Chapter 388: Stealing the Spotlight
Lu Weiyi, who had been lounging comfortably, suddenly sat up straight. It hit him: since he’d come back from the capital and been intermittently staying at the base, Lin Yimu had barely been around—except for occasionally checking on his recovery or bringing some game meat for nutrition. He was always out early and back late.
Zhuang Mingxu had said he was in charge of all the base’s logistics and too busy to rest. Lu Weiyi wasn’t used to it but hadn’t complained—Lin Yimu seemed full of energy, after all.
But hearing Li Qing now… that didn’t seem to be the full story.
“When did you two get back together?” When he first reunited with Li Qing, Lu Weiyi had suspected he was here for Lin Yimu. Even though he’d prepared for it mentally, it still didn’t sit well.
Someone who used to care only about him now had someone else in his heart.
Suddenly, Li Qing was just very annoying to look at.
“…When you went to the capital base,” Li Qing replied, sensing the pressure like a nervous stepfather facing judgment.
I was risking my life at the capital base, and meanwhile, someone was seducing the person I depended on most…
Lu Weiyi was so mad he started breathing heavier. The others, sensing the shift in atmosphere, quickly tugged on each other to leave, giving this faux father-son pair some space.
After all, he was no longer the ignorant child he once was. Lu Weiyi clearly understood that his displeasure stemmed from possessiveness toward those close to him. Over the years, Lin Yimu had had many people try to set him up with someone.
Back then, the salary Zhuang Mingxu offered him wasn’t low, and he spent all twenty-four hours a day caring for Lu Weiyi, leaving him no time or place to spend money. Several of the Ji family’s maids would often try to cozy up to Lin Yimu.
But Lin Yimu always declined with the excuse that “the young master needs caring for.”
After the apocalypse, when they reunited with Li Qing, Lu Weiyi had clearly seen the resolute and restrained feelings Lin Yimu held when looking at Li Qing. Li Qing had seemed on the verge of speaking a thousand times, yet in the end had said nothing.
At the time, Lu Weiyi had even thought he’d be willing to let him stay in Qingyuan.
Now that the two had finally gotten together, Lu Weiyi should’ve been happy for them. But…
It still felt suffocating!
Afraid he wouldn’t be able to resist punching Li Qing, Lu Weiyi got up with a heavy snort and headed into the carriage. “I’m tired. Going to sleep.”
“Ah, alright. I’ll take the night watch. Don’t worry, nothing will happen,” Li Qing hurried to respond, trying hard to please him.
After Lu Weiyi left, Lei Jun and the others gathered around. Li Qing wiped the imaginary sweat off his forehead and let out a deep breath.
“So… what’s that supposed to mean?”
“If he didn’t object, then I guess that’s a tacit acceptance.”
“But… it seems like the little captain had no idea? Didn’t Lone Wolf ever mention you two?”
“The base has been really busy lately. The instructor’s been managing all the logistics, coordinating everything constantly. After the little captain came back, he kept having health issues on and off. Lone Wolf wanted to wait for a better time to talk,” Li Qing explained on Lin Yimu’s behalf.
That’s what he said, but ever since Lu Weiyi came back, Li Qing hadn’t been able to stay at the villa like before. Lin Yimu now rejected it outright.
At night, Zhuang Ai Yi and Taotao’s room was right next to Lin Yimu’s, and they’d often go to him in the middle of the night when something came up. Li Qing wasn’t keen on staying in the military dorms either.
Now that Li Qing had to lead missions every few days, they barely had time to spend together. At night, they were separated again. If this dragged on, who knew how long it would be, so Li Qing decided to take the initiative.
He wanted to clear the air so that he could visit the villa openly in the future.
Even though he’d mentally prepared himself, he hadn’t expected his “new son” to be so unfriendly. Lu Weiyi, usually a calm and indifferent person, now acted like he was full of venom, ready to lash out at every turn.
From mocking him for eating crab and drinking yellow wine, to criticizing his ugly military coat, to implying that anyone wearing such clothing this season must be weak—Li Qing even had to wear a short-sleeved shirt just to prove he was still “young,” and ate a massive bowl of crab to flaunt his “youthful” digestive prowess.
As a result, by the time they arrived at the Pingjin base, Lu Weiyi was bundled in a cotton coat, sniffling with a runny nose, and running to the toilet every few minutes.
After several rounds, his face was pale and sickly, and he was weakly carried back by Xu Sa.
“Hang in there. Once we pay the temporary residency fee, we can enter the city. We’ve rented a place inside. You can rest well once we’re there,” Ning Yuan reassured him as he helped Xu Sa carry Lu Weiyi into the carriage and looked ahead at the people lined up to register and pay.
“Mm…” Lu Weiyi weakly looked out the window.
Unlike their base, the area outside the Pingjin base was crowded with civilians in ragged clothes, either sitting or lying on the ground, too exhausted to even beg.
A few wooden planks propped up plastic sheeting to form crude shelters. Children, gaunt and skeletal, wore shoes with toes exposed. Their sharp eyes darted around as they darted past passersby—only to be caught, slammed to the ground, and beaten harshly while being scolded as thieves.
A weary man carrying a chipped bowl carefully moved through the crowd, but when someone deliberately bumped into him, half the water spilled out. Though he glared in anger, he ultimately could only smile apologetically and hunch away under the other person’s arrogant gaze.
After the person ahead of them finished paying the city entry fees, the vehicle slowly started moving. Lu Weiyi withdrew his gaze as they entered the base.
A wall over twenty meters high surrounded the Pingjin base, making it virtually impenetrable—even zombies couldn’t break through in a short time.
Inside the city, it was like the pre-apocalyptic world again: cars on the streets, people walking leisurely, hawkers shouting everywhere.
A single wall separated two worlds.
Their vehicle eventually arrived at their temporary courtyard rental. Lu Weiyi rushed off to the bathroom again. When he emerged, he was so weak his legs gave out. He turned to glare fiercely at Li Qing, who was sneaking glances at him.
“What’s with you? Delayed rebellion phase, or just living too comfortably?” Xu Sa didn’t know the full story, but he pressed Lu Weiyi into bed, wrapping him so tightly only his face was visible.
Ning Yuan and Wu Yue took a team to meet with their agreed-upon partners, while Qi Lin snuck off to find Lin Ya. That left five people behind at the courtyard.
The small room had several racks of medicine. Xu Yi was searching through old boxes for cold medicine and antacids. Hearing Xu Sa’s comment, she covered her mouth and laughed.
“Achoo!” Another loud sneeze came from Lu Weiyi. Li Qing hurriedly handed him a tissue, which was snatched away with red eyes and gritted teeth—like an angry little kid.
“I made some ginger syrup. Drink it, sweat it out, and you’ll recover faster,” said Li Qing.
“I’m fine. I don’t need it… Achoo…” Lu Weiyi clung to his last bit of stubborn pride.
Xu Sa couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed the ginger syrup from Li Qing, plopped down beside the bed, and said bluntly, “Hurry up or I’ll pour it down your throat.”
“Xu Er Gou, you’re out of—Achoo!” Lu Weiyi flailed.
“Xu Yi, come help!” Xu Sa called, and the two of them held him down and forced the entire bowl of ginger syrup into him. The scene was utterly tragic. Li Qing only dared to peek in from the doorway, then quickly pretended he knew nothing and backed out.
Just as a smug smile crept onto his face, he sensed someone nearby and immediately changed into a worried expression.
“Captain, I didn’t think you had it in you to change faces so fast,” whispered patrolmen Huang Rui and Xing Zhou with obvious amusement.
“Get lost,” Li Qing said with a smile, giving the two a light kick before quickly running off at the sound of movement from the room.
Qilin’s meeting with Lin Ya turned out to be very successful—likely due to the controller in his hand. Near-death experiences tend to stick in one’s memory.
Lin Ya didn’t hold anything back. She immediately informed Qilin of the situation at Pingjin Base—or more accurately, their plan: they intended to seize control of Yuebanwan Base.
“They’ve got their eye on our base’s defenses?” Qilin wasn’t surprised. Given their geographical advantages, it would’ve been strange if no other base had made a move. “They’ve got good taste.”
Lin Ya thought she heard a note of pride in this tall man’s tone. He must be a bit deranged, she figured.
Still, her anxiety remained—especially with a ticking time bomb in her chest. Life or death for the people at Yuebanwan didn’t matter to her; what mattered was what she’d do when the time came.
“It’s not just the base. They’re also after your people,” she continued. “Meng Hu received intel from Jingdu Base that your base holds the secret to safe advancement—something that explains why all your members are high-level ability users. He used that as bait to persuade the various factions at Pingjin to cooperate in a plan to take you down completely.”
She gave Qilin a probing look. When she saw he wasn’t surprised, she felt the news was likely true.
It left her with mixed emotions. The highest-ranking ability user at Pingjin was only Grade A. She herself had worked hard to gather plant-type crystal nuclei to boost her rank, which was the only reason she could stand her ground today.
But she knew that reaching S-rank was impossible for her. She had even stopped absorbing crystal nuclei to avoid ascending too quickly and inviting an early death.
Ironically, the explosive device in her chest now gave her some leverage.
Within moments, a plan formed in Lin Ya’s mind. “I can coordinate with you from the inside and provide all the intel you need to counter their assault. But—”
Qilin looked at the mature, poised woman in front of him just as she, like one making a last stand, declared: “I want a chance to become S-rank.”
Qilin was about to say he wasn’t the one to decide, but Lin Ya raised her hand to stop him. “I know your base has S-rank and even above. But those are limited, and your base is burdened by too many ordinary people. Statistics show Pingjin Base has a population of seventy thousand—all ability users. Over two hundred are Grade A and above. That’s more than ten times your number. Do you really think you’ll make it out unscathed if they all come at you?”
Qilin didn’t answer her question. Instead, he asked, “Then why were they so agreeable about trading supplies?”
“Because the upper factions already consider your base as theirs,” she said with a laugh. “What they give you now, they believe they’ll take back later. It’s just passing from one hand to the other. Plus, last winter, the coastal freeze at the Ice Shore meant no fishing. A shortage of mutant meat is guaranteed.”
