It was already close to dusk.
Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the cathedral looked extraordinarily holy.
The area around the church had clearly been cleaned up. The places that had originally been flower beds had been enclosed with barbed wire, and there were even some defensive sandbags.
It was obvious that there were people inside, and they had made this place their base.
Chu Tian and the others’ vehicles soon stopped in front of the cathedral’s main entrance.
Quan Xiaoyu did not know whether the people still staying inside were the force organized by that kind-hearted priest, or whether someone else had already occupied this place.
The group discussed it briefly through the communicators while still in the vehicles, and eventually decided to get out and knock on the door.
Quan Xiaoyu and the Doctor would go knock, while everyone else would stay where they were and keep watch—watching for zombies, and watching for people as well.
Quan Xiaoyu cautiously knocked on the door. He was probably the person in their group who was most familiar with this place.
The Doctor, meanwhile, would be responsible for communicating with whoever was on the other side—if the people inside were not the priest.
Very soon, the door opened. The person who opened it looked completely unguarded.
When Quan Xiaoyu saw the priest, he breathed a sigh of relief.
This priest was a true clergyman. He was the most selfless person Quan Xiaoyu had ever met.
“Father, hello. We’re survivors passing through, and we’d like to stay here for one night,” the Doctor said politely with a smile.
It had to be said that when the Doctor did not reveal his true nature, he was actually quite approachable.
The priest made the sign of the cross over his chest. “Children, may the Lord bless you.”
As he spoke, he stepped aside and gestured for them to come in.
Quan Xiaoyu nodded and was just about to walk inside when the Doctor suddenly grabbed him.
The Doctor smiled at the priest and said, “We still have some companions outside. Please wait a moment. We’ll go get them and bring them in.”
With that, he pulled Quan Xiaoyu back toward the vehicles.
Quan Xiaoyu understood what the Doctor meant. It was simply that everything had gone too smoothly, and the Doctor’s suspicious nature had kicked in.
When Chu Tian saw the two of them return, he poked his head out of the vehicle and asked, “How did it go?”
“A priest opened the door. He didn’t ask much and told us to come in,” the Doctor said pointedly.
Sure enough, Chu Tian frowned.
If this place was a trap, they had walked straight into someone else’s snare far too easily. After all, they were carrying so many supplies.
Quan Xiaoyu understood their concerns, but there was no way he could explain everything he knew to them. After thinking for a moment, he said, “How about this? I’ll go inside and find out what’s really going on. You wait outside. If I haven’t come out after twenty minutes, then you—”
Chu Tian did not let him finish and immediately interrupted him.
“Fine. I’ll go in with you. If neither of us comes out after twenty minutes, Doctor, use your judgment.”
Quan Xiaoyu had originally wanted to argue, but after thinking about it, there probably would not be any danger, so he stopped objecting.
The Doctor nodded. “Okay.”
The two of them were the two strongest fighters in the group. Besides, with Chu Tian there, the Doctor was not particularly worried about their safety.
“You two be careful!” Bai Mingxi called out to Chu Tian as he got out of the vehicle.
Chu Tian nodded.
Li Nan also said worriedly, “Brother Xiaoyu, be very careful. Brother Tian, you be careful too.”
“Mm.” Quan Xiaoyu gave him a smile.
They knocked on the main door again, and it was still the priest who opened it. His face carried the compassionate understanding and kindness of someone who had seen through everything.
He did not say much. He simply nodded at the two of them, glanced at the Doctor and the others in the distance, and let Chu Tian and Quan Xiaoyu through the door.
At this moment, the church’s main hall was far from empty. On the contrary, there were many people inside.
However, these people were clearly divided into several groups, each forming its own little faction. There was a distinct separation between them.
When Quan Xiaoyu and Chu Tian walked in, everyone simultaneously turned their gazes toward them, their eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny.
And among these people, Quan Xiaoyu was astonished to discover many familiar faces.
Was heaven seriously playing a joke on him?
Wen Tong and Jia Lunxu’s faces were unmistakably there, together with his former teammates, on the right side of the hall.
When Jia Lunxu saw Quan Xiaoyu, he was equally astonished, as though he had suddenly seen a dead person come back to life—a classic case of seeing a ghost.
Quan Xiaoyu clenched his fists slightly, then turned his face away, unwilling to look at them again.
They should not have met at this point in time!
In his previous life—
After the apocalypse broke out, the government forces immediately began moving north. Many people who realized that something was wrong also began heading north with the government forces.
Traveling on and off along the way, Quan Xiaoyu encountered zombies as well as people who tried to rob him. But relying on his still-unskilled fire-type ability, he managed to reach the church without any major danger.
At the time, the priest was organizing his congregation to provide aid to survivors.
It was under these circumstances that Quan Xiaoyu temporarily settled down at the church.
And it was here that he met his future companions.
Their leader gave an inspiring speech to the survivors, persuading many people to join him, including Quan Xiaoyu.
At that time, everyone realized that the apocalypse had arrived. In a world like this, even very powerful people would find it difficult to survive completely on their own.
Moreover, their leader had demonstrated a powerful lightning-type ability. In the early days of the apocalypse, when people still knew very little about abilities, they naturally placed immense trust in someone so powerful and miraculous.
The leader used this to win over many people.
And that was how their team was formed.
They headed north together, killing zombies, collecting supplies, and taking in new members.
Of course, almost every day, familiar faces would also disappear.
Injuries, illness, mutation—things like these happened every single day.
They would even encounter other groups intent on robbing them, forcing them into fierce battles against other humans.
Two years passed, and their team grew larger and larger. Those who had survived together for two years and were still alive had practically all formed deep friendships.
Their leader chose a village in the north, and everyone began building it up, preparing it to become their base in the future.
Life finally seemed to have something to look forward to.
And then, two and a half years later, Jia Lunxu arrived.
He brought Wen Tong and the people he had recruited with him and joined the leader’s group.
The leader was extremely welcoming toward them.
A Level Three earth-type ability user, accompanied by a Level Two rare space-type ability user, along with three or four Level One ability users in their group—how could anyone not be delighted?
This was a powerful addition to their strength, and the leader and Jia Lunxu quickly reached an agreement.
When Quan Xiaoyu saw Jia Lunxu, he was standing on a high platform with Wen Tong’s hand in his, together with their leader.
The leader excitedly introduced them to everyone.
Jia Lunxu wore a gentle yet proud smile, while Wen Tong stood on the high platform with the characteristic pride of a rare-type ability user, looking down at everyone.
At that moment, Quan Xiaoyu’s mind went completely blank.
Through the crowd, Jia Lunxu seemed to notice Quan Xiaoyu as well. After the initial surprise, however, his expression turned cold.
Of course.
The apocalypse had arrived, and everything had changed.
Quan Xiaoyu was no longer the young master of a wealthy family, and Jia Lunxu was no longer the poor boy who had desperately tried every possible way to climb upward.
Now, he stood high on that platform, while Quan Xiaoyu could only look up at him.
Wasn’t that right?
The days that followed were actually nothing special.
The two treated each other like strangers. No one knew about their past, and no one mentioned it.
Aside from the occasional minor accidents Quan Xiaoyu encountered in daily life and during battles, there seemed to be nothing particularly unusual.
With the addition of a space-type ability user, the small base was able to bring back far more supplies every time they went out to gather resources.
Everyone’s lives improved, and their appreciation and respect for the space-type ability user grew even stronger.
During that period, Quan Xiaoyu had also asked himself whether he should leave.
But where could he go if he left?
Was he supposed to continue heading north alone?
He had his companions here. They had fought side by side for two years.
Just because two unwelcome people from his past had arrived, was he supposed to give up everything and leave?
Why should he?
For half a year, life finally passed peacefully.
Everyone continued killing monsters when they needed to kill monsters, collecting supplies when they needed to collect supplies, repeating the same routine every day.
Until that day arrived.
Normally, the team’s combat forces would be divided into two groups.
One group would take the space-type ability user and travel farther away to collect supplies, while the other group would be responsible for guarding the base, clearing out the surrounding area, and gathering supplies nearby.
After Jia Lunxu arrived, they preferred to take their own people with them to collect supplies, and then selectively choose several ability users from the original team to accompany them.
Quan Xiaoyu had never participated in their operations. He had always stayed with his own teammates, responsible for clearing the area around the base.
Until one day, they decided to sweep through a hospital in the city center.
They needed to collect scarce medicines. Some would be kept for themselves, while the rest could be traded with other bases for supplies.
That day, Wen Tong pointed out that there were the most zombies in the hospital, and the situation with high-level mutations was also more severe. Their original manpower was no longer enough, so they needed to take some additional people from those staying behind.
As a combatant with a fire-type ability, Quan Xiaoyu was naturally included in the team this time.
Moreover, the leader assigned him to protect the space-type ability user, Wen Tong.
Whether he wanted to or not, this was his mission and his responsibility.
At first, everything went very smoothly that day.
After losing only two people, they successfully obtained the medicines they needed.
Moreover, the hospital had its own small supermarket, and the food in the little storage room was actually still perfectly preserved.
At that time, whether something was expired or not no longer mattered.
As long as the packaging had not been damaged, it could be eaten.
Thus, everyone returned with a full haul, happily retreating.
As they fought their way out, Quan Xiaoyu never forgot his responsibility—to protect Wen Tong.
Besides, Wen Tong was carrying a large supply of medicine on him now. With this batch of medicine, many people would be able to avoid dying.
However, an accident happened.
When they were almost back at the vehicles, Wen Tong suddenly fell down.
At that exact moment, a Level Three zombie suddenly rushed out and pounced directly toward Wen Tong.
Quan Xiaoyu threw a fireball in an attempt to rescue him, but unfortunately, the Level Three zombie was extremely fast and completely unafraid.
Even though the fireball burned away its skin, it did not slow down in the slightest.
Quan Xiaoyu and his companions rushed forward, attempting to pull Wen Tong back, but it seemed they were too late.
At that moment, a hand reached out from behind and forcefully pushed Quan Xiaoyu toward the Level Three zombie…
Quan Xiaoyu practically threw his entire body at the zombie, colliding with it head-on.
His companions took the opportunity to drag Wen Tong away, while Quan Xiaoyu was dragged by the Level Three zombie into the mass of zombies behind them.
When Quan Xiaoyu endured the excruciating pain of being bitten and managed to turn his head, all he saw was Jia Lunxu holding Wen Tong in his arms, looking at him coldly.
One of his companions gave him a guilty look.
And just like that, they got into the vehicle and left.
No one came to save him.
They simply allowed the zombie to drag him along until more zombies pounced on him and completely swallowed him up.