The SUV rumbled back to life, jostling through the apocalyptic cityscape. This time, Zephyr took the wheel to make room in the back for their rescued passenger. He silently adjusted the rearview mirror and focused on driving, treating the earlier intense battle as if it had been just another routine drill.
Cassian sat in the passenger seat, his gaze steady on the ruined streetscape rolling past, occasionally checking the back seat through the mirror.
The back seat had become cramped with the additional person. Amily carefully supported the unconscious young man, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Elara found a clean cloth and, dampening it with their remaining water, meticulously cleaned the dirt and blood from his face and neck.
As the grime was wiped away, a diamond necklace around the young man's neck caught the dim light, its expertly cut facets casting brilliant sparkles even in these conditions – a clear testament to its value.
When his face was completely clean, Elara's hand paused mid-motion as she was wiping his forehead. Her expression turned peculiar, her eyes flickering with surprise and... something bordering on absurdity.
"Hmm..." she hummed unconsciously.
"Oh?" Seraphina, who had been watching the young man with concern from beside Elara, leaned in for a closer look. When she saw his face clearly, she couldn't help but let out a small gasp, her red waves bouncing as she bent forward, her face mirroring Elara's surprise.
"Elara, isn't this... your landlord?" Seraphina whispered hesitantly, keeping her voice low as if afraid to disturb their unconscious passenger, or perhaps doubting her own eyes.
Indeed, it was him! Elara confirmed internally. Although she'd only dealt with the landlord's assistant during the rental process, she and Seraphina had once had a brief video call with the young landlord himself before moving into their current villa, discussing some property details. Despite the poor lighting during that call, now that his face was clean, those somewhat boyish features and that characteristic privileged arrogance were unmistakable.
"What are the odds..." Elara muttered under her breath, feeling a mix of emotions. Fate certainly had a dark sense of humor. She had just been relieved about not having to deal with a landlord demanding rent, and now here she was, having pulled said landlord from a pile of the undead.
She instinctively glanced at Cassian in the front seat. Both men came from wealthy backgrounds, yet how differently they'd fared in this apocalypse. While Cassian had thrived, wielding powerful abilities and commanding strong allies like Zephyr, possibly even establishing military connections and carving out his own territory, their landlord had nearly become zombie food, trapped in his own store by mutant vines.
Of course, Elara hadn't forgotten that she'd given Cassian some crucial hints about the early stages of ability awakening and resource distribution to gain his trust. But she doubted those vague "prophecies" alone could explain his rapid rise to power and successful military connections in such a short time...
Wait a minute!
A thought struck Elara like lightning. Why? Why had Cassian and Zephyr chosen to remain in this increasingly dangerous S City, establishing a stronghold in the city center, when they likely had military connections that could have taken them to safer military bases or official shelters?
If the military was truly operational and capable, they would prioritize recruiting talented individuals with powerful abilities and leadership skills like them. What could be so important in this city that would make them risk staying? What could be worth more than their own safety and advancement?
A sharp glint flashed in Elara's honey-colored eyes as she turned to study Cassian's profile intently, her gaze filled with curiosity and confusion, as if trying to see through him.
Cassian seemed to sense her scrutiny and turned to meet her searching look. He raised an eyebrow slightly, offering a gentle smile with a hint of inquiry, his voice deep and magnetic:
"What is it, Elara? Something wrong?"
His smile remained elegant and composed, his eyes clear and forthright, as if completely unaware of the churning thoughts and pointed questions in Elara's mind.
Faced with Cassian's gentle inquiry, Elara quickly reined in her visible emotions, temporarily suppressing the storm of thoughts within. She couldn't directly question his motives for staying - that would be too abrupt and might expose her. She needed a more natural approach.
"It's nothing," she shook her head slightly, turning her gaze to the ruined scenery rushing past the window, speaking casually, "just wondering... doesn't the zombie density seem unusually low here?"
She paused, her honey-colored eyes showing a carefully measured hint of confusion: "S City was a global metropolis, once so prosperous and beautiful, with one of the highest population densities in the world. Logically, after the apocalypse, the number of zombies here should be terrifying."
Her gaze swept across the empty streets as she continued: "But within my sensing range, except for the commercial district where we just rescued our landlord, there are only scattered zombies wandering about. Even with our two... 'silly plants,'" referring to the mutant orchid "Bubble" and the newly captured vines, "no matter how powerful they are, they couldn't have made such a significant impact on the city's zombie population in such a short time, could they?"
Elara's observation wasn't baseless. With her recently enhanced spatial-temporal abilities, both her sensing range and precision had greatly improved. She could clearly "see" that the zombie population in most areas of the city was far below her expectations - something highly unusual.
Hearing this, Cassian's smile faded slightly, a barely noticeable glint flashing through his deep blue eyes. He didn't respond immediately, appearing lost in thought.
Just then, Zephyr, who had been silently driving, suddenly spoke. His voice remained steady and low, like an emotionless machine, as he maintained perfect control of the steering wheel, eyes fixed ahead, dropping an information bomb that could potentially shake everyone:
"Reinforcements will arrive in S City in a week."
The statement hit like a boulder in a calm lake, creating massive ripples.
Elara's heart skipped a beat, her eyes suddenly becoming razor-sharp. Reinforcements? Military reinforcements? Were they coming to assist them, or... did they have another purpose?
An intense sense of crisis and an inexplicable premonition surged within her simultaneously. Though she knew probing for details now could be dangerous, potentially touching on their core secrets, she couldn't suppress her impulse. Steeling herself, she tried to maintain a playful tone as she ventured:
"Reinforcements... sounds good. So... would there be any... healing ability users among them?"
The moment these words left her mouth, the air in the vehicle seemed to freeze. The previously relaxed atmosphere vanished instantly, replaced by a suffocating, terrifying silence. Even Amily sensed the tension, nervously holding Vespera closer.
Zephyr's fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel. Through the rearview mirror, his ice-blue eyes scanned Elara like X-rays. His tone remained flat, but instead of the high alertness and interrogation Elara had expected, it carried more of a... confirmation.
"You know something."
It wasn't a question, but a statement.
Elara felt her scalp tingle as cold sweat broke out on her back. She knew her words had touched an extremely sensitive nerve. But at this point, backing down would only invite more suspicion.
In her mind, countless information fragments from her previous life surged, collided, and combined at lightning speed, nearly overwhelming her.
The Beacon Base... one of the most powerful survivor factions in the late apocalypse. Its leader, codenamed "Sun King," was a man of unfathomable power and brutal temperament.
The Sun King's lover... a woman who awakened an extremely rare healing ability in the early days of the apocalypse. According to rumors, she was one of only three top-tier healers in the entire apocalypse capable of large-scale group healing and even reversing certain early-stage ability rejection reactions under specific conditions. This made her a target coveted by countless factions.
According to scattered intelligence from her previous life, this top-tier healer had been severely injured in an accident in S City at the beginning of the apocalypse, falling into a prolonged coma. Despite the Sun King dedicating all of Beacon Base's resources to keeping her alive at any cost, she ultimately died in the seventh year of the apocalypse due to her injuries.
It was her death that transformed the Sun King, making him even more violent and obsessive. He began frantically expanding and absorbing other survivor groups, hunting down survivors with special abilities, particularly healers, trying to find a way to resurrect his lover or at least... find a replacement.
In her previous life, Elara herself had nearly been captured by Beacon Base due to her unique spatial-temporal abilities, almost becoming the Sun King's test subject. Even more ironically, while she had escaped the Sun King's clutches, she ultimately died at the hands of Leon, whom she had once deeply loved, pushed from a vehicle to become zombie food.
But what made Elara's scalp tingle and palms sweat now was... if she remembered correctly, there was a crucial detail about the Sun King's lover's injury that many had overlooked - before the apocalypse, that woman had been a soldier! Part of a specialized medical unit!
Zephyr was military... Cassian had military connections... military reinforcements coming in a week... possibly including a healer...
All the clues connected like invisible threads, pointing to a conclusion that made her heart race!
"I know..." Elara took a deep breath, struggling to keep her voice calm and firm, despite her heart nearly jumping out of her throat, "I know... I need to stay with your group. There are things where I might be able to help."
She dared not directly reveal that she knew the healer's identity, nor mention that she might know the truth behind the "accident." That information was too explosive - revealing it would only put her in greater danger.
But she knew clearly that if her suspicions were correct, if the injured healer was indeed the Sun King's future lover, she now stood at a major crossroads that could alter the future's course.
The death of one person, even a loved one, might have limited impact on the apocalypse's overall landscape. But the problem was that the Sun King's resulting madness and violence had brought devastating disasters to countless survivors.
And more coincidentally, or perhaps more ironically...
Now she, Elara Joyce, with her advantage of foreknowledge from her rebirth and her evolving spatial-temporal abilities...
Might actually be able to save that woman.
Moreover, she even had vague memories about some... unknown details regarding that "accident"...