Pei Yufeng didn't destroy the car; it was still useful.
The surrounding air suddenly twisted bizarrely, and the whistling wind abruptly stopped. The men in the truck screamed in despair, their eyes bloodshot.
The rat-faced man immediately realized this was a psychic ability user. Clenching his teeth, he crawled out with his face covered in blood.
"The base... we'll take you to the base!"
Rat felt as if his brain had been thrown into a meat grinder, his hearing completely gone. With a deathly pale face, he screamed mechanically.
After a long while, the pressure in the air finally vanished.
The men scrambled up from the ground, trembling, their eyes filled with terror as they looked at Pei Yufeng.
Pei Yufeng didn't even glance at them. He just carefully pulled Ji Zhaoxi closer into his arms and said coldly, "Lead the way."
Rat hurriedly climbed up from the ground. Feeling an agonizing, piercing pain in his internal organs, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"We will take you there right now."
He gave a fawning smile and yanked the other men up.
It was stiflingly hot in the truck cabin, but still much better than outside. Ji Zhaoxi leaned against Pei Yufeng as if she had no bones, her eyes cast down, watching the endless desert flashing by.
She was completely drained and didn't want to say a single word.
Pei Yufeng silently wiped the sweat from her forehead.
The others in the truck didn't dare to speak, shrinking into a corner.
Rat was driving. His gaze fell on the rearview mirror as he broke the silence with a smile.
"You two have suffered out here. Once we get to the base, you can have something to eat and take a shower. Our base is quite close; we'll be there soon."
No one responded, but he didn't feel embarrassed.
Rat's gaze lingered vaguely on Ji Zhaoxi through the rearview mirror.
She was curled up against him with her eyes closed. Due to a high fever, a sickly flush spread across her face, and a few damp strands of hair clung to her neck.
Rat thought to himself, no wonder this man is guarding her so fiercely.
Just as he was about to look away, he suddenly met a pair of eyes.
He had no idea how long those eyes had been watching him. A cold sweat instantly broke out on Rat's back.
"Ah—"
In the next second, Rat let out a shrill, agonizing scream. His eyes instantly became a web of bloodshot lines, feeling as though they were being directly gouged out by a knife.
The truck fell into a terrifying silence, stiller than death.
Rat's body shook like a leaf, apologies spilling endlessly from his mouth. He switched seats with the man next to him, and the truck continued on its way.
Before long, they finally arrived at a small building.
The people inside quickly came out. Seeing the two strangers, they were momentarily stunned.
Their eyes fell on their heavily injured teammates, and they fell silent for a moment.
"Rat, brought some new friends back?"
Rat wiped the blood from his eyes and nodded hastily. "Brother Ping, we met these two in the desert. He is a psychic ability user, and the woman in his arms is his wife."
Rat immediately began the introductions for Brother Ping.
Brother Ping smiled and nodded. "We always welcome new friends. Just call me Brother Ping. May I ask what to call you two?"
"Pei Yufeng."
Rat led the way. There were several people standing in the hall, their gazes sticking heavily to Pei Yufeng and Ji Zhaoxi.
A man walked down from the upper floor. Brother Ping looked at Rat, "Take our two guests to wash up first. We will all come down to eat together later."
Rat cautiously led the way for Pei Yufeng. "Mr. Pei, please."
Several frail figures squatted in the corners of the corridor, constantly sizing up the unfamiliar faces.
"We have a water ability user. If you two need water, you can just tell me," Rat said, his voice a bit hoarse.
After dropping them off at the room, Rat gently closed the door.
Ji Zhaoxi had been awake for a while. She leaned close to Pei Yufeng's ear and whispered, "Pei Yufeng, can you beat them?"
Pei Yufeng lowered his head and gave a soft murmur of agreement.
There were two buckets of warm water in the bathroom, with clothes placed nearby. Although old, they were very clean.
Ji Zhaoxi hesitated for a moment, then grabbed Pei Yufeng's hand. "Guard the door for me."
Pei Yufeng glanced at her pale face and nodded.
Before long, the sound of splashing water came from the bathroom. Pei Yufeng activated his psychic ability, and all the movements in the living room were transmitted into his mind.
"What happened?" Brother Ping frowned deeply.
Rat sat on the sofa, his eyes already bandaged. "Ran into them in the desert. Couldn't beat him."
Brother Ping was silent for a moment. "Does the woman have an ability?"
Rat frowned tightly. "I don't know. Didn't have a chance to ask."
Just then, Scarface in the corner spoke up hoarsely, "A healing ability. I sensed it just now."
The living room fell silent for a moment.
"Well, isn't that a stroke of luck."
Brother Ping didn't speak, but a profound look flashed through his eyes.
His shirt corner was gently tugged. Pei Yufeng withdrew his mental field and looked down.
This was the first time Ji Zhaoxi wasn't wearing her white dress. Her hair wasn't fully dry yet, and the sunburned flush on her face had faded.
Pei Yufeng lowered his eyes and draped a towel over her head. "Dry it yourself."
"Oh."
In this unfamiliar environment, Ji Zhaoxi felt insecure and trailed closely behind him. Pei Yufeng clicked his tongue and pushed her to the door. "Wait for me at the door."
The sound of running water came from the bathroom. Ji Zhaoxi waited at the door for a while before calling out softly, "Pei Yufeng."
The water stopped abruptly, and Pei Yufeng's voice came from inside.
"What?"
"Nothing!"
Pei Yufeng sighed. "I'll be done soon."
"Mhm."
There was still some water left in the bucket. Pei Yufeng picked up her bloodstained dress nearby and dropped it straight into the water. Once soaked, the dress became just a small white lump in his hands.
Frowning tightly, he pinched the soiled parts of the dress and carefully rubbed the stains with the pads of his fingers. After washing for a short while, beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.
After cleaning it, Pei Yufeng used the same water to wash his own dirty clothes.
Washing his own clothes was much easier; he just scrubbed them forcefully. Men's clothes really were easier to wash.
In the evening, Rat brought up a few cans of food and some compressed biscuits for them.
Footsteps echoed continuously in the corridor, only completely quieting down late at night.
Ji Zhaoxi slept on the bed, while Pei Yufeng slept on the sofa on the other side of the room.
Ji Zhaoxi tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She whispered, "Pei Yufeng, are you asleep?"
Pei Yufeng replied lazily, "I'm asleep."
Ji Zhaoxi choked up slightly and asked with a bit of a guilty conscience, "Pei Yufeng, can you wait until I fall asleep before you go to sleep?"
She knew this request was very unreasonable, but she asked anyway.
In the darkness, Pei Yufeng could see Ji Zhaoxi across the room crystal clear. He watched as she propped herself up on the bed, her lips pressed tightly together, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
If he refused, she would definitely start crying the very next second.
Pei Yufeng gave a low murmur of agreement.
"Okay."
