Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 651 The Apocalyptic Old Lady 20

"Guards?" Yun Chu's hoarse voice rang out, not loud, but carrying a chilling force that pierced through the noise.

Only then did the two burly guards notice the old woman emerging from the shadows and the boy hunched over beside her. Looking at Yun Chu's gaunt figure and her unfathomable, murky eyes, they felt a strange unease.

"What are you doing? Get out of the way, you busybodies!" Another guard shouted menacingly, trying to drive away the strange duo that had suddenly appeared.

Yun Chu ignored them and walked straight to Ling Yi, stopping a step away from him.

Ling Yi suddenly raised his head, his deep eyes, filled with despair and weariness, meeting Yun Chu's gaze. A hint of surprise and a deeper wariness flashed across his face. Sweat slid down his handsome jawline.

"Ling Yi?" Yun Chu asked directly, her voice calm and even, as if she were simply confirming a name.

“...It’s me.” Ling Yi’s voice was clear, with a hint of hoarseness and immense confusion. He didn’t recognize the old woman.

“My surname is Li,” Yun Chu simply stated her surname. “Bi Ziqian, who led the way earlier, works for me.”

Without any pleasantries or preamble, her murky gaze, like the most precise probe, scanned Ling Yi's disheveled state, his lingering spirit, and the sense of brokenness that she found "spectacular."

She spoke, her voice still that familiar, husky tone that commanded unwavering authority, getting straight to the point:

"I saw you were working, and you were quite efficient. I'm short a few people here. I'll provide you with plenty of food and lodging... which is safer than your place. The rules are simple: be quick and efficient, handle the trouble yourself, and I'll take care of anything you can't handle."

She paused, her withered fingers lightly tapping a non-existent watch face on her other wrist. "Would you like to come with me now?"

This sudden invitation was like a boulder thrown into stagnant water.

The weariness on Ling Yi's face was instantly replaced by immense shock, and his pupils contracted sharply.

He stared incredulously at the old woman before him, who looked as if she might collapse with a gust of wind.

Her words contained no pity, no flattery, only a cold statement and a chilling confidence.

The phrase "safer than here" was like a needle, precisely piercing his deepest pain.

He glanced instinctively at the two guards beside him whose eyes had suddenly turned fierce, then looked at Yun Chu's seemingly murky yet all-seeing, calm eyes, and his heart pounded wildly in his chest.

Yun Chu's gaze lingered on Ling Yi's face for a few seconds, seemingly not in a hurry to wait for his answer. Her senses extended, keenly capturing another faint but continuous fluctuation of supernatural energy in the air—cool and moist, like a trickle flowing between rocks.

Those were traces of Xu Jingyan's power, right next to the public well not far away.

"This way." Yun Chu turned around and briefly gestured for Ling Yi and Bi Ziqian to follow. She no longer looked at the two guards who were frozen in place, their faces alternating between red and blue.

After passing several piles of musty-smelling building materials, we arrived at the only still-functioning public water well area on the base. A long queue stretched out, and most of the people waiting to fetch water looked emaciated and expressionless. One person, however, stood out starkly.

Xu Jingyan was standing by the well. She looked to be around thirty years old, of medium build, and even in her ill-fitting, patched blue dress, one could vaguely discern her former graceful figure.

The years and the hardships of the apocalypse have left their mark on her face, but the gentle features and graceful temperament that belong to a singer have stubbornly been preserved.

Her eyebrows and eyes were beautiful, with tired lines at the corners of her eyes that were hard to smooth out. But when she focused on the water in the bucket in front of her, there was still a trace of stage luster in her eyes.

What's most striking are her hands and her voice.

Her hands were slender and fair, and she was carefully manipulating the well pulley. With each movement, the water seemed to be drawn in, flowing more gently and smoothly from the bucket into the waiting container.

This is a clever use of water-based superpowers, silently alleviating the hardship of drawing water.

Her situation was not good. She was surrounded by two or three well-dressed men with a roguish air. They were not there to queue up, but were obviously "monitoring" her work. Every now and then, they would lewdly or flirtatiously glance at her sweaty neck and her sleeves that were wet from the splashing water.

Yun Chu did not approach the crowd, but stood quietly by a slightly raised pile of waste not far away and watched for a while.

She took in Xu Jingyan's focused and practical "gentleness" at work, as well as the weariness hidden in her eyes and a hint of barely perceptible pride (or rather, the defense of her last shred of dignity).

A moment later, Yun Chu slowly walked down the pile of waste, parted the queue of people, and came to the well.

The group of thuggish men were about to berate someone for cutting in line when their eyes met Yun Chu's withered, cold face and Ling Yi, who was behind her and looked equally somber and extremely uncomfortable. Their curses caught in their throats, and they subconsciously took a step back.

Xu Jingyan also stopped what she was doing and looked up.

When she saw Yun Chu, her eyes initially showed unease at being disturbed, but then she noticed Yun Chu's calm yet penetrating gaze, as well as Ling Yi's unusually complex expression. She frowned slightly in confusion.

"Xu Jingyan?" Yun Chu asked, her tone still indifferent.

“...Yes.” Xu Jingyan’s voice was soft, with a cautious distance.

"My name is Li Yun Chu." Yun Chu didn't waste any words. Her gaze lingered briefly on her face and hands, as if admiring a precious artifact obscured by dust. Her voice was flat, but the content was like a thunderclap:

“I just saw him working,” she glanced at Ling Yi sideways, “and he was watching you too. I need help, I’ll provide food, and with me watching over things, it’ll be a peaceful place. You need to be quick and efficient, and you can handle any messes you get into. Want to come with me?”

These words were like a bolt from the blue.

Xu Jingyan's beautiful eyes widened instantly, filled with disbelief and immense shock.

The exhaustion from struggling to survive for so long, the fear of the unfriendly stares around them, and the despair for the apocalypse... all seemed to be torn open by this extremely abrupt and powerful proposal, revealing a glimmer of light that they had never dared to imagine.

"Full house"? "Safety"? And the name "Li Yun Chu"... She seemed to vaguely recall the rumors of this old woman bringing a mutated tiger into the city. This absurd yet fatally tempting offer made her fingertips, gripping the wet well rope, tremble slightly.

Ling Yi and Xu Jingyan exchanged a brief, surprised yet glimmering glance.

"Let's go." Xu Jingyan's voice was as soft as a sigh, yet it carried a resolute determination. She loosened her grip on the well rope, and water droplets fell into the dust, like a silent period.

Ling Yi's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't say anything more. He simply took a step forward and stood beside Yun Chu.

This simple action itself represents a choice—to leave this menacing "cage" and gamble on an unknown future depicted by this strange old woman.

The two guards turned ashen-faced and instinctively tried to stop her, but Yun Chu's cloudy eyes merely swept over them coldly. They were frozen in place by an invisible intimidation and could only watch helplessly as the withered old woman strode away with what they considered "property."

The scorching heat in the air, caused by the departure of the fire-type ability user, seemed to be Ling Yi's silent declaration.