"What’s wrong? Slow down, kid!" Will immediately caught the child who had slipped and was about to fall.

"No, I am fine." He immediately shook his head, fixating his gaze on Gideon. "Mr. Gideon, please go with me. Someone needs your saving! With your miraculous skill, only you can save my elder brother!"

The kid was about to break into sobs, but Will patted his shoulders to calm him down. The people who had been collapsing on the dirty ground immediately shot to their feet too.

Zerra walked back to the small group. She had been observing the tribe. There was a small gate made of wood as the entrance to their small village.

With a scan of her senses, she roughly estimated that the population numbered a few hundred as far as her senses could cover the area. Their houses were made of various woods– beautiful and aesthetic stilt houses. There were also wide plantation fields filled with various edible mutated plants.

When she heard the commotion, Zerra immediately went back.

"Alright. Lead the way." Gideon glanced at his students, signalling others to follow. Zerra was curious. What could be happening at such a late night?

With hurried footsteps, they finally arrived at the little boy’s house a few minutes later. "Mom, Dad! I brought Mr. Gideon back! Have you all returned?"

There was no noise inside for a while except for the sound of coughing from an adult man. The man coughed hard as if he was about to cough his entire lungs out.

"Please just enter. My elder brother needs immediate treatment!" The little boy was anxious, but he was smart enough to prioritize the most important, acting like a little host.

He opened the door wide, waiting for Gideon to climb up. Once he did, he entered the house and led Gideon toward a room. Only Will followed him like an obedient assistant.

Others didn’t follow, so Zerra also wouldn’t. She could only use her senses to watch what was happening inside the house.

It turned out that the little boy’s elder brother was attacked by a mutated animal. He was an ability user, but his power level was quite low so his physique’s resistance wasn’t good. He quickly showed the symptoms of zombie transformation.

Luckily, it was still at the first stage. If Gideon was someone from the Research Institute, Zerra believed he would be able to handle it. They should have discovered that zombie transformation can still be prevented as long as they use the correct approach.

Just as she guessed, Gideon guided the little boy’s elder brother like a psychologist guiding their patients.Occasionally the elder brother would show a ferocious face, and other times, he had a look of someone struggling with something.

After a while, he just passed out.

"Mr. Gideon? How is he?" the mother asked.

At some point, the parents had come back. They had been trying to find someone who could possibly save their eldest son. Originally, they were angry at their younger son because he had gone out on his own at such a late night.

However, it was also because of him that Gideon was here, so they could only restrain their feelings and focus on the current matter.

Gideon pulled the patient’s hand, showing them the mutated animal’s bite. The skin around the bite mark had turned into purple blue, and there was even a faint sign of rotting flesh.

"His condition has stabilized, temporarily." He frowned. "But he will still need further treatment."

Will handed a paper to them. "This is the prescription for the medicinal bath."

Shakingly, the parents took the paper.

"The zombie virus had gotten stronger lately, and you know that some zombies had evolved in terms of intelligence. The mutated animal biting your son seems to be an unusual one. He will require more complex treatment." Gideon had a solemn expression on his face.

"But he can be saved, right, Mr. Gideon?" The father clutched his head, looking desperate.

Gideon thought about it for a moment and told the truth. "I will try to save your son. However, there is no guarantee if he can be well again. It either will trigger his ability awakening further, which means an advancement, or zombie transformation."

The pair of parents hugged their youngest son with sorrowful faces, and the mother even cried, expressing their regret for allowing the eldest son to venture out of their house.

The group didn’t stay for long. The parents had invited everyone inside when they saw the small crowd earlier. Because the host didn’t have the time to entertain them–most likely, the parents would try to find ways to gather for the herbs–they excused themselves.

"Go get some rest." Gideon told them after they built the tent. Zerra could tell that the man still had something on his mind.

She entered the tent and laid down. Beside her, there was Jasmine. Unfortunately, with the presence of another, she couldn’t bring her parents out to check for their condition again.

"Miss Zerra." Jasmine called out. "Have you fallen asleep?"

"No, I am still awake." Zerra answered. "Do you have something to say to me?"

"Yes." Jasmine quickly admitted. "The Tidebreaker City might not have a map, but the inner tribe might have one. I will talk to our tribe leader tomorrow."

Zerra thanked her.

The atmosphere went quiet again. Before long, Jasmine’s breathing became steady. She had fallen asleep. On the other hand, Zerra was still feeling restless.

Her mind went back to Gideon’s words. He seemed to know that some mutated animals have gained intelligence. The one biting the man earlier should be one.

If the world became so unpredictable now, what would happen in the future? From Cassias’ memory, she knew that even the Celestial Realm wasn’t that peaceful either.

What is currently happening?

Unfortunately, she could only wait for her parents or Cassias to wake up.

Her eyes landed on Jasmine. She took a deep breath and sprinkled something around her to keep her from waking up.

She called out Jasmine’s name a few times. After she was sure Jasmine wouldn’t wake up, she set up a barrier.

The dragon was the first one to jump out of her inner space, followed by the baby tiger, who happily chased after him. As she watched the two playing around, she noticed the helpless look on the baby dragon’s face.

He was holding himself back from smothering the baby tiger.

Zerra hurriedly snatched him and placed him on her lap. The baby dragon gave the tiger cub an arrogant snort and stared at Zerra with eager eyes.

Amused, she pinched his claw and began to channel the power of the vitality onto him. The dragon laid down and closed his eyes, looking extremely comfortable.

The baby tiger hopped over curiously, wanting to squeeze a place beside the baby dragon. Dissatisfied, the dragon cub lazily swatted the baby tiger away, who wobbled and fell down in confusion.

It didn’t give up. The baby tiger came over again. The dragon cub opened his eyes. Just as he was about to move his claw again, Zerra hurriedly grasped it.

She held a finger in front of the baby dragon and waved it. "That’s not nice. Be good to your friend."

The baby dragon stared at her with his big eyes aggrievedly as if saying: the tiger wasn’t his friend!

She rubbed his head in amusement. After she was done, she set him down. The two cubs were playing around. She quietly analyzed Cassias’ figure.

How long until he recovered? He still acted like how the baby dragon usually behaved.

A little despondent, she moved her attention to her parents. She placed each of them on top of a pillow. The fluffy foxes were still sleeping soundly, their tails tucked around their bodies.

They also hadn’t awakened yet. She didn’t hesitate to channel the power of vitality to their bodies. She even took out a basin of the spring water and put them there.

It had been a long time since they were out of Cassias’ inner space. She was rather conflicted. Did they retain their celestial powers or not? If they did, even if it was just a little, they would be fine without eating for a while.

But if they didn’t have celestial powers... Zerra became restless at the thought.

And thus, she accidentally spilled a little more than what her dad could bear. Aghast, she hurriedly wanted to withdraw, but a little dragon was faster than her.

He opened his mouth and sucked all the vitality power inside. In her shock, she heard a familiar voice calling her.

"Zerra."

***

Zerra snapped awake, feeling exhausted all over. What had happened last night? She moved slightly and frowned at the pain.

"Zerra, Jasmine, are you inside? Come out for breakfast."

"Alright. We will come out soon after we get ready." She answered Will’s calling.

She heard the man walking away. Her mind suddenly jolted.

Last night, she had taken out her parents, Cassias, and the baby tiger. She sucked in a deep breath as the reality slowly sank in.

Where are they?

She hurriedly flipped all the items around in panic.