Chapter 468: A Helping Hand
“That’d be great. If anything happens in the future, having Daoist Tian Ning nearby to advise and help out would be reassuring,” Zhuang Mingxu said politely. “I’ll come visit and invite him personally later.”
“No need for that,” Wen Jing waved him off. “I’ll let my master know. He doesn’t care for formalities, so no need to stand on ceremony.”
“Alright, I’ll follow your lead,” Zhuang Mingxu wasn’t familiar with Daoist Tian Ning’s temperament and didn’t insist.
“When are you leaving? Most of the major forces have already left.”
“We’ll probably stay a few more days.” The original plan was to leave after the ability-user summit, but they ran into the situation with Tao Tao, and Lu Xiao still needed Lu Weiyi to go on a trip. All their attention had been on Tao Tao, so they hadn’t even discussed an exact departure time with their teammates. “What about you?”
“If you’re in a hurry, I can bring Daoist Tian Ning over to stay with us for now.”
“I’ll… wait a few more days.” Though the situation with Jiaoyang Team had been resolved, many hidden matters were exposed in the process. Ling Jiaoyang had deceived the Wen family and kept so much hidden—it wouldn’t be easy to let that go quietly.
Zhuang Mingxu saw the sharp look in his eyes and immediately guessed what he was thinking. He shifted the topic.
After finishing up, Lu Weiyi sat alone on the sofa while the two children played carefreely on the swing in the courtyard.
Meeting his gaze, Zhuang Mingxu shook his head. “We didn’t find anyone capable, but Wen Jing said Daoist Tian Ning can come with us to the base and live there from now on.”
Lu Weiyi’s expression dimmed for a moment, but he still offered comfort. “That works too. Isn’t Daoist Tian Ning said to be quite powerful?”
“Yeah. Let’s bring him back first, then search other bases slowly. We’ll find someone eventually.” Zhuang Mingxu pinched his cheek, then looked at Taotao playing. Compared to her weak state yesterday, the energy from the two jade stones had shown remarkable effects.
“She’s really like a money-eating beast. No average person could afford to raise her before the apocalypse,” Zhuang Mingxu sighed.
“Are you an average person?” Lu Weiyi looked up and smiled, his eyes sparkling.
“No, that’s why I can afford her,” Zhuang Mingxu replied without humility.
“Before we came back, I already notified the other bases: any instruments or supplies traded from now on must be paired with jade of various qualities. Without jade as an entry ticket, all equipment prices will be significantly higher.”
“We’ve probably already drained most of the jade from several bases, haven’t we?” Lu Weiyi said with rare guilt.
“There are so many bases—we’ve only been to a few,” Zhuang Mingxu said casually. “They’ll figure something out. Relying solely on us is too limited. This way we can rally all the bases to help us search.”
As long as there’s a tempting carrot in front of them, people will always work hard for it.
However…
The base’s various experiments now needed to be accelerated. The Capital base was close behind, and could overtake them at any moment—something that could cause significant consequences if it happened.
“In the short term, the stored energy will be enough to keep Taotao safe. If it’s not enough, then when things stabilize, we’ll go dig up a few jade mines.”
Lu Weiyi nodded and exhaled deeply, just as Zhuang Mingxu asked, “When do you plan to make the trip for your uncle? Have you decided who you’ll bring?”
“As soon as possible. Are you guys in a hurry to head back?” Not everyone with them was from the base’s military—some were leaders of various teams. Any delay wouldn’t just be a day or two. “Why don’t you head back first with them?”
Zhuang Mingxu didn’t agree right away. “Let’s ask your uncle about his arrangements first before deciding.”
Before Lu Weiyi could check, Cong Qing arrived first to ask when it would be convenient to set out.
“Panshui Base contributed a lot of crystal cores. Now someone from their base insists on joining us as part of the results verification…”
Zhuang Mingxu sneered. “More like supervision?”
Cong Qing didn’t argue. “Also a guide, since we’re unfamiliar with that area. Plus, they contributed an extra fifty thousand crystal cores.”
Fifty thousand crystal cores was no small amount for any team. This time, Zhuang Mingxu didn’t argue.
“I’m ready anytime—”
“Who exactly is going? How many? What are the assigned responsibilities? What role will Xiao Yi play in the team?”
Before Lu Weiyi could finish, Zhuang Mingxu placed a hand on his leg to stop him from speaking further.
“Besides one wood-element ability user and two drivers from Panshui Base, we have six members: two A-rank metal-type, one S-rank wood-type, one A-rank earth-type, one A-rank fire-type, and one A-rank water-type. They’re the most powerful combatants in our team.”
Knowing Zhuang Mingxu’s words held weight, Cong Qing quickly explained in detail, “The two drivers are earth and fire types. They can assist in battle if necessary—no problem.”
“Master Lu’s job is to use his abilities to protect the aircraft from mutated creatures and ensure the medication can be properly sprayed. If large groups of mutant birds appear, the rest of the team will handle them.”
Judging by the setup, this seemed to be the best configuration from the Blazing Flame Squad. Zhuang Mingxu felt reassured and nodded slowly, just as Cong Qing added, “The max capacity is twelve. You can bring three more people.”
“Then Liu Rui and Gu Qingji will go with you,” Zhuang Mingxu decided quickly. He turned to Lu Weiyi and explained, “Liu Rui’s firepower is strong—he’ll add to the fighting force. Qingji’s vine ability can bring everyone safely back to land if the aircraft has an accident.”
“I have vines too,” Lu Weiyi said, wanting to keep more people by Zhuang Mingxu’s side—especially since he had two kids with him. As he twirled his fingers, small green vines began to grow over them.
“…Then take Liu Rui and Xu Sa, both combat types,” Zhuang Mingxu said after a moment’s silence.
Lu Weiyi still wanted to object, but Zhuang Mingxu grabbed his wrist. “I’ll feel more at ease if they’re with you.”
“…Then are you going to return to the base with them?” Lu Weiyi was more worried about the people staying behind.
“We’ll return first.” They’d been out for a while now. Since most of their group were team leaders, they were beginning to worry about their base units. Several had already asked when they’d return.
And besides, no one could guarantee Lu Weiyi’s mission would go entirely smoothly—they couldn’t have everyone just waiting around.
“I’ll leave Team One with you.”
“No need. Let them go back with you to ensure your safety.”
“We’ll be taking the underground route. No danger—”
Halfway through his sentence, Lu Weiyi pressed a hand to Zhuang Mingxu’s lips. “A path not yet traveled—better safe than sorry. I’ll pilot the aircraft myself. It won’t take more than two hours to return.”
Zhuang Mingxu thought for a moment, then didn’t argue. “Then take…”
“Just Xu Sa and Liu Rui. Leave Taotao and Zhuang Aiyi behind—I’ll bring them back with me. You take your people and escort Daoist Tian Ning back. People from Pingjin Base want to come with us—stay alert on the way.”
Lu Weiyi made sure to give instructions for everything he could think of. At first, Zhuang Mingxu hesitated over each one, but gradually a smile formed on his face. He simply nodded.
He couldn’t pinpoint when exactly it had happened, but the person who once only wanted to hide behind the scenes had now grown used to planning the bigger picture—and had unknowingly become the one everyone relied on.
Once the departure was confirmed for the next day with Cong Qing, Zhuang Mingxu called Xu Sa and Liu Rui over to inform them they would be traveling with Lu Weiyi. At the same time, he announced to everyone that they would soon be returning to the base, urging them to wrap up whatever they were working on.
As soon as they heard they were heading back, team members began leaving the villa that same afternoon, one after another, to go shopping. Some even worried about transporting large items and asked Lu Weiyi if they could store them in his spatial ability.
“What kind of large items are they even planning to buy? Planes? Tanks?” Zhuang Mingxu was genuinely unsure what each team might lack. “You shouldn’t have agreed to that. Even though everyone knows your space is large, if someone’s trying to test your limits…”
“Just this once. We might not have many chances to go out together like this again,” Lu Weiyi didn’t refute him. “They’re probably looking for car parts and vehicle components. Since we can’t manufacture them anymore, and teams have limited vehicles that can’t be replaced, they have to find ways to repair them.”
At that, Lu Weiyi suddenly turned to Zhuang Mingxu. “We should still have quite a few vehicles and parts in our warehouse, right?”
He took out a stack of notebooks from his space. On the cover was a detailed inventory. He flipped to the transportation section, which recorded the quantity and brands of remaining vehicles in the base’s main warehouse, along with spare parts.
Seeing the numbers listed, Lu Weiyi fell silent. For the first time, he realized just how diligent he had been in the past.
“Don’t even think about it. This is our stuff,” Zhuang Mingxu said, closing the inventory notebook. “These items can’t be remade anytime soon. We can’t just give them away for free.” Because Lu Weiyi had so much, he’d never cared about the small stuff, often being generous when distributing supplies. While that made him a great leader in the eyes of the team, it also made it easy for others to take advantage of him.
Zhuang Mingxu worried that if this continued, it would turn into a kind of martyr complex. He walked over and shut the notebook in Lu Weiyi’s hands.
“I wasn’t planning to give it to them for free,” Lu Weiyi tried to defend himself, but Zhuang Mingxu clearly didn’t believe him. He even stored the notebook in his own space — clearly not trusting him.
“Come, let me go over the things you might encounter tomorrow and how to deal with them.” Zhuang Mingxu changed the subject, explaining the mutated birds that had already appeared around the Panshui Base, their characteristics, and what to watch for in combat and defense. He even went into strategic arrangements based on the other teammates’ abilities. His planning was meticulous to the extreme.
Since it concerned safety, Lu Weiyi listened carefully and tried to commit everything to memory. Just as he was fully focused, a sudden, sharp scream from outside the courtyard startled him so badly he jumped.
