Cultivation Partner Reborn in the Apocalypse

Regardless of how they felt, Xu Nuo had already organized the groups.

The two groups were led separately by him and Park Su since Li Cheng was a major city, and without the two tier-four espers overseeing things, who knew what could go wrong?

Xu Nuo didn't care much about the lives of ordinary people, but Old Chen and his research team were valuable assets he wanted to keep for his own purposes, so he couldn't let them die easily.

This meant splitting their forces, which was frustrating, but Xu Nuo's mind was set on quickly navigating through this chaotic place, gathering the necessary supplies, and then moving on to deal with the mutant rose vine with Park Su. The sooner they completed this task, the better.

After all, he had won the bet with Park Su, and even though he hadn't discussed forming the new team with him beforehand, he at least hoped to enjoy some "meat scraps" if not the real deal.

Although he had already shared his rough idea with Park Su, he still received an eye-roll from him. At best, the atmosphere could be eased over the next few days, let alone savoring the scraps of the plan.

What he didn't know was that Park Su's eye-roll was merely a reaction to the shock he felt upon receiving the news.

After all, the image of Xu Nuo as a solitary figure from his past life was deeply ingrained in his heart. Having met Xu Nuo from the previous life, the indomitable pride he carried left an indelible mark within him.

In this life, he had believed that by offering his warmth, he was alleviating Xu Nuo's loneliness, which he considered his greatest honor. He never imagined that one day Xu Nuo would go as far as to establish a team for his sake.

Moreover, the purpose behind forming such a team wasn't to ascend to any pinnacle of power, but simply to provide him with the stable life he desired most.

It might sound laughable to seek stability in the apocalypse, but Park Su understood that if one's strength was truly formidable, even in the end times, a relatively stable life could still be achieved.

The fact that someone so fond of solitude would consider creating an elite team of ability users just for him was astonishing.

Even more so, the idea of establishing a small base for him—though only an idea for now—left Park Su utterly stunned. He never imagined that his influence on Xu Nuo would be so profound.

Perhaps it was the shock that rendered him momentarily unsure of how to face Xu Nuo. He was certainly moved, but his greater feeling was one of concern. He feared that his presence might place a heavy burden on Xu Nuo, eventually causing them to part ways.

Though in the time they had been together, his abilities had already surpassed those of 80% of the other ability users in the apocalypse, and his wood-based powers were no less formidable than the subtle and restrained skills of Mu Xi.

Additionally, with the footwork Xu Nuo had taught him, escaping from small groups of zombies was no longer a difficult task. With his current abilities, he no longer needed to depend on Xu Nuo as he once had, and he could hold his own in any situation. However, now, the thought of Xu Nuo leaving him for even a few days caused him great discomfort, let alone the idea of parting ways completely. Perhaps these worries had been the cause of his recent unease.

At this point, Xu Nuo had formed such a team, and Park Su knew that it was the best arrangement. However, the mere thought that from the moment they entered Li City, they would no longer have the time to be alone together except at night left him with a lingering sense of dissatisfaction.

He even regretted bringing Zhu Xiao, the troublemaker, into their team. After all, they already had space rings, and Zhu Xiao's space ability was of little use to them. Bringing him along had only served to complicate things.

Upon reflection, he realized that his frustration was unreasonable.

In the end, he was really only at odds with himself, and Xu Nuo had nothing to do with it. But in Xu Nuo's eyes, all his small grievances were his own fault, and Park Su had no part in it.

Strangely enough, despite these minor misunderstandings, to outsiders, their bond seemed even closer.

After all, Xu Nuo was someone who kept others at arm's length, yet with Park Su, he was endlessly considerate and gentle.

When Xu Nuo had wronged Park Su, his efforts to make amends became even more apparent. Others, however, found that the two seemed increasingly suited for one another.

In fact, some even privately advised Park Su to forgive their leader soon. They were growing weary of seeing them constantly display affection and feed them dog food daily.

Park Su, feeling a bit embarrassed by their comments, gradually softened his attitude toward Xu Nuo, striving to communicate with him as naturally as he had before.

After all, his own sensitivity had started to annoy even him. While their relationship had slowly begun to thaw, Xu Nuo, who had already found some sweetness in this display of affection, would naturally not relinquish the opportunity to continue showing it. Furthermore, in his eyes, the masters of affection within the team were Ge Qing and Lu Shang, so his own displays, when compared to theirs, were mere trifles.

Upon arriving at Li City, they quickly found someone who was familiar with the area to draw up a basic map for them.

The person they approached was a fanatical admirer of Zhu Xiao, someone who had lived in Li City for a time and was relatively familiar with it.

This individual, however, was unaware of Xu Nuo's abilities. He only knew that their leader would soon be following these people, although he didn't fully understand why. The leader had mentioned that all of this was for their benefit.

The leader had explained that these people were exceptionally strong, and by following them, he would be able to improve even further, thus better protecting his people.

Though the leader had said so, the followers still felt that these people had some abilities, yet their prior terrible experiences with ability users made it hard for them to see them in a favorable light.

Thus, although they provided the map, they also offered several alternative routes as escape options.

If Xu Nuo's team had seen these suggestions before encountering him, they would likely have found them very reasonable and might have even been grateful.

However, having already experienced the chaos in Ping City and witnessed Xu Nuo's powerful talismans firsthand, they knew that they didn't need the escape routes at all.

Despite this, they all wisely refrained from speaking up. After all, their leader's methods were too mysterious, and they weren't sure if he was willing to reveal everything. As those who enjoyed so many benefits, they knew when to remain silent; they didn't want to risk losing these privileges by displeasing their captain.

Xu Nuo listened quietly to the suggestions, somewhat surprised. He had expected that once someone became a fan of Zhu Xiao, they would lose their ability to think critically. Instead, he found that this person was somewhat capable.

The routes suggested were mostly balanced—both offensive and defensive—which made for a rather well-crafted plan. Xu Nuo, impressed, found himself reassessing the person's capabilities and began to appreciate Zhu Xiao's keen eye for talent.

He decided to follow the suggested route but made only a slight adjustment at the end. To others, this change might seem insignificant, but Ge Qing and Lu Shang immediately recognized that the revised path brought them closest to the mutated rose.

They knew that this mutated rose was their team's main objective for this trip, though not many were aware of this goal. Xu Nuo didn't plan to elaborate, as the route had already been determined by their captain.

Once the decision was made, everyone would naturally follow.

The fan, seeing that Xu Nuo had mostly adhered to the map with only a slight modification, frowned upon realizing that this adjustment took them through a somewhat dangerous area.

He thought for a moment and decided it might be better to let them endure some hardship. That way, they would truly realize how perfect the route he had chosen was, and perhaps learn from their mistakes, refraining from being so authoritarian.

He furrowed his brow but said nothing more, letting the matter rest.

Once the route was settled, everyone followed their designated groupings as they entered Li City. Since Xu Nuo didn't plan on staying in Li City for long, his goal was to move quickly to avoid major dangers, gather as many supplies as possible, and help Zhu Xiao advance his abilities. Naturally, he would choose the most straightforward approach.

He decided that both he and Park Su would take Zhu Xiao hunting with them, using various methods to help him break through to the second tier of his abilities.

Zhu Xiao's loyal fan, excited at the prospect of the leader going hunting with them for the first time, wanted to join them as well. But Xu Nuo merely tossed back a comment, "I never bring baggage," and, without even glancing at their disappointed faces, walked off.

Zhu Xiao, thrilled at the prospect of hunting for supplies with Xu Nuo, felt a surge of excitement. To be honest, ever since he had awakened his spatial abilities, he had only gone out with his own team to hunt zombies, and even then, it was usually only when the zombies came looking for them in small numbers.

He had never actually gone out to gather supplies like this. It was his first time hunting supplies with an ability user team.

What made it even more exciting was the fact that Xu Nuo had privately told him, "You want to level up your abilities, right? Then come hunting with me. Nothing sharpens your skills like battle."

With high hopes, Zhu Xiao eagerly followed them, but to his surprise, as soon as they reached the hunting area, Xu Nuo handed him over to his team members and disappeared, leaving him confused.

What astonished him even more was that no one in the team seemed surprised or upset by Xu Nuo's behavior. In fact, they acted as though it was completely normal.

The deputy leader of their group, Lu Shang, seeing Zhu Xiao's bewildered expression, came over with a serious look and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. Just use your abilities to their fullest. We'll take care of your safety. If you can't handle a second-tier zombie, lead it to me, it's fine. And trust me, Xu Nuo will be back before you know it. He won't let anything happen to you."

Zhu Xiao was both baffled and curious about their unwavering confidence in Xu Nuo. What was it about him that inspired such trust?

But since he had already joined this "pirate ship," he had no choice but to follow along. As the battle began, he soon realized that while he had spatial blades and teleportation, his combat skills were far inferior to theirs.

Despite everyone contributing equally, with most of the second-tier ability users having lower abilities than his, he found himself killing far fewer zombies than anyone else in the team.