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(Xyrean Province- Inner Regions)

(The Mermaid\'s Lake)

Qin Lan raised up her hand and everyone stopped moving. She reached into her pocket and handed out some energy bars to the young teenagers.

After two days of walking, they had finally arrived at the largest lake in the province.

Mermaid\'s Lake as the locals called it was the main source of freshwater for all the farmlands that were spread across the province.

Legend has it that an ancient warrior fell in love with a Sea God\'s daughter and built this lake as their home so that she would always have a place to swim.

No one is quite sure how the story ends because there are dozens of variations but in most, they both live happily ever after.

Qin Lan could spot a few farmhouses and a large two-story building made from concrete on the other side of the lake.

Tiny ant-like figures were walking along the edges of the buildings, but they were too far away for Qin Lan to get a closer look.

Damn… there were other people here already…

Well, that wasn\'t exactly a surprise since this was a large source of freshwater which was essential when building a base.

"Are we going to set up our base on the lakeshore?\' Liu Tao asked curiously as she peeled off the wrapping on her energy bar and took a bite.

"I was thinking that we could build a shelter deeper inside the forest to hide us from the group on the other side," Qin Lan explained as she pointed in the direction of the humanoid figures.

"Yeah… we should avoid contact…" Chen Xiao nervously chimed in.

Despite Qin Lan\'s best efforts, the young boy was still afraid after learning that a team of ability users were hunting them down on the orders of some unknown priest.

"Liu Yifei when night falls you will come with me and we will fill a few dozen buckets of water under the cover of darkness," Qin Lan spoke gently.

"Don\'t worry… I hope that this place can become our home at least for the next few months while I continue your training."

Liu Yifei nodded in understanding and Qin Lan walked over to hand her a purplish-grey crystal to swallow.

Although she was the one who fought the zombies and mutated animals that the group had encountered on the way to the lake, Qin Lan was prepared to share.

Liu Yifei\'s ability was truly invaluable, and it was important to upgrade it as soon as possible so that it would become stronger.

Gong Li unscrewed the top of a bottle of water in advance and handed it over to her best friend who thanked her silently.

An expression of reluctance flashed across Liu Yifei\'s face, but she gritted her teeth and swallowed the crystal before taking a large gulp of water.

A hoarse guttural cry escaped her throat as Liu Yifei\'s body collapsed on the ground in pain.

She began to tremble uncontrollable, so Gong Li hurriedly wrapped her arms around her friend and stroked her back.

The process to upgrade one\'s ability was not an easy one.

There was no power in the world that was available without a price.

From the original Qin Lan\'s memories, Qin Lan knew that upgrading to higher levels would result in a greater amount of pain.

And the stronger the gift, the more crystals that were required to upgrade the ability.

Qin Lan patiently waited for Liu Yifei to recover and then led the team back into the deeper parts of the forest.

They walked for several minutes until Qin Lan discovered a clearing with quite a few branches and leaves scattered across the ground.

"Okay we need to clear out the debris and then we can start setting up the tents for the night," Qin Lan ordered in a firm tone.

She stepped forward and casually lifted up a large log that was in the middle of the clearing.

Qin Lan didn\'t have much experience in camping but after a few nights outside, she had gotten the hand of the general routine.

"Gong Li and Liu Yifei… can you all gather some firewood and start setting up the campfire?" Qin Lan asked softly.

"Sure! No problem!" Gong Li exclaimed enthusiastically. She nervously grabbed Liu Yifei\'s hand and the pair of girls vanished into the woods.

A warm smile flashed across Qin Lan\'s face as she saw the sweet interaction between the pair.

Gong Li was gradually getting more courageous about her feelings while Liu Yifei was still a bit confused.

Qin Lan hoped that it would work out in the end.

She turned her attention back to the matter at hand and began clearing out the leaves and small branches.

Chen Xiao and Liu Tao helped out and it only took around fifteen minutes before a nice area of space was created for their tents.

Qin Lan picked up some stones and arranged them in a circle around the firepit.

Liu Yifei and Gong Li returned with empty hands, but Liu Yifei snapped her finger and dozens of brittle sticks appeared out of thin air.

She snapped her fingers again and three collapsed tents fell on the ground.

Qin Lan walked over to the tents and with well practised motions she began to set them up with some assistance from the young teenagers.

Gong Li pulled a lighter out of her pocket and gently flicked the metal part. It didn\'t take long before a crackling fire was set up in the middle of the campsite.

The sun was beginning to set and warm orange rays of light fell on the forest floor. Fortunately, it was summertime, so the temperatures weren\'t so bad at night.

However, they would eventually have to get proper housing for the winter but that was at least a few months away.

Liu Yifei had already placed a large pot and some pack noodles on the ground along with some bottles of water.

Qin Lan filled the pot with water from the bottles and emptied the noodles inside the pot. She tore open the flavour packets and stirred gently.

She held the pot above the fire and soon the scent of noodles filled the air which caused everyone\'s mouths to salivate.

It wasn\'t exactly five-star cooking but after a long day of walking there was nothing better than filling your body with some junk food.

Liu Yifei handed Qin Lan some vegetables that she had stored in her space along with a bottle of chicken broth.

Qin Lan added both to the pot and the pleasant scent got even stronger. It was peaceful moments like this that made Qin Lan temporarily forget her worries.

Life was hard… but there was always light hidden in the darkness.