Chapter 396 You, you are also grotesque! - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

"The days could be described as indulgent, utterly delightful~" Inside the Nameless Base, the base leader, Ruan Jing Quan, dressed in a flamboyant pair of shorts, had a woman in each arm as he hummed a tuneless ditty, heading towards his room. The two young women in his arms were captives from the previous month, now completely tamed, with no fear of them suddenly lashing out. He had been in good spirits these days. A few days ago, while out hunting, he unexpectedly gained a supreme beauty. Tsk, tsk, beauties were becoming increasingly scarce since the apocalypse, especially those of the all-natural kind. All because there were no cosmetics left. Even if there were, they weren't something an ordinary ability user could afford. Moreover, the harsh post-apocalyptic weather posed a severe challenge for beauty skin maintenance. Now that he had acquired a beauty who didn't need makeup and could look stunning just after washing her face, how could he not be thrilled? Once she's fully tamed, it's going to be exhilarating! Fortunately, they had just completed their hunt when the polar night descended. Under such circumstances, even if this beauty had a formidable backing, they wouldn't dare to find them during the polar night. "Chief, what are we playing today?" one woman asked, nestled in his arm. Ruan Jing Quan paused, then said, "Today, let me think... Got it, today I'm the king, and you are both my beloved concubines." Concubine A asked, "I heard the king just married a new concubine, reputed to be exceptionally beautiful. When do we get to meet her?" Ruan Jing Quan kissed her and said, "My little darling, I can hear your worried heartbeat. Don't be concerned; even if I have more concubines, you are my eternal favorites." Concubine B pouted, "Why does the king always kiss her first and not me?" Ruan Jing Quan quickly returned her kiss, saying, "Kiss, kiss, I kiss you all. I won't play favorites as the king." Concubine A chimed in, "I want a kiss too, my king." Ruan Jing Quan gave each of them a playful grab and said, "Let's move along, don't fight, today I'll show you how powerful the king can be." A little follower saw this familiar scene and promptly opened the door for Ruan Jing Quan, watching the leader swagger in with the two women. Jealous, envious, extremely envious! So envious he wished one day he could stab the base leader and take his place. Alas, in the leader's eyes, he was just an ant to be crushed at any moment, nothing more. Bang! The door shut. [Damn bastard, just die already!] The door-guarding follower cursed in his heart. Elsewhere, in the hall, several base heads were having their usual gathering, drinking and eating meat. The alcohol was grassroot liquor, made by grinding various plants into powder, synthesized through black technology and brewed with distiller's grains. Its taste was awful, but in the apocalypse, regardless of how bad the alcohol was, having something to drink was a blessing. "Another polar night descended; living is getting harder." "What are you worried about? In this world, live each day as if it's your last." "Didn't they say demons from the inner world plan to invade Earth? Who knows when we might encounter them." "Whether demons come or not, what does it matter to a nobody like me?" "True, let's keep drinking." After a while, one of them said, "Brothers, I've been having eye twitches and a restless heart lately; do you think something's about to happen?" Hearing this, several people paused their drinking, staring blankly at their comrade. "No way, you too? I thought it was just because of the disrupted day-night cycle affecting my sleep." "Me too, ever since we captured that beauty last time, I've felt uneasy." "It's not unusual for one person to feel this way, but if it's several of us, that's fishy." "I've read the posts of the witch Yi Lei Na on the Night Snack APP, one of her studies is on premonitions of ability users." "I read that too, it said after getting stronger, people generally enhance their sixth sense..." "Stop drinking for now! My eyelids are twitching badly; we should check it out." "Wang Dui, isn't this a bit too paranoid? It's polar night outside, and the base doors are tightly shut; what could possibly sneak in?" "Yeah, our base door is so sturdy even mutant insect swarms bypass it." "That's true." Thinking of this, they felt relieved again. During the polar day, an ability user might come around, and the base door might be forced open, but during the polar night, that was absolutely unlikely. As for the comrades inside, they shared life-and-death bonds, making inner betrayal impossible. "Keep drinking." ... While the Nameless Base buzzed with activity inside, Xia Xiao An and Lin Jiu Jiu, equipped with night vision goggles, swiftly located the base entrance by following the traces left on the ground. "There's one person guarding the gate." Standing at the entrance, Xia Xiao An closed her eyes and listened for a while, then said, "Originally, five people were guarding the gate, but their captain went for a drink, and the remaining three went to sleep." Lin Jiu Jiu asked, "How do we get in? Find a ventilation duct?" Xia Xiao An replied, "Private bases like these all have emergency passages. I'll get the guard to open one for us." Actually, they could also open the main gate. However, gates of such size made too much noise when opened, drawing attention from inside the base. Emergency passages were designed to be discreet, facilitating sneak attacks or escapes without attracting attention. The gatekeeper was daydreaming. It wasn't that the other guards excluded him from drinks; it was just that he'd been lost in thought frequently lately, not knowing what he was contemplating. They often called him for drinks and meals, but he remained blanked out, hearing nothing. Thus, he simply ended up guarding the gate alone. People whose minds wander like this are the easiest to control. Xia Xiao An immediately used her ability. Mind Control! In an instant, the guard stood up. He walked to the control panel and pressed a button. Seconds later, a concealed door not far from the base gate opened. The design of this hidden door was so ludicrous it left one speechless. Once the door was open, Xia Xiao An gave the guard a sleep suggestion; he collapsed, snoring loudly. "This way." Xia Xiao An led Lin Jiu Jiu through the secret entrance, easily infiltrating the base. Dim lighting flickered ahead, with a sign underneath saying: [Nameless Base Rules (15): No eating in the control room to prevent attracting mutant rats or cockroaches, as we won't have engineers to fix things.] Such straightforward rules. And this base’s name, which leaves one shaking their head in disbelief. What genius came up with such a base name? "This way; let’s take out the gatekeeper first." Xia Xiao An suggested. Lin Jiu Jiu nodded, showing her understanding. Although the guard was put to sleep, he would eventually wake up, and closing the gate could cause considerable trouble. They had already planned their actions en route. Moreover, Lin Jiu Jiu admired Xia Xiao An's battlefield experience; it was remarkable. "He helped us open the door; let him die peacefully in his sleep." Inside the control room, Lin Jiu Jiu gestured towards the sleeping guard. In an instant, his snoring abruptly stopped. With a blissful smile on his face, he passed away. Xia Xiao An approached to confirm the guard's death. After witnessing Lin Jiu Jiu’s ability several times, Xia Xiao An was still in awe. Controlling dreams like that was incredibly powerful! With the guard disposed of, the two infiltrated deeper into the base. In the Nameless Base, anyone awake would inevitably have thoughts that Xia Xiao An could hear and pinpoint. Those asleep, regardless of dreaming or not, would be detected by Lin Jiu Jiu. The pair worked seamlessly to swiftly eliminate all outer guards. "Ahead is the living room, where 21 ability users are drinking and dining. They're quite strong." Pausing at the corridor's turn, Xia Xiao An noted. Lin Jiu Jiu took out a microphone, "Should I hold a concert?" It was a decent idea, highly feasible. But doing so could mean the hostages, as pointed out by sister Su Miao, might also die. Xia Xiao An shook her head, "No, this indiscriminate attack is too potent. It might kill the hostages, and if they die, we'll fail our exam." Lin Jiu Jiu nodded, "Hmm... then what should we do?" Xia Xiao An suggested, "I'll control a few to instigate a fight, and then you can step in to put the stronger ones to sleep." Lin Jiu Jiu agreed, "Alright, I'll give it a try." Xia Xiao An instructed, "Don't get hurt. If you do, our exam will fail too." Lin Jiu Jiu nodded confidently, "Don't worry." Just as they were about to move, Xia Xiao An halted Lin Jiu Jiu. ... [Strange, why do I hear girls talking? Have I drunk too much and started hallucinating?] [I'm not drunk... Could it be that the women the base leader captured have escaped?] "That can't possibly be the case." An ability user stepped out of the dining hall, belching and scanning his surroundings. He sniffed the air, hoping to catch a whiff of a girl's fragrance, but all he could smell was alcohol. "Old Bie, what are you sniffing for out here? There can't be any women here, right?" From inside the dining hall, another ability user chimed in laughingly. Old Bie turned and replied with a grin, "You may not believe it, but I swear I just heard a girl's voice — not one of those women in their twenties or thirties, but a teenage high school girl, and it was incredibly sweet." "Nah! You've just drunk too much, and are imagining things." "Tsk tsk, maybe take it up with your right hand." "Now, now, guys, what if Old Bie actually did hear something?" "Hogwash, Xiong Zai, are you serious? What did he hear?" "Uncanny!" ... Silence fell over the dining hall, followed by uproarious laughter. "Idiot, you really must've spent too much time on the Night Snack APP, now prattling about any newfangled term you come across." "I read Yi Lei Na's research posts too; she talked about how uncanny beings attach themselves to people, gradually replacing the host and contaminating more people, making them kill each other and eventually turning them into food. Terrifying." "Also, individuals possessed by uncanny beings develop extra tentacles and eyeballs; it's extremely gross." "If you encounter such an uncanny being, you have to kill it right away, or we'll all be doomed." "Heh heh heh, Xiong Zai, have I become one of those uncanny beings? Come on, lift it up and let Old Gui have a look." "No, damn it... Old Gui, you're just too desperate, don't turn me into a girl just because I'm handsome!" ... Outside, Xia Xiao An breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't expected there to be an ability user inside with exceptional hearing; they were almost discovered. Xia Xiao An glanced at Lin Jiu Jiu and used an ability she had never tried before: [Jiu Jiu, can you hear me?] Lin Jiu Jiu's eyes widened, responding with her thoughts: [Xiao An?] Xia Xiao An said: [Let's communicate through our thoughts for the rest of the operation, no speaking aloud.] Lin Jiu Jiu nodded: [Okay.] Quickly moving forward, Xia Xiao An said: [Begin the operation.] She sent some psychological suggestions to the ability users inside. Several of the ability users, who had been playfully tussling, were filled with excitement. Suddenly, Old Gui managed to pull off Xiong Zai's large shorts, and his eyes widened with fear, leading him to vomit violently. The nearby ability users stepped back cautiously, alert. "You guys..." Unaware of the situation, Xiong Zai hastily pulled his pants up. He was close to losing it. Just as he bent down to cover himself, Old Gui suddenly launched a fiery punch. His fist, wreathed in blazing flames, looked incredibly terrifying. Boom! Before Xiong Zai could react, his head exploded. Scorched brain matter splattered as his headless body crumpled to the ground, undeniably dead. The other ability users in the dining hall stood up, bewildered, trying to figure out what had occurred. "Old Gui, why did you kill him?" someone asked. Old Gui pointed at the body, saying, "Xiong Zai, he turned into an uncanny being. We need to incinerate him quickly..." Uncanny being? Such creatures from the other world were incredibly terrifying. As part of the base's middle and upper management, anyone with a phone knew something about them. They had thought the other world was far removed, but an uncanny being appearing inside the base was extremely dangerous. "Let me take a look." A psychiatrist in a white coat approached, asking, "Where are the uncanny characteristics?" Old Gui pointed and said, "Under his pants." The psychiatrist removed the pants from the corpse and said, "Nothing unusual; this isn't an uncanny being. Old Gui, you..." Before he could finish, Old Gui unleashed another flaming punch. Boom! The psychiatrist reacted quickly, but blocking was ineffective. His arms exploded, and the force of the flaming punch shattered his chest and heart. Wide-eyed in disbelief, the psychiatrist stared at Old Gui before falling straight down. At this point, the nearby ability users realized. There was no uncanny being; it was Old Gui who had lost it. "Old Gui, we're all brothers here. Take it easy; you can't just do this because Xiong Zai refused you..." Old Bie stood ten steps away, calmly trying to reason with him. Who would have guessed Old Gui looked at Old Bie and saw a gigantic octopus head: "You, you're an uncanny being too!" Looking around, he saw others with multiple eyeballs, tentacles, and numerous deformed limbs, looking utterly horrifying. "You, you all turned into uncanny beings..." Backing away frantically, Old Gui panicked. "I think you're the uncanny being. Brothers, let's take him down. If he resists, kill him!" Old Wang approached, fury burning in his eyes as he helped the psychiatrist's body up. Who could’ve imagined the next second, Old Gui charged directly at him: "I see now, you're the source of the uncanny corruption; you must die!" Old Wang was livid, meeting him with a punch: "Old Gui, you truly deserve to die!" Boom! Two powerful ability users clashed in the dining hall, the ensuing shockwaves pushing the others to the fringes. Outside the dining hall, Xia Xiao An gestured an OK to Lin Jiu Jiu: [They're fighting. We'll go in soon.] ... (End of Chapter)