Chapter Fifty-Five: Zhao Mo's Troubles

As Qin Yu drifted into sleep, meanwhile, in a small house within S Base, a handful of people were engrossed in an urgent discussion…

“I don’t agree! Doing this will only put us in an impossible predicament!” A cold, hard voice rang out in the room.

At this, the others fell silent for a while.

After a moment, a sweet but agitated female voice broke the silence. “I’m telling you, Chen Mo, are you a man or not? Why are you being so indecisive? Huh? So those bastards have higher status, so what? Their abilities are stronger than ours, and that gives them the right to treat us like this? Ugh! It’s infuriating!”

Chen Mo glanced at the fiery woman and spoke slowly, “Zhao Meng, I don’t think I need to prove my manhood to you. Those people really do have higher status and greater strength. You know as well as I do, with our current abilities, we’re no match for them. Right now, the only thing we can do is endure…”

Hearing this, Zhao Meng stood up, clearly wanting to argue, but was held back by Xia Cheng, who interjected coldly, “Meng, don’t get ahead of yourself. Just because we can’t take them on now, doesn’t mean we never will! Trust me, we’ll settle this score one day.”

Zhao Meng, somewhat dispirited by Xia Cheng’s words, sat back down, head lowered, lost in thought.

Seeing this, Xia Cheng quietly squeezed Zhao Meng’s hand, saying nothing more.

For a while, the atmosphere in the room was stifling.

In each person’s heart, a single team name echoed: Falcon Squad.

After leaving Qin Yu, Zhao Meng and Xia Cheng had wandered, seeking out other freelancers to take on missions together. Over the past few days, they’d made some friends. Having shared life-or-death experiences on missions, and finding themselves compatible, they’d formed a small team—including Chen Mo, who had just spoken. The remaining two were Feng Xiao, a sunny young man with third-tier wind abilities, and Liu Xue, a gentle girl with formidable second-tier ice powers.

Yesterday, after completing a mission, they were joking and chatting happily together. Zhao Meng, in her excitement, accidentally bumped into Feng Mei’er. Despite her repeated apologies, Feng Mei’er was relentless.

Zhao Meng’s patience quickly wore thin. Admittedly, she was at fault for bumping into the other woman, but she had apologized and even offered reasonable compensation. Yet Feng Mei’er insisted on playing the victim, demanding that Zhao Meng kneel and apologize. But how could Zhao Meng—who she was—possibly agree to kneel?

So, as tempers flared, a fight broke out. The commotion drew the attention of the military, who came and gave them a stern warning before leaving.

After that tense encounter, Zhao Meng and her group realized they couldn’t defeat Falcon Squad and their associates. As for Falcon Squad, they didn’t want to cause a scene in public, especially since they had an important mission the next day. They tossed out some threats and left.

All Zhao Meng and her friends could do was swallow their anger.

In that moment, each of them silently vowed that one day, they would show Falcon Squad. They would not rest until this score was settled.

Meanwhile, when Qin Yu awoke, dawn had not yet broken. She carefully cradled Little Red in her arms, stood up, and began examining her spatial realm.

Within the space, the once orderly mineral veins were now chaotic from the recent tremors. Several veins, having had their essence absorbed by Little Flower, appeared dull and lifeless.

Yet, Qin Yu wasn’t particularly worried about the state of the minerals; she had long since discovered that these veins would regenerate and flourish in her space over time.

What did trouble her were the wisps of blue mist. Although Little Black had absorbed most of it, a few tendrils of blue mist still lingered.

Now, these wisps no longer remained in their original place but had gravitated elsewhere, drifting in a distinct pattern. As she watched them move, Qin Yu noticed the blue mist was actually growing thicker. She recognized their trajectory—it was the very same pattern the blue mist had traced above Kaiyuan Town.

Qin Yu stared intently at the swirling blue mist, as if trying to decipher some hidden meaning in their movement.

She remained transfixed until Little Red in her arms let out a soft “meow,” snapping her back to reality.

Looking outside her space, she saw that daylight had arrived.

Smiling at the sleepy Little Red, Qin Yu greeted, “Good morning. Are you ready to embrace a new day?”

Little Red shot her a disdainful glance, rubbed against Qin Yu’s hand, and promptly drifted back to sleep.

Qin Yu’s face froze—Little Red was truly unlovable! Still, she said nothing more and stepped out of her space.

Gazing up at the sun hanging in the sky, she smiled softly. Good morning, Brother Li. I wonder when I’ll see you again. I… I really can’t wait.

After collecting herself and having a bit of bread, Qin Yu set out for the base.

Along the way, she encountered few zombies—most likely cleared out by others, as she noticed traces of recent activity.

Today, Qin Yu found herself in unusually high spirits. She couldn’t say why, but everything seemed hopeful, as if the world brimmed with possibility.

What she didn’t know was that her mood was subtly affected by Little Green. After absorbing the Wood Spirit, Little Green unconsciously radiated a vibrant life force, influencing those nearby—especially those harboring inner turmoil. This effect was nearly imperceptible, and Qin Yu hadn’t realized the connection between her good mood and Little Green.

Of course, this ability wasn’t always active. Once Little Green awoke, it could control its power at will, selectively influencing others. And its power wasn’t without drawbacks; where there is life, there is also decay.

But for now, with Little Green still asleep, Qin Yu felt the surge of vitality within herself. Though she was puzzled, she didn’t resist. This feeling… it was wonderful!

She traveled swiftly, pausing only briefly to eat, driven by the sense that something was about to happen, compelling her not to tarry.

By dusk, she reached the base.

As soon as Qin Yu arrived, she saw a crowd gathered around something. It seemed there would never be a shortage of onlookers, no matter the era.

Getting closer, she heard Zhao Meng’s voice.

“Well! You old witch, if I don’t kill you today, I’m not worthy of my family name! How dare you hurt him! You bastard!”

Qin Yu quickly pushed her way through the crowd, glanced down, and her pupils contracted—the person lying unconscious on the ground was…