Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Ye Family

Chapter Thirty-Seven

After nearly seven days of travel, the convoy finally arrived at the Changyang Base.

“At last, we’re here!” Feeling the car gradually come to a halt, Mei lazily sat up from her bed, yawning and stretching, two drops of tears sliding down her cheeks. She had spent most of these days cooped up inside the vehicle—except for yesterday, when a giant spider appeared and forced her to move a bit. Otherwise, she had barely left the comfort of the trailer, almost feeling as if she were rusting from inactivity.

She vowed never to travel with so many people again; it was simply too dull!

“Mei, hurry and tidy up a bit! Didn’t the staff just notify us? Soon someone will come to check people and supplies!” Qu Wenjuan, holding Mei’s dedicated towel, gently wiped away the traces of tears on Mei’s face, displaying a big sister’s tender care.

“Got it, Sister Juan!” Mei climbed out of bed, brushing her hair and changing clothes. Once she was ready, she joined the others as they got off the vehicle. The rest of the convoy had already lined up outside.

When the six of them stepped out, they immediately drew the crowd’s attention. It wasn’t just that all six were attractive—even in the apocalypse, most people wore dirty, tattered clothes. Suddenly, six immaculately dressed figures appeared; how could they not attract stares?

Especially Mei, clad in a denim skirt and short boots, her long hair tied into two cute buns with a purple headband, strands falling to her shoulders, exuding playful charm. She carried a small yellow backpack adorned with a toy bear, cradling a beautifully crafted bow that looked almost like a toy. The collective thought among the onlookers was: Whose child is this? To raise a child so extravagantly in the apocalypse—it was truly wasteful!

With Mei setting the tone, the others—Xiao Keran and her companions—became less conspicuous. Though they were clean, traces of battling zombies still lingered on their clothes, stains that could not be washed away. Seeing Mei soaking up the crowd’s attention, Xiao Keran felt a strange notion stir within her: it ought to be she who stood there in the spotlight.

She couldn’t explain where such thoughts came from, but couldn’t suppress their spread. She had once found Mei adorable, but over the past few days, that sentiment had faded. Xiao Keran couldn’t understand why everyone around Mei doted on her, while apart from her brother, those close to her grew colder and more distant. She didn’t know why things had changed—she hadn’t done anything wrong, after all.

Was it wrong to ignore those ordinary people who lacked any skills? How could they be so selfish and indifferent? Had they forgotten that they too were once ordinary? Now that they had the means, wouldn’t it be good to help others?

Xiao Keran couldn’t fathom others’ reasoning, just as others couldn’t understand her own. Where once the group had been united, now a chasm of conflict loomed. Without some turning point, this rift would only deepen, eventually splitting the team apart.

Mei was oblivious to all this. At the moment, seeing the crowd staring at her as though she were some rare specimen, she couldn’t help but glance over her outfit again.

Was she dressed oddly? Why were their gazes so peculiar?

She wasn’t particularly concerned about clothes. Left to her own devices, she would wear a tracksuit for convenience. In the past, Mo Chen would choose outfits for her when he couldn’t stand her choices, and later, An Ziyou took over, making her appearance his responsibility.

Previously, no one seemed to notice much what she wore. Why was it different today? Unable to resist, Mei cast a questioning look at An Ziyou.

“Mei, are you doubting my sense of style?” As a former trendsetter, An Ziyou could not bear to be questioned in his area of expertise. His beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

“No, not at all! I just wonder why they keep staring at me?” Mei shook her head quickly, unwilling to provoke him.

Nowadays, he wielded his Great Prophecy technique with increasing proficiency. While it wasn’t yet a major weapon, it was more than enough to cause minor trouble—like making someone unlucky for a short period. They had once witnessed someone foolish enough to tease An Ziyou; he merely smiled and told them, “You’ll have bad luck.” For the next half day, that person stumbled while walking, got into a car accident, nearly fed himself to a zombie if not for a quick rescue, and even managed to choke on water.

After that incident, no one in the convoy dared to cross An Ziyou, fearing he’d utter that ominous phrase. Lin Shaojie had repeatedly told them that An Ziyou used to be gentle as an angel, but now he was a devil in angel’s skin!

Mei wasn’t afraid of his Great Prophecy, but she wouldn’t tempt fate, either.

“They just haven’t seen such a cute girl in ages, Mei. That’s why they’re staring. Once they get used to you, it’ll be fine!” An Ziyou smiled gently, patting her head as he explained.

“Oh, that’s it!” Mei easily accepted the explanation and stopped caring about the surrounding gaze, joining the others in line for inspection.

Changyang Base’s inspection was much like the one at Moonlight Base: a drop of blood, then scanning with an instrument to check for wounds. Except for those with injuries who required twenty-four hours of observation, everyone else quickly passed through. Once their checks were done, the supplies were inventoried; after surrendering a fifth, the rest was returned for them to distribute as they wished.

After the inspection, Yang Hao gathered everyone to divide up the supplies.

Now that they had reached Changyang Base, joining the new settlement was inevitable, and Yang Hao’s role as leader was concluded. What happened next depended on the arrangements of the base, so he decided to distribute food and essentials, ensuring that the ordinary people would have some security for the time being.

Mei and her group didn’t care much for those supplies and went straight into the base.

After registering for identity cards and entering Changyang Base, the difference in atmosphere was immediately apparent: it was far more relaxed than Moonlight Base. Unlike Moonlight, which had been converted from a military training compound, Changyang was built upon a satellite city, retaining the unique breath of urban life.

Here, whether you were a gifted one or ordinary, you could apply to become a mercenary at the mission hall, taking on tasks issued by the base or individuals to earn commissions.

Of course, you could also join the base’s official team, but unlike Moonlight Base’s semi-mandatory approach, this was entirely voluntary. If you were a gifted individual, the base would assign you housing, provide one meal a day, and give a small monthly supply of other necessities—regardless of whether you joined the official team.

The only real advantage to joining was the priority access to lucrative, lower-risk tasks issued by the base.

Changyang Base still used contribution points as currency, but they were not as hard to earn as at Moonlight, and people were allowed to set up stalls in designated areas for free trade. The base would take a cut from each transaction, of course. Even so, the management here was far more lenient than at Moonlight Base.

“What should we do now?” Having gained a rough understanding of Changyang, Mei looked at the others and asked.

“Follow me!” Ye Jingxuan took Mei’s hand, clearly having a plan in mind.

The others, seeing this, followed without concern; none of them had any particular plans.

They turned a few corners, walked down two streets, and arrived at a grand courtyard composed of a three-story villa and five elegant houses. At the gate, four armed guards, upon seeing Ye Jingxuan, showed obvious surprise and excitement, then bowed respectfully in unison, saying, “Welcome home, Young Master!”

Young Master?

Mei was not surprised, having heard Ye Jingxuan mention it before. Qu Wenjuan, familiar with the story, knew something of Ye Jingxuan’s background. The others, upon hearing the greeting, were visibly taken aback—they hadn’t expected him to have such a pedigree!

“How is my father? What’s the situation at home? How many have awakened abilities?”

“The master is well, only concerned for you, Young Master. Thanks to early warnings, the Ye family, the Situ family, the Liu family, and the Wang family joined forces to establish this base. We control all the arms, so the situation is decent. However, our family has fewer gifted ones compared to the other three.” The person answering knew only so much, but it was enough for Ye Jingxuan to gauge his family’s circumstances.

Passing through the courtyard, they reached the three-story residence, where a middle-aged man was already waiting. Seeing Ye Jingxuan and his companions, he immediately stepped forward, greeting them respectfully, “Young Master, welcome home!”

“Uncle Yu, is my father here?” Ye Jingxuan stopped, showing rare warmth toward the man.

“The master is inside, waiting for you. He’s been worried about your safety all these days, and now he can finally rest easy.” Uncle Yu was visibly emotional, scrutinizing Ye Jingxuan from head to toe. When he saw Ye Jingxuan holding Mei's hand, his eyes sparkled even brighter.

“These must be Young Master’s friends. Please, come in! It's rare for Young Master to bring friends home; you must stay for several days.”

“Uncle Yu, prepare rooms for them on the second floor!” Ye Jingxuan ordered.

The guest rooms of the Ye family were on the first floor, meant for temporary visitors, while the second floor was reserved for those with close ties to the family. Once someone stayed there, the room would never be assigned to another, regardless of whether the person returned—unless they passed away. So far, only two rooms had ever been occupied.

Now, with Ye Jingxuan directing all his companions to the second floor, Uncle Yu's gaze, warm as it was, grew more thoughtful as he looked at Mei and the others.