Chapter 572: Be Open and Aboveboard

There was no helping it—this woman, Lin Qingge, was truly far too dazzling. Her appearance didn't just catch the attention of Chen Ye and his group.

Even the people nearby all looked over.

They had finally managed to find a relatively quiet spot.

"Chen Ye, Squad Leader Chu, Lina, Sister Ding Dong, and Big Brother Iron Lion—long time no see!"

Lin Qingge simply stood before them, greeting them openly and naturally.

With every lift of her hand and every step she took, she exuded more and more of that superstar aura.

It was as if she were the endpoint where all sources of light converged.

They exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Of course, they also introduced the new member, Gong Yong, to Lin Qingge.

Gong Yong hadn't expected that his teammates would actually know this super superstar.

Well, using "super superstar" to describe the aura Lin Qingge carried was perfectly fitting.

Gong Yong, whose social anxiety had been slowly improving.

For some reason, when faced with Lin Qingge, his social anxiety flared up again.

"Smack!"

Just as Gong Yong was blushing and about to shrink his head back.

A slap landed on Gong Yong's head.

Squad Leader Chu Che's angry voice rang out: "Be open and aboveboard! What kind of pathetic posture is that?!"

Gong Yong was instantly furious from the slap, but when he saw Lin Qingge, he became awkward again.

There was no helping it—people who radiated such brilliance like that.

Were precisely the kind of people who were kryptonite for social anxiety sufferers like Gong Yong.

Standing beside someone like that, the socially anxious always felt deeply uncomfortable.

"Hehehe…"

A sinister, chilling laugh came from the side.

They all turned to look.

They saw a figure shrouded in a black robe, like a venomous snake crawling through the darkness, staring at them.

This person's entrance was like that of a natural-born villain.

If this were a movie, there would be no need for lighting to set the atmosphere.

Wherever he appeared, a cold, sinister aura followed.

His very presence made the entire scene feel cold and eerie.

Gong Yong grew wary.

What kind of monster was this?

It definitely wasn't anything good!

"You all—"

"Smack!"

Before this person could finish what he was saying.

A huge palm descended from above.

This slap was far harder than the one Chu Che had given Gong Yong.

It sent that sinister figure stumbling sideways.

Nearly knocking him flat on his face.

"Second Brother, how many times have I told you? When greeting people, just greet them openly and naturally—what's so hard about that?!"

"Why do you have to put on this grim reaper act?!"

The hearty northern accent directly dispelled the villainous aura that guy had painstakingly built up.

Like snow meeting the scorching summer sun.

That unpleasant atmosphere from before vanished completely in an instant.

The figure who had been slapped stumbling quickly steadied himself.

Although you couldn't see their face clearly, well…

Any person could feel that under that robe, there was definitely a pair of helpless and deeply resentful eyes.

"Hahaha… Chu Che, Chen Ye, Lina, and Little Fish, Iron Lion, Ding Dong—long time no see!"

"It's so great that you're all still alive!"

Auntie Zhao's face broke into a joyful smile.

Back then, she had some misunderstanding with Squad Leader Chu Che.

But now that they met again, Auntie Zhao seemed to have completely forgotten about that incident.

Her hearty laughter instantly infected everyone around.

"Auntie Zhao!"

When Little Fish saw Auntie Zhao, she happily climbed down from Iron Lion's arm, spread her arms, and pounced over.

This little girl seemed to get along poorly with Chen Ye, Chu Che, and Dantai Bie.

But she got along well with almost everyone else.

There was no helping it—this little girl had a face that was both smug and adorable.

In front of many people, her face was just smug.

But when she faced someone like Auntie Zhao, she could seamlessly switch to an adorable face.

Auntie Zhao was clearly very happy to see Little Fish too.

Her broad body hugged the tiny Little Fish like she was holding a little doll.

"Oh my, my little darling, how are you still so thin?"

They exchanged a few more pleasantries.

Everyone then noticed that Auntie Zhao had two people with her as well.

One was a cold, handsome young man in black robes, holding a toy knife against his chest.

It was Ye, the Knife Sharpener Sequence they had met back at the Oasis.

The other was wearing a green athletic outfit, with neatly trimmed hair, and white sneakers on his feet.

It was Xu Linhao, the Athlete Sequence from back then.

"Long time no see, you two! It's good to see you both!"

Chu Che greeted them warmly.

That last part clearly meant he hadn't expected they would both still be alive.

After all, so many people had unknowingly already seen each other for the last time.

In an apocalypse like this, having the chance to meet again after parting ways was extremely rare.

Ye nodded slightly, as a greeting.

Xu Linhao walked over openly and naturally.

Seeing Chen Ye, he smiled: "Long time no see, Chen Ye, and Squad Leader Chu…"

Compared to Ye's coldness, Xu Linhao was still relatively warm.

But everyone was used to it by now.

Ye had always been a man of few words.

"I happened to run into the two of them, so I just brought them along!"

"Since we all managed to meet up here, I figured you'd definitely want to see each other!"

Auntie Zhao explained with a hearty laugh.

"The two of them are now in the same convoy!"

"Ah?..."

After Auntie Zhao's explanation, Chen Ye and the others learned.

It turned out that Ye and Xu Linhao's original convoys had both been attacked by Anomalies, losing quite a few members.

They happened to meet at the base.

So the two convoys simply merged into one.

According to the two of them, when they first arrived at the base, they also went to gather supplies.

And ended up running into the Giant Infants.

It seemed that both of their convoys had gone to Hongqiao Town.

They just weren't as lucky as the Fair Convoy.

Now, nearly half of the people they knew had gathered.

There was still Lin Shu Tong's Peace Convoy.

That woman who was so easy to embarrass.

And the one Little Fish was most looking forward to—Tang Le Le.

And Chen Hao, that guy.

That hopeless goody-two-shoes—no one knew if he was dead or alive.

Was he still with that Fatty Huang's convoy?

Still tied down by that promise he made?

They had heard that there would be a Wonder ranked in the top ten appearing too.

But there was still no news yet.

Still, compared to all that.

Tonight, everyone was quite happy.

At least, most of the people they knew were still alive.