The notable incident during this period was the level-up of Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning. They simply played around, became the undisputed tyrants of the river and the woods like a pair of gluttons, and then leveled up just like that!
What bottlenecks? What breakthroughs? To them, such things were practically nothing.
After leveling up, Xiao Yu failed to control its ability properly. The moment it opened its mouth, it directly set a fruit tree on fire, earning itself a kick from Chu Tian that sent it flying into the river.
However, it was precisely because of this fire that everyone discovered the birds that had been startled by the commotion. At some point, birds had also appeared in this forest.
None of them were zoologists, so naturally, they couldn’t identify the species. At first glance, the birds looked perfectly ordinary, but once they moved, their entire bodies shimmered with dazzling, iridescent colors.
Chu Tian suspected that these weren’t birds originally recorded as existing on Earth, but that was merely a guess.
Since they weren’t very far away, it took them only a day to return to the vicinity of the Dawn Base.
From a distance, they saw two people waiting beside a vehicle.
It was Lu Jie and Lin Wenxue.
“Why are you two here? Did something happen?” Chu Tian immediately got out of the vehicle and asked them.
The two seemed to have been specifically waiting for them, but they hadn’t agreed on a return date.
“We have uninvited guests. Chief Xiao told us to intercept you halfway and bring you back quietly,” Lin Wenxue replied.
Lu Jie, however, rolled her eyes and said with extreme disgust, “They’re from the Tianze Base. Those people are simply…” She thought about it, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to swear. She could only let out a heavy sigh to express her dissatisfaction and revulsion.
The moment the words Tianze Base reached their ears, the excitement of the four people who had just returned from leveling up was extinguished by more than half.
“How did they know we’d be returning today?” Quan Xiaoyu asked curiously.
“We didn’t know when you’d return, but this is the only route you can take to get back. The chief ordered us to wait here until you arrived,” Lin Wenxue explained.
“Who’s here?” Chu Tian asked with a frown.
Had they deliberately chosen to come at the very moment he returned carrying a huge secret? Was it really a coincidence?
“A woman. Supposedly, she’s from the capital. Besides the people she brought with her, there are also several people from Lei Shi’s side. I think I’ve seen them before,” Lu Jie answered.
She was so disgusted by those people that she hadn’t really interacted with them formally. They merely looked familiar to her.
“The capital?!” Bai Mingxi exclaimed, quickly exchanging a glance with Chu Tian.
Before the apocalypse, people had commonly referred to B City, the nation’s capital, simply as the capital.
“A month ago, those people from the capital went to the Tianze Base. They arrived here early this morning. If it weren’t for the fact that one of the women came from the capital, the chief probably wouldn’t even have let them through the base gates,” Lu Jie continued, explaining the situation.
Lin Wenxue had only joined them after they reached J City. Although she knew those people from the Tianze Base existed, she wasn’t familiar with them. From everyone’s attitude toward them, however, she could tell that they were deeply unpopular.
Therefore, she didn’t interrupt the conversation about the Tianze Base. She merely reminded them, “Young Master Bai, put your vehicle into the space. They’ve probably assigned people to keep watch, and those people would recognize your vehicle. Everyone can ride in ours instead.”
This had been specially arranged by Xiao Ziran before they left. He was now holding such an important secret that he feared those people might have come specifically for Chu Tian. That was why he had sent two inconspicuous women to receive them.
Everyone got back into the vehicle. It was large enough to accommodate even Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning, showing just how thoroughly Xiao Ziran had arranged everything before they came.
“Do you know why they came?” Chu Tian asked again.
Lu Jie shook her head. “They only arrived a short while ago. The chief immediately sent us through a special passage to wait for you in secret. We’ve been here since this morning, waiting for more than half the day.”
They were already beyond the communication range of Bai Mingxi’s newly developed communicators. In other words, they hadn’t received any news about those people for at least half a day.
“It’s fine. Let’s go straight back,” Chu Tian said.
He didn’t seem particularly concerned about getting the answer. The Dawn Base was right in front of them. They would find out once they returned.
Twenty minutes later, the group quietly arrived at the residence Xiao Ziran had arranged for them.
Before the apocalypse, this place had been a detached, privately built house. However, if they followed the small path ahead for fifty meters and turned a corner, they would arrive at Xiao Ziran’s office building.
Not having a communicator didn’t matter. Chu Tian had already contacted Xiao Ziran through their mental connection.
Dawn Base Command Center, Xiao Ziran’s Office
“Why are you restricting our freedom?! You have no right to do this!”
A girl with delicate features, who looked like a porcelain doll, glared furiously at Xiao Ziran.
“I do,” Xiao Ziran replied calmly and composedly from his office chair.
“What gives you the right?!” The girl froze for a moment before becoming even more outraged.
“I’m the chief of the Dawn Base. Everything here is under my authority,” Xiao Ziran said, still cold and expressionless.
“You—!”
The girl pointed at Xiao Ziran, her finger trembling. But after sputtering for a long time, she couldn’t say anything more.
Meanwhile, Chu Tian, who had previously taken everything in through his mental connection, was laughing hysterically inside the doctor’s mind.
As a result, more than half of the cold expression on the doctor’s face was actually directed at Chu Tian. Unfortunately, the person being targeted couldn’t see it.
“You said you came from the capital. Do you know this woman’s background?” Xiao Ziran asked Chu Tian.
“I’ve never met her. I’ll ask Xiao Bai later; he’s more familiar with the social circles than I am. However, there is indeed an An family among the wealthy and powerful families in the capital.”
Xiao Ziran had already given him a brief explanation of the situation earlier. The woman was the eldest daughter of the An family, an envoy dispatched by the capital who intended to unite the various factions in the region.
When she arrived, she had launched into a lengthy speech full of grand theories. Her general message was much the same as what Lei Shi had said before, but this young lady was clearly far more educated than Lei Shi, and the theories she presented were considerably more sophisticated.
Coupled with her exquisitely angelic face and her gentle, flowing voice…
Tsk, tsk. No wonder Lei Shi wanted to step down.
Unfortunately, the doctor was a typical opportunist who cared only about practical benefits. After listening to her speech, all he had gained was another round of ear fatigue.
He had originally intended to use them to learn something about the situation in the north, but the doctor had been so annoyed that he had nearly thrown them out outright.
“If that idiot of a woman hadn’t had the man accompanying her immediately propose a deal, I would’ve kicked them out by now,” Xiao Ziran said.
“However…” Xiao Ziran paused, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Xiao Bai is very familiar with the social circles?”
Being as perceptive as he was, Chu Tian immediately sensed the slight fluctuation in the doctor’s emotions. However, he remained calm and merely replied, “He’s an only child, so his elders often took him along when they went out. I have two older brothers.”
This was the first time Chu Tian had spoken about his family, but those few words conveyed a great deal of information.
Xiao Ziran was an intelligent man and immediately understood much of what Chu Tian was implying. He therefore returned to the original topic.
“This woman is an idiot, but the people who came with her are no simpletons. The leader is called Qin Mo. He was the one who promptly proposed a deal, claiming that they possess a large quantity of weapons and can exchange them with us.”
“Exchange them for what?”
“The secret of crystal cores.”
“For example?”
“They already know that crystal cores are necessarily linked to the improvement of supernatural abilities. They only discovered this at the Tianze Base. Before leaving the capital, some people had already discovered the existence of crystal cores, but by the time they departed, no one yet knew what they were used for. They set out approximately three months ago.”
“They’ve been visiting various survivor bases along the way, seeking alliances, cooperation, and trade. They’ve also been investigating conditions in different regions and bringing back things or talented individuals that the capital doesn’t have.”
“A month ago, they stayed at the Tianze Base for an extended period because they discovered the effects of crystal cores and conducted experiments in cooperation with Tianze. After extensive testing, two ability users successfully leveled up after absorbing crystal cores, and one ordinary person awakened a supernatural ability. However, the failure rate was as high as ninety-seven percent.”
Since the two were communicating directly through their minds, the transmission was extremely fast and effortless. Therefore, Xiao Ziran was willing to explain more.
“So, the success rate of our people leveling up steadily made them suspicious. More importantly, your large-scale scavenging operation in J City attracted their considerable attention,” Chu Tian interjected, finishing the explanation for him. “But they’ve been here for a month already. Why did they choose this particular moment?”
“That was why I sent people to intercept you. The worst-case scenario is that they’ve discovered the concentrated solution?” Xiao Ziran speculated, though he wasn’t certain.
“Absolutely impossible!” Chu Tian flatly denied it.
That substance had been concocted by him and Xiaoyu inside the space. The very first batch he brought out had been handed directly to Xiao Ziran.
And Xiao Ziran was an extremely cautious person. Under their agreement, it was impossible for anyone else to know about it. Besides, since Chu Tian had been away for the past few days and Xiao Ziran had been tied up with other matters, the concentrated solution—the fruit juice—had remained sealed away and unused.
“Perhaps the commotion you made when you returned attracted their attention, and they couldn’t hold back any longer?” Xiao Ziran guessed.
“Forget it. I’ll sound them out later,” Chu Tian said. “Go on.”
“Based on our success rate, they’ve guessed that we possess the secret to using crystal cores safely. Therefore, they’ve proposed exchanging a large quantity of weapons for this secret. As for the quantity of weapons, they’ve told us that we can provide our own list.”
Upon hearing this, Chu Tian let out a cold laugh.
“They certainly talk a big game. They make themselves sound generous, but in reality, they’re treating us like country bumpkins who don’t understand the market.”
They were deliberately leaving the bargaining terms to the other party, betting that the other party knew nothing about weapons. They had probably seen that Xiao Ziran didn’t look like a soldier and were deliberately taking advantage of that.
Even among soldiers, before the apocalypse, knowledge of the most advanced strategic weapons of mass destruction was certainly kept in the hands of the highest authorities. Who else would know about such things?
They probably just intended to hand over some guns and cannons to fob them off.
This was especially true of survivor bases like theirs, organizations established by ordinary ability users without military backing. No matter how warmly those people appeared to court their cooperation, who knew how much contempt they harbored in their hearts?
Chu Tian understood those people’s mentality all too well.
“Ahem.”
Xiao Ziran coughed awkwardly. He was a doctor. He knew enough about ordinary firearms, but when it came to more advanced weapons, he really didn’t understand much. Even if he brought Ouyang Jing into the discussion, Ouyang Jing would probably only know about conventional weapons.
“That’s why I especially need you this time.”
Xiao Ziran wore a rare, ingratiating expression. After all, when benefits were at stake, a little flattery was perfectly acceptable.
“Doctor, where’s your integrity?” Chu Tian said disdainfully.