Chapter 139: “You are very strong now and can protect Yang Erci.”
This sentence was not a moment of unbridled kindness from An Wujiu; it was seriously considered.
Since he had already decided to live well and understand everything happening here as much as possible within the limited time, he needed to have enough allies.
He was clear about Yang Erci’s abilities. Even if the Yang Erci standing in front of them now was not from the same time and space, her abilities wouldn’t differ much. It would be best if she could join them.
The only concern at the moment was the other [Zhong Yirou] who was polluted. If she couldn’t set her mind at ease, she probably wouldn’t cooperate with them.
“Together?” Yang Erci turned around, “What do you plan to do?”
“Survive.” An Wujiu said directly, “We still have to go to Sha Wen. You need to find your father, and I need to find my sister. Our goals are the same. There is no conflict of interest between us. On the contrary, you and our former companion can be considered the same person, just existing in different time spaces. None of us want anything to happen to you.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Erci had to admit that she was indeed moved. These words were all about purpose, but they were also very sincere.
She turned around and calmly raised her eyes, “I can’t leave her.”
Shen Ti suddenly raised a hand and said, “Ah, about this, I can give it a try.”
“Try?” Zhong Yirou turned her head in confusion towards Shen Ti.
What he meant by trying was actually attempting to assimilate the polluted [Zhong Yirou], making her similar to the high-level pollutant Wu You, capable of communication.
The polluted [Zhong Yirou] was right in front of them, not in a good state. Under the influence of drugs, she was still in a coma. What she consumed was not human, nor was it style; it was merely drinking poison to quench her thirst.
Shen Ti squatted in front of her without saying a word.
“Hey, are you really capable?” Zhong Yirou expressed her doubts, “How confident are you?”
“I don’t know.” Shen Ti answered casually.
He indeed didn’t have much confidence. The fact that Wu You was able to regain her humanity might have been a coincidence, or it might have been due to Wu You’s own characteristics and human perseverance.
So far, he didn’t know to what extent his powers had recovered either.
Shen Ti tried to touch the tentacle of the polluted [Zhong Yirou]. As soon as his fingers touched her tentacle, he suddenly felt a resisting force, gradually growing stronger from weaker, like repelling magnets trying to push Shen Ti away.
He underestimated this force; it was stronger than he had imagined.
Suddenly, Shen Ti thought of the talisman he found in the car when he found Nan Shan and Wu You.
Could it be that part of the reason he could easily connect with Wu You back then was because of Nan Shan?
Did Nan Shan use the talisman to protect Wu You’s mind?
Shen Ti squatted there alone, tilting his head left and right in front of the polluted [Zhong Yirou], not saying a word, like a puppy.
Just as Zhong Yirou was about to speak, he suddenly rolled up his sleeves, muttering, “I just don’t believe it,” and grabbed the tentacle.
Amazingly, although the slime on the tentacle made contact with Shen Ti, it seemed as if an invisible thin film appeared on Shen Ti’s palm at the same time, resisting the corrosion.
Shen Ti seriously felt the hidden power within his body this time, trying to mobilize it.
In this instant, he felt an unprecedented silence, as if he had fallen into the deep sea, in a vacuum, with no sound around.
Everything seemed to have stopped, leaving only the energy surging within him.
Like an explosion, the evil force attempting to spread from within the pollutant was utterly defeated in an instant, completely no match for Shen Ti.
Even though he had only awakened one-thousandth of his power.
[Zhong Yirou] was violently repelled, as if an invisible, strong airflow had pushed her back. Her countless tentacles lifted and then slowly fell.
[Yang Erci] walked over, half-kneeling in front of her, looking at Shen Ti.
Shen Ti calmly opened his eyes, looked at the pollutant in front of him, and tried to communicate with her.
“Can you hear my voice, Zhong Yirou?”
Several seconds passed.
Just when Shen Ti thought he had failed, a weak voice came from his mind.
[You…who are you?]
Shen Ti raised the corner of his mouth and said, “I’m a super handsome guy you don’t know.”
Behind him, Zhong Yirou covered her face with one hand, unable to bear the sight.
“You heard her speak?” [Yang Erci] asked Shen Ti urgently, “Can I talk to her?”
Shen Ti turned his face and shook his head casually yet coldly, “No.”
He pointed to Wu You behind him and said, “Just like him, you can only hear me and Wujiu speak. You can’t communicate.”
[Yang Erci] frowned. Just by intuition, she knew these two were not ordinary people.
But she didn’t expect them to be able to communicate with the pollutants. What kind of identity could they have?
“At least she won’t go mad now,” Zhong Yirou comforted, “If you have anything to say, you can ask them to convey it to her.”
[Yang Erci] shook her head.
For a moment, she really didn’t know what to say to her. Should she say she forcibly kept her for selfish reasons? Or tell her that she has become a monster?
She was such a beautiful girl.
Seeing [Yang Erci] not speaking, Shen Ti glanced at An Wujiu.
An Wujiu briefly beautified the general process and told it to [Zhong Yirou].
He could see that this her took a long time to accept the fact that she was polluted.
[Do I look…ugly now?]
An Wujiu denied her thought, “No, you still have a chance to return to your previous appearance as long as you survive. And…”
His tone was calm and firm.
“You’re very strong now; you can protect Yang Erci.”
These words struck [Zhong Yirou]’s heart, giving her a reason to cling to survival.
[Okay.]
Shen Ti stood up, shook his arms, and asked [Yang Erci], “How much time do you have left?”
Yang Erci looked down and flipped her wrist, “About an hour.”
Shen Ti cracked his knuckles and said, “Let’s go renew some time first.”
They left the supermarket, and as they came out, they encountered several pollutants. These pollutants were at least four meters tall and human-shaped, but their skin was a bizarre grey-white, with their facial features covered, their eyes invisible, and even their mouths sealed.
“Feels a bit like…wendigo,” Zhong Yirou said, gripping her gun tightly as she looked at these monsters.
Shen Ti wasn’t familiar with human myths and legends. While shooting, he curiously asked, “What’s that?”
Zhong Yirou also raised her gun and said, “A man-eating monster from North American legends, described somewhat like them.”
While the two chatted, [Yang Erci] had already killed a bunch. In the moment of reloading, one of the monsters pounced on her back.
“Erci, watch out!”
[Yang Erci] turned sharply and drew her knife, about to stab the creature. But in the next second, it was dragged down, roaring, and slammed to the ground.
It was [Zhong Yirou] who used her tentacles to entangle the creature’s feet and drag it away.
[Yang Erci] and the polluted [Zhong Yirou] looked at each other from a distance. Though she couldn’t hear her speak, she actively stood up to protect her.
[Yang Erci] felt complicated, smiled at her, and continued to fight.
More and more humanoid monsters surrounded their car. If they were only humans, their chances of winning under such group attacks were very low, and guns were not enough for so many close-range attacks.
But with the mutated Wu You and [Zhong Yirou], their combat strength was greatly enhanced, giving them space to retreat.
“Is there another exit in the supermarket?” An Wujiu asked urgently.
“There is one,” [Yang Erci] told them, “Get inside first! Go out through the warehouse back door!”
“Okay!”
Wu You could hear An Wujiu’s voice.
[I’ll cover the rear; you all go first.]
Wu You resisted their attacks outside, giving the others a chance to escape back into the supermarket. However, the number of monsters was immense, and many were already trying to squeeze through the roller shutter into the supermarket. Wu You had to keep sweeping with his tentacles until the last person was inside.
Seeing no sign of any companions, Wu You extended his tentacles and forcefully dragged the roller shutter down until it was completely closed.
He could still hear An Wujiu’s voice, asking if he had come in.
[I’m not coming in.]
“What?”
[I’ll go from above.]
After saying this, Wu You directly extended his tentacles to the roof of the supermarket, wrapping them around the top of the billboard, and leaped up, climbing directly onto the roof.
Behind him was a surging, dark crowd of pollutants. Wu You moved quickly, crossing the rooftop and reaching the edge, then jumped down.
Just in time, as they reached the back door, Wu You successfully rejoined them.
They found a delivery truck, but it couldn’t fit everyone, so the largest Wu You and [Zhong Yirou] had to sit in the back cargo area while the others were in the front.
Due to directly facing the pollutants in battle, [Yang Erci] and Zhong Yirou’s time increased significantly, but their sanity levels dropped sharply. [Yang Erci] looked at Shen Ti and An Wujiu and found that although both were injured and their health points had decreased, their sanity levels were almost unchanged.
“Why are your spirits so stable?” she asked.
This inquisitive nature was indeed consistent, but An Wujiu thought the explanation was too complicated.
“Long story, I’ll explain when we have time.” He started the truck; the navigation system was damaged, so he asked [Yang Erci], “You know where Sha Wen is, right?”
“I’ll take you there,” she said.
Along the way, many scattered pollutants attacked their truck, but they were all dealt with by Shen Ti.
In Zhong Yirou’s mind, the scene of Yang Erci’s death kept repeating. Seeing this [Yang Erci] beside her, her sanity level dropped further, and the situation became more severe.
In her mind, the masked man kept appearing, demanding that email from her.
Yes, the email.
She asked [Yang Erci], “Do you have a very important email?”
This reminded An Wujiu. Seeing that Yang Erci didn’t respond directly, he added, “It should be from your father.”
“My father?” [Yang Erci] frowned, “He hasn’t contacted me at all.”
“Really?” Shen Ti thought for a moment, “By the way, didn’t you just say your dad is still alive?”
“Yes, that I can confirm.”
But in the world they were in, Yang Erci’s father was already dead.
An Wujiu roughly explained about the email, including the deaths of Yang Ce and Yang Erci.
After listening, [Yang Erci] found it strange, “Was his email sent earlier? I haven’t received any, not a single one.”
Speaking of time, Zhong Yirou remembered something, “No, not earlier, it was just last night before the power outage.”
She told everyone, “She mentioned it when she came out of the studio, saying luckily she backed up the email in advance…”
Shen Ti raised an eyebrow and said, “That’s strange.”
A dead person can’t suddenly send an email, especially one so important. It’s unlikely it was scheduled for a future send.
An Wujiu said calmly, “Perhaps it’s a time-space overlap.”
He looked at [Yang Erci], “By some accident, your father sent the email to her, the other Yang Erci.”
