this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
As everyone climbed onto Hui Hui’s shell, Song Jinchuan decisively delivered the final blow to the enemies before him. Until his death, Tie Niu still couldn’t believe how he could die so easily.
When he had been previously injured by Song Jinchuan and hiding in that dark room, he had thought he would die there. However, he had suddenly been saved, and told he could be transformed into an even more powerful mutant.
He had even volunteered to have his legs and arms replaced with those of mutated beasts to enhance his strength.
Tie Niu truly believed he was the chosen one—the main character of this world—so even as he took his last breath, his eyes still remained wide open, unwilling to accept his death.
Time was of the essence, and under Jiang Ci’s urging, Hui Hui moved swiftly. The ability users felt a sudden jerk as their surroundings blurred rapidly at the speed.
They had never dreamed that one day they would be riding on the back of a mutated beast. Their gazes all fell on Jiang Ci, filled with admiration.
Jiang Ci, of course, was unaware of the thoughts racing through the minds of those behind her. She looked at the base engulfed in flames and the scattered limbs on the ground, sighing inwardly.
Soon, they saw a group of people locked in combat. Jiang Ci quickly had Hui Hui stop.
She left Song Jinchuan behind and continued forward.
Arriving at the hiding place of the survivors mentioned by the ability users, she saw two half-human, half-beast creatures attacking what appeared to be a sturdy basement door.
However, cracks had already appeared on the basement door, and it only seemed like a matter of time before it gave in.
Jiang Ci immediately had Hui Hui intervene, stopping their actions.
The two naturally noticed Jiang Ci’s presence and hurled their powers at her, but couldn’t land a hit.
Just as they were thrown into confusion, Hui Hui began her counterattack. Numerous dense earthen spikes emerged from the ground, and the surface of the earth began to ripple like waves.
Hui Hui was a top-tier mutated beast, and having been raised in the hotpot restaurant for so long, her strength far surpassed that of ordinary mutated beasts and humans. Now that she had unleashed her full power, the people on the other side naturally stood no chance.
In just a few moves, they were beaten to the point of spitting blood, trying to escape but utterly unable to break free from Hui Hui’s abilities.
The survivors, hearing the commotion outside, cautiously peeked out. The first thing they saw was the enormous tortoise, and then they noticed the two individuals who had just tried to force them out with their strength now completely helpless under the giant tortoise’s powers.
Were they here to help? Or was this an internal conflict? The survivors couldn’t tell at all.
At that moment, a sharp, distant whistle sounded from somewhere outside. The half-human, half-beast creatures, still struggling fiercely, glanced toward the base’s exterior and quickly retreated, not even having time to spare a single thought for their fallen comrades.
Jiang Ci naturally wouldn’t let these murderers leave so easily. With a single earth spike dart from Hui Hui, the one who had tried to escape was soon pinned to the ground.
Jiang Ci didn’t have time to check on the survivors here. She remembered that Yang Yan was still locked up. She had planned to go over and question her again after resolving the situation here, hoping to uncover some clues. Such a large group of people turning into this state couldn’t have happened without some sort of hidden organization being behind it.
Now, seeing these people leave swiftly after hearing the whistle, Jiang Ci worried that Yang Yan might also have been taken away by them, subsequently cutting off all potential leads.
But to Jiang Ci’s surprise, Yang Yan was dead, her eyes still wide open, seemingly filled with confusion and fear.
When Jiang Ci stepped out, she only saw a figure standing on the head of a black mutated snake.
As she looked over, the figure seemed to also be staring back at her. Then, both the person and the snake vanished from Jiang Ci’s sight.
“Who was that just now?” Jiang Ci frowned, feeling that this person was likely the mastermind behind everything.
“Couldn’t see clearly,” Song Jinchuan shook his head. The figure’s silhouette didn’t give him any sense of familiarity.
The base was still in chaos, with many injured. Although they couldn’t give chase, the good news was that the half-human, half-beast monsters, which posed a significant threat to the survivors, had all mostly been eliminated.
After those people left, upon hearing the news, the survivors gradually emerged from their hiding places.
Everyone helped each other find a relatively clean open area and began bandaging the wounded. The expressions on their faces still carried traces of lingering fear.
From the way these people operated, it was almost certain that they were connected to the previous two base attacks.
With Jiang Ci’s intervention this time, the outcome was much better compared to the other two bases, with at least more than half of the people saved.
Jiang Ci’s mission status also changed from a flashing red to a safe green, finally allowing her to release the tension she had been carrying all along.
*
At this moment, not far from the base, a man with hair that seemed to have been through an explosion, dressed in a white lab coat, was sitting cross-legged on the head of a snake, allowing the enormous black serpent to slither through a horde of zombies.
The static-haired man had his arms crossed, his expression grim. This mission was supposed to be foolproof, yet so many people had been unexpectedly killed.
“Tell me, just who is that person sitting on the tortoise’s back?” the static-haired man seemed to be talking to himself. “To think that they could even kill my meticulously crafted weapons with ease.”
As he spoke, a hint of excitement crept into his voice. “What if I could turn her into one of my weapons? Wouldn’t that make her even more powerful?”
In the silent night, only the guttural sounds of the zombies responded to his question.
Just then, a slightly dry mechanical voice abruptly broke through the darkness. [Host, it is advised not to get involved with that woman. I cannot access any information about her, as if that information has been deliberately concealed. This suggests that there is a higher-level entity either by her side or backing her.]
The static-haired man paused for a moment upon hearing this, then let out a derisive laugh. “You’re still just as timid as ever. Didn’t you say it yourself? In this world, I am the protagonist. No matter how powerful she is, she’s just another NPC in this world.”
The man didn’t take Jiang Ci seriously at all, his tone brimming with arrogance. “Once my anti-human army is fully established, I will personally send all humans to paradise, ending their suffering, just like in the previous worlds.”
[Host, it is recommended for you to proceed according to the tasks issued by the system,] the system’s voice sounded like a toy running out of batteries, not only distorted but also accompanied by a crackling static.
“That’s no fun. As the protagonist,” the static-haired man stood up from the snake’s head, “I must make a grand entrance, offering these ignorant humans a spectacular finale, a perfect ending.”
The wind whipped his white lab coat, and the man’s eyes burned with unmistakable fervor, though you could also sense his hidden apathy upon closer inspection.
These two emotions coexisted in the same pair of eyes, creating an indescribable dissonance.
After saying this, the static-haired man sat back down, scratching his head in frustration. “The most troublesome thing now is that the experimental subjects have been killed, and the people in the base haven’t fully merged with the mutated beasts. I’ll have to go out and find new experimental subjects.”
As he spoke, he lay back on the snake’s body, his tone tinged with regret. “I shouldn’t have killed that old woman just now. I was just too angry at the time, so I didn’t hold back.”
He continued to mutter to himself, but there was no one to respond to him for a long time.
*
Meanwhile, at the Western Base, Jiang Ci noticed that the food she had prepared was insufficient as more and more people gathered.
Fortunately, she had a habit of storing away food, so there was still plenty of other provisions available.
Once she completed the goal of reaching two hundred issued by the system, she wouldn’t need to distribute those specific food items anymore.
While everyone was busy bandaging their wounds, Jiang Ci took out the pot helmet and milk tea from her space and began packing them into bags.
The survivors, who had been filled with fear, suddenly caught the rich aroma of food.
They followed the source of the aroma and saw the girl who had just saved them neatly arranging bags of food.
“That’s Boss Jiang!” someone finally recognized Jiang Ci under the moonlight.
Now, the hotpot restaurant and Jiang Ci had become famous beyond their city, and some survivors from other cities would also know about her, so it wasn’t surprising that she was recognized.
“Boss Jiang?” someone unfamiliar asked in confusion.
“She’s the owner of that hotpot restaurant in City C. Haven’t you tried their hotpot? The taste is amazing. They’ve recently introduced barbecue, and the lines are always long,” explained a survivor who knew Jiang Ci. “I was lucky enough to try it once, and I’ve never forgotten the taste. Boss Jiang is also very kind. Although I’ve heard she helps bases that have been severely damaged, I never thought I’d see her in our base one day.”
While everyone was talking, Jiang Ci had already taken out all the pot helmets and milk tea. Including what she had stored in her space earlier, there were a total of 526 servings of milk tea and pot helmets.
There were also piles of hotpot ingredients, which Jiang Ci could cook into a large pot.
“Boss Jiang, we’ll help,” Li Ying and her team came over to Jiang Ci to help after finishing their tasks.
Jiang Ci had already told them that she had come this time to deliver some food. Seeing her actions now, they naturally understood what she was about to do.
Jiang Ci was worried about not having enough hands to help, so she didn’t hesitate to let them inform the survivors to come and get food later.
Meanwhile, Song Jinchuan had already set up the pot and was preparing to cook various ingredients.
As the broth was poured in, the aroma attracted many survivors to gather around.
The ability users began organizing everyone into lines to receive the food.
Jiang Ci first distributed the milk tea and pot helmets she had. The milk tea was from the self-serve milk tea area, with plenty of toppings added.
Since this place was several cities away, only a few had tried the hotpot, pot helmets, and milk tea from the restaurant, so their astonishment at seeing these foods was almost palpable.
Some who knew Jiang Ci greeted her, thanking her for her help, as tears inevitably began to flow.
The enemy attack had simply been too sudden and swift. The base had almost instantly been engulfed in flames, leaving them all still trembling in shock at the aftermath.
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
the chinese translation for 爆炸头 is afro but i don’t think that’s necessarily accurate? i think in this context, it’s more likely to refer to mad scientist hair that looks like it’s been electrocuted or been in an explosion. esp bc the chinese term can also be separated into literally translating to ‘explosion hair’, so i’ve taken the liberty to change the translation!
