Thick smoke billowed towards the base, choking those who had just applauded, forcing them to cover their noses and stay indoors. The base reacted swiftly this time, and soon identified those who supported the arson of the city, whether overtly or covertly. Regardless of who they were, everyone was thrown outside the base, tasked with cutting trees, digging trenches, and building firebreaks.
Water-based ability users were urgently summoned and rushed to the outskirts, pouring water along the trenches dug out earlier to fend off the mutant bird attacks. Fortunately, due to the bird nest created last time, the defensive fortifications outside the base were still intact. The base had a large enough open area around its perimeter to barely contain the spreading fire.
What was terrifying, however, was that since spring, there had been no rain near the base, and the dense mutant vegetation was even more aggressive than the previous year. Almost everything outside the base was covered with vegetation! The wildfire spread northward, relentless and without pause, burning anything combustible in its path!
The vegetation surrounding the base was all ignited, and the intense smoke enveloped the entire base, leaving everyone hiding in their rooms. Even the wind-based ability users refrained from using their abilities at this moment—blowing away the nearby thick smoke only resulted in more smoke replacing it!
Xu Song and his group were fortunate to be in the garage. Abu, along with the two ostriches, squeezed into the space as well. Thanks to Tiancheng in advance, when they noticed the smoke surrounding the base, he had already grown vines that could isolate the area, filling every crevice in the garage. Additionally, many plants capable of producing oxygen were grown to ensure everyone inside the garage wouldn’t feel suffocated.
“God, the smoke outside is so thick!” Luo Wen’an looked out through the gaps in the leaves, marveling and sticking out his tongue in surprise.
“Can you see your hand in front of your face now?” Su Daji stood beside him, also peering outside.
“The forums are full of curses,” Wang An checked the information on his wristwatch, snorted twice, and said, “I heard those people have all been caught and sent outside to defend the isolation zone. Serves them right!”
“Tch, they were just praised by the higher-ups a moment ago, and now their faces are slapped pia pia.” Luo Wen’an shook his head, with a disdainful expression, walking back to the center.
Tiancheng and Tianyou were leaning against Abu, each holding an empty ostrich egg, using a brush to paint with various colors.
Xiao Shu was doing the same, holding ostrich eggs with its branches and painting with other branches, looking like a delightful scene.
He Nian sat on the side, tilting his head and watching Xiao Shu twist and paint. Along with Zhao Xin, who had healed most of his injuries, they occasionally pulled its roots and touched its branches. Then, you could see this peculiar tree bend its branches to cover its “face” shyly and continue twisting… Honestly, it was quite entertaining.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
We Vbcu jcv Tef Itfcu ifjcfv jujlcra fjmt batfg. Dbat bo atflg fzqgfrrlbcr kfgf cba gfijzfv. Ktfs tjvc’a nlrlafv atf yjrf obgewr, lcrafjv, atfs vlgfmais mtfmxfv atf rjafiilaf qtbabr atja tjv pera yffc rfca yjmx.
“Qlat atlr, fnfc lo kf kjla obg atf olgf ab rabq, la kbc’a yf fjrs obg er ab ifjnf, gluta? Po atf yegcfv jgfj lr abb ijguf, atf fmbibulmji rlaejalbc bearlvf klii jirb yf vjwjufv.” We Vbcu oilqqfv atgbeut atf qtbabr; atf ugbecv kjr jiwbra fcalgfis mbnfgfv klat atlmx rwbxf, wjxlcu la lwqbrrlyif ab rff atf mbcvlalbcr yfibk.
“No, we still have to go.” Yue Zheng’s brow remained furrowed, his gaze containing a hint of profundity. “Think about it. After the fire is over, how will the base solve the food problem? And those people, who can come up with the idea of setting fires, what else can’t they do in the absence of food?”
Luo Wen’an and others returned, sitting around nervously. Indeed, everyone, including the reserves of Squad 0246, didn’t have much food left. This was the result of Abu deliberately going out to hunt twice in the past few days. After the wave of migratory birds, most of the squads remained in the base, and the reserve supplies in those teams had probably been depleted!
For them to do such a thing as setting a big fire to vent their frustration, in the absence of food, those people would definitely turn their attention to others of the same kind in the base!
“The current problem is, how do we deal with such a big fire when we encounter it outside?” Xu Song raised his head, looking around at everyone. “My ability is fire. Although I can control and extinguish it, I can’t control other external flames.”
Wang An raised his hand, “My earth wall should be somewhat effective, but if the area is too large and the fire lasts too long…”
The others’ abilities were also ineffective against the large fire. Only Tiancheng lowered his head, flipping through a small bag of seeds he had stored, saying, “Let me see if there are any fire-resistant plants…” After a while, he pointed inside the bag, “Diamond Vine is fire-resistant, but there are no plants that can spray water.”
Among the seeds Tiancheng collected, some could spray venom, but none could spray water. Although Xiao Shu could “spit water,” its water output was too small. It might be useful for taking a shower but not very effective in facing a forest wildfire—such a small amount of water would quickly evaporate.
“In the future, when we go out, let’s arrange it this way,” Yue Zheng thought for a moment.
“After finding a suitable place, let the ostriches help dig an isolation trench, park the cars inside, and try to clear the nearby vegetation. Then, Tiancheng and Wang An will be responsible for creating windbreak isolation walls using plants and earth walls. This will prevent both aerial attacks by birds and any potential accidents, such as this recent large fire. We also need to be cautious when using fire during our outings, ensuring the fire is completely extinguished before leaving, especially during dry periods.”
Everyone nodded; for now, it seemed like the best plan. Such a massive fire would overwhelm even water-based ability users.
“When the big fire stops, we’ll leave the base immediately and, once we find a safe place, thoroughly install the remaining weapons.” Each of their cars had reserved spaces for two machine gun mounts on the roof, but they hadn’t installed them yet. Now that their vehicles were already formidable after modifications, the remaining parts could be installed after everyone left.
“Agreed!”
“No problem!”
The wind changed direction during the night, causing the fire, which had been burning northward, to turn southward again. With the assistance of ubiquitous mutant plants, this wildfire unexpectedly swept through almost every accessible area.
The fire lasted for a full two weeks. After it passed through the B City base and satellite photos confirmed that almost all flammable materials in the vicinity had been burned clean, Squad 0246 quietly departed before other guilds, squads, or even the authorities responded.
The people in the base remained in shock. Although the area around the base was free from flammable materials, the strong smoke, the moist plant smoke after burning, and the intense chemical odors produced when burning human-built structures were enough to be lethal.
Many of those who were forcibly expelled from the base to handle the isolation zone, due to the lack of immediate awareness and preventive measures, were smoked to death! Furthermore, quite a few people who hid in the base buildings and were discovered only during the post-fire inspection were also smoked to death in their homes.
As for those waves of people who ran to the outskirts of the city to start fires? Many of them, after setting the fire, couldn’t escape in time and were burned to death! Some were out searching for food and got stuck outside due to the fire, unable to return to the base, and were also burned to death.
After the big fire, as expected by Yue Zheng and the others, everywhere near the base was scorched black. People discovered in despair—either animals ran away or died. Even those relatively harmless mutant plants that could provide food were burned to death!
Animals hidden in the shallow layers of soil, such as earthworms, and some underground blocky plants were also roasted and rendered inedible after the wildfire passed…
The people in the base fell into despair and fear once again. They eagerly attacked the Ability Users Association responsible for causing this incident, thinking they had gained the upper hand after its recent establishment, but now, it was in a major crisis.
“It’s so dark, so dark.” Luo Wen’an stomped his foot, lifting his shoe to look at the sole.
Wang An put down his sore arms, shook his shoulders, and received a water bottle from He Nian. With a cheerful smile, He Nian helped massage his arms, “I haven’t used my ability this many times these days. I have to say, using this method really helps improve strength!”
Previously, Xu Song and others accidentally discovered that while wearing crystals and ability pouches, if they consumed a large amount of their own abilities, the body would subconsciously accelerate the absorption of abilities. This was especially beneficial for ability users like Xumother and Abu, who didn’t have crystal cores, as it could enhance their cultivation speed.
Now, Xumother and Abu had just entered the ranks of third-level ability users, while Luo Wen’an and others were also training using this method.
“Today, everyone will camp here for a rest!” Xu Song, Tiancheng, and Tianyou confirmed the nearby situation, discussed it with Yue Zheng, and made the decision.
“Great!” The crowd cheered and scattered, their bodies sore from the jolting of the vehicles.
“Dad, Dad, let’s go find the pouches!” Tiancheng and Tianyou, holding a small shovel in one hand and a small bucket in the other, accompanied by a small tree with seventeen or eighteen small plastic buckets hanging from its branches, ran down from the car.
“Sure, but before getting in the car, wash your hands and clean the shoe soles. Remember?” Xu Song instructed, and the two little guys responded in unison, running to the side with Xiao Shu to look for pouches.
After leaving the base, the group found that among the ashes and corpses of creatures burned by the wildfire, just like the ones burned by Xu Song, the pouches were still preserved.
What was even more surprising was that even the bodies of plants contained pouches, although their locations varied widely. Some grew in the roots, some on the branches, with almost every type of plant being different.
Surprisingly, the plants produced by Tiancheng didn’t have these pouches in their bodies.
In this charred land, potential treasures were scattered everywhere. If they didn’t collect these pouches immediately, they would gradually dissipate over time. How could they afford to waste them?
Now, each of the three vehicles had a fish-tank-like storage made of a special anti-diamond structure. The pouches placed inside wouldn’t dissipate. These three glass-like tanks, each measuring one and a half meters long and about one meter high, were specially customized by them and cost quite a few points—more expensive than those rocket launchers!
Thank you for another excellent chapter dear translator!
Thanks for the chapter 🤣❤️🤣❤️🌳🦮🦔🦗🐝🐝🐝
Scavenging again! Thank you
I can just imagine Xiao Shu and the kids dressed like they’re on the beach looking for shells😂😂😂