The RV Team’s Operations

Winter has a scenery all its own.

Unlike the north, the south’s winter is not adorned with snow, so its beauty often comes from a kind of clear, tranquil beauty.

Black, winding branches and a palette of cold, withered colors—though a scene of desolate decay, it held a unique charm within.

It reminded one of the white smoke lingering in the sky after fireworks, or of an empty school building after classes had ended.

It was precisely the memory of past liveliness that made this tranquility feel so profound.

A quiet that made one long for its former bustle, a quiet that inspired a tender affection.

Yue Xiaolu was just such a winter.

Sitting in her wheelchair, she always appeared so frail, but no one in the Yue Family dared to underestimate this delicate young woman.

Not only because she represented the center of power for the next generation, but also because she was the Yue Family’s most powerful Level Four Awakened.

Her ability was called Resonance.

She could share a portion of an ability’s effect from those with whom she had established a resonant link, but at the same time, she had to bear a portion of the ability’s burden.

Once established, this resonance was permanent and could last over an infinite distance.

She was currently linked with exactly one hundred people, and the burden of one hundred abilities kept her body in a slightly sickly state.

But without a doubt, she was still very strong.

However, her strength did not lie within herself.

Yue Xiaolu could not possibly make use of one hundred people’s worth of abilities; at most, she would pick a few useful ones to employ.

It was also quite difficult to master an ability that wasn’t one’s own, not to mention she could only use weakened versions of them.

So, although she possessed so many abilities, her personal combat strength was not actually that great.

Her power lay in the one hundred people with whom she shared an ability resonance.

These one hundred individuals could be seamlessly commanded by her with zero response time; she could control them as easily as her own limbs.

Furthermore, everyone who established an ability resonance would receive a Resonance Enhancement, and under the boon of this power, these one hundred people could also share their thoughts and coordinate in battle.

And they were absolutely loyal.

This was an extremely powerful, strategic-level ability, and it required a sacrifice commensurate with its power.

To have such a powerful elite force, Yue Xiaolu had to bear the burden of one hundred people’s abilities.

But she had to bear it, because she was the ace that kept all the Awakened in Su City in check.

Yet, this very ace had recently been running around outside, getting quite familiar with a team that lived in a shabby little RV.

“Bai Rui is lying on the sofa looking like a salted fish again today.”

She waited for news of Ren Anhua every day, only to be met with disappointment time and time again.

“It’s been so long with no news of Xiao An. You don’t think she’s been captured and locked in a cage, do you?”

“That’s actually a possibility.”

Lu Shanshui analyzed it carefully.

He realized that while Ren Anhua’s life wasn’t in danger, her personal freedom was very much at risk.

The thought of such a beautiful little loli being captured and locked away made Lu Shanshui’s heart ache.

But on second thought, what he planned to do was more or less the same, only he hoped she would come willingly.

‘But what if she isn’t willing?’

Lu Shanshui hadn’t really considered such a situation.

“But even if she is captured and locked up, we can still rescue her, so you don’t need to worry too much about that.”

“But have you thought about this: what if we find her, and she still doesn’t want to come back?” Lu Shanshui posed his question to Bai Rui.

Bai Rui was the one among them most looking forward to Ren Anhua’s return.

If Ren Anhua didn’t want to come back, the one who would be hit the hardest could only be Bai Rui.

“How could she do that! If she doesn’t want to come back, then I’ll…”

“You can’t!” Ke Xingmei suddenly cut Bai Rui off.

“It’s best not to do that kind of personality influence again. In any case, I won’t help you.”

“No matter what, Ren Anhua saved Xiaoshan’s life. I can’t possibly do that kind of thing to her again.”

Every time Ke Xingmei recalled how Ren Anhua had shown mercy in the city center, a knot would form in her heart.

Although the affinity suggestion she had left on her was to save her own sister, she always felt a little uneasy after the fact.

“I think so, too,” Ke Xiaoshan’s soft, sweet voice came from behind Ke Xingmei.

She had inherited Ren Anhua’s ability and was also the biggest beneficiary of that operation.

Life or death—from her perspective, the matter with Ren Anhua seemed somewhat heavy.

Ke Xiaoshan’s temperament was as gentle as her ability.

She disliked hurting others, yet to survive, she had to.

What happened with Ren Anhua had left a considerable impact on her.

“Don’t interrupt people! I was going to say, if she doesn’t want to come back, I’ll just follow her!” Bai Rui said, a little angry.

“You’re going to leave the team?” Lu Shanshui suddenly grew concerned.

“I’ll follow her until she’s willing to come back. I will absolutely bring her back!” Bai Rui sat up straight and added, “I promise I won’t use any methods that would hurt her.”

Bai Rui couldn’t let go of Ren Anhua, but she couldn’t let go of her companions either.

If she were forced to make a choice, she chose to have them all.

Tormenting herself with a heart-wrenching choice that might never happen was not Bai Rui’s style.

As they were talking, a knocking sound came from beside them.

“Every time I come looking for you, you’re always in this RV.”

Yue Xiaolu, who had been floating in the air, slowly descended onto the sofa inside the RV.

Although Yue Xiaolu usually relied on a wheelchair, it didn’t mean she was incapable of moving on her own.

Anti-gravity state and low-power telekinesis were universal skills for Level Four Awakened, and the combination of the two was her most common means of movement.

Yue Xiaolu’s physical condition was poor due to the burden of her ability.

Compared to using physical strength, using her abilities was more convenient.

Yue Xiaolu could be said to be among the first to reach Level Four, and she was far ahead of others in the application of abilities at this tier.

Ren Anhua had yet to develop the technique of low-power telekinesis, although she was starting to get the hang of it.

However, unlike a certain pink-haired girl, a normal Level Four couldn’t use these two skills for extended periods, so she still had to rely on a wheelchair for her daily life.

More than half a month had passed, and the RV team’s mobile fortress had barely changed on the outside, but its internal space had more than doubled.

Their living room could now be considered a proper living room.

The entire vehicle had power, was warm in winter and cool in summer, and was even equipped with various household appliances, a complete replica of a modern apartment.

In this post-apocalyptic world, it could be described as extremely luxurious.

At first, Yue Xiaolu had been puzzled as to why this group would live in a vehicle instead of a house.

It wasn’t until she came inside that she discovered that no house in Su City could provide such living conditions.

If one had to point out an advantage of the houses in Su City, it would probably only be their spaciousness.

“Miss Yue, did you come here today with news?”

The RV team’s vehicle could be said to be the foundation of their survival; it wasn’t something they let people enter casually.

Even if they did let someone on board, they would disguise it beforehand.

Not many people had seen the true interior of the RV, but Yue Xiaolu was one of them.

They had a deal between them.

Yue Xiaolu would help the RV team gather information on Ren Anhua throughout Su City, and in return, the RV team would join Yue Xiaolu’s faction and serve her for the time being.

In a way, Yue Xiaolu was now the RV team’s superior.

However, both sides knew very well that this was just for appearances.

With Yue Xiaolu’s capabilities, she couldn’t actually bring the RV team under her command.

Their relationship was more akin to a partnership.

To say the RV team served her wasn’t quite accurate.

To be precise, it was Ke Xingmei from the RV team who served her.

Yue Xiaolu needed a Seed of Alteration, a privately customized one.

“There was some commotion in the South District last night. Rumor has it that a pink-haired girl with star-shaped pupils provoked the Wei Family’s third young master, and it even drew out Yue Chang in the end.”

Yue Xiaolu paused here.

“Yue Chang!?” Lu Shanshui clearly knew the person Yue Xiaolu was talking about.

He had fought Yue Chang before and had a good understanding of the man’s ability.

He also quickly realized that this ability was Ren Anhua’s natural enemy.

“However, I’m not sure if that pink-haired girl was Ren Anhua, because Yue Chang failed to catch her in the end. Instead, he was knocked out by her.”

“And according to Yue Chang, that pink-haired girl called herself Tiezhu.”

“Uh… Tiezhu?” The utterly tasteless name left Lu Shanshui stunned for a moment.

“But is she cute?” Compared to Lu Shanshui’s speechlessness, Bai Rui quickly grasped the main point.

Of course, this point also carried a strong Bai Rui-esque flavor, as not many people would use cuteness to identify the person they were looking for.

“Quite cute. Someone took a video at the time. I have it right here.”

“Then you should have just shown it to us from the start!”

“We’ve only exchanged a few sentences. Isn’t this the start?”

Lu Shanshui really didn’t know what to say about this Miss Yue’s style, but fortunately, she was still straightforward when it came to business.

The pink-haired girl in the video was indeed Ren Anhua.

She didn’t look much different from when she had left, but she had a strange, world-weary look about her.

It made Lu Shanshui involuntarily associate her with a stray pet cat struggling to survive on its own, and he felt a great sense of pity for her.

If Ren Anhua knew what Lu Shanshui was thinking, she would probably go right up and beat the idiot up.

“So where is she now?”

“The entire city of Su is looking for her, but I think she’s likely already fled outside the city.”

“If I had to say the most likely place, it would be the Third Ring of the South District. We just received a report this morning that a city guard privately let a convoy leave the city last night.”

“Alright then. Everyone, get ready. We’re heading to the South District now.”

The RV team had always been efficient in their actions.

After all, they themselves were a mobile fortress.

The moment Lu Shanshui took his driver’s seat, it was a full-scale assault.