C13 The Capsule Motorcycle

Chu Yue yelled out.

"Run!"

Chuxue seemed not to hear him, picking up another stone and hurling it at the Infection Beast.

At that moment, Chu Yue was sprawled on the ground. As he watched the Infection Beast steadily advance towards Miss Xue, he acted out of sheer desperation.

He frenziedly altered his own bones, transforming the recently broken ribs back into a Bone Sword.

The Bone Sword now had a deeper red hue and appeared even more translucent.

But Chu Yue couldn't afford to pay attention to that detail.

With great effort, he retrieved a capsule. This capsule, crafted from Miss Xue's blood and Chuxue's special ability, was designed to quickly mend his wounds.

Once he swallowed the capsule, Chu Yue felt his injuries start to heal slightly. He managed to rise and staggered towards Chuxue.

Chuxue was now backed up against a tree trunk, trying to move further back, but there was nowhere left to go.

Just as the huge bear was about to seize her, Chu Yue plunged his sharpened Bone Sword into the beast's body. In a shocking turn, the bear spun around, lifting Chu Yue into the air, ready to rip him apart. But Chu Yue regained his composure and, with the Bone Sword, decapitated the bear.

The bear's grip on Chu Yue loosened, and he fell to the ground.

Chu Yue's Bone Sword retracted back into his body.

At some point, Chuxue had moved to Chu Yue's side, her eyes filled with concern as she gazed at him, bloodied and battered. "Does it hurt?"

"Not at all. How could it? Don't forget, your Mr. Chu Yue is the toughest around!" he boasted, before his eyes shut and he passed out.

"..."

When he came to, Chu Yue found Chuxue by his side, her tear-streaked face telling him she had just dried her eyes.

Chu Yue felt a pang of guilt. He wasn't strong enough yet. He needed to become more powerful to keep those close to him safe from harm.

"You're awake, Mr. Chu Yue," Chuxue said, her voice filled with relief.

"Yeah, just woke up," he replied groggily.

"With all that crying, it's a wonder I slept at all!"

Chuxue's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Bad guy!"

She averted her gaze, choosing to ignore Chu Yue. Deep down, though, she quite enjoyed his remarks.

Unaware of Chuxue's thoughts, Chu Yue stood up, feeling stronger than ever before. It was then he noticed the bandages wrapped around him.

"Ah!"

It seemed this girl had been taking care of him all this time. The thought sparked a playful idea in his mind, and he looked at Chuxue with a teasing glint in his eye.

"You've been so kind to me, I don't even know how to repay you. Perhaps..."

"I should offer myself to you. Hmm, I think that's a great idea!"

He chuckled mockingly at Chuxue.

Chuxue hadn't expected Chu Yue to say such a thing. She was at a loss for words!

It took her a moment to gather her thoughts before she replied, blushing and bashful.

"You're too old for me. I could never like you!"

She then sneakily glanced at Chu Yue's reaction.

Chu Yue's face registered shock, his mouth agape as if he could fit two eggs inside.

Seeing his expression, Chuxue burst into laughter.

Realizing he'd been teased, Chu Yue quickly caught on.

He had intended to be the one mocking, but instead, he found himself the butt of the joke, his face a picture of resignation.

"..."

Finally, Chuxue paused and asked, "Are you feeling any better? How are your wounds?"

"Yeah, strangely, I feel more energetic than before I was hurt!"

Chuxue was baffled. After pondering for a bit and getting nowhere, she decided to let it go.

Chu Yue, however, sensed that he had leveled up. He was likely in the early stages of Rank 3 Mutation. He had just broken through the Rank 2 Mutation constraints and successfully advanced to become a Rank 3 Mutation Sacrificer.

He shared his thoughts with Chuxue.

"Congratulations, Mr. Chu Yue!" she exclaimed with excitement.

"Ah, I just wonder what rank Miss Xue is."

Chu Yue was racked with a headache as he pondered the situation. He was clueless about how Chuxue had come to possess her Purification Ability, and her identity was just as much a mystery to him. All he knew was that she was a lonely little girl without any family.

Chuxue hung her head low.

"Why overthink it, Mr. Chu Yue? You were set on finding Ms. Chu Yao, weren't you?" she reminded him.

Ms. Chu Yao was older than Chuxue, which was why she referred to Chu Yue as 'sister'.

"You're right. The priority is to locate my sister. Once I do that, I can take care of other matters," Chu Yue acknowledged, no longer dwelling on his previous thoughts.

"Mr. Chu Yue, our food supply is running low," Chuxue pointed out.

"I'm aware," he replied.

Carrying a backpack with just a small head peeking out, Chu Yue and Chuxue had just battled Infection Beasts in their Devouring Period. After their victory, they took a moment to rest, changed into clean clothes, and freshened up before resuming their quest to find Chu Yao.

The backpack wasn't large, and with Chuxue to carry, it could only hold so much food. The recent battle had drained their energy, and now the backpack was nearly empty.

They had left the forest the previous night, wary of other Infection Beasts that might launch a surprise attack. They had managed to find a relatively safe spot to spend the night.

"Don't worry. I remember there's a place not too far from here. We just have to hang in there a little longer," Chu Yue reassured her, picking up the pace.

"You've hardly eaten anything along the way, saving most of the food for me. Since the fight, you've barely touched anything. If you don't eat and end up getting weak, your dear sister will blame me, and that would be quite unfair to me, wouldn't it?" Chuxue teased.

"I sometimes wonder what goes on in that head of yours!" Chu Yue chuckled.

"Fine! I'll have a small piece," he conceded, accepting a piece of bread from Chuxue, tearing it in half, and handing the other half back to her.

Hearing her stomach growl, Chuxue glanced at the bread with a moment's hesitation before gratefully accepting it and starting to eat.

As dusk approached, they still hadn't found any food or water. Chu Yue was faring somewhat better, but Chuxue had already fallen asleep in her backpack to conserve her energy.

After some time, Chu Yue spotted a small supermarket with signs of having been rummaged through. While he pondered the reason for the disturbance, Chuxue awoke.

Blinking away the grogginess, she noticed the supermarket and excitedly hopped out of her backpack. "We've found food!" she exclaimed, clutching the provisions and approaching Chu Yue with a grin.

"Yes, we did. I saw a few other supermarkets earlier, but they were empty except for some Zombies scavenging for food," he replied.

"I guess someone beat us to it and took all the food," she surmised.

"But this place still has food. It's not a lot, but it's enough for us to last a while, and there's water too!" Chuxue said, her voice filled with joy.

"I wonder who got here before us," Chu Yue pondered aloud.

Seeing Chuxue's delight, he didn't dwell on it any further. They gathered their finds and continued on their way.

Chu Yue was nearly back to full strength. A Rank 3 body recovers quicker than a Rank 2, though it comes at a greater cost. Thankfully, he had Chuxue with him, whose abilities would make anyone envious.

He couldn't help but wonder how she had acquired such power and what hardships she had endured to get it. The thought saddened him; who could bear to harm such a small, adorable child?

Suddenly, a cacophony of caws filled the air. A flock of crows had appeared overhead, circling ominously.

"Run!" Chu Yue urged, scooping Chuxue into his backpack and dashing forward. As he ran, he drew his Half Moon Black Ring Blade, ready to fend off any attacking crows.

Approaching a nearby village, Chu Yue found it deserted, with neither zombies nor humans in sight. A large box with military symbols caught his eye. He lifted it with ease; to the now stronger Chu Yue, the box was bulky but not heavy.

Hefting the box, he dashed into a house with its door ajar. Once inside, he quickly shut the door behind him.

He set down his backpack and took out some food for Chuxue.

Curious, he showed her the box and asked if she knew what was inside.

She shook her head, indicating she had never seen such a box before.

Chu Yue scrutinized the box with a puzzled expression, finding it quite difficult to open. After much effort, he finally managed to pry it open.

Upon opening it, Chu Yue was completely taken aback.

Noticing Chu Yue's astonishment, Chuxue, driven by curiosity, hurried over to see what was inside the box.

"Ah!"

Chuxue exclaimed in surprise, discovering an array of heavy firearms and space food similar to what astronauts consume—mostly high-calorie provisions that were easy to carry and satisfying. Among the items was a capsule, labeled: capsule motorcycle.

Chu Yue first removed the firearms and food before noticing the capsule. Both were so astounded by the capsule that they were momentarily speechless.

After much deliberation, they finally understood the concept of the capsule motorcycle. It resembled the motorcycle ridden by 'Ba Ma' in the Seven Dragon Bead series—though it couldn't fly, it was rideable and solar-powered, complete with a spare battery. Its design closely resembled the latest model of a Harley motorcycle.

"Who would have thought such a thing existed? This is truly eye-opening!"

"Let's get it out and take a look. From now on, we can save ourselves the trouble of walking everywhere, not to mention me having to carry you. It's been quite a hassle!"

"Right, I'm just figuring out how to use it."

After some time, they finally succeeded in deploying the motorcycle.

At one end of the capsule was a tiny hole; shining a light into it caused the capsule to transform into a motorcycle that bore a striking resemblance to a Harley.

Chu Yue was overjoyed by the discovery, though Chuxue was less impressed.

Girls typically didn't care much for motorcycles—it was usually guys who were drawn to them.

"Now we won't have to walk everywhere, and I won't have to stay in Mr. Chu Yue's backpack all the time."

She murmured softly to herself as she packed the food from the box into her backpack.

"What's on your mind? I had you stay in my backpack primarily to keep your special ability hidden from others. Plus, having you in there saves me a lot of hassle."

"What kind of hassle?"

Chuxue looked up at Chu Yue with wide eyes, waiting for his response.