Chapter 120: Level Up, Level Up
While Xu Sa was enthusiastically promoting his team, people from the Li and Gu families in the base were furious. They had just received the news and were planning to upgrade their abilities quietly, but someone had already spread the information, leaving them with no advantage.
“The people from the ‘Only Team’ are clearly trying to oppose me,” Li Ling said, slamming the teacup onto the table after hearing the report from his subordinates.
He had already traded supplies with the base to get rid of Li Ji’s group of traitors. But before he could reap any benefits, an ability user had vanished, and now, in addition to losing supplies, he had to take care of the remaining useless people.
He had just exchanged for hundreds of barrels of water, but before he could jack up the prices, the snowstorm came, and soon, water-type ability users were popping up left and right. The supplies he had given out seemed like nothing.
Now that the crystal news had just come out, he hadn’t had the chance to use it, and it had been leaked to others. He lost both fame and fortune.
“Brother, do you think Li Ji and the others were killed by Zhuang Mingxu? Didn’t Li Ji say he broke Zhuang Mingxu’s leg? Such a deep grudge, Zhuang Mingxu wouldn’t just let it go,” someone below asked. However, Li Xiao felt that this possibility was too low.
Li Ling took a deep breath, calming his emotions. “Even if they were taken out by them, without evidence, there’s nothing we can say. Hurry and send people to Dongshan County to investigate where Li Ji left the arms.”
“Understood, so what should we do next?” Li Xiao asked.
“What else can we do? Just continue with our tasks. Since the news has been leaked, send people out to hunt zombies, especially the ones from the Only team who came to join us,” Li Ling said casually as he drank some of the newly fetched water. “It’s a waste to keep useless people alive.”
It had only been a few days since the snowstorm, and not many people had gone out to look for supplies. Additionally, not many knew about the crystal cores inside the zombies. No one was actively searching for them, so the trading hall only sold one pound of pork and traded it for ten crystal cores that day.
Fortunately, after a day of shouting, it seemed like the entire base now knew that crystal cores could enhance abilities. It wouldn’t be long before business picked up.
With Zhuang Mingxu’s strict plans in place, the base’s operations were back on track in just two days. The weather returned to normal, and the search for supplies was back on the agenda.
The night before they were to leave, everyone gathered for a meeting.
Zhuang Mingxu held a list of supplies and two hand-drawn maps, which he had made himself over the past few days. “These are the supplies we need to find, categorized by urgency. Over the past couple of days, I had people gather information on the new maps of Qingyuan City and the surrounding counties, as well as the locations of shopping malls and factories. I’ve also made plans based on the new maps. Take a look.”
“Since we’re not short on food for now, the first priority is medicine. This is a non-renewable resource, and it will definitely be needed at any time. I’ve marked all the pharmacies in residential areas and streets with red pens. We should grab them as soon as possible and stockpile the supplies.”
“Next is salt.” Zhuang Mingxu pointed to a place on the map. “Qingyuan isn’t by the sea, and most of the salt comes from the salt wells in Zhoujia County. The weather is hot, and people will consume more salt. Salt will definitely become another major shortage after food. However, people from Zhoujia County said the salt wells disappeared after the earthquake. I’ve been looking into it. We’ll decide later whether we need to go there.”
“After that, it’s rice, flour, oil, and grain. These are from a few large factories, including a flour mill. I heard the Li family has already gone there. The flour might be gone, but we can still take the machines back. We have some wheat left, and we can grow more in the future. We’ll need it later.”
“These are all snack food processing factories gathered here, and this area is known for small processing workshops. We can check them out too,” Zhuang Mingxu said as he pointed to the map, introducing each location, and finally summed up.
“Overall, we lack everything right now. Just grab anything we can. If we can’t use it, we can trade it for something else. Machines, food, or anything else, bring it all back. It will definitely be useful at some point.”
This principle was similar to their last life, though in the past, their space was small. Zhuang Mingxu could only ensure food and water, and secondary items he could only look at and sigh, lamenting that there was no place to store them.
After confirming the general direction for collecting supplies, Zhuang Mingxu finalized the search area for tomorrow. Lu Weiyi took the opportunity to address everyone. “Now, I’ll briefly discuss the direction of your ability training.”
“First, for earth-based abilities, I suggest you focus on gathering the surrounding soil to form earth shields and earth spikes. When going out to search for supplies, you can directly use your ability to move buried objects, which is more efficient than moving them manually. Also, work on the density,” Lu Weiyi said, noticing Xiong Jie’s confused look. “Density means hardness. Loose earth spikes won’t penetrate a zombie’s brain, but if you harden them, they can. There are other factors you’ll figure out on your own.”
“Wood-based abilities,” Lu Weiyi looked at Gu Qingji, “I’ve already told you that when going out, you can try controlling plants to retrieve things. Like this,” Lu Weiyi controlled a small green branch and used it to carry a plate of vegetables from the kitchen into the space.
“You can ask him any questions,” Lu Weiyi nodded towards Li Dongsheng and Bai Miao.
“Brother Weiyi, what about me?” Bai Miao asked, surprised and pointing at himself.
“You… If you’re afraid to go out, just strengthen your ability to stimulate growth, and let Zhuang Mingxu develop some physical training for you. As long as you’re sure you can escape, that’s enough,” Lu Weiyi said, then suddenly remembered something. He addressed everyone, “Abilities can be moved. You can focus your power on strengthening specific body parts, like with metal abilities.” Lu Weiyi looked at Antonio. “You can focus all your abilities on your fist, making it metal, or on any part of your body. When zombies attack and you can’t avoid it, you can strengthen the part that will defend you. Or, you can focus on your legs to increase your speed while running. The feeling will be different depending on where you focus. You all should try it and master it.”
“Especially for water, wood, and earth-based abilities, which don’t have high attack power, focusing your ability on your legs can make you run faster, which makes escape much easier. When moving collapsed objects, focus your ability on your hands. Your skin won’t get damaged, and the speed will increase. But remember, you need to know your ability’s limits. Don’t use it all at once. Using up your ability completely is the fastest way to increase it, but I don’t recommend it. There are dangers outside, and exhaustion means you can’t defend yourself, so you’re at risk.”
“This really is superpower. I’m so jealous,” Xu Sa said, watching the other ability users try their powers with envy.
“Brother Sa… you… you might… get some too…” Liu Rui tried to comfort him.
“It’s fine if I don’t,” Xu Sa shrugged and grinned. “I’m just holding onto someone’s thigh,” he said proudly, looking at Lu Weiyi. Lu Weiyi gave him a sideways glance.
“Other than that, attacking zombies— the most energy-efficient way is to attack the crystal core, which is located in the center of the forehead. Compress your ability into a small point and strike there. It will save time, effort, and ability,” Lu Weiyi thought for a moment, then asked, “Do you have any other questions?”
Shen Xing raised his hand, and seeing Lu Weiyi look over, he asked, “Since crystal cores can enhance abilities, can any crystal core be used for that?”
Lu Weiyi hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Crystal cores of the same attribute work best, while others are less effective.”
“How… how do you compress… fire abilities?” Liu Rui asked nervously.
“Compressing abilities works the same way for all types,” Lu Weiyi explained. Since he wasn’t a wood-type ability user and mental-type abilities can’t be seen by others, he didn’t want to expose his own abilities. He then pointed at Antonio. “You compress the metal into a blade.”
Since Antonio discovered his metal-type abilities, metal objects were constantly appearing on him—on his neck, wrists, and clothes. As soon as he heard, he immediately removed a ring from his finger. Without anyone seeing what he did, the ring transformed into a long, thin piece of metal.
Lu Weiyi grabbed a pen and drew a line on the wooden partition. “Cut through here.”
Antonio immediately threw the metal blade, which seemed to be supported by an invisible force. It sliced along the line Lu Weiyi had drawn, then pierced the wood. With a motion, the blade returned to Antonio’s hand.
“That’s the idea. As for how to compress, you’ll have to figure it out yourself. It’s like…” Lu Weiyi furrowed his brow. “It’s like trying to squish a bun the size of your palm into the size of a coin. The smaller it is, the more powerful it becomes.”
Seeing Liu Rui nod, Lu Weiyi turned his attention to Antonio. “You can’t wear metal necklaces. If you encounter a metal-type ability user with a higher ability level, they could directly control the metal on your neck and strangle you. It’s best if no one wears metal necklaces or anything similar.”
“Also, if someone uses their ability on an ability user, the user can sense it,” Lu Weiyi pointed at Lu Xi. “You cover them with your ability and let them feel it.”
Lu Xi nodded, extending his mental power. Ning Yuan, sitting closest to him, raised an eyebrow, and the ability users nearby all sensed an invisible energy approaching them.
“Ordinary people can’t sense it,” Lu Weiyi said. “This is the feeling of a mental-type ability covering you. Lu Xi’s level is low, but a strong mental-type ability user could directly affect your brain, like a mental spike causing sudden brain pain. They could also use invisible energy to affect your neck.” Lu Weiyi made a motion as if cutting his throat. “They can change your thoughts, a bit like mind control.”
