Chapter 43: Ultra-Rich Shrimp Broth Ramen

Bang!

The courtyard gate was kicked open.

Plop!

The metal dagger headed straight for Zheng Xiuwen's back of the head was deflected by an ice awl.

Zou Gaoming looked over in astonishment, shouting in shock and anger, "It's you!"

That group of foreign supernatural beings invited into the village by Wei Yan!

Seeing them, his heart inevitably panicked for a moment.

Su Su brushed past him, her gaze falling on the unconscious Wei Yan, specifically at his temples... She strode forward.

"Did he swallow another crystal?"

Zheng Xiuwen hadn't been this terrified when facing a death threat, but seeing Wei Yan cough up mouthfuls of blood, her tears gushed out uncontrollably.

"Wei... Brother Wei swallowed a Tier 4 crystal! He only just advanced to Tier 3 not long ago. Swallowing a Tier 4 crystal this quickly—he definitely couldn't handle it, he's going to die!"

Supernatural beings who swallow crystals can feel the overloaded energy within their bodies. When Wei Yan obtained that Tier 4 crystal without swallowing it immediately, he was wary of whether excessive energy would bring about disastrous consequences.

Who would have thought he would still be driven to this point by Zou Gaoming!

"Step aside if you don't want to die!"

Zou Gaoming was panicking inside, but matters had reached this stage; either he died or Wei Yan died, and he had to deliver a fatal blow.

"This is our village's affair! If you insist on meddling, don't blame me for releasing more zombies!"

Whether he was bluffing or not, no one knew. Perhaps there were more zombies hidden in the village, or perhaps this was the only one.

Su Su leaned toward the latter.

Without looking back, she said, "Cancan, Lerui."

"Understood!"

Pang Cancan immediately released a dozen venomous insects. They rustled into the air and surrounded Zou Gaoming in the blink of an eye. At the same time, a dense barrage of hailstones came crashing down.

In desperation, Zou Gaoming mobilized all the nearby metal, blending and forging it into an airtight iron barrel to tightly guard his entire body.

The venomous insects slammed successively against the iron skin barrel.

Hearing these continuous collision sounds, before Zou Gaoming could even catch his breath, he watched with wide eyes as a row of sharp, dense sawteeth "embedded" themselves into the iron sheet. With relentless gnawing, more than a dozen holes appeared one after another, and their diameters only grew larger!

With reddened eyes, he drove his small metal dagger to stab every venomous insect attempting to drill into the gaps, roaring, "Go to hell!"

Outside the iron barrel:

Pang Cancan stood with her hands on her hips, sneering. "Go on and stab! I want to see if your little dagger is sharper, or if my babies can chew faster!"

Over there, a fierce battle was underway.

Over here, Wei Yan was coughing up more and more blood, and his temples were swelling larger by the second, constantly on the verge of bursting.

Su Su crouched beside him, her brain rapidly processing for half a second.

Her ability to cleanse crystal impurities was a secret known only to Xiao Hei. Even Pang Cancan and Lerui only knew that she could control zombies.

If she stepped in to save Wei Yan... it would mean completely exposing her abilities in front of her own people and Wei Yan's camp.

In that half-second, Su Su thought of many things, including the consequences of exposure and the chain reaction it might trigger.

Yet, it seemed she thought of nothing at all, because all those scenarios were merely her hypotheses—perhaps cautious preparation, perhaps groundless worry.

Half a second passed.

Su Su made her decision: "I can save him."

Zheng Xiuwen looked over in shock: "You can save Brother Wei?"

"Yes."

Su Su answered without a moment's hesitation.

She wanted to save Wei Yan, perhaps because he had agreed to let them enter Hot Spring Village, or perhaps because of those two buckets of vegetables already stowed in her spatial storage. Regardless, it was a decision born from her own heart.

In case it brought bad consequences... Su Su smiled faintly. She had her own strength, plus the even more ferocious and robust Xiao Hei. If even this couldn't let her do as she pleased in the apocalypse, she might as well be a coward and stay far away from crowds, ensuring she would never risk exposing her abilities.

Zheng Xiuwen stared at her in a daze.

She also caught that smile—a confident and radiant expression that involuntarily made her believe this person's words.

"How are you going to save him? Do you need my help?"

"No need."

Su Su approached Wei Yan and reached out her hand—a white light instantly enveloped the man's entire body.

The light continuously drilled into his body, guiding the excess crystal impurities bit by bit out of his system, and even guiding those rampaging energies so they could be absorbed in an orderly and slow manner.

As the supernatural energy was gradually released, a miraculous thing happened!

Wei Yan finally stopped vomiting blood, and his purplish temples ceased their outward swelling; everything began to stabilize.

Zheng Xiuwen's expression shifted from disbelief to joy and excitement.

She wiped away her tears and suddenly began to laugh softly.

Brother Wei was a stubborn man who strictly adhered to his principles. His personality had caused Zou Gaoming and the others to grow increasingly arrogant and plot murder behind his back. Yet, it was precisely this personality that had attracted her and Guan Zixuan's loyalty, and openly welcomed strangers into the village.

Who could have imagined that hiding among them was a healing-type supernatural being, bringing him a final ray of hope!

That's right, Zheng Xiuwen had already mistaken Su Su for a healing-type supernatural being.

Holding her breath, she watched the scene unfold before her until the other half-open courtyard gate was pushed wide—

"Brother Wei! Xiuwen! I chased everyone out!"

Guan Zixuan rushed back panting, looked up, and caught sight of the chaotic scene in the courtyard.

"What happened?"

He looked around blankly, and the moment he saw Wei Yan lying on the ground, he lunged over in panic.

"Brother Wei?!"

Zheng Xiuwen grabbed him with quick reflexes. "Brother Wei was ambushed by a Tier 4 zombie and forced to swallow a Tier 4 crystal. He almost burst from the internal pressure, and now Miss Su is treating him."

In a single sentence, the amount of information was astonishing.

Guan Zixuan asked a barrage of questions: "Where did a zombie come from in the village? What do you mean he almost burst? Miss Su is treating Brother Wei?"

Zheng Xiuwen had no choice but to briefly recount what had just happened.

Upon hearing it, Guan Zixuan flew into a rage. "That bastard Zou Gaoming!"

He turned and charged straight toward the "iron barrel" that was still under siege.

"Step aside, you guys! I'll deal with this beast with my own hands!"

Hearing this, Pang Cancan and Lerui tactfully withdrew their forces, leaving the battlefield to Guan Zixuan.

"Zou Gaoming! You ungrateful wretch, how dare you harm Brother Wei!"

A massive wind blade slashed toward him. Zou Gaoming knew all too well the terrifying power of Guan Zixuan's ability—it was an iron-blooded skill forged through piles of corpses. A Tier 3 like himself, who had relied purely on stacking crystals, was no match for Guan Zixuan at all.

Seeing the situation turn sour, he vaulted over the wall and fled.

"Stop right there!"

Guan Zixuan chased after him on the run.

They chased for seven or eight hundred meters, reaching an open clearing where several villagers had gathered.

The distance between the two was closing rapidly, and the blatant chase scene attracted a large crowd of onlookers among the villagers.

"What's going on?"

"Why is Brother Guan chasing Brother Zou?"

"Could it be because of what happened earlier? But Brother Zou was only looking out for us!"

The murmurs did not stop Guan Zixuan; instead, they fueled his anger.

Looking out for them?

Wasn't Brother Wei good to these people? Wei Yan could claim seventy percent of the credit for Hot Spring Village maintaining its current peace and harmony!

And what about now? Shunzi and the others were staging a rebellion, and Zou Gaoming—whom Brother Wei had nurtured personally—had secretly been breeding a zombie capable of suppressing Brother Wei's abilities as early as the second month of the apocalypse!

Guan Zixuan's eyes were red with fury.

Seeing the gap close further, he raised the massive wind blade in his hand and slashed fiercely at Zou Gaoming.

Clang!

As expected, the wind blade struck the metal-forged shield, but unexpectedly, against his wind blade, the shield offered resistance for only a fraction of its strength before being chopped into two brittle sheets of iron the next second.

"Ah!"

Zou Gaoming only managed to let out a short, miserable scream before his head was sliced off from the back of his neck by the wind blade.

Fresh blood splattered all over Guan Zixuan's face and body, instantly turning him into a blood-soaked figure.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!"

These were the screams of the surrounding villagers. Having witnessed Guan Zixuan decapitate Zou Gaoming on the spot, their minds short-circuited from terror.

Guan Zixuan stared at the head rolling on the ground, a flash of complexity crossing the depths of his eyes.

No matter what, this was a companion he had spent over a year with.

Yet very soon, he recalled the terrifyingly bloated Brother Wei who had been moments away from exploding.

Zou Gaoming deserved to die a thousand deaths!

Guan Zixuan put away his wind blade and walked back with a cold face.

Along the way, the villagers turned pale and gave him a wide berth.

Once the "god of murder" vanished from their field of vision, they gathered together again.

"What did Brother Zou do wrong to make Guan Zixuan hunt him down and kill him?"

"Just because Brother Zou brought a few women back? He guarded our village for so long; if nothing else, he had sweat and toil to show for it! By what right was he killed just like that?"

The crowd gradually grew indignant.

Perhaps they were crying injustice for Zou Gaoming, or perhaps... they were afraid of meeting the same fate themselves.

A single man who hadn't had any women found in his home, but had equally participated in the selection process, muttered, "Brother Zou was so powerful, and Guan Zixuan killed him just like that. What if... tomorrow he looks at us wrong for being the ones who made mistakes, and drags us out to kill us too?"

At these words, everyone fell silent.

Those of them who supported Zou Gaoming had, to varying degrees, tasted the benefits and committed hidden sins.

If Guan Zixuan was this intolerant of any sand in his eyes, a blade would forever hang over their heads.

"Guan Zixuan is just an outsider from another village; he has no ties of affection with us. Brother Wei must be different. Even though his family moved to the city when he was very young, he still has that neighborly bond with us as villagers. He would never be so heartless!"

"Then should we... go talk to Brother Wei?"

"Go on, let's go!"

Inside the small detached courtyard:

When Su Su withdrew her hand, the swelling at Wei Yan's temples had shrunk to the size of a cherry tomato, and his gaze had cleared up significantly.

Zheng Xiuwen asked with concern, "Brother Wei, how are you feeling now?"

Wei Yan rasped, "Much better. The energy inside my body is gradually being absorbed."

"That's wonderful!"

Wei Yan's gaze landed on Su Su. She stood with her back to the sunlight, where normally only her facial contours should have been visible, yet for some inexplicable reason, he could see her facial features and every single detail clearly.

It was his heart beating faster.