Chapter 171: Return Journey (Thanks to inoriyuzu's alliance leader reward 1/10)

Since joining Qingbei, Liang Yan has never felt this powerless.

As a member of the search and rescue team, whenever I encountered survivors before, they would come up crying for their parents and cling to my legs, refusing to let go; as for the occasional casualties, most were caused by the harsh environment.

He did not approve of Xin Ping's so-called "probe"; that first strike, if the opponent had not reacted in time, might have actually caused a death.

However, as a support ability user, he naturally feels inferior before combat-type Special Ability users; often, they simply won't listen to him.

He has always disliked Xin Ping's character.

Too self-important.

Yet, having come to this point, it is not what he wanted to see.

Xin Ping, such a combat-type ability user, is also a rare resource within Qingbei; Qingbei's loss is every member's loss.

"Qingbei's goal is the future of all humanity; why are you only thinking of yourself……"

Liang Yan murmured something to the already unconscious Xin Ping, then took out a capsule-like object from his pocket and carefully twisted it open.

He directed his gaze toward Xin Ping.

The next moment.

Xin Ping's body suddenly vanished in place.

Liang Yan closed the capsule again and placed it back into his pocket with great care.

Standing up, his gaze passed through the hole opened by Chen Mu, and he muttered to himself: "Twenty-four hours, at least leave a life."

Then he crawled out of the hole.

……

The road home is always pleasant.

Chen Mu completed the task beyond expectations, not only obtaining lubricant but also gaining an aluminium alloy extremely useful to him, while He Ying also found the soap she had longed for.

Of course, the greatest gain was recruiting three new members, all of whom were awakened, and their abilities were also fairly practical.

They ran a stretch of road until Yu Yuan could run no further, then they stopped.

"Senior."

Xiao Pangzi, panting, hands on his knees, asked haltingly: "Just now, who were those two?"

"Qingbei is probably the largest organization in our school right now." Chen Mu did not hide it; anyway, these things will be known sooner or later after we go back.

"That name is truly awful; how could our Qiming be any less cool?" Yu Yuan said righteously, showing no sign of insincerity.

"Is Qingbei an evil organization?" Li Bo asked.

Chen Mu thought for a moment and said: "Probably not."

"Is that our enemy?"

"For now it isn't, but who knows later."

"Even if they are enemies, we will surely win, right, senior?" Yu Yuan laughed cheerfully.

Chen Mu was momentarily stumped by that question, then laughed: "Of course."

Yu Yuan felt a bit embarrassed asking: "Senior, why didn't you mention at the start that you also have superpowers?"

"Hmm… you didn't ask."

"Well…" Yu Yuan was speechless, then chuckled and asked He Ying: "What about the senior sister?"

At that moment, they happened to reach the stairwell.

Seeing the chasm that had once blocked their descent, Yu Yuan and the other two clearly showed a troubled expression.

Only see He Ying, without a word, in the astonished gazes of the three, swoosh down a step.

Yu Yuan hurriedly stepped to the edge of the step and looked down.

Only see He Ying's body trace an elegant arc, then lightly and steadily land, with no sign of a crouch.

"Is this the senior sister's ability?"

The three looked envious.

"Come on, let's go down too."

Chen Mu walked to the edge of the step and said to Zhou Xu Liang: "Take out that piece of aluminium alloy."

A tinkling sound rang out as several small parts fell to the ground.

Chen Mu casually fused them together into a block of aluminium alloy.

The three still did not know exactly what Chen Mu's ability was, and all looked at him with surprise and curiosity.

Soon, a metal slide connecting directly to the next step stood upright.

"Slide down." Chen Mu urged the three.

"Ah? That high?"

"It just looks high; actually, even if you jumped straight down, you'd be fine."

"Senior, don't lie to us; it's several stories high."

"So let you go down the slide; do you want me to give you a hand and throw you down?" Chen Mu couldn't be bothered to explain further; anyway, after one try you'll see that the falling damage right now is just a paper tiger.

"No no no."

The three steeled themselves and came to the slide Chen Mu had made.

This slide is made of aluminium alloy; as the lowest-density metal in everyday life, its hardness and strength indicators are still excellent—this is practically tailor-made for Chen Mu.

The density of aluminium alloy is about 2.7, whereas even the stainless steel after Lu Shanshan's weight reduction still has a density close to 4.0; that's why Chen Mu has been set on finding it.

Although Yu Pangzi is timid, he is actually the eldest among the three, so despite his reluctance, he had to go first.

He clung to the slide like a koala, his body hanging motionless at the top.

"Loosen your grip a bit."

"I'm afraid of falling too fast."

It won't happen; don't use your old feeling for this—just boldly let go.

However, this kind of thing can't be accepted just by saying a few words.

After a full two minutes, He Ying down below was getting impatient, and Yu Yuan finally landed successfully.

They were on the east-side stairwell of Teaching Building 3; they took a detour to avoid the closer west-side stairwell, also fearing that Liang Yan behind them would catch up.

Otherwise, wasting even this bit of time would be enough for someone to catch up.

After Yu Yuan landed, he excitedly shouted with his two companions, 'The senior was right—sliding down is easy.'

Li Bo and Zhou Xu Liang exchanged a glance, then each smoothly descended the slide.

If there weren't so many steps, Chen Mu would just jump down step by step; but even though falling now causes little harm, he still doesn't want to do that often—after all, you can't walk by the river without getting your shoes wet, and if you jump too much you'll eventually get hurt; even someone walking on level ground can fall and die.

Of course, He Ying is the exception.

If she weren't waiting for the other four, with her ability she could go downstairs almost instantly.

However, overall, going downstairs is far easier than going upstairs.

It took just a little over an hour.

The five of them reached the ground floor without trouble.

By then, the sun had already shifted westward.

'Should we rest a bit before moving on?' He Ying asked.

'Anyway, we can't make it back today, so we might as well spend the night here.'

'Mm.'

The five found a corner, and Chen Mu once again had Zhou Xu Liang take out the aluminum alloy.

He pressed the metal block with one hand.

The next moment.

The aluminum alloy seemed to be inflated, and it slowly expanded.

Not long after.

A simple room took shape; Chen Mu embedded its base into the ground, then called the others inside.

While Yu Yuan and the others curiously felt around, Chen Mu discussed with He Ying taking turns keeping watch; unlike before, this time they knew that people from the Qingbei were searching nearby, so Chen Mu dared not be careless.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, Chen Mu, who had been on duty the latter half of the night, pushed the others awake.

Yu Yuan rubbed his sore all-over body, feeling a bit nostalgic for the old scented cigarette soft bed.

The five packed up and set out again.

……

Meanwhile.

Somewhere on the campus.

A small figure briskly walked toward the morning sun; walking on grass, the uneven ground often made his steps falter.

But his walking speed wasn't slow; he seemed accustomed to such terrain.

Liang Yan wiped sweat, first glancing at the sun's position, then looking toward the distant tall, sturdy flagpole on the playground for a moment.

Afterward, he let out a long sigh of relief.

He should make it in time.