Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 110
by Little PandaBUG
Life and Death Examination Room 17
Examination God
Shizi carefully used fire to ignite the branches coiled around the entrance. Those branches and leaves seemed to sense the danger and actually scattered.
Seeing this, Shizi frowned.
“Even the plants have mutated. Should we go through like this?”
Shizi turned sideways to ask Xin Lan.
Their cards did indeed say they wouldn’t be infected by zombies, but they didn’t say they couldn’t be killed. What were they supposed to do about these mutated plants?
Since they could dodge, who knew what the situation would be like once they entered this forest.
“We have to go through. Let’s head inside first.”
Xin Lan actually had a quicker method: set the forest on fire, use the wind to fan the flames, and then protect everyone with a water shield to pass through. However, that would put a strain on her teammates, and they wouldn’t necessarily cooperate with her. If she or Wan Yan1 had water abilities, they would definitely do it that way. Unfortunately, they didn’t, so it was better to just go in like this.
The group entered the woods. Xin Lan and Wan Yan walked at the very front. Xin Lan also casually carried Yuan Yuan along – not to protect him, of course, but because the item they needed to hand in was still with him. What if something happened to him and they couldn’t get the item out?
This forest was huge, appearing particularly strange amidst this stretch of wasteland.
The trees practically blotted out the sky2, with only slivers of light pouring in, adding a touch of eeriness to the deep, dark places.
It was hard to tell direction within the forest, but Xin Lan and Wan Yan walked almost perfectly straight without deviating. When they reached the end, there was no longer a path.
“Should we change direction?”
It was Ah Cheng who spoke. She looked at Xin Lan, seemingly already regarding her as the core leader.
“Let’s mark this spot.”
Chen Bo looked at the trees before them, their branches intertwined. If they changed direction, it would be easy to get confused and possibly end up going in circles.
“We’re not changing paths. Shizi, light it up.”
Xin Lan pointed at the branches in front of them.
The trees hadn’t reacted strangely as they walked this way, but perhaps they had forgotten that these branches could move.
Shizi nodded, stood before the tree, and ignited a fire.
Flames shot from between his fingers, then burned brighter and brighter, hovering in his palm.
“Where should I burn?”
The tree in front of them was enormous, requiring almost three people linking arms to barely encircle it. Its branches intertwined with other trees, forming a barrier.
“Just burn anywhere.”
Shizi hesitated, moving closer to the nearest branch. The tip of the branch ignited, and just as the fire was about to spread upwards, several other branches suddenly shot down, tightly wrapping around the burning one.
The fire quietly died out.
“Careful!”
Ah Cheng cried out, but Xin Lan was faster. She grabbed Shizi’s collar and yanked him backward.
A branch swept past at low altitude, wrapping around the trunk of the tree opposite them.
If Xin Lan hadn’t pulled Shizi back in time just now, he would have been pinned to the tree trunk across from them.
Startled, the fire in Shizi’s hands abruptly extinguished. He thanked Xin Lan in a low voice.
“It’s starting to move.”
“What?”
The others looked bewildered upon hearing Xin Lan’s words. Only Wan Yan understood what she meant and raised her energy gun, getting ready.
Suddenly, a flurry of falling leaves blinded them. Amidst the shower of leaves, vines and branches as thick as arms attacked the people.
Xin Lan, carrying Yuan Yuan, nimbly dodged through the danger. Wan Yan took out her energy gun, dodging while attacking the tree trunk. Shizi waved his flaming hands, igniting approaching branches and leaves. Huo Xu moved gracefully, wind seemingly under his feet3.
Ah Cheng dodged clumsily. Seeing her teammates using their abilities, she quickly raised a water shield.
The healer4, Chen Bo, was at a loss, only able to sneakily hide beside the girl’s shield, looking enviously at Yuan Yuan being carried by Xin Lan.
Suddenly, a scream echoed through the forest. Xin Lan stumbled, the sound jarring her head.
As she faltered, a vine seized the opportunity, wrapping around her ankle and pulling her backward.
With quick eyes and fast hands, Xin Lan threw Yuan Yuan away, flipped nimbly in mid-air, grabbed the mutated vine, and forcefully tore it apart.
Green sap splattered onto her hand, feeling sticky.
The branches thrashed even more frantically. Xin Lan kept an eye on Wan Yan’s side; she was facing the fiercest assault but was still dodging with ease5.
The energy gun burned a large hole in the tree trunk, leaving broken branches and leaves scattered around.
The ground began to tremble. Xin Lan ducked to avoid an attack, and suddenly had a stroke of insight6, looking towards Wan Yan.
Wan Yan happened to look at her at the exact same moment and gave her an “OK” sign.
The ground trembled more violently, as if heaven and earth were shaking. The noise made Xin Lan slightly dizzy. She grabbed Yuan Yuan, who had just rolled aside and was cowering7, and moved to the side.
“Move to the sides!”
Xin Lan shouted, and the others ran towards the sides without a second thought.
With a tremendous crash, the tree collapsed.
Wan Yan had been burning the tree trunk since just now. After the energy gun burned through it, she had expanded the damage sideways, cutting it clean in half.
The dancing branches, deprived of the main trunk that supplied their energy, gradually slowed down and then drooped to the ground.
The view ahead suddenly opened up. It was a wide highway.
“That scared me to death.”
Ah Cheng lowered her water shield, looking at her torn clothes and the scratches on her hands from the branches.
Her water shield wasn’t completely solid; protecting her hands meant neglecting her feet, and she had someone else next to her as well.
Ah Cheng looked quite battered, and Shizi wasn’t much better off.
He wasn’t very skilled with his fire yet; even a few strands of his own hair had been singed.
Yuan Yuan had been carried and swung back and forth, and even thrown onto the ground during the chaos. He was covered in leaves, his face ashen8.
Who could stand this? Plus, the way this jiejie swung him around without seeming to exert any effort was just freaking scary9.
Chen Bo, who initially looked like a playboy, now seemed as if he’d been mugged, his clothes torn in several places and small cuts on his face.
Xin Lan and Wan Yan looked exactly the same as when they entered, not even a hair out of place.
“Are any of you hurt? I can patch you up.”
Chen Bo healed himself with a burst of energy, closing the wounds on his body, then looked at the others.
He mainly looked towards Xin Lan and Wan Yan. The two shook their heads, appearing both cool and aloof.
Chen Bo shrugged and went to treat the others’ injuries.
Xin Lan’s hands had gotten dirty just now.
They were covered in green sap, mixed with bits of crushed leaves.
Wan Yan had a handkerchief in the pocket of the clothes she was wearing. Xin Lan asked for it, intending to wipe her hands herself, but Wan Yan took her hand instead.
“Let me help you.”
She lowered her head, carefully wiping Xin Lan’s palm, patiently cleaning each finger one by one.
Her movements were meticulous, as if she were performing a very important task.
Xin Lan was suddenly taken aback by Wan Yan holding her hand, an unconscious warmth rising to her face. When she became aware of this feeling, she was slightly startled.
How could she experience this emotion, almost like embarrassment? It came out of nowhere, unfamiliar yet overwhelming.
She uncomfortably turned her head to look into the distance, then shifted her gaze back, letting it rest on Wan Yan’s hair.
It seemed as if there was something there worth her attention, her focus fixed solely on that spot, feeling the warmth transmitted from where their hands were joined.
Only when Wan Yan finished wiping did Xin Lan realize that the surroundings seemed too quiet.
She and Wan Yan turned their heads together, meeting several pairs of eyes.
Yuan Yuan and Ah Cheng fell into contemplation – something was definitely fishy10 here.
Huo Xu and Chen Bo wore expressions of understanding – just as they thought, something was going on.
Only Shizi was completely confused11, feeling that the atmosphere between these two pretty girls was a bit strange.
Neither Xin Lan nor Wan Yan were the type to care about others’ stares. They let them look openly, then motioned for Yuan Yuan to take out the vehicle.
Yuan Yuan took out the vehicle but didn’t mention the password box at all.
Everyone knew perfectly well12 that it was the key to successfully completing the task13.
Wan Yan wouldn’t let such a crucial item remain in someone else’s hands, so she extended her hand towards Yuan Yuan.
“It’s more convenient to keep it with me, saves you the trouble of holding it, right?”
No one backed him up. Wan Yan tilted her chin up slightly, and Yuan Yuan still took out the password box.
“Shouldn’t we first discuss where we’re going?”
Shizi was rather impatient. It was obvious now that there might be more than one faction. What if they just drove straight into someone else’s main base? Wouldn’t they be directly eliminated?
“Our destination…”
Ah Cheng wanted to speak but hesitated.
Everyone was still maintaining a superficial peace; no one had disrupted it. But this was an unavoidable reality: everyone wanted to survive, and no one was willing to just die like this.
“So I suggest everyone be honest.”
Xin Lan tapped on the hood of the car, her gaze sweeping over everyone present.
“Your objectives aren’t the same.”
Huo Xu spoke up, pointing directly at Xin Lan and Wan Yan.
“Right, they’re indeed not the same.”
Xin Lan nodded, admitting it readily.
“So you plan to?”
Huo Xu was very curious about how these two would choose between each other, seeing as there was only one life to live.
“So we plan to merge the two bases.”
Xin Lan stated it lightly14, as casually as if discussing the weather.
“Merge?”
Ah Cheng cried out, her face full of disbelief.
“That seems like a decent idea.”
Huo Xu nodded. A good way to solve the problem.
“But what if it doesn’t succeed? What if the rules reject it?”
“So what?”
Xin Lan said carelessly, seemingly paying his words no mind.
If she and Wan Yan were people belonging to this world, under these rules, they would do the same.
Even though this was gambling with their teammates’ lives, so what?
Setting aside the fact that the rules were like this, they had enough strength to decide how the game proceeded.
Xin Lan wasn’t feeling particularly altruistic right now; besides, this wasn’t even their real world.
“We don’t care which side any of you are on. Get in the car if you’re coming. If you want to snatch the password box, feel free to try.”
Xin Lan declared war, but none of the others made a move.
Xin Lan snorted softly, opened the car door, and got in. Wan Yan sat in the passenger seat.
Everyone else still got into the car, looking worried.
“Can I ask which base you plan to deliver to?”
Ah Cheng asked, her face full of apprehension.
When Xin Lan and Wan Yan named their respective bases, Ah Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.
The others had various thoughts, but none showed any particular expression, making it impossible to tell if they were happy or otherwise.
Xin Lan didn’t care about their reactions either. Teammates or not, these bases were going to be merged.
If, as Huo Xu said, the rules rejected it, then they would just wait and see what changes that might cause.
Xin Lan wasn’t concerned, and Wan Yan was even less concerned.
Her objectives were very clear: the BUG and Xin Lan.
Everyone else in this world was just a string of code in her eyes.
She only cared about Xin Lan; all other beings were merely dust in her heart.
LP: Re-translated on April 08, 2025
Footnotes
- 晚煙 | Wǎnyān
- 遮雲蔽日 | zhē yún bì rì | Lit. “cover clouds block sun”.
- 足底踏風 | zú dǐ tà fēng | Lit. “step on wind under the soles of the feet”.
- 奶媽 | nǎimā | Lit. “wet nurse”.
- 游刃有餘 | yóu rèn yǒu yú | Lit. “handle a blade with skill and ease”; Describes doing something skillfully and effortlessly, with room to spare.
- 福至心靈 | fú zhì xīn líng | Lit. “fortune arrives and the spirit understands”; Describes a moment of sudden inspiration or understanding, as if by luck.
- 狗着 | gǒu zhe | Lit. “dogging it”; Slang meaning to hide, cower, or lie low, often in a somewhat undignified manner.
- 面如菜色 | miàn rú cài sè | Lit. “face like vegetable color”; Describes a pale, unhealthy, or ashen complexion.
- 賊雞兒恐怖 | zéi jī’er kǒngbù | An intense northern Chinese slang phrase meaning “extremely/f%cking scary”. “賊 | zéi” acts as an intensifier, and “雞兒 | jī’er” is often added for further emphasis. Translated as “freaking scary” to convey intensity while avoiding stronger profanity, matching the novel’s style.
- 大有問題 | dà yǒu wèntí | Lit. “has big problems”.
- 一頭霧水 | yì tóu wùshuǐ | Lit. “one head of fog water”.
- 心知肚明 | xīn zhī dù míng | Lit. “heart knows, stomach understands”; Means to be perfectly aware of something without it being explicitly stated; a tacit understanding.
- 交卷 | jiāo juàn | Lit. “hand in exam paper”.
- 輕描淡寫 | qīng miáo dàn xiě | Lit. “lightly sketch, faintly write”.
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