Holding Their Own Space, the Family Returns to the Apocalypse

90: Arriving late”Sister Siyu, why are you here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Gu Xitian ran up to Cheng Siyu, panting heavily.

Cheng Siyu gave an awkward smile, ”Xitian, are you looking for me for something?”

Gu Xitian, who was bent over huffing and puffing, stood up and glanced around, asking in confusion, ”Why did you come all the way here?”

After leaving the Command Center, Cheng Siyu had unknowingly walked near Ai Yue’s house, wandering around aimlessly.

Cheng Siyu felt as if her secret thoughts had been exposed, feeling embarrassed, but she forced herself to remain calm. ”It’s nothing. The scenery is nice here, so I’m just enjoying the view!”

”Enjoying the view?”

”What’s there to see? Isn’t the scenery the same throughout the entire Base?” Gu Xitian looked puzzled, then shook her head, dropping the subject. She continued, ”Sister Siyu, look at this!”

She looked around suspiciously like a thief and pulled something out of her bag as if it were a precious treasure.

Cheng Siyu found her secretive behavior amusing. ”What is it? Something so precious?”

”Look!”

”Is this... Canned Meat?” Cheng Siyu took it in disbelief and examined it closely.

One must realize that items from before the Apocalypse had long been consumed during the three years of the Apocalypse. The sudden appearance of a can of meat was bound to be surprising.

Since supplies were nearly exhausted, especially seasonings, food had become as bland as water. As a young lady of the Gu Family who was used to delicious food, she really couldn’t stand it.

Suddenly obtaining a flavorful can, and Canned Beef at that, she was extremely excited and immediately wanted to share it with Cheng Siyu.

Gu Xitian nodded happily, ”Mm-hmm!”

”Where did you get this?”

”Yan Li gave it to me. Yan Li was out on a mission and saved a Little Boy from a swarm of insects, and that Little Boy gave it to him!”

”A Little Boy? How could he have kept this for so long? Did he hide in some unknown cannery?” Cheng Siyu asked casually.

”No, Yan Li said that six months ago, a woman left it in their village.”

”Oh? Then...”

”Oh, Sister Siyu, stop asking questions. This Canned Meat hasn’t expired yet and is still edible. I specifically came to find you so we could eat it together. Come with me!”

Gu Xitian grabbed Cheng Siyu, intending to leave.

Suddenly, a large area of fissures appeared on the open ground in front of them, and the cracks were rapidly expanding.

Cheng Siyu’s expression changed as her intuition warned her of danger. She grabbed the oblivious Gu Xitian and ran backward.

”Ouch, Sister Siyu, what are you doing!”

”Run! Something’s wrong up ahead!”

”Ah, what?” The confused Gu Xitian was pulled so hard that the Canned Meat almost flew out of her hands, so she quickly hugged it tightly to her chest.

Before they could run far, the center of the fissures suddenly exploded, forming a bottomless hole, and a massive creature lunged out of it.

Cheng Siyu looked back, and her heart nearly stopped—it was an Ancient Centipede!

The Ancient Centipede’s blade-like thousands of legs glinted coldly under the sunlight, making one’s eyes sting.

The Ancient Centipede landed on the ground and crawled straight toward the two women.

Its speed was incredibly fast; its thousands of legs moving together were like they had an accelerator attached. It was about to catch up to them.

Unfortunately, another one crawled out of the deep hole, its long antennae locking onto Cheng Siyu and Gu Xitian like radar as it chased them relentlessly.

The visual effect was absolutely terrifying. Seeing the hideous and monstrous centipede, Gu Xitian’s legs went weak with fear, and she was being dragged along entirely by Cheng Siyu.

Cheng Siyu felt anxious, her usually cold face now replaced by fear and dread.

She could handle one Ancient Centipede for a short while, but two... by the time the rescue team arrived, it would likely be too late. What should she do?

Right, wasn’t that woman Ai Yue nearby? Wasn’t she very powerful? She must have something to rely on if she dared to venture out of the Base alone; she might be their only hope.

With this thought, she pulled the weak-legged Gu Xitian and ran toward Ai Yue’s house.

With such a large commotion, the entire Base’s alarm had long since sounded. Gu Xiheng immediately led his soldiers toward the area, but at their speed, they wouldn’t be able to save Cheng Siyu and Gu Xitian in time.

Meanwhile, the first Ancient Centipede had already caught up to them. Seeing the centipede’s large mouth about to bite Gu Xitian, who was running behind... ”Sister Siyu...”

Cheng Siyu suddenly turned and hugged Gu Xitian, rolling to the side and narrowly avoiding the centipede’s mouth.

However, Cheng Siyu’s calf was slashed by the centipede’s leg, and blood began to flow.

Cheng Siyu couldn’t worry about any of that. She scrambled up from the ground, pulled the terrified Gu Xitian, and continued to dodge.

With no weapon in hand, Cheng Siyu could only take the hits passively. Even so, she kept Gu Xitian firmly protected behind her.

Even more terrifyingly, the other centipede also crawled over and joined the fray!

This made their already precarious situation even more desperate.

Dealing with one was barely manageable for Cheng Siyu, but two were more than she could ever handle.

The terrified Gu Xitian gradually regained her senses. Seeing Cheng Siyu’s difficult situation, she realized she couldn’t just cower behind her; if this continued, both of them would die.

Gu Xitian mustered her courage, gritted her teeth, and stepped out from behind Cheng Siyu, shouting to lure the other centipede away.

”Xitian, come back!” Cheng Siyu was frantic. She knew exactly what Gu Xitian was capable of; if even she struggled against an Ancient Centipede, how could Gu Xitian possibly be its match!

The centipede was lured away as she had hoped, but facing the terrifying giant centipede directly, the courage she had managed to gather vanished instantly.

She let out a scream, her legs gave way, and she stumbled to the ground.

”Xitian!” Cheng Siyu yelled, her eyes nearly splitting with rage. She tried to run toward her but was blocked by the other Ancient Centipede.

The giant centipede following Gu Xitian quickly lunged to bite her.

Gu Xitian watched as the hideous giant centipede grew larger and larger in her vision, too terrified to react.

At that critical moment, a dark figure blocked the way in front of Gu Xitian.

This dark figure seemed infinitely tall in Gu Xitian’s eyes. The person moved cleanly and efficiently; with a flash of a blade, a cold-gleaming knife was plunged straight into the darkest, shiniest armor plate six inches below the centipede’s head.

As the armor plate shattered, the centipede twisted its body in a struggle before crashing heavily to the ground.

As the knife was withdrawn, a large amount of blood flowed from the shattered plate, reaching right in front of the dazed Gu Xitian.

Gu Xitian didn’t care that she was already soaking in a pool of blood; her eyes followed the dark figure who went to deal with the other centipede.

If one listened closely, they could hear her murmuring, ”Ai Yue...”

Ai Yue, having saved Gu Xitian’s life, finished off the Ancient Centipede that was giving Cheng Siyu a hard time with a single strike.

Just then, Gu Xiheng arrived with the rescue team, long overdue...