this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Ying Hu immediately signaled for several ability users to unleash their abilities towards Jiang Ci.
There were those with abilities of fire, earth, lightning, and even one who conjured a metallic fist—all relatively powerful abilities.
Li Bo’s entire body tensed up from being surrounded by the oppressive aura of the ability users.
The other survivors were also too frightened to speak, not daring to break the tense atmosphere.
Just as everyone was on edge, Jiang Ci suddenly spoke up, “Hey, have you ever considered switching sides?”
Her words were directed at the ability users in front of her, leaving them completely stunned. No one had anticipated this turn of events.
Ying Hu, on the other hand, was so angry he laughed. No one had ever tried to poach his people right in front of him.
Jiang Ci actually had this idea in mind for a while already. With more and more people gathering outside her shop, it wouldn’t hurt to hire a few powerful individuals to maintain order.
Taking advantage of the lapse in battle, Song Jinchuan had already figured out the other party’s tactics and silently nodded to Jiang Ci.
Seeing this, Jiang Ci’s smile became even more genuine. She even pulled out a few promotional flyers for her hotpot restaurant from her space. These were made by the system during a previous advertising campaign but had never been used, so they had been stored in her space ever since.
Knowing about this mission, she had specifically asked the system to add the address and a small map to the flyers, preparing to very responsibly “clear the name” of her hotpot restaurant this time.
The survivors she had encountered earlier had also received Jiang Ci’s flyers.
She handed the flyers to the survivors in front of her, smiling warmly, “The salary can be negotiated. Two meals a day, and we even provide housing.”
Jiang Ci’s nonchalant attitude of poaching people right in the face of a threat completely infuriated Ying Hu. Although his standard smile faded, he quickly regained his composure and snatched one of the flyers from an ability user’s hand. The bold words A Hotpot Restaurant on the flyer made his face momentarily pale.
Had they really run into the real owner coming to expose them?
But he quickly calmed down. The other party only had three people, while he had recruited many strong survivors by relying on the name of the hotpot restaurant.
No matter how powerful the other party was, he could still win with sheer numbers.
With this in mind, Ying Hu signaled to his ability users.
But contrary to his expectations, their eyes weren’t on him at all; they were still flipping through the flyers in their hands.
They had originally come to this shop because of the rumored benefits, but up until now, the other party had only been making them empty promises. Fortunately, they were still given crystal cores, which made them decide to stay a little longer.
After seeing this flyer, they realized they had come to the wrong place.
Seeing this, Ying Hu’s expression darkened. He waved for the other survivors to come out, and in an instant, the open space was filled with a crowd of people.
Among them were several ability users. It seemed Ying Hu had hidden some cards up his sleeve.
These people were all armed, and unlike the somewhat confused ability users in front of Jiang Ci, they were clearly a unified group, their faces fierce, with glaring eyes that almost threatened to tear Jiang Ci and her companions apart.
Li Bo was completely baffled by this turn of events. How had another hotpot restaurant suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
But now, Jiang Ci simply didn’t have time to explain it to him because the people across from them were already charging forward with their weapons in hand.
However, they were quickly forced back by a wall of flames. Song Jinchuan stood beside Jiang Ci, the remnants of fire still flickering at his fingertips.
“So you’re an ability user. No wonder you’re so arrogant,” Ying Hu sneered. At this point, he wasn’t concerned about his business anymore—he just wanted to kill the people in front of him. His true nature was now fully exposed to everyone around him.
The ability users among the crowd also stepped forward, and in an instant, a barrage of colorful abilities surged toward Jiang Ci.
These ability users were clearly no amateurs either, which explained why Ying Hu had been so confident earlier. So he had been hiding such a trump card all along.
If this had been any other ordinary person, they probably wouldn’t have made it out alive. But unfortunately for them, they just had to run into Jiang Ci.
So, everyone watched as the abilities were completely absorbed by a black mass once they approached Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan.
“Alright, alright, don’t overdo it,” Jiang Ci said, noticing the black mist seemed a bit too frenzied and quickly calmed it down.
Then, she swiftly retracted the black mist and released a water sphere, the orb indiscriminately absorbing the large group of people in front of her.
Ying Hu managed to avoid this wave of attacks by hiding amongst the crowd, though he looked particularly disheveled by the end of it. His gaze toward Jiang Ci was filled with hatred.
So in a spot where no one was paying attention, he quietly moved closer to Jiang Ci, a knife gleaming coldly in his hand.
Before he could get any closer to her, a shadow blocked his view. It was a man with a thick beard—Ying Hu had some recognition of him, recalling that he was a new ability user who had been recruited by them just two months ago.
The bearded man’s eyes burned with anger, as if he had been deceived. With a steel-clad palm, he struck down fiercely, slamming Ying Hu to the ground. Ying Hu coughed up a mouthful of blood, too weak to muster the strength to get up again.
Jiang Ci had actually sensed Ying Hu’s incoming approach, but since he posed no real threat to her, she hadn’t paid him much attention. She hadn’t expected the bearded man to step in before she could make another move.
By the time everyone in the area had been dealt with by Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan, only about ten minutes had passed.
The previously fierce survivors and ability users were now struggling in agony within the water sphere.
No one present had ever seen such an ability before, and they were all momentarily stunned.
Now, the only ones left in the courtyard were the hotpot shills, Jiang Ci, Song Jinchuan, Li Bo, and the few survivors who had blocked their way at the beginning.
“Thanks,” Jiang Ci said to the bearded man.
The bearded man waved his hand sheepishly. “No, we should be thanking you. We didn’t know Ying Hu’s true colors. We heard the hotpot restaurant would allocate housing and supplies, so we came, but Ying Hu kept brushing us off, saying the houses were almost finished being built. We had no idea it was all a lie.”
Jiang Ci hadn’t expected these big, intimidating-looking people to be so easily deceived. They were surprisingly naive.
“Have you ever fought with the survivors who came to eat?” Jiang Ci suddenly asked.
The bearded man shook his head, “No, after we scared them a bit, that usually did the trick. We made a deal with Ying Hu when we arrived that we wouldn’t just casually cause harm to anyone.”
Jiang Ci nodded. They did seem to have some principles. In fact, the first time she saw these men filled with a righteous aura, she felt they were incompatible with this fake hotpot restaurant.
“I’m serious when I ask if you want to work for me. The hotpot restaurant’s offer of housing is real, including two meals a day, a salary, and the chance to exchange for rare supplies,” Jiang Ci looked at them, her expression noticeably more earnest.
The bearded man exchanged glances with his teammates, uncertainty flickering in their eyes.
Jiang Ci could understand their hesitation. After all, they had just found out they had been deceived. She didn’t rush them, giving them plenty of time to think it through.
Meanwhile, Li Bo, who had been standing to the side, finally began to make sense of the situation. He should have been happy—his and his wife’s revenge had been thoroughly dealt out. But now he was at a complete loss again. He still had the bomb on him, and he had no idea what to do next.
Yuan Min was going to die anyway, so what was the point of revenge now?
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, he started to leave in a daze. At the very least, he still wanted to be by his wife’s side in her final moments.
“Wait,” Jiang Ci suddenly called out to him.
Li Bo stopped and turned to look at Jiang Ci, waiting for her to continue.
“Earlier, I heard you say your wife absorbed a large amount of toxins. Would you mind taking me to see her?”
Jiang Ci had just seen what the detoxification ability user did in the food processing factory, and it suddenly occurred to her—could her own healing ability do something similar?
When she had treated Zhou Qing before, she had sensed that her ability could detect toxins within the other person’s body. However, she had been too busy at the time to explore it further.
But now that she had this opportunity, she wanted to give it a try.
The bearded man suggested going along with them as well. This would give them a chance to think things over while also observing Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan.
Jiang Ci gathered all the ill-gotten money Ying Hu had earned and stuffed it into her bag. She also fed all the mutated beast meat to the black mist and completely destroyed the processing factory, even defacing the hotpot shop’s sign at the entrance.
The remaining survivors watched them leave, feeling lost. This place had been destroyed, and the arrogant Ying Hu had fallen at the hands of this woman.
After their initial confusion, their eyes fell on the flyer.
*
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 group followed Li Bo back to the base. Jiang Ci noticed that it was quite large, built to resemble a small town, complete with streets, streetlights, and shops.
Someone naturally inquired about them as they entered. When they heard it was Li Bo who had brought them, their eyes filled with pity.
Ever since Yuan Min had fallen ill, Li Bo had been searching everywhere for a cure. He had even encountered another scammer, losing a large number of crystal cores yet again. Now, it seemed he had found another “miracle healer.”
A survivor at the entrance quietly reminded him, “Li Bo, stop running around. Yuan Min probably only has a few days left. Make sure you spend more time with her.”
Li Bo naturally understood the kindness behind the words. His lips quivered slightly, but he said nothing, only nodding before leading Jiang Ci and the others inside.
Li Bo’s residence wasn’t particularly remote, and it was a partitioned four-person room. It was evident that he lived quite comfortably, at least not having to squeeze into a large bunk bed shared by ten or twenty other survivors.
As Jiang Ci entered, she could smell the strong scent of blood tinged with a faint medicinal scent.
Upon catching this scent, Li Bo’s expression changed abruptly, and he rushed inside. Jiang Ci only heard his voice calling out, “Vomiting blood again?”
Jiang Ci didn’t hear a response. The room wasn’t large, and the bearded man and those with him had voluntarily offered to wait outside, leaving only Jiang Ci and Song Jinchuan inside. She walked in the direction Li Bo had gone.
Along the way, someone heard the commotion and opened their door. Upon seeing the unfamiliar faces, they quickly slammed the door shut.
As Jiang Ci approached the half-open door, she heard Li Bo speaking in a gentle tone.
Lying on the bed was an emaciated woman. Her hair had almost completely fallen out, her complexion was sallow with a bluish-purple hue, and it seemed as if she were truly clinging to her last breath.
idk if i’m just particularly harsh but it rubs me the wrong way that JC would just recruit the previous ability users. sure they never harmed anyone else, but the indirect harm of them intimidating the other survivors is immeasurable. if they’re still good people after having to intimidate and coerce customers into trying their obvious fake food, they must be incredibly naive, bordering that of stupidity
