After leaving the forest with everyone, they've returned to the base only to be welcomed with zombies blocking their paths. The number of zombies isn't much but it easily passes hundreds in counting.
Thankfully, they didn't ride in their car and flew over instead by using the phoenix and two golden eagles as the mount. The rest of their tamed beasts were temporarily put inside Xueya's dimensional space. After mutation, the size of each bird enlarges enough to compete with a small jet plane. This is especially true when it comes to the size of the mythical bird phoenix.
In the beginning, everyone thought they were seeing things, with the difference of height of the sky to the ground all they could only see at the beginning were countless moving black spots. Only when they've lowered the altitude of their mount's flying space that they've seen their base destroyed and zombies roaming all over.
Yun Suisen and Xu Lin's faces turned ashen at such a sight. The former couldn't hold on enough and puke while on air.
Pukes~, "What the hell? Too many zombies. So disgusting!!! Argh~," said Yun Suisen. Su Liye is patting his back gently while Shi Moye is softly rubbing his chest to calm him down.
Su Liye spoke, "Dear, do you want water?" He offered bottled water from his backpack.
Yun Suisen nods and drinks from the uncapped bottled water Su Liye had passed to him. Meanwhile, Shi Moye took out candy from his pocket and gave it to his wife as well.
"T-Thank you, husbands," said Yun Suisen.
Not far from him Xu Lin almost rolled his eyes upon seeing this number of zombies he had only seen in zombies.
"A'Xu, don't faint. Get used to it. Just think of them as scarecrows!" said Baize who supported him behind.
Xu Lin glared at his insensitive system with tears at the corner of his eyes and retorted.
"Scarecrow your ass! Scarecrows don't have rotten skin, bloodied face, or missing body parts. Fuck! I saw one with hanging eyes!" said Xu Lin from stress.
Hahaha~
Baize laughed hearing his host's reaction. Obviously, he is so afraid of zombies but tried to pass things in a joking manner especially scolding him to ease his fear.
Moreover, some of the zombies had high levels ranging from level 2 to 3. Not only that, some of the faces of these high leveled zombies were familiar to some of them. A few were even wearing soldier's uniforms while attacking them. Moreover, the direction these zombies came from is exactly the location where the Hope Base is. From above they could still see some traces of fire and even the thick smoke hasn't completely faded yet.
Wang Lei asked their general, "Sir, what should we do?" but like Yun Suisen and Xu Lin, his calmness remained the same as always.
Cao Junye didn't reply right away, instead of moving his head and looked at his wife within his embrace. His purple eyes were asking Ximen Xueya what he wanted to do next.
"I have bombs and grenades, but don't use them within the base, only outside the gates. There are underground facilities under the place, if there are survivors they must be hiding them with Lou Lan" said Ximen Xueya.
Once Lou Lan's name was mentioned Wang Lei's initial calmness had disappeared.
"Why is A'Lan here?!!" asked Wang Lei.
Ximen Xueya glanced at him expressionlessly yet still answered his question. "I left him back at the base after we left. The last destroyer is hiding in this place. I told him to keep an eye on the suspects," he said.
The Lieutenant could only grip his hands into fists when he heard Ximen Xueya's words. He knew that in every world his prisoner's task is always to listen to the special authority command, in this world Lou Lan's duty is to do whatever Ximen Xueya orders him to.
Prisoners like Lou Lan had no right. As a warden, Wang Lei should know this more than anything, but he had gotten used to the special authority's nonchalant attitude and never expected that Lou Lan would be used as a sacrifice in this world.
Wang Lei keeps all the words and complaints in his heart while trying to calm his surging emotions in silence. Cao Junye's eyes narrowed when he noticed his subordinate's reaction with a frown on his face, he was about to scold him when Xueya who was holding his hands squeezed it to take his attention. He saw the meaning in his wife's eyes, Cao Junye held back his words and didn't reprimand Wang Lei for forgetting his duties as a warden.
Ximen Xueya said, "Do not worry. I never used someone's life from our side to be used as a sacrifice. I had Yue pass a teleportation stone to him as an amulet. It's a divine-level item that would instantly move him to our place in case something happened beyond my calculations. Since he didn't… then that means he's safe and successfully escaped to the underground facilities. If you want to meet Lou Lan then clean up the zombies."
Calming down after hearing Ximen Xueya's words, Wang Lei lowered his head in apology. Just now he had shown his superiors rudeness and showed negative emotions on his face.
"I apologize. Please forgive my rudeness, Lord Hei," said Wang Lei.
"I understand. But you should at least remember what kind of sin he had committed. Unless you can move his heart completely, don't get too attached." said Ximen Xueya. After talking to Wang Lei, he looked at his husband and said, "Focus on the zombies outside. Leave the ones inside to me."
Cao Junye smiled and kissed his wife before letting him free from his embrace.
"Be careful, wife."
Ximen Xueya distributed the bombs and grenades to the soldiers and left most of them to his husband before carrying his excited son in his embrace and jumping off the phoenix back. He let himself fall from the high place and let gravity pull them down.
His composure was still elegant during the freefall as if the wind was cushioning them, letting them fall unhurried and at ease. If someone from below could see Xueya's figure falling, they would have thought that an immortal is descending to earth.
Yun Suisen and Xu Lin watched his figure fall in such a serene way. The breeze had only made his clothes flutter together with his hair but none of it had broken the coldness in his temperament. Opposite of Xueya's collectedness, the little bun in his embrace is giggling the whole time due to thrill. This baby seems to have experienced the excitement of flying for the first time. Though in this case, it's falling instead of floating.
"Wow~ he looks so cool~ Won't it hurt if he fell from this high?" asked Yun Suisen.
Wang Lei looked at Yun Suisen like an idiot even Cao Junye smirked when he heard his words. Baize acted speechless while covering his host's mouth, preventing him from saying foolish words like the one beside him.
"Lord Hei is an immortal. As long as his true qi is present then he would never be a mortal," said Wang Lei. "Do you think an immortal would die from jumping off a building!?"
The newly reborn deity Yun Suisen understood Wang Lei's words but instead of just a simple realization, it made him remember the scene that night when Ximen Xueya revived from the dead.
The scene of his heart renewed on its own, spilled blood retreating as if time had moved backward even the bloodless state of Xueya returning to normal.
"Right~ He didn't even didn't die when his heart was pierced through that night," murmured Yun Suisen.
Xu Lin asked in astonishment and worry, "Heart pierced? Is the Venerable Lord hurt?"
"What are you talking about!?" Cao Junye's unfeeling voice resounds in the area. They could even feel hostility from his tone.
Silence~
What Yun Suisen had forgotten is that Cao Junye is currently together with them. Su Liye and Shi Moye pulled their wife behind their backs carefully hiding them from someone. Meanwhile, there is only silence in the surroundings.
Everyone's eyes were on Yun Suisen and Cao Junye's expression was exceptionally ugly at this moment. They could even feel the pressure he is currently emitting.
"Do your duties. Eliminate the zombies!" commanded Cao Junye as his face is completely cold yet his eyes show emotions of anger.
The general jumps off after those words. a black fog completely covered him from his feet spreading around him. With his face completely apathetic, he scattered grenades from all angles. The sounds of the explosions caused the zombies to move in his direction.
The first one to reach the land is Ximen Xueya and his son, Chino. Before they completely landed Xueya used his Ice ability to freeze all zombies within the base. Those ice statues break into fragments the moment the caster's feet land on the ice floor. The scene inside the base turned still the moment Xueya descended. The ground, even the burning buildings, had been covered by ice in a few minutes. A world of ice was suddenly made as if welcoming the Ice God's return.
Ximen Xueya put his son down on the ground as soon as they landed.
"Daddy~ that's so amazing~ You've turned everything into Ice instantly!! I want to do that too~" said Chino with glowing eyes. The baby is clearly amazed by his daddy's abilities.
Chuckles~
"Our baby… as long as your cultivation increases, your affinity with Ice elements would improve as well. Train well next time," said Xueya.
Looking around Chino knew that he wouldn't be able to join his father and uncles in fighting zombies outside. His daddy wouldn't let him as well as it would definitely dirty his clothes. Thinking about what he should do next, Chino didn't expect his daddy to let out Oreo from his space. The sticky puppy tibetan mastiff had cuddled with his little master as soon as he was let out.
"Kyahaha~ Oreo stop that! Don't lick daddy will get angry~ hahaha" said Chino while playing with his dog.
Xueya was watching his son with a doting gaze as he played with his dog. But his expressions disappeared when he heard what System Yue had informed him just now.
[Host! That stupid rabbit's loose mouth slipped. He told the Lord God about what happened that night when we met the Old Willow Deity!!]
"That blabbermouth. Sigh~ forget it. A'Ye would notice sooner or later that my memories had returned. I will talk to him tonight. Yue, go with Xiao Jing and bring out those survivors from the underground facility." said Xueya.
A young man's figure materialized just beside Xueya and saluted. "As you wish, Lord Hei," said Zhi Yue in his human form. He took his young master with him along with the dog. They've headed towards the other entrance of the underground facility to fetch Lou Lan.
Left behind in an empty frosted place, Xueya looked at the orange sunset at the sky's horizon with a dispassionate gaze. His tanzanite eyes turned silver completely for no reason.
"Would you appear, if I revealed my existence? Uncle Ye~" as a sudden devious yet cold and murderous smile appeared on Ximen Xueya's lips.
—
It took a few hours before Cao Junye and the rest completely cleaned up the zombies outside the base. When they returned to the base they were welcome by a huge number of survivors. Most of them were military soldiers and government officials including their families. Half of them were ability users who used to be the core power of the Hope Base.
Standing beside Ximen Xueya are Lou Lan and Zhi Yue who are playing with Chino and Oreo. Behind them were the survivors who joyously welcomed the general and the group. There are even some who cried thankful that they were able to survive the calamity that evening. Wang Lei walked faster towards Lou Lan and immediately hugged him.
No one minds them that much because most of them were watching Cao Junye and Ximen Xueya's interactions. There is no expression on Cao Junye's face except coldness. On the other hand, Ximen Xueya who used to wear a deadpan expression is now smiling sweetly at the general. Everyone noticed the rigidity of the atmosphere between the couple.
Xueya said to his husband, "Let's talk later." He didn't wait for the latter's response and spoke to the crowd. "Gather. I will teleport everyone to our new base."
After staying at the underground facilities for days, Lou Lan had to pacify the nervousness and distress of the survivors. In the beginning, these people were starting to lose hope knowing that the base they considered as home no longer exists. They didn't know where they would be living after they were rescued from this darkness.
Many of them attempted suicide only to be stopped by the other people around them. Before the chaos in the facility reached its peak, Lou Lan had to convince them to live. The only way to do that is to give them hope. He told them about the secret paradise owned by Ximen Xueya. Telling them that the place would be their new home once they got out here and met the general and leader Ximen. This is the reason why they weren't that surprised when Ximen Xueya told them to gather and that he would teleport them to someplace. Because they were already informed ahead of time about the last paradise during the end of the world.
