Chapter 145: Awakening and News
Nan Sheng and Lin Lele carried the man back together.
Gao Peng, seeing the two of them bringing back a man, muttered, “What’s going on? How did you go out to look for supplies and come back with a man instead?”
Lin Lele rolled her eyes at Gao Peng’s sarcasm. “I felt like it! If you were this good-looking, I’d bring you home too.”
Gao Peng choked and looked unhappy.
Bao Song glanced at Pei Xuan’an’s appearance and clicked his tongue twice. “Gao Peng, if you looked like this, you wouldn’t have to worry about getting a wife!”
Gao Peng’s face darkened and he went off to squat in a corner and draw circles on the ground.
Although Huang Zhengang didn’t agree with Lin Lele and Nan Sheng’s reckless behavior, he didn’t say it outright.
“Well, since he’s already here, once he wakes up, we can ask him some questions. Judging by his condition, he might’ve been directly hit by last night’s terrifying storm. Surviving that means he’s pretty lucky.”
Lin Lele chimed in, “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Saving him was just to get some info!”
Su Ning and the others gave her a look that screamed: Yeah, right.
Under Nan Sheng’s care, Pei Xuan’an soon woke up.
As soon as he regained consciousness, he immediately became alert.
He looked around and realized he was lying on the beach, his wounds already bandaged.
“You’re awake?” Lin Lele noticed him stirring and spoke with concern.
Pei Xuan’an realized he had been saved by others.
He held his forehead, and while Lin Lele wasn’t looking, secretly activated his Future Prediction ability to determine whether these people were trustworthy.
However, possibly due to his injuries, he failed to activate the ability — and instead triggered a severe headache.
“Are you alright?” Lin Lele asked with genuine concern. Honestly, with such elegant features, sword-like brows, and starry eyes, how could a young girl like her not be a little smitten?
So she watched his every move attentively.
Su Ning glanced at the chat channel and also noticed that Pei Xuan’an had awakened, but unlike Lin Lele, she didn’t fawn over a pretty face.
She’d seen handsome men before — like Fu Qingge — but was Fu Qingge reliable?
Not at all. She’d rather spend her time improving herself. In this apocalyptic world, she was her own biggest support.
Still, Su Ning didn’t think Lin Lele was wrong either. After all, you can’t control who you like.
The others also gathered around after seeing Pei Xuan’an awake, eager to ask about the events of the previous night. While there were stories on the chat channel about the terrifying nights in the dungeon, firsthand accounts were always more reliable.
Pei Xuan’an, understanding that these people had saved him, turned to Huang Zhengang, who clearly seemed to be the leader.
“Thank you very much for saving me. But… did you happen to see anyone else near where you found me?”
Now that he was safe, he began to worry about his companions.
His ability — Future Prediction — had been discovered by the First Shelter, and since then, he had been under high protection. Though he still had to participate in dungeon survival scenarios, powerful players had been assigned to guard him.
Now, he was deeply worried about the safety of those friends and bodyguards.
Huang Zhengang turned to Su Ning’s group, as they were the ones who had found Pei Xuan’an.
Su Ning shook her head. She hadn’t seen any other people nearby.
Lin Lele looked at Pei Xuan’an. “You mean your team got separated? That’s so sad.”
Pei Xuan’an: ??
Su Ning and the others facepalmed. When someone’s caught up in love — no matter their gender — their IQ tends to mysteriously vanish.
With just a glance from Huang Zhengang, Gao Peng instantly understood and dragged Lin Lele away.
“Hey! Dapeng, why are you dragging me?!”
Gao Peng looked hurt. “When you needed help, you called me Peng-ge. Now I’m just ‘Dapeng’? Lele, you’ve broken my heart.”
Lin Lele: ??
Ignoring the clowns, Huang Zhengang turned to Pei Xuan’an seriously.
“Friend, when my teammates found you, there was no sign of any companions nearby.”
A flash of worry passed over Pei Xuan’an’s face, but he quickly recovered. He trusted his friends — especially since one of them had water-related abilities and would be stronger near the sea. If anything, they were probably safer than he was.
Pei Xuan’an looked at Huang Zhengang, already guessing what he wanted to ask next.
He looked out toward the calm sea.
“The danger… it all comes from the sea. We encountered an intelligent race within the dungeon — Mermaids.”
Su Ning recalled seeing mentions of mermaids in the dungeon chat.
“There aren’t just intelligent races in the sea — there are many terrifying sea monsters. These creatures enter a frenzied feeding state at midnight. Last night’s storm? It was just a side effect caused by a particularly powerful sea monster.”
Pei Xuan’an described what he had foreseen. He and his friend had been searching for a safe place, but instead encountered pursuit from intelligent races — and attacks from terrifying sea creatures.
Everyone was stunned.
Bao Song looked at Huang Zhengang. “I think staying hidden here is the best strategy. No need to risk trying to kill sea monsters. As for the system’s rewards… let’s not get too ambitious.”
Huang Zhengang nodded. That didn’t sound unreasonable.
Su Ning listened in silence.
Pei Xuan’an observed everyone — and when his gaze landed on Su Ning, his brows rose slightly.
His Perception ability allowed him not only to sense his surroundings, but also to detect the strength of other players. Strong players radiated a powerful aura.
And Su Ning’s aura? It was like a dense energy wave swirling around her — far more powerful than anyone else nearby.
Pei Xuan’an was surprised. It was the first time he’d met someone whose presence even surpassed that of his elite teammates.
He became more interested in Su Ning.
But just as he was about to walk toward her—
A gust of spring wind blew by, and out of nowhere, a rock came flying at high speed — and smacked Pei Xuan’an right on the head.
“Crack!” A sharp, crisp impact rang out.
Su Ning turned just in time to see blood spraying from Pei Xuan’an’s head.
Su Ning: !!
Everyone else: ??
Pei Xuan’an dumbly looked at the rock rolling to his feet… then touched the spot on his head that was gushing blood.
“My ‘Danger Perception’ skill didn’t warn me? How is that possible?” He wasn’t surprised he got hurt — he was shocked that his skill hadn’t activated.
It all happened so fast, everyone was left stunned.
Su Ning could only feel sorry for the guy.
“Unlucky?”
Then Su Ning remembered her own talent — [Super Misfortune].
“No way… is this my fault?”
But she hadn’t sensed any hostility from him, so why would her ability trigger and harm him?
Pei Xuan’an, on the other hand, had no idea that secretly trying to scan Su Ning with his ability had triggered her talent — which had interpreted his perception as hostility.
So his “Danger Perception” failed to activate…
And yes — the rock wasn’t an accident.
It was an attack.
