Ji Shiyou took out several outdoor survival backpacks and distributed one to each person.
"You're really planning for us to carry machines in backpacks, Brother Ji?" Gong Que joked, as the backpacks were empty.
"Yes, I want you to carry machines in them. Baby, introduce the backpack's functions to them," Ji Shiyou said, feeling a bit parched after talking for so long while pointing at the map of Jincheng and assigning areas.
He unscrewed a bottle of water and was about to drink when he heard Gong Que. He let the little sparrow, Baby, explain, and continued drinking. After all, Baby had been with Mingyue and knew more about the backpack's functions than he did. Besides, it loved to talk and craved attention, so he decided to give it a chance.
Excited to have a task, Baby flew from Mingyue's shoulder and landed on the coffee table in the middle of the car. It cleared its throat first.
"Ahem, ahem, everyone, welcome to Baby's live stream. Everyone, you've hit the jackpot. The amazing product I'm about to introduce is essential for home and travel, the best choice for collecting supplies. Buying it is like making money. You're all so lucky! Follow the streamer and you won't get lost. Click to favorite and give a little red heart." Baby put on a show like a popular streamer, almost saying "Buy it, buy it, one, two, three, link up."
"Can you say something useful, you chatterbox bird?" Seeing Baby's ridiculous act, Bu Zhi threw a banana peel at it. He and Baby were sworn enemies and couldn't stand each other.
"Donations are not accepted. Given that some of you are a bit impatient, let's get straight to the point. The backpacks you're holding are not ordinary. They've been modified by our beautiful and cute Miss Mingyue herself, enhanced with the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique. Everyone, you might ask, what is the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique? I know your cultural level is limited and you won't understand. Baby will explain it in the simplest way possible: it's a space expansion technique, transforming the vast into the small. As long as you inject your abilities into the backpack, whether it's metal, wood, water, fire, earth, or mental power, this backpack will be equivalent to Mingyue's space and can hold a lot of things. How much can it hold? I can responsibly tell you that it can hold all the equipment in Jincheng without any problem."
Baby was talking animatedly, but everyone else had stopped paying attention. They followed Baby's instructions and injected their abilities into the backpacks. They discovered that the backpacks in their hands now had a connection with them. The interior of the backpacks, which was previously visible at a glance, now seemed unfathomably deep and boundless.
"Captain, with this backpack, doesn't it mean each of us has their own space?" After testing it, Jin Xi immediately put the backpack on. As a woman, especially a vain one, she needed a lot of things: clothes, cosmetics, shoes, and skincare products. But she didn't have space, so she had to discard many items. With this backpack, could she hoard them again?
"Ahem, ahem, please note, I am Mingyue's spokesperson. If you have any questions, don't go over my head. Ask me directly, and Baby will patiently answer you. That's a good question, but you're thinking too much. Your backpacks have been enhanced by Mingyue with the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique, meaning they have a time limit of two days. Within two days, you must return the backpacks to Mingyue so she can retrieve your collected items. Otherwise, when the time is up, the items in the backpacks will disappear with the失效 of the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique, and your efforts will be in vain." Baby was displeased that Jin Xi had asked Mingyue directly, clearly not taking it seriously. It was eager to answer.
"Alright, Jincheng is just ahead. Once we enter the city, let's be quick. According to the groups we assigned earlier, we'll split up and regroup at the city center before dark." Seeing that Baby had explained everything clearly, Ji Shiyou made his final summary. The Mingyue team was ready to go.
They didn't know that someone had already gotten a head start in Jincheng and begun collecting equipment. That person was, of course, Qingying, who had memories from her past life. These past few days, staying with the Blazing Fire team, Qingying had been living a very comfortable life, perhaps the most relaxed period of her two lives. Firstly, her relationship with Qi Wu had progressed rapidly. Secondly, she had played Yin Qing like a fiddle. Every time she saw Yin Qing, who hated her but was powerless to do anything, and had to greet her with a smile, Qingying felt as refreshed as drinking an ice-cold cola on a scorching summer day.
However, Yin Qing was lucky. After being tricked by Qingying and surrounded by zombies, she actually managed to return alive, which surprised Qingying. But she didn't think too much about it; Yin Qing would never escape her grasp. Because Qi Wu, under her deliberate guidance, had entered Jincheng for repairs, all of which was Qingying's doing. She had the same goal as the Mingyue team: those pieces of equipment.
To come to Jincheng, she had emphasized the importance of that equipment to Qi Wu. In the context of the apocalypse, this equipment had become a non-renewable resource. It would definitely be of great use in the future. Since her own space could hold it all, she had to take it all while she had the chance. Qi Wu obeyed her every word, so he adjusted their northward route and came to Jincheng. They had already been here for two days, using the excuse of resting to find a temporary base in the city center. For the past two days, Qi Wu had gone out with Qingying under the guise of collecting supplies, and no one suspected them. Qingying would bring out delicious food from her space every day. Since Qingying started sharing the supplies from her space with them, they had enough to eat, so they trusted Qi Wu and Qingying completely.
After two days of collecting, Qingying had acquired most of the machinery and equipment produced in the factories of Jincheng. She had only the factory in the northern district left to visit. Early this morning, she and Qi Wu headed straight for the northern district, planning to finish today and leave tomorrow. However, during their collection, they encountered a Level 7 high-level zombie. Fearing he might accidentally injure her, Qi Wu lured the high-level zombie away to eliminate it. Qingying was worried about Qi Wu's safety. That high-level zombie was water-elemental, which was the perfect counter to Qi Wu's fire-elemental ability. However, her cultivation had only recovered halfway, so she couldn't help. Just as she was hesitating whether to follow and see, a voice rang out.
"Qingying, you traitor! I didn't expect to meet you here. Hand over all the supplies, weapons, and crystal cores you stole from the Vermillion Bird Base immediately, or don't blame us for being impolite." From around the corner, more than twenty figures emerged and surrounded her. Upon closer inspection, it was an old acquaintance: Bu Shenghan from the Vermillion Bird Base.
With Bu Shenghan's ability level, he wouldn't have been so arrogant and threatening if he had encountered Qingying normally. Even if he knew the base's belongings had been stolen by Qingying, he wouldn't have dared to confront her. He would have turned and fled because, combined, they were no match for Qingying. But now, he wasn't afraid of Qingying. Not only did he surround her, but he also demanded the return of the supplies. This was not because he knew Qingying was still seriously injured. It was because Bu Shenghan and the others, after escaping that valley, had encountered a stroke of luck and had something to rely on.