Meeting Murong Xue again

The "special" nutritional paste from the frontline base had a truly unforgettable taste.

It was a grayish-green paste mixed with expired proteins, synthetic vitamins, and some kind of unidentifiable thickener. It tasted like chewing rubber mixed with sand, and its flavor was a perfect replica of a mixture of rust and disinfectant.

Luo Li suppressed the urge to vomit and, under Kong Yan'er's watchful gaze, forced herself to swallow her portion.

"How about it? Pretty cool, right?"

Kong Yan'er asked with a grin, while he himself ate with relish without changing his expression, clearly already used to it.

"... truly impressive."

Luo Li gulped down a large mouthful of water to suppress the strange taste in his throat. He began to seriously consider whether he would have to rely on the food stored in his Portable Space for all three meals from now on.

You'll get used to it, you'll get used to it.

Kong Yan'er patted his shoulder. "This stuff may taste awful, but it's high in energy and will keep you full."

"On the front lines, having anything to eat is already a blessing."

After a simple but painful lunch, Kong Yan'er showed Luo Li around the training grounds, medical station, and equipment maintenance point near Zone C.

Throughout the process, Luo Li could clearly feel the pervasive tension and oppressive atmosphere of the fortress, as if every inch of air was permeated with the smell of steel and blood.

Just as they were about to return to the dormitory area, Luo Li paused slightly at the entrance of a passageway connecting Zone C and Zone D.

At the other end of the passage, a small team of superhumans who had just finished a patrol or a simple mission were walking towards them.

Among those people, a familiar figure made Luo Li unconsciously frown.

Murong Xue.

She was also wearing a standard "Dragon Scale Type III" combat uniform. Her usually meticulously styled long hair was simply tied back, and her face lacked its usual exquisite makeup, making her look somewhat pale and haggard.

The arrogance that once looked down on everyone had subsided considerably, but a lingering trace of haughtiness and... a certain indescribable melancholy still remained between his brows.

She had clearly seen Luo Li as well.

The moment their eyes met, Murong Xue's pupils contracted sharply, and she instinctively stopped in her tracks.

Her teammates gave her a strange look.

Luo Li clearly saw a fleeting, extremely complex emotion flash across her eyes—first, an undisguised disgust and hatred, as cold and piercing as a venomous snake, which was easy to understand.

But beneath that disgust, there seemed to be a hint of... fear? And a very subtle, trapped beast-like struggle and resentment that she herself might not have even noticed.

Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, perhaps a habitual sarcasm, but in the end she just pursed them tightly, turned her head slightly to the side to avoid Luo Li's gaze, quickened her pace, and almost hastily walked past Luo Li and Kong Yan'er with her teammates, as if they were some deadly plague.

She didn't utter a single word from beginning to end.

But that brief exchange of glances already said a lot.

"Oh?" Kong Yan'er stroked her chin, watching Murong Xue's slightly hurried back, then glanced at the expressionless Luo Li, a playful smile appearing on her face, "You know her?"

"Hmm." Luo Li responded lightly, withdrawing her gaze, not wanting to elaborate. "There's a bit of a grudge between us."

"The eldest daughter of the Murong Family, I know her."

Kong Yan'er was clearly well-informed, and clicked her tongue. "I heard that her family recently offended some evil spirit and suffered a lot of bad luck. Their business has shrunk by more than half, and people who used to fawn over them are now keeping their distance."

Logically speaking, given her father's past connections, it shouldn't have been difficult to get her off the conscription list. I didn't expect her to actually come... Tsk, it seems the Murong Family has truly suffered a major blow this time; they can't even afford this much face anymore."

He paused, observing Luo Li's expression with interest. "But judging from her behavior just now, it's not just a simple 'grudge' between you... Brother, what did you do to her? Could it be...?"

Kong Yan'er winked and made ambiguous expressions.

"Slap her across the face."

Luo Li cut the other person off with her concise words.

"Puff--!"

Kong Yan'er almost choked on his own saliva. His eyes widened, and he slapped Luo Li's shoulder hard, giving him a thumbs up. "Awesome! Brother, you're really awesome! Murong Xue's unruly behavior is notorious on the front lines. She's only been here a few days and she's already offended a lot of people. If it weren't for the fact that she's a woman and her family still has some influence, she would have been sacked long ago! You actually dared to slap her? Well done!"

After laughing, Kong Yan'er became slightly more serious and said, "But be careful, this woman is very petty and definitely holds grudges."

Judging from her gaze just now, although she tried to keep a low profile, who knows what mischief she might be plotting? "It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark."

"I know."

Luo Li nodded.

He had never underestimated Murong Xue's viciousness, even now that she was in dire straits.

He was simply too lazy to waste his energy on her; as long as she didn't come looking for him, he would pretend he didn't see her.

But clearly, Murong Xue didn't think so.

The complex look in her eyes, a mixture of disgust, fear, and other indescribable emotions, made Luo Li instinctively feel that this matter was probably not going to pass so easily.

"Let's go back and rest. Starting tomorrow, things probably won't be this relaxed."

Kong Yan'er put her arm around Luo Li's shoulder, putting this little incident behind her.

Back in her simple dormitory, Luo Li lay on the hard wooden bed, looking at the gray-white alloy ceiling above her head, her thoughts drifting away.

Murong Xue's appearance was like a tiny thorn, reminding him of the unresolved troubles in Jiangcheng and the omnipresent entanglements of this world.

He wasn't worried about what tricks Murong Xue might pull. Faced with absolute power, her little bit of cleverness and remaining background were insignificant.

He was more concerned about whether there were other forces behind her, or whether she might act rashly at a crucial moment and do something that would affect Castorice.

Thinking of Castorice, he took out his personal terminal and sent her a message:

[Li]: Are you settled in? The conditions here are rather poor. How are things on your end?

Messages are replied to almost instantly.

[Butterfly]: Hmm, the room is very clean, just a bit small. Have you eaten?

Looking at the brief text on the screen, Luo Li could almost see her holding the terminal, her brows slightly furrowed as she replied earnestly, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

[Li]: I ate some "special" nutritional paste; the taste was... unique. What did you eat?

[Butterfly]: The set meal at the research institute's canteen, which includes meat and vegetables, and tastes acceptable.

[Li]: That's good. Get some rest. I'll find another chance to visit you tomorrow.

[Butterfly]: Okay. You too.

After putting down the terminal, Luo Li's irritation caused by Murong Xue dissipated considerably.

No matter how many troubles lie ahead, just the thought that someone is waiting for him and caring about him in that quiet and deserted dormitory in Zone E makes this damned Furnace seem less unbearable.

He closed his eyes and began to circulate the power of his [Spacetime] Path. It wasn't cultivation, but rather, like a radar, he meticulously sensed his surroundings, imprinting the structure of the dormitory building, the scent of his roommates, and even the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers in the corridor into his mind.

This is a habit he developed in the apocalypse—to grasp the information about his surroundings as soon as possible, no matter where he is.

As his senses extended to a corner outside the dormitory building, he keenly detected a familiar aura, tinged with resentment and a hint of dark fluctuation.

It's Murong Xue.

She seemed to be alone in some secluded corner, her breathing uneven, clearly indicating that she was in a very turbulent state of mind.

Luo Li's senses, like invisible tentacles, swept past silently, without attracting any attention.

He "saw" Murong Xue clenching her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms, her body trembling slightly from some intense emotion.

She kept her head down, her shoulders shaking, not so much as crying, but more like desperately suppressing some dark emotion that was about to erupt.

After a long while, she suddenly raised her head and looked in the direction of the dormitory building in Zone C. Her eyes appeared particularly deep in the shadows, and what churned within them was undisguised hatred, and... a trace of a morbid obsession that even she herself could not understand.

Luo Li withdrew her senses, a cold smile playing on her lips.

Sure enough, a leopard can't change its spots.

He stopped paying attention to the dark emotions in that corner, calmed his mind, and focused on his own adjustment and cultivation.

Tomorrow, the real test will begin.

He needs to be in top condition to face this bloody battlefield known as the "Furnace".

As for Murong Xue...

A cold glint flashed in Luo Li's eyes.

If she knows what's good for her, he won't bother with her.

If she insists on courting death...

He didn't mind that, on this front line, she would fully understand that there were some people she should never, and could never, provoke.

(P. S.: Slacking off is really dangerous. I almost got caught by my boss in the office again today—it was a close call! I hope my salary won't be less by the end of the month.)