Chapter 477: Anomaly
At this point, the so-called “Blaze Team” was just a namesake—in reality, it had become part of the ruthless Wen family’s forces.
Zhuang Mingxu was still a little impressed by the Wen family’s methods. Rumor had it that their Miss Wen was a typical romantic—head over heels for Ling Zhaoyang since the apocalypse began. Because of her, the Wen family had taken several major financial hits.
And yet, they had managed to bring her under control at the most critical moment.
“How did they convince Miss Wen?” Zhuang casually asked Lin Mo, who had brought the news.
Lin Mo’s expression turned a little odd. He hesitated before replying:
“…They gave her… all kinds of… ‘boyfriends.’”
Zhuang Mingxu had just taken a sip of water when he immediately spit it out, coughing uncontrollably and completely losing his composure.
*
Half-asleep and half-awake, Lu Weiyi only came to when Jin Diao reminded everyone it was time to eat.
Lu Weiyi asked Ai Ping for some cold water to splash on his face and barely managed to stay awake.
Jin Diao pulled out a box from the back of the aircraft cabin and started handing out flatbreads one by one. “The plane’s resources are limited—let’s just make do for the next few days.”
Several of the team members had been soldiers before the apocalypse, and post-apocalypse missions were nothing new to them. They were already used to these conditions and accepted the food without complaint, taking bites without hesitation.
Xu Sa and Liu Rui also showed no objections, even though they knew their home base chefs had cooked all day and stored meals in spatial storage.
Surprisingly, it was Lu Weiyi who took the initiative. “Let me treat everyone. I hope the next few days go smoothly and our cooperation goes well.”
He took out a stack of lunchboxes from his spatial ability—basic takeout containers from before the apocalypse, now filled to the brim with steaming rice. Beside them were several large stainless-steel basins, like those used in a cafeteria, only filled with richer ingredients.
Six meat dishes and four vegetable dishes, heavily seasoned and fragrant, looking absolutely delicious.
As soon as they appeared, everyone’s eyes were drawn to them, and suddenly, the meat-filled flatbreads in their hands lost their appeal.
These days, while mutant animal meat was abundant for ability users, vegetables were becoming increasingly scarce. Several generations of artificially forced seed growth had rendered crops nearly unsustainable. Staples and vegetables were rapidly appreciating in the market.
Thanks to Lu Weiyi’s reminders, Lu Xiao had stored a good amount of seeds—but as one of Capital’s top three powers, they were constantly under the watchful eyes of the other two factions.
Zhao Qiang and Zheng Yi were no fools either; their seed stockpiling started around the same time.
While Jin Diao’s team wasn’t facing shortages, eating freely without restriction was still out of the question.
“This…” Jin Diao hesitated.
He was older than Lu Weiyi and had been specially reminded by Lu Xiao to look after this nephew. No matter how powerful Lu Weiyi’s ability was, he was still someone the family worried about.
Seeing him freely take out all this food, Jin Diao wasn’t sure if it would feel like taking advantage.
“Just take it as our captain boosting morale. It’s not like we’ll be eating like this every day, so don’t hold back,” Xu Sa chimed in, thinking their military code of not taking even a needle or thread from civilians was getting in the way. He quickly handed out rice boxes to the other team members.
“Come on, come on, pick your own dishes. Don’t tell me you want me to serve you too?”
“No need for that!” the youngest, Li Ze, took his with a grin and was the first to dig into the food. “This is my first time eating hot food on a mission. Man, this is… wow… hahaha…”
Wearing a smug look, he scooped generous chunks of meat into his box and added a heaping chopstick full of vegetables. “Spatial ability users are truly heaven’s favorites. You guys don’t ever have to worry about food during missions—hot meals anytime, even in winter. Just imagining it feels luxurious.”
“It’s not always like this,” Xu Sa clarified. “Everything has to be prepped ahead of time. This meal was arranged because Chief Zhuang was worried about us running into trouble with no food.” He picked out a few items for Lu Weiyi and served Jin Diao as well.
The others accepted the food and stopped hesitating.
“My beloved teammates,” Meng Huan’s voice came over the earpiece, sounding envious. “What are you guys eating? The smell’s driving me insane.”
Everyone in the cabin burst into laughter.
“Hahaha… Young Master Lu brought food and is treating us to lunch.”
“Let me read the menu for you—braised pork, stewed meat with potatoes, spicy chicken, sweet-and-sour pork… I don’t even know what kind of mutant meat it is, but the seasoning is on point. The flavor? Whew…”
“And don’t forget, stir-fried bok choy, braised eggplant with green beans, celery with wood ear fungus, and a cold veggie platter…”
“F*ck you all, save me some—especially the vegetables. Three meat-heavy meals a day and I’m already constipated.”
“You’re seriously killing the mood.”
Amid the playful banter and jokes, they made sure to set aside an extra portion of vegetables for the two people in the cockpit.
By around 3 PM, they arrived at their first refueling point—a rooftop of an abandoned building in the Jin’nan Base area.
It was once a city, now overtaken by forests and wild growth. The once neatly landscaped streets were now lined with trees several meters tall, and the ground was densely covered with short shrubs.
Where steel and concrete had once defined the skyline, nature had now reclaimed. Tree roots pierced through structures, cracking them open and leaving everything on the verge of collapse.
“You sure this plane isn’t going to collapse the building?” Zheng Kai was the first to step out of the cabin, walking cautiously as he stared at a fortune tree that had pierced right through the rooftop structure. “This thing’s nearly 100 meters tall.”
“Relax, I reinforced it,” said Xia Ming, the earth-type ability user, scanning the surroundings while guarding his designated position.
The two pilots exited the cockpit and immediately began stretching. The sounds their joints made were unnerving—like creaky, unoiled machinery—sending chills down everyone’s spines.
“Ai Ping, go refuel. Han Fei and Meng Huan, eat while you can. Everyone else, stay on alert. Xia Ming, you’ll switch with Han Fei to pilot later,” Jin Diao said, eyes sharp as he surveyed the area and issued orders decisively.
“Roger!”
“Understood!”
…
Lu Weiyi handed the packed meals to the two pilots, using his psychic ability to scan the wider surroundings.
Compared to Capital, there was a noticeable increase in the number and variety of lifeforms here. Strange mutant birds flew past every so often—not all of them aggressive. Many were simply observing out of curiosity.
The most obvious difference was their size. Even the smallest one was no smaller than a basketball. Their feathers were vibrant and beautiful—so much so that it softened the group’s wariness. Even if a few dozen launched an attack, it wouldn’t dampen anyone’s mood. If anything, they found it fascinating.
“Did you guys see that? The one I just shot at had sky-blue feathers all over!”
“That’s nothing. I just saw one with an emerald-green back and a light yellow head—absolutely gorgeous.”
“This place really is an animal paradise. I’ve never seen any of these before. Anyone know what species they are?”
“The sky-blue one should be a blue-green finch. The emerald-green one seems to be a long-tailed broadbill,” Xu Sa said, arms crossed as he looked around, nudging Lu Weiyi with his elbow. “You know, what you guys are doing—back in the day—would’ve landed you five to ten years in prison.”
Before the ability users who had just made a move could respond, he continued, “Get the carcasses up here. We’ll take them back and try them out. Might as well bring back some local specialties while we’re out here.”
Several people looked at Xu Sa with complicated expressions, only to see Lu Weiyi beside him seriously nod in agreement.
A faint but pervasive energy spread from Lu Weiyi’s body. In the next moment, the mutated animals within sight were struck by invisible weapons, screaming as they plummeted. Yet before they even hit the ground, they were entangled by countless thread-like plant vines and disappeared from view.
In the sudden silence, Sun Kai was the first to speak, stunned: “Is this what an SS-rank ability looks like?”
“Not quite. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed all these mutated animals are extremely low-level,” Xu Sa said as he looked up. A current-based force field appeared above their heads in a dome shape, striking the passing mutant birds and sending them twitching to the ground beside them.
Just as he said, all the mutant creatures they’d encountered since descending in the aircraft seemed to only have experienced physical changes. Only a few were aggressive.
And none showed any signs of having abilities—completely different from the mutants they’d fought before.
This anomaly, in the context of the apocalypse, only made people more alert.
While controlling his plant-based tendrils to pick up the fallen creatures, Lu Weiyi also used them to observe the terrain about 100 meters below. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jin Diao walking toward Song Xiao.
“Hey, man—just asking, are all the mutated animals around your base like this?”
Song Xiao was still sitting inside the helicopter, not planning to step out. At the question, he briefly looked up at Jin Diao, then quickly lowered his gaze.
“N-No… No, I mean… yes. Yes.”
Jin Diao narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping over Song Xiao like a scanner. “Are you afraid of me?”
At his age, that kind of reaction was highly unusual—especially since this was a cooperative mission.
As the client, Jin Diao’s attitude was extremely polite, which only made Song Xiao’s skittishness more suspicious.
Under that intense gaze, Song Xiao shook his head, denying it, but instinctively leaned back as if trying to increase the distance between them.
Jin Diao’s eyes casually swept toward Meng Huan and Han Fei, who were eating nearby. Both gave subtle nods, signaling that they’d keep a close watch on Song Xiao.
Turning back, Jin Diao’s expression had grown cold and stern. He was now sure that Song Xiao—or more likely the entire Panshui Base—was hiding something from them.
Still, the mission was to suppress the overbreeding of mutated animals. The base had even offered an extra 50,000 crystal cores just to get the suppressant sprayed sooner. Jin Diao couldn’t think of what exactly was worth hiding.
He glanced around the chopper. Aside from the valuable suppressant and fuel, the only thing of real worth was the aircraft itself.
Could that be what they’re after?
Before he could figure it out, Ai Ping finished refueling. Han Fei and Meng Huan, having eaten and stretched, were ready to go. They wanted to reach the next refueling point before nightfall.
Back in the air, Jin Diao sat near the supplies in the cabin, right next to Song Xiao—so he could monitor him closely and respond immediately if anything went wrong.
