Chapter 70: Into a Post-Apocalyptic Superpower Novel, Day 22

After a few seconds, An Yi suddenly let out a soft laugh—so low, yet it swept over Ji Zishi's heart like a feather.

"I know." An Yi's voice carried a trace of gentleness that was hard to detect: "Your feelings are pretty obvious."

Ji Zishi's face instantly flushed bright red.

An Yi neither accepted nor rejected the confession.

He simply reached out and gently patted Ji Zishi's stiff arm—just like he had comforted him during the battle earlier.

"It's late. Go back and get some rest first." An Yi's tone was calm, yet it seemed to carry a tacit approval and indulgence: "As for the rest... we'll talk tomorrow."

With that, he didn't wait for Ji Zishi's reaction, turned to open the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him.

Leaving Ji Zishi standing there, stunned, as if overwhelmed by a rush of happiness.

He... he didn't reject me!

He said "we'll talk tomorrow"!

Was that tacit approval?

A surge of ecstasy instantly washed away all fatigue and tension. Ji Zishi suddenly jumped on the spot, punched the air fiercely, and a goofy, radiant smile spread across his face.

Though the smoke of battle had dissipated, Liaoyuan Base did not return to its usual rhythm. Instead, it sank into a deeper, more tense atmosphere, as if a storm were brewing.

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In the following days, bad news came one after another through the encrypted channels, like a stirred-up hornet's nest.

"Report! The Fifth Base is under mass attack from burrowing worms and flying mutants. The eastern wall has partially collapsed. Casualties... heavy, but we've barely held the line!"

"Urgent request for reinforcements! The Twenty-First Base is shrouded in a new type of corrosive spore cloud. Most defense systems have failed. We're barely holding on!"

"The 'Hope Light' settlement... has gone silent. The last signal we got said they encountered an unprecedented mutant with psychic interference capabilities..."

The relentless bad news weighed on everyone's mind.

"Although all regions have been attacked, it's still much better than the worst-case scenario we'd initially pictured."

Que Xiuqi adjusted his glasses, looking at the aggregated data on the screen, his tone carrying a grim sense of relief.

Ji Qin tapped her fingers on the table, producing a rhythmic clicking sound, and murmured to herself: "We can't go on like this."

Her gaze swept over the group and finally landed on the silent An Yi: "An Yi, have you noticed anything unusual recently?"

An Yi shook his head slightly: "The large-scale wave of attacks seems to have temporarily subsided, but that ominous feeling from deep underground hasn't disappeared. It's just become more subtle and elusive. It's like they're... watching, or cooking up something else."

His judgment made everyone's heart sink again.

This waiting—knowing the enemy exists but not knowing their next move—was the most tormenting.

A senior manager couldn't help but wipe cold sweat from his forehead and spoke with a dry voice: "Could it really be... as we feared, that there's an intelligent commander behind these mutations?"

Hearing his words, Ji Qin fell silent and exchanged a grave, knowing look with Que Xiuqi across the table.

Despite the tension outside, life inside Liaoyuan Base went on.

The repair and reinforcement of defense structures went on day and night. Patrols were doubled, and training was pushed to the limit.

As core combatants, An Yi and Ji Zishi were naturally swamped.

One day, Ji Zishi received a message from Ji Qin: a group of roving scavengers, who made a living by raiding small settlements, had stumbled upon an outpost of Liaoyuan Base and launched an attack. The outpost had sent a distress signal before going silent.

When Ji Zishi got the news, he immediately led Second Squad to wipe them out. An Yi hadn't been assigned to this mission, but since he was free, he tagged along.

When they arrived, everyone's hearts sank.

The outpost had been completely looted, leaving behind signs of a violent struggle and bloodstains that had long since dried and turned black—but no bodies—neither from the defenders nor the attackers. Everyone had disappeared.

They followed faint tracks and searched all day before finally catching up to the fleeing scavengers.

Fortunately, the fight was a rout. The scavengers were no match for the trained combat team.

However, during the sweep for survivors, a scavenger leader, who had been playing dead, suddenly sprang up, aiming a modified, high-powered shotgun at An Yi as he bent over to check on the wounded.

At that moment, time seemed to slow down.

An Yi's psychic perception sensed the danger, and his body needed time to react. But fortunately, he had been maintaining a spatial slicing barrier around himself.

Others couldn't see it, but anyone who attacked him would suffer the consequences.

Even being ripped apart would be a mercy.

But someone acted faster.

"An Yi! Watch out!"

A roar, cracking his voice, exploded.

Ji Zishi lunged forward in a flash, without any hesitation, using his own back to shield An Yi from the shotgun's muzzle.

Bang—!

A deafening gunshot rang out, and a hail of steel pellets exploded with flames!

Ji Zishi's body shuddered violently, and he grunted in pain. The massive impact slammed him into An Yi.

At the same time, An Yi's pupils contracted, and his eyes instantly turned icy cold.

An Yi caught the crashing Ji Zishi with one hand while his left hand shot out like lightning!

The scavenger leader's vicious grin froze—along with his shotgun, and himself. He was silently sliced into hundreds of pieces by invisible blades and collapsed!

Blood and entrails splattered everywhere, a scene of extreme gore.

Then came the fire from other squad members, turning him into paste.

An Yi caught Ji Zishi as he crashed into him, and for the first time, there was clear urgency in his voice: "Ji Zishi! How are you?!"

"I'm fine... fine..." Ji Zishi winced, pale-faced, and forced a smile:

"Damn, that modified gun really packs a punch! My armor plate nearly shattered..."

He ripped open his torn combat suit, revealing the heavily dented, deeply deformed carbon-fiber plate underneath.

A few stray steel pellets were embedded in the edge of the plate, and one had grazed his side, leaving a bloody scratch—but it was just a flesh wound.

If it weren't for the top-grade plate and the angle of his dive that had the plate absorb most of the blast, the outcome would have been unthinkable.

An Yi looked at the deformed plate, then at the cold sweat on Ji Zishi's forehead and his silly smile, and said in a flat voice: "Why did you jump in front? There were plenty of other ways to deal with that."

He paused: "Don't you have powers?"

Instead of using a safe method, you jumped in front like a bodyguard. Are we in a TV show?