Then, the girl heard a muffled voice coming from the pile of corpses.
Lu Wanyin froze, and she suddenly gripped Jiang Huai's hand tightly.
"Jiang Huai...?"
The girl took a deep breath, her voice trembling as she repeatedly confirmed that she hadn't heard wrong.
"Quick... pull me out, I can't breathe."
Jiang Huai was alive.
Overcome with joy, tears once again flowed from the girl's eyes.
This boy she had known for less than a week seemed like a chance for redemption the world had given her. She desperately seized this chance, pushing aside the infected corpses piled on him, and pulled Jiang Huai out with all her strength.
When she saw half of Jiang Huai's body emerge, the girl couldn't hold back anymore. She didn't have time to pull out his lower half and threw herself onto him, holding him tightly in her arms.
"You're not dead... you're not dead."
"You should've cried a little longer just now, otherwise, I might have suffocated."
Jiang Huai rested his head on Lu Wanyin's lap, and her tears continued to fall, dripping onto his face.
"I told you, I'm the strongest meat shield, I can't die. It's just a little chilly on my chest."
Jiang Huai laughed as he pointed to his chest and abdomen, which had been torn but were slowly healing.
Lu Wanyin wiped away her uncontrollable tears while smiling and said, "Idiot, because someone just made another hole in your chest."
Both his chest and abdomen had been torn open by Jiang Huai himself.
Originally, he wanted to use the infected creatures' spiked limbs to tear open his body, but unfortunately, his body was too tough. Even the claws of several infected creatures shattered, unable to even scratch his skin.
Helpless, he had to punch a hole through his own chest and tear it open. Upon seeing Jiang Huai's still-healing wounds, Mo Yu frowned slightly.
"Your wounds..."
At that moment, a bright and familiar voice rang out from behind them.
"Heh heh, looks like I'm late, and it's all over."
Yue Qinshan came over while waving his cowboy hat to fan the air.
When Jiang Huai saw Yue Qinshan, he let out a sigh of relief, and Lu Wanyin was also excited.
Only Mo Yu's expression grew darker.
"Well, if it isn't the little girl from the Mo family. It's been a long time, you've gotten more beautiful. Come here, uncle will give you a hug."
Yue Qinshan said as he opened his arms toward Mo Yu.
But Mo Yu only took a slow step back and coldly looked at him.
"Yue Qinshan, belonging to the Night Demon Patrol, five-star awakener, hmm... a quasi five-star awakener, heh, codename: The Father."
"Hey? Little girl, why are you so distant? I used to give you candy when you were little!"
"No distress signals were sent, why are you here?"
Mo Yu stared at Yue Qinshan and asked.
Yue Qinshan laughed, put on his cowboy hat, and walked over to Jiang Huai and Lu Wanyin. He then put an arm around each of them.
"These two are my little friends. They suddenly got dragged into the Fearless Squad's mission. What do you think? As a parent, it's normal to come check on them, right?"
Mo Yu nodded.
"Not illegal."
She sheathed her sword, seemingly weighing the pros and cons and deciding there was no need to clash with an awakener of the same rank at the moment.
The Beast Tide was approaching, and it was better to unite all forces to resist rather than engage in infighting.
But her gaze eventually landed on Jiang Huai.
"Night Demon Patrol's Jiang Huai, I'll remember you."
Then she turned and walked out of their line of sight.
"You were with her just now...?" Lu Wanyin looked at Jiang Huai with confusion.
"After that thing punched me away, I happened to run into Mo Yu. She found the beast's trail, so I volunteered to help her draw some of the infected creatures' firepower."
Lu Wanyin wasn't stupid, and neither was Mo Yu.
The blood on Jiang Huai wasn't his own.
The most crucial thing was that in Jiang Huai's pocket now, there was a scent of the beast.
"Alright! You two little brats, the next time you're on a mission with another organization, you two better stay as far away as possible."
Yue Qinshan raised a hand and ruffled both of their heads.
"Old Yue! Don't mess up my hair!"
"Hey?! I saw you pretty happy when Jiang Huai ruffled your hair! You don't want me to do it now?"
"I wasn't happy!"
...
Soon, the Association sealed off the entire mall and began cleanup operations. Many of the onlookers had filmed videos of the monster sightings.
After all, the battle between the Mother Worm and the Bone Giant was so loud that even from outside the building, some glimpses could be caught.
But, without exception, these videos were quickly suppressed and deleted as soon as they were posted online.
People knew very well in their hearts.
This wasn't the first time videos of monsters had been captured, but these videos almost never lasted more than two minutes online.
It was as if there was someone in the high-ups specifically monitoring these events.
But no matter how quickly they were deleted, it couldn't stop people from talking. At the very least, those who had witnessed the monsters and survived truly believed.
The world wasn't as safe as they had imagined.
After Mo Yu briefly reported to the Association's staff, she walked into the cinema's bathroom.
After washing her face, she slowly raised her head and looked at the mirror.
"Jiang Huai... is that really you?"
...
That night, after the crisis at the cinema, Lu Wanyin was called back to report to the organization.
Meanwhile, Yue Qinshan arrived alone at Jiang Huai's home.
He was sitting on the couch, smoking a cigarette, looking at the purple crystal-like core on the table.
"You're really bold, stealing the core right in front of the Fearless Squad."
Yue Qinshan glanced at Jiang Huai, who was sitting across from him on the couch.
"The one called Mo Yu probably didn't notice. I took the core in my beast form."
"Don't underestimate that girl, Jiang Huai. You mentioned meeting her again, and at that time, the core was on you. If it was Mo Yu, there's no way she wouldn't have noticed."
Jiang Huai furrowed his brow. "Then why hasn't she come to find me yet?"
"Who knows? Mo Yu's a lone wolf. She never takes care of her teammates, which is why her team is always in flux."
Yue Qinshan chuckled and leaned forward, looking at Jiang Huai.
"I heard the Fearless Squad isn't too happy with Mo Yu and might try to kick her out. How about you bring her over to our Night Demon Patrol?"