Chapter 362: Finding Fault

"N-no, not at all!" The man from X Realm noticed the Metal Spike aiming straight for his eye and immediately shrieked, "It was over a year ago! An image of you was suddenly transmitted back to Jingji Base and was captured by our director."

"The higher-ups took an interest in you. The world’s first Fourth-rank Gold Ability User—it’s impossible not to attract attention."

Xie Ning nodded, lifted the man from the ground with one hand, threw him to the edge of the balcony, and pinned him there with her other hand.

"Ah, ahh!" The man from X Realm turned pale with fright. "I-I’m just a l-little reporter from X Realm’s Trans-Era L-Live Streaming Company. Please don’t make things hard for me, Big Shot! Ahh, ah, I don’t want to die! I’ve told you everything! Let me go, please let me go!"

’This is terrifying. This woman’s combat power is even greater than our X Realm’s Superpowered Special Police.’

’Why is this happening?’

’Why would such a wildcard appear in Jiuzhou?’

"Who is your superior? Have him speak to me directly."

"M-my superior? The live... live streaming company..."

"I want to speak with the higher-ups in your X Realm." Xie Ning pressed a hand against the man’s chest and said coldly, "The people who sent you here to do this can’t just be from some small live-streaming company, can they?"

"Those other people... are they from the same company as you? I doubt it."

"Were you planning to film my every move in the Dimension World just for the spectacle? Or was it to collect all my data and study me?"

The man from X Realm’s eyes widened in terror. He stared fixedly at Xie Ning, his lips trembling for a long moment, unable to speak.

"You small-time live-streaming companies are just following orders."

"I want to speak directly with someone who has real authority in your X Realm."

Xie Ning reached out and grabbed the little X Realm ant by the neck. Her voice was cool and faint, yet laced with ruthlessness. "Call him. Open a channel. Now!"

...

"No! I can’t control this many Mutated Birds! There are too many of them!" Lin Yiyi shrieked, stumbling backward.

Zhuang Jia, wielding a large axe, viciously cleaved through two Mutated Birds that flapped toward him. He turned and yelled to Zhuang Lei, "Brother! We have to fall back."

There were simply too many of them.

These Superpower Users had little experience fighting together. Much of the time, their volleys of superpowers were wasted in mid-air, failing to bring down even a single Mutated Bird.

"The laser protection shield over here is about to break!"

"Head to the southeast section of the city wall!"

"Hey, don’t run away!" Li Dawei swung the large iron axe in his hands. With a CLANG! CLANG!, he swept two of the birds out of the sky.

Li Xiang and several teammates then swarmed the downed Mutated Birds, hacking them to death with a flurry of blades.

It had to be said, after more than a year of fighting and struggling together, their group’s coordination was clearly much better than that of the Swift Leopard Team.

"Captain Feng never said our squad could retreat."

"It hasn’t even been forty-five minutes. The agreement was that each team would hold for one hour. Someone is supposed to come and relieve us after an hour."

Lin Yiyi was panting heavily. She suddenly burst into tears, wailing, "I’m just a kid! I’m so, so, so tired right now! I can’t hold on! I need to leave this place right now!"

"Don’t you have Beast Taming? Why can’t you just hurry up and scatter these flocks of Mutated Birds?!"

Hearing Li Dawei’s complaint, Lin Yiyi’s eyes immediately reddened with grievance. She stomped her foot hard and shouted, "I’m just a kid! Don’t expect so much from me!"

"Alright, Yiyi, get behind me." Drenched in sweat, Xu Yu reached out and pulled Lin Yiyi to her side. "Just hold on for another fifteen minutes. Someone should be here to relieve us soon."

"Ms. Xu Yu, I’m thirsty!"

Xu Yu had no choice but to conjure a small cup of water for her to drink.

Li Dawei glanced over and rolled his eyes so hard he nearly saw the heavens. "I’m telling you, people from the Swift Leopard Team, can’t you show a little bit of team spirit and solidarity? What kind of time is this to be freaking drinking water?! Get back to killing!"

"You call yourselves Superpower Users? You useless lot! The ordinary people on our team have killed more Mutated Birds than you have!"

A jet of flame shot out from Xu Bailiang, incinerating two Mutated Birds behind Li Dawei. He frowned. "Stop yelling and watch your back!"

"Thanks, bro." Li Dawei ducked his head.

Chen Juan shot out from beside him, a long-handled cleaver in hand, and viciously started hacking at a Mutated Bird that had fallen to the ground.

Her ferocity made Li Dawei shrink back again.

Xu Yu pulled Lin Yiyi further behind her. "Yiyi, try to use your superpower to control this small flock of birds in front of us."

Lin Yiyi bit her lip and nodded pitifully, looking utterly aggrieved.

"Why is it that some kids get to lie comfortably at home and keep sleeping, without having to worry about anything?"

She raised her hand and released her superpower toward the birds in mid-air.

Zhuang Lei and the others noticed that the wings of the few leading Mutated Birds faltered in their dives, then gradually slowed.

"Yiyi, you’re amazing!" Xu Yu grabbed the girl’s hand and exclaimed excitedly. "Just like that! Stand right here and keep releasing your superpower, aim it over there."

"We only need to hold on for another fifteen minutes before we can be relieved and get some rest."

Lin Yiyi, however, showed little excitement, merely nodding with a listless expression.

Xu Yu could see she was in a bad mood and comforted her in a low voice, "Yiyi, all of us who participated in the battle will receive compensation afterward. I’ll have your Brother Lei negotiate for you and get you double the reward."

Lin Yiyi pouted. ’As if that matters,’ she thought dismissively, but her words came out sweet. "Okay, thank you, Ms. Xu Yu."

Lu Wei stood beside Gu Chen, frowning as he watched the endless tide of zombies swarming toward the base.

"The data analysis is in. The current zombie count has reached over ten thousand, and a small portion of them can absorb the power of the Electromagnetic Cannons."

"Heavy weaponry isn’t very effective. As for light weapons, the bullets probably can’t penetrate Fourth Rank or higher mutated zombies."

"What a pain." Zhai Ruobai emptied a magazine, his temper flaring.

"If more zombies keep pouring in, the laser protection shield will likely fail temporarily."

"Recharge it. Have the second wave of Superpower Users prepare to deal with the flocks of birds attacking from above," Gu Chen said, his expression flat. "And get people stationed on all sections of the city wall."

"Has Squad One arrived?"

"Tell everyone to get ready."

"Why haven’t I seen Xie Ning and her group at a time like this?" Zhuang Xinyi muttered, trailing closely behind Zha Peng.

Zheng Feina backhanded a Mutated Bird, piercing its skull with a wood thorn, and let out a breath. "Why are you suddenly thinking of her at a time like this?"

"I just think Lin Yiyi from the Swift Leopard Team had a point."