Guan Qian’s guess had been right. Overnight, the Aolong Base changed its policy toward Pei Ning.
They were even more cautious than before. In a single night, Pei Ning received countless “gifts to calm her nerves,” including the male models she had been longing for.
They were all breathtakingly handsome men, so Pei Ning naturally accepted them with pleasure and enjoyed herself to the fullest. Still, she did not truly let herself go.
According to her, no one at this base was worthy of trust. Having fun with handsome men was one thing, but when it came to actual contact, caution was essential.
Besides, there were countless ability users in this post-apocalyptic world, and their powers came in all sorts of bizarre forms. One could never be too careful.
Yet aside from their overt attempts to curry favor, both women could sense that Zhang Long’s surveillance and guards around them had grown even tighter.
Put plainly, these men wanted to make use of others without possessing the generosity or magnanimity to trust people once they had been recruited.
What was even more outrageous was how they spared no expense to win someone over when that person was useful, only to discard them like trash the moment they were no longer needed. They were cold-hearted and ungrateful, and utterly unworthy of trust.
Pei Liang was different. It wasn’t that no one in her base had once been extremely useful but had become less valuable as the base grew and more talented people joined. Even so, no one at Harbor Base would ever experience being cast aside once their usefulness was exhausted, or suffer a decline in treatment.
Pei Liang’s assessment of a person’s value was far-sighted. She could even see more clearly than the ability users themselves where their potential limits lay.
Those who had contributed would be given respectable “retirement” jobs. She would never be stingy with them.
Guan Qian knew that, judging from Zhang Long and the others’ character, once the information and technology she had brought with her were completely extracted, that would likely be the moment she was truly pushed out of the “Eighth Member” position.
She already had a plan in mind.
After all, it wasn’t as though they had never revealed their intentions. The clearest sign was the “matchmaking.”
Under the guise of worrying about her being single, they introduced her to the promising young men of the base. Their primary choices came from among the seven administrators.
After all, as the base’s managers, these men were brimming with confidence. Guan Qian was young and beautiful, and no matter whom she chose, she supposedly wouldn’t be losing out.
They called it a union of equals, but the moment she became one man’s appendage, the so-called “Eighth Member” management seat would become a joke.
That was the arrogance of men: they devoured everything and still acted as though they were bestowing a favor.
One could only say that her disgust and regret came from having seen every side of them and understood them too thoroughly.
The next morning, after the two women finished breakfast, the butler assigned to them came over cautiously to issue an invitation.
The combat team led by Zhang Long had already made all the preparations.
To give them credit, although the men of Aolong Base lived extravagantly and indulged themselves shamelessly, they never neglected serious matters.
Everything was ready. Guan Qian and Pei Ning only had to follow along.
The mutated plants near the base had naturally already been cleared out in large numbers. To search for edible mutated plants, they had no choice but to head farther into the outskirts.
Vegetable farms in the rural areas, or fields cultivated by individual farmers, contained relatively dense crops. Naturally, they had a much higher chance of mutation.
As it happened, their destination this time was close to Aolong Base’s neighboring base.
That base was run by a pair of siblings. The elder sister’s ability was defense.
She could deploy an enormous barrier that surrounded the entire base, making it impossible for anything outside to break through. At least for the time being, no ability user capable of breaching it had appeared.
If they wanted to successfully take the base, they would first have to expend an enormous amount of firepower and drain the strength of countless ability users. It simply was not worth the cost, which was why the base had become the proverbial tough bone in Aolong Base’s mouth.
Protected by the defensive barrier, the elder sister basically had nothing to fear from outside invasions as long as she did not leave the base.
Moreover, the base was located in the suburbs. Its buildings were not densely packed, but it had excellent conditions for cultivation.
Before the apocalypse, this was precisely the season when crops were about to be harvested. The town on which the base relied also contained sixty percent of the city’s factories and industrial facilities, so for the time being, it had no trouble sustaining itself.
What Aolong Base coveted were those factories and the countless large-scale production machines inside them.
Fortunately, although this neighboring base possessed unparalleled defensive capabilities, it lacked powerful combat strength. Aolong Base could not chew it apart, but neither could the neighboring base launch an offensive of its own.
As a result, the group had no burden weighing on them when they came to carry out missions near the base.
There were few zombies in the suburbs. After the ones that appeared were swiftly dispatched with a few bullets, Pei Ning efficiently located several varieties of edible mutated plants.
All of them were suitable both for consumption and as raw materials for production, so Zhang Long and the others were naturally overjoyed.
But no one noticed that after Pei Ning tamed the mutated plants, shrank them, and pulled out their cores, a single seed slipped from her sleeve and fell into the soil.
After the group returned to the base with an abundant harvest, Zhang Long—whether out of consideration for his promise to Pei Ning or to consolidate his own rule—opened the food warehouse and announced that supplies would be distributed to everyone in the city.
He also increased the basic food allotment from then on. Even those who were unable to work would be able to claim food for free.
For a time, the entire base was invigorated, and the pressure of survival was greatly eased.
For several days in a row, Zhang Long stayed busy taking Pei Ning out to search for a steady supply of renewable resources. Pei Ning did not complain about the hard work and cooperated enthusiastically.
It was as though nothing unpleasant had ever happened. Zhang Long and the others were quite satisfied with her understanding attitude.
As the number of days Pei Ning spent on missions increased, her experience in searching became more abundant, and her use of her ability grew more seasoned.
In less than half a month, she had essentially located all the crop varieties needed for daily life and production. The mutated plants in the growing areas opened up within the base grew wildly every day. Trucks came and went day and night, and even with everyone working overtime, they could barely harvest everything in time.
The entire base became rich beyond measure almost overnight.
With so many resources under their control, even Zhang Long and the others’ miserly nature could not prevent a greater amount from reaching the ordinary people.
Relying on these resources, as well as the open sharing of information, Aolong Base expanded boldly and without restraint.
It continually enlarged its territory, swallowed up other bases, and took in survivors. Now, no matter how many people they acquired, they could afford to feed them.
As long as Pei Ning remained with them, there was no limit to the size their base could reach.
As for the once nationally unrivaled Harbor Base, although it had adjusted its strategy after losing Pei Ning and was also desperately expanding in an effort to maintain its position as the leader, its resources were ultimately limited, and its pace remained too conservative.
The rapid rise of Aolong Base caused the ambitions of Zhang Long and the others to swell even further. Naturally, their conduct became increasingly arrogant. They displayed the wild confidence that those who followed them would prosper, while those who opposed them would perish.
At the same time, the neighboring-town base not far from Aolong Base obtained something.
It had not been acquired by accident. Although the neighboring-town base was not large, its special structure meant that it did not actually need to send people out to take risks.
However, Harbor Base had now called upon capable people across the country to help clear out the zombies and contribute to reclaiming human territory.
Anyone with even a shred of courage and spirit could not simply stand by and do nothing.
Thus, although its strength was limited, the neighboring-town base still assembled a combat unit, allocated its information resources, and did everything within its power to clear the wilderness.
They didn’t have enough firepower for large-scale extermination, so they could only wage guerrilla warfare, making the most of small-scale pheromone deployment. After some time, their results were surprisingly impressive.
The neighboring town’s base naturally expanded as well.
But one day, after the older sister’s defensive barrier had expanded to a certain range, a mutated plant suddenly grew.
There had been no warning. In theory, every area within the expanded range should already have been cleared using pheromones.
The siblings were both startled and hurried to the plant’s location, only to discover that it did not react to pheromones at all.
Nor did the mutated plant display any hostility. Instead, a flower bloomed at its tip, with a tiny chip nestled in its center.
In an almost humanlike gesture, it even handed the chip to them.
The two accepted it warily. After hesitating for a long while, they finally inserted the chip into a device. Immediately afterward, they received a message from Harbor Base.
Several days later, Pei Liang and her group appeared near the neighboring town’s base without anyone noticing.
The base was not far from the national highway Yu Cheng had used when he first arrived, so the journey had taken little time.
Yu Cheng had lied about how frequently he could use teleportation. He had also deliberately understated the maximum number of people he could carry at once. In reality, his ability was not limited by the number of people, but by volume.
At his current limit, he could teleport an object the size of a truck compartment in one go. Taking three people along was naturally no problem.
After landing, Yu Cheng sincerely praised Gong Ran. “My limit really has increased quite a bit. Thank you!”
The abilities purchased within the Reincarnation Space could be upgraded not only with points; regular training and opportunities encountered in instances were also important paths to improvement.
Unlike the ability users of this world, Reincarnation players had no way to absorb crystals to level up. Gong Ran, however, could expand and improve the quality of their abilities.
No wonder that when the system issued missions, it ranked Gong Ran as far more important and prioritized her guidance for the players than that of the male protagonist, Chu Yebai.
In the past, Yu Cheng had been unable to teleport such a large volume over such a long distance in one go.
After confirming their direction, they used a telescope for assistance and teleported only three times before reaching the edge of the neighboring town’s defensive barrier.
Sensing their arrival, the defensive barrier opened a passage one person high and three people wide. The four of them entered without hesitation.
The siblings in charge of the neighboring town’s base were Lin Ru and Lin Guo, fraternal twins. Before the apocalypse, they had only just graduated from university and found clerical jobs through interviews at a factory complex.
Though they lacked much life experience, the apocalypse had forced them to shoulder responsibility for the survival of the entire base. As a result, they had grown rapidly into capable leaders who could stand on their own.
Seeing the siblings waiting in the distance, Chu Yebai lowered his voice and said to Pei Liang, “Are you sure they’re willing to cooperate? Our ultimate plan is to absorb them completely. These siblings have done a good job, but even a ‘good’ person isn’t necessarily immune to the allure of power. They may still be reluctant to give up control.”
Pei Liang replied, “Their attitude during our previous communications was fairly positive. We can sit down and talk, at any rate. Miss Lin’s ability is very powerful. Although it isn’t suitable as a strategic weapon, it still has room for improvement. Once we win her over, many missions will become much easier.”
Chu Yebai said, “That’s true, but we should also prepare for the possibility that they won’t cooperate.”
“Those idiots at Aolong Base have already grown unbearably arrogant. Time is running out, and we don’t have much to spare on drawn-out negotiations. Ideally, we’ll reach an agreement today.”
“If we can’t reach a consensus today, then we’ll use a more forceful approach. Threats and intimidation, for example, would work well.”
Chu Yebai’s plan could not exactly be called unreasonable. After all, without Pei Liang, he would certainly have been one of the warlords to rise above the rest in the apocalypse.
His methods were decisive, even somewhat brutal. And because he was not an absolutely righteous person, he was the type who would make a choice without hesitation if sacrificing a minority could benefit the majority.
What he was saying now was simply preparation for the worst-case scenario.
But before Pei Liang could respond, Yu Cheng frowned.
He looked at Chu Yebai, undisguised disgust in his eyes. “She’s different from you. She must already have a solution that satisfies both sides and can persuade them.”
“Don’t corrupt her with your nonsense.”
Chu Yebai: “…”
Was this guy a fucking idiot?
Not only Chu Yebai—even Gong Ran gave Yu Cheng a baffled look.
Pei Liang smiled and said, “Captain Yu is right. I’m fairly good at negotiating. There aren’t many situations I can’t resolve through discussion.”
“However, if it truly comes to that, and the circumstances are urgent, then someone will have to make a painful sacrifice. There’s no helping it.”
Her words offended no one, but in the end, she clearly did not reject Chu Yebai’s way of doing things.
Chu Yebai raised his eyebrows at Yu Cheng, the meaning on his face obvious: What an idiot. He can’t even tell what’s going on.
Yu Cheng did not acknowledge him in the slightest. Instead, he put on a considerate expression and said to Pei Liang, “You’ll have to bear a lot.”
Chu Yebai and Gong Ran both felt as if they had stepped into thin air.
“Wait. What do you mean, she’ll have to bear a lot?”
Yu Cheng cast the two of them a sidelong glance. “Unlike the two of you, who are psychologically twisted and treat doing bad things as perfectly natural…”
“She obviously doesn’t want to hurt good people. Besides, they merely have different ideas, and these people have protected survivors and made enormous contributions. If there’s any alternative, she definitely won’t want things to reach this point. Of course she’ll be conflicted. It must be hard on her.”
Chu Yebai and Gong Ran: “…”
There was technically nothing wrong with what he said, but did he really think Pei Liang would feel pressured about threatening and intimidating people?
This blockhead had probably forgotten what happened when he himself was threatened—oh, right. It was his four teammates who had borne the pressure.
By the time he woke up, those four had already been stripped down to their underwear. He had never personally experienced that kind of setback.
As for Pei Liang’s rise to power, Yu Cheng, now a senior member of the base, could ask practically anyone about it and hear the whole story.
Chu Yebai hesitantly asked, “Have you perhaps never learned about the base’s history?”
Yu Cheng replied, “No. I know it all very clearly.”
That settled it. They had thought something seemed strange over the past few days. Sure enough, it wasn’t their imagination. This guy really did have an inexplicable rose-colored filter when it came to Pei Liang.
And he was especially biased in her favor.
The two of them were furious, but by then they were already face-to-face with the Lin siblings, so they had no choice but to let it go.
Pei Liang extended a hand toward the siblings. “Pei Liang, head of Harbor Base.”
Lin Ru also extended her hand. “My name is Lin Ru. We can skip the pleasantries. I’ll get straight to the point.”
“You said that Aolong Base would be dismantled within a week, that the dictators led by Zhang Long would be punished, and that order from before the apocalypse would be restored. Is that true?”
“It is.”
“Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but Aolong Base is already larger and stronger than Harbor Base. I recognize Harbor Base’s principles and strength. If we weren’t so far apart, and if my ability weren’t insufficient to guarantee everyone’s safe arrival, I would choose to seek refuge at Harbor Base and restore our pre-apocalypse way of life.”
“But you claim that Aolong Base can be dismantled within a week, even though they have already absorbed several surrounding bases. I have doubts about how credible that claim is.”
Pei Liang smiled. “Of course. Saying one week isn’t entirely accurate—it’s just a rough estimate.”
Lin Ru sighed inwardly. As expected, with Harbor Base’s current strength, facing the Aolong Base was still—
Before the thought could fully form, Pei Liang continued, “In reality, that estimate doesn’t include the purge of the mid- and lower-level lackeys, the possibility that powerful ability users might escape, or the time needed to bring the entire base under our control.”
“But dismantling the leadership will take only one night. I’m giving myself a generous timetable to leave some room for error.”
Lin Ru was startled. Her pupils contracted as she stared in disbelief at the woman who had just made such an arrogant statement.
*
Aolong Base had been thriving lately. Its territory, population, and labor force had all surpassed the estimates sent back by the informants within Harbor Base.
There was no doubt about it: they were now the foremost base in the country.
Zhang Long laughed. “As expected, women are still women. They only know how to make wedding clothes for someone else. Pei Liang’s move was pretty clever.”
“But in the end, we’re the ones reaping the rewards. Once we’ve brought all the bases in the country under our control, we’ll move on to the entire world.”
Before the apocalypse, they had been nothing more than a group of desperate criminals. They had never imagined that they would have such an opportunity in this lifetime.
They were about to accomplish a feat unparalleled in human history—a mad ambition on a grand scale. How could that not be thrilling?
But when he saw Pei Ning enter his field of vision, Zhang Long reined in the contempt he felt toward women.
Regardless, this woman was someone they needed to win over.
Pei Ning acted as if she hadn’t heard what he had said earlier and showed no displeasure.
She merely sat down beside him and swirled the wine in her glass. “Our base is unstoppable now. That proves my choice was the right one.”
“I’m also looking forward to seeing our agreement fulfilled soon.”
One of the conditions for Pei Ning defecting to Aolong Base was that they defeat her older sister and help her take the man she had set her sights on, Chu Yebai.
Zhang Long replied generously, “Of course. That little matter is hardly worth mentioning.”
Pei Ning continued, “But it seems there’s a holdout within our sphere of influence. You’ve never been able to eliminate them.”
Zhang Long’s expression darkened.
Pei Ning was naturally referring to the Neighboring Town Base. By now, Aolong Base’s sphere of influence had expanded several times over, and strictly speaking, the Neighboring Town Base was already within their territory.
Yet not only had they been unable to do anything about it, the Neighboring Town Base had even cleared out the zombies on its own and was slowly expanding. It showed no awareness whatsoever that it had entered someone else’s territory.
It acted as though the land outside was still unclaimed and open to anyone.
In the past, Aolong Base would have been too lazy to bother with them. But now, this was practically an act of provocation.
Even without Pei Ning bringing it up, Zhang Long already regarded the Neighboring Town Base as a thorn in his side.
Pei Ning took a sip of wine and smiled. “I heard that one of the people in charge of the Neighboring Town Base is a handsome man.”
Zhang Long smiled as well, though he felt disdainful inside. There was no doubt that this woman was capable, but her horizons were limited. All she cared about were trivial matters like romance, vanity, and indulgence.
Still, that was a good thing. As long as they gave her enough benefits, she would be easy to control. Besides, the Lin siblings really were attractive. He had dealt with them from a distance before.
The older sister in particular, as the leader of a base, possessed an imposing and unyielding air. She was naturally different from some plaything that could be obtained at will.
That made her all the more appealing to a man’s desire to conquer.
Thinking of the powerful ability users they had recently recruited, along with the assault by the mutated plants Pei Ning could control, Zhang Long figured that no matter how strong the siblings’ defensive shield was, it could only withstand a limited duration of continuous attacks.
He rose and made the decision on the spot. “That holdout really is an eyesore. We’ll pull it out by the roots tonight.”
Pei Ning’s face filled with admiration and approval. Then her gaze met Guan Qian’s across the room, where the latter was drinking.
A certain emotion flashed through both their eyes at the same time—
Damn it, this mission had better be over soon.
To be honest, staying around this bunch of greasy, disgusting men who didn’t even realize how repulsive they were had ruined her appetite.
Pei Ning was one thing. Guan Qian was the real problem. Just as she had expected, whenever Zhang Long had free time lately, he was enthusiastic about playing matchmaker for her.
The others had also begun pursuing her. The base’s leaders treated her like the center of attention, and an ordinary woman might have felt her vanity thoroughly satisfied.
But every one of these men was greasy and shameless in everything they did. They openly kept mistresses behind the scenes and could not even be bothered to pretend otherwise.
Guan Qian was disgusted to the point of nausea. They wanted to take advantage of her status as “the Eighth Member” to consolidate their own positions, yet acted as though they were doing her a favor, all while putting on an unbearably arrogant front.
Damn it. She must have been out of her mind to defect to this bunch of idiots.
The people from Aolong Base equipped themselves and set out. Zhang Long led dozens of elite ability users, including Pei Ning, Guan Qian, and Bai Rou.
Half of the seven administrators came along, while the remaining three stayed behind to guard the base. More than a dozen vehicles advanced in a grand procession.
When they arrived at the Neighboring Town Base, the defensive shield around the perimeter was, as usual, extremely difficult to break through.
Pei Ning distributed the seeds in her hands and instructed everyone, “Scatter them in the eight directions around the base.”
Everyone took the seeds and split up, proceeding with calm efficiency. After all, apart from the area within the defensive shield, everything outside was already Aolong territory.
People naturally guarded against invasions from outside, but since everything on the perimeter appeared normal, everyone’s attention was focused on the defensive shield.
The groups that had dispersed scattered the seeds at the designated locations and reported over their radios.
“Done!”
“Done here too!”
“My side’s ready as well.”
The moment the words fell, the seeds began growing at incredible speed. In just a few seconds, they had covered the defensive shield. They continued multiplying without limit, and soon, blocked by the shield, they formed a massive sphere made entirely of green vines.
The vines, brimming with aggression, writhed like living snakes as they desperately burrowed toward the inside of the defensive shield. Although the shield continued to hold firm, it was obvious that the combined pressure from all sides had destabilized its structure. It was no longer as secure as usual.
Zhang Long and the others wore astonished expressions. Pei Ning’s value was enormous, but they had never expected her to become a combat asset.
Now that they had witnessed this, they needed to reassess her worth.
Still, Zhang Long did not skimp on his praise. He smiled and said, “You’ll deserve the most credit for taking this base. But has your ability really become powerful enough to launch an attack on this scale?”
Pei Ning waved her hand. “Not quite. I only asked some friends to help. They’re the ones doing the actual work.”
Zhang Long was left marveling. No matter how he looked at it, this ability was practically a cheat.
Perhaps his earlier praise had stirred up her vanity. She smiled and said, “Brother Long, can I serve as the overall commander for this operation? You can keep an eye on things beside me and step in wherever I fall short.”
It was a minor matter, and she had given him enough respect. A little woman indulging in a burst of vanity now and then was understandable, and it would not delay the operation. He had no reason to refuse.
“Fine,” he said. “You’re in command.”
Pei Ning immediately revealed a delighted smile. Picking up her radio, she ordered, “Those who placed the seeds, stay where you are. Once the defensive shield breaks, enter from your respective directions and take as many hostages as possible.”
“The rest of you will break through from the main entrance. Use firepower to breach the first layer of defenses. Ranged ability users, get ready…”
Pei Ning’s arrangements were orderly and methodical, which surprised Zhang Long.
The tactics weren’t particularly impressive, but they were cautious and sound enough. Given their advantage in strength, following the plan step by step would make the entire process easy.
There was no reckless charge and no confusion in the deployment. It seemed this woman wasn’t simply an idiot after all.
That made things interesting. A wary glint flashed through Zhang Long’s eyes.
Before he could think further, a burst of excited cheering from around them interrupted his thoughts.
It turned out that the protective barrier had finally shattered under the piercing and twisting assault of the mutant plant vines.
“Attack!” Pei Ning ordered.
The people at the other entrances were just about to step into the base when countless bullets suddenly poured out.
Several of them failed to react in time and were killed on the spot.
“What’s going on? Didn’t they say this base had no weapons?” those who had dodged the bullets hurriedly asked.
But then their bodies abruptly stiffened. At some point, the vines had already wrapped around their legs.
Through the hole blasted open in the barrier, they could now see several people inside wearing black combat uniforms and wielding heavy weapons.
One of them let out a vicious laugh. “Unfortunately for you, the intelligence was wrong.”
Although this operation was massive, there weren’t actually that many people involved. After all, an enormous base needed to be operated, and its personnel were scattered throughout the various areas.
Pei Ning had sent a third of their people away in one move, and they had died easily in the unexpected ambush.
At that moment, the main force launched its own attack. Once the protective barrier was destroyed, the firepower blasted apart the vines blocking their view.
But what greeted them was not a crude main entrance they could simply storm through. Instead, there stood a massive metal wall.
Zhang Long sneered. “That lousy base has more capable people than just those siblings. We underestimated them.”
“Keep firing!”
Under the relentless bombardment, the enormous metal gate finally gave way and collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Everyone rubbed their fists and prepared to charge inside, only to find heavy weapons concentrated directly behind the metal gate.
Shells immediately rained down in their direction. Zhang Long was startled and was just about to protect Pei Ning and retreat when someone beat him to it.
Guan Qian placed a hand on Pei Ning, and Pei Ning vanished into thin air.
“You—”
Before Zhang Long could react, Guan Qian waved at him. “Bye-bye, you fucking idiot.”
He instantly realized that the woman had betrayed them. Her betrayal was one thing, but he could not let her take Pei Ning away.
Zhang Long condensed several blades of air and sent them slicing toward Guan Qian. Yet just before the blades could cut into her skin, they came to a complete stop.
The air blades that had always obeyed his will were no longer under his control. How was that possible? Who could do such a thing?
No. There was someone who could.
Zhang Long immediately understood.
Pei Liang’s paramour, the Harbor Base’s second-in-command—a man named Chu Yebai.
His ability was telekinesis. According to the scouts’ assessment, he was an exceptionally rare and powerful ability user, with a level of control far beyond what an ordinary person could achieve.
The barrage of firepower ceased for the moment, scattering everyone around them. Several people then emerged from the base.
A tall and handsome man led the group, with only five people behind him, including the Lin siblings.
Yet despite facing more than twenty powerful ability users, they moved with ease, completely at their leisure.
The moment they appeared, an aura belonging to true powerhouses swept over them and crushed them.
Cold sweat broke out across Zhang Long’s body. How far away was that man? Fifty meters? A hundred?
And how far was Zhang Long from Guan Qian? Less than five meters.
With such a disparity in distance, Zhang Long should have possessed absolute control.
But he simply had no way to control his air blades anymore.
The man glanced at their group and sighed helplessly. “Weren’t you supposed to be the largest base in terms of manpower?”
“Why is your combat strength such complete trash? We made so many preparations and even deliberately spread ourselves out, only to end up facing this?”
Upon hearing his blatant arrogance, the Lin siblings twitched at the corners of their mouths.
Though it could hardly be called arrogance. With their strength, he had every right to act that way.
Chu Yebai beckoned Zhang Long with a finger. “Come on. Let’s finish this quickly. Once I take care of you, I can go help out over there.”
“The people left behind at the base are trash too, but there are a lot of them. If I waste time dealing with a few useless idiots, people will complain that I’m not putting in enough effort.”
Cold sweat poured down Zhang Long’s face. He didn’t dare move even one step.
Chu Yebai lifted a finger. Zhang Long instinctively prepared to counterattack, only to realize that Chu Yebai wasn’t targeting him at all.
Instead, Guan Qian rose into the air and flew toward the others.
No. He couldn’t let Guan Qian take Pei Ning away.
Zhang Long hardened his resolve and unleashed his full strength. The air before him warped, while the men around him coordinated with practiced efficiency.
Countless weapons and abilities shot toward Guan Qian.
But in an instant, time seemed to stop. Whether physical weapons or ability attacks, none of them could advance another inch.
The entire space seemed to be under Chu Yebai’s control, while they were nothing more than toys he could fold and twist at will.
Several people, Zhang Li among them, suddenly found their arms or legs twisting tight, as though they were towels being wrung out.
Blood sprayed into the air, and agonizing pain shot through their bodies.
Guan Qian descended unhurriedly beside Lin Ru. Chu Yebai didn’t even spare her a glance.
Instead, he looked displeased as he stared at the people who had attacked moments ago. “So many people attacking a noncombatant woman at once… Isn’t that a little inappropriate?”
Zhang Long’s vision blurred with pain, and Chu Yebai’s figure flickered in and out of focus before his eyes.
Was this it? This terrifyingly powerful, invincible man was only the Harbor Base’s second-in-command?
How laughable had their previous ambition and self-confidence been?
