The Sun siblings hesitated as expected.
They exchanged a glance, both recalling the tsunami from two months ago that had nearly destroyed most of the seaside base.
A Tier 6 seagull, and one with wind and water dual abilities—without a Tier 6 ability user, dealing with it would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
This was not something newly advanced Yu Zhenghong could compare to.
If they let it escape again… that vengeful seagull would definitely seize the opportunity to retaliate against the base!
Sun Zhichun hesitated for a long time before slowly shaking his head. “Sorry, I can’t agree to this.”
An expected answer.
Su Su understood their concerns, but she also had her own trump card—compared to controlling humans, her ability was far more effective at controlling animals.
Just as she was about to try persuading them again, Sun Zhichun seemed to notice her persistence and apologized once more. “I’m sorry. This matter has too great an impact on the base. If it were just the two of us, we would definitely agree to help you. But right now, the entire base’s safety is at stake—we can’t take such a reckless risk.”
If they could kill that seagull, the siblings wouldn’t hesitate to give up a Tier 6 crystal from their own territory.
But if they failed… the seagull would become a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.
After calming down, Su Su realized she was indeed forcing them into a difficult position.
She felt a bit regretful. “Forget it, then. As for this energy shock device, you don’t have to give it to us. If we ever need it in the future, just letting us use it would be enough.”
Tier 6 zombies were too difficult to find. Unfortunately, they had bad luck—always too busy rushing on the road to encounter one.
The only place where they knew a Tier 6 zombie had been spotted was the fallen S City. But with so many high-level ability users fleeing from there, venturing in alone would be nothing short of suicidal.
The Sun siblings fell into silence.
They truly wanted to repay Su Su and the others for their help, but ambushing the seagull was far too dangerous.
“How about… you stay at the base for a few more days to replenish your supplies?” Sun Zhixia suggested. “We’re near the sea, so we have more seafood than other places. You could use a change in diet.”
Upon hearing this, Pang Cancan’s eyes immediately lit up—she loved good food.
But she restrained herself and looked at Su Su, who rationally shook her head.
Staying here would mean wasting more days. Su Su preferred to try her luck elsewhere, hoping to find a Tier 6 zombie.
She had already experienced the overwhelming difference in strength between high-level ability users. If she, Xiao Hei, and Cancan had faced Yu Zhenghong alone, even if they won, they would have been seriously injured.
It was easy to imagine that the farther north they traveled, the more powerful people they would encounter—and the greater their disadvantage in rank.
“We should set off today.”
Seeing how determined she was, Sun Zhixia could only say, “Then wait a moment. I’ll go find some dried seafood for you to take along.”
That much time was still acceptable.
The group left the treasury and returned to the roadside, where they were about to depart.
Sun Zhixia had already gone to gather the base’s stored seafood, while Sun Zhichun stood silently to the side, deep in thought.
“Brother Zhichun!!”
The familiar electric car once again stopped beside Sun Zhichun.
He looked up. “What is it?”
The ability user who came to report glanced at the outsider nearby, who was whispering to that giant python, and lowered his voice. “I just went to patrol the seaside and found that seagull pecking at our power generation equipment again this morning. It even brought a flock of birds and covered the entire thing with bird droppings. The filth itself isn’t the issue, but if it keeps pecking like this, the equipment is bound to be damaged sooner or later.”
This was a piece of marine power equipment left over from before the apocalypse. If it really broke down, the base had no specialists who could repair it.
Sun Zhichun hadn’t expected the problem to come knocking so soon.
Ever since the tsunami two months ago, the Tier 6 seagull seemed to have set its sights on their base, frequently causing trouble. Just recently, it had nearly snatched away an ordinary fisherman.
If not for a high-level ability user accompanying the fishing trip, they wouldn’t have been able to rescue the person who had already been lifted into the air. In the end, they barely managed to save him, but a whole net of fish was taken instead.
That seagull was already so arrogant at Tier 6—if it ever advanced to Tier 7… wouldn’t it turn the entire base upside down? By then, how would they even survive?
Sun Zhichun instinctively looked at Su Su.
This team of ability users was the strongest he had seen in a long time.
They were mainly after that Grade 6 crystal. If they could actually succeed, this recurring threat to the base would finally be eliminated.
But if they failed, the backlash would be disastrous.
—
In front of the off-road vehicle.
The two-meter-long python was placed on the hood by Su Su. She frowned in confusion at Xiao Hei, who was throwing a tantrum.
It had been ignoring her ever since earlier, burying its head firmly against her chest. It would rather burrow around stubbornly than lift its head to look at her.
Su Su asked directly, “Are you upset?”
“Hiss—!”
The usually obedient black snake bared its fangs at her slightly. It had been sulking ever since that eagle king was called “Hei Bao.”
Even now, after all this time, it was still brooding over the difference between “Xiao Hei” and “Hei Bao.”
Without a direct comparison, the name hadn’t seemed like an issue before. But now that there was another, the name “Xiao Hei” suddenly felt too casual and perfunctory.
Su Su reached out to pat its head—only to grab empty air.
The black snake turned its head away. On reflex, it wanted to flick its tail to push her hand aside, but just as it swung it out—
A half-bare, patchy tail was exposed in the air. The colors were uneven, dark in some places and light in others, making it particularly ugly, particularly unsightly.
Wouldn’t the female find it so hideous that she wouldn’t want to look at it anymore?
The black snake quickly retracted its tail.
But before it could completely hide it, Su Su’s sharp eyes caught it. She swiftly grabbed the very tip of the tail and pinched it affectionately. “What’s wrong? If you don’t tell me, how will I know what you’re mad about?”
“Hiss!!”
It wanted to tell her—but the female didn’t understand at all.
Su Su knew this too, so she began guessing. “Is it because I didn’t talk to you earlier?”
“Or is it because I yelled at you just now?”
“……”
Su Su asked several questions in a row, but the black snake remained indifferent.
Finally, a strange thought popped into her mind: “Could it be… you don’t like sharing a name with someone else?”
This guess earned her a glance from the black snake, but it didn’t seem entirely correct.
“Hiss—”
Su Su understood. She cupped the sulking, dissatisfied head and coaxed, “You don’t like the name ‘Xiao Hei’ anymore?”
“Hiss!”
The black snake finally admitted it.
It wasn’t that it disliked the name—only that it suddenly realized “Xiao Hei” was too casual, far less refined than “Hei Bao.”
But even if it didn’t like its current name, it still wasn’t willing to take the name “Hei Bao” for itself.
Su Su pondered for a moment.
When she first named it “Xiao Hei,” it was partly because they weren’t familiar yet, and partly because this cold-blooded creature had appeared out of nowhere with an entirely jet-black body, sleek and glossy scales, and a smooth, slippery texture. It was indeed a bit lazy, but after calling it for so long, the name had grown on her.
If it really didn’t like it, though…
“Miss Su.”
Sun Zhichun’s approach and call interrupted Su Su’s thoughts.
She turned toward him. “What is it?”
Sun Zhichun hesitated for two seconds before speaking with a hint of guilt. “Can we discuss what I refused earlier?”
The thing he refused?
The Tier 6 seagull?
Su Su temporarily set aside the matter of “Xiao Hei wanting a new name” and nodded. “Of course.”
Sun Zhichun let out a breath and explained, “The reason I refused earlier was mainly because I was worried that if we let the seagull escape, it would come back for revenge. But just now, the patrol at the seaside told me that the seagull was already causing trouble at the base again this morning.”
He had thought it through carefully.
Yu Zhenghong’s reckless attack had only sped up the seagull’s fixation on their base. Its habitat was too close—sooner or later, as it grew stronger, it would target them again.
Right now, it hadn’t yet reached an overwhelming level of power, and the base just happened to have three strong outsiders visiting. With such a perfect combination of timing, location, and manpower, if they didn’t act decisively now, they would suffer even more in the future.
“If you want that Grade 6 crystal, Zhixia and I can take you out to sea by boat to find the seagull’s nest.”
“When we encounter it, we’ll help fight as well.”
Four Tier 5 ability users plus a Tier 5 battle pet—if they risked everything in a fight, could they really still let that Tier 6 seagull escape?
Su Su hadn’t expected Sun Zhichun to change his mind so suddenly.
But for her, this was definitely good news.
She immediately nodded. “Since you’ve agreed, then let’s set off!”