Chapter 502: Chapter 496: Dividing the Forces

As it turned out, Xie Ning, that little oddball’s so-called plan to split into two groups was...

She would act alone as one group, while everyone else formed the other.

Gu Chen’s dark, shimmering peach blossom eyes stared at her!

Beside him, Yu Tianfeng, Cres, Song You’ai, Song Youzhi, and the rest of the group also stared at her, their faces completely blank.

This was utterly ridiculous!

’How does this count as splitting up?’

’Just come out and say you want to sneak off on your own, why don’t you?!’

Xie Ning raised a hand to her chin, offering a rare explanation. "Aiya, you guys have to escort Chen Chong and the others, plus you’re dragging along two patients and a cage for the ugly merman. Your movements are bound to be slow."

"But I’m different. If I go alone, I can launch a swift surprise attack on one of the labs!" Xie Ning declared, her reasoning sounding perfectly plausible. "Don’t worry. Once I’ve dealt with that lab, I’ll immediately rush over to meet up with you."

As she spoke, she kept winking at Cres and Gu Chen, wearing a little ’you-get-me’ expression.

Cres and the others all scowled at her...

’We don’t get it!’

’All we know is that this troublemaker is definitely up to no good.’

Song Kexin spoke up timidly, "Why don’t you take me with you?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Song Kexin regretted it.

She saw everyone turn their gazes, sharp as daggers, back to her, as if she were some terrible accomplice aiding a villain...

Her father even raised his hand instinctively, about to smack her on the head.

Song Kexin quickly ducked her head and scurried sheepishly behind Ji Taixian.

Xie Ning frantically tried to signal Gu Chen with her eyes, but he acted as if he couldn’t receive her message at all, continuing to stare at her without a flicker of expression.

The young woman cleared her throat. "Since no one has any objections, let’s call this a happy decision."

With that, she waved her hand, produced the small electric tricycle, and tossed it to them before turning to leave.

"Hey, Ningning." Song You’ai was about to give chase when Cres stopped her. "Aunt Song, let her go. She really is more efficient on her own. We’ll head to the northern lab. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can regroup with her."

The key was that the woman had just sent him a private telepathic message, saying she planned to lure the snake out of its hole.

Gu Chen had actually received his girlfriend’s telepathic message as well.

But he was still reluctant to let her go off on her own, feeling the risk was too great.

But with her resolute personality, once she made a decision, no one could talk her out of it.

He glanced at Cres.

Cres reluctantly nodded back at him.

The members of Team A climbed onto the small electric tricycle, which towed the ugly merman’s iron cage as they followed the main group.

The two injured women were carried by Huang Genmei and a few others, who took turns on the road.

This arrangement did slow their group down considerably.

They had to look after the injured, and they also had to stand guard over the ugly merman, preventing it from waking up and wreaking havoc with its Spiritual Ability.

Meanwhile, Xie Ning quickly sped off alone. She retrieved a small electric scooter from her Space, flicked on its headlight, and headed toward the more distant northern laboratory.

’Have to admit, this little scooter is pretty handy. Much better than running on my own two feet.’

Xie Ning made a show of herself, driving with her headlight on as she ostentatiously passed through stretch after stretch of the base’s ruins.

After covering some distance, she sent a telepathic message to Cres. ’Can you still hear me?’

Cres, who was walking with the group, paused for a moment, then quickly replied, ’Where are you?’

’I’m already more than three kilometers away.’

Cres pouted. ’Your spiritual power seems pretty good, too.’

’Right? It’s not as high-Rank as yours, but it should be fine for simple things like sending messages.’

’What do you mean, ’lure the snake out of its hole’? What did you find?’

’I’m creating an opportunity for the X Realm, of course. You silly boy. We’ve been traveling together the whole time, so how are they supposed to target me?’

’Did you have a Spiritual Prediction or something?!’ Cres’s telepathic voice quickened, unable to hide his anxiety. ’I’m telling you, don’t do anything reckless! Those two Spiritual System users with him are strong.’

’You can’t let your guard down. I suspect that brother-sister duo might have some kind of joint Spiritual attack that they just didn’t reveal back then.’

’Do you have any proof for that suspicion?’ Xie Ning, still on her scooter, was taken aback for a moment. She hadn’t expected Cres to be this cautious.

’Yeah. After my Spiritual Ability leveled up, I can not only sense others’ Superpower Ranks, but I’ve also vaguely developed a new ability to sense some of their techniques.’

’It’s hard to explain, anyway. I just have this weird gut feeling, you know?’

Xie Ning thought for a moment, then sincerely thanked him. ’Thanks for the warning, kiddo. Don’t worry. I’m not an idiot; I’ll be extra careful.’

’Since I’m just pretending to be weak to lure them out, I’m obviously not going to let myself get devoured.’

’Stay in touch.’

Because long-distance telepathy was quite draining on their superpowers, Cres added a few more nagging words and then broke the connection.

When he snapped out of his thoughts, he felt a tug at his side.

Cres turned and immediately met Gu Chen’s questioning gaze.

The young man pouted and sent a private message to Gu Chen through the Spirit Net. ’She said she’s going to lure the people from X Realm to her.’

’I don’t know if Li Zongyuan’s group has any special ability users, but it’s very likely our every move is being watched.’

Gu Chen looked thoughtful and didn’t speak, merely giving a slight nod.

Cres broadcast a message to everyone over the Spirit Net. "The captain likely sensed something. From now on, we need to raise our guard. Don’t speak any important information out loud. Use our Satellite Bracelets to communicate."

"Not the X Realm-issued bracelets, the ones Xiao Gu gave us. You know which ones."

Everyone nodded upon receiving the telepathic message.

Two young men hesitated for a moment before rushing to Gu Chen’s side and asking in a low voice, "Captain, can we ask you something?"

One of them scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

Gu Chen glanced at him and sighed, feigning sorrow. "You want to ask about Xia Yuanyi and the other two, don’t you?"

"You all heard the massive tremor from the building earlier, right? Unfortunately, Xia Yuanyi and the others were killed by the ugly merman’s Spiritual Attack."

The young team member’s eyes went wide. His voice was stuck in his throat for a long moment before he finally managed to stammer out, "They’re... they’re all dead?"

Gu Chen nodded, his face a mask of grief. "The ugly merman’s Spiritual Attack is incredibly powerful. That’s why we need everyone to be on high alert. We absolutely cannot let it break out of its cage, or the consequences will be unimaginable."

Several members of Superpower Team One all looked grief-stricken.

They had no idea that Xia Yuanyi and the other two had been possessed by parasites. They had always trained and operated together, so hearing that three of their comrades were suddenly dead left them with incredibly mixed emotions.

"This is a great loss for our base," Lu Wei sighed. "I’ve already reported it to the higher-ups. We will make sure their families are properly taken care of."

「Meanwhile, the Jingji Base was facing an unprecedented storm.」

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.