Chapter Sixty-Seven: Release

That person, that person was actually Shi! To call him Shi was merely because no one knew his real name. When asked, he simply replied with "Shi," and so everyone called him that. He was the most enigmatic member of the Falcon Squad. Not only was he not under Feng Mei'er’s control, he had joined their ranks of his own accord, offering a tier-three crystal core as the price.

Yet, despite being in the squad for so long, none of them had ever witnessed Shi's true power. Feng Mei'er had once tried to control him, but suffered a severe backlash. Since then, they all kept their distance from him, respecting but never approaching. Logically, he shouldn’t have participated in these activities, but here he was, appearing silently and unexpectedly. Was the allure of this item truly so great that even he couldn’t resist? Qian Ying looked at the man before him, thinking that if it were this man, he probably wouldn’t have any chance to resist.

With a trembling voice, Qian Ying asked, "What do you want?"

Shi glanced at Qian Ying, his fathomless eyes seeming to draw out Qian Ying’s very soul. His thin lips parted lightly, "The thing in your hand—I want it."

Qian Ying hugged the antidote tightly to his chest. "Why should I give it to you? You didn’t even participate in that mission!"

Shi said nothing more, merely fixed Qian Ying with those deep, shadowy eyes. Qian Ying felt a chill creep up his spine, but still did not hand over the antidote.

To him, the antidote wasn’t immediately useful, but he could use it to curry favor with other ability-user squads. The news of Feng Mei’er’s death would eventually spread; not only would Falcon Squad’s power be in jeopardy, his own safety would be at risk. He had to secure a place for himself, or else all that awaited him was death.

Zhang Yang, standing nearby, looked conflicted at Shi’s appearance. The man rarely showed himself, never joined their missions, yet the crystal cores he obtained were almost always shared among them. Now that he wanted something, how could they refuse him? But thinking of the item's importance, Zhang Yang hesitated.

Fan Fan had realized this too; he walked over to Shi and said, "If you want it, we can all agree to give it to you, but you can’t just take it for nothing, right?"

Shi glanced at Fan Fan, then at Qian Ying, and spoke in a low voice, "Fine."

Then, in a blur of motion, the antidote vanished from Qian Ying’s hands. At the same time, a package appeared in Fan Fan’s grasp. Fan Fan lifted a corner to peek inside, his eyes flashing with shock, then quickly wrapped it up and signaled to the others before hurrying away.

At the center of the hall, only Qian Ying remained, staring blankly at his now empty hands, his face lost and bewildered.

From the moment Shi appeared, Qin Yu had been watching him closely. She was certain she had seen him before, but couldn’t remember where. She strained her memory, but it was futile. Even as Shi vanished before her eyes, the answer eluded her.

Qin Yu felt that this apocalypse was vastly different from the one she’d experienced in her previous life. Though her memories of the last time were unclear, she was certain she’d never met or heard of such strange people.

Was this rebirth truly only to make up for past regrets? Was it really just to punish that unfaithful man? Qin Yu pondered in confusion.

"Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, what was that thing Qian Ying was holding? Why did those people treasure it so much? To me, it just looked like pretty water," Zhao Mo’s puzzled voice rang in Qin Yu’s ear.

Qin Yu snapped back to reality, smiled at Zhao Mo, and said, "That’s a treasure. It’s an antidote developed by the military; it can cure the poison from low-level zombies. For many people, obtaining it is akin to gaining a second life. And it also offers a significant chance for ordinary people bitten by zombies to become ability-users."

"Wow, that’s amazing! Xiao Yu, shall we go snatch it for ourselves?" Zhao Mo asked mischievously.

"Snatch it? Didn’t you notice that man is already gone? How are you going to find it? If you have the energy, it’s better to take on more missions. The military will likely distribute some antidotes as rewards for missions," Qin Yu said with a gentle smile, her eyes sweeping over those nearby, searching for eavesdroppers. Sure enough, these people didn’t know what the item was. That would only enhance their reputation, wouldn’t it?

"Ah, you’re right. Well, let’s go take on some missions then!" Zhao Mo said, grabbing Xia Cheng and heading off to sign up for tasks.

Qin Yu watched the crowd moving toward the mission issuer, a smile curving her lips. The military, were they treating them all as test subjects?

After Zhao Mo and Xia Cheng had accepted many missions, they came to Qin Yu to brag. Qin Yu looked at the pile of tasks and felt her head ache—so many missions, how long would it take to finish them all? She really shouldn’t have let Zhao Mo volunteer for so many!

After accepting their tasks, they left the mission hall. No one noticed that Qian Ying, who had stood at the center, had long since vanished.

When Qin Yu’s group returned home, they found Wang Bing sitting in the living room. Seeing them, he greeted them with joy, "Boss Qin, we’ve almost finished what you asked. Tomorrow, the news of Feng Mei’er’s death will surely spread throughout the base!"

Qin Yu nodded. "Good, well done! Tell the brothers, tonight we have a feast! Haha!"

At this, the others’ eyes lit up instantly. They had long suspected that Boss Qin’s spatial ability covered more than a hundred meters—it must be much larger! The bigger, the better; then they wouldn’t have to worry about food shortages.

Wang Bing swallowed hard, excitement in his voice. "Alright! I’ll go tell the brothers right away!" With that, he dashed out.

Qin Yu turned to Zhao Mo. "Chef Zhao, I’m counting on you again!"

Zhao Mo waved his hand. "No trouble at all, Xiao Yu. Quick, bring out the ingredients and let me see what we’ve got!"

Qin Yu laughed. "Here? Haha, let’s go to the kitchen!" She led the way into the kitchen.

Zhao Mo eagerly followed Qin Yu, leaving Xia Cheng to watch Zhao Mo’s lively, bouncing figure.

Xia Cheng took a slip of paper from his pocket, stared at it for a long time, sighed, and put it away again.

Then, at the sound of Zhao Mo’s call, "Xia Cheng! Hurry, there’s so much food!" he made his way into the kitchen.