Chapter 202

Chapter 202: Merry Christmas~~~~

The zombie corpses were all burned, leaving nothing behind with the fourth-tier special ability fire. It took a full three days just to clean the bloodstains and dirt outside the walls and in the vehicles used to transport the zombie corpses, followed by disinfection.

Gu Ning and Third Brother Jia Daozhang decided to splurge, using nearly a third of the crystal core stockpile to distribute to the existing special ability users for advancement.

From high-tier special ability users to those who had just evolved, everyone advanced a tier overnight.

Money makes you reckless.

The number of special ability users in the base has skyrocketed to 800!

And Xiang Xu, with Gu Ning’s favoritism, used a high-tier mutant crystal core to jump straight to the sixth tier, becoming the highest-tier special ability user in the base. Moreover, Xiang Xu isn’t just a high-tier special ability user built on crystal cores; her control over spiritual power has even reached a level beyond the sixth tier. This is also why Gu Ning always shows a bit of favoritism towards Xiang Xu. She possesses a maturity far beyond her age and a diligence that surpasses many adults, fully deserving of Gu Ning’s favor.

Since her conversation with Teacher Gu, Xiang Xu has always set Gu Ning as her goal. In her eyes, Gu Ning has incredibly powerful special abilities and combat skills, but she has never stopped her physical training.

Often, people influence each other. Gu Ning didn’t know that Liu Mei, now the head of the military group, has used Gu Ning as an example countless times to motivate the female soldiers in the group. Many people see her as a role model, gradually making progress. In fact, most people in the major military groups have heard of the pale, unhealthy-looking girl with short golden hair at the base headquarters. Her combat skills are legendary among the military groups, but Gu Ning usually keeps a low profile, rarely showing her face. Only a small number of people have actually seen her in action. Many were skeptical, but her performance in this war completely opened their eyes and won them over.

“Gu Ning, stop training for now. I have something to discuss with you.” Jia Daozhang walked into Gu Ning’s private training room to find her doing handstands on a horizontal bar, practicing arm strength. Hearing Third Brother’s words, she swung her legs down, let go of the bar, and landed lightly in front of him, not even out of breath: “What is it?”

Seeing the sweat on Gu Ning’s nose, Jia Daozhang knew she had been training all morning. He waved a USB drive in his hand and said with a smile, “This contains footage of you killing zombies, captured by a drone. The head of the first group somehow saw it in the monitoring room and had it specially edited to use as training material for his group. He didn’t dare to ask you directly, so he asked me to help.”

Gu Ning was momentarily stunned, thought it over carefully, and then nodded, “Alright.”

“Alright?” Jia Daozhang was surprised by her quick agreement.

“But tell the head of the first group that this video can’t be exclusive to his group. Send a copy to every group,” Gu Ning said after taking a couple of sips of water. If it helps them, that’s even better. She hopes the base’s overall strength improves, not just in terms of special abilities.

“No problem. Leave it to me!” Jia Daozhang said happily. “But if you have time, you could personally guide them in the military groups. Your popularity in the base is, well, completely like a big star! Several group leaders have already come to me, asking me to persuade you to be an instructor in their groups.”

“I’ll think about it,” Gu Ning said.

“Alright, don’t overwork yourself. Take some proper rest. I’ll be off then!” Jia Daozhang hurriedly left with the USB drive after a few words of advice.

Not long after Jia Daozhang left, Method brought someone over.

“Zhuang Chen!” Gu Ning was first surprised, then delighted, and quickly walked over.

The newcomer was the travel-worn Zhuang Chen: “Gu Ning.”

Gu Ning was very pleased to see Zhuang Chen. She had been wanting to send someone to the base to find Zhuang Chen but was afraid of alerting others or accidentally putting Zhuang Chen in a bad position. She could only anxiously wait for news from Zhuang Chen’s side, never expecting Zhuang Chen to come in person. Seeing Zhuang Chen’s expression, Gu Ning knew she had come for this matter.

Zhuang Chen didn’t mince words: “Our relationship has been exposed. I had no idea about the Capital Base’s recent actions. They found an excuse to transfer me away. Yi Shaoqing was completely in the dark, busy in the research lab. I only found out about the big incident yesterday when Seventh Brother told me!”

Hearing this, Gu Ning actually felt relieved. She had been worried that Zhuang Chen might have been persecuted in the base due to her connection with Oasis Base. Now it seems that even though the Capital Base knew about Zhuang Chen’s ties to Oasis Base, they only transferred her. It appears Zhuang Chen still holds a significant position in the Capital Base.

Zhuang Chen spoke with difficulty, “Don’t blame Seventh Brother. The Gu family used a desperate move to try to destroy Oasis Base. Although Seventh Brother wanted to help, the Gu family even implicated him. After this failure, Gu Yunzhi held another meeting. Thanks to Seventh Brother’s firm stance, a second war was avoided.”

“I understand. I’m more worried that Seventh Brother might be implicated because of us,” Gu Ning said. It’s clear that the Capital Base and Oasis Base have completely fallen out.

Zhuang Chen smiled slightly, “Seventh Brother and Jiuzhe are so young and have reached their current positions partly due to their own efforts, but more because of the Ji family behind them. You’re not part of this circle, so explaining it to you wouldn’t make much sense. Just know that no one can touch Seventh Brother. You don’t need to worry about him being affected by this matter. At most, he’ll receive a few disdainful looks from the Gu family, but Seventh Brother has never gotten along with them anyway, so it’s no different from before.”

She didn’t mention herself, but Gu Ning knew that Zhuang Chen’s demeanor and presence weren’t something an ordinary family could cultivate. Her long-standing friendship with Seventh Brother Ji Jiuzhe and Yi Shaoqing certainly placed her in the same circle.

If it weren’t for the apocalypse, Gu Ning and Zhuang Chen would have been from completely different worlds. Even if Gu Ning had the chance to visit the capital, it would have been just for tourism, with no intersection with Zhuang Chen’s world. The apocalypse has broken down these boundaries, and now they have become close friends. Reflecting on it, it’s a strange twist of fate.

“The Capital is in chaos right now, with the war faction and the peace faction almost coming to blows. The leader is indecisive, and no conclusion has been reached yet. But Seventh Brother believes that the Capital Base won’t fully engage in war with Oasis Base. The previous incident was the Gu family acting on their own,” Zhuang Chen paused, then looked at Gu Ning hesitantly, “What are Oasis Base’s plans now?”

Gu Ning’s tone was calm, “One hundred and seventy lives won’t be lost in vain. Some debts must be repaid.”

Zhuang Chen said, “I completely understand your feelings, but if Oasis Base and the Capital Base really go to war, the death toll won’t be just one hundred and seventy. As the leader of this base, you must remain rational. Neither the Capital Base nor Oasis Base should provoke a war now.”

“The war has already been provoked, and it was the Capital Base that started it,” Gu Ning’s tone remained calm, but her eyes sharpened, “Four days ago, three hundred thousand zombies surrounded the base. If things had gone as the Capital Base expected, you wouldn’t be seeing the base as it is today, and I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you. This isn’t a matter of personal pride; it’s something that must be done. It’s not just my will, but the will of the entire Oasis Base.” Gu Ning continued, “Moreover, I absolutely don’t believe the Capital Base will just let this go. It’s time for us to show them the true strength of Oasis Base. They’ll soon realize what a foolish decision they made.”

Zhuang Chen said, “Is there really no room for negotiation? Have you considered that the Capital Base has three bases with over sixteen hundred special ability users? Your base only has three hundred. How can you fight the Capital Base? Not to mention, the Capital Base’s arsenal isn’t something you can match with the weapons you brought back. If Oasis Base really goes to war with the Capital Base, it will only end in a crushing defeat!”

“Three hundred special ability users?” Gu Ning suddenly turned to her, “Who told you we only have three hundred?”

Method, who had been listening, finally found a chance to interject, “Oasis Base now has eight hundred special ability users.”

“What? Eight hundred?” Zhuang Chen was shocked, “Where did you find so many special ability users?”

“You’ll know when you officially move to Oasis Base,” Gu Ning said mysteriously.

“This is unbelievable. Even if you got a lot of crystal cores this time, the evolution rate is so low. There’s no way you could have evolved so many special ability users at once,” Zhuang Chen was still in shock over the additional five hundred special ability users.

“Zhuang Chen, I need you to do me a favor,” Gu Ning said.

“Go ahead,” Zhuang Chen immediately responded.

“I need you to check the Capital Base’s entry and exit records for May 13th to see if there were any psychic system special ability users. Then find out the background of this psychic system special ability user, their movements that day, and who they contacted. I need to know everything,” Gu Ning said.

“Is this related to the attack on your base?” Zhuang Chen asked.

“Exactly. Our drones didn’t capture any traces. It must have been the work of a psychic system special ability user. Also, Xiang Xu detected an unfamiliar spiritual power that day,” Gu Ning said, “You don’t want Oasis Base to go to war with the Capital Base, do you? Then help me find out who was behind this and everyone involved.”

Zhuang Chen’s eyes flickered, “Alright. I’ll give you an answer within three days.”

“Zhuang Chen, I hope you can keep everything we discussed today confidential,” Gu Ning said seriously, then added after a pause, “Including Yi Shaoqing and Seventh Brother.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t betray your trust,” Zhuang Chen said, stepping forward to give Gu Ning a light hug, “No matter what, you’re my best friend—well, one of them.”

Gu Ning smiled, “You too.”

The two shared a knowing smile.

“I should head back now,” Zhuang Chen said.

“Wait,” Gu Ning suddenly called out to her, “Before you go, visit Gao Yue in the research lab. She’s already developed the second antidote.”

“What?” Zhuang Chen was completely shocked, “Yi Shaoqing and his entire research team haven’t been able to develop it, and Gao Yue has done it alone?”

Gu Ning shrugged, “I’ll allow you to take a few doses back for Yi Shaoqing to study. But you have to promise me that Yi Shaoqing will agree not to disclose it for now and not tell anyone in the Capital Base.”

“I promise!” Zhuang Chen suddenly looked sympathetic, “Yi Shaoqing will go crazy when he finds out Gao Yue beat him to it. They’ve been secretly competing all this time.”

“Method, Gu Ning and I have some girl talk to discuss. Could you give us some privacy?” Zhuang Chen suddenly said to Method.

Method coughed dryly, “Then I’ll take my leave.”

After Method left, Zhuang Chen asked, “Have you told the captain about this?”

Gu Ning was momentarily stunned, then shook her head helplessly. Gu Ning also didn’t hide her relationship with Ji Jiuzhe anymore. Apart from being slightly surprised when she heard it, Zhuang Chen seemed to think it was a given.

Zhuang Chen looked amused, “Most long-distance relationships are just across countries, but you two are interesting, spanning space and worlds. It’s a good thing the Ji Jiuzhes from both worlds merged. Otherwise, if you were involved with both, would that count as cheating?”

Gu Ning looked at Zhuang Chen helplessly.

Zhuang Chen continued, “Once things stabilize here, you should spend more time over there. Honestly, I’m dying to see what it’s like for two ice-cold faces to be in a relationship!”

“Alright, shouldn’t you be going now?” Gu Ning said helplessly.

“Fine. I should head back, or someone at the base will go crazy,” Zhuang Chen said.

After Zhuang Chen left, Gu Ning realized it had been almost half a month since she last saw Ji Jiuzhe. With her nerves tightly wound before, she hadn’t noticed, but now that Zhuang Chen brought it up, she suddenly missed him terribly.

Once Oasis Base truly stabilizes, she can stay there longer, right?