Chapter 167: Ulterior Motives

The reason for stopping was quite absurd—a flat tire! On this rugged road, getting a flat tire was fortunate only because there was a spare; otherwise, continuing the journey would have been truly impossible.

Li Jiao, a tier-three fire-attribute superpower user, had been a car mechanic before the apocalypse, so changing a tire was a breeze for him.

This opportunity to stop thrilled both Qin Yu and Feng Fei, as they now had the chance to execute their plan!

Qin Yu carefully cut her finger, and the scent of fresh blood instantly attracted the surrounding zombies, causing them to move rapidly toward the area.

At the same time, Feng Fei urged the little white worm to suck fiercely on her blood. Gradually, the Five-Elements Gu revealed its form, and Feng Fei let out a startled gasp, instantly drawing the gazes of the waiting crowd toward her.

With tear-filled eyes, Feng Fei whimpered as she pointed at the Five-Elements Gu on her arm and said in terror, "This, this thing is sucking my blood!"

Feng Fei's complexion appeared pale due to excessive blood loss, which, to the others, looked like a manifestation of extreme fright.

Murong Yi had never expected Feng Fei to flagrantly expose the Five-Elements Gu in front of everyone. Remembering her furtive behavior that night, the look Murong Yi gave Feng Fei was filled with vigilance and suspicion.

Just as Hu Ke was about to step forward and seize the Five-Elements Gu, the creature suddenly darted toward Qin Yu, who was not far away. Qin Yu raised her hand, allowing the Five-Elements Gu to feed on the blood from her palm. The Five-Elements Gu seemed quite satisfied, its plump, white little body rolling around happily in the center of Qin Yu's palm.

Seeing this scene, Feng Fei, who had originally been plotting how to frame Qin Yu, flashed a look of triumph in her eyes. It seemed this little white worm was truly clever, knowing she wanted to pin the blame on that woman, Qin Yu.

Noticing the crowd, who were left dumbfounded by this sudden turn of action, Feng Fei immediately burst into tears and choked out, "So... so this blood-sucking bug belongs to Sister Qin? Sister Qin, what did I do wrong for you to treat me like this? Wuwuwu..."

Upon hearing this, Hu Ke's impression of Qin Yu plummeted even further. He never imagined this woman could be such a vicious person!

With a stern expression and a sunken face, he barked, "Qin Yu! What is the meaning of this?!"

Qin Yu was about to explain when she saw Murong Yi shake her head. Left with no choice, she could only remain silent.

Seeing Qin Yu's silence, Hu Ke grew even angrier. He walked over to Feng Fei, carefully supporting her and letting half of her body lean against him.

While sobbing pathetically, Feng Fei continued to badmouth Qin Yu.

"Sister Qin, I know some of the things I did might not have been right, but wuwuwu..."

"Sister Qin, I was wrong. Please forgive me, won't you? Don't kill me, don't suck my blood..."

The more Hu Ke listened, the angrier he became. With a dark face, he roared at Qin Yu, "Qin Yu! Apologize!"

How could Qin Yu possibly apologize? She cast a cold, indifferent glance at Hu Ke and then turned around to get into her car.

Hu Ke was utterly incensed! Just as he was about to drag Qin Yu out of the vehicle, he heard Li Jiao cry out in alarm, "There are so many zombies coming! And there are tier-three ones among them!"

Hearing this, Hu Ke no longer had the leisure to settle scores with Qin Yu. He immediately grabbed Feng Fei, bundled her into the car, and told Li Jiao to start the engine.

Yet, no matter how he thought about it, he remained unsatisfied. Qin Yu had shown him such utter disrespect and even harbored intentions of harming a companion—her crimes were simply unforgivable!

Driven by this thought, Hu Ke drew his gun and fired a shot directly into the tire of the car where Qin Yu was located, successfully disabling the vehicle.

Hu Ke smiled triumphantly, withdrew his gun, rolled up the window, and ordered Li Jiao to drive faster, knowing full well that the zombies were closing in fast!

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Li Yang glanced back at Qin Yu's motionless vehicle. A flicker of worry and internal struggle crossed his eyes, which he quickly concealed.

Meanwhile, Qin Yu and the others watched the two departing cars, their eyes filled with utter indifference. Facing the surging horde of zombies, they all assumed combat stances.

Perhaps to others, this presented a crisis, but to them, it was an opportunity! Zombies of tier two and above possessed crystal cores, and they currently needed those cores to elevate their strength!

Moreover, judging by the current situation, tier-three zombies made up half of this massive horde! There was even a tier-four zombie! What a delightful surprise!

Thus, the group divided the labor: Ouyang Jue and Murong Yi took the lead in attacking the tier-four and tier-three zombies, Qin Yu focused on the low-level zombies, and the rest concentrated on tier-two and higher zombies.

The combined might of Ouyang Jue and Murong Yi was immense. Even though their current strength was not at its peak, dealing with tier-three zombies was child's play for them. Although they hadn't anticipated that the tier-four zombie would possess dual wind and fire mutations, nearly catching them off guard with an ambush, everything else proceeded with absolute ease.

Two hours later, the group gathered the harvested crystal cores in one place and let Zhao Juan and the others select the cores best suited to their attributes to absorb right on the spot.

Ouyang Jue erected a barrier to stand guard, though strictly speaking, the barrier wasn't even necessary; due to the lingering aura of the tier-four zombie, ordinary low-level zombies did not dare approach the vicinity.

The tier-four fire-attribute crystal core was being absorbed by Zhao Juan. Perhaps because it was her first time absorbing a tier-four core, Zhao Juan's absorption process this time was exceptionally slow.

Thus, the sun slowly drifted upward from the eastern horizon and eventually sank back down, while the group lit a campfire and waited for Zhao Juan to awaken.

Over the course of the day, those fortunate enough to possess cores matching their own attributes successfully replenished and enhanced their strength by absorbing the core's energy.

As for the Five-Elements Gu, which had been rolling around in Qin Yu's palm earlier that morning, it claimed all the remaining unwanted crystal cores. Its tiny body rapidly absorbed the cores, and Qin Yu could sense its joyful aura.

Murong Yi could not quite gauge the attitude of the Five-Elements Gu either, feeling only that it seemed far more amiable than the fierce and malevolent creatures of several centuries ago.

The Five-Elements Gu did not seem to recognize Murong Yi or Ouyang Jue. Once it was fully stuffed, it hopped into Qin Yu's clothes and fell fast asleep.

At midnight, as the group chatted casually back and forth, Zhao Juan suddenly opened her eyes. At the same time, a dozen fireballs materialized in her hand, radiating a scorching heat that startled those sitting close to her.

Zhao Juan blinked rapidly, then recalled the fireballs, her face beaming with joy.

"Wife! Have you reached tier four?" Xia Cheng asked, his expression a comical mixture of pleasant surprise and despair.

Beaming from ear to ear, Zhao Juan nodded and slapped Xia Cheng on the back, declaring, "From now on, big sis here will cover you!"

"Yes, yes, yes," Xia Cheng nodded repeatedly, while silently slandering in his heart: *Just hope you don't bully me too much.*

Seeing that Zhao Juan was now a tier-four user, Qin Yu said with a faint smile, "Congratulations!"

The others chimed in with their congratulations as well. After sharing a hearty laugh, Zhao Juan waved her hand and said, "Hehe! From now on, I'll protect you guys!"

The others smiled in response. Given that Zhao Juan hadn't eaten all day, Qin Yu retrieved some rice and a pot from her spatial storage to cook a simple meal, naturally accompanied by some side dishes that had been stir-fried and stored away beforehand.

This meal was deeply satisfying.