Cultivation Partner Reborn in the Apocalypse

After seeing Park Su use the Hallucinogenic Dandelion, Xu Nuo knew there wouldn't be much for him to do this time. Indeed, as they walked towards the research center's entrance, they encountered no resistance, not even seeing a single person. If not for the occasional screams of terror, they might have thought this was a ghost town.

Xia Ji, following behind, hadn't spoken a word, but inside, he was in turmoil. He had always known both team leaders were formidable, but in his heart, he always thought the captain's combat strength was the strongest.

Park Su, on the other hand, seemed like a soft, approachable person, and with his usual amicable behavior, everyone had a good relationship with him.

So, everyone knew he had a blue vine that was incredibly effective at dealing with zombies, but they hadn't anticipated that his seemingly unremarkable dandelion could control people to such an extent.

Looking at this combat power, it was no less than their captain's. Indeed, like attracts like; neither of these two was anything close to weak.

The more he concluded this, the more excited Xia Ji became because it meant he hadn't chosen the wrong people to follow.

When they reached the research center, they finally saw crowds of people wandering aimlessly around it. A rough count showed at least fifty, each looking strong and robust.

Zhu Xiao quickly scanned the crowd and realized at least half were espers, indicating they had put significant effort into guarding Old Chen.

Unfortunately for them, they were now under the influence of Park Su's method, trapped in their own illusions, oblivious even as Zhu Xiao and his group approached openly, their eyes vacant, displaying their weaknesses.

Seeing this, Zhu Xiao was somewhat stunned. He had expected a fierce battle with these people, but the journey here had been so easy, and now they were all in this state, offering no resistance. Dealing with them would be like cutting through melons.

Zhu Xiao's followers were equally impressed and relieved they hadn't provoked Park Su. Now, on Zhu Xiao's command, they swiftly bound the traitors, using hardly any effort, a scenario they would never have imagined before.

Originally, they were prepared for a deadly fight, meaning they would have killed these rebels on the spot. But now, with the ease of the situation, they had the luxury to decide the fate of these people.

However, Zhu Xiao chose to kill most of them, as they hadn't shown him mercy when planning their rebellion. Sometimes, being ruthless was necessary for survival. The ones he spared were mostly ordinary people, with only a couple of espers.

After ensuring the situation was under control, Zhu Xiao rushed into the lab to rescue the others, only to find the scene inside quite different from what he expected.

Old Chen and his team were sitting quietly in rows, but their expressions were off. Even with all the commotion Zhu Xiao caused upon entering, they didn't react.

Zhu Xiao hurried over to Old Chen, calling out to him. Old Chen, perhaps sensing the movement, slowly turned his gaze towards Zhu Xiao. However, instead of recognition, there was fear, and he tried to move back, nearly falling off his chair if not for Zhu Xiao's quick reflexes.

Zhu Xiao realized Old Chen must be experiencing a terrifying illusion too. He quickly turned to Park Su, "Can you lift this illusion? I won't be able to take them with me like this."

Park Su smiled, "Don't worry, the illusion I set for them is different from the one outside. It's just to make them forget about your kidnapping temporarily. It's better for someone of his age and health. With the sudden chaos outside, who knows if he might do something rash? Then finding him would be even harder."

"I'll lift the illusion now, and you should get all you need to say out quickly. I don't have the time to dawdle here."

With that, he quickly communicated with the dandelion, then with a gesture, the illusions affecting Old Chen and his team were dispelled.

Old Chen, coming back to his senses, saw Zhu Xiao squatting in front of him. It took him a moment to process before he reached out to touch Zhu Xiao's face, asking, "Am I not dreaming? Is this really you, Zhu Xiao?

Weren't you taken away by those two bad young men? How come you're suddenly here?"

Seeing Old Chen's emotional state, Zhu Xiao quickly grabbed his hand, reassuring him, "Old Chen, don't worry, it's really me. I wasn't kidnapped; I chose to go with them to discuss our future path.

In fact, I've made some decisions on my own and reached an agreement with them. I want to talk to you about it and see what you think."

Park Su knew they had important matters to discuss. Being referred to as "bad young men" was something he found amusingly helpless, considering they weren't on the same side back then.

To be frank, not killing Zhu Xiao outright was because his abilities were somewhat interesting. If he had been just another ordinary esper, the likelihood was that there would only be a corpse in front of Old Chen now. After all, Zhu Xiao had harbored killing intentions towards them.

Zhu Xiao needed to have a heart-to-heart with Old Chen, explaining why he was leaving the village to follow Xu Nuo and persuading his followers to leave for the base. He had a lot to say.

Park Su, not particularly interested in this, gave Xu Nuo a look. Xu Nuo immediately understood, speaking to Zhu Xiao with an authoritative tone, "I'll take Park Su to the room with the mutant vine; you continue your talk with Old Chen. I hope by the time we come out, you'll have sorted everything out.

Remember, whatever choices they make, don't forget what you've promised me."

Zhu Xiao found it hard to refuse when Xu Nuo spoke to him; whether it was due to Xu Nuo's imposing presence or the curse he had placed, he wasn't sure. But he nodded in understanding, and Xu Nuo led Park Su to the room with the mutant vine.

Once inside, Xu Nuo dropped his authoritative demeanor, moving close to Park Su, saying, "Park Su, don't be angry. I'll explain everything about the team. You know I can't stand you being mad at me. I've never had many friends, nor do I trust many people easily; you're the only one I truly trust and who's close to my heart. If you ignore me, I'd be so lonely."

Park Su's irritation had mostly dissipated along the way, especially since Xu Nuo usually conveyed such sentiments through mental communication, which was more intimate and less ostentatious.

He hadn't expected Xu Nuo to say such things outright in this setting, which made him somewhat shy, especially with Ge Qing present.

With Xu Nuo around, Ge Qing would usually hold back his teasing, but given the chance, he'd definitely use today's events as gossip.

Noticing Ge Qing's expression full of curiosity, Park Su sighed and changed the subject, "Since you said you'd explain later, let's talk about it then. Now, let's see how we're going to deal with this vine?"

Xu Nuo had anticipated Park Su's deflection, but when it actually happened, he felt a slight disappointment. It seemed he still had some difficulty letting go, but sooner or later, he'd make sure Xu Nuo could flaunt their relationship as openly as Ge Qing and Lu Shang.

However, since Park Su brought up the vine, Xu Nuo knew it was the most pressing issue at hand, so he redirected the conversation accordingly.

Standing behind them, Xia Ji felt somewhat awkward. The relationship between Park Su and Xu Nuo was no secret within the team, and post-apocalypse, such relationships between men weren't as shocking as before. Yet, standing there alone while they displayed their affection was a bit cruel and awkward for him.

Thus, Xia Ji tried to make himself less conspicuous, focusing on the discussion about handling the vine.

Since Park Su and Xu Nuo weren't very familiar with the details of the vine, which were mostly reported by Lu Shang, they needed more insight to decide between the two vines. This was why he had insisted on bringing Ge Qing and Lu Shang along.

Lu Shang, understanding Xu Nuo's intent, examined the vine closely before speaking, somewhat hesitantly, about its properties.

Ultimately, he concluded that the rose vine was more useful. While this vine could suppress esper abilities with its toxins, these toxins were practically useless against zombies since most zombies didn't have such abilities.

Of course, there might come a day when zombies evolve to have powers, but who could say if the vine's toxins would affect them then?

If they did, wouldn't that mean Park Su's dandelion could achieve similar results? The illusion created by the dandelion had already shown its effectiveness against both espers and ordinary people, arguably more terrifying than before.

In Lu Shang's view, the effects were superior to just neutralizing abilities, making this vine somewhat redundant. After all, for suppressing human espers, the dandelion's illusions were already quite effective.

In contrast, the Green Vine, another type of vine, had both offensive capabilities and evolved toxins that could slow down both zombies and humans, making them sluggish.

The suspected rose vine, on the other hand, had a scent that weakened opponents' abilities, could absorb blood, had wood thorns like hidden weapons, and petals that made wounds hard to heal once cut by them.

Comparing the two, the rose vine seemed superior in many aspects. Lu Shang also felt that the rose vine was of a higher tier than this one.