Chapter 27: Unconventional Strategy

Chapter 27 Unconventional Strategy

The vehicle sped out of the base.

The frozen ice stretched over a kilometer beyond the base, beyond which lay the approaching battlefield.

Qi He braked the car outside the combat zone and stepped out.

Superpowered individuals around him swiftly took their positions.

He slammed the car door shut, gazing at the tranquil mountains and roads ahead. A faint rustling sound seemed to drift by, stirring an instinctive sense of alert within him:

"Kamiue, how close are they?"

Kamiue Jun also stepped out of the car, closing his eyes: "500 meters..."

Qi He stared intently ahead, raising his voice: "Battle positions."

The surrounding formations adjusted with a clatter, poised for action. On the high walls, firepower was aimed at the battlefield ahead.

In the breathless silence, Kamiue Jun suddenly spoke: "They're here."

A rustling sound drew closer, and the next moment—KABOOM!!

Thick vines burst through the ground before everyone's eyes! Lashing like tentacles in the air. Qi He's pupils contracted, reflecting the bizarre mutant plants before him—some covered in mouths and teeth, others armored, continuing to multiply and grow after breaking through the soil—

Perhaps they could no longer be called "plants."

A phrase from the script flashed through his mind: mutant species.

Their grotesque forms were chilling.

As the towering Mutated Vine, over ten meters high, prepared to swoop down, Qi He pressed it down with one hand. WHOOSH! The attack slowed momentarily before he issued the command:

"Defense types to the front, melee combatants fall back! Control types, initiate the attack. Wall emplacements, focus on the rear of the battlefield."

Multiple attacks landed simultaneously.

While controlling the battle, Qi He observed the surging mutant species:

"How are they getting here?"

Kamiue focused his perception, his face paling slightly after a moment: "It's not accurate to say they're 'coming.' The root systems within over ten miles underground are all interconnected, transferring nutrients and energy layer by layer to ensure the evolution of mutant plants near the base is sufficient to invade."

Qi He drew a sharp breath.

Yan Chuanbai's ice layer had forced most of the mutants above ground for now, but a small number would undoubtedly continue to infiltrate the base.

He connected to Yan Chuanbai's communication.

A low voice soon responded: "What is it?"

"It's a vine-class mutant species, high-grade, evolved." Qi He quickly summarized the situation. "Capable of invading the base."

The area ahead had already descended into chaos.

He instinctively diverted his attention to think, but after three seconds, he heard a voice through the comms: "Copy that."

A steady, reassuring tone.

Qi He paused, then handed off the rear battlelines entirely to Yan Chuanbai, focusing on the battlefield before him.

...

Inside the base, Yan Chuanbai cut the comm.

You Tianxing maintained his meditative stance and asked, "How is it?"

Yan Chuanbai didn't answer, only scanned the area before saying, "Cleanup operation might require some effort from you."

"?"

As he spoke, another ice layer formed fifty meters out, this time extending over ten meters underground. Creating a deliberate kill zone between the two ice layers for invasion—

He deployed forces: "Prepare to hold the secondary defensive line."

The soldiers scrambled into position on both sides.

As for the stragglers that slipped through, the other superpowered individuals stationed in the base were more than enough to handle them.

-

On the frontlines, powers flashed.

A ball of fire shot toward the Mutated Vine.

The vine twisted several times before sweeping down violently! Two superpowered individuals were nearly caught in the attack when a powerful force yanked them back—

Ji Yan, who had thrown the fireball: "Damn, this thing is fireproof!"

A wave of venom cloud spread along the ground. The Mutated Vine stalled for only two seconds before sprouting new tendrils. Mo Jiayan was pulled behind by Ye Yi, exclaiming in shock: "Damn, it's immune to toxins too!"

BAM! Qi He assessed the situation and lowered his gun.

Not enough firepower.

They couldn't continue fighting straight-on.

The sounds of battle rose and fell around them. Qi He stared ahead. His white T-shirt, not yet changed, stood out starkly white amid the dust and chaos.

As he pondered, a voice beside him asked: "Why go to the most dangerous place?"

He turned to see Kamiue Jun looking at him.

"..." Because that's what it says.

Qi He opened his mouth, then turned back, calmly stating: "Only strength can oppose strength."

Kamiue Jun got chills, holding his breath. His ability was 'Perception.' Since the apocalypse, he had relied on prediction to avoid danger. "Avoidance" had almost become a habit.

He had nearly forgotten that he, too, was an S-rank.

After a few breaths, Kamiue Jun looked ahead: "I understand."

His focus intensified, and precise reports followed: "11 o'clock direction, 2.1 meters underground, rapid-growth pods; 1 o'clock direction, 3.2 meters underground; 3 o'clock direction, 0.3 meters underground..."

Root systems were ripped out one by one, and the surrounding allies quickly attacked: BLAM!

...

The mutants continued to reproduce relentlessly.

The mental stamina of the superpowered individuals was also limited. At a glance, some were already looking worn out.

Qi He kept moving while thinking fast.

His Superpower was restricted in this situation: the mutants had been forced above ground and could not be pushed back down; the huge network of roots below meant that even if forcibly pulled out, they would keep growing back endlessly.

Gravity, traction force, magnetism—none of them would work.

His eyelashes lowered slightly, and he thought, "System, I have a bold idea."

The system was nervous, "…How bold is it?"

After about two seconds of thought, Qi He suddenly looked up and commanded, "All superpowered individuals, pull back behind the battle line! Stop the wall's artillery fire—Fire Superpower users, await orders!"

The entire battlefield froze up for a moment.

Qi He was merely giving orders; in the rapidly changing battle, there was no room for distraction. As soon as he finished speaking, he had everyone fall back behind the battle line—

"What the fuck… What’s going on?"

"Aren’t we going to fight all these mutants?"

……

On the high walls, the soldiers were also stunned.

Cease fire? How was that possible?

The command communication line was always open. Soon, an officer turned to ask for orders from Yan Chuanbai, "Colonel, Qi—"

Bang! A gunshot rang out, carrying the smell of gunpowder.

Yan Chuanbai seemed to still be engaged in combat, but his cool, steady voice showed no hesitation, leaving no room for doubt:

"I don’t want to repeat the pre-battle orders."

—Outside the base, follow Qi He’s commands.

The officer on the other end stammered and replied, "Yes."

With that order, all shooting from the high walls ceased.

On the front lines.

Qi He temporarily used his "power" to control the entire situation, then issued the next command: "All Fire Superpower users, use your biggest area, highest-intensity attacks."

The Fire Superpower users on the field were puzzled but complied.

Whoosh! A massive wave of fire spread to the farthest and deepest areas.

Amid the intense flames, the mutated vine merely twisted and let out a "hiss" from its mouths, not taking much damage.

The remaining superpowered individuals stood by watching with nothing to do.

In the group, Ke Yuan sneered, finally jumping on Qi He’s "failure": "We already knew mutants are fireproof. Using fire is worse than bullets—they’re faster."

"He doesn’t know how to command. Why should we listen to him…"

He didn't even finish, when a cry of surprise came from the front.

Qi He stood alone before a patch of mutated vines. The tall, twisted vines twisted weirdly, almost breaking free from his control. The blazing flames illuminated Qi He’s face, his eyes glowing red as he raised his hands.

Heat, temperature, pressure—everything was ready.

Thermal energy was generated.

A temperature difference formed with the surrounding frozen ice layers, converting into mechanical energy that moved back through the entangled root system beneath the ground. Qi He crossed his raised hands in front of him and clenched his fists—

The deeply buried root system broke apart piece by piece.

With the supply of "nutrients" cut off, the vines above seemed to lose their vitality, becoming fragile.

Qi He lowered his hands, his stance steady despite the intense strain.

He pressed his lips together, issuing his second command:

"Concentrate firepower, everyone attack."

-

The situation became completely one-sided.

No one understood what had happened; they only knew the mutated vines were no longer regenerating.

The same thought crossed everyone's mind:

This is the power of an S-rank—truly terrifying.

The previously restrained superpowered individuals finally really enjoyed the fight—

Ji Yan unleashed a burst of flames and glanced at Ke Yuan, "See, I told you Fire Superpower is the best! Of course, Qi He’s 'power' is pretty good too!"

The people around them: "……"

Ke Yuan’s face instantly turned bright red.

The battle wrapped up within half an hour.

Military personnel arrived in an orderly manner to clear the battlefield. When they saw Qi He, several officers stood at attention, their expressions both awkward and respectful as they saluted him, "Mr. Qi."

"The rest is up to you."

After speaking, Qi He got into a vehicle and returned to the base.

The base was also a mess, with mutant debris everywhere near the second line of defense. Military personnel were clearing the area, and Yan Chuanbai stood tall and straight at the forefront.

The vehicle parked to the side, and Yan Chuanbai turned his head.

Qi He got out of the car, first locked eyes with him, then immediately turned his gaze to the battlefield: the ice layers had been used to create a man-made opening.

He felt a flicker of admiration, "System, Yan Chuanbai is quite impressive too."

The system got suspicious, "Why are you praising him all of a sudden?"

"……"

A pair of military boots suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

Qi He looked up and met Yan Chuanbai’s lowered gaze. The other man stared at him silently for several seconds before asking, "What did you do?"

He replied succinctly, "Heat."

You Tianxing felt his grasp of physics crumbling and smiled, "...Is this also part of your skill set?"

Qi He shook his head, "It just briefly passed through my domain."

Unlike gravity or traction, heat is a form of energy conversion and cannot be directly controlled by him.

But he had a professional habit: making use of whatever's available.

The system blurted out, "You don't produce force; you're just a middleman for forces."

You Tianxing felt a bit better, clasping his hands together, "That's good. The world hasn't gone completely off the rails that I no longer recognize it." He then turned and saw Kamiue Jun getting out of the car, "Are you alright, Kamiue?"

Kamiue Jun seemed to snap back to attention, tilted his head with a smile, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes for a moment: "I think I've gotten hooked on the rush of being on the front lines."

Yan Chuanbai slowly glanced over at him.

You Tianxing: "?"

What happened to make a Psychic become so battle-hungry?

Qi He didn't notice the situation in front of him. Standing alone to the side, he called up the system, "Bring up the key plot from earlier for me to review again."

It had passed by too quickly, and there was something he wanted to check.

The script was quickly pulled up: 『The base was invaded by mutants, causing internal chaos... As the strongest combatant, he must have stayed on the front line...』

Qi He stared at those words: internal, front line.

He remembered that when the plot emergency started, it said: Detected change in location. Meaning, in the original plot, the mutants had already invaded the base.

So, according to the original plot, Kamiue didn’t come to Base I?

With such a major change, why did no alert go off? Where exactly was the key point of the plot?

...

Five or six meters away, Yan Chuanbai’s gaze landed on him.

People were coming and going all around, but Qi He stood there quietly, his slightly lowered profile still somewhat pale, giving off a pure, serious vibe. Lost in thought, his eyes were narrowed slightly.

His slender figure gave off an illusion of harmlessness, but just moments ago, he had wiped out a whole patch of Mutated Vines outside the base.

As he watched, a soft voice suddenly spoke beside him, "He’s impressive, isn’t he?"

Yan Chuanbai’s fingers curled slightly as he turned his head.

Kamiue Jun withdrew his gaze from Qi He. You Tianxing had gone to handle logistics, leaving just the two of them. He smiled at Yan Chuanbai, "I used to think I was just drawn to strong fighters. Now, it seems like it’s more than that."

Yan Chuanbai looked at him for two seconds, then quirked a smile, "What are you trying to say?"

"I can sense that you dislike me. Why?"

Yan Chuanbai was candid and let out a light laugh, "Do I need a reason to dislike someone?"

Kamiue Jun: "Disliking someone requires a reason; liking someone doesn’t."

A certain word hit a nerve in Yan Chuanbai’s heart, making it jump.

"What I’m into might not just be the feeling of being on the front line."

Kamiue Jun raised his eyes as he spoke, the light reflecting in them. His gentle demeanor faded, revealing a hint of challenging edge: "It’s the apocalypse already. No one knows how many days they have left to live. If there’s something I want, I’ll go after it and take it."

After he finished speaking, they fell silent for a moment.

Suddenly, Yan Chuanbai laughed, "You’re right."

He also raised his eyes, no longer hiding the raw intensity within them.

-

The battlefield had been handed off to the military to handle.

You Tianxing called the S-class personnel together for a post-battle meeting. Yu Jiang also emerged from the high-rise building. Fortunately, she hadn’t been affected, though her "purification" workload had increased.

In the meeting room, You Tianxing stood at the front:

"Fortunately, we had timely warning for this invasion. Also, shout-out to the two from the Combat Department."

Kamiue Jun: "No big deal, just pulling our weight."

Qi He, sitting to the side, thought about the original plot development and suddenly asked, "Why did you come to Base I?"

Kamiue Jun paused for a moment, then said, "I encountered a zombie horde at the time and originally planned to reroute to HQ or Base II. But the zombie horde retreated quickly, so I simply came to Base I."

He finished with a smile, "Thanks for checking in."

...Well, not really. Qi He paused, then nodded, "You're welcome."

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone glancing at him from the right.

Immediately after, Yu Jiang across the table glanced over. Three pairs of eyes inexplicably landed on him, and even You Tianxing at the front stopped and looked his way: ?

Qi He: "..."

He pondered for a moment: "System, is my reputation that bad?" Is caring about others really such a noteworthy thing?

The system commented, "Given your actions, shouldn’t it be?"

Fortunately, they soon looked away.

You Tianxing quickly steered the discussion back on track.

He didn’t need to listen to the strategy summary since he had came up with it. The system, however, paid attention and, recalling Qi He’s actions, couldn’t help but say:

"You even took advantage of Yan Chuanbai’s sheet of ice."

Qi He: "Professional habit."

He once played an open-world game where his unorthodox moves led to a group of players chasing him. He ended up luring them all the way to a field boss in uncharted territory, got the boss to aggro to force a dungeon start, and wiped the whole party.

He shared with the system, "Even though I died too, taking out that many for one was worth it."

System: "...Incredible. Our world is limiting you."

The post-battle meeting didn’t last long.

The casualty reports and mutant analysis report weren’t ready yet. You Tianxing only covered the tactical summary and next steps before announcing the end of the meeting.

"Good job, everyone. Head back and get some rest."

It was almost 6 p.m., another day coming to an end.

Qi He was about to stand up and leave when Kamiue-san suddenly called out to him: "I still want to improve myself. Can you help me train tonight?"

After all, he was someone who would soon be on the front lines.

Qi He thought for a moment and was about to agree, "But—"

His communicator suddenly chimed. With a glance, he saw the name displayed on the screen: Yan Chuanbai.

"?"

Qi He looked up at the person sitting right beside him.

Yan Chuanbai was seated to his right, holding his communicator openly, his lips curved slightly as he looked directly at Qi He.

Confused, Qi He opened the message and read: 『Tonight, 29th floor of the high-rise.』

He: ????

System: "????"

Immediately after, another message was sent right in front of him.

After just one glance, Qi He’s breath caught. He turned to the eagerly waiting Kamiue-san beside him and said, "Sorry, Kamiue-san, I have other plans tonight."

Kamiue-san: "..."

Yan Chuanbai made no attempt to hide the fact that he was sending messages.

He gave a penetrating look in Yan Chuanbai’s direction, who responded with a careless, slightly provocative smile before then standing up and leaving.

Qi He also closed his communicator and stood up.

Inside were two consecutive messages, with a suggestive undertone:

『Tonight, 29th floor of the high-rise.』

『I know you want to do something to me. Come to me, and you can do whatever you want.』

Author's Note:

Yan Chuanbai: Using his body to tempt. (Literally.)

-

Qi He: Discovering himself ing

Yan Chuanbai: Discovering himself ing

*Today it's a long day—competition between men is a virtue [sunglasses emoji]

P.S. Still a special abilities setting; related theories that are not meant for study or practice, purely for entertainment.