No wonder there was no settlement core inside the surprise settlement. It must be some special setup—either it can be carried around or it's hidden.
Qi Xu decided not to open this surprise card himself. He would take it back for Bian to open. Bringing Bian along wasn't just to make use of her clever little brain, but also to tap into her luck.
When they successfully returned to the grain settlement, everyone felt like they could barely crawl in. Their limbs were so weak they had no strength left, feeling as if they hadn't eaten for ten days to half a month. It was completely comparable to the toughest days when they first arrived on the Survival Highway.
But... Master Chef was like a ray of light, rushing over with a huge plate of braised chicken legs and handing one right to each person's mouth. The aroma of the chicken legs wafted straight into their noses~
"Quick, quick, quick, hurry up and eat something. You must be starving. Have a chicken leg to tide you over. We've got soup ready here for you. Rice and dishes are all portioned out and set on the tables. Everyone, find a seat quickly. Eat first, eat first. Nothing else matters for now."
The logistics team had pieced together all the scrap cardboard and discarded stones, assembling them into simple makeshift tables.
Each table was fully laden with dishes and rice. The feeling of being able to sit down and eat immediately was absolutely blissful, exploding with happiness. The most perfect logistics team!
After eating and drinking his fill, Qi Xu quickly exchanged information with Bian.
Upon hearing that ThreeKing had used nearly ten bombs without even breaking the first layer of the protective shield, while their own group had thrown thousands upon thousands of punches at the shield until their fists were all swollen red like big loaves of bread...
He couldn't help but laugh. Just thinking about it was hilarious.
Several members of the logistics team had absolutely no long-range combat abilities and certainly wouldn't step outside the protective shield to fight them, so they directly unleashed "psychological warfare."
Each of them brought a small stool, sat inside the protective shield, savoring the braised chicken legs made by Master Chef's own hands, eating with immense relish. They watched this group of people frantically pounding on the shield, offering pointers and commentary from time to time, laughing and joking without a care in the world, as if watching a play.
Just from the description, Qi Xu could already imagine how damaging that scene must have been for the people from District 08... So satisfying... ah, no, so tragic.
Qi Xu first went to check the core of the grain settlement. The big shell was clinging tightly to it, as if wishing it could share its own shell with it.
Confirming it was immovable, Qi Xu then returned.
He handed the surprise card to Bian.
Bian thought for a moment and said, "I think the types of surprise cards are very broad. Something like a movable settlement core isn't something we really need.
It would be great if we could get a full-team stat boost effect. Or, a few more fatal protection cards or revival cards for key personnel. If that's not possible, getting ten or twenty food cards, weapon cards, or medicine cards would work too.
Sweetie, are you listening? Hmm?"
Bian repeatedly stroked the card as if looking at a priceless treasure. She didn't rush to open it, "communicating feelings" with it for quite a while before clicking to use it.
〖Congratulations on obtaining an effect that increases all members' Strength stat by 50%.〗
"Cool!"
"Amazing, amazing! I feel like I have endless strength now!"
Qi Xu instantly made a connection. "District 08 probably also has a stat boost, increasing Speed. No wonder they could move so fast, directly bypassing the weapon settlement to attack us here."
Bian went to fetch another big bowl of rice for Qi Xu and said, "Eat first, get some proper rest. There's no hurry today. Let those three districts clash first. We'll just send out small teams from our settlement center to search for drones separately."
"That's what I was thinking too. As long as we're in the settlement, even if all three districts cooperate and attack, we shouldn't be afraid."
"That's the logic."
After everyone finished eating, they realized their bodies were extremely fatigued, especially Qi Xu, Dongfang Yuan, Song Peifeng, and Wolf Warrior 004—they were the ones who used skills or fought the most this morning, to the point where even lifting their arms was difficult.
So the four of them rested directly to recover. The others split into two teams, led by the Retired Magical Boy and Dandan Qi respectively, to search the surrounding area for drones.
Because their condition was still okay, and they had retrieved two searchlights from the vehicle during the day, the two teams didn't plan to return immediately even after dark. But they soon discovered that once it got dark and they were outside the settlement, both Hunger and Fatigue values soared rapidly.
They immediately scrambled and scurried back in a hurry...
In the afternoon, Qi Xu opened all the cards he could. Basically, everyone now had a weapon in hand. Even if they couldn't summon their own weapons, they at least had a machine gun or a long knife for protection.
Compared to yesterday, it was a standard case of trading a bird rifle for a cannon!
At 10 PM, the light screen broadcast sounded again.
〖Congratulations to District 08 of Major Zone 01 for successfully occupying the medicine settlement. Your brave, fearless, and determined agile figures have deeply moved this Ball Ball. A special reward of 10 Universal Medicine Cards and three Revival Cards.〗
"Oh my god, this Ball Ball really has no shame left."
"Why did we only get 10 Weapon Cards for successfully capturing the weapon settlement?!"
"I give up, I give up, spelled out in capital letters! Truly the favorite son."
Bian suddenly picked up on a key phrase, "Favorite son?"
Then she involuntarily tugged at Qi Xu's sleeve. Qi Xu gave an almost imperceptible slight nod. Upon hearing this broadcast... Qi Xu had begun to vaguely figure out what Wolf Warrior 003 was trying to play at.
His choice was right. Rather than all standing in opposition to the Bad Ball and letting it foster a powerful opponent first, it's better to turn the person it's fostering into one of our own.
From the very beginning, Qi Xu never doubted that Wolf Warrior 003 wanted to stand on his side. He couldn't pinpoint the exact reason—it was just intuition, a very clear intuition.
Even when he first met Wolf Warrior 003, whose demeanor was completely different from the other Wolf Warriors, he recognized him immediately.
This feeling was rather mystical.
Could it be that he's also... an old friend?
Qi Xu felt inexplicably excited. If they were playing it this way... he could cooperate with Wolf Warrior 003, build him up a bit, and make the Bad Ball think even more highly of him.
Giving up first place? No chance. But they could definitely...
Qi Xu and Bian exchanged a knowing glance. Heh heh.
Dongfang Yuan and Little Blessing were angrily cursing with full momentum when they noticed the two "old foxes" secretly exchanging looks again. They immediately stopped and cooled down. To be honest, in this special space, even cursing was exhausting.
Better to shut up and lie down to rest... One look and they knew those two had a plan. Every time these two exchanged glances, someone was bound to suffer...
.........
