Chapter 18

Tao Shushu was watching her cub when she suddenly noticed a black skull emoji pop up in the dialogue box above the cub’s head.
The cub was unhappy.
Tao Shushu glanced over and frowned as well.
There were thirty to forty people in the hall. Those seated were likely ability users of some status.
Others stood timidly behind the ability users, massaging their shoulders and legs.
The most extravagant was the man in the center of the hall. He had a thick, bushy beard and was lounging on a recliner, with one person fanning him, another peeling fruit, and two others massaging his feet.
This didn’t look like a base formed by survivors in the apocalypse, it seemed more like some feudal lord had crowned himself a local emperor.
When Nan Yuan entered, the bearded man didn’t even open his eyes. “Everything settled? Did Jess go hunting for women again?”
Most of the ability users burst into laughter.
Tao Shushu didn’t understand what they were saying, but judging by the lewd expressions on the chibi characters’ faces, she knew their intentions were far from good.
She noticed one person massaging shoulders a bit too forcefully, and the ability user he was serving immediately slammed his head to the ground.
Tao Shushu was furious. For the sake of the bigger picture, she restrained herself, only using her fingertip to pinch the ability user’s cheek lightly.
Even through the screen, Tao Shushu felt disgusted touching that person. She reached out to hold her cub’s hand instead, her cub was still the cutest.
Although the screen was filled with chibi characters, her cub was many times more attractive than the others.
The ability user’s cheek immediately swelled and turned red. “Ouch!” he cried out, clutching his face. “Damn it, something bit me.”
Nan Yuan overheard the commotion and felt her tugging at his hand, shaking it gently. His expression softened slightly.
She was always like that, unable to stand injustice, always wanting to help the pitiful, whether human or animal.
“Mutant insects? Can our base hold them off?”
“Tomorrow night is the full moon.”
“What’s there to fear? Just keep using ordinary people as the outer wall. Once the mutant creatures have eaten their fill, they’ll calm down.”
A few ability users laughed carelessly, mocking the desperate fate of ordinary people and ridiculing the one whose face Tao Shushu had pinched for making a fuss.
Those positioned as sacrificial lambs dared not voice their anger, swallowing their resentment in silence.
Harsh words and bursts of laughter echoed in Nan Yuan’s ears. It turned out that this base had repeatedly used the flesh and blood of ordinary humans to fend off attacks from mutated animals. How could they so callously disregard human lives?
Tao Shushu rotated the screen and chose to investigate the bearded man in the center, after all, to catch the snake, one must first seize its head.
She spent 1 gold coin.
The screen displayed the bearded man’s profile.
Lin Wei, originally named Lin Wei, was a member of the Second Army’s combat division. Before the apocalypse, his last title was "Captain," skilled in military operations, close combat, and marksmanship. Ability: Fire-based, with high explosive power; capable of teleporting through flames when necessary. Nickname: Butcher Commander. For those who disobeyed him, he had only one motto, kill.
Below were records of the various atrocities Lin Wei had committed.
Tao Shushu flipped through two pages without finishing, feeling so disgusted by Lin Wei that she almost vomited. She regretted wasting 1 gold coin on such scum.
Just as she was about to look at her "cub" to cleanse her eyes, she noticed his face had turned extremely dark.
Nan Yuan silently calculated: the distance between ordinary people and ability users was too close. He wasn’t confident he could save them all. The best approach was to attack Lin Wei, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Lin Wei was clearly trying to intimidate him, deliberately ignoring him and allowing his subordinates to chatter freely.
But this also conveniently facilitated his actions.
When no one was paying attention, Nan Yuan had already moved.
"Stop that kid!" someone shouted.
However, the speed-type ability users were already wary of Nan Yuan. By the time they reacted, he had already dashed several meters ahead, nearly reaching the main seat.
The hall instantly descended into chaos.
Weapons and abilities of all kinds were hurled toward Nan Yuan.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Nan Yuan swiftly changed his steps, evading every attack.
Lin Wei, seated in the main position, paled.
Then, with a "bang," Nan Yuan drew a particle gun and fired at Lin Wei’s leg.
"Bad news! Jess has been killed!" someone outside shouted, rushing in with a communicator to report.
But it was too late, chaos had already erupted in the hall.
Tao Shushu acted quickly, extinguishing all the torches in the hall. After all, her "cub" could see clearly in the dark, let’s see how Lin Wei could teleport through fire now.
Only a few ability users had night vision, and the hall grew even more chaotic.
Tao Shushu tilted the gun barrels of some ability users and lifted two burly ones, placing them together.
The darkness made the situation even harder to control.
She gathered all the ordinary people into one area, unsure if her "cub" had noticed.
Nan Yuan was now confronting Lin Wei.
He could hear every sound on the battlefield, knew that alarms had been raised outside, and that about a hundred people were rushing over.
He also heard the cries and shivering of the ordinary people gradually converging in one area.
She did it. She was clever.
He could entrust his back to her without worry.
Nan Yuan pressed his gun against Lin Wei’s head. "Captain Lin, long time no see."
Lin Wei’s pupils constricted sharply. "It’s you. You’re actually still alive. Damn, you’re tough to kill."
Nan Yuan signaled the ordinary people near Lin Wei to run, then grabbed hold of Lin Wei.
"Haha, if it weren't for your mother crashing her damn spaceship into my battleship back then, I wouldn't be stuck on this barren planet. But having you die with me isn't so bad, let's perish together on this wasteland." Lin Wei spoke while tightening his grip on the gun in Nan Yuan's hand.
"In the battleship, you secretly rummaged through my and my mother's room. What did you take?" Nan Yuan asked.
"I'll take it to my grave. I never expected you to be so tough, your whole family is dead, yet you're still alive. Since you delivered yourself to me, I'll grant your wish."
Suddenly, flames ignited in Lin Wei's hand, scorching heat surging toward Nan Yuan.
But before the fire could reach him, several pots of tea doused the flames. Nan Yuan lifted Lin Wei with one hand and slammed him to the ground. "Stay put."
He stamped out the remaining embers in Lin Wei's palm.
Lin Wei hadn't expected his attack to be countered so swiftly. The pain felt as though his organs were shattering. He coughed a few times, "Haha, what good would telling you do? The battleship is destroyed, you'll never get that thing back. Even if you could find it, do you think you can return from this barren planet to the capital star and stop Chu?"
Lin Wei's coughing grew increasingly violent.
One of his loyal subordinates fired a shot at Nan Yuan.
Nan Yuan dodged, while another person rushed to his side, grabbed Lin Wei, and fled.
Nan Yuan pressed the trigger of his particle gun.
Lin Wei slumped limply.
At that moment, flames erupted on one of the ordinary people.
Ignoring the fire on his body, the man turned and ran outside.
Tao Shushu, who had been closely watching the battle, recognized it as Lin Wei's doing. She had already extinguished all the fires, yet Lin Wei could still set ordinary people ablaze.
She tried to shift positions to block them, but an ability user threw an explosive thunder grenade toward the civilians.
Tao Shushu had no choice but to toss the grenade back.
By the time she turned around, several people were already on fire, including some ability users.
A group of reinforcements charged in from outside.
Now was the moment.
Tao Shushu picked up the nearly exploding thunder grenade and hurled it toward the entrance.
Instantly, the reinforcements scattered in panic.
But the explosion ignited a sea of flames, making it even harder to capture Lin Wei.
Frustrated, Tao Shushu saw Nan Yuan fire a shot and hit a flaming ability user.
Spotting this, she immediately pressed him to the ground.
Nan Yuan's aim was precise. Lin Wei was now breathing heavily, with more exhales than inhales. Soon, the spontaneously appearing fires died out. He had indeed hit Lin Wei.
Nan Yuan cast a cold glance at the ability user lying on the ground. If Lin Wei hadn't been so obsessed with power and greed, always choosing the strongest ability users as his trump cards, he wouldn't have uncovered the clue so quickly.
Lin Wei died, and Nan Yuan relit the lamps in the hall.
He grabbed the speed-type ability user. "Which of these people are the most wicked?"
As he asked, Nan Yuan relied on his memory to eliminate the ability users who had excessively enslaved ordinary humans.
The speed-type ability user had initially thought Nan Yuan was somewhat arrogant for taking on the entire base alone. But after witnessing even Slaughter Commander Lin Wei fall in just a few moves, he hurriedly complied and pointed them out.
Nan Yuan’s strikes were ruthless.
Others’ attacks couldn’t even get close to him before fizzling out, yet his marksmanship was precise, with every shot hitting its mark.
Soon, some began trembling and laid down their weapons, begging for mercy.
Nan Yuan stopped. "You can continue fighting for the Slaughterers. If you lay down your weapons, you’ll have to follow my rules."
After a moment of hesitation, the remaining people all put down their weapons.
Within the Slaughterers organization, the most wicked were mostly Lin Wei’s trusted aides. Their abilities were stronger, and their status higher.
There were also ability users who despised their behavior but couldn’t resist, doing their best to avoid sinking to their level.
Watching her cub conquer his first followers, Tao Shushu was thrilled.
No matter how far her cub would go in the future, for now, these were his very first group of followers.
Her cub was amazing. Oh yeah.
Tao Shushu thoughtfully adjusted the fire and light sources to ensure her cub stood in a well-lit spot.
The speed-type ability user was obsequiously introducing the people in the base when he suddenly noticed the flames shifting positions.
Does the big shot care that much about his image, needing a spotlight to stand center stage?
Thinking he had uncovered some major secret, he quickly moved aside, afraid of encroaching on the light and incurring wrath.
But as he shifted, he was struck by a cold arrow.
The archer was determined to kill Nan Yuan. The arrow, condensed from supernatural energy, was immensely powerful. Even with the speed-type ability user’s agility, he couldn’t dodge it.
Nan Yuan sighed. He had heard the arrow cutting through the air but hadn’t moved, intending to test using the power of light to split it. Who knew the person beside him would be so unlucky as to get hit?
Nan Yuan identified the suspect and calmly disabled the archer’s hand.
After that, no one dared cause trouble again.
A notification popped up on the phone screen: [Congratulations on completing Side Mission 4: Eliminate the "Slaughterers" gang and take over their supplies. Reward: 1,000 gold coins, 7 Primary Clarity Cards, 200 Prestige.]
Tao Shushu looked at the screen in pleasant surprise, this mission had been completed so easily!
With the mission accomplished, the remaining people shouldn’t pose any danger to her cub anymore.
Tao Shushu relaxed.
The voice pack cost 1,000 gold coins. Soon, she would be able to talk to her cub!
She had been coveting the dialogue function for a long time.
Just as she was about to open the system shop, the ordinary people huddled in the corner of the screen began to stir.
Tao Shushu tapped to see a man with a buzz cut, injured in the earlier fight, vomiting blood. His family crouched beside him, wailing.
The speed-type ability user who had blocked the arrow was also sitting on the ground, staring blankly as he clutched his leg.
Tao Shushu looked around, many had been injured in the fight.
Her cub took out his medical supplies, but it was far from enough.
Tao Shushu paused. Although these were only chibi-style characters, she couldn't help but treat them as living people. She spent 14 gold coins on some medicine, leaving her with only 996 gold coins.
Not enough to unlock the voice system.
Tao Shushu tugged at the cub's hand and logged off with a faint sense of grievance.

Having slept late, Tao Shushu woke up late as well.
As soon as she woke up, she dismissed the latest Su Momo joke sent by Li Anyu on WeChat and opened the game.
Upon logging in, she found that her gold coins had increased to 1,001. It was the cub, he was still driving. While Tao Shushu was asleep, he had driven over a hundred kilometers and earned a 5 gold coin reward.
Delighted, Tao Shushu clicked to purchase the voice call system.
A small speaker icon appeared on the system.
Finally, they could talk. Tao Shushu cleared her throat lightly and pressed the speaker.