Surviving the Disaster, Then Bickering

The medical area gradually quieted down.

The intermittent hum of emergency lights, the rustling of wounded soldiers turning over in the distance, and the whispering of someone checking a supplies list in a corner—these fragmented sounds coalesced into a cacophony of silence, enveloping this surviving underground space.

The Good Corpse found a place to sit down.

Its body is still very thin, so thin that you can see the cracks in the wall behind it through its shoulders.

Luo Guixing walked over, holding a Soul Power crystal in her hand. It was one of the few high-purity energy crystals in the shelter's supplies, reserved for the seriously injured to prolong their lives.

He walked up to the Good Corpse and handed it the crystal.

The Good Corpse shook its head and didn't take it.

"You're practically invisible, yet you're still putting on a brave face?" Luo Guixing frowned.

"Leave the crystal to those who need it more. I'm just exhausted, not injured. As long as my original body lives, I won't dissipate."

Luo Guixing stared at it for two seconds.

The face, its features blurred by the Moonlight, showed no trace of bravado, only an undeniable certainty.

He sighed, shoved the crystal into the Good Corpse's hand, and reverted to his usual sarcastic tone. "Take it. If you disappear, I'll have to cry to Yun Jingheng again. What a hassle."

The Good Corpse looked down at the crystal in its hand, remained silent for a moment, and did not refuse.

It held the crystal in its palm, closed its eyes, and began to slowly absorb the energy within.

As the body formed from Moonlight absorbed energy, it gradually stabilized. Its edges no longer scattered into a mist of light as before. Although it was still thin, it no longer seemed like it could dissipate at any moment.

Luo Guixing sat down next to it, leaned back, and let out a long breath with the back of her head against the cold metal wall.

He looked exhausted. The spatial attribute had taken a huge toll on his Divine Power. He had been sweating profusely while maintaining the spatial barrier, and now that he had suddenly relaxed, his face was pale and his lips were bloodless.

He closed his eyes, as if he were about to fall asleep, but he didn't. Instead, he stared at the flickering emergency light on the ceiling and suddenly spoke.

"You tell me," his voice was weary and carried a sense of unreality, as if he had just survived a catastrophe, "Who could have imagined things would turn out like this when we first entered the academy?"

The Good Corpse did not open its eyes, but the corners of its mouth curved slightly.

That curved line appeared on that blurry face, yet it was remarkably clear, because that smile was exactly the same as Yun Jingheng's.

"When you say 'today,' do you mean being blown underground by a nuclear bomb, or nearly suffocating in Launch Shaft, or are you referring to the two of us sitting here discussing whether I'll dissipate?"

"... Could you please stop being so Yun Jingheng?"

Luo Guixing closed her eyes speechlessly, crossed her arms over her chest, looking like she didn't want to talk anymore. "She doesn't learn the good things, but she's picked up her sharp tongue perfectly."

The Good Corpse chuckled.

The laughter was very soft, as soft as a night breeze brushing across a lake formed by Moonlight, but Luo Guixing heard it.

He didn't open his eyes, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

After a moment of silence, Luo Guixing spoke again, her tone even softer than before, as if talking to herself. "But you're right. Who the hell could have imagined this day would come?"

He paused, then continued, "... but we are still alive."

The Good Corpse opened its eyes.

It looked down at the Soul Power crystal in its palm, which was slowly shrinking, and the faint blue light of the crystal was reflected in its Moonlight pupils.

"Yes."

It said, "Still alive."

"Open your mouth, ah~"

Ye Xinglan sat by Yun Jingheng's bedside, holding a bowl, and scooped a spoonful of porridge to his lips.

The porridge was something Tang Wulin had concocted using some unknown ingredients. It didn't look very appealing, but given the limited resources available in the shelter, it was considered a luxury item.

The steam rose in wisps, carrying a faint aroma of rice.

Yun Jingheng looked at the spoonful of porridge being brought to his mouth, then at Ye Xinglan's still aloof face, and his lips twitched slightly. "... Xing Lan, I have hands."

His right hand was indeed uninjured. Although the skin between his thumb and forefinger was scraped and there were a few small cuts on his fingers from the gravel, he could still easily hold a spoon to drink porridge.

Ye Xinglan looked at him, her expression unchanged, her hand holding the spoon motionless, as if she had already taken a starting stance in a boxing ring, waiting for him to surrender.

"Shut up."

She said it in a flat tone, as if stating a fact that didn't need discussion. "The wounded should rest well and stop making a fuss."

Yun Jingheng opened his mouth, wanting to struggle again, but Ye Xinglan's eyes were fixed on him, without any threat or anger, only a stubbornness that was stuck in a rut.

He surrendered.

"Fine." He opened his mouth resignedly.

His eyebrows twitched slightly when he took the first spoonful of porridge.

It's so hot! Can't you blow on it a few times?

Ye Xinglan didn't speak, but just stared at his mouth, and after he swallowed, she scooped up a second spoonful.

Her movements were steady, just like when she wielded a sword—no shaking, no spilling, and each spoonful was about the same amount. After scooping it up, she would gently scrape the bottom of the spoon against the rim of the bowl to prevent any dripping onto the bed.

"Have you eaten?" Yun Jingheng asked.

"I ate," Ye Xinglan replied, her tone still concise.

"Liar."

"... took two bites."

Yun Jingheng glanced at the bowl of porridge that was still more than half full, then at Ye Xinglan's expression that said, "I'm not discussing this with you," and suddenly pushed the bowl towards her. "Then you eat a couple of bites. I can't finish this much."

Ye Xinglan looked down at the bowl, then looked up at him.

She didn't refuse, scooped up a spoonful and put it in her own mouth, chewed it twice and swallowed, then continued to scoop up another spoonful and put it to his mouth.

The movements were so natural, as if this was how it was supposed to be done, each person taking a bite, and they finished the bowl of porridge in turn.

As Yun Jingheng watched her lowered eyelashes as she ate her porridge, he suddenly remembered a long time ago when they were in the Outer Court. Once, after training, they all went to the cafeteria for a meal. Ye Xinglan sat opposite him, eating politely and attentively. She didn't say much from beginning to end, but every time there was less food in his bowl, she would quietly take a few bites from her plate.

At the time, he thought she was just not eating enough, but later he realized she was checking to see if he had enough.

"... What are you looking at?" Ye Xinglan looked up and met his gaze.

"Nice."

Yun Jingheng said that he laughed first after he finished speaking, but then he gasped in pain from the aggravation of his wound, and his smile turned into a wide grin.

Ye Xinglan's ears turned slightly red, but her expression remained largely unchanged.

She steadily fed him the next spoonful of porridge, then gently pressed the spoon against his lower lip.

Stop being so cheeky.

On the bed next to him, the Good Corpse had its eyes closed, and the Soul Power crystal in its palm had shrunk by almost half.

Luo Guixing was leaning against the wall next to it. She had already closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep, but when she heard the noise, she opened her eyes a crack.

"Tsk tsk tsk, the difference between people."

He sighed in an extremely irritating tone, "I'm exhausted like a dog, and nobody even offered me a sip of water. Meanwhile, someone else is lying in bed, being personally fed porridge by a kendo genius, the kind where they each take a spoonful."

"You have hands too."

Without turning her head, Ye Xinglan said, "Go find Wulin and ask him for it yourself."

"The porridge is gone." Luo Guixing spread his hands. "The last bowl."

"Then you'll go hungry."

"Ruthless. You swordsmen are all truly ruthless."

The Good Corpse opened its eyes, glanced at its original body being fed porridge on the bed next to it, then looked at Luo Guixing's face, which was filled with "my life is miserable," and raised its hand to hand the Soul Power crystal in its palm towards Luo Guixing: "Why don't you lick this?"

"... roll."

Luo Guixing closed his eyes completely, deciding not to waste another word with these two people, or rather, this one person and his clone.

Yun Jingheng chuckled.

He now has the strength to laugh.

When he was carried back, he even had to be careful to save energy when he laughed, afraid of aggravating his wounds or not being able to breathe.

But now he can laugh, although it still hurts after he laughs, but the pain is not as unbearable.

Ye Xinglan fed him the last spoonful of porridge, stood up, and placed the bowl on the table beside her.

She didn't sit down immediately, but stood there, looking down at Yun Jingheng for a long time.

"How's your injury?" she asked.

She's asked that question three times today.

"I won't die," Yun Jingheng replied.

He has already given this answer three times.

Why did you use your Divine Power to tell Xie Xie to pull me away?

"I'm going to unleash my full power! I'm going to wipe out the entire area! I'll accidentally hurt you if you're standing next to me!"

"Keep bragging."

"Think what you want." Yun Jingheng shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"By the way... what's the situation outside right now?"

Ye Xinglan thought for a moment, "Senior Zang Xin has made contact with the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect managed to evade in time, so their casualties were not many, but their headquarters is gone. Now, there are rumors everywhere that Shrek Academy has been completely wiped out, and the Tang Sect is severely injured."

Just then, Tang Wulin lifted the curtain separating the medical area and walked in, carrying an enamel mug that was steaming.

He saw Ye Xinglan standing by the bed, then glanced at the empty bowl of porridge in front of Yun Jingheng, and smiled slightly, "Looks like I'm late. The porridge's already finished?"

"I've finished drinking." Ye Xinglan took the cup from his hand, glanced at it, and saw that it was hot water, the temperature was just right, neither too hot nor too cold.

She placed the cup on the table beside Yun Jingheng's bed with a light and natural movement.

Tang Wulin sat down on the other side of the bed, looked at Yun Jingheng's face, and his brows relaxed slightly. "You look much better than when you were carried back."

Yun Jingheng chuckled weakly, "Is the most powerful healing-type Super Douluo on the continent joking with you?"

Ye Xinglan let out a soft hum.

Tang Wulin smiled, but the smile didn't last long.

He pushed the enamel mug closer to Yun Jingheng, then said seriously, "Jing Heng, the situation outside has changed somewhat, and I think you should know that."

Seeing the unusually serious expression on his face, Yun Jingheng nodded, signaling him to continue.

"The Qiangu Dongfeng has ended."

Tang Wulin cut to the chase, his tone calm, but the content was anything but. "To be precise, the Qiangu Family is finished."

He paused, as if organizing his thoughts, then continued, "That Evil Soul Master promptly packed up all the communication records between Qiangu Dongfeng and the Evil Soul Master, the material transfer vouchers, and even the Shrek City defense map signed by him, and sent them all to the Federation Investigation Team."

"One copy was given to the Federation, one to the military, and one more—"

He glanced at Yun Jingheng, "It's been broadcast to all the soul-guided broadcasting channels on the continent."

Yun Jingheng raised his eyebrows slightly.

He never expected those Evil Soul Master to go to such extremes.

This isn't just stabbing someone in the back; it's pinning them to the ground, stripping them naked, and then broadcasting it live across the entire mainland.

"Now the whole continent knows that Qiangu Dongfeng colluded with Evil Soul Master, provided defense maps, and assisted in the massacre of the city."

Tang Wulin lowered his voice by half a octave, but every word was clear. "The branch organizations within the Spirit Pagoda that were originally observing the situation all announced within half an hour of the broadcast that they were severing ties with the Qiangu Family. The Qiangu Family's loyal personnel planted in the Federal Parliament, the military, and branch pagodas across the country are being arrested on a large scale."

He paused, then added, "According to information from the Tang Sect, Qiangu Dongfeng himself has escaped."

"He seems to have received advance warning before the Evil Soul Master turned against him, and left the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters ahead of time with a few trusted confidants. The Federation has issued a Level One wanted notice, with a very high bounty."

"So what if they ran away?"

He paused, something flashing in his eyes. "A stray dog, he can't cause any trouble. The Federation won't let him go, the Tang Sect won't, and neither will we."

"The current pillar of the Spirit Pagoda is His Majesty the Heavenly Phoenix."