Chapter 214: The “Seduction” Base
“These depraved bastards,” Wu Yue clenched his fists so hard they cracked, “They’re absolutely lawless.”
The others looked grim. Ning Yuan asked Lu Weiyi directly, “We’re passing by anyway. Why don’t we just wipe them out?”
Lu Weiyi slowly wiped the milk from Zhuang Ai Yi’s mouth. Zhuang Mingxu spoke calmly, “To act that boldly, they must have powerful backing. Killing them doesn’t solve the root issue.”
“At the very least, we could save some people,” Ning Yuan argued.
“And where will those rescued people go?” Zhuang Mingxu asked. “The nearest base is Anjiang. If they go there, they’ll be caught again. But if they don’t, how do they survive? Daytime temperatures keep dropping—ordinary people can’t survive outside.”
“Leave them the supplies, let them decide for themselves. Some of them surely don’t want to be forced. Whether they survive will be up to them,” Lin Yimu said.
Lu Weiyi honestly wasn’t too eager to get involved—there were even more horrifying things happening out there. If they got involved in every one of them, they’d never stop. Besides, they were just passing through. If they were already near their destination, maybe they could bring people along, but there was still over a month of travel ahead—taking a group along wasn’t practical.
Since Lin Yimu rarely voiced his opinions in recent times, as his power grew within the team, Lu Weiyi didn’t argue. He nodded. “Then let’s skip Anjiang Base altogether. No need to draw more attention.”
“Head straight for Pingjin City. It’s a long journey—we’ll run into other bases anyway.” No one objected; they were only planning to make a short stop at any base they encountered.
*
7 a.m., the group was eating breakfast when the old village chief arrived with Dajun and Zhuzi.
“You’re leaving today?” the old village chief asked.
“Yes, we’ll be heading out shortly. What about you? Staying or leaving?” Xu Sa stood and gestured for him to sit, asking.
“We’re relocating the village—leaving today,” said the old chief, a look of sorrow hanging over him.
“Have you chosen a place?”
“Yes.” The chief nodded but didn’t mention where. No one asked. “It’s a long way. Can you sell us your truck? And maybe some barrels of gasoline, salt, and medicine. I’ll give you all the remaining livestock in the village in return.”
Xu Sa estimated the remaining stock and looked at Lu Weiyi.
Lu Weiyi nodded, and Xu Sa began negotiating with the old chief. In the end, they traded an 8-meter-long truck, 1,000 liters of gasoline, and some salt and medicine for all the village’s remaining livestock.
The old chief’s people moved fast—they said they’d leave that day, and they did. Lu Weiyi’s team stayed a day to slaughter livestock. That night, only about a hundred ability users remained in the village for final cleanup.
Zhuzi and Juan’er came to say goodbye, and Gu Qingji even signed an autograph for his little fan.
When they left, the village was completely quiet. The walls had been repaired, and all traces of the battle were erased. It looked as though it had never been attacked.
“Looks like they still hope to return one day,” Li Zhuang commented as he opened a gate in the earthen wall to let the vehicle pass.
“To them, this is home,” Xi Shi said emotionally.
Hearing this, Xiong Jie felt a pang of sadness. Xi Shi had centered his life around him—first in the village, then in the city where he served his prison term. He pulled Xi Shi close and said, “When we build our base, that’ll be our home.”
Four hours later, they arrived at the Seduction Base.
“There are metal spikes on the ground to block vehicles,” said Zhao Ji, the captive who had survived. He was sitting in the front cabin, honestly giving directions.
“Antonio,” Xu Sa, who was driving, called.
Antonio lazily responded from the truck bed and extended his powers. “Yeah, there are spikes—seems like the work of a metal-type ability user. Sharp and long. Ask him if their base has any metal-types.”
“Yes,” Zhao Ji replied before they even asked. “The captain is a B-level metal-type. Only five of the people who came this time were from the Seduction Base. The rest were from the Anjiang Base’s Dragon-Tiger Team. There are still over a hundred people back at the base. Their target is the hospitals in the county. Not sure if they’re there right now.”
“Wouldn’t Anjiang city hospitals be closer? Why come here?” Xu Sa asked.
“Big cities mean bigger hospitals and way more zombies. So, usually, no teams go into major city hospitals. It’s safer to clear out small-town hospitals,” Zhao Ji explained. “There’s a roadblock up ahead. Four guards are stationed there, but there are always others hiding on both sides—that’s their usual setup.”
“Three on the left, four on the right,” Lu Weiyi said from the back of the truck.
As the truck slowly approached, three young men with gangster-style haircuts came out from a small roadside booth. Before they could say a word, Liu Rui sent out two fireballs directly into their mouths. The fireballs exploded, engulfing their heads in flame. They didn’t even have time to scream before their heads were reduced to ash.
Li Zhuang and Ning Yuan moved in simultaneously, swiftly taking out the ambushers on both sides of the road.
“Damn, it’s freezing—feels just like the northeast. At this rate, even water will freeze mid-pour… Hey, you guys…” Liu Rui got ready to get out and remove the barricade.
Just then, another man came out from behind the booth, still holding up his half-pulled-up pants. He walked over mid-sentence, and upon seeing the scene on the ground, looked at the vehicle in shock. Before he could react, Xu Sa knocked him out cold with a bolt of lightning.
Liu Rui was a stutterer—no matter what you asked, he couldn’t get the words out for a long time. Xu Sa was hesitating about whether to go ask the question himself, when Antonio and Li Zhuang came over from both sides.
“Ask him something. See if the people from the Dragon-Tiger squad are still here.”
Antonio nodded, walked up, and threw a punch. The man, who had been twitching all over, instantly came to his senses, though his body was still spasming and jerking.
“Are the Dragon-Tiger squad members still at the base?” Antonio asked.
“N-no… they’re not… he…” The man stammered, his voice low. Antonio leaned in slightly, and just then, a fire dragon shot from the man’s hand, directly targeting Antonio, who quickly dodged back. The man, who had seemed barely able to move, suddenly leapt up and turned to run toward the base. If he hadn’t stumbled a few times, Xu Sa would have suspected the whole trembling act was fake.
A wall of earth surged up from the ground, blocking his escape route. He turned left—only to face a pointed earthen spike. He looked right—same thing. Every direction was blocked. His only option was to retreat. Before he could act, a dozen flying knives wrapped around him, piercing his body all over.
“I haven’t been caught off guard in a long time,” Antonio said, touching the singed ends of his hair. Standing not far away, rare anger showed on his face. He manipulated the knives, stabbing the man repeatedly without asking any more questions.
“Stop stabbing, stop! I was wrong, I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything…” The knives had all deliberately avoided the major arteries, but the man was already covered in blood. Antonio and Li Zhuang stood outside his power’s range, so he couldn’t fight back—he could only scream and beg.
“Oh, I don’t want to know anymore,” Antonio said nonchalantly, then sliced off a chunk of the man’s face.
“I know everything about the base! There are beautiful girls and men inside, all yours! There are also supplies—I know where they’re hidden…” the man shouted in pain, still trying to bargain with what he knew.
“Who is he?” Xu Sa asked.
“Deputy captain of the Seduction Squad. He knows a lot,” Zhao Ji answered, already terrified by their methods. He shrank into the back seat, trying to make himself as invisible as possible.
Xu Sa saw his expression in the rearview mirror and smirked, curious. “I heard you were robbed by them too? And your wife died?”
“They wanted to assault my wife… she… took her own life,” Zhao Ji whispered, lowering his head even more.
“…Your wife was driven to suicide, and you still followed your enemies…” Xu Sa had nothing to say to that.
Outside, before Antonio could ask anything else, the man had already spilled everything about the Dragon-Tiger squad. They didn’t need to know more, so Antonio killed him on the spot.
“The car can’t go any further. There’s nothing up ahead. If we go on, we’ll be spotted,” Zhao Ji warned.
Lu Weiyi got up from the bed and gave orders. “Lu Xi and Wu Yue, stay here.” The man had just said that the Dragon-Tiger squad wasn’t there, so only the Seduction Squad remained at the base. They should be able to strike quickly.
After getting out of the car, the group advanced swiftly. Soon, they saw why Zhao Ji said they couldn’t go further—up ahead was a sudden open space with only a single courtyard in the center, a traditional Chinese-style building with a sign: “Kindergarten.”
“This is it,” Zhao Ji confirmed.
Compared to other places, this base was a bit small. But the surrounding buildings had been torn down, leaving only the single courtyard-style kindergarten. The only tall structure was a three-story building. The third floor housed the women, the second floor the men, and the first floor was where they “received guests.”
The other three sides of the courtyard were one-story buildings. According to Zhao Ji, one housed members of the Seduction Squad, while the rest stored supplies.
“Two patrols on the rooftop of the third floor. Can’t proceed unless they’re dealt with.” That spot offered a full view of the surroundings.
“I’ll go. Xu Sa, Liu Rui, Ning Yuan, Gu Qingji, and Xiong Jie—head to the one-story buildings. The rest go to the upper floors,” Lu Weiyi said, then dashed forward himself.
In broad daylight, he walked forward alone, openly. The two guards on the roof acted like they didn’t even see him. When he neared the building, both patrols suddenly fell backward, as if something had strangled them.
Zhao Ji hadn’t even reacted before Li Zhuang said, “Let’s go.”
The rest of the group quickly ran toward the base, with Xu Sa urging Zhao Ji to hurry.
At the entrance of the “kindergarten” was a large iron gate, and beside it, a guard room with a window facing the gate. Lu Weiyi dealt with the gatekeeper, then sat inside and opened the door slightly so the others could enter.
The room next door was likely where they were receiving “guests.” Moans and screams mixed with no shame. Lu Weiyi extended his mental powers—he could now see the entire building’s layout. Just on the first floor, there were over ten people. That didn’t even count the rest of the complex. Clearly, not all of the Dragon-Tiger squad had left.
A few minutes later, the rest of the team silently infiltrated and split up. They thought it would be a quiet cleanup, but one of the women receiving guests turned out to be a manager—the squad captain’s wife. Her sudden scream alarmed the Seduction Squad.
