Chapter 120: All Awakened

Chapter 120

Zhou Min picked up a piece of vermicelli with her chopsticks, somewhat worried: "Food is a problem. Although we have some stock now, there are so many people like Sun Hong, we can't just sit around and do nothing. Going out to search in the rain is also riskier."

“So we have to change our strategy.” Ruan Ning put a piece of luncheon meat into the pot. “Use this hotel as a base and expand outwards. On rainy days, focus on collecting rainproof materials, containers, fuel, and any food that can be stored for a long time. Training can’t stop either. The combat environment is different on rainy days, and we need to get them used to it. Also…” She glanced at the rain outside the door, “keep an eye out for any higher or more sturdier buildings in the county town. If the rain causes flooding or waterlogging, this place might not be safe.”

Lin Yan nodded: "Understood. Tomorrow, Sun Hong and I will discuss reorganizing the groups and tasks. We need to be extra careful in the rain as visibility and sound will be obstructed."

The conversation shifted from survival strategies to some trivial matters.

Zhou Min recounted how the woman who awakened fire-based abilities today almost burned her own hair while trying to control the flames, leaving her both amused and exasperated. Lin Yan complained about the awful weather, saying her clothes wouldn't dry and would smell musty. Ruan Ning mostly listened, occasionally offering brief responses.

The hot pot meal lasted a long time. Only when Lin Yan dipped vermicelli in the last bit of broth and ate it all did the three of them put down their chopsticks. On the sofa, touching their unusually slightly bulging stomachs, no one spoke.

"I'll go check on the wounded and the guards." Zhou Min stood up first, stretched, and had a satisfied and gentle look on her face.

"I'll go with you." Lin Yan also stood up.

Ruan Ning nodded and began clearing away the dishes. "See you tomorrow."

The two left the room, gently closing the door behind them. Ruan Ning tidied up the mess, storing the gas stove, pots and pans, remaining ingredients, along with the battery and fan, back into her spatial storage with a thought.

All that remained in the room was the raging fire, herself, and the endless sound of rain outside the window.

After resting for two hours, Ruan Ning entered the space again to consolidate her newly broken-through fourth-order mental power, while also using the spiritual energy of the space to cultivate.

The new day began with torrential rain. Zhou Min and Lin Yan got up early, put on the simple rain gear they could find, and each led a small team to venture deeper into the county town. Their goal was clear: to find more rainproof materials, food, fuel, and to explore whether there were any more suitable buildings for long-term siege during the rainy season.

Ruan Ning stayed at the hotel to oversee the situation.

From the quarantine room, suppressed excitement could be heard continuously.

Following the awakening of the wind element last night, the remaining three seriously injured soldiers also woke up one after another during the day.

Around noon, a young woman opened her eyes, staring blankly at her palm—a few slender, emerald-green buds flashed past her fingertips, carrying a faint sign of life. Wood-type ability.

In the afternoon, another woman regained consciousness amidst painful groans. Her throat felt parched and burning, and unconsciously, a ball of water the size of a pigeon egg condensed in her palm. Water-based superpower.

Before dusk, the last wounded soldier, previously considered to be in the most critical condition, suddenly opened his eyes after a short gasp. A faint flash of electricity seemed to pass through his eyes, and a few weak blue-white sparks crackled and disappeared from his fingertips. Lightning-type superpower!

At this point, all five seriously injured soldiers had regained consciousness, none of them had mutated, and all of them had awakened their special abilities!

The news, like a pebble thrown into a still lake, stirred up indescribable ripples in the hearts of the surviving women.

Hope was no longer a distant fantasy, but a real miracle unfolding before their eyes. Of the dozen or so people with minor injuries, including the few who were scratched, none had awakened any supernatural abilities, but their wounds were slowly healing without any signs of mutation.

When Ruan Ning made her routine rounds, all the injured, whether newly born superhumans or ordinary people recovering, looked at her with indescribable gratitude.

It wasn't just gratitude for her shelter and treatment, but also an almost devout belief—that Ruan Ning's "combing" that night and the "water" she fed them later had pulled them back from the brink of death and given them a new possibility to survive in the apocalypse.

"Captain Ruan..." The newly awakened wood-type ability user's voice was weak, but he tried hard to sit up.

"Lie down, don't move." Ruan Ning pressed her down and routinely checked her condition, confirming that she was just weak and that her power core had stabilized. "Rest well, get used to your power, there's no rush."

"Thank you... thank you so much..." the others also said, their voices choked with emotion.

Ruan Ning shook her head: "No need to thank me. You all got through it on your own." Her tone was calm, revealing little emotion. "Your abilities have just awakened and are still very weak. You need time to practice and grow. Focus on restoring your strength and don't waste it unnecessarily."

She turned and left the room, leaving behind a room full of gratitude and tears. In the corridor, the other women silently made way for her, their gazes towards her becoming increasingly different, a mixture of awe and deeper dependence and trust.

However, Ruan Ning felt little joy. The fact that all five had awakened was largely due to luck, and more likely, to their own strong willpower combined with the effects of the spiritual spring water and the mental cleansing, allowing them to trigger that rare event. This did not mean the method could be replicated, nor could it guarantee that anyone would be so lucky next time.

The rain outside showed no signs of letting up; in fact, it grew even heavier. Rainwater seeped into the walls, and some areas on the first floor were already flooded. Zhou Min and Lin Yan had sent word back that afternoon that low-lying areas of the county town were already showing signs of flooding, making the search for a suitable alternative base increasingly urgent.

The good news is that the team's strength has been unexpectedly enhanced. Even if the five new superhumans are weak now, they will surely become important assets in time.

The bad news is that the early and fierce rainy season is trapping them in this not-so-sturdy hotel. The longer it drags on, the more severe the challenges will be for supplies, hygiene, morale, and even new threats such as mutated creatures that thrive in damp conditions or fungal diseases.