Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 61: Chapter 55: Leaving the Base

”Do you hate her?”

Tang Mo asked as she ripped the tape from her mouth.

She wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Ah Lian and the man had both gone on a mission and wouldn’t be back for a while.

And Xiao Mo’s mother had only just left. Even if she returned early, with Tang Mo’s strength, she didn’t consider the woman a threat in the slightest.

She hadn’t resisted before, but not because she was afraid.

”It’s okay. It was just harder before, when I was never sure if she loved me. I was always giving myself a hard time, wondering if I wasn’t obedient or good enough. I’m much better now. I know it wasn’t my fault.”

Xiao Mo’s eyes were clear and frank. Tang Mo couldn’t tell if she was just hiding it too well, but she truly couldn’t see a hint of sadness in them.

”It’s been three months. I can’t keep tormenting myself forever, right?”

Xiao Mo even curved her lips into a slight smile.

Tang Mo smiled too. ’Whether it’s genuine or an act, a child who can still smile at a time like this is one who will survive.’

”What about you? Betrayed by people you trusted, almost losing your life here. Are you upset?”

”Upset?”

Tang Mo tilted her head and thought for a moment. She really couldn’t find anything to be upset about in this whole affair.

She had never trusted anyone. Not a single person.

”I’m upset. Upset that I still wasn’t smart enough.”

Tang Mo had already replayed the whole incident in her head while pretending to be unconscious. She didn’t blame anyone but herself. She had been too careless.

She hadn’t been cautious enough and had walked right into their trap.

”You’re so cool. I want to be just like you when I grow up.” Xiao Mo’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Tang Mo.

Tang Mo patted Xiao Mo’s head. She always had a special feeling about this child. It was like looking at a miniature version of herself, one she felt would one day blossom.

”Are we... still friends?”

Xiao Mo asked cautiously. After all, the person who had tied Tang Mo up was her own mother.

”Of course. If you need anything in the future, send me a video call.” Tang Mo pointed to her ID Watch.

After saying goodbye to Xiao Mo, Tang Mo slipped out of the tent. She changed her jacket and put on a baseball cap in a secluded corner before hurrying to the Alliance Exchange.

She couldn’t go back to her apartment, but it wasn’t like she had left anything important there.

But she still had two treasures waiting for her at the Exchange.

Perhaps because not many people had made it to the second floor of the Exchange yet, every order was being fulfilled quickly.

Tang Mo successfully claimed her dagger and armor.

The dagger was double-edged. One side was coated in a deadly snake venom, while the other was non-toxic for practical cutting. Both edges were incredibly sharp.

The armor was crafted from the inner hide of a giant snake. The material was exceptionally soft and comfortable, and its damage resistance was extremely high.

The staff member who gave her the armor said it could not only defend against common melee weapons but could even stop bullets from a handgun.

Of course, one couldn’t just assume this piece of Defense Equipment made them invincible in a hail of fire from a submachine gun or rocket launcher.

Tang Mo’s eyes shone as she looked at the two pieces of equipment in her hands. ’You don’t even need to test this stuff to know it’s top-quality!’

Equipment crafted from materials that lack attribute values will not possess any attribute values itself.

The Life Energy Half-sleeve Tang Mo wore, for example, was a masterpiece of the Starry Sky Universe—something impossible for humans to create.

Right there in the Alliance Exchange, she took off her jacket, slipped the armor on over her white t-shirt, and then put the jacket back on.

She hung the dagger from a specially fitted belt at her waist. Only then did Tang Mo leave the Alliance Exchange, satisfied.

The moment she stepped out of Huacheng Base, Tang Mo felt like a video game character who had just left the starting village. She had better gear now, but the road ahead was still long and difficult.

She had only ended up at Huacheng Base by chance, and she didn’t have a clear destination in mind for what came next.

B City was a desert, and the Desert Flower had yet to bloom. There was no point in going there too early. She was better off improving her strength in a place with more resources.

As Tang Mo mulled over her next destination, she hunted lone mutant beasts in the jungle.

The environment had now regressed to a state resembling a primeval jungle. Or perhaps ”regressed” wasn’t the right word. It had been ”restored.”

With her current strength, Tang Mo had no problem dealing with a single, lone Basic-level Mutant Beast. She could barely hold her own against two or three, but any more than that and she would have to flee.

The variety of mutant beasts increased outside the school grounds. The Basic-level Mutant Beasts in the fog near the school all had crocodile-like heads, whereas the jungle now teemed with mutant beasts of all different forms.

Mammalian mutant beasts were stronger, while insect-type mutant beasts were more numerous and agile.

As for flying mutant beasts, their appearance always triggered a catastrophe. Tang Mo hadn’t encountered one yet.

As she killed mutant beasts, Tang Mo analyzed her combat experiences, reflected on her weaknesses, and continuously worked to correct them in each new fight.

Although she had lived two lives, she had been just an ordinary person barely scraping by in her past life. Aside from some basic apocalyptic know-how, she had accumulated virtually no real combat experience. She had to figure everything out from scratch now.

”Your mind has to move faster than your hands.” That was the combat principle Tang Mo eventually found best suited her.

Her spiritual power was her greatest asset. In battle, it could profoundly enhance her vision, allowing her to magnify and slow down her opponent’s movements.

Those with strong spiritual power had the most agile minds. The instant an opponent made a move, she could devise a counter and execute it, neutralizing the attack. By turning a defensive situation into an offensive one, she could maximize her attack efficiency, conserve the most stamina, and ensure success.

Everyone had to develop their own combat style based on their unique strengths to maximize their advantages.

And when it came to using her brain, Tang Mo never held back.

She spent her days walking and hunting mutant beasts, and her nights sleeping in a Hunter’s Sleeping Bag made by the Alliance.

It was a sleeping bag designed specifically for those who hunted mutant beasts. At night, it would emit a scent that mutant beasts detested and become incredibly hard, making it very safe to sleep in.

Provided, of course, that one didn’t run into anything stronger than a Basic-level Mutant Beast.

Because professional Hunters didn’t necessarily return to base every day, sleeping bags were a necessity. Tang Mo had bought one for herself before leaving Huacheng Base.

It cost her a fifty-pound bag of rice, a price that truly pained her.

About one Basic Crystal Core dropped for every three Basic-level Mutant Beasts. Before she knew it, Tang Mo had already collected over a dozen Crystal Cores of various colors.

Just as she was preparing to search for more prey, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure behind an ancient tree.

Ah Lian?!

Ah Lian was currently fighting a brown bear. As a Basic-level Mutant Beast, the brown bear was clearly stronger than most of its peers.

Ah Lian seemed to have a slight upper hand, but his blood-soaked clothes made it clear he hadn’t gotten away unscathed.

Tang Mo held her breath, waiting quietly for the fight to end.

The instant the brown bear collapsed and Ah Lian dug out its Crystal Core, Tang Mo appeared before him.

”It’s—”

BANG!

Ah Lian only managed to get out a single word before collapsing into a pool of blood.

Tang Mo wiped the grime from the gun’s muzzle with a handkerchief before storing it back in her Space.

She walked over to Ah Lian’s corpse, picked up his backpack and the Crystal Core he hadn’t yet put away, and tossed them into her Space.

While the use of firearms wasn’t restricted these days, ordinary people had no way to purchase them.

Inside the bases, only official personnel were issued guns, and they couldn’t just kill people indiscriminately.

That’s why Tang Mo was so careful inside the base. She wouldn’t take out this little treasure of hers unless it was a true emergency.

But now, out in the jungle where it was survival of the fittest, this treasure could finally make an appearance.

She hated those scenes in TV shows where the hero waits for the villain to deliver a final monologue, giving them a chance to turn the tables.

In Tang Mo’s mind, there was no need for pointless chatter.

Those who deserved to die shouldn’t be allowed to live a second longer.

’For the strong, this apocalypse doesn’t even feel like an apocalypse. The loss of order has instead granted them freedom,’ Tang Mo suddenly thought.

Then she remembered that near her home, T City, there was a famous village. It was known as a kind of paradise, a place that still maintained its pre-apocalyptic order.

It was a place full of surprises. Unfortunately, it hadn’t lasted long before being overrun by a horde of mutant beasts.

After a moment’s thought, Tang Mo decided she would go check out that interesting place now.

...

[Author’s Note]

Don’t worry, Wenqing will definitely get what’s coming to her, the bracelet will definitely be snatched, the male lead will definitely show up at the most critical moment, and the next place we’re going is going to be a lot of fun. Just trust me and you’ll be fine!