sang once more.

This time, as soon as he finished, everyone in the vehicle felt an even greater surge of power—twice as strong as what Mei had given them.

But An Ziyou seemed utterly drained afterward, his strength sapped, and he hastily sat down in the nearest seat.

“It seems this technique suits you perfectly—your results are even better than mine! Don’t worry, you just need to practice control. Right now, you’re releasing all your energy at once. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to manage it with ease,” Mei reassured him.

“Mei, what’s this technique called? It’s just like a ‘buff’ in an online game—it’s incredible! If we use this in battle, it’ll be amazing! Why have you never used such a powerful ability before?” Lin Shaojie exclaimed excitedly from the side.

“I know how, but I’m not very good at it. See, even though Xiaoyou’s level isn’t high, the effect is much better when he uses it. This spell is called Blessing, and he’s much more suited to it than I am,” Mei explained with a shrug.

“Blessing? That sounds like magic! Is there something suitable for me?” Lin Shaojie asked, full of anticipation.

Mei glanced at him without answering.

She knew he was just speaking offhand—but he’d hit the mark.

It really was magic.

Though no one asked, Mei was certain they must have questions in their hearts—about why she knew so much.

But she herself didn’t know how to explain.

Mei, for once, fell into an uncharacteristic silence.

“Mei, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Noticing her sudden gloom, Lin Shaojie asked, uneasy, wondering if he’d offended her with his earlier comment.

Mei shook her head, remaining silent.

She wasn’t from this world—not even human. She didn’t know how they’d see her if she one day told them the truth. Would they still treat her as a companion? What’s more, the thing she was searching for might very well be the reason this world ended up in its current state. Would they suspect she was the cause?

The thought that she might devote herself to helping them only to be regarded as a stranger or even an enemy in the end left Mei suddenly dispirited.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing her so dejected, Ye Jingxuan shot Lin Shaojie a frosty glare, making him shrink back into his corner before gently pulling Mei close and asking quietly.

“It’s nothing,” Mei replied, her tone somewhat evasive.

“If you have secrets you don’t want to share, we won’t ask, nor will anyone reveal them. I promise you that,” Ye Jingxuan vowed, his gaze sweeping sharply over the others in the compartment.

“We’ll never tell anyone!” Lin Shaojie quickly declared.

“Nor will I!” Qu Wenjuan, who had been silent until now, spoke up firmly.

As for An Ziyou, his steps unsteady, he walked over to Mei, took her hand, and knelt on one knee. With utmost sincerity, channeling his power, he vowed, “I swear on my life never to betray you. Should I break this oath, may I suffer a fate worse than death!”

“Xiaoyou, you didn’t have to do that! If something were to happen, it could really come true! It’s not that I’m worried about you leaking my secret. It’s just—I don’t know how to say it!” Mei hadn’t expected him to use the Great Prophecy; it was too late to stop him.

She truly wasn’t worried about them leaking her secret. Even if someone did, she doubted anyone in this world could do anything to her.

At worst, she’d just be disappointed again.

Still, Ye Jingxuan’s promise and An Ziyou’s oath lifted her spirits considerably. No matter what the future held, at least she had no regrets now.

“There’s no ‘if’. From the moment you accepted me as a companion, I swore in my heart never to betray you. Today, I’m just saying it aloud,” An Ziyou smiled as gently as ever, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

“Hey, little one, did you really think we’d stop being friends just because you have a few secrets?” Mo Chen, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

“They’re not just little secrets!” Mei pouted, unable to help herself.

“Fine, big secrets then! How do you know the rest of us don’t have things we can’t tell? Would you stop treating us as friends because of that?” Mo Chen retorted.

“Your secrets aren’t like mine. If you ever find out one day, let’s see if you can still be so sure of yourself!” Mei countered, though her mood had completely recovered.

Ignoring Mo Chen’s blustering threats over the intercom to teach her a lesson, Mei pulled An Ziyou aside to continue instructing him in the Blessing technique.

As for the future, she’d deal with it when it came. Looking too far ahead had never been her style.