Chapter 286 The Only Reward

After everyone finished cleaning up the dishes, they resumed their matryoshka doll mode, covering themselves up completely.

Lu Nange took out the "Youyou" brand constant temperature boots, which she received as a sign-in reward yesterday, from her spatial storage—this was the only pair she had.

When she saw the shoe size, her heart warmed.

"Youyou" clearly remembered the thermostatic clothing incident last time, and the only reward she received was a pair of thermostatic shoes in Lu Beiye's size.

In this extremely cold weather, she really wanted to give this kind of cold-resistant item to her younger brother first.

"Ah Ye, come and change your shoes," she called softly, kneeling on one knee.

Lu Beiye trotted over and shook his head: "Sister, I can change myself."

After tying his shoelaces, the child walked a few steps and immediately noticed the difference in the shoes: [These are... temperature-controlled shoes?]

He glanced at his older sister's old boots, tilted his head slightly, and said, "Sister, I'm not cold. Could you exchange these for your size?"

Lu Nange pinched his cheek: "Sister isn't cold, be good."

Lu Beiye pursed his lips...

Lu Nange: "If a child's feet get cold, they won't grow tall..."

The child knew his sister was lying, but he could only obediently nod and say, "Thank you, sister..."

Lu Nange ruffled his hair: "Let's go."

......

As they expected, the number of survivors on the cleaned streets visibly increased.

Figures bundled up tightly appeared and disappeared among the glistening ice sculptures, while hushed whispers drifted intermittently on the cold wind.

"It's safe now, all the zombies around are gone!"

"I heard it was done by a team of young, powerful individuals with supernatural abilities; they were wearing clean winter clothing and goggles..."

"Yes, even the people at our base said they could recognize them at a glance; their aura is different from ours."

"They said there were twelve people, including a child..."

Several subtle yet intense gazes locked onto Lu Nange and her group.

A person wrapped in a tattered cotton coat suddenly grabbed his companion's sleeve, his voice low but unable to hide his excitement.

"Look... isn't that them?"

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing.

A group of well-equipped figures were passing through the ice sculptures, exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay. In the middle was a short figure.

"Goggles, boots..."

"There are children..."

"Twelve people..."

"Uniform equipment..."

"It all matches up, there's no mistake, it's them!"

Shh! Don't make a sound!

"Our base leadership said, absolutely do not disturb them."

"Yes, our base's higher-ups said so too. They cleared out the zombies but didn't take any supplies, clearly to avoid trouble. So, let's stay away, not disturb them, and just be grateful."

"Forget about 'us,' 'them,' 'who are they,' they've all gone far away..."

The higher the level of superpower, the stronger the five senses. These whispers clearly reached Lu Nange and the others' ears, but they did not make them stop in their tracks in the slightest.

They weren't interested in others prying their way, or rather, they weren't interested in being heroes...

For the rest of the journey, Lu Nange and Shi Xu began to release their mental energy in turns, avoiding all areas where survivors gathered and heading straight towards the outskirts of the city.

Areas devoid of survivor activity often mean overrun by zombies...

For ordinary survivors, this is something to be avoided if possible, but for Lu Nange and her group who are desperate for money, it is an opportunity to become rich overnight.

A faint "hoho" roar came from ahead, which sounded to them like the pleasant sound of gold coins being deposited.

Shi Xu scanned them with his spiritual power: "What a pity, dozens of them are only level one or two zombies..."

Wen Qing tapped his knuckles together, drawing his Tang sword half an inch from its sheath: "Nan Nan, I'm going."

Gu Wan raised an eyebrow: "A few dozen level one or two?"

She and Ji Xian spoke almost simultaneously: "Leave it to me..."

Gu Wan turned to look at Lu Nange, her eyes filled with eagerness: "Nannan, Ji Xian and I are just one step away from success, shall we go?"

Ji Xian: "Yan-ge, Nan-nan, we can handle the first and second levels."

He Zhuo: "I'll go with them."

Chi Yi: "Young Master, Miss Lu, I just leveled up to level four, and I'd like to practice my skills too."

Lu Xici: "Sigh, a few dozen level one or two are not enough to go around..."

Lu Nange withdrew her mental energy: "More than thirty. Zhuo-ge, you hold the line. Wanwan-jie, Ji Xian-ge, and Wen Qing-jie, you lead the attack."

The four people who were called by Lu Nange nodded in unison.

Chi Yanzhou: "He Zhuo, what is your understanding of 'holding the line'?"

He Zhuo abandoned his playful demeanor, his gaze becoming steady: "Don't worry, Brother Yan, everyone will cooperate fully; not a single one will be missing."

A faint blue light flashed in Chi Yanzhou's palm, and the thick ice wall slowly parted, revealing a deep passage.

The ice crystals refracted the flashlight beam, creating tiny, fragmented spots of light.

He Zhuo was the first to rush into the passage, followed closely by Ji Xian.

Wen Qingtang twirled his sword in his hand, exchanged a glance with Gu Wan, and then leaped in simultaneously.

Lu Nange and her group quickly followed, their boots making a crisp sound as they stepped on the ice.

Outside the ice sculpture, Lu Nange and her companions stood in a row, holding their breath and watching the battle inside intently.

On the battlefield, He Zhuo and his three companions were filled with high morale.

Gu Wan dodged the oncoming zombies and called out to He Zhuo, "He Zhuo! You're level four now, could you help me pull a few into your shield? I'm afraid the corpses will explode and fly everywhere..."

With a casual wave of his right hand, He Zhuo's earth shield could operate autonomously after breaking through to level four.

As the ground trembled, thick earthen shields burst forth from the ground on all four sides, encircling and trapping seven or eight howling zombies in a small area.

As soon as the shield rose, Gu Wan compressed the fireball in her palm to its maximum size and shot it towards one of the eyebrows...

"boom--"

As the earthen shield was fully raised, a loud, muffled explosion rang out.

A blinding flame shot into the air, its impact reverberating repeatedly within the confined space.

Gu Wan tiptoed and threw a few more fireballs into the earthen shield. When the smoke cleared, only charred fragments remained inside the earthen shield, emitting a nauseating stench.

Wen Qing weaved through the horde of zombies, her eyes quickly discerning the zombie levels after spraying zombie spray.

A flash of cold light from the Tang sword, and the heads of level one zombies flew off one after another...

Once all the level-one zombies were wiped out, she turned to the level-two zombies, her hands gripping the swords, her blades becoming even more ferocious...

When the last zombie's head rolled to the ground, the ice sculpture was already a mess.

Frozen brain matter mingled with dark red blood...

He Zhuo kicked aside the zombie corpse blocking his way: "Sister Wen Qing, you're ruthless and cool, not bad."

Wen Qing flicked his Tang sword, glanced at the lower body and facial features... the zombie corpse riddled with thorns, and pondered for a moment.

"Hmm, Xiao He, your technique is quite unique, bloody and violent, not bad at all!"

He Zhuo: "..." [I really can't tell, Sister Wen Qing, are you praising me or scolding me? ? ? ...]

Gu Wan walked over and dusted off her hands: "Thanks for earlier."

He Zhuo immediately put on an irritating smile: "Don't be so polite, I was just worried you'd get too carried away and hurt me."