Apocalypse: The Primordial Pearl Recognizes Its Master, Starting with Infinite Space

That very night, Jiang Yingyue paid a heavy price for saying "I can't beg for mercy" at the dinner table.

The two sisters were unable to join the battle because relatives were visiting.

With the team's fighting strength greatly reduced, she was "specially targeted" by Lin Chen because of her boastful words.

Despite her lips being worn raw and her eyes reddening, she finally knelt obediently at the head of the bed, raised three fingers to the sky and swore, "I will never dare to do it again," before being mercifully let off the hook.

The next morning, at the underground shelter in the Mountain and Water Garden.

The cafeteria was still bustling with activity, and steam carrying the aroma of food rose under the warm yellow lights.

Lin Chen sat in his usual spot and handed the Creation Crystal and Life Crystal he had condensed that day to Li Ya, who then distributed them to everyone.

After the spirit crystals were distributed, everyone packed their equipment and prepared to depart, while Lin Chen had already left alone.

Outside the shelter gates, countless snowmobile engines roared, white steam billowing like dragons in the frigid air.

Li Ya stood at the front of the convoy, making final confirmations with the team leaders.

This time, even Su Yun got on the bus.

Jiang Yingyue leaned out of the car window, her eyes still showing two dark circles. Seeing Su Yun open the passenger door, she immediately perked up: "Sister Yun, you're going too?"

Su Yun raised her eyes, her gaze slowly moving down her face, lingering for a moment on the red mark that wasn't completely covered by the collar. A slight smile played on her lips.

"Let's go see what the excitement is like."

Jiang Yingyue quickly shrunk back into the car, pulling her collar up forcefully: "Um, I'll tidy up my gear."

A very soft laugh came from the back seat.

"Let's go, destination: the official shelter in Guangzhou!" Li Ya's command came from ahead.

The convoy then drove out of the gate, leaving two deep black ruts in the snow-covered road, and headed in a grand procession toward the official shelter in Guangzhou.

Not far behind, Zhou Tiannian and Huang An led the main force of the outer city and silently followed.

Lin Chen didn't call them.

They came along on their own.

Zhou Tiannian sat in the passenger seat of the lead car, gazing at the taillights of Li Ya's convoy ahead, grinning and revealing a set of white teeth: "In this battle, we're here to hold the line. We don't even need to lift a finger; just standing there will be enough to make those Chang family bastards tremble for half a day."

Huang An did not respond.

He looked straight ahead, his expression calm, but the fingers resting on his knees tightened slightly.

After all, the person opposite him used to be his boss.

"What, feeling nostalgic?" Zhou Tiannian glanced at him sideways.

Huang An remained silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"It's not nostalgia," he said. "It's a pity."

Zhou Tiannian didn't ask any more questions.

-

Guangzhou's official shelter.

Outside the gate, the military convoy unloaded the last batch of supplies and roared away.

Zhang Hui stood under the porch, watching the military vehicle drive away.

He exhaled heavily, and immediately turned into a cloud of white mist.

He pulled through.

After Chang Chengye's failed escape, he managed to get away unscathed, and Lin Chen actually let them go.

That night, he huddled in his room, listening to the faint footsteps outside, thinking his death was imminent.

With Chang Chengye's meticulousness, how could he not find out who the informant was?

But for the next three days, the shelter was filled with a tense atmosphere—all because of the fact that the people there were targeting a few powerful families.

Zhang Hui still doesn't understand where things went wrong.

He was unwilling to delve deeper into the matter.

All he knew was that today was the last day. Lin Chen should already be nearby.

If we just get through today, it will all be over.

He tucked his frozen hands into his sleeves, looked at the golden sun in the sky, and gently exhaled a puff of white mist.

-

Underground office.

Chang Chengye did not sleep all night.

The hands of the wall clock slowly slid past seven, seven-thirty, and eight.

The corridor outside the door was silent.

No one came to announce that "Lin Chen has appeared."

But he dared not relax for a moment.

Today is the day of the challenge; Lin Chen could arrive at any moment.

The initiative is in the hands of the other party; I am nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter.

This feeling of helplessness, of being left only to await death, weighed heavily on his chest like a boulder, making each breath feel like it required all his strength.

But he was Chang Chengye, and he was once a local lord.

Even if he's about to be slaughtered, he'll still knock out one of the other's teeth.

The heavy firepower sent by the military has been fully deployed. Large-caliber machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, and two man-portable anti-tank rocket launchers—the effectiveness against high-level superhumans is questionable, but they can certainly cause some trouble.

What if other people from the Mountain and Water Garden come too?

That's better.

If you can't bite Lin Chen, bite his wings.

Chang Chengye stood up and stretched his stiff shoulders and neck. His knuckles cracked. He pushed open the door and walked into the corridor.

He needs to find Chang Hao to confirm the personnel assembly status.

Just as I reached the corner, I could faintly hear the two guards talking in hushed tones.

Chang Chengye paused in his steps.

He instinctively disappeared into the shadows around the corner.

"...Hey, tell me," a guard said in a low voice, "why didn't the mayor call Secretary Zhang along the night he fled?"

"How would I know?" another guard lowered his voice. "Anyway, the night before we left, Secretary Zhang came by and sent us away. He said he had some urgent confidential information to report to the mayor privately."

"Send you away?"

"Yes. Send them downstairs to keep watch."

A brief silence.

"Actually..." the first guard stammered, "I suspect the one who leaked the information... was Secretary Zhang."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"How am I talking nonsense? Think about it, the mayor left without him, and Young Master Chang is after his sister—if you were in his shoes, would you be happy? If it were me, I would have informed on him too."

"..."

"Besides, what can't we say at a time like this?" The guard decided to throw caution to the wind. "We're almost certain to lose this battle anyway. I've already decided to surrender. The Chang family treated us well before the end of the world, but it's not worth risking our lives for them. In this world, survival is the most important thing."

He paused, lowering his voice even further, almost whispering:

"If it really was Secretary Zhang who tipped us off, then he must already be one of the people at Shanshui Garden. We'll go and beg him then—we've been brothers for years, after all, let's ask him to put in a good word for us. It's not shameful to have a chance to live."

The other guard remained silent for a long time.

"...This world," he said softly, with weariness and resignation, "is just how it is."

The words fell.

The corridor fell into dead silence.

Chang Chengye stood motionless in the shadows around the corner.

He didn't yell, didn't question, and didn't rush out to grab the two men by the collar.

He just stood there.

It felt like something suddenly exploded in my mind.

Tinnitus surged like a tidal wave, drowning out all other sounds.

That night.

—Outside the door.

—"Send the guards away".

— "Urgent and confidential".

— "Report separately".

So you were right outside the door.

So you heard everything.

So it really was you, the mole.

He recalled the night he fled, when he repeatedly investigated every person who knew about his situation.

He had suspicions about Zhang Hui.

He even put Zhang Hui at the very top of the list.

but--

He turned to check the guards.

No one identified Zhang Hui as having been there that night.

He believed it.

He actually believed it.

Chang Chengye slowly closed his eyes.

Earlier images surfaced.

When he learned that Chang Hao coveted Zhang Hui's sister, he simply gave Chang Hao a good scolding and then let it go.

—What was that woman's name again?

He doesn't remember.

He never kept a record of it.

Because Zhang Hui lacks a solid foundation, he cannot cause any trouble.

Because Zhang Hui is loyal, and he's easy to use.

Because she was just a woman.

—She's just a woman.

A metallic taste rose in his throat, which he swallowed back down.

absurd.

It’s ridiculous.