Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 97: Chapter 89: Spatial Jade Bracelet

”All the squads in that area are powerful. You think we can actually compete with them for a spot?”

A male voice retorted bluntly. It was a voice Tang Mo knew well.

Tang Mo recognized them. As fate would have it, she’d run into An Yang and Wenqing’s squad.

”Whatever. I can’t walk another step. You guys go find those... what’s-it-called... poison scorpions. I’m going to sit down and rest. An Yang, you stay behind and protect me.”

Hidden behind a large tree, Tang Mo watched as Wenqing sat on a stump, tugging on An Yang’s sleeve and refusing to let go.

”If you want to die, stay here by yourself. I don’t have time to wait on you.” An Yang shook his arm free and strode away with the other squad members.

He knew Wenqing was a Space System user with weak combat abilities. ’This place is dangerous, and she’s not an idiot. She’ll catch up on her own soon enough,’ he thought. ’I can’t be bothered to coddle her.’

”You!”

Wenqing bit her lip, watching them walk further and further away. She stubbornly held her ground, refusing to stand up.

But as the group grew more distant and was about to disappear from sight, her survival instincts finally triumphed over her pampered attitude. Wenqing reluctantly stood up, preparing to follow them.

’If the planting function of my Space wasn’t disabled, I wouldn’t be sticking with them.’

Her eyes filled with resentment. Her Space had been over-harvested precisely because of An Yang’s constant, shortsighted demands.

’If I could have found a more powerful backer, I wouldn’t have even considered this useless man who’s all talk and no action,’ she thought. ’I just needed someone for temporary protection.’

”Wenqing.”

Seeing Wenqing about to stand, Tang Mo darted out from behind the tree.

She slammed a hand on Wenqing’s shoulder, forcing her back down onto the stump.

”Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Weren’t you curious about me and my godfather? Now’s the perfect time to tell you the story.”

Tang Mo’s face was plastered with a ”friendly” smile.

”I have nothing to say to you.” Wenqing tilted her chin up and huffed. With no one else around, she didn’t even bother putting on an act for Tang Mo.

”But I want to chat with *you*,” Tang Mo said. ”Is this your current mission objective?”

In her hand, Tang Mo dangled a venomous scorpion.

At the dawn of the apocalypse, when the mists had just begun to clear, the mutant beasts roaming the world were primarily creatures from the fog itself.

But with the changes to the terrain and ecosystem, more and more unknown mutant beasts began appearing, seemingly overnight, in the world’s mysterious jungles.

This venomous scorpion was one such creature. An Yang’s squad was on a mission to collect one hundred of their tails.

Turning in one hundred scorpion tails to the mission center would earn them their mission reward, and they could keep all the Crystal Cores for themselves.

”Aren’t you a Space System user?”

Wenqing stared in astonishment at the scorpion in Tang Mo’s hand.

’How can a Space Ability User deal with a Basic-level Mutant Beast so easily?’

Even she, who *wasn’t* a Space System user, couldn’t catch a Basic-level Mutant Beast bare-handed so easily.

”Don’t tell me you have a Space Treasure too?”

Wenqing’s words confirmed her secret to Tang Mo. ’So she really isn’t a Space Ability User,’ Tang Mo realized.

”Who says Space Ability Users have to be weak?”

Tang Mo tossed the scorpion onto Wenqing.

”Don’t move,” Tang Mo said, her smile turning even sweeter. ”The more you struggle, the faster the venom will spread.”

She hadn’t originally planned on taking Wenqing’s life, but yesterday, Wenqing had crossed a line.

More importantly, she had seen the deep hatred in Wenqing’s eyes—even killing intent.

’Don’t blame me for being cruel,’ Tang Mo thought. ’I won’t keep a rabid dog that could bite me at any moment by my side.’

She wanted world peace as much as the next person, but if someone wanted her dead, she had no choice but to strike first.

In essence, she was just like Qin Ling—she had no spare emotions for outsiders.

Death?

Wasn’t that the most common thing in the apocalypse?

”AHHH!!”

Stung multiple times by the venomous scorpion, Wenqing thrashed violently. She scrambled to her feet, frantically swatting at herself, trying with all her might to get the scorpion off.

But the scorpion, though small, was still a mutant beast and not so easily dealt with. It expertly dodged her flailing hands while continuing its assault.

Wenqing’s frantic struggles only caused the venom to spread through her body more quickly.

Wenqing soon lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

Tang Mo drew her Wind Breaker. She flicked the scorpion—now frenzied from the taste of blood—to the ground, stabbed it dead, then kicked the carcass into the tall grass nearby.

Tang Mo knelt to inspect Wenqing’s body. ’A Space Treasure has to be carried at all times,’ she reasoned. ’It’s probably a piece of jewelry.’

Wenqing wore no earrings. A diamond necklace graced her neck, but when Tang Mo touched it with her spiritual power, she felt no spiritual fluctuations.

Continuing her search, Tang Mo grabbed Wenqing’s wrist. Sure enough, there was a fine, white Jade Bracelet.

’This is it!’

A powerful wave of spiritual power from the Jade Bracelet confirmed its identity instantly.

’But... why won’t it come off?’

Tang Mo’s original plan was to take the bracelet and figure out how to merge with it later.

But she couldn’t tell if Wenqing had just put on weight from eating well, or if the Jade Bracelet had always been a tight fit.

No matter how hard Tang Mo pulled, the Jade Bracelet wouldn’t budge from Wenqing’s wrist.

’Smashing it is out of the question,’ she thought. ’But what if I... her wrist...’

A gruesome thought entered her mind.

’No, if someone finds the body like that, it’ll raise suspicions. I can’t expose myself.’

’I’ll just have to merge it right here.’

Tang Mo scanned her surroundings, glanced at the poisoned and unconscious Wenqing, and made her decision.

Just as she had with the wooden beads from Grandpa Wen, Tang Mo took off her necklace and placed it in her palm. Then, she used her spiritual power to connect her Jade Pendant to the Jade Bracelet.

The moment she extended her spiritual power, Tang Mo could feel that the energy within Wenqing’s Jade Bracelet was far greater than what she had felt from the wooden beads.

It was even greater than the energy within her own Jade Pendant Space. This was the real deal—a genuine treasure!

Fortunately, her spiritual power was now several times stronger than it had been before. Otherwise, she truly would have been powerless against this Jade Bracelet.

Under the control of her spiritual power, the Jade Pendant floated up from her palm, while Wenqing’s wrist, adorned with the Jade Bracelet, slowly rose to meet it.

The two rare and precious Space Treasures slowly drew closer in mid-air.

It had to be said, if anyone were to stumble upon this scene, it would be utterly terrifying...

Tang Mo’s spiritual power had reached a terrifying level. Despite the immense output required, she completed the spatial merger using less than half of her reserves.

The Jade Bracelet vanished from Wenqing’s wrist in a flash. Tang Mo caught her Jade Pendant as it fell and examined it closely.

She found a tiny jade ring had appeared on the chain, right next to the Jade Pendant itself.

”It worked! The more things it merges with, the more precious this necklace becomes.”

Tang Mo carefully put the necklace back on, fastened the double-locking clasp, and tucked it safely inside her clothes.

’It’s nerve-wracking,’ she thought. ’If only I could bind it with a drop of blood, like in the novels.’

Unfortunately, she had tried the blood-drop method long ago to no avail. She had every reason to believe those novels were full of lies.

Then again, it made sense. If abnormal treasures could truly be bound by blood, she wouldn’t have been able to complete the merger so easily.

Everything in this world truly has its pros and cons.