Chapter 87: Sorry

To be honest, using flatulence to smoke out enemies, although not exactly honorable, is quite effective and works instantly—even Chen Mu almost fell for it.

Of course, if the opponent is familiar and prepared in advance, the effect would likely be greatly reduced; I just don't know what it will be like when his ability grows stronger later.

This ability sounds unpleasant to talk about, but its practicality is not bad; if it also worked on animals and insects, that would be impressive.

Do you have any other companions?

None.

How did you end up here?

……

Lu Shanshan hesitated for a moment, then helplessly said: "Actually, we've known about this place for a long time."

"Oh?" Chen Mu felt a jolt in his heart.

Has it already been exposed?

These past days, we actually haven't taken any defensive measures here; even the night watch we had at the start fizzled out after we got rooms.

It's hard to deny that it's difficult to keep a group of high school students alert to danger for a long time.

"Do you remember that three people came here before?" Lu Shanshan agonized for a while before saying that.

Chen Mu narrowed his eyes: "Are they also your companions?"

"Yeah, they were second‑year students. On the day after the disaster, over twenty of us gathered together. We were doing okay at first, even found half a steamed bun in the hallway outside the classroom, we found a corner, moved in a few leaves, and barely managed to survive."

Then what happened?

"At first things were also pretty good; among us, a few gained decent abilities, one of whom could turn invisible, making it easier to move outside—it was he who discovered you were in this place…"

Invisibility?

Chen Mu couldn't help but inhale sharply; this evil ability really makes one feel awful.

"He's already dead." Lu Shanshan, seeming to notice Chen Mu's wariness, quickly added.

"Tell me specifically about the invisibility ability." Chen Mu didn't relax; who knows if she's lying.

"This ability sounds terrifying, but actually… it has many limits—for example, he can only make his own body invisible; his clothes and such cannot be hidden, and each use lasts only a few minutes at most, after which he must rest at least half an hour before using it again."

"Then how does he move around outside?" Chen Mu asked again.

Lu Shanshan said: "The invisibility ability isn't just about not being seen; it's a complete disappearance. In that state, he cannot be touched, nor can he pick up objects or attack others. So whenever he's outside and encounters danger, he can instantly go invisible to escape harm—of course, afterward he needs to find a safe place to hide for half an hour, but regardless, it's still safer than for ordinary people."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu's first impression was that something was off—either Lu Shanshan was lying on purpose, or she simply didn't understand the ability's rules, because if he truly couldn't be touched, how could he stand on the ground after turning invisible?

But Chen Mu soon stopped dwelling on that point.

The possibility that Lu Shanshan is lying is not high.

Moreover, special abilities follow a different set of rules that we haven't yet figured out; trying to understand them with ordinary human sense will obviously lead to deviation.

If that's the case, how did he die?

"He was killed by those three people. By the way, may I ask what happened to those three afterward?" Lu Shanshan seemed to summon her courage before throwing back that question.

"After you answer my question, I'll consider whether to answer yours." Chen Mu didn't show much dominance, but the meaning was clear: right now I'm asking you, you're not qualified to ask questions.

But at the same time, he also noticed a clue.

Lu Shanshan only knows that those three came here, but she doesn't know exactly what happened.

This seems to differ somewhat from what he had expected.

"All right." Lu Shanshan said helplessly; although the boy in front of her didn't look fierce, she still felt uneasy in her heart.

"You just said that the invisibility ability user was killed by those three—why did you guys kill each other?"

"That wasn't their intention." Lu Shanshan said, her emotions fluctuating: "They gained a special ability that lets them share vision, smell, hearing, etc.; the three can function as one person, and their strength can be transferred and stacked."

Stacked?

"Yes, it means the three are equivalent to one person."

"That's truly amazing."

Chen Mu said that, but thinking back to the combat power of those three at first, it seemed no more than that; he hadn't even realized they were ability users.

"This ability is a great help in combat, so after that half‑bun spoiled, it's always been those three and the invisible ability user who go out to scavenge for supplies."

Chen Mu furrowed his brows.

"According to Lu Shanshan's account, those three seem decent, but why, when they meet me, do they attack without saying a word?"

"He was about to ask when he heard Lu Shanshan continue: 'But the three's ability has a fatal flaw: they often suffer from mental disorder.'"

"Mental disorder?" Chen Mu exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmm." Lu Shanshan nodded: "Perhaps it's a side effect of sharing senses; sometimes they plunge into utter confusion, lose memory, don't even recognize their own comrades, and after a while return to normal."

Chen Mu seemed to understand: "So they killed their own companions while mentally disordered?"

"Pretty much, but normally, even when they fall into mental disorder, they don't attack people; they just huddle together, three of them, expressionlessly walking in circles like zombies—though scary, after it happens often we no longer worry."

"But once, we were suddenly attacked by several strangers; the three fought back fiercely and finally defeated the enemies, yet soon fell into confusion—this time they turned on their own people with deadly force; the invisible ability user, still defenseless, stabbed his gut, and by the time they regained consciousness, they had already killed five companions…"

"After they came to their senses, they felt deep remorse and thereafter tried even harder to care for the remaining people, but outside food grew scarcer; their abilities could handle ordinary folks, yet against rats, spiders, and the like they were still ineffective, and several times they barely escaped death."

"After we discovered you were stationed here, we didn't dare approach because we didn't know friend from foe, but later life became too hard, and the three thought about gathering together for strength in numbers; so one morning they prepared to come over and make contact, but after they set out that day, they never returned…"

Lu Shanshan said this, then gathered her courage again and tremulously asked: "Those three people—what…"

"But as soon as she uttered those words, she recalled Chen Mu's earlier warning and dared not continue asking."

Hearing this, Chen Mu also felt a mix of emotions, his heart in turmoil, not knowing what to say.

After a good while.

Finally he sighed:

"They're dead."

"After a moment's hesitation, he added: 'I'm sorry.'"