Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)

Chapter 39: Stop Being Unreasonable

After waiting for two days, the snow on the road gradually melted. After Si Xu and Gu Yunqing checked the vehicles carrying the supplies, they confirmed that they could set off back to the Xiling base.

Because of the addition of Su Qin's team, the return convoy was larger than before. Su Qin and Gu Yunqing led the way, while Si Xu and Jiang Ran were in a separate car, following at the back of the team.

They encountered two waves of zombies on the road. Fortunately, the superhuman team responded quickly and promptly, so there were no casualties.

After traveling all morning, Gu Yunqing communicated with Si Xu through the walkie-talkie and decided to stop at the next rest area for a break.

Si Xu followed the convoy into the rest area. As soon as the car stopped, Gu Yunqing came over and tapped on the car window, signaling to speak alone with Si Xu.

After Jiang Ran ate a can of food in the car, she opened the car door and got out of the car.

The winter wind howled, blowing off the remaining snow on the roof from time to time. The cold sunlight shines on the remaining snow, reflecting a dazzling light.

There were no survivors in the rest area, and the things inside were a mess. Half of the glass door of the supermarket was broken. Only the unknown vines climbing on the wall were still vibrant green, making the rest area look even more desolate.

Jiang Ran didn't dare to go far, so she moved around the car.

After taking two steps, she stopped, raised her head and looked around.

Not far away, Su Qin was holding a map and discussing the next itinerary with Song Rong. Xie Chengzhi and Luo Rui were gathered together, talking in a low voice. And Yi Xi was leaning against the car door alone, eating bread... 

Everything was normal.

After looking around, Jiang Ran retracted her gaze and frowned. How strange. She felt a sense of dissonance surrounding them, but if there were really zombies or mutated beasts, Si Xu couldn’t have failed to notice them.

Am I being paranoid? Well, I’m probably nervous because I’m worried about being a hindrance. Relax, it isn’t good to be paranoid.

After adjusting her mentality, Jiang Ran was about to continue walking when she suddenly heard a gentle rustling sound coming from her right. It was different from the sound of the wind blowing against the snow. It sounded like something was crawling through the snow.

Jiang Ran's heart skipped a beat, but when she listened carefully, the rustling sound disappeared.

Staring around warily, she slowly backed away from the car.

The field of view was wide. If a mutated beast like a chameleon appeared, Si Xu would definitely have spotted it. It was unlikely to be a zombie either... If there was a real threat, what could it be? 

Scanning the entire rest area cautiously, Jiang Ran still didn't find anything unusual. However, the growing panic in her heart made her call Si Xu's name loudly.

  ……

The entire convoy was startled by the girl's slightly panicked call. The members of the superhuman team subconsciously adopted a defensive stance, thinking that there was an enemy attack.

Si Xu and Gu Yunqing, who were talking on the roadside, also heard Jiang Ran's shout.

The latter only felt that his vision blurred, and the person opposite him was already gone. When he snapped out of his daze and looked over, Si Xu was already at Jiang Ran's side.

Gu Yunqing, who was decisively abandoned by his friend, sighed and felt sorry for himself. He had worked hard ungrudgingly for so long, yet couldn't compare to a beautiful girl who merely called Si Xu's name.

He slowly returned to the team, where Jiang Ran was holding Si Xu's hand tightly and talking frantically.

"...I mean it. There really is something. Si Xu, it's looking at me. It's been staring at me."

Sensing that the girl was in an agitated mood, Gu Yunqing exchanged glances with Su Qin before saying loudly, "Song Rong, take some people to check the rest area thoroughly again." After a pause, he added, "Be careful. Stay in touch if there are any problems." 

"I got it."

After receiving the order, Song Rong immediately led some people to check the rest area again.

The team members who did not go in with Song Rong gathered together in twos and threes and were on alert.

Gu Yunqing nudged Su Qin's shoulder, raised his chin to gesture at Jiang Ran, and asked puzzledly, "What's wrong with Sister Ranran?" It seemed that she was affected by some sort of psychic superpower? 

Su Qin was also confused. "I don't know. She was fine just now." When she took the time to check on Jiang Ran just now, the girl was walking around the car to digest the food she ate. She didn’t appear to be abnormal.

Recalling the chameleon discovered by Jiang Ran last time, although Gu Yunqing did not sense any mutated species, he did not relax his vigilance.

"Be careful, there might be something amiss."

"Yeah."

Jiang Ran's fear was not relieved by Si Xu's presence.

She couldn't see it, but she somehow felt that there were countless eyes staring at her. Before Si Xu came back, the creepy feeling of oppression was more obvious than now.

It was uncomfortable, and it became a little difficult to breathe because of the tension.

"Calm down, Jiang Ran. I'm here." Sensing the girl's uncontrollable trembling, Si Xu pulled her into his arms and whispered to comfort her, "Don't be afraid. Tell me what's going on – Don't be anxious. Just tell me slowly and clearly."

Lying her cheek against the young man's arm, Jiang Ran could hear his heartbeat. As Jiang Ran’s fingertips came in contact with his warm body, Jiang Ran's tense nerves were slightly relieved.

"Si Xu." She took a deep breath, buried her cheek in the young man's chest, and whispered, "Let's get out of here quickly. I think this place is eerie – something was staring at me just now." 

"What was it?" Si Xu's eyes scanned the area before his gaze fell on Jiang Ran again. "Jiang Ran, can you feel what it is? I can't see or feel it." 

If Si Xu couldn't see or feel it, did the thing really... exist?

After hearing Si Xu's answer, not only Gu Yunqing and the others, but also Jiang Ran began to wonder if she was imagining things.

Just as she was about to speak, the superhumans checking the rest area came out.

Song Rong shook his head. "Captain, we’ve checked thoroughly. There’s nothing abnormal at the rest area or the surrounding area." 

The people watching heaved a sigh of relief. What? It turned out to be a false alarm.

Gu Yunqing nodded and asked the others to continue to rest.

He looked at Jiang Ran, who looked confused, and asked tentatively, "Sister Ranran, are you not feeling well because you haven't had a good rest?" 

There were many people who went crazy because they couldn’t stand the pressure of survival during the apocalypse – could Jiang Ran be facing the same situation?

Thinking that she might have caused trouble to the team again, Jiang Ran broke free from Si Xu's embrace, twirled her fingers, and apologized solemnly, "I seem to be a little nervous. I'm sorry..." 

"Haha, it's not a big deal." Gu Yunqing laughed softly and joked, "I know it's stressful to follow Si Xu. You must take it easy. It's okay to beat him up if you're in a bad mood. "

Not in the mood to joke with Gu Yunqing, Jiang Ran gave him a forced smile.

"Si Xu, about what we just discussed..."

"Yeah."

The young man lowered his eyes and looked at the girl's pale face. Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Ran looked confused again, grabbed his hand and pointed to the rest area.

"Si Xu, there's something over there. There... there's really something over there."

This time, she heard it clearly. The sound was coming from the direction of the rest area.

Swish, swish, swish.

Something was rubbing against the ground and making a sound that was sometimes near and other times far.

Jiang Ran's voice once again startled the people who were resting. Just as Gu Yunqing was about to speak, he heard Si Xu say coldly, "Gu Yunqing, get some people to go in and check."

"Huh?"

The rest area wasn’t a big place. It had been checked twice. Even the ceiling had not escaped their inspection. Why must they still check it again?

"Go and check." The cold words revealed the man's anger at the moment.

"Okay." Gu Yunqing touched the tip of his nose and looked at Song Rong. "Take some people to go in with me."

Song Rong, who had just sat down for barely two minutes, swallowed the bread in a few gulps and stood up. "Yes, Captain."

"I'll go in with you." Su Qin raised her hand to let Song Rong continue to rest. "Song Rong and the others have checked twice. I'm afraid they won't be able to find anything even if they go in again." The girl glanced at Jiang Ran, who was pale-faced and cowering next to Si Xu. Su Qin looked up at Si Xu. "Seventh Brother, if there’s still no problem after checking..." 

"No." Patting Jiang Ran's shoulder gently, Si Xu said in a deep voice, "Since Jiang Ran said so, there must be something inside."

  ……

Su Qin and Gu Yunqing acted quickly, but still didn't find any problems.

Meeting Si Xu's light brown eyes, Su Qin shrugged and said helplessly, "Seventh Brother, there really is nothing in it."

There was nothing. How could that be? She obviously heard the sound.

Jiang Ran was puzzled.

She was certain that the sound was definitely not her hallucination, nor was the inexplicable sense of oppression and strange dissonance around her... 

"No." Only with Si Xu by her side could she feel the terror that was driving her crazy subside slightly. Jiang Ran explained, "I really heard it. I..."

"Jiang Ranran!" Someone couldn't stand it anymore. "Haven’t you caused enough trouble? We’ve been traveling all morning. Can you let everyone take a break?"

Zhou Jian was so upset by Jiang Ranran’s hollering that she forgot the lesson she was taught a few days ago. She couldn't help but scold the unreasonable girl.

As soon as she opened her mouth, people who disliked Jiang Ran immediately responded.

"That's right. Can you please stop being so paranoid? Just because of what you said, we have to go to such trouble... Superhumans are also human beings. We also need to rest!" 

"Yes, we finally had a chance to rest. How annoying!"

"Haha." Hearing the discussion, Jiang Yu, who was sitting next to He Ru, sneered. "Are you trying so hard to put on a show to attract that man's attention?" 

He Ru knew that the man he was talking about was Si Xu. He Ru looked at Si Xu, who was holding Jiang Ran with one arm, with a hint of resentment in her eyes.

However, after being taught a lesson last time, the woman did not dare to voice her hostility too obviously. When she heard Jiang Yu's words, she replied coldly, "Who knows." 

The jeering crowd became rowdier. Because they were not members of the base, Gu Yunqing did not stop them immediately.

He looked at Si Xu, wanting to see what response the man would give.

Unexpectedly, Si Xu didn't seem to hear them. Instead, he was staring in the direction of the entrance of the rest area.

Gu Yunqing looked over as well. What was Si Xu looking at that got him so distracted? He didn't even pay attention to such an obvious provocation.

What was over there at the rest area? There was nothing. Other than the glass door, there was only a wall. Oh, and a bunch of ivy... Hey, wasn't ivy supposed to wither in the winter? Oh, those vines didn’t seem to be creeper plants...

Vines?

Vines.

Instinctively feeling that he had missed something very important in his previous inspection, Gu Yunqing blurted out, "No way..."

Si Xu looked back at him.

From the look in his friend's eyes, Gu Yunqing knew that he had guessed correctly.

Could it really be that thing? But none of them noticed it, not even Si Xu... Gu Yunqing's gaze moved to Jiang Ran, looking incredulous. How did Sister Ranran sense it?! 

In order to prove their conjecture, Si Xu raised his hand and unleashed a space blade.

The invisible sharp blade tore through the air and struck the wall in an instant.

As the space blade approached, the dense green leaves suddenly parted.

"Boom"! 

The space blade struck the wall, and the entire wall shook and collapsed.

Like a surprised snake, the vines spread out along the ground.

As the vines spread out, a horrifying scene hidden under the greenery was revealed.

The bones of the shriveled bodies fell apart one after another. The victims seemed to have seen something terrible. The pupils in their wide-open eyes had dilated, but one could see the fear and pain they felt before their death.

The team was quiet for three seconds before a timid girl burst out screaming in terror.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

The moment the vines spread out, Si Xu raised his hand to cover Jiang Ran's eyes. He tugged the girl's cheek into his embrace.

"Jiang Ran, don't look."

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