Chapter 368: Qingji Gets Attacked
Over the next few days, Da Liu diligently helped Gu Qingji get familiar with the cultivation garden’s operations. Gu Qingji gradually came to understand that the “cultivation garden” didn’t just refer to growing food—it involved the entire process, from seed distribution to harvest, drying, processing, and finally turning it into edible food.
“If it weren’t for your help these past few days, the food supply might’ve faced a serious gap.” Having finally completed processing the latest batch of food, returned the machines, and distributed everything by hand, it was already past 9 p.m.
Gu Qingji stretched and said to Da Liu, “We’ve missed dinner. Let me treat you to a meal.”
“Oh, I couldn’t…”
“It’s fine. If you hadn’t reminded me earlier, I would’ve definitely messed up. Let’s go to Peace Restaurant? I heard their menu is comprehensive.”
“Well, I won’t say no then. I’ve heard that Peace Restaurant is backed by a major power. They’ve got supplies for everything. There’s nothing they can’t get—only what you can’t afford in crystal cores.”
“Really? That impressive?”
“You didn’t know? Rumor has it they’re backed by a major base.”
“I haven’t heard about it. I’m usually out on missions and haven’t been involved much in base affairs.”
“That shows. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have thought rice could just be eaten straight from the plant, haha…”
Gu Qingji showed no embarrassment at being teased. “I’ve only ever cultivated fruits and vegetables before. Grain production was always handled by Bai Miao and Dongsheng-ge, so I’m not familiar with it.”
“It’s fine to specialize. No one can do everything.” They chatted as they entered the residential area. Da Liu pointed ahead. “I’m heading back to shower and change before dinner. Want to come along?”
“I’ll pas—” Gu Qingji started to decline, but suddenly paused.
“We’re all men here. Just a quick shower. And don’t you have spatial ability now? You can even change clothes. After a whole day at the rice mill, your clothes must be full of chaff—it’s itchy as hell.”
Da Liu’s voice echoed in his ear, like an invisible hook pulling at him. Gu Qingji unconsciously nodded—even though he had never told anyone about his newly acquired space ability. How did Da Liu know?
“Then sorry to intrude,” he heard himself say.
“No need to be polite.”
Da Liu responded warmly and led the way back. As they walked, Gu Qingji suddenly became highly alert. Something was wrong. He quickly ran through possible scenarios in his head, trying to understand Da Liu’s motives, but with limited clues, he couldn’t figure it out just yet.
Soon, they arrived at a spacious courtyard. Gu Qingji glanced around, then asked, thinking he might have misunderstood something about the man in front of him, “Da Liu, I never asked—how did a wood-type user like you end up working in the plantation?”
“I don’t go there every day. My teammates are out on a mission, so I’ve just been earning a little extra helping out.”
“Your teammates? Which squad are you from?”
“I’m from… the Junlin Squad,” Da Liu turned back and glanced at Gu Qingji, “Captain Gu, have you heard of us?”
Gu Qingji shook his head. “I’m not familiar with the base.” He truly wasn’t familiar with the factions in the base—he spent most of his time outside, and the few days he returned were mostly spent resting or training.
“Hehe, it’s just a small squad,” Da Liu said casually, pushing open the door and turning back with a wide smile. “Come in and take a look.”
Gu Qingji quietly looked around. The surrounding residents appeared to be regular civilians. There was no benefit in exposing hostility now. After mentally checking the weapons stored in his spatial ability, he nodded calmly and followed Da Liu inside.
As a wood-type ability user, Gu Qingji immediately sensed a subtle scent in the air as he entered. It was a kind of fragrance, with a faint woody aroma that could easily be mistaken for the smell of the furniture.
Instantly, Gu Qingji dropped all pretense and asked bluntly, “What are you trying to do?”
Da Liu paused, then laughed. Compared to his previous good-natured demeanor, he now seemed subtly arrogant. “As expected of the base’s most outstanding combat-oriented wood-type user—this little trick didn’t escape your notice.”
With a wave of his hand, tiny flower buds the size of grains of rice began to emerge from the wooden beams and doorframes. The wooden petals, if not looked at closely, appeared to be carvings, densely packed and blooming one after another.
A sense of dread surged in Gu Qingji. As someone who also used abilities to enhance plants for specific effects, he didn’t underestimate this at all. Without waiting to find out Da Liu’s intent, he directly activated his mutated vines and flung them at Da Liu while sprinting toward the door.
Before he could reach the door, it was abruptly kicked open. A fiery dragon shot through the entrance. The mutated vines, scorched by the flames, immediately recoiled in twisted agony.
“I can’t even get a decent nap, and you brought this mess home? Coward,” a laid-back voice said. Out of the flames walked Zhang Lin, the vice-captain, wearing nothing but a pair of large shorts.
“Don’t underestimate—”
“Cut the crap! I’ve got plans tonight. No time to listen to your whining,” Zhang Lin interrupted impatiently before Da Liu could finish, hurling several fireballs at Gu Qingji.
Fire-type users were common in their squad, and they often trained together. Gu Qingji immediately realized this wasn’t a fight he could handle alone. Dodging the fireballs swiftly, he drew a crystal-core gun from his spatial storage and aimed it at Da Liu, who was stealthily nurturing some unknown plants in the background.
The crystal-core gun was immensely powerful in an enclosed space. Even though Da Liu tried to dodge, the wide blast radius engulfed everyone. Both Gu Qingji and Zhang Lin were thrown against the walls by the searing heatwave.
Da Liu, swept by flames, became a human torch. Screaming Zhang Lin’s name for help, he had no chance—Gu Qingji fired again. In an instant, Da Liu was reduced to ashes. The shot penetrated the wall behind him, and fire lit up half the night sky.
Zhang Lin realized things had gone south and tried to escape. Gu Qingji reacted swiftly, using mutated vines to pull him back.
Zhang Lin pulled out a slender dagger, his power channeling through it until the blade ignited with blue flames. The flickering fire dropped sparks with every motion.
The vines were slashed apart. Gu Qingji dared not let them approach again and instead had them circle to block Zhang Lin’s escape.
Wood-type abilities had a natural disadvantage against fire. Gu Qingji could only hope the commotion would draw attention from other factions in the base.
He drew a gun and fired twice at Zhang Lin, but the latter closed in quickly. At such close range, Gu Qingji couldn’t aim properly. Enhanced by his abilities, Zhang Lin’s movements made both shots miss.
Gu Qingji switched to a long blade, also enhancing it with his power, but in close quarters, he was clearly outmatched. Zhang Lin, for all his carefree demeanor, was precise and deadly—every strike swift and efficient. Gu Qingji was soon overwhelmed.
“Your squad captain must be generous—letting even ordinary members use the newest weapons,” Zhang Lin taunted as he slashed. The blade didn’t hit Gu Qingji directly, but the flame at its edge ignited his clothes. As Gu Qingji swung his sword to block, Zhang Lin withdrew and aimed for another attack point.
“Da Liu underestimated you. Guess I’ll benefit from it—get a spatial ability user for free,” Zhang Lin sneered, swinging a blade at Gu Qingji’s head.
Gu Qingji dodged slightly to the side, stepped forward with a feint toward Zhang Lin’s sword hand. Zhang Lin quickly withdrew and punched at his head.
Leaning back, Gu Qingji barely dodged, but a knee strike hit him in the chest. In his other hand, a mud-like clump appeared, which he slapped onto Zhang Lin’s face. At the same time, Zhang Lin kicked him hard into the wall, collapsing half of it. Rubble fell onto Gu Qingji.
Coughing blood, Gu Qingji channeled all his remaining power toward Zhang Lin.
Just as Zhang Lin prepared to finish him off with a fireball and escape, he suddenly felt something growing inside him. The searing pain of organs being pierced and torn overwhelmed him. He collapsed, thrashing and clawing at his body, trying to tear the invasive growths from beneath his skin.
Seeing that Zhang Lin had lost all ability to fight back, Gu Qingji, bleeding at the mouth, used the last of his strength to pull out his communicator and connect to his team’s channel.
“Junlin Squad… tried to take me out. Their purpose… unknown. Hurry…” His words faded as consciousness blurred. The last thing he saw was a figure rushing toward him.
“Brother…” he murmured before passing out completely.
At that same moment, far outside the base, Lu Weiyi of the Only One Squad had just finished dinner after a long day. A casual sweep with his mental energy picked up someone approaching cautiously in the distance.
After roughly counting, there were only about thirty people. Lu Weiyi, not quite believing it, scouted farther but didn’t find any more traces of others, leaving him unsure of the approaching group’s identity.
If it were the Fierce Tiger Squad they had encountered earlier, the numbers clearly didn’t match. And if it wasn’t them, they hadn’t really made enemies with anyone else.
Still, it didn’t stop everyone from staying alert.
“People are coming — around thirty. They’re approaching in a surrounding formation,” someone reported.
Li Zhuang immediately put down his chopsticks. “How far out?”
“About six hundred meters.”
“Hurry up and finish eating, then get to work,” Li Zhuang ordered decisively and started eating quickly. This behavior left Zheng Jun and the others unsure whether to be nervous.
Seeing everyone behaving like it was routine, Zheng Jun gestured for his team to speed up as well.
Dinner was settled in three minutes. Meanwhile, the people creeping in from afar were silently dispatching zombies, trying not to alert them.
“Who are these people? Fierce Tiger Squad? A bit late to the party, aren’t they?” Xu Sa scanned the area with night vision goggles. He could only see their locations, not their identities.
