Chapter 80 Reappearance of Civilization
Rong Yi chased away two zombies, but was starving. He sat in the passenger seat, staring at the food box, but couldn't bring himself to eat anything.
Wei Yanqing noticed her unusual behavior. "What's wrong?" He used to think Rong Yi liked these things quite a bit, and she could eat two or three boxes at a time.
"I'm used to your cooking, so I don't have an appetite for this."
Before I tasted Wei Yanqing's cooking, these dishes were quite good; it's hard to go from luxury to frugality.
Wei Yanqing's car was at the very front. He slowly slowed down, and the players behind him stuck their heads out. "Is there something going on up ahead?"
He waved his hand, "No, I'm going over there to have a meal and rest for a while."
Nowadays, the city is full of abandoned buildings. The city has lost its people. Apart from the sound of their car engines, there are only the low growls of mutated animals and zombies coming from afar.
Upon hearing the mention of food, the player who had been peeking out licked his lips and said, "Alright, we're hungry too."
Instead of taking turns driving to eat, why not find a place to rest for half an hour?
Wei Yanqing wasn't the only one who wanted to cook; the player team also brought out their pots. Most of the researchers couldn't cook, so they could only lend a hand.
The set time was half an hour. Wei Yanqing didn't make it too complicated. He washed and sliced a bag of mushrooms. When the mushrooms were cut open, a light blue color slowly seeped out from the cut surface, much like the herb *Botrytis cinerea*.
"The toxicity level is not too high, and high temperatures can eliminate it," said the researcher wearing black-rimmed glasses.
Another female researcher helped add water to the rice to cook white rice.
Rong Yi felt weak all over, sitting blankly with his chin in his hands. His stomach was growling, so he ate a bite of apple to temporarily relieve his hunger.
Stir-fry dried chili peppers, garlic cloves, and ginger slices in hot oil. Add a basket of sliced mushrooms to the pan and stir-fry together. Add appropriate seasonings.
Such simple steps, yet the aroma filled the room, completely overshadowing the delicious food cooked by other players.
"Psychedelic mushroom." Someone recognized the mushroom.
This mushroom is a near-Tier 2 ingredient, very similar to the common Boletus luridus, both being slightly poisonous but extremely delicious.
There was only this one side dish. Once the white rice was cooked, Rong Yi smiled, and Wei Yanqing immediately put half of the plate into her bowl.
Because of the ample energy from the ingredients, one of the female researchers didn't eat much; she felt full after just two slices of mushroom. The one wearing black-rimmed glasses, on the other hand, ate a few more slices and even finished a bowl of rice.
Within half an hour, a number of zombies had gathered outside their house. Wei Yanqing and the other players who had finished eating went out to clear them out and also released the vehicle.
There were only five people left in the room, two of whom were players sitting not far away who hadn't finished eating.
Rong Yi was drinking water in large gulps, with the two female researchers sitting next to him.
The man with the black-rimmed glasses then asked in a low voice, "Your teammate has psychic abilities, right? What level is he?"
Rong Yi's eyes shifted to where she was, and he put down his water glass. "Why are you asking this?"
The researcher with the black-rimmed glasses paused for a moment, then said, "You'll escort me out of the team later." Completely ignoring Rong Yi's reply, he made an even more outrageous suggestion.
Rong Yi paused for a moment, then said, "Is there something wrong with your ears or your brain?"
The man with the black-rimmed glasses seemed a bit hasty, frowning as he tried to get closer to her, but Rong Yi stood up with a look of disgust.
"Don't ask anymore. I don't want to see you use your powers on my teammates again."
Wei Yanqing entered at some point and said the following to the researcher wearing black-rimmed glasses.
Ignoring the other person's expression, Wei Yanqing waved to Rong Yi, "Come on, there aren't many zombies outside, we've already cleared them out."
Rong Yi glanced at the bewildered female researcher. It turned out that she was also a psychic ability user. But why did she insist on asking about Wei Yanqing's strength? Could there be some kind of conspiracy? Fortunately, she was immune to psychic power.
The other players didn't notice what was happening there and got into their vehicles to continue their journey.
Two female researchers sat in the back seat. The one wearing black-rimmed glasses had her head down, while the other had a blank expression and seemed to be staring out the window in a daze.
Wei Yanqing started the car. "Ms. Gu Letong, it's not good for you to hypnotize your colleague like this."
Rong Yi looked surprised and turned to look at the woman with black-rimmed glasses. "She's Gu Letong? Then..."
Considering Wei Yanqing's mention of hypnosis, it seems that not only this researcher beside him was hypnotized, but all the researchers were hypnotized.
Furthermore, the system task did not specify whether Gu Letong was male or female.
The woman in the back seat took off her black-rimmed glasses, revealing light, silvery pupils.
Rong Yi raised an eyebrow; these glasses even have some kind of high-tech feature.
“You are indeed at a higher level than me,” Gu Letong said.
She sensed the players as soon as they approached the research institute, about a kilometer away. Gu Letong hypnotized all her colleagues, having one of the male colleagues impersonate her.
After reaching a certain level, psychic ability users will have a strange intuition that these people have come for them.
Knowing that some of those people possessed the same type of superpower, she dared not make a move and remained silently hidden behind the crowd.
Unexpectedly, Wei Yanqing pointed to her right away.
Wei Yanqing: "Don't think we want to harm you. Our real intention is to rescue you. Once you arrive at the base, you will receive a warm welcome from the base's higher-ups."
Gu Letong did not respond and made no further moves on the road.
·
Several player teams departed from the base around the same time, which naturally attracted the base's attention.
Rong Yi and Wei Yanqing set off at around 10 a.m. and returned to the base at around 4 p.m.
The player team was not all from the Jin'an District base; some were from the Shangshui District base. The player who found the imposter Gu Letong was separated from them midway and returned to the Shangshui District base.
Without handing the person over to the base to see the mission rewards, you have no idea whether you've found the right person.
When Rong Yi got out of the car, he heard several players from the same base complaining.
"It's such a pity we couldn't bring in Gu Letong."
"We brought other researchers along, and we also acquired a lot of equipment, so it's a good deal."
"Exactly, is it really worth it to lose your life for a side quest?"
Players are indeed in competition, but it's not mindless competition. There's really no need to fight each other for a side quest whose reward is unclear.
With so many people involved, in the chaos of battle, no one could guarantee they wouldn't be the one to die.
Upon learning that the players had returned, Wu Junzhi, who hadn't done any missions that day, jogged to the base entrance.
"Team Leader Wu." A player greeted him.
Now Wu Junzhi is like an NPC they use to complete tasks; they're familiar with him enough to exchange a few words.
Wu Junzhi: "You guys went out so early in the morning, I thought something serious had happened."
One player, leaning against the hood of the car, said, "I went to the Changjia Research Institute and brought back a lot of equipment, as well as these researchers." He then opened the car door, and several men and women got out.
Wu Junzhi was stunned. He hadn't expected these people to bring back such a big surprise. No matter what their specialties were, talent would always come in handy.
Of the twenty-six researchers, fourteen were assigned to them.
Rong Yi and Wei Yanqing led the two female researchers into the base, with Wu Junzhi leading the way and arranging accommodations for the newcomers.
After the other arrangements were almost complete, Wu Junzhi specifically sought out these two people.
Gold-type zombie: I've been here for so long and you're still mocking me, sob sob.
(End of this chapter)
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