Too Many Reincarnators? I Bring the National Team to the Field - Chapter 164

Chapter 164

Li Xin’s gaze was complicated.

Hao Jingye puffed out his chest, waiting for praise. He could clearly sense that the emotion in Li Xin’s eyes was one of admiration and awe-the reverence a failing student held for a top-tier scholar.

Sure enough, Li Xin praised him. “Assistant Hao, I’ve realized Sister Sheng was right. Your strength doesn’t need a Supernatural Ability to be proven. Even without awakening, you’re better than countless Superpower Users. You are an indispensable part of our team.”

Hearing this, Hao Jingye’s serious expression instantly collapsed.

He bared his teeth. “Can you stop poking at my sore spots?”

Not having a Supernatural Ability had always been a point of sadness for him. This Li Xin really didn’t know how to talk to people!

Jiang Yu tried to comfort him. “Look on the bright side. Your inherent skills are already very valuable. Even if you awakened an ability, you’d probably still be doing exactly what you’re doing now. Besides, awakening after the Apocalypse starts can’t possibly be stronger than awakening before it. Since you’re destined to never catch up to them, just don’t worry about it.”

Hao Jingye remained expressionless. “…”

This Jiang Yu was even worse at talking!

Song Linwei patted the shoulders of the two “Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix” figures on either side of him and sighed, “That was great comfort. Don’t do it again.”

After saying that, he looked at Hao Jingye. “How long has it been? In the Previous Life, Li Wanyun didn’t awaken her ability until the second year of the Apocalypse, and she was powerful the moment she did. You still have a great chance. With a brain as sharp as yours, the Supernatural Ability you awaken definitely won’t be bad.”

Now, that was effective comfort.

Hao Jingye let out a breath. “I don’t ask for a strong ability; I just hope I don’t turn into an Aberrant.”

He suddenly sat up straight, his fist thumping his knee as he gritted his teeth. “Just you wait. I’ll definitely awaken an incredibly powerful Supernatural Ability and make you all call me ‘Daddy’!”

He was usually so straight-laced; it was rare to see him act so childishly.

Sheng An listened to their banter and smiled, looking out the window.

It was already dark, but the outside wasn’t pitch black. On the contrary, the firelight scattered everywhere brought a glow to the darkness of this Scorched Earth world.

On the distant mountains, the Great Fire dyed the sky red.

If this were before the Apocalypse, emergency services would have been out fighting the fires, but this was the end of the world, and the entire globe was like this.

According to the experience of her Previous Life, this fire would be extinguished by heavy rains a month from now.

But-

That would be the second great disaster.

And they had to return to the Jing City Base before the heavy rains arrived.

Sheng An looked at the Earth Ability Users clearing the path ahead and let out a soft breath.

The vehicles continued forward.

As they drew closer to the C9 Shelter, they could already hear faint sounds coming from ahead.

Inside the communications vehicle, Wan Yuan stood up.

Qi Lingwu instantly sat up straight.

Sheng An frowned. “What is it?”

Even as she asked, her eyes were fixed on the C9 Shelter ahead. She had already sensed something was wrong.

In their projections, C9 was supposed to be in good condition and well-ordered. But even before they arrived, they could hear chaotic noises, and the air carried a faint scent of blood.

Something had happened!

Qi Lingwu pushed his senses to the limit, his expression solemn. “The C9 Shelter is under attack. It should be an assault by Aberrants.”

Hao Jingye’s brow furrowed. “That shouldn’t be. C9 was doing well; their armed forces were intact, they had a significant number of Superpower Users, and their vigilance was high. How could this happen?”

Wu Buyu’s nostrils flared as he suddenly said, “I smell gunpowder.”

Sheng An’s face darkened.

The vehicles accelerated and soon reached the C9 Shelter. Yue Ming, having received word of their arrival, had already come out to meet them with a group of people.

His expression was grim. The Superpower Users following him were all covered in blood, and even the armed soldiers exuded an aura of grim determination.

The shelter had been in the process of constructing a Base. Progress wasn’t as fast as the Jing City Base, but the foundations had been laid. However, no one was working now; everyone was filled with panic and alarm, the air thick with their clamor.

Yue Ming’s face was unsightly. “Team Leader Sheng, I’m sorry. The C9 Shelter was attacked. We failed to protect the Fragments; they were stolen by Aberrants.”

“What exactly happened?” Hao Jingye asked sternly.

Yue Ming took a deep breath and said slowly:

“They used bombs. Aberrants infiltrated the shelter and detonated them directly. Taking advantage of the chaos, they snatched the Fragments. If Tian Fang hadn’t sensed it in time and prevented them from detonating all the explosives, the situation at C9 would definitely be much worse.”

Tian Fang was the possessor of the Surveillance Ability.

Long Tianyu’s expression changed.

Wu Buyu was equally shocked. “They actually used bombs? This was a meticulously planned operation!”
It was another meticulously planned operation.

Using explosives, the Aberrants had successfully stolen the Fragments from the heavily guarded C9 Shelter.

“Where did they get their weapons?” Zhang Kun asked, his brow furrowed.

Yue Ming shook his head, clearly in the dark.

Sheng An asked, “How long has it been?”

“Less than an hour. One group of Aberrants snatched the Fragments and fled, while the rest stayed behind to cover their retreat and fight us. We only just finished dealing with them,” Yue Ming said, checking the time.

Wu Buyu looked at Sheng An and asked, “Should we pursue them now? There’s still time.”

Sheng An nodded. “Qi Dui, go with him.”

“Understood.”

Wu Buyu beat his wings, his body transforming into a bird as he took to the sky. Qi Lingwu leaped onto his back, and the two of them vanished instantly.

Yue Ming was stunned.

So strong!

Is this the true power of the Apocalypse Special Affairs Department?

Sheng An looked at him. “I want to see all the surveillance footage.”

Yue Ming hurried to lead the way.

Ten minutes later.

Hao Jingye, Song Linwei, Wan Yuan, and the entire communications team were each reviewing the footage.

Sheng An was speaking with the Surveillance Superpower User, Tian Fang.

Sheng An tapped her finger on the desk. “You mean to say that this time, the Aberrants weren’t looking to kill many people, but were solely focused on stealing the Fragments?”

Tian Fang nodded. “Yes, they were very purposeful.”

After a moment’s thought, she added, “They created chaos, snatched the Fragments, and left a group behind to stall. The ones left behind won’t say anything-they don’t know anything anyway… It’s as if these Aberrants knew you were coming and chose to settle things quickly.”
Beep, beep, beep-*

A communication came through.

Wan Yuan’s expression sharpened. “Sister Sheng, Qi Dui and the others have encountered Superpower Users from other Shelters who are being ambushed by Aberrants!”

“Are they the ones delivering Meteorite Fragments?” Hao Jingye asked urgently.

Wan Yuan nodded. “Yes, they’re being intercepted and killed by Aberrants.”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s hearts tightened.

Yue Ming sucked in a sharp breath, his face turning even paler. “There were six Shelters supposed to deliver Meteorites. No wonder we only received one; the rest didn’t arrive on time because they were being ambushed.”

Jiang Yu opened her mouth, but it took a moment before she could speak. “This operation… it’s too organized. Could it be M’s doing again?”

Song Linwei’s expression was grave. “We still need to find a way to interrogate the Aberrants.”

“But they won’t say a word. Aberrants are different from normal people. Even with Mind Reading, you only pick up bloodlust and chaos; they truly know nothing,” Hao Jingye said, shaking his head.

They had tried it long ago.

No matter how they interrogated the Aberrants or what methods they used, they could never get the answers they wanted. It was as if their consciousness was controlled; certain answers simply could not be spoken.

Since Mind Reading couldn’t extract anything either, capturing Aberrants for interrogation was essentially useless.

That was why they usually killed Aberrants on sight.

Gu Qiansheng seemed to think of something and said quickly, “If they’re this organized, can Qi Dui and the others even catch them?”

Hao Jingye’s eyes flashed with anger. “We’ll find them even if we have to dig three feet into the ground.”

They had snatched the Meteorite Fragments right out from under their noses.

How could he not be angry?

Sheng An suddenly asked, “Setting aside how Aberrants communicate with each other, how do Aberrants distinguish between humans and other Aberrants?”

They were all hidden among humans, so how did they tell the difference?

Aberrants killed humans, but she had never heard of an Aberrant accidentally killing another Aberrant.

Hao Jingye nodded. “The Research Institute has been looking into this for a while. The current theory is that to an Aberrant, a human is a unique kind of ‘food.’ Predators can smell the ‘scent’ of their food.”

Fellow Aberrants, presumably, did not emit that “food scent.”

This was one of their current research directions; if they could find the difference, they would have a way to identify all Aberrants.

Sheng An arched an eyebrow. “Food? Scent? It seems what Aberrants like is human blood…”

Hao Jingye replied, “Yes, human blood. In other words, as long as a person has blood, an Aberrant can identify them. If they didn’t have blood, then perhaps-”

His voice cut off abruptly.

Song Linwei and Gu Qiansheng were also stunned.

Then, they all turned in unison to look at Li Xin.

Li Xin: “??”

He looked bewildered. “Why are you looking at me?”

Sheng An broke into a smile. “Wan Yuan, contact Qi Dui. Tell them to find the Aberrants but don’t be in a hurry to kill them. We’re switching to a different plan.”

Li Xin: “…”

Even though he didn’t know what they were planning, he had a very bad feeling about this.