The Absolute Favorite in the Apocalyptic Rebirth

After a month of arduous work, the mutated beasts near the base were finally driven away. As for the mutated plants, their growth had been restricted to a certain area. With the onset of snowfall, the ever-increasing snow finally covered them completely. Until the snow melted in the coming spring, there was no need to worry about them causing trouble.

When Second Lieutenant Xu, the leader of this operation, announced the mission's completion, everyone cheered. They could finally bid farewell to this dreadful weather and return to the base.

Everyone began packing up the camp, dismantling the tents, which were then stored in the spatial ability user's space, saving both time and effort.

As everyone packed, Lin Baobao walked over with a frown, pulling Lou Ling aside and whispering, "Lingling, do you feel something's strange?"

Lou Ling wrapped her frost-covered Tangdao sword with cloth strips. Hearing Lin Baobao's words, she pondered for a moment, then hesitantly said, "Are you talking about how someone has been trying to sabotage us these past few days?"

Lin Baobao looked surprised. "You knew?"

Lou Ling's hand itched to pinch Lin Baobao's baby face. "Am I that stupid? Wouldn't I notice someone trying to mess with us?"

Lin Baobao rubbed her face and giggled foolishly, thinking to herself that Lou Ling wasn't stupid, just a bit oblivious. With an honest and upright heart, Lou Ling rarely thought ill of others. Of course, Lou Ling's personality was also shaped by Lou Dian's absolute strength. Few dared to plot against Lou Dian; any schemes were often thwarted before they could even begin. Everything was straightforward, and the darkness and machinations of humanity were rarely presented to her.

The apocalypse wasn't as beautiful as it appeared on the surface. Behind the heartwarming scenes of humanity uniting to build bases and resist zombies, mutated animals, and plants, many committed cruel acts for their own benefit or selfish desires. However, Lou Dian shielded Lou Ling from most of these events, preventing her from being exposed to them.

Lin Baobao knew Lou Dian wanted her to live freely, unburdened by the harsh realities, simply because he had the power to protect her. Lin Baobao initially disagreed, but every time she saw Lou Ling's vibrant smile and unyielding spirit, supporting her through the most difficult times, she somehow made the same choice.

Seeing her lost in thought, Lou Ling patted her back and said, "We'll face whatever comes our way. Are we afraid of them?"

Lin Baobao nodded. With Lou Dian's current strength, there was indeed no need to worry too much about such things. However, she was worried that she would be implicated.

Lou Dian walked over and unceremoniously separated the two. His dark eyes swept coldly over Lin Baobao, sending a chill down her spine. He then turned to Lou Ling with a gentle smile. "What are you talking about?"

"About those who tried to sabotage us earlier." Lou Ling shrugged, a sarcastic tone in her voice. "They were too obvious. They deserved to die!"

Over the past month, they had been busy eliminating mutated beasts and plants near the base. Everyone should have been united, but Lou Ling sensed several times that someone deliberately exposed weaknesses, allowing mutated beasts to attack them. Of course, with Lou Dian and Tan Mo's current strength, they weren't afraid of mutated beasts. Instead, some of those saboteurs became food for the beasts.

Their team initially had about a hundred people, but nearly ten had died. Lou Ling knew these people were deliberately trying to sabotage them, so she felt no sadness at their deaths, remaining indifferent.

Upon hearing this, Lou Dian's dark eyes softened, his gaze shimmering like warm jade. "Indeed, they deserved to die."

Lin Baobao couldn't help but glance at him. Those people didn't have to die so quickly, but Lou Dian felt that these small fry had crossed his bottom line, so he used their schemes against them, sending them to their deaths. Seeing him smile so elegantly, Lin Baobao felt a chill in her heart. She seemed to have lost the reason she was once infatuated with him. As expected, distance truly made the heart grow fonder when it came to idols. Once you got to know them, the illusion shattered.

"But why did they suddenly act? Nothing happened before," Lou Ling frowned. "Are we in their way?"

"…"

This time, it was Lou Dian's turn to be speechless. He patted her head and said, "Don't overthink it."

Lin Baobao echoed, "Yes, don't overthink it." She hadn't realized that this usually oblivious person could sometimes be so perceptive, or perhaps she understood everything but simply didn't take those things to heart, considering them unimportant.

Lou Ling initially thought she was overthinking, but seeing their reactions, she knew she definitely wasn't. She spoke seriously, "Did something happen at the base?"

Although she kept a low profile, Lou Dian's previous actions in deterring those ability users made him a formidable figure in the eyes of the base's upper echelons. He was someone they desperately wanted to recruit, but also someone they desperately wanted to deal with. Such a person, if he couldn't be used by them, couldn't be allowed to help Lou Tang against them, suppressing their power.

Therefore, this mission to eliminate mutated animals and plants outside the base was the perfect opportunity to strike.

"It's fine. Big Brother and the others are at the base," Lou Dian said, his expression gentle and handsome, showing no sign of anxiety.

Lou Ling stared at him for a while, then glanced at Lin Baobao, nodding and letting the matter drop. However, her actions became somewhat hurried, wanting to return to the base as soon as possible.

Their tent was quickly packed. Tan Mo carried a pile of things over, including some treated mutated beast hides, and placed them in front of Lou Dian, who stored them in his spatial storage.

After everyone was almost ready, the Second Lieutenant ordered them to depart and leave the mountains.

It usually took three hours to leave the mountains. However, with the heavy snow, the mountain roads were more difficult to traverse, requiring double the time, so they set off early in the morning. Earth ability users cleared a path ahead, so there was no need to worry about being buried by snow.

Lou Ling wore a light down jacket over warm inner layers. Although she still felt a slight chill, before leaving the mountains, it was better to stay light and agile, avoiding bulky clothing that would hinder movement. A little chill was bearable.

Keeping pace with the group, Lou Ling remained highly alert, fearing any unexpected events. Knowing someone was targeting them, caution was paramount.

After an unknown amount of time, the earth ability user clearing the path suddenly vanished.

No, he suddenly fell into a sinkhole, so to those behind him, he seemed to disappear.

Second Lieutenant Xu shouted, "Everyone, be careful! There's danger ahead! Retreat!"

As his voice rang out, the ground vibrated violently, causing people to stumble. A few dozen people weren't many, but crowded together, it was easy for chaos to erupt. Due to the tremors, the ground cracked and sank, forcing Lou Ling's group to retreat repeatedly. Soon, Lou Ling realized someone was deliberately pushing them in a specific direction. Feeling the tremors intensify, Lou Ling turned to see the snow ahead collapsing.

"Brother! Baobao!" Lou Ling shouted, flicking out an Evergreen Vine seed. It rapidly grew in mid-air, and once it formed a large cluster, its sprawling vines caught on the edge of the collapsing ground.

Lou Dian immediately grabbed her waist, leaping onto the Evergreen Vine's branches and using them to jump to the other side. Lin Baobao and Tan Mo followed closely. Seeing this, others followed suit, stepping on the Evergreen Vine to cross.

The earthquake continued, creating numerous cracks in the ground. Some were incredibly wide, spanning ten meters. The entire mountain seemed affected, and the sound of an avalanche echoed from the summit.

Everyone's faces paled. If an avalanche truly occurred, their only option was to flee, possibly being buried by the snow, which would mean certain death.

"Who the hell is messing with us? Do they want us all to die here?" Yan Lie, the hot-tempered fire ability user, cursed.

Others were also panicked. The earthquake was too sudden. This area wasn't in an earthquake zone, so how could this happen? Hearing Yan Lie's angry roar, they suspected that an earth ability user was responsible. Only an earth ability user could manipulate the local terrain to cause such an event. Everyone suspected the missing earth ability user, feeling that he hadn't accidentally fallen into the chasm, but had planned it in advance.

Second Lieutenant Xu yelled, instructing people to cross using the mutated vines.

Lou Ling's timely Evergreen Vine saved many lives. Some, about to fall into the crevasses, were caught by the vines and flung onto the snowy ground, sinking deep into the thick snow.

The earthquake lasted for an hour before subsiding. Fortunately, no avalanche occurred, and everything was fine.

Due to the sudden earthquake, numerous fissures appeared on the ground. They stood on a large, flat area surrounded by crisscrossing cracks. Some were ten to twenty meters wide, impossible even for ability users to jump across in one leap.

"Was this really done by earth ability users?" Lou Ling asked softly.

Lou Dian's expression remained calm. "One person alone couldn't do this, but what about dozens of earth ability users? The soil in this area is relatively loose. Creating something that resembles an earthquake isn't difficult."

Lou Ling gasped. "Who would go to such lengths? Do they want all of us dead?"

"No, they only want me gone," Lou Dian said calmly.

"…"

He lowered his head, seeing her shocked expression, and couldn't help but smile, tightly intertwining his fingers with hers, smiling without speaking.

Lou Ling felt conflicted. It seemed Lou Dian had truly become a thorn in many people's sides. This display was truly extravagant.

After the earthquake subsided, Second Lieutenant Xu checked the headcount. A few people were missing. His face hardened, and after inquiring about the identities of the missing, he said nothing, only calling the wood ability users to gather. Including Lou Ling, there were four wood ability users.

Second Lieutenant Xu nodded to Lou Dian first, then looked at Lou Ling with a gentle gaze. Among these wood ability users, three were Level 1, and only one male ability user was Level 2. However, they didn't have powerful mutated plant seeds, and their combat mainly relied on wooden weapons, making their combat effectiveness inferior to Lou Ling's.

"Miss Lou, we'll have to trouble you today. And you as well," Second Lieutenant Xu said politely.

Lou Ling smiled and generously took out three Evergreen Vine seeds from her pocket, handing them to the three ability users, instructing them to cultivate the vines. Second Lieutenant Xu's intention was to use the Evergreen Vines to create bridges across the fissures, providing a convenient way to leave this area.

Lou Ling usually used mutated vines as support in combat, but not everyone was like her, having a formidable man accompany her into the mountains to collect powerful mutated plant seeds. Many wood ability users only had low-level, weak mutated plant seeds with limited auxiliary capabilities, resulting in weaker combat effectiveness. Lou Ling had been able to collect these mutated plant seeds thanks to Lou Dian's deterrent presence; otherwise, she could only look on with envy, with no chance of obtaining them.

Therefore, the three wood ability users were delighted to receive Lou Ling's free Evergreen Vine seeds, deciding to cultivate them and collect the seeds after the mission.

With the help of the mutated vines, everyone safely left the area and, after a few hours, finally descended the mountain.

Several military trucks were waiting at the foot of the mountain to transport them back to the base, a journey of about an hour. Besides their team, other teams that had entered the mountains seemed to have returned safely as well, though a few trucks were missing.

Back at the base, everyone followed Second Lieutenant Xu to report on the mission and collect their rewards.

Lou Ling wasn't concerned about the reward. Since returning to the base, she had been carefully observing and found nothing unusual. Everything seemed peaceful, making her wonder if she had been overthinking.

As she was pondering, Lou Shang and Yan Ge walked out of the mission hall. They spotted Lou Dian's group immediately, their faces lighting up with joy.

Lou Shang strode over. The Lou family seemed to be blessed with good looks and physiques. Coupled with his slightly roguish smile, despite having an appearance very similar to Lou Zhan, he gave off a completely different impression. The playful grin transformed him into a charmingly roguish man, embodying the saying "bad boys are irresistible."

"Little Brother, Little Sister, you're back!" Lou Shang reached out to put his arm around Lou Dian, but was promptly kicked away.

Author's Note:

Today's Goals:

Lou Dian's Goal: Eliminate those who caused trouble!

Lou Dian's Goal: Destroy anyone who upsets his sister!

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