Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Everyone walked upstairs in silence.

Stepping onto the hotel steps, they walked through the corridor and took seats in a clean hotel room with tightly closed windows and doors.

However, the beds and quilts inside were nonexistent—this place was merely an illusion constructed by the Aliens, overlapping with reality.

Except for the building itself, everything inside was false.

The kid’s down jacket was no longer wearable.

Li Xiang found him another coat from other survivors, one that had been worn by another kid. The coat was somewhat thin and a bit dirty, as if it had been rolled on the ground several times.

"It might be dirty, but it’s still very warm."

The kid resisted strongly, turning away and throwing himself into Zhong Qian’s arms. "I don’t want to wear it. I have a human heater already."

"Who’s the human heater?" Zhong Qian snorted, lifting him into his arms.

Lin Jiaxu muttered, "He is the human heater."

Unable to persuade the kid, Zhong Qian turned him around and sat him on his lap, saying helplessly, "Fine. If he doesn’t want to wear it, he doesn’t have to."

Li Xiang disapproved. The temperature in the polluted area was already ten below zero Celsius—how could he not wear a coat?

Just as she was about to speak, she noticed a wave of warmth gradually dispersing the cold in the room.

Even from a distance, Li Xiang could feel her whole body warming up.

She was surprised in the direction the heat was coming from—it was Zhong Qian.

Zhong Qian’s power was the Fire Element, and he hadn’t deactivated his ability.

The temperature was now extremely high, and even through the heavy protective clothing, the intense heat could be felt. Even though he was trying to control it, others dared not touch him—the heat was enough to fry an egg.

Yet, Lin Jiaxu hung onto him as if nothing was wrong, clearly enjoying the warmth.

Zhong Qian had originally intended to set Lin Jiaxu aside once they entered the room, but considering the kid had no jacket and would be cold, he ultimately didn’t push him away.

"Alright, tell me if you get cold. I’ll leave the clothes here." Li Xiang set the clothes aside. She was no longer worried about Lin Jiaxu feeling cold.

Instead, she was concerned about whether Lin Jiaxu might get burned.

But then she remembered that Lin Jiaxu had entered the polluted area with the Lan City Base Special Team members without wearing protective clothing, which suggested he had his own unique qualities.

As a Special Team member, she was observant and perceptive.

Using powers consumed a lot of stamina and energy. The fact that Zhong Qian’s temperature was so high was certainly not just to keep Lin Jiaxu warm.

It was more for the rest of them.

When they first entered the polluted area, the temperature wasn’t this low. But perhaps due to the pollution, it had become almost as cold as a winter up north.

And they had been trapped in such conditions for a full week.

Of course, the main reason they could tell who was generating the heat was thanks to this built-in effect—whenever he used his power, his hair automatically glowed with bright colors and emitted light.

Li Xiang silently looked away from Zhong Qian’s bright yellow-to-orange gradient hair.

This appearance might be just right for a kid, but for those like them who often worked in dangerous situations and combat, it was a bit too noticeable, easily exposing them to danger.

Unless necessary, they usually didn’t keep their powers active for extended periods.

Moreover, they had been in the polluted area for almost a week, and now it was difficult to even sustain their powers, let alone make such a big impact.

Soon, everyone felt the warmth.

The members of the Linjiang Special Team were wearing relatively thin clothing and could really feel how high Zhong Qian’s temperature was—it had warmed up the entire room.

Everyone’s bodies were much more relaxed than before they entered the room.

Ceng Kangping rubbed his hands together, breathing out white mist, and said gratefully, "Thank you."

"No problem." Zhong Qian shook his head and stepped aside with the kid.

With a warmer "heater" now, Lin Jiaxu’s body heated up. He wriggled, quickly took off his tattered down jacket, wiped off his sweat, and got comfortable.

He listened as they recounted their experiences in the polluted area over the past few days.

The kid’s constant squirming was getting annoying, so Zhong Qian patted his head and said, "Stop moving."

Lin Jiaxu pouted, about to say something, but when he looked up and saw Zhong Qian’s brightly glowing hair, he closed his mouth.

The kid grudgingly pulled out a few pieces of candy and offered one to him. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Zhong Qian didn’t refuse.

He and the others had barely eaten or drunk much along the way, and they had only taken a bite of the polluted snacks. With their energy constantly depleting, eating a piece of candy could help them get some energy.

After quick introductions, the groups quickly got to the main subject.

Zhang Hongyuan was the first to ask, "How are the people in New City doing?"

"They’re all in the illusion. New City has a fairly large population—around 5,000 regular residents. Almost all the survivors we could find are here."

Ceng Kangping, the captain of the Kyoto Base Special Team, sighed. "But the situation isn’t good. Many people have died, and food is running out."

Zhang Hongyuan immediately understood the problem.

"So many people?"

However, the members of the Lan City Base were also surprised that so many people in New City were still alive.

For so many to survive, these Special Team members and soldiers must have worked incredibly hard.

Zhang Hongyuan said admiringly, "Thanks to all of you."

"Just doing our job," Ceng Kangping said with a bitter smile.

Zhang Hongyuan shook his head. It sounds simpler than it is—protecting so many people in a polluted area was undoubtedly a huge challenge.

However, precisely because of the large number of people, they'd used up a lot of energy over the past few days just to mediate conflicts and keep everyone calm. Even dealing with Aliens and resisting contamination had become extremely difficult.

"We can't hold on much longer."

Captain Zeng was worried about the current situation—not only because of the food shortage but also due to the contamination. The constant danger of losing their lives and the pervasive anxiety had already spread among the crowd.

"Moreover, our Superpowers have been exhausted, and we have no way to break the illusion."

Guang Yongwang's expression relaxed slightly upon hearing this.

If the only issue was being unable to leave, it could still be resolved—they had someone who could break the illusion.

The opening Zhong Qian made was still there; even if it closed, they could just have Zhong Qian open another one.

However, Captain Zeng was unaware that they could come and go from the illusion and anxiously asked, "Can you contact the outside world? Our communication devices lost signal shortly after entering the contaminated area."

"We can't reach anyone either. We lost signal not long after entering as well." Zhang Hongyuan also couldn't contact the outside world.

Captain Zeng immediately grew visibly restless.

Although he'd suspected this possibility, learning that the rescue team had also lost contact inevitably made him more worried.

Zhang Hongyuan recalled that Colonel Lu had instructed them to just do reconnaissance before entering. He hesitated, unsure whether to prioritize rescuing people or going out to seek reinforcements.

He turned to the Lan City Base team and asked, "Given the current situation, do any of you have ideas?"

Zhong Qian, overheated, took off his protective suit, his body soaked with sweat. This time, it was his turn to hold onto the struggling Lin Jiaxu, refusing to let go.

The child's body was cool to the touch, and Zhong Qian ended up covering him in sweat.

"Don't wipe your sweat on me."

Lin Jiaxu's expression contorted with anger.

"I'm not wiping it; you're mistaken."

Zhong Qian pulled his hand back casually and turned to say, "The contamination index in the contaminated area keeps climbing. Everyone must leave the contaminated area as soon as possible."

"We want to leave too," a Special Team member spoke up, "but we can't find the Alien creating the illusion, so we simply can't get out."

Their problem was they couldn't escape the illusion.

"Should we go with our original plan, then?"

a Linjiang Team member asked.

"Your original plan?"

Zhang Hongyuan sat up straight.

Captain Zeng explained, "Our original plan was to take out some of the Aliens within the illusion and then use the remaining ammunition to blast our way out, allowing everyone to leave through it."

However, this method had several drawbacks. For one, they were running low on ammo, making it unlikely they could destroy the illusion. Secondly, Captain Zeng sighed, "On our way here, we encountered a horde of rats and a giant tree-like Alien. The rats seemed to be controlled by that Alien—wherever we went, the rats would follow, making it impossible to avoid them."

"Don’t worry about the rats..."

Guang Yongwang rubbed his nose. "Those rats should have all been taken care of by us."

Neither the illusion nor the rats were a problem for them, as they had more than enough ammo.

"...Huh?"

Everyone was stunned.

The Lan City Task Force then explained how they had launched several grenades to blow up the rat swarm, which left the Linjiang team stunned.

Li Xiang asked what everyone was thinking: "Didn’t you say you were here to investigate? Why did you bring so much ammunition? But..."

"Good call!"

"Great! Now we won’t run out of ammunition either!"

Everyone was relieved—this time, the illusion really wouldn’t be a problem.

The Lan City Task Force members exchanged knowing smiles.

This was their standard procedure—they were accustomed to bringing ample ammunition, even for routine missions.

Zhang Hongyuan coughed, understanding the time pressure. They couldn’t afford to wait for reinforcements to arrive after going out to seek help.

He thought for a moment and said, "We’ll take care of the Alien problem. Xiao Qian, you go find that Alien. No worries if you can't find it."

"Captain Zeng, please gather everyone in the illusion and have them assemble in an open area. We’ll blast our way out of the illusion directly."

Zhong Qian nodded. "We opened a gap where we entered. You can lead everyone out through there instead of waiting inside the illusion."

Hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up.

"Good! That’s great!"

Captain Zeng smacked his forehead, frustrated. They hadn’t brought many weapons, but that didn’t mean the Special Teams entering the contaminated area later were as poorly equipped.

He excitedly asked, "Wow, seriously, how much firepower did you bring?"

Lin Jiaxu, louder than anyone, cut in, "They’ve got cannons! Long ones, really awesome—the kind that can blow up buildings!"

"Really?!"

"That’s fantastic!"

Hearing this, everyone got even more excited.

The stronger the weapons the Lan City Task Force had brought, the better their odds of escaping the illusion and the contaminated area.

Apart from the team that arrived today, the others, including the military, were mainly here for rescue missions. Only the Lan City Task Force had brought enough ammo and heavy artillery.

They had been trapped here for days, with the Aliens hiding and impossible to fight, which had them completely frustrated.

Now, one by one, they jumped up, eager to get moving. "Let’s go find the Alien now!"

"No need, Zhong Qian can take care of it."

Zhang Hongyuan stopped them.

Although Zhong Qian was from the Lan City Base, a few people there knew who he was.

Like, Captain Zeng of the Linjiang Special Team recognized Zhong Qian and knew what he was capable of, so he had no objections to Zhang Hongyuan’s arrangement.

Ceng Kangping said: "That's right, you don't need to worry about the Alien. Go gather the survivors, and everyone can start preparing to leave the contaminated area."

The members of the Linjiang Special Team replied: "Yes!"

Although they would rather go hunt the Alien, the rescue mission is equally critical. Everyone stood up and began preparing.

"Come down first."

Zhong Qian set Lin Jiaxu down and took off all his protective suit, handing it to Ceng Kangping.

Ceng Kangping refused: "Don’t be ridiculous! The contamination here is severe. Why are you taking off your suit? Put it back on!"

The others from Lan City Base suddenly realized—the Linjiang Special Team members weren't wearing protective suits, and their breathing was noticeably heavier than theirs.

Everyone quickly took off their own protective suits and handed them over.

"Why should I wear this? Using my Superpower already makes me hot enough. Wearing it would make it hard to breathe. Better for you to have it," Zhong Qian said with a smile. "You need the suits more than we do."

"Xiao Qian is right. We have a few more suits in our vehicle. Later, a few of you come with me to get them."

Zhang Hongyuan added, "But what about your protective suits? Didn’t you wear them when you came in?"

"Of course we did."

Ceng Kangping sighed. They had even brought other meds to suppress contamination—something as crucial as protective suits couldn’t have been overlooked.

But those in need of protective suits weren’t just them; they had all taken off their suits and given them to others who needed them more.

During this time, they not only had to resist contamination but also figure out how to rescue people.

Everyone felt like giving up and just passing out, but they couldn’t—there was no place to rest here, and they couldn’t abandon the others who still relied on them.

If the Lan City Base team hadn’t arrived in time, they probably wouldn’t have lasted much longer.

No need to say more, Zhang Hongyuan understood the unspoken words in his sigh and simply said, "Just put them on, quick."

Zhong Qian walked out of the room.

"I’m coming with you."

Lin Jiaxu latched onto Zhong Qian, refusing to leave his side.

Zhong Qian felt a tug on his leg: "What are you following me for?"

"To fight the monsters together."

Zhong Qian tugged at his pants. "You’re just cold. Put on the clothes, and you won’t be cold."

Lin Jiaxu glanced at the clothes again, stubbornly turning his head away: "I’m not cold. I just want to go with you."

"...Stubborn as ever."

Zhong Qian had no choice but to take the kid along to search for the Alien.

As soon as the two left, everyone immediately felt the temperature drop, but the warmth in their hearts didn’t fade.

"Alright, let’s hurry and gather everyone for evacuation!"

This Alien was very good at hiding.

The illusion realm was its territory, and the area was vast, with people scattered in buildings large and small. If it was determined to hide, Zhong Qian wouldn’t be able to handle it right away.

After searching for a good while, he still couldn’t find any trace of it.

Lin Jiaxu shivered as soon as he stepped outside, quickly climbing all over Zhong Qian and refusing to let go.

"I can help you find it."

Eager to leave sooner, Lin Jiaxu showed extreme enthusiasm.

Zhong Qian had almost forgotten—this child had a built-in tracker. "Alright, see where it is."

A moment later, Zhong Qian looked at the child’s focused expression and asked, "So, did you find it?"

Lin Jiaxu tightened his arms around Zhong Qian’s neck, his gaze sweeping over the dusty buildings before finally pointing toward a cluster of inconspicuous, low-rise houses at the far end of the illusion.

"It’s over there."

Zhong Qian’s spirits perked up: "Let’s go, we’re heading over!"

The illusion realm was filled with people everywhere, and the Special Team members were directing survivors toward the exit.

Zhong Qian and Lin Jiaxu avoided the crowd and slipped quietly to the low-rise houses.

Lin Jiaxu whispered, "It’s inside."

As they got closer, Zhong Qian sensed the thick contamination emanating from the Alien—a murky, ominous presence lurking on the rooftop of the house.

Finally, he found it.

Zhong Qian peeled Lin Jiaxu off him. "Wait here a minute. I’ll go deal with it."

"Hurry up, I’m cold."

The child urged reluctantly.

And who said they weren’t cold earlier? This kid was just talking tough.

Zhong Qian said helplessly, "Got it, it’ll be quick."

In a hurry, Zhong Qian sprinted and leaped, landing on the rooftop!

Seeing nothing on the empty roof, he swiftly drew his blade and slashed, releasing several arcs of light. The sound of the blade slicing the air was followed by the Alien scrambling to reveal itself.

"Hiss—"

The appearance of the massive, swaying tree with branches sent panic through all the survivors hiding in the illusion.

"What... what is that?"