Seeing her difficulty, Ling Ye’s little mind actually understood everything, and he even tried to comfort her with a smile.
As if aware of their feelings, the dying elder on the bed was very optimistic. She lay there firmly grasping Ling Ye’s small hand, her cloudy eyes gazing at the ceiling with longing:
"I won’t die, Ye, I will be with you in another form. You just have to think of me, and you can come to see me."
Halfway through those words, Su Mo couldn’t quite fathom their meaning, and sat by the bedside for a while longer before leaving with Lu Chen.
In a room in another building, crowded with people, the woman with the center-parted long hair sat in the middle, her slender spiritual power surged into her brain, which she forcibly expelled and then coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Ling Fang quickly asked someone to bring water and paper for her: "What’s the background of that group?"
"Strong. I’ve temporarily blocked the spiritual power user among them. Except for that lady, I can’t pin down their location with my spiritual power," the center-parted woman answered after rinsing her mouth.
The crowd was inwardly shocked; people undetectable even by a Level 2 Mental system user might be of an even higher level.
"Our community really needs such strong people. Because of our loved ones, we’ve already lost a batch of people. We must keep them in our community."
Many people raised their hands, eyes intensely fixed on the center-parted woman and Ling Fang, which made her feel quite uncomfortable, as her initial intention was only to thank them for saving her son.
"Ling Fang, our ’relatives’ in the garage have been very restless lately; we need to ensure their safety and ours."
As the voices carried on, all Ling Fang could do was nod in agreement for the moment: "I’ll hold them off for today. We’ll discuss this further. What about those two groups that came in afterward?"
"Their combat power isn’t low, and they could be a great help to our community," the center-parted woman said.
There and then, everyone in the room agreed to keep them there. After discussing, Ling Fang stood up from her chair, pulled a skinny middle-aged woman trying to slip away from the crowd, and slapped her face fiercely, her eyes turning ruthless: "Now that the matter’s settled, Aunt Yuan, it’s time we settled our accounts."
When Su Mo returned to her own room, the confrontation with Li Qian and another group had also concluded. He emerged victorious, his spiritual power scarcely depleted, breaking out in a light sweat on his forehead. Su Niang stood by his side, supporting him and wiping his sweat.
"What happened?" Lu Chen asked.
"Someone stopped me from scoping out this area," Li Qian sat down on the couch, his chest heaving slightly.
"Why are you spying on someone else’s turf?" Jianxiong leaned back on the couch, his hands cushioning his head, teasing him.
"That’s why you’re an idiot," Zhao Changsheng, who had been peering out the window since they parted, turned her head with a dismissive glance at Jianxiong.
Su Mo brought over a couple of chairs to the eating area, and she and Lu Chen both sat down: "Stop bickering. We refuel and get out of here; I also feel something odd about this place."
"I reckon we won’t be able to leave today," Zhao Changsheng paused at the window again, her eyebrows arching as she eyed the familiar figure below.
"She’s back," she said, yanking the curtain shut and sashaying to the door to open it.
Not long after her words fell, there was a ding from the elevator. Ling Fang entered their room with others in tow, two big bamboo baskets behind them.
"We’ve sent people to get the oil; it will be ready for you tomorrow. Stay here for tonight," Ling Fang gestured, instructing her people to set down the baskets.
Jianxiong stood up from the sofa and walked over to lift the cover of one of the baskets, surprised by what was inside: "Vegetables?"
Su Mo glanced at Lu Chen and saw something unusual in each other’s eyes.
She put on a smiling face and asked Ling Fang, "I remember... it rained not long ago, these vegetables?"
The horror of the mutation rain was fresh in their memory; rainwater carrying the virus was pervasive. So how could these vegetables be edible?
What puzzled Su Mo even more was that the water in River Town had turned black because of the viral rain, yet not a single person in their community had been affected.
"These are planted by our residents in wooden boxes at home, there were some vegetable plots outside originally," Ling Fang seemed to recall something; an emotion briefly flitted across her face before it was concealed. She pointed towards some concrete empty spaces not far from the window outside.
"It did rain that day; we flattened all the vegetables in the ground because they couldn’t be eaten. But those in the baskets are safe to eat."
Jianxiong lifted the cover of another basket to find bottled water. Looking at the slightly aged plastic casing, the water inside must have been filled by a Water Element Superpower User.
"That water is a small token of my appreciation."
Hearing her say this, everyone understood; this was a Water Element Superpower User.
Upon hearing Ling Fang’s voice, Ling Ye across the door opened it and called out to her, "Mom, grandma isn’t feeling well."
Ling Fang’s expression darkened instantly, and she hurriedly said, "The kitchen is well-stocked with utensils, and there’s a gas cylinder that can be used; there’s also some seasoning in the vegetable basket."
After greeting them, she hurriedly led people out, the door was closed again, and the bustle outside disappeared without a trace after the door shut.
"My goodness, it really is vegetables," Jianxiong picked up a stalk of Bok Choy, inspecting it from all sides, its surface glistening with droplets of water.
"Unsolicited generosity, what’s this for? To thank us?" Jianxiong asked.
"No, they want us to stay," Li Qian leaned on the sofa and stared at the vegetables, speaking up.
"If it was just to thank us for saving that brat, they could’ve simply given us the oil today. Why wait till tomorrow?" Zhao Changsheng interjected.
"We can’t afford to waste too much time here," Su Mo frowned, her smiling face collapsed, Aunt Jiang’s child was about to be born, and the B city base situation, according to Li Chuan, was unstable. If something went wrong and Lu Chen didn’t get there in time, she was afraid he would be left with a burden on his heart.
"We’ll scout out the area tonight; if they don’t give us the oil by tomorrow, we’ll have to take matters into our own hands," she said, looking up at Lu Chen and tugging on his arm.
"Okay," the man nodded in agreement, clearly alert to the strangeness all around them.
"Momo, I’ll go with you guys," Zhao Changsheng, with her swaying hips, attempted to latch onto Su Mo.
Su Mo’s hand landed squarely on her forehead, pushing her away, her face smiling but with a threat hidden within: "You need to stay here and protect Su Niang; Li Qian and Jianxiong will come with us."
"Hmph," Zhao Changsheng stepped back and then went off to sulk in a corner.
Her Thunder Element was quite strong, and in case of trouble, she could stand her ground. Given Li Qian’s current state, he wasn’t deadly enough, so when Su Mo made such an arrangement, he understood naturally and cast her a grateful look.
Su Niang was accustomed to working in the kitchen; she directly picked up the bamboo basket and carried it into the small kitchen of the house: "Since they’re edible, let’s cook the vegetables and eat."
Su Mo nodded, picked up another basket with bottled water, and followed into the kitchen: "It’s almost afternoon, let’s make something to eat."