"Can’t get in touch with Lin Lang..."

Upon seeing this, a glimmer of despair flashed in Ning Shuangyu’s eyes.

Just at that moment.

Her broken phone also went black, completely dead.

Someone else cried out:

"Ah! My phone doesn’t work either!"

"Mine too..."

"It’s not just the phones, all the devices have malfunctioned!"

Everyone’s hearts sank!

"What should we do now?"

A woman couldn’t stop sobbing.

"Will the Evil Spirit come and kill us?"

"I don’t want to die yet!"

...

"Stop crying!"

At this moment, a man impatiently shouted!

"You’re so noisy, how can we come up with a plan?!"

The woman, suddenly scolded!

Was stunned for a moment!

Stopped crying, but retorted angrily:

"What kind of attitude is that!"

Others hurriedly tried to mediate:

"Let’s not argue now. Let’s think about how to escape!"

"But now we can’t use our powers, we’re no different from ordinary people! How can we escape from the realm of the Evil Spirit?"

"Use your brains! Intelligence is humanity’s greatest weapon!"

"We’re doomed!"

...

Ning Shuangyu didn’t participate in their discussion.

First, because she was seriously injured and had no energy to talk to them.

Second, because she was carefully recalling what just happened—

At that time!

An explorer had just used brute force to topple a giant tree!

And then!

A dark aura erupted from the tree pit!

Instantly enveloping the entire area!

At the same time!

Everyone discovered their powers failing!

The next moment!

A mass of black mist appeared out of nowhere, attacking everyone!

Ning Shuangyu instinctively stood in front of the crowd, drew her short sword, and slashed at the black mist!

The instant the blade touched the mist!

Suddenly, a brilliant light erupted!

Within the light, a faint figure launched a strike at the black mist!

Immediately!

A furious roar echoed through the heavens!

The black mist dispersed rapidly!

But Ning Shuangyu was thrown away by the aftermath of the battle!

She fell to the ground!

With difficulty, she turned her head and saw the light on the short sword had also disappeared...

That silhouette.

Though hidden in the light, Ning Shuangyu recognized it at a glance—it was Lin Lang!

But it was clearly not Lin Lang himself.

But probably just a remnant of his power, a power that could save her life at a critical moment!

And indeed it was!

At that time, Ning Shuangyu had lost her powers; with her mortal body, there was no way she could have blocked the legendary Evil Spirit!

Normally!

Ning Shuangyu would die!

And it wouldn’t be just her; all these people would die!

Thanks to the power Lin Lang left on Ning Shuangyu’s short sword, they were saved.

"No wonder he repeatedly stressed the importance of always carrying this sword!"

Ning Shuangyu sighed softly.

However.

At this moment, the light on the sword had completely vanished.

It was unlikely to manifest again!

Which meant!

From this moment on!

Ning Shuangyu no longer had any trump cards to ensure her survival!

"But I can’t die..."

Ning Shuangyu thought.

"I want to be with Lin Lang..."

...

"Let’s run! Each of us pick a direction! Maybe someone can make it out! And whoever escapes, go and call for help!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Knowing it’s dangerous, still splitting up? That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard!"

"There’s no way to escape! The forest is so big, and we’ve lost our powers, how can we outrun the Evil Spirit?"

"Besides! It’s not just the Evil Spirit, there are Fierce Beasts in the forest too!"

"Now, even a single D-Class Fierce Beast could swallow us all!"

After a few words of discussion, everyone began to sigh and groan again.

...

Ning Shuangyu lay on a stone, feeling slightly better.

So she sat up.

Instinctively tried to channel the energy from her Superpower Core to heal herself.

Only to find that her Superpower Core was like it was locked, with no response.

But fortunately!

Lin Lang previously gave her a Space Gourd!

Inside it were some Superpower Fruits, as well as emergency food and medicine!

Although Ning Shuangyu’s Superpower Core was sealed!

The Space Gourd had already recognized its master, so it could be used without Spiritual Qi.

She then focused her mind!

She took out an exquisite "Spirit Battle Fruit" from the gourd and ate it!

As soon as it entered her mouth!

The fruit transformed into pure energy, spreading through her body.

Yet it couldn’t be absorbed by the Superpower Core!

"Eating the Superpower Fruit couldn’t awaken my superpowers either..."

Ning Shuangyu felt a weight in her heart—

Her attempt had failed!

However!

Although this energy couldn’t be absorbed by her core, her body managed to store it!

It began healing her wounds!

Gradually.

Ning Shuangyu’s face regained some color.

She felt much more comfortable!

Only then did she let out a sigh.

In a weak voice, she said to the others:

"We can’t act alone... If they find they can’t reach us, people outside will investigate... We’ll just stay hidden here and wait for rescue."

Upon hearing this!

Everyone turned to look at Ning Shuangyu, who had just returned from the brink of death!

They felt that what she said made sense!

Their expressions softened slightly.

They nodded.

"Captain Frosty, are you feeling better?"

The woman who had been sobbing moved over and squatted beside Ning Shuangyu.

Ning Shuangyu weakly muttered an "Mm"!

"But... if we hide here, will we definitely not be discovered?"

"Besides, there are no supplies here. Even if we’re not discovered, how long can we last?"

After a moment’s thought, someone else expressed doubt.

Ning Shuangyu was just about to say—

That her Space Gourd still had some emergency supplies stored.

Not a lot!

But if only for survival, it could probably sustain everyone for a few days!

But!

Just as the words were about to leave her mouth!

She swallowed them back down!

Because she suddenly remembered that Sister Gu Fei had once told her:

You must be cautious of others!

Especially in a post-apocalyptic world, where anyone could turn into a man-eating monster at any time!

The key is!

At this moment, Ning Shuangyu was seriously injured, making her the weakest among them!

...

"Sigh."

Outside the cave was pitch black, making it impossible to tell the time.

Everyone sat silently, dejectedly.

No one knew how much time had passed...

Suddenly!

Amidst the silence!

There was a rustling sound from the cave entrance!

Everyone’s heart tightened instantly!

Fear, like an invisible vine, quickly wrapped around their hearts!

Their exchanged glances were full of uncertainty!

"Could it be... the Evil Spirit has found us?"

The woman said with a trembling voice, filled with indescribable fear!

Everyone tensed up!

They tightened their grip on their weapons!

But!

"Chirp!"

As the silhouette became clearer, stumbling in from the dim cave entrance!

What came into view was Ning Shuangyu’s majestic Fierce Beast companion—

Xiaohu!

Its appearance was like a beam of hope, instantly dispelling the shadow over everyone’s hearts!

"Xiaohu! Weren’t you at the camp?"

Ning Shuangyu exclaimed in surprise!

She hadn’t expected Xiaohu to find its way here!

"Chirp!"

Upon hearing its master’s voice, Xiaohu let out a hoarse roar.

It immediately pounced into Ning Shuangyu’s arms!

Nuzzling and cuddling!

Its tail wagged like a fan!

"At any rate, as long as you’re safe..."

Just when Ning Shuangyu felt at ease!

Her eyes inadvertently glanced at Xiaohu’s belly!

Her expression instantly turned grave:

"Xiaohu, on your body... is that blood?"

Ning Shuangyu felt a weight in her heart!

...

"My God!"

The others also noticed something amiss and couldn’t help but gasp!

"Could it have led the Evil Spirit here?!"

The atmosphere inside the cave instantly became extremely tense again!