Wen Qingtian and Gong Que were surrounded by a large number of zombies and mutated animals in Yunmeng Mountain, including a zombie king.
Facing the onslaught, Wen Qingtian unleashed wind blades in retaliation, while Gong Que continuously repaired the fortress they were hiding in.
However, the attack was too fierce, and his repair speed could not keep up with the rate of destruction.
The fortress, built of bluestone slabs and earth, was precarious and on the verge of collapse.
"I'll fight it out with you! Ji Ge, cover me. I'm going to kill that zombie king, and then we'll escape."
Gong Que abandoned the repairs, drew his pistol from his waist, and shouted at Wen Qingtian.
Given the circumstances, Wen Qingtian could only unleash wind blades to draw all the attacks, covering Gong Que as he moved towards the zombie king.
He knew in his heart that a defensive stand was not viable; the number of zombies and mutated animals was too great.
Once their abilities were depleted, they would surely die. Therefore, Gong Que's action, though risky, was their only option, and Wen Qingtian did not stop him.
Under Wen Qingtian's cover, Gong Que approached the zombie king and, judging it to be within range, raised his gun.
He aimed at the zombie king's head, took aim, and fired in one fluid motion.
His gun and bullets had been modified by Shi Henian, capable of killing opponents of higher levels.
He was confident in his marksmanship. After the shot, the bullet struck the zombie king directly in the forehead.
The powerful impact sent the zombie king's body flying backward. Gong Que's heart leaped with joy.
"Careful, it's not dead!"
Seeing the zombie king fall, Gong Que immediately got up, ready to escape with Wen Qingtian.
But he heard Wen Qingtian warn him to be careful. He turned back and was stunned.
The zombie king, which he had shot directly in the head, was staggering to its feet, the bullet still embedded in its skull.
Gong Que was bewildered, thinking, "Why? This doesn't make sense. Why didn't the bullet work?"
As he was lost in a sea of "why," the zombie king reached out, pulled the bullet from its forehead, and casually tossed it aside.
Then, it let out a roar at him and unleashed thousands of vines, which surged forward like monstrous serpents.
Gong Que hastily mobilized his abilities, raising an earth wall in front of him to block the vines.
But it was futile. He had no idea what level the zombie king's ability was.
A three-meter-thick earth wall was as fragile as paper to the vines it unleashed, pierced through with ease.
Before Gong Que could react, the earth wall in front of him collapsed, and the vines, like javelins, pierced through his body.
"I don't know what happened next because I passed out."
Having said this, Gong Que waved his hand, indicating that this was all he knew.
"I'll continue from here!"
Supported by Jin Xi, Wen Qingtian walked out of the room and into the living room.
He sat down beside Gong Que and filled in the gaps that Gong Que had missed.
He had seen Gong Que's body pierced, blood splattering everywhere, and the vines swinging Gong Que's body in the air.
He immediately unleashed wind blades, trying to sever the vines, but they were too tough to be cut.
Seeing Gong Que's body hanging limply in the air, like a tattered rag, its life or death unknown, Wen Qingtian's eyes turned red.
Disregarding the damage to his own body, he forcefully activated his abilities, spinning and flying high into the sky.
Countless wind blades gathered around him, spinning, and finally condensed into a giant cleaver, thirty feet long.
Although formed from wind-elemental abilities, it was as solid as if it were real. He gripped it with both hands and swung it directly towards Gong Que.
With a flash of the blade, the vines were severed. Wen Qingtian immediately caught Gong Que as he fell from the sky.
Without touching the ground, as if flying on the wind, he escaped Yunmeng Mountain.
However, his forced use of abilities to save Gong Que had injured him. Furthermore, fearing pursuit, he had continuously pushed his body to its limits to maintain his abilities, causing his injuries to worsen.
After finally escaping back, to cover their tracks, he had remained invisible since entering the base.
Upon returning to the villa, Bu Ying was still there. Wen Qingtian was desperately holding on.
But his heavy breathing was detected by Ming Yue, who, instead of arguing with Bu Ying, hurriedly sent him away.
This was because Wen Qingtian could no longer maintain the stability of his invisibility and was about to be exposed.
"Do you two know where you went wrong?"
After hearing their account of their ordeal in Yunmeng Mountain, Ming Yue's face was grim. She spoke sternly to Wen Qingtian and Gong Que.
"We shouldn't have let our guard down. We must always maintain our vigilance."
Wen Qingtian said in a low voice. Gong Que nodded in agreement beside him. They had indeed been careless today.
"Anything else?"
Ming Yue pressed, seemingly unsatisfied with their answers, her expression darkening further.
Wen Qingtian and Gong Que exchanged glances. Besides carelessness, they couldn't think of anything else.
"It seems you truly haven't realized. Before I tell you, let me ask: were the items I gave you just for show?
You all have the potions refined from the Water of Life, right? Why didn't you use them when your abilities were depleted?
Wen Qingtian, if you had taken it, would you have ended up like this?
With your meridians broken, you were almost crippled. What were you saving that potion for?
And the magical artifacts I gave you to use in combat, why didn't you use them?
Gong Que, if you had used the Xuanwu Shield for defense, would you have been skewered like a candied haw by those vines?
This time, you were fortunate not to have injured your heart. If your heart had been injured,
even with your strong recovery abilities, you would be a corpse by now."
Ming Yue was furious. She had painstakingly prepared life-saving items for everyone, not wanting to see any casualties in the Ming Yue team.
Yet, these people, holding golden rice bowls, begged for food, and carrying quilts, froze to death, refusing to use what they had.
This made it impossible for her to suppress her anger. She berated Wen Qingtian and Gong Que sternly.
If it weren't for their injuries not having fully healed, she would have loved to beat them both.
"We forgot."
"We didn't think of it."
Hearing Ming Yue's words, the two suddenly realized. Ming Yue was right. They both lowered their heads and mumbled guiltily.
"It's not just the two of them. It's all of you too. I distributed the magical artifacts to you all and taught you how to fuse them.
Did you take it seriously? Did you cultivate diligently? Have you become accustomed to relying on me?
Remember, this is the apocalypse. Only by becoming strong yourselves can you survive. I cannot always be by your side.
Starting tomorrow, except for Wen Qingtian and Gong Que who are recuperating, no one else is allowed to go anywhere.
You will all stay in the villa and familiarize yourselves with the use of the magical artifacts. I will be checking.
If you are still not proficient, then return them to me. You don't need them anyway."
Ming Yue's sharp gaze swept over everyone before she returned to her room to rest. She was truly angry.
Everyone looked at each other, feeling ashamed. Ming Yue was right.
When they received the items, they were excited for a while, but after a few days, they had forgotten about them.
It was no wonder Ming Yue was angry. So, everyone quickly returned to their rooms, took out their treasures, and began to cultivate. No one even ate dinner.
The next morning, before Ming Yue had even woken up, she heard a knock on her door. Opening it, she saw Ba Jiu.
"So early? Are you eager to see the little monkey siblings?"
Ming Yue understood Ba Jiu's intentions. She quickly washed up and ate breakfast.
She instructed everyone to cultivate well at home, and then she and the siblings left the villa.
Ba Jiu was very excited today. He had even brought two meat buns as breakfast for the little monkey siblings.
However, when they arrived at the alley where they had left yesterday and saw the scene before them, the meat buns in Ba Jiu's hand dropped to the ground.