Chapter 389: Sick
“With these supplies as bait, your base will no doubt muster all its strength for early fishing—essentially stockpiling food for Pingjin’s factions,” said Lin Ya, who, as the third-in-command of Meng Hu’s squad, had access to significant intel.
“When the whole base mobilizes to attack you, they’ll be prepared to go all in. You’d better think seriously about my plan when you return.”
“But even so, our base has many people. If we trade away un-germinated grain, aren’t we worried we’ll have nothing left when you attack?”
“Hah.” Lin Ya laughed heartily. “Your base has been farming crops and buying grain from both Jingdu and Pingjin. Clearly, you anticipated a future shortage of seed stock. Would you really eat grain meant for planting?”
“Besides, they’ll exchange a certain amount of germinated food with you—just enough for short-term survival. That way, when they take over your base, the truly valuable supplies will still be intact.”
Qilin’s fingers dug into his palm. His expression turned grim. “When are they planning to strike?”
“They’ve tentatively set the date for when the sea begins to freeze. Based on last year, that should happen shortly after temperatures drop. They’re already gathering water-type users to help freeze the sea surface—making a direct approach to your base effortless,” said Lin Ya, sipping warm water, uncertain of which side she now hoped would win.
“Normally, your base is a fully armed fortress. But once the sea freezes, it opens up countless invasion routes. With your limited manpower, you won’t be able to defend them all.”
Qilin got the information he needed and vanished like the wind. He returned to their temporary residence and briefed the team.
“They have thousands of Grade A ability users? I don’t believe it,” Xu Sa said, stunned. Their own base upgraded using purified crystal nuclei, and many still hadn’t made it past Grade B. How could the enemy have so many?
“It’s true,” Li Qing replied. “Their base promotes the belief that mutants are the next evolution of humanity. They only accept ability users. With everyone around being an ability user, the only way to stand out is to level up—fast. Don’t be fooled by how many A-grades they have; even more died trying to get there.”
“Exactly. Pingjin Base follows a brutal survival-of-the-fittest model. Low-level users are constantly bullied. If they don’t want to be trampled, they have to push themselves to the limit,” Lei Jun added, sharing what he’d found out.
“In just the past six months, more than twenty thousand people have died from failed upgrades. The ones who survived are ruthless and determined.”
“Their current leader, Jiang Ning, is a top-tier Grade A metal-type user. The other faction leaders are similar, all on the verge of upgrading. The next step is a near-death trial. Naturally, that’s driven them to unite around a common goal—your base.”
“And they’ll definitely fight to the death,” Qilin concluded. “Even the strongest can’t afford to underestimate those with nothing to lose.”
Everyone turned to look at Lu Weiyi, who was wrapped up in a ball, waiting to hear his opinion.
“I’ll meet with Lin Ya first… Achoo… and see what leverage she has before we decide anything,” Lu Weiyi said, then asked about the current status of the resource exchange.
“This time they indeed mentioned some artificially matured grains, a few low-level crystal cores, and some original seeds of coarse grains.”
That was clearly different from what was discussed last time. Lu Weiyi looked over in confusion, and Ning Yuan shrugged, “They said the rest will be given next time.”
“They’re clearly trying to milk us for as much as they can before winter sets in,” Li Qing muttered.
Still, this also proved that the other side was determined to take their base.
Without complete information, no decision could be made yet. Lu Weiyi simply instructed Ning Yuan and the others to continue negotiating the shipments and had Qi Lin arrange a meeting with Lin Ya.
Late that night, Lu Weiyi met with Lin Ya.
They had arranged to meet at a red lantern parlor, bathed in the ambiguous glow of red lanterns. Provocatively dressed girls and various kinds of attractive men stood by the roadside, waving and calling out to passersby.
It was a world entirely different from their own base, which became utterly silent at night. For Ning Yuan and Wu Yue, who had come with him, it felt like the difference between an agricultural society and an imperial capital.
“What do you mean by that?” Lu Weiyi didn’t understand his train of thought.
“Probably the difference between a small village and the capital,” Ning Yuan explained.
“So, you want our base to have something like this too?” Lu Weiyi asked.
“…” Ning Yuan didn’t dare admit that their base already had such things too—just on a private, hidden basis rather than so openly.
Before Ning Yuan could respond, a girl in black stockings with bunny ears approached them. Her pale skin glowed in the night as she blinked flirtatiously and called out sweetly to Lu Weiyi, “Hey there, handsome—”
She was immediately blocked by Wu Yue, who gruffly asked, “Where’s your boss? I brought my little brother out to have some fun. Get us a few clean girls.”
“Right away, sir. We have girls of all types here. Slim or curvy—whatever you like…” A charming woman in a high-slit qipao walked over, her every move full of allure.
Wu Yue pinched an A-grade crystal core between his fingers.
The woman instantly beamed, “Xiao Zi, take these three gentlemen to a private room upstairs. I’ll send someone to attend to them right away.”
They followed the young man called Xiao Zi upstairs. Lu Weiyi looked around curiously, his frequent sneezing not affecting his inquisitive gaze. Ning Yuan grew anxious watching him but didn’t dare say anything—afraid he’d be scolded by Zhuang Mingxu later.
This place used to be a hotel before the apocalypse. They were led to a fourth-floor suite with two bedrooms and a living room, fully equipped. In the master bedroom, dim lighting revealed strange tools hanging everywhere. Before Lu Weiyi could get a closer look, Ning Yuan quickly shut the door.
Xiao Zi knelt down and poured them three cups of liquor. “Please wait, gentlemen,” he said respectfully and backed out.
Not long after, Lin Ya entered.
Compared to the seductive charm of their first meeting, she now carried a more mature aura, like a big sister with authority. Perhaps because she now had real power, she no longer gave the impression of being dependent on others. Instead, she exuded a kind of assertiveness.
“Commander Lu,” Lin Ya sat across from Lu Weiyi, “you look…”
She stopped herself—any compliment might come off as sarcastic, especially as Lu Weiyi sneezed again.
“…Are you sick?”
“Caught a cold,” Lu Weiyi replied weakly. If it weren’t for the serious matter and that no one else could handle it, he’d be curled up in bed sweating it out—not sitting here catching a chill.
“A… cold?” Lin Ya asked strangely. “Aren’t you an ability user?”
“Who says ability users can’t catch a cold? Achoo… Ability users can still die, you know,” Lu Weiyi replied stuffily, pinching his nose to keep snot from flying everywhere.
Sensing he was in a bad mood, Lin Ya didn’t press further.
Ning Yuan picked up the conversation, “Hello, Miss Lin. I’m Ning Yuan. You previously sent word saying you wanted to cooperate. We need to understand what value your cooperation offers before we can discuss next steps.”
Seeing that Lu Weiyi didn’t object, Lin Ya knew this man was likely an important figure and got straight to the point, “I can give you people from within some of our factions—you can bring them over to your side.”
Ning Yuan raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.
“You probably know that our base commander, Jiang Ning, despises ordinary people. So from the start, he required those who wanted to join the teams to abandon their non-ability-user family and friends. Conditions within the city are far better than outside, and that stark contrast makes ability users unwilling to give them up.”
“But not everyone can abandon their family so easily. Some people secretly hid their loved ones outside the city under false identities. They try to support them in secret. Not everyone here sides with the regular people’s teams—it’s just that, in order to survive here, they obey the rules laid down by the powerful. Most people simply turn a blind eye, as long as those higher up don’t find out.”
“You want us to use those family members to pressure them into helping us?” Ning Yuan immediately caught on.
“People willing to take that risk probably aren’t high up the ranks, right?” Wu Yue asked, since in today’s world, crossing the line with leadership was basically suicide.
“Some are,” Lin Ya replied. “But they hide very well—and I happen to know a few.”
Ning Yuan glanced at Wu Yue, then after a brief silence said, “Go ahead and tell us who. That way we can assess the value.”
“I can,” Lin Ya said, “but… you remember my condition, right?”
“Hm?”
“I want a chance to upgrade to S-rank.”
“…” Lu Weiyi looked her up and down. “You’ve still got a long way to go, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I only just became A-rank,” Lin Ya admitted.
“I’ll tell you the method when the time comes. Whether or not you succeed will depend on you.”
After all, by the time she’s ready to upgrade, their base would likely have already started distributing purified crystal cores to everyone.
Lu Weiyi suddenly felt like he had drawn a massive pie for free—without losing a single crumb.
“Did everyone in your team succeed like this?” Lin Ya held her breath and asked cautiously.
“Yes,” Lu Weiyi answered without hesitation.
Lin Ya glanced at Ning Yuan and Wu Yue, then lowered her gaze in thought for a moment. “Alright.”
She only provided information on three people, each of whom held a position of power within one of the three factions in the Pingjin base.
Unlike the Jingdu base, the Pingjin base was controlled by three major teams. The Pingjin Team, led by Jiang Ning, was the first to be established, and Jiang Ning also served as the base leader. Then came the Menghu Team, led by Meng Hu, and finally the Blizzard Team, led by Zhang Tong.
These three major teams divided up all the ability users and resources in the Pingjin base. Any ability user who arrived had to join one of the teams, or else they would be hunted down or expelled in a joint effort.
