Ling Cage, pick up Lu Mingfei at the start.

The driver's seat had been replaced by Sui Xing at some point. Her handling of the vehicle was stable, a stark contrast to Bai Yuekui's previous wild style.

Bai Yuekui himself leaned leisurely against the passenger seat, a pair of frameless glasses perched on his nose, holding an old book with yellowed pages in his hands, looking serene and focused, as if the person who had driven the SUV so wildly earlier was someone else entirely.

Lu Mingfei slumped in the back seat, feeling his internal organs still swaying with non-existent inertia. His face was pale, and his stomach was churning.

Xu Tong and Shan Da next to him were obviously not feeling well either, but they were much better off than him, at least they could still sit up straight.

"Pfft... Hahaha, kid, you're already exhausted?" Xu Tong couldn't help but laugh gleefully when he saw Lu Mingfei looking like he was about to collapse, though his laughter also carried a hint of his own forced discomfort.

Shandong added in a muffled voice, "The boss's driving skills... take some time to get used to."

Lu Mingfei didn't even have the strength to refute; he could only weakly cling to the car window, trying to breathe some fresh air. However, when his gaze fell out the window, his eyes widened in shock.

The off-road vehicle had long since left the desolate city ruins and was now driving across a vast, lush grassland.

Broken concrete, a gloomy sky, grotesque flesh and earth, terrifying Devouring Beasts... all the elements of the apocalypse seemed to have been wiped away here by an invisible hand. In their place, a vibrant and thriving scene unfolded.

The dominant color is lush green, interspersed with unnamed wildflowers. Unlike the eerie scarlet of mana flowers found elsewhere, these wildflowers retain their natural colors of purple, white, and yellow, scattered like tiny diamonds on a green velvet carpet.

In the distance, the majestic snow-capped mountains are clearly outlined, their snow-capped peaks gleaming with a pure, cold light under the refracted sunlight, adding a sense of sacredness and tranquility to this vibrant landscape.

"So beautiful...this place." Lu Mingfei murmured to himself, the scene before him like a sweet spring, washing away the oppressive feeling that had been branded by the apocalyptic scene.

"Right!" Xu Tong said with a hint of pride, hooking his arm around Lu Mingfei's neck. "We spent countless hours and sacrificed so many comrades to take this place back from the Devouring Beasts and transform it into what it is today."

He pointed to a towering structure, faintly visible on a distant snow-capped mountain. "See that? A shielding tower! It emits special signals that make those monstrous things think this is a wasteland of life-giving substances, causing them to automatically detour. Come to think of it, it's somewhat similar to your restricted area within a few steps, but not quite. Yours felt more like... um... deterrence?"

Looking at this paradise, and recalling the hellish scenes he had experienced before, Lu Mingfei was deeply shocked. He couldn't imagine the terrible price that had been paid behind this peace.

He was about to turn around and express his feelings when he bumped into Xu Tong's big, protruding buttocks.

"Puff puff puff—"

An indescribable odor wafted through the air.

"Ah! What are you doing?!" Lu Mingfei was so frightened that he desperately shrank back and pressed himself against the car door, pinching his nose tightly with his hand.

Xu Tong patted his butt smugly: "Exclusive secret recipe—detoxifying farts! Who knows how long you've been wandering around outside, whether you've inhaled bromine fumes or gotten any carmine on you. I'm doing this for your own good, buddy!"

"What... what kind of ability is this! Or is it just bullshit! It's so weird!" Lu Mingfei's face turned red, he pinched his nose with one hand and waved his other hand in vain in front of his face.

"Hey! What do you know? In the entire Dragon Bone Village, we are the only ones with the ability to neutralize carmine! Countless people would kill for it!" Xu Tong retorted, sticking out his neck.

Even the good-natured Shandong University couldn't help but speak up: "Everyone here has unique abilities! And couldn't you have given me a heads-up beforehand?!" His voice echoed in the enclosed carriage.

Even the star in the car cast a silent condemnation through the rearview mirror.

Bai Yuekui glanced at the farce unfolding in the back seat through the rearview mirror, seemingly already used to it. She simply shook her head helplessly, gently pinched her nose, and then her gaze returned to the pages of the book in her hands, as if the surrounding commotion had nothing to do with her.

The vehicle continued its journey and eventually stopped in front of a massive steel fortress built against the mountainside. The fortress had a symmetrical structure, and its weathered exterior was covered in dust and rust, yet it exuded a cold, hard sense of solidity.

The central gate was a heavy alloy gate requiring multiple verifications. The guards, seeing Bai Yuekui inside the vehicle, didn't question him further, and the gate slowly slid open, one gate after another.

The vehicle slowly entered a wide passage. Above, a strip of lights emitted a steady white glow, illuminating the interior as bright as day, creating a stark contrast with the dim mountainside outside.

The walls of the passage were a cold, metallic gray, covered with thick energy pipes and interfaces of unknown purpose. Underfoot was a non-slip, grid-like floor, and wheels made a slight clanging sound as they rolled over it.

After passing through this long passage, the view suddenly opened up, as if entering another world.

This is a huge, hollowed-out interior space of a mountain, a veritable underground paradise.

"Green of life" is the main theme here. In stark contrast to the monotonous gray and yellow outside, the rock walls on both sides of the canyon are covered with lush vegetation, with vines cascading down like green waterfalls, and ancient trees stubbornly reaching out from the cracks in the rocks, spreading out canopies. The ceiling of the cave is embedded with a series of complex optical vector lenses.

They collect and guide external light, and through exquisite refraction and regulation, softly illuminate the entire space, forming clear beams of light or casting dappled, shimmering golden spots of light on the ground.

In the distance, the sound of children reading aloud could be heard, coming from a building marked "All-Science Hall"; below, dust swirled on the playground as children played football with great enthusiasm; not far away by the lake, dozens of young people were practicing boxing with a white-haired but robust and vigorous old man, their shouts full of youthful energy.

If it weren't for the surrounding rock walls, Lu Mingfei would almost have thought he had traveled back to his original peaceful world. The fresh air, the waterfall hanging from the distant cliff, the orderly people each doing their jobs... all of this made him feel a long-lost sense of security and comfort.

Bai Yuekui quietly observed Lu Mingfei's changing expression, watching as his tense nerves gradually relaxed.

Only then did she have a chance to take a closer look at the boy—his dejected aura was almost tangible, his clothes would be considered cheap even in the old world, his messy hair covered up his already limited vitality, and his whole person exuded a kind of... "dejection" from the inside out.

She has lived for nearly a century, from the old world to the present, and has seen all kinds of people. Some were defeated by disasters, while others were reborn from despair, but most of them were due to hardships they had experienced later in life.

But the "misfortune" of Lu Mingfei before her seemed to be an innate characteristic. And those eyes, so clear that they seemed untouched by the cruelty of the apocalypse, made her believe even more in his identity as a "visitor from another world"—those eyes were so similar to those of the high school students from her old days.

Her original plan to place Lu Mingfei in the isolation room for observation quietly changed. She waved to the white-haired old man in the distance who was instructing a young man in boxing.

"Boss, what do you need me for? And who is this?" Ulan Aodeng jogged over, his breathing steady, and his gaze quickly fell on Lu Mingfei, asking inquiringly.

"We found a survivor outside... Xiao Deng, take him to a place to stay, arrange for him to stay in the empty room next to mine. I'll explain the details to you later." Bai Yuekui carefully chose his words and glanced at Lu Mingfei as he spoke.

He then turned to Lu Mingfei: "You stay with him, I have things to take care of. Xu Tong, Shan Da, come with me."

After saying that, she turned and left with the two of them.

Little...Little Deng?! Lu Mingfei looked at the muscular, burly white-haired old man in front of him, then glanced in the direction where Bai Yuekui had disappeared, his heart filled with a sense of absurdity.

"Come on, kid, keep up." Ulan Aodeng was also wondering to himself, what kind of background does this boy have that the boss would arrange for him to stay next to him? But he suppressed his curiosity, following orders was the top priority.

"Dad! I'm back!" A clear female voice rang out, and a short-haired girl was seen running excitedly, pulling a long-haired girl along with her.

"Hey! Sweetie, how's the training going?" Ulan Aodeng instantly switched from serious mode to loving father, the speed of his change of expression leaving Lu Mingfei speechless.

"The training is great! Dad, who is he? Is he from the settlement outside?" Ulan Maiduo ran up to him, full of energy, her curious gaze falling on Lu Mingfei.

Xia Dou, standing next to her, blinked her big eyes, full of curiosity.

"Him?" Ulan Aodeng ruffled his daughter's hair. "He's a survivor that Boss Bai brought back. His name is... his name is... Hey kid, what's your name again?" He turned to ask Lu Mingfei.

"Me? My name is... Lu Mingfei. Um, Lu Mingfei." Suddenly being stared at by two lively girls, Lu Mingfei instantly tensed up, his voice dropping eight octaves.

"Hello, Lu Mingfei! I'm Maiduo, Wulan Maiduo! This is my good friend Xia Dou! Where are you from?" Maiduo greeted him warmly.

Lu Mingfei was about to speak when Wulan Aodeng interrupted him: "Hey, alright, alright, Boss Bai told me to arrange accommodation for him first. You two go have some fun first, there will be plenty of opportunities to get to know each other later." He had to finish what Bai Yuekui had asked him to do first.

"Okay, okay, Dad (Uncle Deng)." The two girls said in unison, then glanced at Lu Mingfei curiously a few more times before running away hand in hand.

"Let's go, kid, keep up." Ulan Aodeng patted Lu Mingfei on the back and led the way.

He didn't think he had used any force, but Lu Mingfei felt as if he had been slapped by a bear's paw. He stumbled and almost fell, grimacing as he rubbed his back.

Ulan Aodeng noticed this small movement and shook his head inwardly: "Is his body so weak? No, he needs to train properly!"

On the way to their lodgings, many villagers noticed the unfamiliar Lu Mingfei and cast curious glances at him. Some tried to approach him to ask questions, but Wulan Aodeng turned them away, saying, "It's Boss Bai's arrangement; we'll talk about it later."

Lu Mingfei kept his head down the whole way, feeling uncomfortable being stared at by so many strangers. He could only steal glances at this peculiar village from time to time.

Soon, Ulan Aodeng led him to a clean but simple house, right next to Bai Yuekui's residence. After helping him with some basic necessities and leaving him some food, Ulan Aodeng left.

Lu Mingfei silently tidied up his things and made the bed. After doing all this, he sat at the table, looked at the plate of still steaming fried rice in front of him, and a feeling of hunger instantly surged up. He immediately began to wolf it down.

Night fell quietly, and no one bothered him anymore.

Lu Mingfei lay alone on the hard bed, the feel of which inexplicably reminded him of the bunk bed at his uncle's house. He turned to look out the window, but all he saw was an impenetrable darkness, no starlight, no neon lights. He suddenly realized—this wasn't home, it was a cave; he had traveled through time, and he…couldn't go back.

A long sigh echoed clearly in the silent room. Recalling the bizarre events of the day—the post-apocalyptic wasteland, the terrifying monsters, and these people with strange abilities…everything seemed so out of place. What would become of him? A profound sense of loss, like the darkness outside the window, engulfed him.

Exhaustion washed over him like a tide; he had experienced too much today, and was physically and mentally exhausted. He quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Outside the door, a white figure stood silently until she heard steady breathing coming from inside. Then she nodded slightly, turned, and disappeared into the night, her footsteps light, as if she had never been there.