"You mean, this man named Mu Qiu was picked up by you in an alley in the Red Zone?"
In an office in a high-rise building in the safety zone called Yuhai Base, a woman in military uniform with a frosty complexion sat on a chair, reviewing a document.
A man stood before the table. If Mu Qiu were present, he would recognize this man as the special forces captain from the alley!
The woman in military uniform had a strong nose and a beautiful face, and her willow eyebrows made her even more heroic.
The captain replied, "Yes, ma'am! According to him, his family ran a supermarket before the apocalypse, and after the apocalypse, he lived on the food stored in the supermarket. Recently, the food ran out, so he decided to risk going out to search for more..."
After hearing this, the woman in military uniform lowered her head and thought for a moment, then smiled, placed the document on the table, and said, "Wei Ying, how credible do you think his statement is?"
The captain named Wei Ying said, "This... we've checked the supermarket he described. The entire building was smashed to pieces by the Balrog. There's no evidence to confirm his identity..."
Wei Ying paused, remembering the frost that formed on Mu Qiu's feet out of fear in the alley, and added, "But according to what we saw, this Mu Qiu may be an ability user, even a rare elemental one!"
"Oh? Is that so..."
Hearing this, the woman in military uniform frowned, tapped the table, pondered for a moment, and said, "Regardless, elemental ability users are the talents we lack most right now... take him for the awakened person test. If he passes, he'll be trained in the training department, and someone will continue to monitor him. If there are any special circumstances, inform me immediately."
Wei Ying gave a standard military salute. "Yes, ma'am!"
When Mu Qiu woke up, it was dawn. He threw off the quilt and climbed out of bed. The bright sunshine streamed through the window, making him momentarily believe he was back in the prosperous, busy world before the apocalypse.
Mu Qiu was now wearing a relatively clean white shirt.
He had been living in Yuhai Base for three days. He took a deep breath. Except for the occasional scent of blood, the air seemed no different from the real world. In fact, the large-scale shutdown of factories had made nature feel much more comfortable.
Very funny...
The place he was in was a safe zone called "Yuhai Base," composed of survivor alliances from several nearby municipalities. With tens of thousands of people, it was one of the few shelters since the end of the world.
He turned and looked at the others in the room. Except for a few who were fast asleep, those awake had haggard faces and empty eyes, as if they had lost their will to live.
Like him, these were survivors rescued from the "disaster area," and most possessed superpowers or showed potential for evolution. Only then could they be housed in this room, protected from the elements.
The treatment in this temporary residence was already good. They were guaranteed warm meals. As for the fate of other ordinary people, it was hard to say. Those lucky enough to have a skill could survive in this age of cannibalism. Those unlucky enough to live on the streets were commonplace.
After taking a deep breath and composing himself, Mu Qiu walked out of the room. The moment he opened the door, the glaring sunlight shone in. He instinctively raised his arms to shield his eyes.
Sitting casually on a step by the roadside, Mu Qiu fell into thought as he watched the flow of people in front of him, their clothes shabby, their faces dusty.
First, it was clear he had successfully infiltrated the survivor base. The medical staff who inspected him hadn't noticed any abnormalities in his body.
Coupled with the fact that he deliberately revealed his superpowers, he should have attracted the attention of his superiors, right?
In his memory, there were very few awakened individuals with other elemental powers. When he was still the monster codenamed "Fire Demon Lord," he was very interested in those zombies...
Well, very interested in eating them...
According to protocol, he should be placed in a combat team. Then he could develop steadily and plan his escape.
"Hey, it looks like you're recovering well!"
Nearby, a pretty and well-dressed girl approached. She looked like an urban beauty from before the apocalypse, out of place in the slightly dilapidated surroundings.
"Wei Ling'er..."
Mu Qiu raised his hand in greeting. This person was none other than Wei Ling'er, who had brought Mu Qiu back to Yuhai Base.
During his three days at the base, apart from some "staff" responsible for reception and review, the girl in front of him was the one he had interacted with the most.
Wei Ling'er held a bag of bread. She walked closer and handed the bread to Mu Qiu.
Mu Qiu was stunned, then reacted, took the bread, and asked, "Why are you so nice to me?"
It was no wonder Mu Qiu was surprised. Although food like bread wasn't precious to an "awakened person" like Wei Ling'er, they had just met, and she didn't seem the type to go out of her way for him.
The other survivors in the room were still struggling to survive on three meager meals a day!
Unexpectedly, after hearing Mu Qiu's words, Wei Ling'er playfully bumped his shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't be so sentimental. I came to help you partly because your experience is somewhat similar to mine. I can't help but sympathize. But on the other hand..."
Mu Qiu's attention was drawn to her words.
"An awakened person who may be of the elemental system has great potential! In other words, you're worth me personally recruiting!"
Wei Ling'er patted Mu Qiu's shoulder, as if she was very optimistic about him. "So, young man, you have to work hard!"
Mu Qiu had already calculated some things, but he was a little surprised by the girl's straightforward answer. He shook his head with a wry smile. "Sure enough, there's no such thing as a free lunch."
Wei Ling'er nodded in agreement. "Not bad, good, rare things can be lived in, rare things can be lived in..."
Stretching, the girl's slim curves were revealed. Wei Ling'er yawned, rubbed her eyes, and said,
"It seems you've almost recovered and it's time to adapt to the environment here. Someone will come this afternoon to take you for a test." After saying that, she patted Mu Qiu's shoulder again and smiled.
"If you're really a rare elemental awakener, the higher-ups will definitely train you!"
"Awakened One's... test?"
As Mu Qiu spoke, he unconsciously opened the bag of bread, grabbed a piece, and took a bite.
The bean paste filling tasted pretty good...
- End of Chapter -
