Chapter 76: Extraction Successful???
Pain, weakness, a bone-chilling cold permeated Lin Jiayao’s being.
Drawing on her slightly strengthened mental fortitude, she fought back, her body slowly recovering.
With the boost from Lv.1 Vigor, her mental recovery wasn’t slow.
Finally, feeling herself being moved, her still-healing ribs pressing against her lungs, a sharp pain made her frown. She forced her eyes open.
It hurts…
Every part of her body, except her legs, ached.
As if she hadn’t just been in a battle, but had jumped from a building.
Well, she had actually jumped from a building.
Haven’t my ribs healed yet…?
Lin Jiayao gently pressed her hand against her left side, just below her chest.
It seemed that Lv.1 Bone Regeneration’s natural recovery was slow; without blood crystal enhancement, it would take a long time.
I need to log in and collect more blood crystals…
How’s Sister…?
The thought of her sister finally forced her eyes open, despite the burning, gritty sensation.
At first, her vision was blurry.
A second or two later, as things came into focus, she realized her sister was standing in front of her, seemingly having woken up earlier.
And her sister’s expression… was complicated.
Shock, panic… and a hint of bewilderment.
Lin Jiayao’s heart sank.
So, even under the influence of the red powder, her sister still remembered what had happened last night?
Then she must have seen her use her abilities.
Bone spikes, tendrils, Blood Orb spores… none of them looked like human abilities.
Would her sister… accept her?
Her sister’s expression, the pain in her body, the mental exhaustion… it all overwhelmed her.
She bit her lip, her hand covering her broken ribs, and turned her face away.
Tears welled up, blurring her vision, but she quickly wiped them away.
She was waiting for judgment.
Waiting for her sister’s questions.
Whether her sister believed her afterward was entirely up to her.
If her sister remembered last night, remembered how she had saved her, she would believe her, right?
Lin Jiayao’s pain and sadness were genuine.
But to Lin Xiwan, it looked different.
Before she could even process what had happened, while she was still trying to piece together the fragmented memories, her sister woke up.
And she hadn’t opened her eyes immediately but had winced in pain.
This made Lin Xiwan’s heart clench.
She could see the numerous wounds on her sister’s body, even a cut on her lip.
And she must have been so weak, so injured, and soaked to the bone that she’d passed out.
Yes, yes, she must have fainted. She probably didn’t remember what she’d done…
Lin Xiwan herself didn’t remember, but she had a feeling she had done something.
Because the dream had been… too pleasurable.
Then, her sister opened her eyes.
She’d stared at Lin Xiwan for a second or two, her gaze slowly focusing, as if remembering something.
Then, the most heart-wrenching thing happened.
Her sister had slowly raised her hand, covering her chest, a look of sadness and helplessness on her face, turning away… she couldn’t even bear to look at her!
And Lin Xiwan saw tears in her eyes, quickly wiped away.
Oh god, did she remember?
But what had happened?!
Lin Xiwan rubbed her temples, trying to remember.
Nothing.
She only remembered holding a soft, warm body before falling into a deeply pleasurable dream.
How could she possibly explain this?
“Yao…”
She spoke, her voice trembling, watching her sister’s averted gaze.
She saw her sister flinch slightly at the sound of her voice.
Was she that afraid of her now? What had she done?!
Had she really… done something so monstrous?
“Yao…” Lin Xiwan knelt beside her sister, close to tears. “Sister really doesn’t know…”
“Sister didn’t mean to. I think I inhaled something… and then I lost consciousness. Yao… I really didn’t mean to.”
“I don’t remember anything… I only remember… I only remember…”
Only remembering holding something soft and having a pleasurable dream.
How could she possibly say that out loud?
She couldn’t finish the sentence, her face flushed, her head lowered, waiting for her sister’s condemnation.
Lin Jiayao, lying on the sofa, blinked at her sister.
Sister… didn’t remember?
Thank goodness…
She breathed a sigh of relief, the tension easing.
It was better this way… much better…
Seeing her sister’s guilt, Lin Jiayao understood what she was thinking.
Her own disheveled appearance, her torn clothes… it must have looked like her sister had assaulted her.
Only the bruises on her thighs were from her sister, and they didn’t even hurt.
This misunderstanding was easy to explain; it wasn’t intentional; it was the effect of the red powder.
Lin Jiayao wanted to reassure her sister.
She reached out, stroked her sister’s head, and smiled gently. “It’s okay, Sis, I know you didn’t mean to.”
Lin Xiwan looked up in shock, staring at her smiling sister.
Even like this… her sister could still forgive her?
“My legs… they can’t feel pain anyway, Sister. You know that.” Lin Jiayao retracted her hand and tried to sit up.
Her legs? She only mentioned her legs?
Did she also not remember?
Lin Xiwan quickly helped her sit up, her voice filled with concern. “Yao, do you remember what happened last night?”
Lin Jiayao froze, hearing her sister’s question.
Did she remember?
Of course, she remembered.
Taking her sister and the two little girls to the roof, firing the RPG, jumping down, shooting the Voodoo Cult’s Awakened, the powder-addled Voodoo Cult members turning on each other in a frenzied free-for-all…
But explaining all that, explaining the RPG, was too complicated. She shook her head.
“No, I don’t remember. I only remember… being carried and then falling asleep.”
Hearing this, Lin Xiwan felt both relieved and confused.
What… had happened last night?
Why were they here?
Where did this furniture come from?
How had she saved her sister and the two little girls?
Had she somehow managed to escape undetected? Had the Voodoo Cult just… let them sleep here?
Perhaps the two little girls would know when they woke up.
“Sister? What’s wrong?” Lin Jiayao asked, seeing her lost in thought.
“Nothing, just… trying to remember what happened last night…” Lin Xiwan gently caressed her sister’s face.
Looking into her sister’s innocent eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to voice her suspicions.
If her sister didn’t remember, it was best to let it go…
She would examine her sister’s body later, when they were safe, to confirm her suspicions.
And if she had done something… she would take responsibility, atone for it with her life.
This resolve settled in her heart, the weight of responsibility towards her sister increasing.
“Yao… wait here for me. I’ll go see what happened… Don’t move, okay?” Lin Xiwan stroked her sister’s head, stood up, and scanned the room.
She decided to ensure the area was safe before examining her sister – her sister was clearly injured and shouldn’t move.
But strangely, she herself wasn’t injured at all.
Besides a slight dizziness, a feeling like a hangover, she felt stronger than ever.
She even felt a craving for blood crystals.
This usually meant she was ready for a breakthrough.
She was already at the peak of D-rank; consuming blood crystals now meant evolving to C-rank.
A C-rank Awakened was a force to be reckoned with, even within a camp.
Especially a physically enhanced Awakened like her. Reaching C-rank was a major milestone, her strength and agility entering the realm of superhuman.
What had she done last night to trigger this long-awaited breakthrough?
Was it… the dream?
The questions swirling in her mind gave her a headache.
Without her memories of last night, there were no answers. She could only dismiss them for now.
She checked on the two little girls; they were sleeping soundly.
And, was it just her imagination, or did the older girl with the ponytail have a faint aura around her?
Had she become an Awakened?
The feeling was too weak to be certain.
She tried to wake them but gave up and went to investigate the surroundings instead.
Returning to the sofa, she picked up a rifle from the floor.
This gun… an M4?
Such high-end attachments… were these from the Voodoo Cult? How did they get these?
She had no idea how these guns ended up here, and no way to find out.
No one here remembered last night; she would have to find the answers herself.
She gathered the rifles, lined them up, and checked the magazines.
Only three or four rounds left in each, almost completely empty.
She took the bullets from the other rifles and loaded them into the first M4’s magazine, making a total of seventeen rounds.
Inserting the magazine, she chambered a round. The action was smooth.
She nodded at her sister and then, holding the rifle, cautiously walked towards the factory door.
Reaching the door, hearing no sounds, she pressed herself against the wall, her right hand holding the rifle, and pushed the door open with her left.
The old metal door creaked loudly. She aimed her rifle through the gap, but heard nothing.
What’s going on? Why was it so quiet outside? No signs of the Voodoo Cult.
Had they all passed out from partying too hard?
If so, this was their chance to escape.
Lin Xiwan opened the door slightly, her rifle raised, and cautiously stepped outside.
The sky was clear, but a light rain still fell, a sunshower. It would probably clear up soon.
Thanks to the improved visibility, she scanned the surroundings and then froze, her gaze fixed on a pile of rubble.
What… what is this?
What happened?
The warehouse had collapsed, the area charred black, debris and body parts scattered everywhere.
Bodies… countless bodies lay around the ruins, all dressed in Voodoo Cult attire. And besides the bodies and the rubble, there wasn’t a single living person in sight.
What… had happened last night?
How had the Voodoo Cult party turned into a massacre overnight?
Lin Xiwan was increasingly confused.
Meanwhile, Lin Jiayao, having confirmed the surrounding area was safe with Bone Spike Lurker, opened the system interface.
A notification had been there since she woke up, but she’d been too busy talking to her sister to check it.
Now, seeing it, she froze.
The evolution retention screen.
But she hadn’t controlled the fourth zombie last night. How had it evolved?
Puzzled, she looked at the three available evolutions.
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