Chapter 1228: Lin Yi, You Come

Everything was ready; Ning Chen was driving, and after so long in an RV, he could handle a vehicle like this with ease.

The three cars drove one after another, crossing the entire East District Base toward the rear exit.

A few hundred meters beyond this point lay the entrance to the West District Base.

Lin Yi sat in the back with the two girls; the atmosphere was unbearably awkward, especially since Lin Yi did not like them, so he simply closed his eyes and began to sleep, performing a classic "out of sight, out of mind."

As they traveled, Ning Chen used the walkie-talkie to contact the others.

"Xiao Han, in a moment I want to release my ability to explore the situation; I need your vines as a medium so we can explore further."

Upon receiving the order, Xiao Han immediately released vines that slithered underground, while Ning Chen released his ability to attach himself to Xiao Han's vines.

Ning Chen frowned slightly; the situation around them was not good.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Ning Chen's expression, Gu Yanqi immediately asked.

Hearing Gu Yanqi's question from the back, Lin Yi quickly leaned forward: "What is it, what is it, Brother Ning, have you found anything?"

Ning Chen softly hummed "mm"; the situation around them was worse than he had thought. The area surrounding the West District Base was almost entirely filled with infected, and something within the West District seemed to be isolating the area, making it impossible for his ability to penetrate inside.

The car continued inward; relying on his ability, Ning Chen dodged the large crowds of infected around them, gradually approaching the West District Base.

The car stopped at the entrance of the West District Base, and Ning Chen got out first.

Not long after, the other two cars also arrived at the entrance.

Everyone got out of their cars; currently, the main gate of the West District Base was sealed shut, and nothing could be explored inside to determine what had happened.

"Brother Ning, what do we do now?" Facing the West District Base before him, Huo Jinglin didn't know why, but he felt the place gave him a very uncomfortable sensation.

"We have to go in, but first we must think about how to get in." Looking at the door before him, Ning Chen fell into deep thought.

Noah stepped forward from the end of the group, looked at the base wall before him, and said, "This is a maximum protection system; it seems something really did happen in the West District."

Hearing Noah's words, Ning Chen looked up at him: "Can you let us in?"

"Yes, just disable the system at the entrance." Saying this, Noah stepped forward and, from an inconspicuous corner beside the main gate, knocked rhythmically a few times; shortly after, a button appeared on the wall.

Noah pressed the button, and with a "Crack!" sound, the gate opened.

"This deactivation is temporary; to fully disable it, we must enter the control room inside. Get back in the car quickly now; in five minutes, the gate will automatically close."

Ning Chen nodded, hesitated not at all, and got straight back into the car.

After everyone was seated, he started the car and drove inward.

The car entered the West District; inside, it was almost empty, with not a single person in sight.

The layout of the West District was much the same as the East District Base; after driving for a short while, they arrived at an area resembling a marketplace.

It was very clean, with small stalls lining both sides, displaying various items for sale.

Except for the absence of people, everything seemed perfectly normal, so normal that it was eerie.

Lin Yi swallowed hard, somewhat puzzled: "Brother Ning, what is the situation here? Why is everyone gone, and it looks like nothing has happened at all?"

These people had vanished as if out of thin air; facing such a situation easily provoked fear.

The car continued forward, and at an intersection, Ning Chen stopped.

To prevent accidents, he did not get out but instead took out the walkie-talkie.

"From now on, we will split into three groups: Xiao Han, you go left; Noah, you go right. Something inside here should be blocking signals and energy fluctuations; be careful. In five hours, regardless of whether you find anyone or not, return here to assemble."

After giving the instructions, Ning Chen started the car and drove forward.

They had to proceed forward to explore.

Ning Chen released his ability, but there was nothing around; not a trace of any living creature's presence.

In this situation, either his ability was being blocked, or... there truly were no living creatures here, at least no living ones.

After driving for an hour, Ning Chen suddenly sensed a faint energy fluctuation; the fluctuation was very light, but Ning Chen still felt it, so he drove the car toward that faint signal.

Ning Chen stopped in a ruined area; the houses here had all collapsed, and that faint energy fluctuation originated right there.

"Brother Ning, what's wrong? Is there something here?" Looking at the ruins before him, Lin Yi was somewhat puzzled.

Ning Chen nodded, then got out of the car.

Looking at the ruins before him, he felt a bit overwhelmed.

"Brother Ning, could there be someone down there?" Lin Yi guessed tentatively.

Seeing that Ning Chen did not refute him, Lin Yi's eyes widened; what, what was this situation?

Looking at the ruins before him, Ning Chen extended his hand; golden light surrounded the area. To rescue the person below, he would have to clear away these ruins.

Suddenly, Ning Chen thought of something, withdrew the ability from his hand, and looked at Lin Yi.

"Lin Yi, use your ability to move these ruins aside."

"Huh? Me?"

Lin Yi's dog eyes widened; although he had undergone training, having to engage in actual combat so quickly made him somewhat hesitant.

But seeing Brother Ning's expression, he realized this was no joke.

Lin Yi swallowed hard and approached the ruins.

Upon hearing Ning Chen say there was someone underneath, Mu Xinruan automatically assumed it was her own brother, so she hurried forward, grabbed Lin Yi's arm, and said, "You, you hurry up!"

Lin Yi was already nervous; with Mu Xinruan's fussing, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest, and he became extremely irritable.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Lin Yi shoved Mu Xinruan.

Mu Xinruan almost fell, but fortunately Lin Xiaoling caught her.

Lin Xiaoling wanted to say something, but Gu Yanqi blocked her gaze toward Lin Yi.

Gu Yanqi simply watched the two of them, her expression somewhat similar to Ning Chen's.

Lin Xiaoling still remembered that the woman before her was also a high-level ability user; she stepped back, took Mu Xinruan, and moved to the side.

Seeing the matter resolved, Ning Chen stopped paying attention to that side and looked at Lin Yi: "Focus your mind; try hard to think, think about rescuing the person below, think about moving these things aside. Don't be nervous; your ability is strong, and moving these things is quite simple."

Whether it was because Ning Chen's encouragement worked or not, Lin Yi felt his heart instantly calm down, and his gaze at the ruins before him became firm.

"Lin Yi, you can do it, you will definitely do it!"