Chapter 198: Lu Xi’s Space
“I heard that Lu Xi has made some progress recently?” Zhuang Mingxu asked.
Lu Weiyi nodded. Lu Xi had been working day and night on his research. At night, he rested in his small research room inside the truck cabin. During the day, someone always saved a meal for him and brought it over, and sometimes he even forgot to eat.
Lu Weiyi had reminded him twice, but it was useless, so he stopped. He only told Zhuang Ai Yi to occasionally visit Lu Xi, borrow him for a break and some fun, so he wouldn’t wear himself out. Luckily, Lu Xi didn’t take other people’s words seriously, but for his nephew Zhuang Ai Yi, he was always willing to help.
Zhuang Mingxu nodded. “Although we’ve been together for a long time, Lu Xi’s project is quite big. If it leaks out, it won’t be good for him or us. So don’t mention it to anyone for now. Also, don’t we have an unclaimed space jade pendant? The one we took back from Li Ji’s group.”
“You want to give it to Lu Xi?” Lu Weiyi asked.
“Yeah,” Zhuang Mingxu nodded. “He needs a place to store his experimental data and results. One truck cabin isn’t very safe, especially once we enter big bases or even the Capital. We might meet more people, so if we just leave it there, it could be stolen. We work hard only to have others reap the benefits…” Zhuang Mingxu shook his head.
“But your space is too small,” Lu Weiyi said, still thinking of keeping that one for Zhuang Mingxu.
“We’re always together. I barely touch anything in my space. Size doesn’t matter. Besides, even if it’s only thirty or forty square meters, it’s enough for me to live short-term. If it takes longer, you’ll definitely come looking for me.”
Zhuang Mingxu’s wholehearted trust made Lu Weiyi happy. He pursed his lips subtly and nodded. “Alright then, I’ll give it to him later.”
“Keep it secret. Don’t let people know he has a space,” Zhuang Mingxu said.
“Okay, got it,” Lu Weiyi replied.
The two returned to the hall, where Lu Weiyi helped Zhuang Mingxu and Zhuang Ai Yi get settled to sleep, then went to the truck to find Lu Xi.
The two trucks they had were each about four meters long and 2.3 meters wide. Antonio had converted both into sealed compartments with glass windows to observe the outside.
One truck had two bunk beds for everyone to rest, while the other was completely for Lu Xi’s use; no one else had ever entered.
“Brother?” Lu Xi opened the door when he heard a knock and looked surprised.
“Yeah,” Lu Weiyi entered. The cabin was crowded with various instruments, using every bit of space. There was barely enough room to turn around. Lu Weiyi noticed Lu Xi’s foldable bed leaning against the door, with bedding that looked like it hadn’t been moved for days.
Opposite the door under a solar lamp, an unknown device was still running. “So late and you’re not asleep yet?”
“Just about to,” Lu Xi smiled.
“Don’t rush. We have plenty of time.” Lu Weiyi took out a jade pendant from his space. “This is a spatial jade pendant, about 100 square meters. It’s yours now. You can put your research data and results in there so they won’t be stolen.”
“Space?” Lu Xi knew Lu Weiyi might have something good, but didn’t expect it to be handed over so easily.
“This is the only one,” Lu Weiyi said. “Don’t let anyone know you have it. Mental users can detect spaces, and in the future, there might be devices that can detect spaces. When that happens, you’ll need to use your mental power to shield your space.”
“You must keep it secret because your self-defense isn’t strong. If you die, whoever gets this pendant and space can cause killing and treasure-seizing problems.”
“Wow… that’s dangerous,” Lu Xi said.
Lu Weiyi nodded and asked again, “Do you want it?”
“Yes!” Lu Xi answered decisively. Having a space meant a place to store his instruments—why wouldn’t he want it?
Lu Weiyi handed it to him and glanced at a spot. “The pendant will appear wherever your blood drips. I suggest you choose a discreet place, like…” He nodded toward a certain area.
Lu Xi instantly blushed bright red. “I-I got it, brother.”
“Good.” Lu Weiyi took out survival supplies and various foods from space and placed them on the ground for Lu Xi to store. “Get some rest.”
*
Though they were going to enter a base, the group still traveled through wilderness for a while. Only when Xu Sa’s ability upgraded to B-level did they officially head toward the county town.
“Finally, I see living people. Otherwise, I’d think everyone except us is dead,” Xu Sa said over the radio while driving.
“You really know how to overthink things,” Ning Yuan said inside the truck compartment. The two lower bunk beds were folded up against the walls, and everyone was sitting on the floor around various supplies. Ning Yuan was quickly sorting through them, casually replying as he worked.
“Not bad,” Xu Sa took it as a compliment. “Looks like someone ahead is surrounded by zombies. Should we help?” Compared to the silent co-driver Liu Rui, Xu Sa sounded particularly enthusiastic. “I saw they brought three trucks, and they seem fully loaded. How about we just go over there later and collect the spoils?”
Lin Yimu, driving the other truck, twitched at the corner of his mouth but said nothing. Everyone else in the compartment seemed excited, just waiting for Lu Weiyi to decide. Then Ning Yuan said, “Don’t mess around. If their strength looks decent, then we go help and do them a favor. At the same time, gather some information about the area and ask about the base.”
“Alright,” Xu Sa replied reluctantly, driving slowly over. The sound of the vehicle attracted a swarm of zombies rushing over.
“Let’s test our team coordination,” Zhuang Mingxu said from the window, spotting the zombies coming. The drivers of the two trucks were Xu Sa, Liu Rui, Lin Yimu, and Wu Yue, while the guards outside were the Gu brothers, Gu Qingyue and Gu Qingji.
“Team one, try to coordinate,” Lu Weiyi ordered over the radio.
“Let’s do this,” Antonio fed the last bite of a snack into Dean’s mouth, kissed him on the side, then stood and headed outside.
Xiong Jie, helping out, put down his stuff, and Lu Weiyi followed the two out. The three leapt onto the tops of the trucks. In the middle of the truck roof were several prized chickens; anyone coming up could only stand around the edges.
“Do you need to go to the back truck?” Gu Qingyue, already guarding the top, asked.
“No need,” Lu Weiyi checked the personnel assignments. Their truck was in the lead, with Xu Sa and Liu Rui in the driver’s cabin. The other truck had Lin Yimu and Wu Yue. Wu Yue’s view was poor from the back, but Xiong Jie was covering him, so it wouldn’t be too hard.
“Liu Rui and Wu Yue, hold your positions and be ready.”
On top, Antonio, Xiong Jie, Gu Qingyue, and Gu Qingji had each taken two directions. As Lu Weiyi said, “Start the attack,” the six unleashed their abilities on the zombies.
At first, since they couldn’t tell which zombies had powers, everyone focused on attacking the zombies facing them, while keeping an eye on others nearby. Once the zombies started using their abilities, the team’s cooperation truly began.
Lu Weiyi stood aside, watching carefully to spot any weaknesses to improve. Soon, many zombies below were lying motionless—too low-level for any ability not to damage them.
“Hahaha, I’m starting to feel the advantage of high-level abilities,” Xu Sa laughed loudly while driving and watching the fight.
The others suppressed their laughs. Gu Qingyue couldn’t help but say, “Most of the zombies down there are low-level. Facing our B-level powers, they’re clearly at a disadvantage.”
“…” Lu Weiyi put away the radio and said, “Remember to collect the crystal cores,” then turned and jumped back into the truck.
Because of their approach, some of the zombies surrounding the people ahead were drawn away, easing the pressure on them. Gu Qingji skillfully manipulated mutated ivy to gather crystal cores. Xu Sa’s driving speed slowed more and more. Ning Yuan couldn’t help but urge, “Hurry up! I can see some B-level zombies over there, and those people are barely holding on.”
“They’ve seen us but aren’t asking for help. They clearly don’t want us coming over. Maybe they’re worried we’ll steal their supplies, or afraid we’ll take the crystal cores. Why give it away so easily?” Xu Sa grumbled, eyes glued to the distant group.
Over thirty men and women were trapped at a shopping mall entrance. The mall had originally collapsed, but now there was a “door” cleared wide enough for one person to pass through. Outside, trucks were piled with supplies they had dug out, but the stuff was messy and covered in dirt.
Normally, anyone brave enough to clear a collapsed site would have already cleared most zombies nearby for basic safety. No one knew what they had done to attract hundreds of zombies.
Xu Sa examined the surrounding zombies carefully. Most were low-level, only a dozen or so B-level zombies mixed in, and many ordinary zombies with no powers that just blindly charged and grabbed. It had been a long time since he’d seen such low-level zombies, and he was a bit dazed.
Looking at the trapped group, about thirty people with all kinds of random powers flying around wildly. They were recklessly wasting their abilities, sometimes their own water balls collided with their own fireballs, creating a sizzling sound followed by a puff of white smoke. Sometimes their own wood vines were ignited by their own fire, causing zero damage to the zombies.
At this moment, Xu Sa suddenly felt Lu Weiyi was pretty clever. At least his group of a dozen hadn’t been so careless facing hundreds of B-level zombies. Plus, Lu Weiyi could clearly command and assign subteams.
Unable to bear the terrible sight any longer, Xu Sa grabbed a megaphone, set it to medium volume, and shouted, “People on the other side, need help? The crystal cores are ours.”
Maybe they were just waiting for him to speak, or maybe they were about to speak anyway. The moment Xu Sa’s voice dropped, at least half of the thirty people shouted out their demands.
