Xu Qian's ability was labeled as "just healing."
That description had long since become a joke within the team.
Yes, he could close wounds, reconnect bones, purge toxins, and stabilize internal organs within minutes.
But he could also condense bows and arrows from pure healing light — and wounds inflicted by those arrows were impossible to heal by ordinary means. The energy embedded itself into tissue and rejected foreign interference. It was gentle when saving lives.
It was merciless when ending them.
At close combat, Xu Qian was even more terrifying.
Because healing could also mean forcing nerves awake.
Forcing pain receptors to function at maximum sensitivity.
Forcing cells to regenerate incorrectly.
No one in the group was useless.
No one lagged behind.
Everyone was formidable.
And because of that — because no one felt like a burden — their cohesion, love, and trust for one another had grown into something unshakeable.
Gu Mian liked it this way.
She watched them sometimes when they didn't notice — laughing, sparring, arguing over trivial things — and felt quietly satisfied.
They were strong.
But more importantly—
They were together.
And since most of them had already interacted with her family before communications went down, she was confident that bringing them to the Gu Mansion wouldn't create friction.
They were already halfway to being family.
---
They continued their journey toward the capital.
Three days after the convoy incident—
They saw a bus ahead.
Smoke drifted from the side.
A group of around fifteen people were fighting zombies desperately.
The team inside the RV slowed.
Gu Mian narrowed her eyes.
"Observe," she said.
The fight was messy. Undisciplined. Panicked.
One of the men on the bus roof screamed:
"Leave the burdens! Throw them down! Buy time!"
The words were so abrupt that for half a second, the team inside the RV didn't process them.
Then—
A window opened.
And a child was thrown out.
Then another.
Then two more.
Four children.
Small bodies.
Screaming.
Dropped directly into the zombie horde to buy seconds of escape.
Everything froze.
For exactly half a heartbeat.
Then—
"Bu Tong!" Gu Mian snapped.
Space rippled violently.
Two children were caught mid-air in a transparent distortion.
The other two—
Were too far.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
The zombies swallowed them before anyone could reach.
The screams stopped quickly.
Inside the RV—
No one spoke.
The bus drove away.
No one chased it.
No one needed to.
Qin Yao stepped out calmly.
"Clear them."
The team moved like a blade.
Zombies fell in coordinated silence.
No shouting.
No wasted energy.
Just clean extermination.
When it was over, Qin Yao gently lifted the two children protected by the space cloak.
They were skin and bones.
Sunken eyes.
Dry lips.
Trembling.
The older one clutched the younger so tightly his knuckles were white.
Back inside the RV—
They placed them down carefully.
The children stared at them with terror.
They had just seen this group slaughter dozens of zombies effortlessly.
To them—
These might be worse monsters.
Mu Xia crouched slowly.
"It's okay," she said softly.
The older boy flinched anyway.
Gu Mian stepped forward quietly.
"Give them water."
Spring water.
Fruits.
The younger one devoured it desperately.
The older hesitated.
"Eat," Gu Mian said gently.
He watched her carefully.
There was no hunger in her eyes.
No calculation.
Just calm.
He finally took a bite.
They fed them slowly.
Carefully.
No one made loud movements.
Afterward, Xu Qian checked their bodies.
"Severe malnutrition. Minor bruising. No infection."
Gu Mian nodded.
"Put them to sleep."
The boys fell asleep almost instantly after drinking diluted spring water.
The RV moved again.
Silence lingered.
Then—
Wei Xuming spoke first.
"I want to kill them."
Mu Xia didn't ask who.
"Same."
Qin Yao's voice was calm.
"Emotionally understandable. Strategically pointless."
Hao Yun exhaled sharply.
"They threw children."
"Yes," Qin Yao replied. "And now we know what kind of people are out there."
Gu Mian finally spoke.
"We are not saviors."
The team looked at her.
"But we are not animals either."
She glanced at the sleeping boys.
"We carry what we choose to carry."
Silence.
Then Li Qiao said quietly—
"I'm glad we chose them."
No one disagreed.
---
A week later, the roads became increasingly broken.
Meteorite craters.
Collapsed bridges.
Burned checkpoints.
Blocked highways.
They could detour—
But it would add weeks.
They parked near a broken overpass.
The forest stretched to the side — dense, humid, dark.
Gu Mian looked at it.
"We cut through."
The reaction was immediate.
"In that?" Hao Yun said.
"There are mutated plants," Mu Xia added.
"Probably large predators," Huo Xu muttered.
"Unknown toxins," Xu Qian said.
"Limited visibility," Qin Yao added.
"Perfect," Gu Mian replied.
They gathered around the RV.
Discussion began.
Wei Xuming crossed his arms.
"If we detour, how long?"
"Three weeks minimum," Li Qiao replied.
"And fuel?" Bu Tong asked.
"Manageable. But risky."
Hao Yun frowned.
"The forest will slow us down too."
"Yes," Gu Mian said calmly. "One month on foot."
Mu Xia looked at the sleeping children inside.
"They can't walk that long."
"They won't," Gu Mian replied. "We rotate carrying."
Silence.
Then Qin Yao spoke.
"Forest means constant combat."
"Yes."
"Constant poison exposure."
"Yes."
"Unpredictable terrain."
"Yes."
He nodded slowly.
"Good."
Wei Xuming smirked.
"Level five refinement, right?"
Gu Mian nodded.
"We've agreed not to break through again until we reunite with the Mansion."
Hao Yun leaned back against the RV.
"So we solidify in hell instead?"
"Exactly."
Mu Xia laughed softly.
"I kind of like it."
Xu Qian looked serious.
"If we encounter high-tier mutated organisms?"
Gu Mian met his gaze.
"Then we test."
Silence fell.
The forest loomed quietly.
Dark.
Alive.
Hao Yun looked around.
"Raise your hand if you'd rather take the boring road."
No one moved.
He sighed.
"Forest it is."
Bu Tong grinned.
"I'll store the RV."
Space rippled.
The massive vehicle vanished.
The forest suddenly felt larger.
Gu Mian looked at them.
"Formation Alpha. Tight spacing. No unnecessary noise."
Wei Xuming grinned.
"Adventure time."
They stepped into the forest.
---
It was humid.
The smell of blood hung faintly in the air.
Plants dripped dark sap.
Some leaves pulsed faintly.
The ground squelched unnaturally in places.
Within ten minutes—
They were attacked.
Vines shot out violently.
Mu Xia burned them mid-air.
A massive centipede lunged from a hollow log.
Huo Xu split it in half.
Poison mist released from a flowering shrub.
Xu Qian neutralized it while documenting effects.
They fought constantly.
Every hour.
Every day.
Mutated wolves.
Carnivorous plants.
Exploding fungi.
They were poisoned repeatedly.
Healed repeatedly.
Tested everything.
Documented everything.
Luo Yuhua, after breaking through to Level Five, could now communicate faintly with plants.
She would close her eyes—
"Not edible."
"Poisonous."
"This one safe."
"This one aggressive."
Gu Mian transplanted herbs into her space continuously.
Weeks passed.
The two boys grew healthier.
Meat returned to their cheeks.
The older one, Qi Chu, awakened a sound ability.
Accidentally.
One morning, when startled by a mutated bird, he screamed—
The shockwave shattered branches within five meters.
Everyone froze.
Qi Chu stared at his hands.
"I… I didn't mean…"
Wei Xuming burst into laughter.
"Kid's a cannon!"
Gu Mian knelt beside him.
"It's yours. Control it."
The younger boy had not awakened yet.
"He's still too young," Xu Qian said.
They kept moving.
One month later—
They exited the forest.
And there—
On the mountain.
The Gu Mansion.
White walls.
Steel reinforcements.
Familiar silhouette.
Gu Mian stopped walking.
Her breathing hitched.
At the foot of the mountain—
Gu Yunchen stood with several of his children, inspecting collected plants.
He looked younger than ever.
Radiant.
Powerful.
Alive.
Gu Mian's vision blurred.
"Dad!"
She ran.
No elegance.
No restraint.
Just a daughter.
Gu Yunchen turned.
And smiled.
"Little Mian."
She threw herself at him.
He caught her effortlessly.
"You've grown thinner," he said softly.
"You've grown younger," she shot back tearfully.
The siblings laughed.
The team behind her watched quietly.
Qin Yao exhaled softly.
"Home," he said.
And for the first time in months—
It truly felt like it.