The Absolute Favorite in the Apocalyptic Rebirth

Under Lai Xiaoyu and the others' horrified gazes, the men obeying Brother Liu's order to seize the two flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground. In this late spring chill, such a fall would undoubtedly result in broken bones.

The onlookers who had quietly slipped away out of fear now gaped in astonishment. Realizing that the one who'd lost face was Fatty Liu, they looked at Lou Dian and Lou Ling with a mixture of admiration and pity. However, looking closely at Lou Dian's face, they understood why Fatty Liu had made his move. Still, they all knew that provoking Fatty Liu was equivalent to provoking the base's strongest ability user team—the Tianbiao Ability User Team. The pair's fate was easily imagined.

Brother Liu was also stunned. He shoved aside the equally dumbfounded Lai Xiaoyu, who he'd been holding, and pointed a sausage-like finger at Lou Dian, his face red with rage.

Lou Dian didn't bother to glance at him. Lowering his head, he looked at the person beside him and asked, "Rest first? Get some sleep?" His fingertip brushed against her dark circles, earning him a glare from Lou Ling. He inwardly grumbled; after all, who was to blame for this? Being unable to beat her in a fight was too frustrating.

"Alright, let's rent a place to rest first," Lou Ling nodded.

With her agreement, Lou Dian took her hand and left, completely disregarding Fatty Liu, his indifference bordering on arrogance. With his current strength, he had the right to be arrogant. This was better than resorting to violence at every turn. Perhaps in his past life, if someone had humiliated him like this, he would have killed the fat bastard. But now… He glanced sideways at the calm Lou Ling and smiled faintly. Why ruin his good image in her eyes for a dead fatty?

Nothing was more important than maintaining his image in her mind, or even more important than her mood.

However, this disregard was the most infuriating. Brother Liu's face turned crimson. This was the first time anyone had so blatantly disrespected him. A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes, and his plump body rolled forward like a ball, blocking their path. He roared, "You two, don't push your luck! Do you know who we are? Once I catch you, I'll have my way with you in bed… Ow—"

A scream pierced the air. The fat man rolled away on the ground like a ball. Only after he'd rolled five meters away did his subordinates react, rushing over to help him up. Lai Xiaoyu, You Jun, and the others were speechless, a wave of worry and fear washing over them.

It was Lou Ling who had delivered the kick. Her face dark, she still felt the need to vent and charged forward, delivering another kick to the fat man's chest. Lou Dian easily dealt with those who tried to stop her, allowing her to do as she pleased.

"You pig, can't you think with anything other than your lower body? You love using it so much? Then let's get rid of it!" How dare he insult her man! Become a eunuch! As her words fell, she stomped hard on his crotch. Another pig-like squeal echoed as Fatty Liu finally fainted, a wet bloodstain spreading where he'd been grievously injured.

Although she knew that relationships were chaotic after the apocalypse, and the drastic decrease in women had made homosexuality commonplace, how could she tolerate such a public insult?

Seeing her ruthlessness, the others felt a chill, especially the men, who involuntarily crossed their legs, feeling a tightness in their nether regions. The women who had suffered similar offenses revealed expressions of relief.

After venting her anger, Lou Ling glanced around. Lou Dian had knocked down all of Fatty Liu's subordinates. Lai Xiaoyu, Brother Qiang, and the others were trembling with fear, while the onlookers in the distance watched them with a mixture of awe and excitement.

Lou Ling understood. This fatty had no real ability; he must have had a powerful backer to allow him to act so arrogantly in the base, making people angry but afraid to speak out. Thinking that she might have provoked the base's powerful figure, Lou Ling frowned slightly, aware of the potential trouble but not afraid.

Treating the matter as a minor incident, the two ignored their surroundings and strolled towards the Ability User Hall.

After they left, Brother Qiang and the others exchanged glances and quickly helped carry the unconscious fatty away. Only You Jun, after a moment of anxiety and panic, his face hardening with resolve, retreated a few steps, blended into the crowd, and then ran.

You Jun ran all the way to a cluster of dirty, low-rise houses. Without hesitation, he entered a narrow alley filled with stagnant water and a terrible stench. He reached a shack made of wooden planks and cardboard deep within the alley. The eaves were extremely low; You Jun, at 1.8 meters tall, had to stoop to enter.

When You Jun entered, a gaunt woman lay on the only wooden bed in the room. A thin woman sat in front of the bed, her back to the door, carefully feeding the woman yellowish water from a broken bowl.

Hearing the sound, both of them looked towards the door. Seeing You Jun, they were stunned.

You Jun rushed over, grabbing the woman's hand and shouting, "Aya, come with me!"

The woman named Aya had a dirty face and tangled, messy hair, only her bright eyes were unusually large. Seeing You Jun, her face was full of disbelief. Even when the broken bowl fell onto the bed, she didn't react. She didn't hear what he said, only throwing herself at him like a wild animal, hugging him tightly and crying in suppressed sobs.

The woman on the bed's cloudy eyes also lit up when she saw You Jun, but the light quickly faded. She wiped her eyes with her hand, murmuring something.

You Jun patted Aya, telling her not to cry, and said to the woman, "Mother, let's move quickly. I'm worried that those people from Tianbiao will come looking…" He briefly explained how the Tianbiao Ability User Team captain's brother had been injured. Without needing further explanation, the two women understood the gravity of the situation and how it could implicate You Jun, and even themselves. Despite their frailty, they quickly obeyed You Jun and prepared to move.

"Liu Bingsheng was injured?" a cold voice asked.

"Yes, sir," the reporting adjutant said gleefully. "Many people in the base know about it now. Liu Bingsheng was beaten half to death. It's quite pathetic. I heard he was injured by two ability users who just entered the base. They haven't been seen in the base before, so they probably didn't know Liu Bingsheng's status here, which is why they dared to be so ruthless." His expression was one of pure satisfaction.

Lei Hongming was also a little surprised. He hadn't expected this fatty to finally meet his match. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Go and investigate those two. If possible, when Liu Tianquan's people make their move, help them out."

After the adjutant left, Lei Hongming frowned. He had long wanted to get rid of this vermin in the base, but unfortunately, he had never had the opportunity. He couldn't risk the entire base's safety by going head-to-head with the Tianbiao Ability User Team. Although doing so would weaken the Lei family's power…

Soon, Lei Hongming's adjutant returned, his face beaming with joy, even more so than when he'd heard about Liu Bingsheng being beaten half to death. Before Lei Hongming could speak, he said, "Sir, I've found out. You know those two. They're the Lou siblings."

Lei Hongming stared at him intently and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!" the adjutant replied loudly.

After a long silence, the stern man slowly smiled, rose from his desk, and said, "It's rare for old friends to visit. Come with me to see them."

The adjutant was slightly surprised that his superior used the term "old friends" to describe the Lou siblings, but recalling Lou Dian's help three years ago, he quickly accepted it. Of course, if he knew that Lou Dian's uncle was the head of the Northwest Base, he wouldn't find Lei Hongming's "old friends" remark strange at all.

"Captain, it's bad! Brother Bingsheng has been injured!" A panicked voice rang out in the Tianbiao Ability User Team's building.

Everyone in the office looked in shock at the person who had rushed in to report.

The man panted, looking at the man smoking on the sofa. Meeting those gloomy, wolf-like eyes, he didn't dare to look directly at them and said angrily, "Yes, Brother Bingsheng has been brought back. He's still unconscious! Those who were with him said that he was injured by a man and a woman. Their abilities are extremely high."

Liu Tianquan's eyes narrowed slightly. Suppressing his anger, he extinguished his cigarette and asked, "How high?"

"Probably surpassing General Lei."

A gleam flashed in Liu Tianquan's gloomy, wolf-like eyes. He asked again, "Did those two come to the base alone? Did they bring anyone else? What are their names?"

"I heard they came back with Zhao Qiang and that slut Lai Xiaoyu. Zhao Qiang and the others didn't complete their mission and are kneeling outside as punishment. Captain, they seemed to have gone to the Ability User Hall earlier, probably to rent a house…"

Upon hearing this, Liu Tianquan burst into laughter, a bloodthirsty glint in his sinister eyes. He said, "Excellent. Since they injured my brother, they won't leave unscathed. Go and stop them first, 'invite' them here! I'll give them a proper welcome!"

The others understood the meaning of 'invite' and knew Liu Tianquan's intentions. They became excited.

After his subordinates left to carry out his orders and everyone else had departed, Liu Tianquan sat on the sofa, toying with the energy cores in his hand, his eyes filled with fascination as he looked at the jewel-like brilliance of the cores. Very few people knew that the energy core he held wasn't from a zombie but was a brain core dug out of an ability user's head. It was even more suitable for ability users than zombie cores and could rapidly increase their abilities.

Liu Tianquan had discovered this secret two years ago. Back then, he was only a Level 1 fire ability user. During a mission, he killed a companion to survive and discovered an energy core in his companion's brain that was extremely similar to a zombie's. By chance, he absorbed it and discovered that its power was more suitable for humans than zombie cores. Later, he hunted down several more ability users, his own abilities rapidly increasing, allowing him to become a powerful figure step by step and establish the Tianbiao Ability User Team.

He had killed hundreds of his own kind, including Level 3 ability users and even a Level 4 ability user, which allowed him to break through Level 4 and advance to Level 5. After learning the secret of ability user energy cores, he told no one, keeping it completely hidden, allowing him to become the strongest among all humans. Even Lei Hongming, who was once called a genius, was only at the late stage of Level 4. How could he be his opponent?

However, Level 5 wasn't enough. He needed to advance further. He wanted to stand at the peak of humanity and needed more powerful ability user energy cores. Just now, hearing his subordinate's words, he knew that the people he was waiting for had appeared. Sending his subordinates over was just to test their strength and, incidentally, test the Tianbiao Ability User Team's influence in the base, to crush the Lei family underfoot.

Thinking of his future ambitions, Liu Tianquan burst into laughter.

After handing over one hundred kilograms of mutant beast meat, they rented a house located in the outer ring of the base. The lease was only for ten days.

"One hundred kilograms of mutant beast meat for only ten days? Has the price gone up?" Lou Ling muttered. Had the price of goods increased in the past three years?

"Expensive? What's expensive?" The staff member who heard her muttering looked at her with contempt, his eyes filled with disdain and envy. This woman, at first glance, was well-fed and well-dressed, pampered, fair-skinned, and naturally beautiful. She must be kept by some powerful figure, naturally making those who worked hard every day but could only afford coarse cakes feel inferior and envious. Hearing her complaint about the price, he immediately lashed out, "Brother Quan calls the shots in the base now. Take it or leave it. This price is already fair! If you don't want to rent, go and squeeze in with those dirty ordinary people. There's no rent there."

Lou Ling wasn't one to take insults lying down. Provoked, she sneered, "What Brother Quan? I don't know any Brother Quan. I only know General Lei!"

"Ha, General Lei? Don't even think about it. Soon, this base will belong to the Tianbiao Ability User Team. The Lei family doesn't have the strength." He then looked her up and down with disdain, a lewd glint in his eyes, and said with a smile, "You're quite clean. A Diaochan in a pigsty. Want me to introduce you to Brother Liu? I guarantee you'll live the high life!"

His expression was just like a pimp's!

The Ability User Hall had been quite lively, but with this staff member's loud shouting, all eyes turned towards them. Of course, many people recognized this male staff member as one of Liu Bingsheng's men. In order to control the ability users, he had been placed in the Ability User Hall, and he lived up to expectations by stirring up trouble for Liu Bingsheng.

"Brother Liu?" Lou Ling suddenly fell silent.

"Yes, Brother Liu Bingsheng! He's the older brother of Captain Liu of the Tianbiao Ability User Team. Captain Liu is already a Level 5 ability user and respects Brother Liu very much. As long as you follow Brother Liu, you'll eat well, drink well—"

He couldn't finish his sentence because he flew from his seat, crashing heavily against the wall and then bouncing onto the floor. He lay there, vomiting blood, unconscious.

The Ability User Hall was silent for a few seconds, then everyone stared in shock at the black-clad man who had made the move.

Just then, a group of ability users appeared in the hall. Their leader was Xiong Kun, the vice-captain of the Tianbiao Ability User Team.

Their arrival was perfectly timed, just in time to see Lou Dian slap the staff member against the wall.

Xiong Kun's eyes darkened, and he said coldly, "Unrelated personnel, step aside! You—" He pointed at Lou Dian. "Come with us to the Tianbiao Ability User Team. Our captain wants to see you!"

After a moment of silence, Lou Dian chuckled. "Just so happens, I also want to meet your captain."

Seeing his saintly smile, Lou Ling felt a phantom pain in her nonexistent testicles. She also knew that the captain of the Tianbiao Ability User Team had truly provoked him. He wouldn't escape without losing a layer of skin, if not his life.

Author's Note:

Today's goals:

Lou Ling's goal: Behave and be a good person!

Lou Dian's goal: Restrain himself and maintain his image!

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