Upon arriving in Jincheng, the Mingyue team didn't have time to find a place to stay. Following Ji Shiyou's assignment, everyone rushed to their designated areas.
Mingyue, possessing a spatial artifact and being the strongest, had little to threaten her safety.
Therefore, Ji Shiyou assigned her to a solo group, responsible for the North and East districts. For safety, the others operated in groups.
Mingyue's first destination was the factory in the North district. With the growth of her mental power, she no longer needed physical contact to store items in her space.
She quickly swept through all the mechanical equipment in the North district and, just as she was about to head to the East district, she noticed someone approaching.
Not wanting to cause trouble, she directly entered her space to hide, planning to leave after they were gone.
Looking out from within her space, she saw a man and a woman approaching.
The woman was Qingying, who had escaped from Thunder Base. The other person was a burly man.
Mingyue didn't recognize him, but she could tell he was a Level 7 fire ability user.
Seeing Qingying, Mingyue wanted to attack but restrained herself.
She didn't know Qingying was injured, and besides, there was a Level 7 ability user by her side.
Defeating Qingying would not be a quick task and would delay her.
So, Mingyue didn't act, only hoping the two would leave quickly and not hinder her collection of machinery.
"Brother Qi, all the mechanical equipment in Jincheng except for the North district has been collected by me.
After I collect the equipment here, we can leave Jincheng and head to Yuncheng Base.
Once we get there, we need to find a way to seize control of the base's resource distribution power."
Outside the space, Qingying held onto Qi Wu's arm, speaking as they walked.
"Why? Distributing resources is a tedious job, thankless and tiring," Qi Wu asked gently, putting his arm around Qingying's shoulder, not understanding her words.
Mingyue, inside her space, pricked up her ears, wanting to know the reason.
Outside the space, Qingying not only explained the importance of resource allocation to Qi Wu but also introduced him to the general situation of Yuncheng Base. Mingyue, inside her space, took note of Qingying's words.
She also learned that most of Jincheng's equipment had already been taken by Qingying.
Furthermore, she understood that Qingying's destination was the same as theirs, Yuncheng Base, and she intended to take over the base.
However, she couldn't understand why Qingying knew so much about Yuncheng Base, as if she had lived there.
While Mingyue was contemplating Qingying's unusual behavior in her space, a high-level zombie suddenly appeared outside, and the man led it away.
Just as Mingyue was about to go out to kill Qingying and reclaim the collected machinery, Qingying was surrounded by people from Zhuque Base.
Mingyue immediately abandoned the idea of going out. Since the machinery had already been taken by Qingying, and she disliked both parties, she decided to sit back and watch the dogfight from within her space.
Thus, Mingyue watched a grand drama unfold from her space. She never expected that her cheap sister, He Shi, would become the biggest winner, latching onto Bu Ying.
Seeing them leave, Mingyue exited her space, finding the current situation in Jincheng quite interesting.
Jincheng was now a convergence of three parties: the Mingyue team, the Liehuo team, and Yuncheng Base.
Each of the three factions had its own agenda. The Mingyue team and the Liehuo team both wanted to infiltrate Yuncheng Base and take it over.
As for Bu Ying, while he appeared to be recruiting talent, he was a sinister individual with other motives, the exact nature of which remained unknown.
Mingyue pondered for a moment, then decided to first find her other teammates and secure a place to stay.
Afterward, she would call a meeting to discuss their next steps, as it was a matter concerning the entire team. She needed to know everyone's opinions before making a decision.
Qingying and the others, finding no more machinery in the North district, ended their search. Bu Ying was going with He Shi to pick up Ren Youbei.
He then inquired about the Liehuo team's location in Jincheng from Qi Wu and Qingying.
He stated that after picking up Ren Youbei, he would lead the people from Yuncheng Base to rendezvous with them and return to Yuncheng together.
Watching Bu Ying leave with He Shi, Qingying and Qi Wu also headed towards the Liehuo team's stronghold.
Their base was a residential building in the center of Jincheng. The two avoided the wandering zombies and made their way towards their lodging.
"Is it them?"
Passing through the central plaza, Qingying spotted three people, two men and a woman, standing beside a uniquely designed vehicle.
Upon closer inspection, she realized they were members of the Mingyue team and immediately stopped.
"You know them? Are they friends?"
Qi Wu also stopped, noticing Qingying's strange expression and asking in confusion.
"Friends? They are enemies. Brother Qi, can you do me a favor and kill them?"
Qingying's words were gritted out. Since her rebirth, everything had gone smoothly for her.
However, there was one thing that festered in her heart. It was the Mingyue team. Whenever she encountered them, her plans would go disastrously wrong.
Especially Mingyue, who was her nemesis. Every time they met, none of her plans succeeded.
She had just seen members of the Mingyue team, but not Mingyue herself, so she wanted Qi Wu to help her kill those members.
Qi Wu naturally agreed to Qingying's request, not even needing to know the reason. This was the downside of the apocalypse.
With the erosion of morality and law, social order had collapsed.
As long as one was powerful, they could take another's life at any time; it seemed like a normal occurrence.
In the plaza, the people standing by the modified vehicle were Shi Henian, Ji Shiyou, Bu Zhi, and Tian Shang.
They were responsible for collecting machinery from the South district's factories, but upon arrival, they discovered that someone had beaten them to it.
So, as agreed, they came to the city center plaza to rendezvous with others before finding a place to stay.
Their group, with the modified vehicle, was faster. By the time they arrived, Mingyue and Wen Qingtian's teams had not yet returned.
The group was bored, so they got out of the car to stretch their legs, with only Shi Henian remaining in the modified vehicle.
"Brother Ji, who do you think collected the machines before us, making us run for nothing?"
Bu Zhi was eating a string of grapes, frowning. He had wanted to try the spatial backpack specially made by Mingyue, but he found nothing.
"How would I know? In this situation, machinery is a crucial construction material urgently needed by all major bases.
There are many people watching Jincheng, so it's not surprising.
It's just a shame we gained nothing. I wonder how much Mingyue and Wen Qingtian collected?"
Ji Shiyou also looked serious. He was mentally adjusting the plans for their future base.
"Brother Ji, what are we eating tonight?"
Despite returning empty-handed, Tian Shang's mood was unaffected. She wasn't very bright and didn't worry about such matters, only caring about her daily meals.
So, while petting the little sparrow baby in her hands, she asked Ji Shiyou. The little creature had agreed to stay with her for a day only after she pleaded with it.
"All you think about is eating, and you even brought this annoying creature. I get annoyed just looking at it.
Brother Ji, I have a suggestion, let's eat fried sparrow tonight. Braised would also be fine."
Seeing Tian Shang cooing and kissing the dead sparrow, Bu Zhi felt a pang of jealousy and disliked the baby even more.
"Kid, you want to die? Believe it or not.
Watch out, someone is attacking us, defend!"
The baby was about to fly up and engage Bu Zhi in an eight-hundred-round battle, but before it could utter its threat, it suddenly cried out, warning of a surprise attack and telling everyone to prepare.