Chapter 68 She had no habit of trying to figure out men's feelings...
Shan Ran flipped through the records and confirmed that Nan Guishang's name was not listed when she received the task.
To be honest, even though he helped her many times, she was unwilling to team up with him.
Their combat strategies are completely different!
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Nan Guishang frowned, clicked his tongue impatiently, and sounded very unpleasant.
"Why are you all staring at me? One of the guys on your team has been eating something bad and has had diarrhea, so I'm filling in. Any objections?"
Other team members: We dare not...
Adolf, the original squad leader and temporary squad deputy leader, forced a smile. "Young Master Shang, isn't it a waste of your talent to transfer you here to relieve us?"
In fact, it wasn't just Shan Ran who had this thought; everyone present felt the same way.
Nan Guishang glared at Adolf, finding the man incredibly long-winded, and his tone became even worse.
"If you know I'm a big shot, then hurry up and leave. Don't waste time. Why are you, the vice-captain, babbling on and on?"
Adolf: ......
No one dared to say anything more, and they all looked at Captain Shan Ran.
Shan Ran glanced at Nan Guishang, only noticing his impatient expression, and couldn't discern anything else. So, she briefly explained the mission, assigned the two vehicles to each other, and prepared to set off.
There were two cars, one large and one small. The smaller one carried four people, while the larger one carried Adolf and his teammates.
Nan Guishang, who replaced a certain team member, was naturally assigned to Adolf's vehicle.
The red-haired youth snorted in displeasure, said nothing, and got into the car.
It takes about five hours to get from the safe zone to the dock. They set off in the early morning, and after about an hour's journey, they stopped to rest and have something to eat to replenish their energy.
The spatial ability users on Adolf's side took out compressed biscuits, bread, and water, and distributed them to everyone.
Shanran felt a little sleepy from the car ride, so she didn't get out of the passenger seat, but simply opened the door to let in some fresh air.
At that moment, a hand was extended in front of her, with food and bottled water on it.
"For you."
Shan Ran looked up and saw a young man with red hair. He turned his head away and looked expressionless, seemingly not enjoying the task of delivering things to her.
She reached out and took it, saying politely, "Thank you."
Only then did she realize that the merchant from the south had only brought one copy.
Meng Xin had made sure everything was complete and accurate before leaving, but it was all stored in the Shan Ran space, and it wasn't appropriate to take it out in front of Nan Gui Shang.
So Shanran handed the things in her hand to Meng Xinye.
"Ranran, no need, you eat it." Meng Xin also declined, and then got out of the car to get her food from Adolf.
"Xiao Meng, wait, let's go together!" Cheng Liu and Wei Qing exchanged a glance, and the two of them got out of the car and walked over.
Only Shan Ran and Nan Guishang remained in the car.
"These are gifts from me, why are you giving them to others?"
Shanran looked over in confusion and found the man staring intently at her, his tone unfriendly.
Because of his striking red hair, Nan Guishang usually wore all black, so the bleeding wouldn't be noticeable.
Today, for the first time ever, I wore a white T-shirt and loose casual pants.
Seeing the girl staring at him, Nan Guishang, who had been fuming, immediately deflated.
He stole a glance at Meng Xinye not far away and sneered inwardly.
"I just love this kind of pretentious, innocent look. How superficial. Don't let my age fool you. I'm five years older than that guy. With a little dressing up, I can look like a young man, humph."
His thoughts were constantly shifting, and the expression on his face was also changing.
One moment she's angry, the next she's arrogant, and then she's smug.
Shan Ran looked at Nan Guishang's eight different expressions in a single second, and her heart was filled with confusion.
She sighed softly and handed the food back, saying, "Here, take it back. I'm not eating it."
The red-haired youth's eyes widened, and his voice suddenly rose, "Why not?"
Shan Ran was puzzled. Every time Nan Guishang looked at her, he had a stern face and a bad tone. She felt that he was not willing to give her anything. If that was the case, why force him?
"You don't need to force yourself to bring things over. I can just go and get them like the others."
As she spoke, she got out of the car and prepared to go to Adolf's side.
But she couldn't leave; a hand grabbed her arm.
Nan Guishang's hands were very fair. Although he always died in various ways, his immortal body always managed to revive him diligently and restore him to his best condition.
Including that face and body.
In terms of skin condition, immortality is second only to water-based ability users.
Like the man's fire-based superpower, his body temperature was higher than that of an ordinary person. The warmth of his palms seeped through his clothes and pressed against Shan Ran, making her feel a little hot.
The veins on his arms were very prominent. The muscles weren't large, but they contained extremely strong energy, forged through countless deaths.
Following the arm, one could see the red-haired youth's eyes.
Unlike water-based ability users, fire-based ability users only have red hair; their eyes remain their original brown.
But now it seems like there's fire inside, and I can inexplicably feel a red flame leaping inside.
"Young Master Shang, what's wrong?"
Meeting Shan Ran's questioning gaze, Nan Guishang pursed his lips, and in the end simply let go of her, stuffing the things back into the girl's hands.
"Take it if I give it to you. If I bring something to you and it gets returned, wouldn't I lose face in front of others?"
Shan Ran reluctantly accepted the gift, but out of consideration for Young Master Nan Gui, she nodded to indicate that she understood, "Thank you, Young Master Shang, for bringing this over."
“Also,” Nan Guishang frowned in dissatisfaction, crossed his arms, and turned his head to the other side without looking at Shan Ran, “Don’t call me Young Master Shang anymore. You call other people so intimately, but why is it so ordinary when you call me?”
"Hmm?" Shan Ran tilted her head and looked at the arrogant red-haired youth who turned his face away.
This man's emotions fluctuate wildly. One second he's happy, and the next he's suddenly angry. There's no transition, and we don't know why. It's really strange.
She couldn't figure her out.
Forget it, I'm too lazy to think about it.
She didn't have the habit of trying to figure out a man's feelings.
No wonder Lu Wenrou couldn't control him; such a son was truly a worry.
However, she could sense that Nan Guishang didn't dislike her as much as she had imagined.
"Okay, okay," Shan Ran said perfunctorily, "Then I won't call you Young Master Shang anymore. From now on, I'll call you Ah Shang like District Chief Lu and the others do, okay?"
Nan Guishang remained the same as before, but when he heard the girl say the words "A Shang," his body trembled, and he almost lost his composure.
He had heard this name countless times before, but never as pleasant to the ear as it was now.
Like a clear stream flowing into his body, the gentle and clear water extinguished the raging fire within him, soothed his inexplicable displeasure along the way, and made him close his eyes in submission.
Nan Guishang's Adam's apple bobbed as he struggled to control the muscles at the corners of his mouth, desperately trying to suppress any upward curve.
In the end, he simply gave a haughty "hmm," and said, "Okay, call me 'Young Master' like that."
After saying that, he turned and left.
As soon as he turned his back to Shan Ran, the man couldn't help but grin broadly.
Nan Guishang stood alone beside an abandoned car not far away, peeked out, and saw the girl eat the cookie he gave her, then retreat back behind the car, and laughed even more happily.
The moment he popped his head out again, his smile vanished instantly.
He saw Meng Xin walk back, holding an orange from who-knows-where. She carefully peeled it and fed a slice to Shan Ran.
He then saw the girl take the orange slice as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, and then the two of them shared the orange as the other man fed her.
The man from the south gripped the frame of the abandoned vehicle so tightly that he unknowingly deformed it.
Not long after, the rest period ended, and the convoy regrouped and set off again.
Adolf sat in the last row; the vehicle had three rows in total, and in front of him was the Southbound Merchant.
I don't know why, but the last hour or so of the journey was particularly agonizing.
It's too hot.
Even with the windows rolled down for ventilation, it's still very hot.
Not only Adolf felt hot, but everyone else did too. The temperature inside the car was inexplicably high. However, resources were scarce, and not a single penny could be wasted. They didn't use the air conditioning while driving, opting instead for natural ventilation.
The key point is... they are all superhumans, and their levels are quite high and they are very experienced. Logically speaking, they shouldn't be so sensitive to changes in external temperature.
Why is it still so hot?
Adolf couldn't help but pull his collar to cool off, and tried to get his head as close to the window as possible to enjoy the breeze.
Seeing that the young master from the south in the front row had no reaction, he couldn't help but ask, "Young Master Shang, don't you feel hot?"
The man, who had been dozing with his eyes closed since getting on the bus, opened them, his pupils burning as if flames were burning within them.
"Hot? You think my fire is too hot, so you want to find water? Is water so good? It's so weak, is it as powerful as fire? Don't think water can extinguish me, I can burn all the water away with my fire! Humph!"
Adolf: ......
Oh no, Shang Shao has lost his mind. I told you a person can't die too many times, right? How can the brain grow back to its full size so easily? This is clearly brain damage from dying too many times.
More than an hour later, the group stopped a few kilometers away from Pier 3.
Before the apocalypse, this place was very lively. There was a large town nearby where many people worked in logistics and shipping, and there were also many fishermen who made their living from the sea.
This place is now very desolate because near the sea, there are some monsters that emerge from the sea mist. They are generally uglier and more disgusting than the monsters on land, and some can be described as horribly ugly.
Shanran had read a report before that said there is no light in the deep sea, so the deeper you go, the uglier the creatures become. The same principle probably applies to the monsters.
However, the monsters that emerge from the sea don't go too far, so as long as you stay a little distance from the coastline, you won't encounter them.
However, this also serves as a basic defense for the Silver Wolf base, preventing some enemies from coming to the beach.
In the apocalypse, the monsters are terrifying, but some humans are even more terrifying than them.
After getting out of the car, a spatial ability user stored both vehicles away. Both of them were level D, with one of them already at D+, close to level C, making them the ability users with the largest spatial abilities within the safe zone.
Shan Ran tried to contact Tu Yuqing, but couldn't get through on the phone.
She and Vice-Captain Adolf exchanged a glance and realized something was wrong.
Without further delay, the group quickly headed towards the dock.
The little eagle in the Mountain Dye Spiritual Light Cluster was attacked by the Faceless Monkey the day before yesterday, and its wings have not yet recovered, so it cannot fly yet.
After this experience, she realized that there was a type of mental attack that could directly strike the mental orb. The second attack could injure the little horned eagle, and if it were attacked several more times, it could very well destroy the entire orb.
Currently, there are very few treatment options for the spiritual light cluster. Once the light cluster is destroyed, there is almost no possibility of it being restored.
Shanran had searched for healing and light-type abilities in the safe zone, but because these abilities improved very slowly and their levels were not high, the little harpy eagle's recovery was very slow.
There's nothing good that Shanran can do but slowly treat and recover.
They soon arrived at Pier 3.
The dock was in complete chaos. The once calm sea surged and roared as it crashed against the shore, spreading to the land. Beasts emerged from the sea and fought with the people on land.
Most of those fighting the monsters at the dock were animal-type ability users; judging from their limbs, they were mostly wolf-type, tiger-type, canine-type, and so on.
They were clearly from the Silver Wolf base.
Most of these animal-type ability users are terrestrial animals, and the majority of them have fur on their bodies.
They are strong on land, but once they get wet, their fur gets soaked, which greatly affects their movement.
Moreover, their opponent is a sea monster.
Suddenly, the water at the dock gradually receded, like the tide going out, until it was below the shoreline.
Most of the monsters receded with the tide, while a small number of slower-reacting ones remained on land and quickly suffocated, dying on their own without the Silver Wolf Base personnel having to intervene.
"I told you, the helper I found is your nemesis, but you just wouldn't believe me. How does it feel to be soaked to the bone like a drowned rat? Tu Yuqing."
A group of people emerged from behind a shipping container not far away; a man and a woman stood at the front.
The one speaking was the woman in front.
The spot where the group of people were standing was very dry; they were very close together, but they didn't get wet at all.
Seeing the man's appearance, Shan Ran had a guess.
The person had light blue hair and blue eyes.
Like Meng Xin, he is clearly a water-based ability user.
Although Shan Ran also possesses water-based superpowers, she has too many superpower orbs in her mental world. Unlike others, she can control the color of her hair and eyes, but she doesn't like other colors, so she maintains her original appearance.
"Laura, your Green Light Base didn't dare come alone, so you brought so many people. Do you think that just because there are more of you, our Silver Wolf Base will be afraid of you?"
Tu Yuqing had already retracted her wolf claws, and her body was soaked through. Her naturally curly long hair was also wet, and she looked quite disheveled compared to the group of people opposite her.
"Sis, don't waste your breath on them!"
The young man who spoke looked somewhat like Tu Yuqing, with slightly curly long hair tied in a low ponytail, but he was noticeably more irritable.
The young man stared intently at the person opposite him. He was breathing heavily from the fierce battle and was still panting as he spoke. "The water-type ability users among them must be out of energy. If they could continue, they would definitely keep wearing us down and wouldn't be talking so much."
How to guide seawater ashore?
Upon hearing the young man's words, Shan Ran turned and exchanged a glance with Meng Xin.
Then the two sensed the ball of light in their spiritual world. The pond inside was not as calm as usual, but was moving without wind, with ripples spreading across the surface, looking very lively.
Is this a connection between the water and the seawater?
Shan Ran tried touching the pond again and found that there really was a change.
She felt that using water-based abilities by the sea would make her stronger and her ability bar fuller. Even if she used it all up, the ability bar would still rise faster than in other places.
However, her and Meng Xinye's Class D water system is not yet capable of guiding such a large area of seawater ashore.
She squinted at the water-type ability user next to Laura and guessed that he was probably a C-level.
Upon hearing the silver wolf youth's words, the C-level water-type ability user remained unmoved, not even sparing a glance, seemingly looking down on these people entirely.
Laura reacted strongly; the muscles in her face twitched, and she grinned menacingly. "You're right, it would be easy to wear you down, but I can do it myself without Mr. Wang's intervention."
As she spoke, Laura closed her eyes, stretched out her hands, and her expression gradually became peaceful as she murmured something.
Her behavior was strange, as if she were performing some kind of bizarre ritual.
Tu Yuqing and the others looked at Laura with confusion. They didn't want to look at her, but they were inexplicably drawn to her and stared at her intently.
Their eyes gradually changed from wary and disgusted to confused and unfocused.
Immediately afterwards, the people following Tu Yuqing, including Tu Yuqing herself, who had just been in a defensive posture, all stood straight, staring blankly ahead, like puppets who had lost their self-awareness.
Laura kept her eyes closed, and her deputy behind her, seeing this, gave the order on behalf of the base commander.
"Charge! Kill them!"
Apart from the core members, everyone else acted normally, but they were at a loss when they saw the core members of the base standing there like puppets.
If the base's strongest fighting force has encountered an accident, can they still put up a fight?
Although morale was low and fear was high, these people's animal-type abilities gave them an instinctive sense of loyalty and obedience, and none of them wanted to desert their posts.
Lara's men swarmed forward, intending to wipe out the Silver Wolf base in one fell swoop.
Laura and the C-level water-based ability user remained standing still, waiting for the destruction of the Silver Wolf base.
However, the one-sided situation they had imagined did not materialize. Suddenly, a group of people appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of the Silver Wolf base, blocking their offensive.
"Who are you?" Laura's second-in-command looked at the group with a sinister gaze. "This is a matter between our Green Light Base and Silver Wolf Base. You'd better not interfere, lest innocent people get hurt."
Shan Ran sized up the group of people opposite her. The Green Light Base, where Lara was located, had the most people. There were probably three other bases, each standing behind their respective leaders. Although they were together with the Green Light Base, the boundaries between them were very clear.
Before Shanran could speak, a surprised voice suddenly came from the other side.
"Shanran? Are you Shanran?"
"Mountain, mountain..."
Looking in the direction of the voice, Shan Ran discovered that it was the two leaders of another base speaking.
Her gaze swept over the two of them without lingering.
The other party was a man and a woman. The man was rather short but very strong. The woman was very tall with long hair that covered most of her face, making it impossible to see her features.
Shan Ran frowned slightly, feeling that the two people looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen them before.
The shorter man's eyes widened, and he pointed at himself with his right index finger.
"It's me! We met on the street before the monster came. You even gave Xiaomei iodine and gauze back then!"
As he spoke, he nudged the tall woman next to him with his elbow, signaling her to speak.
"Yes, yes, thank you..."
"Oh my, that's exactly how she talks. She was grazed by someone's knife, and everyone else ran away in fright, but you were the only one who came and gave us medicine!"
Shan Ran suddenly realized that when superpowers first appeared, everything was in chaos.
When a murder was about to occur in the street, the two men bravely stepped forward.
Seeing Shan Ran's expression, they all laughed.
"You remember me now! My name is Zeng Dali, and her name is Zhen Shimei. We were thinking back then, 'How wonderful it would be to see you again!' But later we saw a lot of news about you online. You're so amazing! Everyone at our base admires you. By the way, our base is called Dashi Base."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and waved behind him, letting Shan Ran see the team behind him.
Just as he said, everyone in his base had their eyes light up when they saw Shan Ran.
Meng Xin clenched his fist, but his expression remained unchanged.
Nan Guishang glanced sideways at Shan Ran, then snorted softly, glancing at the people at the large stone base opposite him. He felt annoyed and silently complained to himself.
"Dashi Base? What a lousy name! It sounds awful. Staring at Shan Ran like that, what a bunch of rude people."
Shan Ran sized up Zeng Dali and Zhen Shimei, and without exchanging pleasantries, asked directly, "Are you with the Green Light Base?"
Zeng Dali is straightforward and strong, but he must be quite capable of managing such a large base; he's not stupid.
He realized Shan Ran and the others' intentions, thought for a moment, and then walked out of the group without hesitation.
"I owed Green Light Base a favor before, and after fighting Silver Wolf Base for so long these past two days, with casualties in our team, I've repaid what I owed. We don't need the supplies you promised. Goodbye!"
Zeng Dali clasped his hands in a fist salute towards Laura to express his attitude, then led the base members to the other side.
Green Light Base: ......
Distracted by Shan Ran and the others, and having wasted too much time, Laura could no longer maintain her powers and collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.
Tu Yuqing and the others seemed to wake up suddenly, their bodies trembling, their eyes widening as they looked around blankly.
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