Ch 73: Starry Vision
I originally intended to go directly to level -10 to visit Song Huai, but the movement of a Red Crystal Core piqued Ji Chuan’s curiosity.
In the base at night, most people don’t move around much, making the already scarce Red Crystal Core very conspicuous.
Ji Chuan clearly sensed a Red Crystal Core approaching another Red Crystal Core; it was the Otaku he’d been observing, approaching Li Jingru.
Ji Chuan knew that Li Jingru’s Special Ability was Ant Queen, but he wasn’t sure what its effects were.
The Otaku who had been observed for 20 minutes possessed the Starry Vision Special Ability; Ji Chuan was similarly unsure of that ability’s effects.
During the 20 minutes of daytime observation, the Otaku had been playing games. It seemed the base didn’t require him to complete any tasks; his room was also abundantly stocked with food and drinks. This treatment inevitably made Ji Chuan curious about the Otaku’s role.
Sensing that the Otaku was very close to Li Jingru, seemingly already in Li Jingru’s room, Ji Chuan followed.
“What’s he doing, finding an Otaku to come to his room late at night…?”
Ji Chuan hid in the shadows of Li Jingru’s room.
“Leader, the success rate of exterminating zombies is 0.0002%, the success rate of eliminating No. 1 is 0.03%, and the success rate of obtaining 2 tons of beef is 35%. How should I make a wish?”
Li Jingru sighed, unexpectedly finding the success rates of the first two items so low.
“Beef.”
“Yes.”
The Otaku left the room and came to the lobby on level -6. Despite it being late at night, several guards were gathered there, guarding the entrances.
There was also a Moving Team standing by.
There was an electronic watch on the wall in the lobby; the time was 23:58.
Midnight was approaching.
The Otaku stared at the wall-mounted time panel, paying attention to the time. When the screen displayed 00:00, the Otaku lowered his head and clasped his hands together in front of his chest.
He seemed to be making a wish.
Brilliant starlight slowly appeared above the lobby. After the starlight flashed, the shadows of objects gradually appeared in the air, and the objects became increasingly clear.
With a “thump,” a mountain-sized pile of beef appeared in the lobby!
The nearby guards didn’t seem surprised at all.
“Wish successful, the transport team can proceed.”
The waiting Moving Team began work, efficiently removing the beef from the lobby. The destination was Song Huai’s room.
The Otaku, having seemingly completed his work, turned and walked towards his own room.
Ji Chuan felt a headache coming on; he had a general understanding of what kind of Special Ability Starry Vision was.
It was very tricky and needed to be dealt with.
Ji Chuan speculated that this Special Ability could calculate the success rate of three wishes daily, and wishes could be made at 00:00. The wishes were affected by the success rate and might succeed or fail.
The Esper Base had already made eliminating him a wish. Fortunately, the current success rate was only 0.03%, but what if this wish was made every day? Would he suddenly die unexpectedly one day…?
But the most important thing right now was to get those Red Crystal Cores tomorrow. After absorbing them and gaining strength, he felt he could directly wipe out the Esper Base, and then deal with this Otaku.
For now, he needed to keep a low profile, otherwise, it would be counterproductive.
After visiting Song Huai, Ji Chuan left the Esper Base.
He prepared to deploy for the battlefield early in the morning.
…
Shen Mengting yawned and was the last to arrive; everyone was already waiting in the lobby.
But Shen Mengting wasn’t in a hurry at all; she continued to tie her hair.
“Let’s set off once everyone’s here.”
Cui Zixuan was a little nervous. She took the hands of Ning Chuhe and the others, instantly transporting them to the hotel gate.
Then, pretending to be surprised, she said she had forgotten to bring the Crystal Core Energy and would go back to get the others.
The several Captains from Jianghua City didn’t take it seriously. They found the Olijia’er Hotel in front of them rather strange.
It was different from the online images. Online, the hotel was only shrouded in a layer of black mist, but now it was a silver area, like a dome cover on a Western-style dinner plate, covering the hotel.
“What is this…?”
Before Yin Lie could finish observing, the silver area suddenly expanded, like an explosion, instantly engulfing the four of them.
“Sorry, I forgot to bring the Crystal Core Energy. My Special Ability can’t take that many people at once. I’ll take a few of you there now.”
Cui Zixuan bowed to the people from Jinglian City. Shen Mengting looked disgusted, but Zhuang Tu stared at her with a serious expression.
“You’ve been nervous since the beginning. What are you nervous about?”
Cui Zixuan gasped, not expecting the people from Jinglian City to be so perceptive.
“I’ve always been in the reconnaissance team, and my level is low. I’ve never seen such powerful captains as you; I’m very awestruck by everyone in the combat team, so I’m a bit nervous. That’s also why I forgot to bring the Crystal Core Energy.”
Cui Zixuan kept bowing apologetically while looking at Zhuang Tu.
“Tutu, forget it. What high standards do you have for the reconnaissance team’s waste?”
Shen Mengting interrupted; she didn’t want to waste time. The sooner they left, the sooner it would be over; the rooms in Jianghua City weren’t as comfortable as hers.
Zhuang Tu nodded without saying anything else, and Cui Zixuan took them to the hotel gate.
After delivering them, Cui Zixuan instantly disappeared.
“With that kind of courage, you want to join the combat team? You run faster than anyone else.”
Shen Mengting said disdainfully.
“This hotel is his stronghold? A zombie keeps it pretty clean. You guys just follow behind; we’ll rely on Jinglian City’s might later.”
Shen Mengting said to the Captains from Jianghua City behind her.
The several Captains nodded respectfully towards her; Shen Mengting was very satisfied.
In an instant, the hotel gate fell to the ground and turned into sand. Shen Mengting and the others swaggered inside.
The hotel courtyard was wide and empty, seemingly devoid of anything. Zhuang Tu also enhanced his perception of the surroundings but didn’t discover anything either.
“Did No. 1 know we were coming and run away?”
Shen Mengting frowned. She was good at fighting, but cat-and-mouse wasn’t her forte.
“Hui Ge, I’ll search the west annex.”
“I’ll search the hotel backyard.”
“I’ll guard the gate.”
Xu Hui was a little surprised; he didn’t expect the division of labor to be so quick today. That only left the main building, but it suited him.
He went straight to the most conspicuous main building; he thought the probability of encountering No. 1 in the main building was the highest.
His Special Ability was so powerful; he didn’t think he had any chance of failure.
And making the worst-case scenario, even if he lost, the other party would definitely not expect that after his death, he would have another chance to take over someone else’s body, but Xu Hui didn’t think he would need to use that opportunity.
Xu Hui entered the hotel lobby. To his surprise, in the apocalypse, a stronghold supposedly established by a zombie, the lobby was spotless, even cleaner than when the hotel was in normal operation.
He leisurely patrolled this floor, finding no useful clues, so he decided to go upstairs to continue checking.
Xu Hui didn’t know that, from each of their perspectives, the others also gave various reasons for separating, all conducting individual explorations.
