CHAPTER 584: CHAPTER 582: DEPARTURE

Whenever he showered, he would stare blankly at the newly healed scar and stroke it over and over with his hand.

It seemed that only then would he find a bit of solace in his heart.

Jianxiong came over again today with a gloomy expression, looking for Su Mo to talk. The two sat in the living room, and he seemed even more listless than the other day, with a sense of dejection.

After hearing his innermost thoughts, Su Mo also felt that this issue was rather troublesome. Perhaps Jianxiong had feelings for Li He, but after all, Li He was a true-blue man. If he didn’t share the same feelings, it would indeed be... disgusting.

Su Mo handed him a packet of beef jerky as a comforting gesture, "I think this can’t be rushed. We can talk about it when we get back. If Li He really has no interest in you, then this trip could help you come to terms and move on. If he does have feelings for you, then it would be a good ending."

Su Mo planned to bring Li He along because they were going to an unknown place. They might encounter countless mutant monsters on the way, and with such a big "blood pack" in tow, they no longer had to worry about their teammates getting injured.

"That’s the only thing we can do," Jianxiong sighed.

A week passed, during which Li Qian also fell into a deep sleep due to his promotion. With only two days left before their departure, Lu Chen finally emerged from his upgraded state.

At that moment, Su Mo was sitting on the couch, reading a novel she had acquired from somewhere. She felt a fluctuation in the space next to her, and by the time she looked up, a tall man was standing there, looking down at her with eyes full of tenderness.

"Overbearing CEO... falls in love with me?"

His gaze paused for a moment, a hint of helplessness on his face. Su Mo chuckled and closed the book, "I bought it from a regular person. It was too dull waiting for you, so I boiled some water. You should take a bath – it’s been a week!"

Lu Chen didn’t refuse. His body had also undergone considerable changes. Although not as dramatic as Su Mo’s, his physique had become much stronger. The previous strain of tearing through space had now become effortless, and even long-distance teleportation seemed easy for him to achieve.

After showering, she had already taken out two dishes from the pre-stored food in the system, "Have something to eat. You’ve been asleep for a week, and we are about to leave."

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Rong Bai prepared the car for us again. I even brought back two more cars from last time to keep in reserve." As she ate, Su Mo continued, "He also gave us a box of weapons, but I only took a few guns and hand grenades. I didn’t take the rest."

It wasn’t that she was overconfident; she simply felt that with their current strength, they didn’t need such weapons for self-defense.

Lu Chen had no objections to her decisions.

After finishing their meal, on the night before their departure, they gathered all their companions, briefed them on the destination and some precautions, and then dispersed.

Li Qian officially became a Level 6 Spiritual Superpower User. His spiritual power was no longer always elusive and started to take on some substantive color. The lethality of his group attack skills had doubled.

Li He was informed that he would be joining them on the mission, and he didn’t resist. However, the mere thought of a certain teammate made his eyes inevitably dim.

His explanation that day was gratifying, but... he knew in his heart that they were just brothers, no more was permissible.

He did not want Jianxiong to endure the judgment of society.

They chose a clear sunny day to set out, and Momo Restaurant, due to the absence of the proprietress, officially ceased operations. During this period, the vast amount of Crystal Stones earned were so numerous that Su Mo couldn’t be bothered to count them and just swept them all into the system.

The days in the refugee camp were now quite bearable; the Mutant Beasts provided enough meat to keep people fed for a very long time, and even commoners recently gorged themselves on meat at every meal until they were sick of it.

Meat, for a time, became the least valuable commodity.

Lu Youwei and Fang Ya, abandoned by Lu Jin, received no special treatment in the commoners’ area. After spending one bag of Crystal Stones on food and trading the other for a luxurious large tent, the two were left completely penniless and starving.

No one was willing to help them, and the food distributed each day was such foul-smelling meat that it was hard to swallow. Fang Ya couldn’t understand why people were so happy eating such disgusting food. After she cooked the only piece of good pork and shared it with Lu Youwei, she hadn’t eaten anything else.

The man’s temper grew increasingly violent. Unable to endure it, Fang Ya squatted daily at the entrance of the commercial street leading to the P-city refugee camp. When she found out that Lu Chen had ordered that she could never set foot in that area again, her heart felt as if it had been struck by lightning.

At first, the soldiers would still pass on messages for the sake of Lu Chen’s reputation, but after one such instance, no one was willing to pay attention to her anymore.

Fang Ya regretted her actions. Dressed in filthy clothes with disheveled hair, she watched Fang Lian walk by with her daughter, elegant and contemptuous. Fang Ya was overwhelmed with self-loathing.

If she had taken him back then, if she had used all her power to protect and care for the son who loved her, then it wouldn’t be Jiang Yulian sitting on the sofa with legs crossed—it would have been her, Fang Ya.

No amount of tears of regret could change an ending that was already sealed.

How miserably she lived no longer held any interest for Lu Chen. He only instructed Jiang Yulian to take good care of their son, and Rong Bai would look after them.

A few vehicles carrying hope slowly drove out of P-city under the blazing sun.

Lu Jin’s gaze never left the two combat vehicles heading in a completely different direction, growing more and more distant. It wasn’t until the tails of the vehicles disappeared from sight that he slowly turned his head, staring at his own thigh.

Setting out from P-city once again, everyone’s mood was drastically different. When it came to encountering Level 2 or Level 3 Zombies that would occasionally jump out ahead of them on the street or in front of their car, everyone was quite calm.

Even when they ran into a small horde of Zombies blocking a narrow alley, there was no expression on their faces.

Su Mo was too lazy to even get out of the car, just watching as Jianxiong intentionally acted cool by rushing headlong into the Zombie horde, taking them down with one punch each.

Li He and Jianxiong were sitting in their car, while Li Qian and Zhao Changsheng, the two newcomers, drove another one on their own.

Li He’s expression remained indifferent, only occasionally glancing forward, betraying his inner emotions.

Su Mo withdrew her gaze from the rearview mirror, her mouth curving into a smile. It seemed that this matter might not be impossible after all.

Jianxiong was doing it on purpose. He was fully aware of why he was acting this way—it was nothing more than a ploy to catch the attention of the people in the car.

However, quite unfortunately, within this horde of Zombies, a Level 5 Zombie suddenly burst forth. It had evolved round after round until its arms had completely degenerated into a creature with only three sharp claws, and its legs possessed an astonishing propelling force.