Chapter 31: Successfully Ambushed & Raided-2

Chapter 31: Successfully Ambushed & Raided-2
Luo Bin came over to stand beside Yang Zicang after the stabilized “overlay scene.”
“How is it? Any good stuff?”
“There’s a bow that looks pretty decent.” Yang Zicang looked up from the gap.
Even for an ordinary bow, a capable hand was required to craft one properly; this sturdy bow was clearly made with considerable skill.
They worked together to pry the door open. Besides the bow and axe, there were also two wooden chests under the bed. The one Luo Bin opened contained cold-weather bedding and coats. Yang Zicang opened a chest full of heavy ore.
“This ore can be traded for some goods back at headquarters. Haha, not a bad stroke of luck for us.”
……
When they got back to Liang Xi, carrying the items with them, they smelled the aroma of roasted meat from a distance.
The taste was nothing special, but in these circumstances, grilling meat felt like its own kind of unique experience.
“If only we had some beer right now,” Luo Bin laughed loudly.
Two hours later, Liang Xi, looking thrilled, was shouldering the sturdy bow as he followed Yang Zicang—who was holding a bloodstained long spear—out of the rickety wardrobe.
“Wah wah wah, so easy to make nearly eight years’ worth of chronology!”
Luo Bin walked out of the crack with satisfaction. “With Chrono Weapons on hand, it only took three or four hours to clear a C-rank overlay zone.”
“No wonder it’s a Century Weapon; usually it takes ages for everyone to wait for time’s sequential re-amplification.”
Luo Bin tossed a rough spherical crystal stone with a pockmarked surface in his hand, within which an image of a forest was reflected. This was the item that appeared at the center after the entire area was completely stabilized.
It contained within it the complete topographical appearance, along with 20N of time’s sequential energy.
The glow within the fissure dimmed, ultimately reverting to ordinary darkness.
“This can serve as our backup stronghold in the future,” Luo Bin said. “Later, we’ll resonate and form a new a synchrony team.”
With that, he began rummaging around the room, which looked as if it had been abandoned for over a dozen years. After the evil nightmare egg was destroyed, most of the items in the house had become extremely decrepit, like a pile of trash. They all seemed to be missing some vital essence. The clothes, hats, and shoes inside, though outwardly old and worn, were still wearable.
Yang Zicang felt the earnings from this harvest: a total of 15N. Compared to a Grade B overlapping region, it might seem scarce, but it was far easier to come by.
Luo Bin pocketed a gold necklace and unfolded the model. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and smiled, “Let’s go, to the next place.”
Liang Xi became animated; Luo Bin’s evolved model was practically a supernatural pinnacle skill.
……
Although the setting sun had already dipped below the horizon, the sky was still bright – true nightfall was still a long way off.
More and more people were gathering near the rat monster’s lair, determined to ensure not even a single mosquito could slip back in.”
Everyone exchanged words, it was said that those who had participated in a similar battle last time were rushing over from headquarters.
……
When the exhausted trio emerged from another crack, Liang Xi collapsed limply onto the ground.
There were several wounds on his feet; where he had torn off clothes to bandage them, the cloth was stained with blood.
“Are you really okay now?” Luo Bin carefully unwrapped the boy’s “bandage.” The wounds had scabbed over. “Your ability’s not bad.”
The moment they entered the overlapping ground, Liang Xi felt the world spin because he was two steps slower than the others in leaving the scene, and the flat ground beneath him turned into a huge pit.
“That scared me to death just now,” Yang Zicang said.
This guy’s model didn’t have the ability to keep the scene visible continuously, so he had disappeared along with the shifting terrain of the venue.
“It’s not a big deal,” Liang Xi pointed to some of his already scabbed wounds. “They’ve recovered now.”
His body was covered with scars—marks left by countless knives, guns, scratches, and tears.
The reason this guy dared to enter the monster nest alone was precisely because he had a rare healing model that could even stave off hunger. The only pity was that the ability could only be used on himself.
“Next time, if the overlap scene isn’t stable, we’ll leave together.”
“I’m sorry…” said the boy. “Maybe it’s because the model’s level is too low.”
“Idiot, having only two lines isn’t your fault, so why are you apologizing?” Luo Bin chuckled and patted him to calm him down, then turned to look at Yang Zicang, who was drenched in sweat. “Do you want to continue today, or not?”
Yang Zicang wiped his sweat and smiled, “It’s only dusk now.”
To make up for lost time, the two had each entered different staggered scenery zones, tirelessly slaughtering the beasts inside. Only through “landform aggregation” did the scenery zone that had vanished with Liang Xi reappear.
Liang Xi said weakly, “I heard that the initial model level still has something to do with a person’s mental strength.”
His model came from a small medical room, which was found by luck by A-Liang and his father last month in a hidden hut inside a slaughterhouse.
A neglected kitchen in the slaughterhouse, with a shelf obscured by pots and pans, underneath which were emergency medical supplies.
Liang Xi, who acquired the model there, unexpectedly gained the hidden infirmary ability.
In this bizarre city, large hospitals and even clinics had long been divided up by major powers.
To nurture models in those places, one had to pay an enormous cost—materials, gold and silver, or time flow—or simply snatch them by force or wait for new zones to emerge.
So it could be said that Liang Xi wasn’t unlucky.
From this distribution, each person also received twenty years of time flow.
“Rest up, and we’ll continue. Ah, what a satisfying day. If only every day went this smoothly.”
……
The third C-class space was near a small park in the vicinity.
In the distance, six or seven people were entering the cracked ground.
“This is actually the safest number of people. Even so, ordinary people might still get injured or die. Let’s head to the next entrance.”
Just as the three turned to leave, someone with sharp eyes in the distance said, “Boss, that guy just now seemed to be Yang Zicang.”
“Yang Zicang? That guy with the Century Weapon?”
By the gap amid the garden, Cao Maodian, walking at the rear, and squad leader Yu Chen stopped in their tracks.
“It’s that gun in his hand—a Century Weapon, boss.”
“The headquarters should be keeping an eye on him.”
“Looks like they’re looking for a crossroads, heh. What use is headquarters’ attention? Once they get into a crossroads, as long as he doesn’t deploy his model, we’ll have our chance.”
Cao Maodian’s heart pounded, his mind full of that long gun.
Yu Chen narrowed his eyes: “We need to study this carefully. If someone is in constant psychic communication with him, we might be able to give it a shot inside the crossroads.”
Having descended a few steps along the crack slope, the young man carrying a backpack turned his head:
“Is it really Yang Zicang? Hey, why bother being so complicated? Like last time, if we just make sure we’re not recognized, that’ll do.”
“You mean… go into the crossroads and snatch it outright like last time?”
“We go masked. Then we find some patsy to take the blame for the robbery, and we just say we got the Century Weapon back from the robbers. Boss, we gotta seize this opportunity.”
After mulling it over a few times, Yu Chen said:
“Brother Cao, you’re right. If we do it this way, even if HQ wants it, we’d have a reason to get first dibs. Plus, our team doesn’t have a Chrono Weapon yet—we can keep this gun as our squad’s gear. Move out, follow them.”
……
Inside a truck converted into a motorhome, right at the edge of this acceleration zone.
“…The folks at HQ are probably keeping an eye on him.”
“…This gun…keep it…move, follow them.”
The small TV’s speakers crackled with conversation, carrying a faint background static. The screen showed three people standing by the entrance of a C-rank Cross Zone, planning a mugging scheme.
On the sofa, a man stared at the tiny TV screen with a bemused expression.
“Since they know we can keep tabs on someone from afar outside the ‘redundant worlds,’ why do they still feel safe scheming out there?” Yan Yi, clad in a black uniform, scratched his head.
“Are these guys idiots?”
“They probably figure you haven’t entered the time acceleration zone yet.”
From a low stool nearby, a boy leaned in with wide eyes. “And sure, they know we can monitor someone from a distance, but who’d guess your ability extends to things like seeing the folks our target’s been in contact with?”
On the screen, Cao, Mr. Yu, and the others scurried back from the cross-zone entrance, buzzing with enthusiasm, already booting up their plan. Looked like they knew the ropes.
“Heh, hope these goons pick up the pace—I’ve got less than two hours left on my YangZicang tracking burn.”
“Just funnel more chips in, bro Yan.” The boy popped a tiny nut into his mouth.
[The side character’s story arc has come to a conclusion.]
The model on Yan Yi’s chest flickered, and those people were no longer visible.
The scene on the small screen automatically switched back to Yang Zicang’s location, where the three of them were chatting as they crossed an exotic circular red-brick plaza.
“Yang Zicang hasn’t activated his financing model today. I hope he can secure funding again when the time comes.”
This spirited teenager, who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, jumped off the large sofa and said with his hands on his hips:
“Anyway, there’s not much time left. Let me go.”
Yan Yi pondered for a moment. “Then be careful. Don’t blow your cover.”