Two sentences—utterly arrogant.
The people around took a sharp breath.
W-wait a minute… Why did they feel like they couldn’t quite understand?
Huang Yongjun was roasted to death by the sun? This was obviously a fire-type ability that burned him to death!
The faster-reacting ability users immediately realized that the disappearance of those vehicles was likely not an accident but intentional.
Especially that sudden violent windstorm carrying yellow sand just now—it perfectly explained Huang Yongjun’s ability!
They got it.
The Ability Users’ Guild had tried to target the newly arrived female ability user and her team at the Northern Base, only to be counter-killed instead.
For a moment, everyone who stood against the Ability Users’ Guild or simply disliked the organization gave them looks of amusement.
Fight! Fight!
But some frowned, inwardly sighing that the new female ability user was still too naïve and straightforward.
Huang Yongjun had gone alone to ambush them and got himself killed—that was his own stupidity. But that beautiful female ability user, even if she had killed Huang Yongjun, should have hidden it better. Why expose the Ability Users’ Guild in public just for a moment of anger?
They had lost Huang Yongjun, but there were still two Tier 6 ability users and numerous Tier 5 ability users on their side. If a fight really broke out, could she possibly gain the upper hand?
Some had already started imagining the scene of Lu Tao ruthlessly dealing with the female ability user… unless Jiang Hong from the Battle Pets Guild stepped in to support her again…
Sure enough, Lu Tao exploded in rage!
“You think I’m an idiot?” Flames of fury ignited in his eyes. “You killed our people and then spun these lies—do you think our guild has no one left?!”
No matter how brainless Huang Yongjun was, he was still a pillar of the Ability Users’ Guild and a key force in this mission.
Lu Tao had considered that Huang Yongjun might die in a zombie horde’s jaws or be played to death by that bitch Qi Huiling, but he had never expected him to die at Su Su’s hands—let alone in such a pathetic manner!
Beneath the yellow sand, over a dozen withered, yellow vines suddenly shot out without warning, attacking Su Su’s throat, heart, back, and limbs with deadly precision.
Another Tier 6 ability user from the Ability Users’ Guild had made a move!
“Hiss!!”
The moment the vines surfaced, the black serpent detected the subtle vibrations. Instantly, blue flames erupted into a sea of fire, burning along the vines’ roots.
The already scorching desert became even hotter under the blazing flames, turning the surroundings into a furnace.
Those who had no intention of getting involved quickly distanced themselves from the battlefield.
Seeing his companion’s attack restricted, Lu Tao flickered—abruptly appearing behind Su Su. No one saw how he moved, only that a lethal strike had already come from behind.
“Die!”
In the split second of crisis, his figure suddenly lifted into the air for a few seconds.
That brief moment was enough for Su Su to turn around. The concealed weapon hidden in her sleeve shot directly into Lu Tao’s outstretched right palm.
At the same time, Jiang Hong, who had come to assist, arrived and delivered a vicious kick, sending the airborne Lu Tao flying.
“Jiang Hong!!!”
The moment Lu Tao was lifted into the air, he immediately realized that Jiang Hong had used an ability on him. His fury erupted like an inferno. Just as he was about to push himself up from the ground, a cheetah suddenly leaped down from above, roaring as it stomped onto his chest.
“Meow—”
The cheetah’s cry was entirely at odds with its imposing appearance, but up close, its gaping maw still made Lu Tao feel a tinge of panic.
His expression turned cold as he activated his ability once more.
In an instant, there was nothing beneath the cheetah’s paws—Lu Tao had vanished.
He reappeared beside Su Su. At this moment, he no longer cared about his old rival Jiang Hong. His eyes were locked onto the real culprit—her. She was the variable that had upended everything. If not for her, the base’s balance would never have been disturbed!
“Stop.”
One light words.
Lu Tao, who had leaped high into the air, suddenly froze. Perhaps he had never imagined that there would come a day when, without being controlled by Jiang Hong’s ability, he would experience such an intense sense of suspension.
But the pause lasted only half a second before he was forcefully slammed into the ground.
He tried to get up, but an invisible force pressed him firmly into the scorching sand. Even his limbs were paralyzed, stripped of all movement!
What…
Lying on the burning sand, his entire face covered in yellow dust, Lu Tao barely managed to lift his head. He stared in stunned disbelief at the woman standing right in front of him.
A Tier 6 psychic!
It had to be said—he was quite suited to this posture of groveling and looking up.
Not only was he utterly humiliated, but it also sparked an almost irresistible urge in others to stomp him into the ground even further.
Su Su raised her arm. The concealed weapon in her sleeve activated again—steel nails shot out, piercing precisely into the back of Lu Tao’s left hand.
Lu Tao finally lost it and started cursing, “You fucking bitch—” (TL: We don’t do censorship here)
In some ways, he and the late Huang Yongjun were of the same breed—one was vulgar in secret, the other was vulgar outright.
The third steel nail stabbed into his collarbone.
His curses abruptly stopped, replaced by a muffled groan of pain.
Only now did the onlookers snap back to their senses.
“Stop!”
Just as Su Su was about to fire a fourth steel nail, Qi Huiling quickly stepped forward and blocked Lu Tao.
“I hired you all to help the guild retrieve researchers and research data, not to fight among yourselves!”
“The base already lacks talent, and what we’ll be facing next is a zombie horde led by a Tier 7 zombie. Losing another Tier 6 ability user now will only increase the chances of total annihilation!”
“I don’t care what tier you’ve advanced to or how strong you are. The death of Huang Yongjun is already the limit of what I can tolerate.”
“If you kill Lu Tao as well, don’t blame me for kicking you out of the team!”
Her words gained widespread approval.
“Yeah, if another one dies, who’s going to deal with the Tier 7 zombie?”
“If Lu Tao is killed, the Ability Users’ Guild definitely won’t let it slide. If a fight breaks out between both sides, won’t half of us be dead before we even reach our destination?”
Pang Cancan had originally planned to be a quiet, reserved beauty, but at this moment, she couldn’t hold back and retorted sharply.
“Oh, you sound so righteous now. But when Lu Tao was attacking my sister just now, why didn’t you step in to stop him?”
The moment Pang Cancan’s words fell, the entire area fell into silence.
Su Su had been maintaining a cold expression, but upon hearing that, she paused for half a second before turning her head to cast Pang Cancan a look of admiration.
Well said.
Noticing Su Su’s gaze, Pang Cancan instantly realized she had misspoken. She blinked shyly, her expression flustered.
Ahhh, I’m not usually like this!
On the other side, Qi Huiling’s face turned an ugly shade of blue and white from anger. Never—never—had she suffered such humiliation before!
“You—!”
“Do you people even want to take this mission or not?”
Qi Huiling was well aware of Su Su’s team’s advancement—if nothing unexpected had happened, their team now had two Tier 6 ability users and a Tier 6 battle pet, making them even stronger than the most dominant Ability Users’ Guild!
She couldn’t suppress them anymore, so she could only throw out this threat.
Behind her, Lu Tao had already struggled to his feet. He yanked out the three steel nails embedded in his hand and collarbone. Though his teeth ached with hatred, he had no choice but to accept that the situation had completely changed.
Damn it! What the hell had Huang Yongjun done to let the other side advance to the Tier 6 in such a short time?!
Lu Tao could only endure—he had to endure!
Jiang Hong, who had also been stunned by the unexpected reversal, finally came back to his senses. He stepped forward and patted Su Su’s shoulder.
“Huang Yongjun made the first move against you, so he deserved what he got. As for the rest…” Jiang Hong glanced at Qi Huiling. “The researcher is right. The most important thing right now is reaching our destination and dealing with that Tier 7 zombie.”
He wanted Lu Tao dead, too. But now wasn’t the right time.
Since Su Su had already reached the Tier 6, there would be plenty of chances to crush this bastard in the future.
Su Su understood his underlying message.
She hadn’t planned to kill Lu Tao right now anyway—this was just to teach him a lesson.
Since Jiang Hong had helped her multiple times, she’d give him this bit of face.
“Huang Yongjun’s death was his own doing. I won’t pursue this matter further this time. But if there’s a next time…”
Qi Huiling forced a smile. “There won’t be a next time. Right, Lu Tao?”
Lu Tao’s expression was as dark as ever, his entire presence filled with cold hostility.
Having lost so much face today, there was no way he could bring himself to say anything conciliatory. Without a word, he stepped into his team’s vehicle and slammed the door shut.
And so, the conflict came to an abrupt end with one side swallowing their defeat.
Qi Huiling had no desire to continue facing Su Su’s group, who spoke in such an infuriating manner. Without even exchanging pleasantries, she turned and returned to the lead vehicle.
The rest of the onlookers, seeing that the excitement had died down, gradually returned to their vehicles in twos and threes.
In the sandy terrain, only Su Su and her team remained, along with Jiang Hong.
Jiang Hong instinctively glanced in the direction where Qi Huiling had left. Then, he suddenly realized that the masked woman who had previously intervened to block both him and Lu Tao had disappeared at some point. It seemed that ever since Su Su had returned, that woman had never shown up again.
However, this detail was too insignificant to dwell on, and he quickly dismissed it from his mind.
“Get in the car.” Jiang Hong reminded them. “From now on, be careful of Lu Tao and his people, as well as Qi Huiling. I suspect she was the one who instigated Huang Yongjun behind the scenes, which is why he came after you so viciously.”
He didn’t ask what they had encountered in the desert. No matter what had happened, the fact that they had survived and even advanced to the Tier 6 was already a good thing.
However…
Now that the person he had intended to recruit had reached the Tier 6, the Grade 6 crystal in his possession had lost its value as leverage.
He would have one of his own men consume that Grade 6 crystal to strengthen his team’s power.
After all, he also wanted the Grade 7 zombie crystal.
At this thought, Jiang Hong suddenly chuckled. “You were right before. It really didn’t take long for you to obtain a Grade 6 crystal by yourself.”
His gaze toward Su Su was filled with open admiration.
“The sandstorm is strong—better put your scarf on.”
Leaving this remark, Jiang Hong turned and left, leading his cheetah back to his vehicle.
Su Su was still mulling over his words. This wasn’t the first time Qi Huiling had manipulated events from behind the scenes. At the trade market, she had also stuck close to Huang Yongjun under the guise of being his ‘sworn sister,’ trying to buy her Xiao Hei.
The private dealings between the Ability Users’ Guild and the Research Guild…
The black snake in Su Su’s arms watched the departing man with a dubious gaze.
It seemed to have sensed something different about him, but it couldn’t quite put it into words.
“Ah Xuan, get in the car.”
With that, the last of them boarded their vehicle.
Not far away, inside a business car, Zeng Zhuyue, who had witnessed everything, shut the car door.
Lan Jing had been lying on a water barrel, watching the scene outside with great interest. When his view was blocked, he turned to look at his contemplative partner.
“Zhuyue?”
Zeng Zhuyue lifted her gaze. “Another person has advanced to the Tier 6. Her battle pet is also Tier 6—just like Jiang Hong.”
Meanwhile, she herself was still only at the Tier 5.
The likelihood of seizing the Grade 7 crystal had just dropped significantly.
“Don’t think too far ahead.” Lan Jing smoothed out the crease between Zeng Zhuyue’s brows. “I still prefer the carefree version of you from before.”
Carefree?
That was a sugarcoated way of putting it.
Zeng Zhuyue hadn’t been carefree before—she had been cold and indifferent, completely ignoring everyone. Until…
Until Lan Jing transformed into a human.
Until she found love—and with it, worry and fear.
“I still hope you can get that Grade 7 crystal and become fully human.”
Instead of being like now—unable to stay away from water for long, unable to perfectly conceal all his inhuman traits.
“Su Su… Her battle pet hasn’t taken human form until now. Maybe, like Jiang Hong, she also doesn’t support battle pets transforming into humans…”
If that Grade 7 crystal were given to her, wouldn’t it be put to even better use?
Zeng Zhuyue’s heart burned as if it were being roasted over a fire.
On one hand, she felt her own competitiveness was too weak. On the other hand, she desperately hoped that Lan Jing could reach the Tier 7.
A soft sigh sounded.
Lan Jing gently reassured her, “Zhuyue, things are already good the way they are now.”
His love for her had been the driving force behind his transformation into human form during his advancement.
Since they had already been given the chance to be together, why bother striving for perfection?
This westward journey wasn’t because Lan Jing wanted to reach the Tier 7.
It was because he wanted to ease Zhuyue’s anxiety.
Even if the journey turned out to be in vain, he would simply treat it as an intimate trip between the two of them.