Gu Chi still felt something strange, but there was no clear explanation.
As Lu Yunfei and the others buzzed with excitement around him, Gu Chi remained silent.
“Captain, come on — tell us how you broke through to level seven!” Lu Yunfei grinned, nudging him. “I heard breaking past level six is all about comprehension. Did you have some sudden epiphany?”
“…No.” Gu Chi paused. “I fell asleep. Woke up like this.”
“Damn, Captain Gu — that’s pure Versailles talk!” Even Mu Yu couldn’t help laughing, though joy shone in her eyes.
“Seriously though, Captain, you’ve got to be hiding something!” Lu Yunfei teased. “C’mon, we won’t tell.”
Gu Chi thought for a second.
“If I had to say… I vaguely felt a surge of power entering my body while I was asleep. But I’m not sure.”
Naturally, no one took the explanation at face value. At best, they chalked it up to Gu Chi’s frightening natural talent.
Song Shi, for one, held her tongue but smiled sweetly.
While the others chattered around Gu Chi, she stayed a little apart, watching him with quietly infatuated eyes.
A seventh-level ability user — the only one in the world.
How could a man like that not make her heart race?
As if sensing her heated gaze, Gu Chi lifted his eyes and glanced her way, frowning faintly.
Caught, Song Shi quickly dropped her head, forcing a demure smile. Her pulse hammered in her ears, not from shyness, but cold fear.
Gu Chi’s kindness only extended to his teammates. If he noticed her little ambitions, he would ice her out without hesitation.
She’d been in his team for over a year. She knew him.
Gu Chi’s gaze flicked past her, landing on the figure sitting quietly in a corner.
It was Chi Ying. The girl sat there, her hands busy whittling away at a piece of wood, occasionally glancing over at them with a bright, expectant smile.
His brow twitched.
Was it his imagination… or was she silently begging for praise?
Gu Chi immediately dismissed the ridiculous thought.
This girl was so strange, she could infect other people’s brains.
[Host, do you still have the ability to help others upgrade their powers?] the system asked curiously.
Chi Ying shook her head. Not exactly.
All she’d done was quietly replenish Gu Chi’s depleted ability pool. The man was already at a critical threshold for breakthrough — she’d just nudged him over the edge.
[Ah, makes sense.]
The others soon wrapped up their chatter and began packing for the next leg of their journey.
“Lin Xun, you good?” Lu Yunfei called to the burly man beside him.
“Yeah. Guns, gear, everything’s in Mu Yu’s space.”
“Alright. Let’s move.”
As usual, Lin Xun, Mu Yu, and Song Shi rode together. It was an unspoken arrangement, the men having agreed it made sense for the two women to stick together.
Song Shi had wanted to ride with Gu Chi, but with everyone else’s agreement, refusing outright would make her look bad. She could only grit her teeth and endure it.
Gu Chi glanced at Chi Ying, who was left standing alone, and said, “The next safe zone is a C-class base. Basic supplies should be restocked there. After that, we’ll head to the B-class area and merge with the main force.”
He added flatly, “We’ll drop you off there.”
Chi Ying nodded.
“It’ll take three days. You’ll be with Mu Yu.”
Chi Ying eyed Song Shi loading things into the vehicle and suddenly spoke up.
“I want to ride with you.”
Gu Chi paused. “Why?”
Chi Ying wanted to say it was because she didn’t like Song Shi’s constant underhanded remarks. Three days of that? She’d go crazy.
But instead, she settled for, “It’s too crowded.”
Gu Chi: “…”
Alright.
He didn’t see how four people in a modified off-road vehicle was crowded, but it wasn’t a big deal. He didn’t care about trivial things like seating arrangements.
“Get in the back.”
He threw his gear into the trunk.
Song Shi, who had just gotten into her car, was not so composed. She turned sharply, glaring at Chi Ying.
The position she’d spent months maneuvering for — stolen by a newcomer without even trying.
She clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached.
“Song Shi?”
Mu Yu’s voice snapped her back.
“What’s wrong? You don’t look so good.”
“…I didn’t sleep well last night. It was too noisy.”
“Oh, this area’s windy. Double up your sleeping bag tonight, it’ll help.”
Mu Yu, oblivious to the subtext, patted her shoulder and climbed in.
Song Shi’s smile twitched.
Useless airhead.
The group set off again. Gu Chi sat in front while Lu Yunfei drove.
Gu Chi kept his window cracked, occasionally tossing an ice blade at any stray zombies nearby. If the road ahead grew too crowded, he’d have Lu Yunfei stop and clear it before moving on.
Chi Ying noticed the difference right away.
Today’s ice blades were bigger, denser, and charged with much more power than the ones he’d used yesterday.
She lowered her head, stifling a grin.
Interesting guy.
Lu Yunfei, incapable of silence for long, soon started chatting with Chi Ying.
“Hey, I never asked — how’d you end up in that supermarket?”
“Don’t know. Don’t remember anything before waking up.”
“No memory at all? What about your family?”
Chi Ying shook her head. “Nothing.”
Gu Chi glanced in the rearview mirror.
Lu Yunfei clicked his tongue. “That’s weird…”
They made their way toward the city center, having rested at a factory on the outskirts the previous night. By now, the place was thick with zombies.
Gu Chi said, “Stop. Check the car’s energy reserves.”
Lu Yunfei glanced at the dial. “Half left. I’ll top it off.”
He opened the dashboard, pulled out a black crystal, and loaded it into a hidden compartment. The gauge immediately rose to full.
Chi Ying watched curiously.
Is that a zombie crystal nucleus?
[Not quite,] the system answered. [It’s a container made from one, but filled with a different energy source.]
[After the apocalypse, humans lost access to fuel lines. Crystal nuclei could store large amounts of energy and were portable. This tech isn’t widely available yet — only alliance teams like Gu Chi’s have them.]
So… human alliance?
[Yes. After the outbreak, top talent formed an alliance. Gu Chi’s team belongs to the Virus Research Institute — one of the two most important divisions.]
Hmm. Humanity’s still as stubborn as ever.
Once the car restarted, the zombie horde thickened. Gu Chi’s ice blades and Mu Yu’s fire blasts cleared the road, and Chi Ying wisely kept quiet.
She opened her system mall out of boredom.
[You currently have 400 points. Basic materials unlocked.]
She browsed the menu that popped up.
Bottled water: 10 points.
Compressed biscuits: 3 points.
Rice and noodles: 50 points per ration pack.
Higher tiers included tools, medical supplies, canned food, daily essentials… and seeds
Seeds?
[Yes. Crops are vital for sustainable survival. Supplies will eventually run out. Seeds can help humanity rebuild agriculture.]
Chi Ying skimmed past to the next category.
Scarce medicines, weapons, firearms — and one item caught her eye.
A glowing turquoise potion in a large vial.
Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 34.1