No Longer Worried

"Frostplate, you ungrateful bastard!"

"Go to hell, you stupid white devil, you let someone take your Aoneng and you still expect them to count the money."

The fight inside the carriage escalated, and just as it was about to turn into a brawl, the carriage door was suddenly kicked open.

"Help!"

Gina, disheveled and covered in blood, collapsed to the ground crying out. The beautiful girl immediately attracted everyone's attention with her pitiful appearance.

"Hordor has gone mad! He's not human, he's going to kill me!"

"It's Gina, one of our Outland." Just as someone was about to help her up, a bolt-action rifle was thrust into the carriage and the trigger was pulled at Gina.

Bang! This shot brought the argument to a complete end, and all the passengers looked toward the door in astonishment and fear.

The bullet did not hit Gina, but left a clear bullet hole in the carriage behind her.

"Don't go near her!"

Blood streamed down Hordor's forehead, his face contorted in a grimace. He said in a deep voice, "This isn't Gina, it's a monster!"

He was holding his rifle, about to cock it again, when an angry Outland People next to him picked up a stool and hit him on the shoulder. Hordor let out a wail and fell to his knees, the rifle falling to the ground.

"Ah--!"

"Go to Frostplate! If you've got the guts, go home and bully your own women!"

"Arrest him!"

"He must have wanted to make a move on that girl, but got rejected and then got angry—Pah! Disgusting Frostplate bastard."

Outland People began to criticize and condemn Hordor, but Hordor remained undeterred. With red eyes, he anxiously shouted:

"Don't worry about me! Control it! It's not Gina. It killed Li Mu and Gina, and then it turned into Gina's appearance!"

However, his words only provoked the contempt of Frostplate and Outland People alike.

"What are you joking about, kid? Our Aoneng has already been taken over by Mr. Li Aoz."

"Hehe, that's how the Frostplate Grasshopper is. Even after experiencing the Nethermark Humanity, its character is still touching."

Gina covered her face and wept. She was terribly frightened, and her shoulders trembled uncontrollably. People always instinctively sympathize with the weak, especially women.

"Lock him up! We'll put him on trial when Lady Seria arrives!" someone suggested.

"Exactly, I don't want to be associated with murderers and thugs."

"No! I'm not a murderer! I didn't kill anyone! It killed Gina!"

Hordor was dragged up, glaring at Gina with hatred, and yelling at her at the top of his lungs:

"You monster, you ate Gina —I'm going to kill you! I'll rip you open, pull out your intestines, and chop you up!"

His hands and feet were tied with rope, and then he was stuffed into a suitcase. Two people went up and punched and kicked him, giving him a severe beating. One of them pointed a rifle at Hordor, forcing him to squat in a corner with his head in his hands.

"Don't even think about escaping," the man said. "We won't let you hurt Gina again."

"Harm Gina?"

Hordor's eyes practically blazed with fury as he said, filled with shame and indignation:

"I love Gina, how could I possibly hurt her? But I can't tolerate a monster that killed Gina and is now impersonating Gina."

"Enough with the nonsense!"

The man impatiently slammed the cabinet shut, completely silencing Hordor's defense.

Because of this little incident, the original conflict suddenly subsided, and people fell into silence and embarrassment, but no one dared to be the first to admit their mistake.

People checked Gina's injuries, and fortunately, the girl was fine.

"Hey, you have blood on your neck too." The girl who was checking Gina noticed the blood on her neck and immediately reached out to pull open her collar to check.

"Don't want!"

Gina screamed and curled up, her eyes filled with terror. The girl had no choice but to withdraw her hand, worried that she might further upset Gina. Instead, she handed her a towel. To allow Gina to rest, people cleared out a sleeping compartment and placed a hot water bottle and a blanket. Once Gina lay down, the girl prepared to get up and leave.

"Etc..."

Gina pleaded softly:

"Don't leave me alone, I'm so scared..."

Seeing Gina's tearful eyes and pitiful state, the girl's heart softened, and she returned to her room, closing the door to the sleeping quarters behind her.

Snap!

The Youth continued its journey forward, with driver Zhou Lie Feng keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead. When driving a vehicle in the Outland, one must always be fully focused, otherwise, if a problem occurs, at best the vehicle will be paralyzed, forcing the driver to walk, and at worst, the vehicle will be destroyed and the driver will die, leaving their body exposed in the wilderness.

"Have some hot water!"

A woman's voice sounded behind him. Zhou Lie Feng Liefeng glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that it was the woman named Qiu Ran, who was wearing Frostplate. She brought him a glass of water. Zhou Lie Feng took the glass but did not drink it immediately. He casually put it aside and continued driving.

Qiu Ran didn't pay attention. She looked up at the vast darkness ahead and couldn't help but sigh, "I wonder when I'll be able to go back..."

"It's another six hours to Bridgeol Station, where we'll stop for a break and some simple repairs."

"Oh, I see. Thank you for your hard work."

Qiu Ran smiled, turned and left.

Shortly after the other party left, Zhou Lie Feng opened the side window of the car and poured out the water from the cup.

Qiu Ran sat down in front of Li Aoz's bed. As if sensing someone's arrival, Li Aoz's eyelids twitched suddenly in his sleep, but he regained his composure after sensing the familiar presence.

"You really never stop moving, Li Aoz, you've turned yourself into an old man at such a young age..."

At this point, she felt a pang of sadness for no apparent reason.

"Speaking of Li Aoz, I just called my family."

Qiu Ran her chin on her hand and said with a smile, "Although I haven't been around recently, they're doing very well. Qiu Yun seems to have gone to university, and the younger brothers are all healthy... Everyone is doing well. They care about me a lot and even scold me for 'where have you been for the past three years,' 'everyone misses you,' and 'come back soon.' Haha, none of them are blaming me."

Qiu Ran smiled sheepishly.

"I told them that I had actually been tricked into working illegally for the past few years, but now it's all over. The police came and rescued us, and I even unexpectedly gained superpowers. Now I'm a superhuman too. Everyone is safe. When I get back, let's have a good meal together. I'll personally eat the barbecue. Li Aoz, you have to come too."

She heard the commotion and arguments in the carriage behind her. At first glance, they seemed to make sense, but as soon as she saw Li Aoz's aged appearance and his face covered with spots and wrinkles, the doubts and arguments about Li Aoz immediately seemed extremely ridiculous.

Nomi called her a silly big sister, but Qiu Ran didn't think it was meant to be derogatory. She knew very well that she wasn't very smart, but at least Qiu Ran considered herself to be someone who had Clear Grudges.

When someone has devoted their life, youth, and immense effort to a group of completely unrelated people, no matter what, they have no right to criticize Li Aoz. That is a fact.

Qiu Ran unconsciously muttered softly, "Your battle is over. Now you just need to rest and go to sleep."

Li Aoz's lips moved, uttering words that sounded almost like a delirious dream, "Nomi... Aoneng..."

"Hey, what happened to Nomi's Aoneng?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Ran approached and carefully examined Li Aoz, quickly noticing something unusual.

Li Aoz's facial skin seemed to have indistinct texture, covered with a layer of yellowish-white grime. Qiu Ran looked closely and realized that this was not dirt, but rather a raised layer of keratin.

She carefully reached out and peeled away the thick layer of dead skin from Li Aoz's face. She was surprised to find that under the dead skin, Li Aoz's face had changed from its previous aged and haggard appearance. His skin was much firmer, and his age spots and wrinkles had been significantly reduced.

"Is this... Nomi's Aoneng helping you?!"