Qin Renhao’s words caused a momentary freeze in the atmosphere of the living room.
Long before this, some of the ability users had already considered separating from the group. After all, they were only schoolmates, not close friends or family, and the team had been formed temporarily, making it unstable.
Before they arrived at the safe zone, people had thought that staying in a larger group would help them take care of each other. But now that they were in the safe zone, with their personal safety assured, everyone’s thoughts began to shift.
While the group consisted of people with varying abilities, they were all treated equally. This seemingly fair treatment wasn’t so fair to some, and over time, a few people had grown resentful. Out of consideration for their shared history as classmates, no one had raised the issue, but several members had already started planning their exit quietly.
Now that Qin Renhao had brought it up, those who had been harbouring similar thoughts voiced their opinions as well.
The living room erupted into a heated argument. Some agreed, some disagreed, and others remained neutral, each person firmly defending their stance.
“Qin Renhao is right. From now on, everyone should keep their resources separate. It’s better for everyone that way,” said a blond-haired boy, his hands in his pockets.
“Xu Chi, I bet you’ve been planning to leave the group for a while. Don’t think I don’t know. I’ve seen you sneaking out every night until dawn. You must’ve already found yourself a place to go, so stop pretending to be a good guy,” someone retorted.
“So what if I’ve been planning to leave? Look at this team—it’s a mess! A bunch of cowards! Yesterday, we asked everyone to join us in a mission to kill zombies and earn resources, but what did you all do? Some faked illnesses, others disappeared. None of you were willing to go. Now that Qin Renhao wants to use the resources he earned himself, you think you get a say in that? The nerve of some people—expecting others to take care of them.”
Xu Chi sneered, “Let me tell you right now—I’m done with this group. You guys can figure it out on your own!”
With that, Xu Chi stormed out of the villa without taking anything with him.
The boy who had been arguing with Xu Chi was furious and cursed after him, “I told you we should never have let a delinquent like him join the group. He was always skipping class and getting into fights back at school, thinking he was better than everyone because of his family. What’s he so proud of now? He doesn’t even have abilities like the rest of us.”
Xu Chi hadn’t been popular at school, and even though not everyone agreed with the boy’s words, no one stepped forward to defend him.
Qin Renhao rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on as he watched the chaotic scene unfold. He couldn’t help but recall the suggestion made by Captain Su, the rescue team leader who had brought them to the safe zone, to consider joining their team.
At the time, Qin Renhao had declined, thinking that he already had a group. But now he realized that Captain Su might have been right. This makeshift school group was far too divided, and conflict was inevitable.
Ruan Ning hadn’t expected things to escalate like this either. “Qin Renhao, maybe I should leave. I’m sorry for causing you trouble today.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was still caught up in their argument, Qin Renhao led Ruan Ning out of the living room.
As they reached the door, Qin Renhao looked at her apologetically and said, “I should be the one apologizing. You had to witness this ridiculous scene. I’m embarrassed that I even thought of asking you to stay with us. Now, I’m not even sure if this group will hold together…”
Ruan Ning gave him an awkward smile. “I feel like I’m partly to blame. If I hadn’t come with you today, maybe none of this would’ve happened.”
She hadn’t expected that her decision to come along would not only fail to help her confront Chen Ying’er but also lead to such a dramatic scene.
And worse, she had inadvertently been the spark that triggered the group’s conflict. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Ruan Ning couldn’t help but reflect on the day’s events.
“It’s not your fault; you’ve only been here for a few minutes. There’s no need to take the blame for everything. Even without you, they would have argued today,” Qin Renhao said, after some thought. “Where are you staying? After I get the cold medicine, I can bring it to you.”
Ruan Ning, who wasn’t really sick, and even if she had been, had no reason to accept his medicine, quickly declined. “I’m not as weak as you think. I was about to tell you earlier that you don’t need to go through the trouble. The cold is almost gone, so don’t worry about it.”
At that moment, Ruan Ning regretted using the cold as an excuse. It hadn’t caused much trouble for anyone else, but she did feel bad for Qin Renhao, who seemed genuinely concerned.
“You should head back. No need to walk me out. I think you need to go back and handle things in there,” Ruan Ning suggested.
“Alright, take care and stay safe on your way back,” Qin Renhao said with a hint of disappointment, though he knew it wasn’t the right time for Ruan Ning to stay. Who knew what would happen if she did?
Through this situation, Ruan Ning realized just how much drama could come with being in a large group. She was relieved that her own squad was small, with only a few members. Otherwise, managing such issues daily would be overwhelming.
When Ruan Ning returned to her villa, the others had not yet come back.
For the past week, she had noticed that everyone in the squad was always busy. They were usually out early and returned late, and she didn’t know what they were up to.
Her curiosity got the best of her the night before, so she asked Da Cheng, the most straightforward and good-natured person in the group, and found out they were preparing to leave the safe zone. They had almost everything ready, and their departure was imminent.
The journey from S City to the capital was long, spanning over three provinces and more than 1,600 kilometres.
Traveling such a distance in the apocalypse was no easy feat. While the strength of the squad was important, the preparations were equally crucial.
Perhaps because Ruan Ning was the only girl in the squad, the team members seemed to treat her like a fragile piece of glass, constantly worried she might get hurt or scared. They never let her handle any of the hard tasks as long as they could manage them themselves.
She even overheard one day that one of the team members had gotten injured, but no one had told her.
That evening, Ruan Ning gathered all the squad members in the living room.
Facing the five of them, she said seriously, “I’ve awakened an ability.”
Previously, Ruan Ning had been afraid that revealing her space ability might bring her trouble, so she had kept it hidden from everyone. But after spending time with the squad over the past couple of weeks, she felt she could trust them.
Although she was technically their mission—someone they had to protect—it was clear that they genuinely cared for her, and she was grateful for that.
When Ruan Ning announced that she had awakened an ability, the squad members looked at her in surprise.
Xie Fei, the youngest of the group, couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked, “Ruan Ning, what kind of ability did you awaken?”
Xie Fei, being closer in age to Ruan Ning—now seventeen in this world and twenty before she crossed over—didn’t address her as “Miss Ruan” like the others did, and just called her by her name.
Ruan Ning pursed her lips, then, mimicking how other space ability users had done, placed her hand on the table in the living room. In the blink of an eye, the table vanished.
The group stared in disbelief. Then, with just a thought, Ruan Ning made the table reappear in its original spot.
Xie Fei, who was standing closest to her, was completely stunned by what he had just seen. The others weren’t much better off—they all stared at her, slack-jawed.
Even by the third year of the apocalypse, space ability users were extremely rare, with the official records of the government counting only a handful. In the early days of the apocalypse, they were almost unheard of.
The squad members, like most survivors, had never witnessed anything like the space ability Ruan Ning had just demonstrated—making objects disappear and reappear from a personal space.
Once they were convinced that it wasn’t some sort of magic trick, everyone’s faces lit up with curiosity.
Ruan Ning didn’t try to be mysterious. She openly explained, “My ability might not help with killing zombies like everyone else’s, but I can store items in a special space and retrieve them whenever needed.”
As the team captain, Xue Chen considered the implications more deeply than the others. He knew how crucial supplies were in the apocalypse. The storage capacity of their vehicles was limited, and they often had to abandon materials like food, gear, and other resources along the way because there simply wasn’t enough space. Even when they planned carefully, the scattered supplies couldn’t last long. More often than not, they had to scavenge for resources while traveling, which slowed them down.
If they had access to a space like Ruan Ning’s, it meant they could carry much more, ensuring they wouldn’t face the same problem as last time when they had to abandon half of their supplies after a vehicle broke down during a rescue mission.
The only question was: how much space did Ruan Ning actually have?
With growing excitement, Xue Chen asked, “Miss Ruan, may I ask how much you can store with this ability?”
Ruan Ning shared the general details about her ability, including the storage capacity and the fact that it preserved items and couldn’t hold living creatures. However, she intentionally understated the size of her actual storage space.
After thinking it over, Xue Chen said, “Miss Ruan, I understand the scope of your ability now. I might need to trouble you to store some of the team’s supplies in your space soon.”
While her space wasn’t huge, it was more than enough to solve their current issue. Xue Chen, who had been worried about how to transport everything, now felt a weight lift off his shoulders. With Ruan Ning’s help, they could carry all the supplies they had previously thought they’d have to leave behind, and even bring extra.
“That won’t be a problem at all,” Ruan Ning said readily. “As long as I can help the team. I’ve been feeling bad that I haven’t been able to contribute much and that I’ve only been causing trouble for you.”
“Ning Ning, don’t say that!” Xie Fei quickly reassured her. “Your ability is way more practical than mine. All I can do is throw fire around, and we’ve never thought of you as a burden.”
“Miss Ruan, we’re all part of the same team, and that makes you our teammate too. There’s no need to feel like you’re causing trouble,” Xue Chen added.
With this solution to the storage problem, Xue Chen felt a lot more relaxed, and a rare smile appeared on his face.
Thinking of the news he had received from the capital earlier that day, Xue Chen originally planned to wait until tomorrow to share it with Gu Yicheng and the others. However, since Ruan Ning and the rest of the team were already present, he decided to bring it up now.
Ruan Ning’s eyes widened in surprise and excitement. “What? Captain Xue, are you saying we’ll be traveling with my brother and his team?”
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