novelraw Chapter 269 - 258: Attention to Detail
Chapter 269 - 258: Attention to Detail
The man felt the situation had become tricky.
’This time, the higher-ups had gone so far as to expose this batch of infected ahead of schedule, all to test Gu Xi’s superpower. Had it returned to its peak? Had she touched the threshold of eternal life?’
But to his surprise, Gu Xi hadn’t used her superpower at all. Instead, she’d pulled out a Superpower Gun and just started blasting away.
Normally, as long as the Crystal Cores in the infected’s brains remained intact, their bodies could be riddled with a hundred holes and they’d still be deadly weapons. But bizarrely, this batch of infected—which the higher-ups had spent a fortune to acquire—was simply... blasted into oblivion by Gu Xi.
In fact, under the barrage from Gu Xi’s Superpower Gun, these infected were even less durable than ordinary people. At least an ordinary person could move nimbly to dodge, but the movements of these infected were far too slow.
They were like rusty marionettes. Shooting them was as simple as target practice; there was almost no difference.
One shot, one kill. One shot, one kill...
It was... fucking absurd.
What was even more absurd was that the man had secretly inspected the infected’s corpses afterward. Aside from a very few who had been shot in the head, the brains of the rest were almost all completely intact.
’So, how in the world did they die?’
The man couldn’t wrap his head around it. His gaze toward Gu Xi grew warier.
In truth, Gu Xi was also a little surprised.
She’d long known that the fully evolved form of Unknown No. 1 could devour superpowers and act as a parasite in any living organism, but she hadn’t expected it could parasitize the infected as well.
Moreover, its speed of control was astonishingly fast. In just a few short minutes, it had silently devoured the Crystal Cores inside the infected’s brains.
...It was practically the ultimate weapon for crowd control.
In this regard, its power even surpassed her Bud—after all, Bud was often very picky and wouldn’t just devour any type of energy.
But this thing... who knew if it had been starved before or had just never eaten anything good since its birth, but it was a complete omnivore, refusing nothing. It not only devoured the Crystal Cores of the infected but also consumed the viral energy source within their bodies!
A true glutton.
Wei Heng and the others noticed the infected’s strange behavior as well.
After all, they had been the first to engage them.
Wei Heng’s perception was especially keen. When they first clashed with the infected, their movements had been stiff, but they were practically immune to all damage—bodies like steel, capable of resisting most superpowers.
But very quickly, their defenses began to fail...
Wei Heng didn’t know how Gu Xi had done it, but it was obvious she was responsible.
’And then there was the man who had suddenly appeared...’
"What are you going to do with him? Take him back with us?" Wei Heng asked Gu Xi, glancing at the man who was lying by the fire and talking with Qin Yi.
Gu Xi tossed the Mutated Rat King she was holding to the side. "Let’s wait and see." ’Since he went to such great lengths to show up,’ she thought, ’I should at least give him a chance to reveal his intentions, shouldn’t I?’
Just then, Lin Jin and Zhao Li, who had been scouting the vicinity, walked over.
"Miss Gu, we found a batch of opened Hibernation Chambers in the basement of a store out back," Zhao Li said in a low voice, his back to the fire. "Lin Jin and I confirmed the count; it’s all there."
"Good work." Gu Xi thought for a moment, then pulled two large apples from her dimensional space and handed them over.
Zhao Li and Lin Jin were speechless. ’There are perks like this? It’s true what they say, stick with Miss Gu and you’ll be well-fed.’
The two didn’t hold back, taking the apples and immediately digging in.
"CRUNCH"—The large apples were sweet and crisp.
Lin Jin finished his in a few bites, wiping his mouth with a sense of wanting more. He didn’t hide his curiosity as he asked Gu Xi, "Miss Gu, how did you know there was a batch of Hibernation Chambers hidden here?"
"I didn’t," Gu Xi said, nudging the Mutated Rat King lying beside her with her foot. "It chose this place."
It turned out that after its secret stash of fruit was exposed, this shifty-eyed creature had immediately expressed its desire to turn over a new leaf.
And to show its sincerity, it had offered Gu Xi a pledge of loyalty. After playing the victim for a bit, it told her that someone had ordered it to lead her to a certain place...
Gu Xi didn’t know if this was a deliberate ploy, and she didn’t care to find out. Since someone wanted her to come here, she’d come.
Worst case, they’d just have another fight.
Gu Xi was tired of the endless conspiracies and calculations.
But she never expected that this time, her opponent would be willing to spend so much to give her such a lavish gift.
—Hundreds of Hibernation Chambers!
It was an absolutely extravagant gesture.
Li Ming had spent the last few years meticulously combing through old records. Based on the materials and supplies that went missing back then, no more than ten thousand Hibernation Chambers could have been manufactured during the early days of the apocalypse.
Although she wasn’t sure how many Ye Junhan had found, the few hundred chambers here were a significant number.
If the appearance of those High-level Zombies after the major earthquake was an accident, then this recent batch of infected was definitely sent to her on purpose, for her to kill.
The defecting Mutated Rat King at her feet was the best proof of that.
Gu Xi lowered her gaze, fiddling with the little green sprout on her fingertip. ’Oh, Yun Ye, Yun Ye, what are you trying to do? Are you really just going to hand over your trump cards to me like this?’
...
"You’re saying you want to join our squad for the time being?" Gu Xi looked up at the man, seemingly unsurprised.
"Yes," the man began, about to deliver the lines he had prepared to persuade her, but Gu Xi simply nodded and said calmly, "Alright. But our team doesn’t carry dead weight. If you want to come with us..."
Gu Xi glanced at the man.
The man froze for a second before quickly adding, "I have a Water Ability, and I’m a decent cook..."
Wei Heng, who was standing nearby with a newly prepped clay pot, about to make breakfast: "..."
The man looked at Wei Heng, his eyes finally landing on the bag of rice in his hands. "How about I make breakfast today? You can all get a taste of my cooking..."
Nearby, Qi Xiang and the others exchanged a look.
’Oh, so he came prepared!’
「Half an hour later.」
"Your... cooking is actually pretty good," Wei Heng admitted, taking a sip of sweet potato congee. He wasn’t one to lie.
The man handed a bowl of congee, cooled to the perfect temperature, to Gu Xi and said humbly, "It’s decent."
"You’re too modest," Wei Heng said with a glance. "By the way, what’s your name? We should exchange some cooking tips later."
The man lowered his gaze. "I... You can call me 039."
Qi Xiang thought, ’Wow, he’s really taking this amnesiac persona to a whole new level.’ Out loud, however, they just looked surprised. "Lin Sanjiu?"
"Mm," the man nodded, sipping his congee calmly.
It fell quiet around the fire for a moment, leaving only the crackling of the flames.
Qi Xiang frowned slightly and glanced at Qin Yi, muttering under their breath, "I don’t know... that name sounds a little weird..."
The man suddenly spoke up. "It’s not a name. It’s my designation number."
He paused, then looked up at the group and said candidly, "Sorry. I was in a Hibernation Chamber for too long. I can’t remember my own name anymore."
Qi Xiang gave him an odd look. ’So that’s the persona and script he’s going with,’ they thought. ’No wonder he went to the trouble of faking that old poster earlier.’
’Tsk. Gotta admit, he’s pretty thorough with the details.’