193: Dance of Water and Fire
Bai Zhan noticed the subtle atmosphere between his younger sister and that scoundrel, narrowing his eyes with a hint of displeasure, but he remained silent.
He couldn't say anything; he had no idea what had happened last night.
Bai Jixuan glanced sideways at his younger brother and shook his head. He knew very well that even if he advised Bai Zhan not to cause any more trouble, Bai Zhan might not listen.
Compared to him, the elder brother, Bai Zhan's protective instinct towards his sister was much stronger.
Bai Wanning was taken away by Bai Qingshi when she was four, but by then, Bai Zhan had already developed the habit of protecting his sister.
If it weren't for their family being dirt poor, Bai Wanning wouldn't have avoided them all this time. But every time Bai Wanning was bullied by Bai Qingshi, Bai Zhan would always run to the big city and give that old man a good beating before he was satisfied.
Bai Jixuan now only hoped his younger brother would rein it in and not clash with Lei Qian again.
The City Hospital was not far from the hotel where they stayed last night; after crossing an intersection and turning left, they quickly reached their destination.
Roar—roar—
On the street, the roars of zombies rose and fell, as if the entire street had been swallowed by them. Dense figures crowded their vision, making even Bai Wanning's scalp tingle. With such a dense concentration outside, she could already imagine the terrifying scene inside the hospital.
“Starting from that corner over there,” Bai Wanning ordered without hesitation, “That's currently the weakest point in their defenses; we can at least break through a gap.”
Zombies are different from humans; they have no capacity for thought and only instinctively follow the actions of their kind, like a flock of sheep. As soon as a disturbance appears in one place, other areas will quickly be affected and surrounded.
So they needed to open a breakthrough first.
Bai Wanning pointed to the small entrance of the parking lot. Although there were many zombies inside, due to the narrow entrance, not many zombies lingered outside.
Lei Qian nodded, then led the Bai brothers out of the car. The other team members also moved quickly, following closely behind.
Soon, the outer perimeter of zombies was cleared by Bai Wanning, Bai Jixuan, Bai Zhan, and Lei Qian working together, while any stragglers fell under the weapons of Jiang Dai and Meng Suisui, quickly dealt with.
To end the battle as quickly as possible and prevent more zombies from gathering, Lei Qian had been practicing diligently since Bai Wanning suggested he train in long-range attacks.
Now, he had finally mastered the technique of condensing flames into a longsword.
He raised his hand, and the sword blazed with fierce flames. With one slash, over fifty zombies were instantly incinerated. The flames, like a meteor streaking across the sky, tore directly through the horde.
When the flames died down, he bent over and quickly collected crystal cores from the charred skulls. In a short while, his backpack was filled with crystal cores.
Bai Wanning watched him clear them so quickly, biting her lip slightly, and her steps unconsciously quickened. She didn't want those precious crystal cores to fall into someone else's hands.
She absorbed and refined the crystal cores in her hand, and spiritual energy flowed through her body. Once her spiritual power had slightly increased, she raised her hand and summoned a giant water snake.
That was the manifestation of her Ability. Though condensed from water, it was enough to rival a real python. Its fangs could easily crush zombie skulls, and a flick of its tail could snap them.
And when physical attacks were no longer effective, this water snake could, according to her will, spew sharp ice shards or scorching boiling water, capable of melting even hard stone.
If she didn't also have to look after Guoguo, she could have summoned another giant snake and cleared all the zombies by herself. However, this one water snake consumed a great deal of energy, and she didn't want to overexert herself.
The stronger the Ability used, the greater the consumption of spiritual energy. If spiritual energy was depleted, it wasn't just physical exhaustion; even the mind would suffer severe trauma.
For an Ability User, spiritual energy was like the main power source, while the willpower and mental strength hidden within the body were like backup power.
But backup power was limited, and once it was drained, it came at the cost of soul and life.
Not far away, Da Cheng was still fighting zombies in the most primitive way. He wielded a dagger, hacking off zombie heads one by one. If a zombie ambushed him from behind, he would release a cloud of poisonous mist to block it.
But compared to Bai Wanning and Lei Qian, his combat power was merely a small skirmish.
So when he saw Bai Wanning summon a massive water snake, and that giant snake could not only spew ice shards to explode zombie heads but also blast scalding hot water to completely melt zombies from head to toe, Da Cheng was utterly shocked.
His eyeballs nearly popped out.
He had always thought that Water Ability was merely a functional skill for quenching thirst and storing water. Who would have thought it could also transform into a weapon of destruction?
He had underestimated her.
This woman was so powerful!
Da Cheng stared blankly at Bai Wanning, countless questions surfacing in his mind. How strong was she exactly? Why could her offensive and defensive capabilities be so immense?
At this moment, Bai Wanning had no time to look around; her mind was focused on one goal: kill more zombies and collect more crystal cores.
She knew that only by quickly clearing these monsters and rescuing the survivors would she have a chance to go home sooner.
She had started craving seafood after eating fish ball soup that morning. She mused that if she could go home, she would definitely get some ingredients and make a lavish seafood feast to satisfy her craving.
And for now, she had to achieve her goal quickly.
On Lei Qian's side, the battle was also drawing to a close. Before long, the zombies in the parking lot were cleared.
Bai Wanning looked at the gradually emptying parking lot, her eyes slightly darkened, and turned to face the hospital's main entrance.
The automatic glass doors were locked due to the power outage. Behind them were dense hordes of zombies, desperately smashing the glass with their deformed, twisted hands, emitting a grating, teeth-aching squeak.
She frowned.
If they didn't clear the zombies behind these doors first, they wouldn't be able to enter the hospital to rescue people.
But if they simply rammed the doors open, the zombies would surge out like a tide, surrounding them.
It would be better to strike first while they were still trapped behind the glass doors.
So, with a command, she sent the water snake to launch a surprise attack.
The water snake's skeleton, composed of water, passed through the bottom of the glass doors without obstruction, silently sliding into the space behind the doors.
As soon as it appeared, it began to hunt zombies, its sharp teeth piercing skulls and frantically devouring crystal cores.
It was condensed from pure water essence, colorless and odorless, almost invisible. The zombies couldn't detect its presence and couldn't even touch it.
Even as this giant snake charged wildly before their eyes, gnawing on the heads of their companions, they remained completely oblivious, still fixated on the human figures outside the door, hoping to tear them apart once the door opened.
The water snake killed with gusto inside the doors, and soon its belly accumulated a pile of crystal cores. The translucent core stones sparkled in the dim sunlight.
Bai Wanning was soul-bound to the water snake, so she naturally knew how many crystal cores it had swallowed.
The corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.
How could she not be happy?
Without doing anything, just relying on the water snake, she could easily harvest a large number of crystal cores. It was practically a free win.