novelden Chapter 12 Arrival at White Stone Outpost
Chapter 12 Arrival at White Stone Outpost
Jiang Che released her wrist, but the next second, his hand moved up an inch and covered the back of her hand.
The exact same way she had first placed her hand on the back of his hand.
"I'm not dead," Jiang Che said.
"What about next time?" Su Qingyuan's voice was still trembling. "What if you rush out like that again?"
"I will come back alive next time too."
What makes you guarantee that?
Jiang Che did not answer.
He did something even bolder—his fingers slid down the back of her hand, through her fingers, and intertwined with hers.
Su Qingyuan's entire body froze.
Her fingers instinctively curled up, trying to break free, but after only a fraction of a second, the curling turned into another action—her fingers slowly, one by one, loosened, then flipped over and intertwined with Jiang Che's fingers.
Completely intertwined, skin to skin, fingers clasped together.
Su Qingyuan lowered her head, her hair falling down to cover her entire face.
But Jiang Che could see her ears—both ears, from the earlobes to the tips, were completely red.
Her breathing became rapid and shallow, and the frequency of her chest rising and falling increased significantly.
Jiang Che could feel her palms were sweaty, wet and sticky, and he couldn't tell whose sweat it was.
"Someone is watching," Su Qingyuan said in a whisper.
"Nobody's here," Jiang Che said.
He lied—Liu Hu and Wang Mang were definitely watching from somewhere. But he didn't care.
"Let go."
"I won't let go."
Su Qingyuan raised her head and looked at him with her red, wet eyes.
A little blood seeped from the crack on her lip, and she instinctively licked it with the tip of her tongue to wipe away the drop of blood.
The movement was fast, but in Jiang Che's D-level vision, it was slowed down countless times.
The color of her tongue, the lines of her lips, the trail of blood beads spreading across her tongue.
Jiang Che's lower abdomen suddenly tightened.
He released her hand.
It wasn't because he wanted to loosen his grip, but because he was afraid he would do something even worse if he didn't.
For example, pulling her into your arms.
For example, he could bend down and kiss away the drop of blood on her lips.
such as……
He took a deep breath and suppressed those thoughts.
After Su Qingyuan pulled her hands back, she hid both hands behind her back.
She lowered her head and drew circles on the ground with her toes. After a while, she suddenly kicked Jiang Che's shin.
"You're not allowed to rush out alone anymore," she said.
"OK."
The answer is "yes".
"Yes."
"And you're not allowed to hold my hand without permission."
"That won't do," Jiang Che said.
Su Qingyuan raised her head and glared at him.
[Su Qingyuan's favorability towards the host increases by 2 x 2. Current favorability: 24, intimacy: 11.]
"Set off!"
"Everyone, immediately, now, right now!"
The convoy is back on the road.
No one speaks.
Behind them lay the eerie darkness of the Nightwalker, and ahead lay the unknown White Stone stronghold.
Jiang Che walked to Su Qingyuan's left, side by side.
Su Qingyuan did not send him to the back.
Her right hand hung down at her side, less than five centimeters from his left hand.
Jiang Che's gaze swept across the group. Liu Hu and Wang Man's figures, in the edge of the torchlight, resembled two silent ghosts.
Their gazes occasionally swept over, landing on Jiang Che before shifting away.
But the angle at which it moved away was wrong—not the angle to abandon the prey, but the angle to wait for the right opportunity.
Jiang Che's left little finger twitched slightly, hooking Su Qingyuan's right little finger.
Just the little finger.
It's much more subtle than holding hands.
Su Qingyuan's little finger froze for a fraction of a second, then slowly, very slowly, it bent back.
The two little fingers are hooked together.
In the darkness of night.
In the shadows where the torchlight couldn't reach. In the darkness where everyone's eyes were fixed ahead.
The two little fingers are hooked together.
Jiang Che took a deep breath of the cool autumn night air, feeling his chest fill up completely.
It wasn't because of the favorability rating, the system, or the awakening of my special ability.
It's because of Su Qingyuan's little finger.
In the early hours of the morning after the Night Raiders' attack, the convoy finally saw the outline of the White Stone stronghold.
It was a defensive fortification built on an abandoned mine, with a reinforced concrete wall about four meters high, topped with searchlights and barbed wire.
The gate was made of thick steel plates welded together, and its surface was covered with strange scratches of varying depths.
Two armed sentries stood at the entrance, wearing uniform gray combat uniforms with armbands embroidered with the word "White Stone" on their chests.
Zhao Lie negotiated for about ten minutes before the door slowly opened a crack.
The outpost accepted the battered convoy, but with the following conditions: everyone had to undergo quarantine and registration, those with superpowers were to be grouped separately, weapons were to be managed centrally, and food rations were to be distributed centrally by the outpost.
After entering the base, the convoy was placed in a temporary tent area on the outer edge.
The conditions weren't great, but there were at least three things that weren't available on the migration route: clean water, a stable fire source, and a wall to keep out the shadow monsters.
Jiang Che was assigned to an eight-person tent, located in the far corner.
Su Qingyuan was assigned to the area reserved for people with superpowers. Before leaving, she glanced at him, her lips moved slightly, and she said, "Don't cause trouble."
She quickly ran her fingers across the back of his hand, then turned and walked away.
Jiang Che watched her figure disappear into the depths of the tent area, clenching the lingering warmth on the back of his hand into his fist.
After a brief settling-in, the team received a notification: all those capable of combat were to assemble at the plaza on the west side of the stronghold to assist with post-battle matters.
Specific tasks included treating the wounded, inventorying supplies, and handling the remains of the dead—as well as the wreckage of Shadow Creatures killed outside the convoy.
After a bizarre death, its physical form will completely dissipate within a few hours, but core fragments will remain, releasing a faint aura that may attract other monsters.
It must be completely destroyed by a superhuman using a specific method.
Jiang Che changed into cleaner clothes—well, more like he rubbed off most of the bloodstains. He left the steel bars in the tent, since weapons were prohibited inside the stronghold.
But his body itself is now a weapon.
The west plaza was a flat area paved with gravel, with piles of Shadow Creature remains dragged back from the battlefield.
The core fragment emitted a faint, dark purple glow, like a pile of dying embers.
Several people with superpowers were dealing with these things; some were burning them, while others were shattering them with their superpowers, each displaying their unique abilities.
Jiang Che was assigned the task of moving the partially processed wreckage fragments into sealed bags and then transporting them to a designated burial site.
It requires no technical skill, but it does require strength and endurance.
He had no objection to the allocation. His core strategy was to develop his business discreetly.
After moving things for about half an hour, Jiang Che noticed that there was an extra person at the edge of the square.
a woman.
With her back to him, she was squatting in front of a relatively intact shadow ghost's remains, holding a short knife in her hand, cutting open the remains's abdomen—not the abdomen, but the core cavity left after the shadow ghost's form dissipated.
Her movements were precise, fast, and without any unnecessary steps, like she was performing surgery.
Her attire was different from the others. Instead of the gray combat uniforms issued by the outpost, she wore a black, tight-fitting tactical suit made of what appeared to be some kind of bulletproof fiber, which perfectly outlined her body.
A row of small knives and two unidentified metal devices hung from his belt, and he wore a pair of high-top military boots, the boot surfaces covered in black slime.
Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, with the ends resting between her shoulder blades.
From the back, the whole person looks like a knife sheathed.