Chapter 88
The base officials did not conceal the existence of abilities. Therefore, the open display of ability training in the wild was not only seen by Song Xun and her group but also by other survivors.
On the way back, Shi Tou was driving. Song Xun and the others sat scattered, chatting while cracking melon seeds.
As for the dogs, they were running around outside, having a blast.
But most of the conversation revolved around the topic of abilities.
This time, it seemed the base was going to announce the existence of abilities.
After all, the attack power of mutated animals was getting stronger and stronger. This was an unavoidable fact. It was one thing if you had guns and cannons, like the base soldiers, but for ordinary survivors, it was very difficult to hunt mutated animals, even if they ganged up with knives.
If the base really took this opportunity to develop a method that could greatly increase the probability of awakening abilities, and even made it public to ordinary survivors, it would be a significant benefit to both the survival rate of the survivors and the hunting rate of mutated animals.
Thinking about it carefully, she had never been to the Jingbei City First Base in her past life and knew nothing about this. But in Xifeng City, there was no such thing as the base announcing a method for awakening abilities.
It was only with the increasing concentration of spiritual energy that survivors with good physical constitutions had gradually figured out how to awaken on their own.
In her past life, Song Xun and the others had awakened under these circumstances, and it had nothing to do with the base.
If the Jingbei City First Base could really make this method public, instead of monopolizing it for themselves, even Song Xun would have to admit that they were doing a good job in this regard.
They were really thinking about the survivors, and they were really working hard for the survival of humanity.
Although she couldn’t do it, she still admired such people.
In the apocalypse, with no signal network, the transmission of various news was not very efficient. But in the following half a month, as expected, the appearance of “abilities” still caused a huge wave in the base.
Soon, at the end of the first month after the New Year, the base announced a method for absorbing the spiritual energy of crystal cores and awakening abilities with a certain probability.
In an instant, this wave turned into a tsunami.
Although the base’s acquisition of crystal cores was still ongoing, it was clear that the daily acquisition volume was decreasing. But this was also a normal phenomenon.
Those who couldn’t survive without food naturally wouldn’t care about whether they could awaken an ability. And besides, who could say for sure about the probability?
And the survivors who had enough food to fill their stomachs wanted more. Everyone wanted to awaken an ability, everyone wanted to have an ability. This was also very normal.
On the day of the announcement at the end of the month, Song Xun, Ji Tang, Ji Chao, Chang Fei, Song Ye, and He Qing were out. After hearing the news, the group discussed it and decided to go to the Dongshan base to check the situation first.
He Qing didn’t go.
She didn’t want to go, and Song Ye didn’t force her. After all, she also knew that this person was worried about being recognized if she went to the base.
The ancient martial arts families all had their own places, but what if? He Qing didn’t want to gamble. In the past, when she was alone, she didn’t care about these things. It was just a matter of life and death. But now…
“Why don’t I just go hunt mutated animals by myself…”
“No!” the group vetoed in unison.
It was understandable that He Qing didn’t want to go to the crowded Dongshan base, but it was absolutely not okay for her to go out on her own.
It wasn’t that they didn’t trust her strength, but it was unnecessary.
With everyone vetoing it, He Qing had no choice but to go upstairs by herself. After watching her go back, Song Xun and the others set out.
Perhaps because everyone had heard the news, there were many more people and cars on the road to the Dongshan base today. But now there were no traffic lights or crosswalks, and with more cars, there were more problems.
It was a good thing there were base soldiers and staff with guns along the way, which could prevent disputes and many problems to the greatest extent.
With so many people and cars, the traffic was slow. By the time they reached the Dongshan base, it was almost 10 AM. They rented a parking spot, paid the points, and parked the car. Sure enough, in the central service area of the base, they saw the official announcement.
It was a sea of people. She didn’t know if all the survivors in the base had come over. If it weren’t for her good eyesight, she wouldn’t have been able to see the words from the back.
Song Xun protected Ji Tang, afraid that someone would be unruly and push her. Ji Tang also obediently nestled in her embrace, squinting to see the announcement.
There were so many people in their family, and now only she and Wang Qingyao had not awakened their abilities. As for Song Xun…
She didn’t count.
No one in the group counted her.
She was at the back, but because she had been drinking the spiritual water for a long time, although she hadn’t awakened her ability, her physical constitution and five senses had also improved significantly, and she could see almost clearly.
Finally, she turned back and whispered in Song Xun’s ear, “It’s not as good as your method.”
Song Xun had good hearing and could hear clearly even through her scarf and ear muffs. She smiled. That was a given.
The method she used to absorb crystal cores was the result of seven years in the apocalypse, after countless optimizations. How could the initial version of the first base compare?
But to be able to research to this extent at this stage, the first base was already very impressive.
Song Ye patted her on the shoulder and pointed outside. They had seen everything, and there were too many people. They should leave.
Song Xun nodded, and with her arm around Ji Tang’s waist, she protected her and led her out. The others also squeezed out one after another.
It had to be said, there were really a lot of people.
They found a quiet place with few people, and Song Ye sighed with a slight curve of her eye. “With this announcement, ordinary survivors can also awaken abilities. But I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse.”
There were good and bad. Who could distinguish right from wrong?
But if there were no abilities, humanity could not fight against the increasingly strong mutated animals, and would only be eaten. In the long run, humanity would face extinction sooner or later.
This was not a good thing.
But at the same time, with abilities, human desires would also grow infinitely. In the past, it was for food and survival. Now, it was definitely not just that.
But regarding this sigh, Song Xun did not express any opinion.
They had come this time just to see the base’s announcement and to find out the latest situation and news. There was nothing particularly noteworthy, so they didn’t stay too long. But as they were turning to leave, they ran into a few Alphas in military greatcoats coming towards them.
“Captain!”
Song Xun and Ji Tang thought they looked familiar.
It wasn’t until the four of them came over excitedly and greeted Song Ye that Song Xun realized they were her former teammates.
They had all been in the same ward, and she had even secretly fed them spiritual water. But it had indeed been a long time, and Song Xun didn’t really recognize them.
Now they all looked to have recovered quite well.
And she could even keenly sense a very familiar, weak fluctuation coming from them. It was clear that these 4 people were all the kind who had awakened their abilities.
Perhaps it was because her perception of spiritual energy was getting more and more sensitive now.
As close comrades who hadn’t seen each other in a long time, they naturally had a lot to say. So Song Xun and the others didn’t rush to leave.
“…A collective annihilation activity in half a month?”
“That’s right, Captain. You guys should come too.”
Old Cat was a female Alpha and had been Song Ye’s deputy for a long time. She was tall, and her military greatcoat was wrapped tightly around her. She wore a hat and a scarf, with only her eyes exposed. Her voice was a bit muffled under the scarf.
“There’s a rat infestation in Ningxiang County. The base plans to go and clear it out. This time, not only will the base dispatch soldiers, but they’ve also issued a mission, inviting survivors to join.”
“Those who join will get some initial points. If you kill a lot of mutated rats, you can cut off the rat tails as proof to get more points. And you can keep the mutated rats and the crystal cores you find for yourself.”
“We were actually thinking of going to find you in a few days. Captain, you should come with us too.”
Mutated animals were already hard to fight. This time, with a large-scale clearing, there would be many people, and maybe they could pick up some scraps. And now that the base had announced a method for using crystal cores to awaken abilities, crystal cores would probably be even more sought after. They were being kind, and both Song Xun and Song Ye understood that.
But Song Xun just didn’t understand why it was Ningxiang County.
Although Ningxiang County was a subordinate county of Jingbei City, it was still some distance away.
Before the apocalypse, it would take two to three hours to get there by car on the national highway, let alone now in the apocalypse. Walking on the ice, if the conditions were good, they could be faster, but if the ice conditions were bad, they couldn’t go fast even if they wanted to.
It would be good if they could get there in a day.
And how big was this rat infestation that so many people were being dispatched?
She was curious, and so was Song Ye.
Old Cat explained, “It’s said that a large group of mutated wild boars was found in Ningxiang County. That’s how they discovered the rat infestation.”
In other words, the mutated rats were also treating the mutated wild boars as food.
Song Ye didn’t ask how many pigs.
It wasn’t appropriate. What if she couldn’t say?
But in any case, if this news was true, perhaps this mission was not simple for others, but for them, it was still very worthwhile.
After so many years of fighting side-by-side, Song Ye clearly trusted them very much. She turned and gave Song Xun a look, then agreed.
“Alright then, Captain. Have you registered your team? This mission is reported and acted upon by team name.”
Song Ye nodded. “We’ll go and register in a bit.”
They hadn’t registered a team before. After all, they didn’t lack for food or drink, and the points didn’t matter much to them. They only went out to hunt mutated animals to find food for the two dogs and for crystal cores.
After finishing the main business and reminiscing for a while, Old Cat and the other four quickly left. They were not on break and couldn’t be away from their posts for long.
After they left, the group went to register a team, discussing what to name it on the way.
They had never thought about this kind of thing before. Now that they were thinking about it…
Chang Fei: “Whirlwind Squad.”
Ji Chao: “Ice Blade Squad.”
Song Ye, with her hands behind her back: “How about Flame Squad?”
The three of them argued back and forth, and Song Xun was speechless. Ji Tang chimed in, “How about Sunshine Squad?”
Song Xun: “…”
Why are you all being so casual? It’s just a damn name. Is it worth arguing about?
She didn’t understand.
“Alright, it’s decided. We’ll call it the Apocalypse Squad.”
The group: “…”
Although the name didn’t really matter, this was a bit too perfunctory.
Of course, in the end, they still registered with this perfunctory name.
Song Ye was troubled. “Sister-in-law, why don’t you control her?”
It was the first time she had called her that, and Ji Tang was clearly not used to it. It took her a while to react. “This…”
She paused. “I think this name is quite catchy.”
Song Ye was speechless. She was very speechless. “You just spoil her.”
Song Xun proudly wrapped her arm around the person next to her. “You’re talking nonsense. This is my wife. If she doesn’t spoil me, who will?”
“You’re a disgrace.” Song Ye rolled her eyes.
In the end, she didn’t know if it was because of all the commotion during the day, but that night, Ji Tang had a fever—
