It was already past eight o’clock, and even Xia Yetian was completely swallowed by darkness.
After leaving the base, Chi Ying hardly ran into anyone. Those allowed to remain at headquarters weren’t the type to waste time on leisurely night strolls.
The road was unlit; only the greenhouse cast a faint glow, enough to make out the path ahead.
She glanced at the time and quickened her pace. The wind coiled obediently around her, lightening her steps. If she weren’t worried about being seen by someone out late, she might have floated clean off the ground.
She was heading to the storage warehouse where headquarters kept its supplies. Though she didn’t know the exact location, it had to be near the spherical base.
That base, being the center of operations, had the greatest demand for food and materials. Placing the storage far from it would only complicate logistics.
Besides, everything outside the core area was dedicated to producing food and medicine. Positioning the warehouse centrally minimized transportation costs.
After circling the base, Chi Ying’s eyes lit up when she spotted a low-lying but sprawling building.
“That must be it!” she whispered.
【Hmm…probably,】the system replied vaguely, still unsure what her goal was.
She crept closer, cautiously keeping her distance. Unlike the rest of the compound, this area was bustling.
Four massive supply trucks were parked outside the warehouse, identical to the ones she’d seen earlier today.
These belonged to the supply team. The warehouse doors were flung open on all sides, and more than a dozen workers were loading materials.
In front of each entrance stood a large intelligent robot, assisting with the process.
Chi Ying hid behind a corner, peeking inside.
There weren’t enough supplies to fill all four trucks—and some would have to be held back to meet the base’s needs tomorrow.
She exhaled in relief.
At least there’d be a little extra space.
But how was she going to sneak into a truck?
【Knock them out?】the system offered casually, still unclear about her mission.
Chi Ying brightened. “That’s an idea!”
【Wait—no! I was kidding! If someone gets knocked out, they’ll definitely investigate tomorrow!】
Regretfully, she gave up on that plan.
But after watching for a bit longer, a new idea formed.
The workers only stacked supplies onto the mechanical loader, which then carried them into the trucks. No one was monitoring the vehicles directly—they were entirely controlled by the robots.
Chi Ying held her breath and crept to the front of one of the trucks. The workers were all at the rear, absorbed in their tasks. From this blind spot, she crouched and focused.
The wind gathered once again.
With a soft grunt, she launched herself upward. Her body, carried by the wind, soared silently above the truck.
As she descended, she summoned another gust to slow her fall, landing as quietly as a feather on the roof.
“Whew…”
Safe landing.
【Host… can you fly?!】
The front of the truck had to be at least four or five meters tall!
“No,” she whispered, crouched low. “It’s just a short takeoff and landing. With enough wind power, you can manage.”
The system went quiet.
Strong enough, it thought bitterly, well used… I’m really not worthy.
Chi Ying moved carefully, inching along the top of the long truck toward the rear. It took time, but once there, she lay flat and listened to the workers’ chatter below.
“Today’s trip is to East District C, right? Ugh, I doubt we’ve got enough supplies.”
“Come on…” another scoffed. “That little pile? Not even a tenth of East C will get anything.”
“Exactly. The headquarters can’t produce enough. Most of the supplies come from other A-level zones.”
“My buddy’s on the supply team. He’s been on a few runs. You know what he said? More people have starved to death in the C-level areas than those turned into zombies.”
The first speaker fell silent.
“Stop stressing,” a third man grunted as he carried more boxes. “It’s not like we can fix it. At least we’ve got powers—low-level water and wood, but still. We’re contributing. When humanity wins, we’ll be heroes.”
“Haha, yeah!”
Chi Ying peeked over the edge. No one looked up. They were too focused on moving goods.
She noted the timing. The loading robot was large—easily three meters long. It could block her completely from view.
Hands on the edge of the roof, she waited.
Once the robot’s platform was fully stacked and began to rise, she moved.
With a light hop, she landed silently atop the supplies just as the platform entered the truck.
No one noticed a thing.
Inside the truck, less than one-fifth of the space was filled. Even if the warehouse was emptied, it wouldn’t come close to full.
She checked her system points: nearly 50,000.
Have the system mall items been customized?
【All done. Your request was simple—just text printed on the inner packaging. Barely took any time.】
Indeed, her only request had been for each product to bear a few words.
【This is your “experiment”?】the system asked dryly.
“Mhm!”
She exchanged 10 boxes of compressed biscuits—100 bags each—burning 3,000 points. Then came 20 bags of rice and noodles, and various snacks and bottles of water. She stopped once she dipped below 40,000 points.
Still… she frowned. The supplies barely filled a tenth of the truck.
【That’s a lot, okay?! Making points isn’t easy! These are enough for dozens of C-level districts!】
She was unmoved. Maybe she should exchange more…
【No! If the volume’s too different from the manifest, they’ll notice!】
Reluctantly, Chi Ying backed down.
She opened one of the biscuit boxes and casually ate a pack. At the bottom, bold letters were printed:
—[Donor: Chi Ying]
Her cheeks flushed.
Why did it suddenly feel so shameless?
【That’s not even the problem!】the system exploded. Do you think this will earn Holy Mother value?
What if the 10,000 points were wasted?
“If you don’t invest, you don’t gain,” Chi Ying said calmly. “You’ve got to spend to make money!”
[Prodigal! Absolute spendthrift!]
The system grumbled. Still, even with 10,000 gone, she had 40,000 left—thanks to Yun Ling’s generous donation earlier.
Just then, Chi Ying murmured, “Let’s go!”
【Go? Where?!】
“There are three trucks, right?”
【…】
It wasn’t… it couldn’t be…
But yes—it was. She repeated the process for all three vehicles.
By the time Chi Ying finally left the warehouse, her Holy Mother value was in shambles, and the system had emotionally flatlined.
【Points… points… points…】
“Come on, we’ll earn them back!” she chirped.
【Points…】
“…”
Yeah, no helping it.
__
When they returned to the base, the system finally regained some coherence.
【Okay, you left all cool and sneaky, but… how are you getting back in?】
Chi Ying didn’t say anything, just circled around to the side of the base.
【There’s no door here. Just a 20-meter-high wall!】
She took out a key and twirled it. “This leads to Gu Chi’s greenhouse.”
【…WHAT?!】
The system finally caught on.
The key Gu Chi had given her unlocked the room’s back door—connected to the greenhouse. From there, she could return to the base without issue.
【But can you climb that wall?】
“Let’s find out.”
She jumped and pushed her wind ability to the max. The twenty-meter wall barely slowed her. Landing was even easier, thanks to a steady upward breeze. Her feet touched down first; then she shifted her weight gracefully, catching herself with one hand.
A flawless martial-arts-style descent.
“Safe landing!” she beamed.
Silence.
【Uh, host…】
Something was off.
Chi Ying looked up.
First, she saw fruit rolling on the ground. Then…
Gu Chi stood there, holding two lemons.
She nearly stumbled.
“…”
So… maybe he hadn’t seen anything?
With her best innocent smile, she called out, “Good evening~”
Gu Chi paused, then nodded. “Good evening.”
He glanced at the towering wall behind her, his gaze dark and unreadable.
“…So,” he said slowly, “how exactly did you get in here?”
Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 34.1