Chapter150

Indeed, they had a leader here, an esper whose abilities had reportedly reached the third tier, and he was a space esper. He had brought a lot of supplies with him, and with his spatial blade, he could inflict damage on many around him, which helped him gain control over a part of the area and gather survivors in the suburbs for refuge.

Later, in the suburbs, he met a retired scientist who liked to tinker with things. When they arrived, the scientist was starving and skin and bones. Their leader, having enough food at the time, saved him, and the scientist, grateful, stayed by his side.

This leader managed to gather many survivors, who initially survived off the land and stored grains from local farms. However, sustaining this became difficult, especially with occasional raids from passing convoys stripping them of their resources, making life increasingly hard.

But then, the old scientist developed a potion from a mutated plant that could temporarily suppress an esper's abilities, allowing them to fend off some of the attacking esper teams.

After successfully repelling these teams, they often gained additional resources, which helped meet their needs. Once, after acquiring firearms and food from such an encounter, their leader conceived the idea of turning the tables and preemptively attacking these esper teams.

From their perspective, if these espers could rob them without reason, they could do the same to the espers. Moreover, much of what the espers collected was from Pingcheng, which was their original home, making it seem rightful for them to claim it back.

The most crucial point was that their hunting grounds were in Pingcheng, and if espers took all the resources, their survival would become even more precarious.

It was precisely these reasons that made their raids on esper teams increasingly smooth. Occasionally, some espers, seeing the lucrative nature of this approach, would choose to stay in their village, joining them in hunting other espers.

Over time, their team expanded, but with this growth came a more diverse and complex group of individuals. Fortunately, everyone still followed their leader, whose space ability was the highest among them, and the old scientist remained loyal to him.

Only their leader could obtain what the old scientist required. Gradually, survivors from other villages would come to purchase the scientist's potions.

Thus, their village thrived, but this prosperity also led to some of the members becoming more arrogant.

However, the scientist's potions required plants that were not easy to grow, and with high demand, the consumption was significant. After using the potions, they needed to wait for the plants to regrow, hence their urgent need for wood-type espers to accelerate this process. Unfortunately, wood-type espers were scarce and rarely encountered.

This is why they were so excited upon seeing Park Su, evidently hoping to capture him and persuade him to join their cause to help cultivate the plants used for the potions.

Upon hearing this description, Park Su couldn't help but frown. The leader sounded neither particularly good nor outright evil, at most negligent in management.

However, Park Su couldn't muster any positive feelings towards him, especially after the robust man suggested he be taken for someone's pleasure.

Expressing his disdain, Xu Nuo asked directly, "Is your leader merely interested in Park Su's abilities? It seemed from that robust man's words that there might be more to it."

Though dazed, the young man quickly defended his leader, "Our leader does like men, but he's never forced anyone. There are plenty of men who willingly join him; why would he stoop so low?

This wood-type esper certainly matches our leader's aesthetic, but he wouldn't use force. Even with ordinary people, if our leader is interested, he pursues them himself, never forcing anyone.

Moreover, this one being a wood-type esper, the leader would treasure him, not harm him. As for the man you mentioned, I know him.

He's known for trying to curry favor with the leader but often misses the mark. Besides, his brother, also a peak second-tier esper, has a particular liking for handsome young men.

He's a fire esper, and they've just gone to fetch him. If the boys that robust man presents to our leader aren't to his taste, they often end up with this fire esper.

But I don't know what method he uses; none of those defiled ever dare to complain or spread rumors. We're just ordinary folks, dependent on this man in many ways.

So, we usually turn a blind eye to such matters, especially when even the victims don't pursue it; why should we seek trouble?"

Having obtained the information he needed, Xu Nuo no longer held the man but knocked him out with a single strike. Initially, he had considered killing him outright, but learning they weren't as bad as he thought, he spared his life as a reward for the information provided.

However, the fire esper who had hurried over wasn't so fortunate. Just the thought that this man dared to lust after Park Su, even if it hadn't come to pass, was enough to ignite Xu Nuo's anger.

In Xu Nuo's eyes, this man was already dead, but those on the opposite side thought otherwise, believing that with reinforcements, they could quickly capture the two.

The fire esper, appearing to be in his 40s, was somewhat overweight with neither particularly pale nor dark skin, looking quite ordinary, the kind who would blend into any crowd before the apocalypse without drawing attention.

However, perhaps because of the information he had just learned, Park Su now saw this man as lecherous. Knowing this man was brought here to counter him made Park Su even more displeased, so he immediately commanded the green ivy to sneak up on him, preparing to deliver a fatal blow.

Xu Nuo noticed his lover's little maneuver. Though he would prefer to deal with this man himself for coveting his partner, he wouldn't stop Park Su if he wanted to take action. Moreover, he hoped Park Su would be more decisive in such matters. If he could kill this man, it might serve as a form of training for him.

Of course, if Park Su only injured the man without killing him, Xu Nuo wouldn't mind finishing the job. When Wu Dong arrived and saw the situation, he was taken aback, "Why is the one surrounded a wood esper?"

The robust man who had been following Wu Dong immediately approached, whispering in a conspiratorial tone, "Not only is he a wood esper, but he's also a good-looking one, definitely your type. Most importantly, he seems to be gay, so his skills should be quite good. With your looks and capabilities, once you get rid of his lover, it should be a matter of minutes for him to be yours."

Upon hearing this, Wu Dong's interest was piqued. Although he had enjoyed many handsome young men here, he hadn't had many esper lovers. Those he managed to seduce had some spirit, making the experience more thrilling than with regular people. Now, with another esper, and one that sounded appealing according to his confidant, his interest was thoroughly aroused, eager to see what the youth trapped by the grass net looked like.

Perhaps thinking of sparing his potential lover from burns, he didn't use his full power when employing fire. However, he hadn't anticipated that the vegetation seemed to grow endlessly; despite burning for over ten minutes, the fire hadn't diminished, nor had the plants completely burned away.

At this rate, the person inside the grass net might not hold out much longer. Indeed, Park Su was starting to struggle, not because of his ability, but due to the heat making the enclosed space suffocating. He had created a dense net to shield them from the water gun's spray, effectively trapping them in a circle of fire. As oxygen seemed to deplete, Xu Nuo, seeing the sweat on Park Su's brow, felt a pang of concern.

Hearing the shameless conversation between the two with his mental energy, Xu Nuo grew even more irritated, "You should withdraw your ability."

"If you keep competing with him like this, he might not burn through your grass net, but you'll be overwhelmed by the heat. As a wood esper, you'll definitely be taken to meet their leader. The only real danger to you now is this newly arrived fire esper. Moreover, someone like him, along with his shameless confidant, must have done such things more than once or twice. We just need to kill him, then pretend to be affected by their potion, and follow them to see their leader before deciding our next move."

Park Su always trusted Xu Nuo's judgment, and this suggestion seemed sound. Moreover, the current situation was largely due to this fire esper. Although he hadn't heard their conversation, the lecherous look on the man's face was enough reason for Park Su to want to teach him a lesson. However, he was somewhat worried since they had mentioned having a potion to suppress abilities.

What if their plan to pretend being affected went wrong, and they actually got captured?