The room was dark, with countless shining eyes huddled in the corners and a strange, peculiar smell.
Xu Qian had no idea how they managed to live here.
The woman gave an embarrassed smile, "We don't have enough crystal cores to pay for electricity, so we have to live in the dark."
Xu Qian's expression remained unchanged, she didn't want to say a word.
Her mission was to move them to Hope Base; she couldn't concern herself with anything else.
The woman led her to a room in the farthest corner and whispered, "It's in here."
She twisted open the door. It was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen.
Xu Qian narrowed her eyes slightly. She took a step forward, about to gather everything into her space.
Suddenly, she was violently shoved from behind, and her entire body was pushed into the room.
Xu Qian's brow furrowed with coldness, and she turned around.
Everyone had stood up.
"Hahahaha!"
The woman's delicate laughter rose and fell, growing louder and louder.
Following closely, more laughter erupted, eerily so.
In the darkness, their eyes were exceptionally bright.
"We're not leaving!"
"This is our home, why should we leave!"
"Right, Mama, I'm not leaving either!"
Xu Qian: ...
A mental asylum?
The woman smiled, "Beauty, why don't you stay and keep us company? We've finished our food and are really hungry."
"You don't mind sharing some meat with us, do you?"
"Yes, big sister beauty, please share some meat with us."
"If not, your flesh will do too."
Xu Qian crossed her arms and chuckled lightly.
The entire scene instantly fell silent.
The young girl's voice was icy, "Who gave you the courage to dare to imprison me, Xu Qian?"
"Mama, who is Xu Qian?"
The woman shook her head, "I'm not sure either."
Another woman cackled, "It's only right to eat them anyway."
Xu Qian narrowed her eyes slightly, finally understanding.
These women and children had been too well protected.
In the apocalypse, they waited for their husbands and children to feed them.
They had died, leaving these women to live in this world.
They hadn't died, but their minds had already gone mad.
With a slight thought, Xu Qian conjured a Bass knife in her palm.
Even they felt a chill run down their spines, sensing a murderous aura, as if...
If she wanted to kill them, it would be effortless.
There was no need to take these people to Hope Base.
Hope Base wouldn't take care of a bunch of lunatics.
The women exchanged glances. The leading woman yelled, "What are you afraid of? She's alone, let's go!"
They were unarmed, and dared to fight her without even having abilities?
Were they planning to grab her hair?
Xu Qian's figure flashed, and she was already at the door.
She leaned lazily against the doorframe, shining her flashlight on each of their contorted faces.
"Killing you, I feel, would be too much of a bully."
"Not killing you, I feel I'm at a loss."
"What do you think I should do?"
The faces of the crowd changed slightly. Even if they were foolish, they knew the vast difference between her and them.
She was an ability user, and they were ordinary people.
The leading woman knelt on the ground with a "snap," followed by others kneeling one by one.
"Please, spare us."
"We were just temporarily confused..."
Xu Qian sneered, shining the flashlight on everyone's faces.
They cried, they acted wronged...
Their inner thoughts changed rapidly, one moment wanting to kill, the next becoming submissive.
Truly lunatics.
Lunatics who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
"Disband Yuancheng Base, and I'll let you go."
She didn't want to go through this again.
No matter how mad or foolish they were, it had nothing to do with her.
The leading woman said hurriedly, "We agree to disband Yuancheng Base, we agree."
Xu Qian closed her eyes and unfolded the map. Only when the name Yuancheng Base disappeared did she turn and leave.
Behind her, the women and children chattered about something.
She acted as if she heard nothing, automatically blocking it out.
From this day forward, whether they lived or died was no longer her concern.