Chapter 486: Return to Base
“What’s your goal?” Li Ze took a step forward and grabbed Song Xiao by the neck. The veins on the back of his hand bulged. Song Xiao’s face turned crimson as he clawed at Li Ze’s arm, struggling uselessly, even trying to use his powers to resist.
But Li Ze had already absorbed a core. His lost energy had been partially restored, and with his high-rank control, he could manipulate every ounce of power in his body with precision.
A mere C-rank couldn’t possibly fight back.
The vines Song Xiao tried to summon were shattered before they could even get close—dispersed by Li Ze’s wave of the hand.
He had forcibly broken apart intangible energy.
Song Xiao had never even heard of something like that before. His eyes filled with terror.
Li Ze lifted him off the ground by the throat, and even then, he had the presence of mind to slice in half a mutated rabbit—nearly half his height—that had lunged toward them.
The rabbit didn’t even have time to struggle before it hit the ground in two pieces. Its blood immediately attracted some sluggish crawlers. In no time, the rabbit’s body was crawling with insects, and the grotesque sound of chewing echoed around them.
Song Xiao felt as if he could already see what would happen to his body after death—the sensation of being devoured until not even scraps remained had already crept over him.
Li Ze suddenly flung him next to the corpse of the mutated rabbit. Song Xiao clutched his neck, coughing violently. As he accidentally turned his head to the side, a palm-sized worm brushed against his cheek. It was white and slowly squirming, looking just like the maggots that formed on rotting flesh. Forget coughing—he scrambled away, rolling and crawling toward a spot slightly farther away.
Li Ze calmly followed behind him. Only when Song Xiao finally stopped did he ask lightly, “Remember anything now?”
“I’ll talk… I’ll talk…” Song Xiao wiped his face.
“I don’t know much. I only know that around Mount Ai, there’s some kind of spirit creature that specifically feeds on ability users. None of them come back, but normal people are fine. Some surviving ordinary folks said they saw tree spirits grabbing people and eating them.”
“Mount Ai was already a primeval forest before the apocalypse. After the apocalypse, the vegetation became even denser. No major factions dared come near, so hardly anyone knows about this. Plus, some major organizations in the Panshui Base silenced the rumors and forbade people from mentioning it, so the news never spread.”
Li Ze’s teeth ground together audibly. “So what were you people trying to do this time?”
“Before the apocalypse, this area had a huge variety of animals. Now with the rapid overpopulation, the ground is no longer livable. Some people at the base wanted to contact powerful ability users to see if they could handle the situation at Mount Ai. But later, for some reason, they changed plans and pushed you guys out there instead…”
Seeing Li Ze’s expression darken again, Song Xiao quickly added, “I really don’t know the specifics. I’m just a nobody. I don’t even qualify to enter a major organization.”
“They just needed someone to be sent to die. My sister offended someone in their group—if I didn’t come, she would’ve died.” A grown man, Song Xiao sobbed like a child, as if letting out years of grief. “She’s only twelve. She’s just a kid… I couldn’t let her die.”
Li Ze slapped him hard, knocking him to the ground.
So he couldn’t watch his sister die—so he sent them to die instead?
Thinking it through, it was clear the people at Panshui Base did initially want Lu Wei Yi’s team to deal with the threat. But something must have changed midway. They hid the real situation and turned it into a trap.
Lu Wei Yi didn’t have many weaknesses. Zhuang Mingxu and the child were both protected at Half Moon Bay Base, which had the top ability users in the country. Even in Capital, S-rank bodyguards followed them constantly. Attacking them directly was nearly impossible.
But Lu Xiao was different.
He had a whole team to lead, and missions were the perfect bait. This one was already meant to be conducted outside the base. Even if Lu Wei Yi didn’t come at first, once something happened, Lu Xiao would definitely ask him for help.
If they survived, Panshui Base would benefit.
If they failed, it wouldn’t be tied back to them.
They might not even have to pay any crystal cores since the mission would be deemed incomplete—a free pass, essentially.
“Brilliant scheme,” Li Ze muttered. Just as he was wondering how the others were doing, a loud boom echoed from the direction of the rendezvous point.
His heart dropped.
“Get up. We’re moving,” Li Ze said to Song Xiao and quickly set off toward the source of the sound.
*
Unlike the others who couldn’t immediately determine the cause of the explosion, Lu Wei Yi, having personally experienced it, knew something was wrong the moment he heard it. He remembered they were still using pre-apocalypse explosives.
Crystal-core bombs were still being researched. Their power wasn’t yet sufficient, so they hadn’t been deployed.
He quickly climbed up a tall tree and extended his spiritual senses toward the distance, immediately detecting the scattered energy.
Having seen countless crystal core explosions in his previous life, he could identify it in an instant. Even after reincarnation, though the use of purified crystal cores had reduced incidents of self-destruction during upgrades, the bloody scenes of core detonations were etched deep into his bones. Just from the energy alone, he could tell—
Something had gone wrong.
He also saw thick, ominous smoke rising from the rendezvous point.
After a moment of hesitation, Lu Wei Yi decided he had to go see what had happened.
Maybe… just maybe, some teammates were still alive and waiting to be rescued.
*
The return to base went surprisingly smoothly—so smooth that it left the team dazed.
They’d entered darkness underground at dawn, and by the time they emerged, the sun hadn’t even started setting.
Realizing they’d consumed barely any ability energy along the way, they all wore expressions of disbelief.
“Base Chief Zhuang, which city are the base construction crews currently working on?” Tang Bai had already discussed it with the team from Pingjin Base before arriving, and now quickly stepped forward to build a connection.
“Currently, we’re at Capital Base. Next up is Mengbei Base, and then there are several more lined up.” Zhuang Mingxu had only heard workers say the underground route was safe, but didn’t expect it to be this safe. With another batch of crystal cores arriving, he beamed with joy.
“Since we’re old friends, can we cut the line?”
“Haha, the soonest we could do it is after Mengbei. They’ve already paid half the deposit. And Tang, buddy, you saw it during the rest stop—our construction quality is top-notch. These crystal cores aren’t a small cost.” Pingjin Base was split among multiple factions, and many matters required balanced negotiation. Even though Tang Bai had influence, he couldn’t make decisions entirely on his own.
“We want to connect Pingjin Base with Half Moon Bay Base. Zhuang, this isn’t our first time working together—and it won’t be the last. Give us a solid price, will you?” Tang Bai had already reached an agreement with Blizzard Squad and Fierce Tiger Squad along the way. Several mid-sized squads also showed interest. The only bottleneck now was the price of the crystal cores. Back in Capital, Zhuang Mingxu’s quote had shocked everyone.
“Pingjin to Half Moon Bay…” Zhuang Mingxu mentally calculated the distance and didn’t give a specific figure. “I’ll send someone to measure it once I get back. Underground, we have to account for geological conditions. We’ll price it based on the length. Don’t worry—we’re old partners. I’ll definitely give you a good deal.”
“Alright, I’ll wait for your good news then,” Tang Bai said, then decisively led his team toward the Pingjin Base.
Zhuang Mingxu reorganized his own team. After asking the military guards at the entrance about the surrounding situation and confirming there were no abnormalities, he led his team toward the base entrance a kilometer away.
The base looked the same as ever—almost unchanged from when they left.
“Daoist Tianning, I’ve already arranged accommodations for you in advance. Xu Yi, take the Daoist to Zhongdao and help him settle in. Lin Mo, go with them and ensure their safety,” Zhuang Mingxu said before even getting out of the car.
“Much obliged, benefactor,” Daoist Tianning nodded to him.
The vehicle stopped in front of the North Island government building. Zhuang Mingxu exchanged recent updates between the two bases with Wu Yue, who had come to meet them. Meanwhile, the Gu brothers helped distribute and sort the supplies brought back by the various teams. The surroundings were bustling with noise and activity.
“Base Chief Zhuang, we’ve packed up our supplies and will head back now,” Ye Jia said, waving from afar after instructing his people to leave with their things.
“Alright, thanks for your hard work. Once we’re done here, I’ll have someone contact you about the rest.”
“Okay,” Du Ping responded, pausing slightly.
Zhuang Mingxu noticed he had something to say and gave him a look to go ahead.
“Base Chief Zhuang, about those instruments you said you’d set aside for us…” Du Ping had been thinking about it ever since those devices from Half Moon Bay appeared in Capital.
Everyone else immediately stopped and looked over when they heard this.
“Tomorrow. A batch of those instruments has indeed been reserved for our base’s teams, and there’s a discounted price. Someone will inform you of the specifics tomorrow. If you intend to purchase, apply through the government offices. If you meet the requirements, you can buy them.”
Having received the answer he wanted, Du Ping and the other team members left with the supplies they’d brought back.
Wu Yue, who had remained silent, raised an eyebrow and asked Zhuang Mingxu in a low voice, “What instruments?”
“The ones newly developed and now being sold by the Academy of Sciences,” Zhuang Mingxu replied openly. After all, the latest research equipment was prioritized for their own teams.
“You said… meeting requirements? What do you mean by that?” That was what made Wu Yue uneasy.
Zhuang Mingxu smiled. Wu Yue immediately had a bad feeling, and sure enough, Zhuang said calmly, “Some teams in the base are showing signs of shifting their focus inward, which isn’t good for the base’s large-scale missions.”
The base had clear regulations for the major teams under the Ability Users’ Guild: they were required to assist in one or two missions annually without conditions. This affected the fees they paid when going out on missions. If teams transitioned to internal work only, they wouldn’t need to pay those fees.
