Chapter 132: Return Journey

Chapter 132: Return Journey

The sky was fully lit, and Xiao Zui brought the remaining people over. The two groups finally reunited and, taking two captives with them, headed towards Base F City.

After another ten days of trekking, the group returned to Base F City once again.

Bai Mu and Xiao Zui were responsible for delivering the captives to General Zou, as well as clearing supplies and receiving rewards.

The others were finally free, meandering back to their own homes.

Xiao Hua sat on the living room sofa, yawning, but decided against going upstairs to sleep.

Over these ten days, she still had occasional dreams, none as severe as the first, and they grew shorter each time.

However, based on the current progress, it would probably take some more time before she could be completely liberated.

Xiao Hua rubbed her tired eyes, feeling utterly drained.

She hadn't been sleeping well during this time, and each time she had a nightmare in the car, Bai Mu would wake her up.

After several instances, Bai Mu helped her piece together what exactly had caused this.

Xiao Hua hadn't remembered at first, until Bai Mu mentioned Dr. Cao, and then she suddenly realized.

Dr. Cao's power was to influence people's emotions, and after being affected, a person's subconscious would become agitated or fearful, leading to some unusual reactions.

Xiao Hua's symptoms fit perfectly.

And on the day she first had a nightmare, she had just experienced an attack from Dr. Cao's powers.

Xiao Hua thought it ridiculous that she hadn't connected the dots earlier.

Then Bai Mu reminded her that the pills Dr. Cao had made had the effect of causing people to lose short-term memory.

Perhaps his powers naturally had this attribute.

Damn.

Xiao Hua thought back over her recent experiences and cursed under her breath.

This time, she had really taken a hit. Though physically unharmed, the sleepless nights filled with nightmares were truly vexing.

Over time, she felt she had become much more irritable.

Fortunately, she realized the problem later, otherwise Xiao Hua's psyche would have been tortured for a longer time.

Su Mo noticed the dark circles under Xiao Hua's eyes and sighed, "Xiao Hua, still having nightmares?"

"Yes," Xiao Hua paused, her words slightly turning, "It's already much lighter, and it will be fine in a couple of days."

"That's good," Su Mo felt somewhat relieved and asked again, "Then why don't you come to sleep with me at night? I'll wake you up as soon as you have a nightmare."

Xiao Hua thought about how Bai Mu hadn't been sleeping well these days because of her, and decided against it, "No need."

Bai Mu and Xiao Zui returned quickly, and the seven of them went upstairs to their rooms to tidy up and rest after dinner.

Xiao Hua returned to her bedroom, first taking a refreshing shower in the bathroom. After coming out, she sat down on the sofa, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples.

She just sat quietly, too lazy to go to bed and risk another nightmare. She sat in the room for an unknown amount of time when suddenly she heard a knock on the door.

Xiao Hua glanced at the wall clock; it was already half past ten at night, the time when everyone in this post-apocalyptic world would be deep in sleep.

She didn’t know who would come at this hour, so she simply stood up and walked to the door, opening it to find Bai Mu standing there.

Xiao Hua raised an eyebrow, her eyes wide with surprise. "It’s so late, Brother Bai. What’s the matter?"

Bai Mu lowered his head slightly to look at Xiao Hua’s face and frowned. "Haven’t you slept yet?"

Xiao Hua paused, like a deflated tire, and said weakly, "I start dreaming as soon as I fall asleep, and I can’t wake up. I’ll stay up a bit longer."

"Try to sleep for a bit. If you have a nightmare, I’ll wake you."

Xiao Hua leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, and looked up at the faint shadows under Bai Mu’s eyes. She pursed her lips. "Then what about you?"

Bai Mu still smiled as usual. "I can sleep during the day. I’m fine."

Xiao Hua offered a polite smile but firmly refused. "No need, Brother Bai. I can’t always trouble you."

Knowing Bai Mu’s feelings, Xiao Hua didn’t go out of her way to avoid him, but his attentiveness still made her uneasy.

On the road, everyone ate and slept together, and looking out for each other made sense.

Before, she hadn’t realized, but now, accepting Bai Mu’s care without reciprocating made Xiao Hua uneasy.

She still hadn’t sorted out her feelings for Bai Mu.

Did she dislike him? Definitely not; he was the man she had the most contact with in this world.

Did she like him? Not to that extent either.

After her refusal, Xiao Hua glanced up at Bai Mu, forced a smile, and stepped back, ready to shut the door.