TSIAGBICATMWI Chapter 114

Chapter 114: One Step Too Late

Chapter 114 One Step Too Late

With everything packed up, the small campsite that was bustling with activity just moments ago had instantly transformed into a deserted clearing in the wilderness.

Only the pile of extinguished embers, still emitting faint wisps of steam, testified to the fact that someone had been there.

Gu Tangyue struggled to keep up with Gu Tangxi’s rapid strides, breathlessly asking, “Sis, what’s going on? Why the sudden rush? Did you sense a horde of zombies approaching?”

That shouldn’t be possible. This deep in the mountains, even cars can’t get through, so how could there be a zombie horde?

Gu Tangxi pulled her along, quickening her pace once more. “Just hurry up and move! Don’t ask so many questions. If we’re too late, the treasure will be gone.”

“Ah! What treasure?” Weren’t they supposed to be fighting zombies? If they were late and someone else wiped them out, they could just find another batch. There were so many zombies anyway; were they afraid of running out? It would be a blessing if they were all wiped out, but that was obviously impossible.

“A great treasure.” How would Gu Tangxi know what it was? She was just a poor nobody. She hadn’t even seen the shadow of a treasure before, so what did she know?

But all in all, that place was unusual and worth exploring. Hopefully, it was some kind of Jīngpò- Crystal Soul or Core, she wanted a White Tiger Cub companion beast.

Xu Yuzhe, on the other hand, had caught on to something. They were probably heading back to where they dug sweet potatoes before. He had suspected something was wrong with that place from the start and had remained vigilant while digging, not daring to relax.

In this end of the world, there were too many strange things. It wouldn’t be surprising if some monster suddenly appeared and attacked them.

But judging from the situation now, there should be something useful there. If it was just a monster, there would be no need to go back and court trouble.

What could it be?

Xu Yuzhe walked up to Gu Tangxi and asked, “Would you mind telling me where we’re going?”

He didn’t directly ask why they were going back, but rather chose a more innocuous way of asking. As a member of the group, he thought he had the right to know where they were going.

Gu Tangxi looked up at Xie YunChuan, who seemed to sense her gaze and looked back at her. Gu Tangxi’s eyes asked: Is it okay to tell him?

Xie YunChuan turned his head and continued walking, nonchalantly saying, “Whatever, he’ll find out sooner or later anyway.”

Xie YunChuan believed that it wouldn’t be long before the news of the Jīngpò- Crystal Soul or Core spread throughout the continent. This was inevitable. For those in high positions, it was wiser to cast a wide net and try to catch a big fish rather than waste manpower and resources on secretly searching. Only by knowing where that thing was located could they decide whether to directly seize it or appease and recruit those who possessed it. It would be much easier than searching blindly.

Gu Tangxi thoughtfully nodded. “Whatever you want” meant it was okay to tell him or not, and “he’ll find out sooner or later anyway” meant—tell him!

Gu Tangxi told Xu Yuzhe about the Jīngpò- Crystal Soul or Core and their current speculation. Thanks to Xu Yuzhe, Gu Tangyue, who was eavesdropping, finally understood what was going on.

At this moment, Xie YunChuan, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped his hurried pace. Ahead of them were two roads leading in different directions. Xie YunChuan asked the Gu Tangxi sisters, “Which way?”

Gu Tangxi stepped forward and looked left and right, trying to find suspicious familiar traces. Damn it, everything looked the same. Everything looked familiar and yet strange. Hesitating for two seconds, Gu Tangxi decided to pass the buck. “Xiaoyue, can you see which road we came from?”

Gu Tangyue looked bewildered. Huh? Wasn’t she known to be terrible with directions? She could only tell left from right, not north from south.

Xie YunChuan remembered the scene of Gu Tangxi leading the way in the mountains last time, and Gu Tangyue’s inability to understand the map.

He sighed inwardly: Could these two be pretending to be foolish while actually being wise?

They must have survived this long purely by good luck, with their space abilities.

Giving up on letting them guide the way, as he wouldn’t dare to follow them even if they pointed the way, Xie YunChuan looked at Xu Yuzhe, who was a few steps behind. He pointed at him and made a final decision: “You lead the way.”

Afraid of encountering more people with no sense of direction, Xie YunChuan rarely asked an extra question, “You…know the way, right?”

Xu Yuzhe nodded, “I do!” He stepped forward and without the slightest hesitation, he took the lead and walked into the small, overgrown path on the left, looking 100% certain that this was the way.

Gu Tangxi muttered under her breath, “If you knew, why didn’t you say so earlier and lead the way!” Making her fumble around for so long. By the time they got back, who knew if that thing would still be there.

Then she comforted herself in her heart: It should still be there, right? In this remote mountain, it’s not easy to run into people!

With a clear direction, they moved quickly. The road that had taken them a day to traverse before was now covered in half a day with Xu Yuzhe leading the way, straight to their destination.

Unfortunately, they were one step too late. Well, perhaps more than one step.

In any case, when they arrived, they saw from afar that the originally dense, lush green trees and plants seemed to have had their vitality drained away, becoming lifeless.

In the eyes of Gu Tangxi and the others, who had seen the before and after, even if the trees were still there, they could immediately sense something was wrong.

Xu Yuzhe: “Too late!”

Gu Tangxi: “It’s over!”

Gu Tangyue: “It’s gone!”

Luo Shuyou: “Huh?”

Xie YunChuan: “……!”

“Let’s go, at least go in and see what’s left.”

Arriving at the place where they had dug sweet potatoes before, the once moist and fertile soil had become dry and hard.

Xu Yuzhe picked up a bit of soil and examined it. “The soil isn’t as moist anymore. Logically, it should be more humid after last night’s temperature drop.”

Gu Tangxi pulled apart the discarded vines and found a small sweet potato vine that had been left behind. The once fresh and tender green leaves had become withered and shriveled. She pulled it out, and the roots had two or three dried and small sweet potatoes, completely unlike the large and plump ones they had dug up before.