The Villainous Female Side Character Pretends to Be an Omega in the Apocalypse and Raises a Cat - Chapter 39

“Are we going to die here?”

Codebreaker Gu Meng clutched her toolbox tightly, trembling like a leaf, tears welling up in her eyes. Since the apocalypse, she had never left the base. The first time she ventured out on a mission, she encountered such danger. How could she be so unlucky!

“Quiet!” Luo Zhiyin snapped sharply. She hated this kind of defeatist talk the most.

She rolled down the car window, and scorching air instantly rushed in, carrying a foul smell of rotting plants mixed with dust. Luo Zhiyin condensed fireballs at her fingertips and hurled them one after another at the creeping mutated ivy on the ground.

Plants ultimately feared fire. The vines recoiled sharply the moment they touched the flames. Even if the effect was limited, as long as it worked, it was enough! Luo Zhiyin kept at it, fireballs flying out one after another, trying to block the mutated ivy’s assault.

But soon, the mutated ivy realized these fireballs couldn’t truly harm its core. It stopped dodging. Thick vines, like countless dark green venomous snakes, ignored the futile flames and slammed wildly against the car body, the metal shell emitting a grating sound.

Qiu Yi quickly activated her ability. The soil beside the car churned, and earthen walls burst forth from the ground, attempting to stop the ivy from approaching. But the vines not only climbed the walls effortlessly but also began pulsating like blood vessels, greedily absorbing the energy from the earthen walls. The walls visibly grayed and cracked.

“It’s no use, it’s absorbing my ability,” Qiu Yi said, her face pale as she forcibly stopped releasing her power. She staggered back a step and was steadied by Han Li.

Han Li condensed her ability into pitch-black blades, slicing through the attacking vines again and again. The severed ends charred and smoked, emitting a pungent odor, but the cut vines were quickly entwined and devoured by their counterparts. As the vines merged, the remaining parts grew thicker and more ferocious, coiling around the car like giant serpents, creaking under the strain.

Despair washed over everyone like a tide. Were they really going to perish here so soon after leaving the base?

“Captain…” Gu Meng’s voice was already trembling with tears.

Han Li and the others were also frightened, their eyes turning almost in unison toward Chi Yingdong.

“Captain, what should we do?”

Everyone looked at Chi Yingdong with hope. She was the strongest in the team, surely, she would have a solution.

Chi Yingdong’s gaze remained calm as she released her ability. A bone-chilling cold spread out from her, frost crystals quickly covering the ivy. Its movements slowed noticeably, as if put on slow motion.

Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief. It seemed this thing feared not only fire but also cold.

Taking advantage of the ivy being restrained by the ice, Chi Yingdong slammed on the accelerator. The engine roared dully, but the car remained motionless. Unnoticed by them, the ivy’s vines had already tightly entangled the tires.

Meng Qinghe suddenly recalled that when she had accelerated the growth of the roses earlier, it felt as if she could hear the flowers whispering. Perhaps she could try communicating with this mutated ivy as well?

Since there was no way out, why not take a gamble!

With that thought, she mobilized her ability. White specks of light drifted out of the car window like fireflies, gently landing on the vines.

Noticing Meng Qinghe’s actions, Chi Yingdong eased off the accelerator slightly, staying fully alert and on guard.

Han Li and the others were astonished to discover that the previously frenzied vine attacks had come to a halt. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Meng Qinghe, who sat with her eyes closed in deep concentration.

White energy flowed along the vines and seeped into the ground. Meng Qinghe “saw” a green light point enveloped in black mist.

Instinct told her that was the spiritual core of the ivy.

Guiding her energy to approach slowly, the process proved unexpectedly smooth. The green orb didn’t reject her, while the black mist gradually dissipated under the illumination of her power.

In a daze, Meng Qinghe faintly heard soft sobbing, like a child who had suffered endless grievances, crying until no tears remained, leaving only quiet sniffles.

The green light point seemed to notice the retreat of the black mist as well, growing brighter and actively moving closer to her energy, conveying feelings of dependence and gratitude.

Chi Yingdong and the others watched as the vines slowly receded, unable to hide their shock as they looked at Meng Qinghe.

Qiu Yi couldn’t help exclaiming, “What kind of ability is Sister Meng using? It’s incredible!”

In this post-apocalyptic world, everyone admired strength.

Although no one had voiced objections when Chi Yingdong brought Meng Qinghe on the mission, they had all privately worried about being held back.

This time, Meng Qinghe had earned everyone’s respect through her demonstrated power.

Chi Yingdong didn’t respond, only tightening her grip on the steering wheel.

When Qiu Yi wanted to press further, Han Li gently nudged her arm, signaling her to drop the subject.

The previously menacing mutated plant had now degenerated into an inconspicuous young sprout at their feet.

Two new leaves swayed gently in the wind carrying contaminated dust, so fragile that the life-and-death crisis moments before seemed like an illusion.

Luo Zhiyin suggested, “Let me burn this sprout.”

No one objected.

Even though this ivy appeared to have returned to its uncontaminated state, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t mutate again.

Flames rose, instantly engulfing the young plant.

Chi Yingdong restarted the vehicle. The tires finally freed from restraint, they drove in the direction the vines had retreated, crushing the broken asphalt road beneath them.

Chi Yingdong glanced sideways at Meng Qinghe. The girl still had her eyes closed, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows on her pale cheeks.

The remainder of the journey proceeded smoothly, and they safely arrived outside the pharmaceutical company.

Han Li, with her dark-type ability that allowed invisibility, volunteered to infiltrate the factory building for reconnaissance.

Qiu Yi and the others remained vigilant, conducting searches around the factory perimeter. Even Gu Meng assisted with reconnaissance within his capabilities.

Meng Qinghe still hadn’t awakened, leaving only Chi Yingdong in the vehicle to watch over her.

“Qinghe.”

Chi Yingdong called softly, trying to rouse Meng Qinghe.

But the person before her showed no response. Just as she reached out to touch her, Meng Qinghe became enveloped in a green light that gradually shrank in scope.

When the green light dissipated, a small kitten lay curled up in the clothing on the passenger seat, emitting faint, even breaths.

Chi Yingdong felt secretly relieved that no one else was in the vehicle at that moment.

She gently lifted the kitten. The small bundle rubbed against her palm, as if recognizing a familiar scent, and settled into a more comfortable position.

Placing the kitten on her lap, Chi Yingdong looked down intently.

Her fingertips stroked the cat’s soft fur, the smooth texture reminding her of the days when she first brought the kitten home.

Her movements grew increasingly gentle. When her fingertip accidentally brushed the kitten’s pink nose, the curled-up little creature let out a soft “mew,” its ear twitching slightly.

Chi Yingdong felt complicated emotions.

Meng Qinghe’s life energy ability was completely different from what she had known in her previous life.

In her past life, those with life-based abilities could at most accelerate plant growth, but Meng Qinghe was different. She could communicate with the psychic forms of mutated creatures, and even more astonishingly, she could purify sources of pollution, restoring them to their original state.

In this apocalyptic world, abilities could be powerful enough to inspire awe, but they couldn’t offer unrealistic hope.

If her power were discovered by outsiders, some would inevitably try to persuade Meng Qinghe to purify the zombies, to turn them back into humans.

Looking at the small, curled-up form on her lap, just purifying a single mutated plant had drained her so much that she reverted to her kitten form.

If she were to purify the vast numbers of zombies…

The more Chi Yingdong thought about it, the more alarmed she became. Her gaze toward Han Li and the others, busy working outside the vehicle, subtly grew more guarded and distant, tinged with an indescribable caution.