Ch 288: The Delayed Plan

Su Shen, eyes brimming with tears, held Ji Chuan tightly. Seeing Song Huai exiting the elevator with a grim expression, Ji Chuan felt a pang of awkwardness.

It was as if he’d been caught by his best friend having other good friends. Ji Chuan’s gaze darted around; he sensed the questioning tone in Song Huai’s voice.

Song Huai swiftly moved between the two, pulling Su Shen away from Ji Chuan, his eyes cold.

“Auntie Ah Yun, Xiao Qi, I’ll take you upstairs to see your rooms.” Tang Yue, aware of Su Shen’s ability’s effects, saw the tense atmosphere and awkwardly steered the onlookers away.

Xiao Xuan kept looking back, seemingly curious about the unfolding events. The elevator doors closed, and her expression showed disappointment.

“Who are you?”

“Hahaha, I forgot to introduce you all! A Huai, this is Su Shen. Su Shen, this is my childhood friend, Song Huai.”

Ji Chuan hastily made introductions. Since the stronghold discovered zombies, Ji Chuan had kept everyone in their rooms; this was Song Huai and Su Shen’s first meeting.

“I’m not only Chuan Chuan’s childhood friend, but also his best friend, period.”

As if claiming ownership, Song Huai put his arm around Ji Chuan’s shoulder. Ji Chuan felt speechless.

But Su Shen across from him wasn’t annoyed, still gazing at Ji Chuan with deep affection.

“It’s alright. As long as I can stay by Master’s side, it’s enough. I don’t care if I’m Master’s closest person.”

“Pa—”

Xia Yida, carrying a gift, heard Su Shen’s words as the elevator doors opened, causing her gift bag to fall to the ground.

To surprise Ji Chuan, upon arriving at Aolijiaer, she only mentioned bringing everyday necessities, letting Wang Wei retrieve all the luggage from Ji Chuan’s space.

Hearing Ji Chuan was back, she quickly retrieved the gift, intending to give it to him personally.

Unexpectedly, she witnessed Su Shen’s heartfelt confession. Was it as she suspected? After all these years of separation, did her A Chuan have someone closer? After all, her A Chuan was the most dazzling person in her eyes.

The smile on Ji Chuan’s face became even more awkward…

“It’s all a misunderstanding… This is because of Su Shen’s ability. He chose me to be loyal to, and his emotions are somewhat uncontrollable…”

Song Huai didn’t hear the latter part of Ji Chuan’s words. His hand involuntarily withdrew from Ji Chuan’s shoulder, his lips trembling.

“Xia Yida?!”

Song Huai’s emotions grew agitated. He never thought he’d meet his goddess here. Previously, to attend her offline events, he practically had to queue hours in advance to get a good spot.

“Heh, brothers are most likely to abandon their principles for beauty.” Ji Chuan sighed and walked between the two.

“Yida, this is my childhood friend, Song Huai, and this is Su Shen. This is… Yida is so famous, an introduction shouldn’t be necessary.”

Su Shen politely smiled and bowed to Xia Yida, while Song Huai excitedly ran over.

He gave Ji Chuan a reproachful look, seemingly saying he should have introduced them earlier, given his acquaintance with Xia Yida.

“I’ll go check on Xiao Ci and his mother to see if they’re settling in.”

Ji Chuan left a sentence and escaped the awkward situation.

“A Chuan!”

Xia Yida called out, her gift still ungiven, but it was too late.

Ji Chuan had been busy since the afternoon and hadn’t had time to check on Song Ci and his mother. Remembering he barely replied to his messages, he felt guilty.

“Dang dang dang—”

Song Ci opened the door, puzzled by the person outside. He carefully examined their features.

“You’re Chuan-ge?!”

“Yup. It’s mainly because of my ability. How are you and Mom settling in?”

Seemingly realizing Song Ci still pictured him at 175 cm, Ji Chuan casually explained.

Besides checking on Song Ci, he wanted to see Song Ci’s mother, the person he rescued through the Vortex Gate.

Hearing it was Ji Chuan, the woman in bed prepared to rise, but Ji Chuan went to the bedside and gestured for her not to bother.

Song Ci’s mother’s cheeks were sunken, ravaged by years of illness and multiple surgeries, though her life was saved, her condition wasn’t optimistic.

“Young Master Ji, you’ve come.”

Qi Haitang smiled at Ji Chuan. She was immensely grateful for Ji Chuan’s family’s help. Since Song Ci entered the casino, she’d worried every day and felt very guilty, always thinking she was a burden on her son.

Ji Chuan’s family was her and her son’s salvation, allowing them to live without so much hardship. She was already very satisfied.

“Auntie, how’s your health?”

Seeing Qi Haitang’s weary face, Ji Chuan was concerned. After the apocalypse, medical resources were essentially unavailable; no doctors could perform surgery on her.

“I’m fine. With you taking care of Xiao Ci, I’m at ease.”

“Xiao Ci, tell me if you need anything. Tomorrow, I plan to gather the stronghold’s people to announce some things; you stay and look after Auntie, no need to participate.”

Song Ci nodded gratefully.

Leaving Song Ci’s room, Ji Chuan’s expression turned serious. He knew he needed to acquire many more abilities.

Song Ci’s mother needed Holy Healing Radiance treatment, and disguising appearances required Combat Armor; these two abilities were in Xinze City’s Ability User Base.

Many strong individuals needed to be subdued using Illusionary Realm and Mind Control; these were in Jianghua City.

Shen Mengting’s Reorganization ability was extremely useful, but she was in Jinglian City.

If he avoided needless killings and turned powerful individuals into his believers, the Ability User Base was a must-visit; Ji Chuan had a new plan.

But the biggest obstacle in implementing his plan was that he couldn’t currently enter the base. Fortunately, he no longer needed to sleep, giving him more time to crack walnuts.

In his room, he casually swallowed the Crystal Cores of the construction workers. He hadn’t tasted this delicacy in a while.

Carefully sensing the increase in his energy, the Crystal Cores not only provided him with new abilities but also, like batteries, expanded his energy capacity.

Fortunately, there was no sign of sleepiness, so Ji Chuan went into the city.

He went to the place he’d previously found for Breath Holding and Aura Concealment, but unsurprisingly, found nothing.

With official warnings, people rarely went out now. In the early stages of the apocalypse, mutated zombies were rare.

As time passed, people would venture out to search for supplies when their own ran low, leading to an increase in zombies.

Ji Chuan was in a hurry; without stealth, his plans would be shelved.

While searching for Crystal Cores, he also robbed several supermarkets. With the God of Space’s help, gathering supplies became incredibly easy.

However, Ji Chuan had to run when collecting them; for long distances, he could use spatial teleportation, but for short distances, he could only rely on his legs.

He began to miss flight, not only for the significant improvement in movement efficiency, but also the extra flair. He also wondered if the Ability User Base would give him trouble again this time.

He didn’t find many Crystal Cores, but he did find a lot of supplies. With these supplies, his stronghold could accommodate more members without pressure.

Finding no valuable finds, Ji Chuan decided to go directly to Shannan City to find Han Yesheng. Based on the information he had, only he would die among the Single-Colored Crystal Core Holders.

Everything was ahead of schedule, and Ji Chuan didn’t dare gamble.