Chapter 96: Arriving at Luo City Base

Chapter 96: Arriving at Luo City Base

Ji An expected Bi Xue to hesitate or even refuse, but to his surprise, she only paused for a moment before saying, "Of course! If we can really save Luo City Base, wouldn’t that make me a hero?"

Her tone was light, even playful.

But Ji An knew what life without superpowers was like—he had experienced it himself. Even with Gu Jinsheng, the Commander-in-Chief of Jingshi Base, by his side, some still looked down on him. How much worse would it be for Bi Xue, who was just an ordinary superpowered individual?

Ji An said, "You are a hero. The moment you agreed, regardless of the outcome, you became one. Bi Xue, I promise you, no matter what happens, you will receive the honor you deserve. As for your future life, the base will take care of you."

Bi Xue chuckled. "Then I have nothing to worry about! Ji An, when do we leave?"

Ji An replied, "Now. But we should still inform everyone."

Ji An led Bi Xue back into the underground tunnel and quickly explained the situation, emphasizing that using her spatial superpower for travel might result in her losing it permanently. Bi Xue was aware and had consented.

The group in the tunnel fell silent at first, then erupted into enthusiastic applause. Ji An joined in, raising his voice: "Hail Bi Xue! Bi Xue, our hero!"

"Hail Bi Xue!!! Bi Xue, our hero!!!" Their voices echoed through the tunnel, loud and uplifting. Bi Xue turned slightly away, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes before facing the crowd with a grin.

Gu Jinsheng stepped forward from the group and assured her, "Bi Xue, your sacrifice for justice and the base will never be forgotten—not by me, Gu Jinsheng, nor by Jingshi Base. Rest assured, the base will take full responsibility for the rest of your life."

Bi Xue laughed through her tears. "With the Commander-in-Chief’s word, what more could I worry about? I can finally start my retirement early and live a carefree life!"

With Luo City Base in imminent danger, Ji An wasted no time. Before leaving, Gu Jinsheng looked at the brothers he had brought along—some of whom might never return—and said, "If any of them turn into zombies, let them go."

Kong Zhongcheng nodded. "Chief, I understand. Consider it our final gesture of brotherhood."

After giving his instructions, Gu Jinsheng selected the team for the mission: Ji An, himself, He Tao, and two high-level superpowered individuals. Any more would only hasten the depletion of Bi Xue’s superpower.

Ji An released his mental energy and, as before, easily accessed Bi Xue’s mind. Despite knowing the possible consequences, her subconscious offered no resistance.

At that moment, Ji An felt profound respect for her.

Using Bi Xue’s spatial superpower, they teleported a kilometer away—an unfamiliar village where zombies immediately came into view. While He Tao and the others dealt with them, Ji An retrieved Zombie Cores from his space for Bi Xue to absorb and restore her strength.

After absorbing the cores, they performed another teleportation. This cycle repeated seven or eight times before they finally arrived outside Luo City Base’s walls.

The moment they landed, Bi Xue collapsed, holding her head in unbearable pain.

Ji An knew her superpower was gone—no miracle had saved her.

He took out Magic Spring Water and headache medicine, handing them to her gently. "Bi Xue, you were amazing. We’ve reached Luo City Base. And… I’m sorry. Here’s some medicine—it helped me when I lost my superpower. Try it."

Bi Xue, doubled over in pain, barely registered his words but downed the pills with the Magic Spring Water in one gulp.

Unbeknownst to her, the water was undiluted, enhanced Magic Spring Water, far more potent than before.

As soon as she drank it, her mind felt cleansed, as if all heaviness and filth had been washed away, leaving only clarity and ease.

Unaware of the water's special properties, she stared at the medicine bottle in amazement. "Ji An, this medicine works wonders! I feel better already."

Ji An said with a faint smile. "Good."

Meanwhile, He Tao and the others had been calling out at the gate for a while, but no one came to open it. The watchtower on the wall stood empty—completely deserted.

He Tao looked at the protective shield over Luo City Base, which was no weaker than that of Jing City Base, and said, "Boss, can you contact Du Ruanlan and the others from here? Otherwise, how do we get in? If we dare to force our way through such a powerful shield, we'll be turned to dust in seconds."

Gu Jinsheng tried calling Du Ruanlan, Owen, and others, but still couldn't get through. Even dialing Luo City Base's internal lines yielded no response.

Ji An speculated, "Their internal signal tower must have been destroyed."

"What do we do now? We can't just be stuck outside after coming all this way!"

Gu Jinsheng thought for a moment and released Thunder Dragon. Thunder Dragon soared into the sky, circled once, and said to the group below, "All of you, step aside! This mighty one’s about to show off!"

Apart from Gu Jinsheng and Ji An, no one could understand Thunder Dragon's words. To them, it sounded like growls and hisses.

Gu Jinsheng had to repeat Thunder Dragon's words, and everyone stepped back.

Thunder Dragon seemed to have found a weak spot above. He fired one thunderball after another at it, quickly breaching the protective shield there. Thunder Dragon swooped down, puffing with pride, but didn't return to Gu Jinsheng first. Instead, he went to Ji An, rubbing his face against him and asking for praise, "An'an, aren’t I awesome?"

Ji An patted Thunder Dragon's head and nodded, "Very amazing!"

Thunder Dragon wiggled excitedly, flipping and looping. Everyone noticed Gu Jinsheng's odd expression but thought he was just annoyed with Thunder Dragon.

Thunder Dragon said, "An'an, climb up. I'll fly you up."

Ji An immediately climbed onto Thunder Dragon's back. Without waiting for an invitation, Gu Jinsheng jumped up as well. Thunder Dragon glared at him angrily, grumbling under his breath.

He Tao and the other supers tried to follow suit, attempting to jump onto Thunder Dragon's back, but Thunder Dragon suddenly took off, leaving them landing flat on their faces.

Hovering mid-air, Thunder Dragon shifted left and right, shouting, "Nobody rides Longlong but An’an! I’m no pack animal!"

Ji An apologized to the group below, "How about letting Jinsheng use his superpower to pull you up? It'll only take a few minutes."

Glancing at Bi Xue, who had just lost her superpower and was still weak, Ji An added, "Thunder Dragon, could Bi Xue ride with us? She just lost her superpower for the sake of Jing City Base. She's a hero."

Thunder Dragon looked at Bi Xue and, rare for him, he nodded at her. But then he firmly shook his large head, "She is a hero, Longlong doesn't deny that. But this has nothing to do with Longlong's dignity. Just because she's a hero doesn't mean Longlong should compromise his dignity."

Seeing how seriously Thunder Dragon took the matter of being ridden by outsiders—even comparing it to purity—Ji An didn't press further.

Worried about Bi Xue's condition, Ji An had Gu Jinsheng use his superpower to secure her alone. The other supers used their abilities to form ropes and tied themselves up. Gu Jinsheng pulled the energy tethers, and Thunder Dragon soared into the sky, barreling straight through the gap.

Meanwhile, the people of Luo City Base were in panic. With Du Ruanlan, their backbone, having lost her superpower, the base had lost its backbone, and everyone was losing hope.

Many supers around were too demoralized to fight like they used to, being pushed back by zombies or other superpowered enemies.

Jiang Fuzhong said, "Don't lose heart! Hold on a little longer. Reinforcements will arrive soon!"

"By the time they come, Luo City Base will already be the Psychic Zombie King's slaves. What use will they be then?"

"Have you forgotten the Psychic powerhouse from Jing City Base?" Jiang Fuzhong knew Ji An was that expert—Du Ruanlan and Owen had spelled it out for him before. He also knew Ji An had lost his Psychic Superpower, but to motivate everyone, he bravely bluffed, "Once Jing City’s crew arrives, they'll locate the Psychic Zombie King in no time and break everyone's Mind Control."

"It's useless. If Jing City Base were coming, they'd be here by now. Their absence means they might have fallen to the Psychic Zombie King too, just like us."

"No, impossible! That Psychic powerhouse is incredibly strong—he could take down a high-level super with three shots. He must have a way!"

No one refuted Jiang Fuzhong, but he knew his words had no effect. The atmosphere remained deafeningly grim.

Jiang Fuzhong couldn't help but say, "Even if you don't believe in Jing City Base, don't you think of our leader? He gave his life for us, sacrificing himself to kill the Psychic Zombie King. And this is how you repay him—by giving up?"

"What else can we do? We want to fight bravely, but where is the hope?"

"They're here! Hope’s here, folks!" Thunder Dragon dove out of the clouds, shouting, "Your hope has arrived! The Psychic powerhouse is here! That Psychic Zombie King will be wiped out in a heartbeat!"

Thunder Dragon moved swiftly, surrounded by crackling lightning and sparks, making it difficult for the people of Luo City Base to discern what had descended from the sky. They all stared warily at Thunder Dragon.

A pessimistic superpowered individual muttered in despair, "After today, Luo City Base will cease to exist. Not only are we besieged by zombies, but now even mutated beasts are joining in. Can things get any worse?"

Thunder Dragon swooped down to the ground, stopping at about half a person's height. He thrust his large head right in front of the pessimistic superpowered individual's face, deliberately spitting sparks as he spoke, nearly scorching the man. "Open those peepers of yours and take a good look! Do I look like one of those gross-ass mutated beasts to you?"

As the manifestation of Commander-in-Chief Gu's superpower, Thunder Dragon was originally just a construct of energy. Logically, he shouldn’t possess independent thought, let alone the ability to speak—yet here he was, talking.

However, he spoke in dragon tongue, which no one else could understand, sounding more like the growls of a wild beast.

The pessimistic superpowered individual, already seeing threats everywhere, was startled by Thunder Dragon and immediately launched an attack. Thunder Dragon, never one for patience, hocked up a massive lightning ball, effortlessly neutralizing the man's superpower. But the lightning ball didn’t dissipate—instead, it continued straight toward the attacker.

"Gu Jinsheng, Commander-in-Chief Gu!" Du Ruanlan recognized Thunder Dragon. Supported by Owen, she struggled to her feet and called out to the furious dragon, "Commander-in-Chief Gu, please withdraw your superpower. Our superpowered individuals have been traumatized by the zombies—they’re paranoid, not intentionally provoking you."

With a casual wave of his hand, Gu Jinsheng made the lightning ball vanish. Thunder Dragon, displeased, flew up to him with a sullen expression. "What're you doing? Didn't you see that dumbass provoke this lord first?"

Taking advantage of the fact that no one else could understand Thunder Dragon, Gu Jinsheng pretended he couldn’t either and said to Du Ruanlan, "My apologies. Ever since I burned out one of my abilities in the last battle, my control over them has been unstable. It wasn't intentional."

Du Ruanlan hadn’t known about Gu Jinsheng losing a superpower. She scrutinized him but saw no signs of discomfort. "Have you recovered?"

"Yes." Gu Jinsheng noticed the two puncture wounds on Du Ruanlan’s neck and her pallid complexion. "You’re injured—zombies?"

Du Ruanlan glanced at her wounds and nodded bitterly. "I just torched my ability to eliminate a peak-level Psychic Zombie King and got scratched by it. But it seems the results weren’t ideal—our base might still be hiding another Zombie King!"

Meanwhile, the other superpowered individuals retracted the energy tethers binding them and got up from the ground. He Tao, seeing Du Ruanlan’s dire state, couldn’t help but feel a private sense of relief.

Thankfully, he had transferred to Jing City Base early. They had already taken precautions there—otherwise, it might have been Hai City Base suffering this hellscape. He wasn’t as strong as Du Ruanlan, and if even she had fallen to such a state, he would’ve likely led his entire base into becoming a zombie nest long ago.

He Tao looked at Du Ruanlan with sympathy. "Commander-in-Chief Du, long time no see."

"What are you doing here?" Though Hai City Base was poor, He Tao, as its Commander-in-Chief, was at least recognizable among other base leaders. Jiang Fuzhong recognized him and blurted out in surprise.

He Tao showed no shame—instead, he proudly declared, "Hai City Base has joined Jing City Base. We announced it not long ago—didn't you see? Oh, right, your base was under attack then. The network was down, so you must've missed it."

Jiang Fuzhong stared at He Tao, then at Gu Jinsheng, disbelief written all over his face.

Du Ruanlan, however, fixed her gaze on Ji An, her eyes dark and intense. "Could this be the legendary Researcher Ji, the developer behind the Spatial Storage Device and the Psychic Superpower wielder?"

Ji An’s public identity was only as the creator of the Spatial Storage Device—he had never acknowledged any other titles. Du Ruanlan wisely stuck to this known fact.

Ji An nodded slightly at her. "I’m honored you know of me, but ‘expert’ is an overstatement."

Jiang Fuzhong hadn’t expected Ji An to come. Given the state of Luo City Base, why would Gu Jinsheng bring dead weight instead of more Psychic Superpower wielders to save them? He couldn’t hold back. "Didn't you lose your Psychic Superpower?"

Du Ruanlan’s expression darkened. "Jiang Fuzhong, watch your words!"

She knew about Gu Jinsheng and Ji An’s relationship. If anything, Gu Jinsheng was more affected by Ji An’s loss of superpower than Ji An himself. Right now, Luo City Base desperately needed Gu Jinsheng—they couldn’t afford to offend him or Ji An, nor let any bad blood form between them and the base.

Realizing his mistake, Jiang Fuzhong immediately bowed deeply to Ji An. "My apologies—that was out of line. Punish me if you must, but please don’t hold it against the base."

Ji An wasn’t petty, nor would he gamble with innocent lives over a single remark. "It’s fine, Deputy Commander. Don’t dwell on it."

Turning to Du Ruanlan, Ji An said, "From my quick recon, many superpowered individuals seem to be under Mind Control. Would you permit me to scan the area with my psychic energy?"

Du Ruanlan’s gaze remained deep. She nodded. "Researcher Ji, do whatever you must. Luo City Base is already in this dumpster fire—we have no secrets left to hide."

Ji An nodded and flooded the area with a vast wave of psychic energy.

Ji An's psychic power was already formidable before, but after recent upgrades and nourishing with Magic Spring water, his psychic abilities have grown even more immense.

Like a tidal wave of psychic energy, overwhelming psychic energy swept forward. Wherever Ji An's psychic energy passed, superpowered individuals who had been locked in mortal combat with their comrades moments ago stopped fighting in confusion, regaining clarity the next instant.

Jiang Fuzhong was utterly dumbfounded. Even someone as slow as him could tell Ji An hadn't lost his psychic abilities at all—in fact, his psychic abilities might far surpass other psychics of the same level.

Luo City Base had indeed dispatched psychics to free these superpowered from Mind Control by psychic zombies before. But those psychics required numerous conditions to break the control: no disturbances, a quiet environment, and they could only free one controlled person at a time—sometimes failing even that. Even when successful, the process took a long time and drained most of their psychic energy, requiring long recovery periods before they could use their powers again.

Yet Ji An accomplished this as effortlessly as playing house, needing none of those rules. He could simultaneously free multiple superpowered individuals from Mind Control without showing the slightest fatigue.

But hadn't it been said that Ji An lost his psychic abilities? This was news released by Jing City Base itself. How could Ji An not only retain his abilities but become even more powerful?

Jiang Fuzhong looked bewildered at Du Ruanlan, who equally didn't know the inside story but guessed there must be something behind this. Still, Ji An's restored and enhanced psychic abilities were undoubtedly good news for Luo City Base.

Even with Ji An's formidable psychic power, his range had limits. Upon reaching maximum coverage, he withdrew his psychic energy and told Du Ruanlan, "Your base likely still hides psychic zombies."

Du Ruanlan replied, "There should be one psychic zombie remaining. Earlier, many superpowered individuals mistook allies for enemies due to its psychic suggestions."

Jiang Fuzhong said indignantly, "That psychic zombie used this trick to infiltrate our base secretly. Fighting mind-controlled comrades made us hold back, leaving us constrained—otherwise we wouldn't have been so overwhelmed."

But Ji An cut in, "Not just one psychic zombie. Luo City Base harbors several."

"What?" Jiang Fuzhong and Owen went pale. "How is that possible?"

Ji An explained, "While removing psychic suggestions, I noticed varying intensity levels among different superpowered individuals' psychic implants—indicating the controlling zombies have different power levels."

One psychic zombie had already cost Du Ruanlan his abilities. Where could Luo City Base find another figure as formidable as Du Ruanlan to sacrifice?

Owen blurted out, "Is heaven determined to destroy Luo City Base?"

Ji An gave Owen a puzzled look. "Not at all. It's quite simple to resolve!"

Du Ruanlan, Owen, and Jiang Fuzhong turned simultaneously to stare at Ji An.

Quite simple? Du Ruanlan had given up himself! He might turn into a zombie any second!

Ji An continued, "You've been using the wrong approach. It's like physical attacks versus magic attacks—no matter how powerful the Commander Du's physical strikes are, they can't penetrate magical defenses. You need psychics to handle this."

Du Ruanlan said, "We deployed many psychics, including high-level ones. But removing just one psychic suggestion drained them significantly. They couldn't possibly free multiple people simultaneously."

"That's probably because your base overprotected those psychics. More battlefield experience would help."

Jiang Fuzhong objected, "But aren't psychics brain researchers? Shouldn't they just focus on research?"

"That's the misconception. Had those psychics participated in more combat, they might have learned to remove multiple suggestions at once."

Bi Xue couldn't resist adding, "Just like how people assume space-type superpowered are only good for storage. Yet in Boss Ji's hands, Spatial Superpower manifests more formidable skills like Spatial Blade and Spatial Slash. That's how we got here so fast precisely because Boss Ji used spatial teleportation."

"Spatial teleportation?" Jiang Fuzhong was thoroughly stupefied, completely failing to comprehend the stream of new terms from Bi Xue. He felt disconnected, as if Luo City Base had missed a civilizational leap during their brief isolation fighting zombies.

Gu Jinsheng interjected, "Those explanations can wait. Our priority now is eliminating those psychic zombies."

Ji An nodded. "Jinsheng, you and I will ride *Thunder Dragon* to search location by location."

"Agreed."

Gu Jinsheng told Du Ruanlan, "Just focus on protecting yourselves for now. If you locate any psychic zombies, fire three long followed by two short power signals skyward. We'll return upon seeing them."

Du Ruanlan said sincerely, "Thank you."

Gu Jinsheng waved his hand and sat on Thunder Dragon with Ji An. The duo and the dragon swiftly took off.

Thunder Dragon soared through the sky while Ji An's psychic power rapidly scanned the surroundings like a radar sweep as they flew.

This time, Ji An ignored the superpowered under Mind Control. Though freeing them was easy, it would still consume his superpower, and he needed to conserve energy to locate the Psychic Zombies.

Wherever Ji An's psychic power reached, no Psychic Zombie could hide. Upon encountering one, his psychic energy would transform into a sharp blade, piercing straight into the zombie's brain and blowing it apart.

Many low-level Psychic Zombies were killed this way by Ji An.

Suddenly, Ji An, seated on Thunder Dragon, flinched backward.

Gu Jinsheng asked, "What's wrong?"

"Found it—the peak-level Psychic Zombie King!"