Assembling the Team

Huang Xiu had never tried to see how many aberrant plants she could catalyze by using up all her void energy in one go.

But tonight, after exhausting every last bit of her remaining void energy, she barely managed to get an approximate answer.

Only aberrant seeds, plus fruits and vegetables… a total of one hundred and twenty-three.

Adding in the ones she had previously aberranted, her void energy could probably aberrant nearly two hundred plants.

Previously, the S-grade aptitude certainly played a role, but the nearly eight weeks of tempering technique practice also contributed significantly.

“Go, go, scatter across the land!”

In a dark alley, a short-haired girl with a pale face sat slumped on the ground in a duck-like pose, muttering to herself.

Aberrant plants of various shapes emerged from the shadows and ran off in all directions.

A single person’s strength was ultimately limited.

Surrounded by so many garrison troops, there was no way for her to break out of Observation Point No. 1 and head to the Kettle Mountains.

So what she should do was obvious.

****

Tap, tap…

The sound of boots on the ground was faint, almost inaudible.

In the distance, a garrison soldier flashed by, apparently spotting an aberrant’s trail and giving chase.

Under a building on the street,

a stretch of outer wall that had been clean and bare except for yellow dust suddenly blurred.

A boy in military uniform slowly materialized.

He was clearly terrified by the garrison soldier who had just passed by, his chest heaving as he panted.

“Thank goodness my ability’s camouflage is strong enough!” the boy said, looking immensely relieved.

He was from the Conquest Bureau; his entire dorm squad had been wiped out, and only he had escaped thanks to his ability.

The boy quickened his pace into the alley, continuing to search for a hiding spot.

Suddenly, a frog hopped out from the alley’s shadows and landed on his foot.

“Why the hell is there a frog on the wall???”

Bewildered, he looked down in the moonlight.

It wasn’t a frog at all—it was a fat, mobile cucumber shaped like a frog!

On the back of this fat cucumber frog was a line of sunken characters that looked as if they had grown naturally:

[Follow me]

This was… an aberrant’s ability? The boy suddenly understood, feeling like everything had clicked. “Alright, I’ll go with you!”

With that, he followed the cucumber frog into the shadows.

And the boy taken away by the aberrant cucumber was not an isolated case.

Even though the garrison had blockaded the dorm area so tightly, the aberrant’s abilities were bizarre and hard to guard against.

Without targeted measures, quite a few people had broken through the blockade and found temporary safety.

But if they couldn’t escape the Observation Point quickly,

as time slowly passed, they would be found one by one and captured.

But this time… things were different.

****

On the roof of a flat building,

a little boy whose clothes were obviously a size too big and didn’t fit nodded, following an aberrant bean-snake as he climbed over the eaves.

Inside a trash can,

a girl pinching her nose to endure the stench stared wide-eyed at an aberrant eggplant-rat on the rim.

In an alley,

a handsome boy in military uniform, his hair standing on end, roared as he charged at an aberrant in an insulated suit ahead.

Well… that one didn’t make it.

“Too bad, that guy’s ability was pretty strong.”

The aberrant weed-cockroach shook its head in a human-like manner, then silently melted into the shadows and left.

Below, a man named Li Xiushen was pinned down by a missile.

“Fewer people than I expected, but enough.”

****

After a short rest, Huang Xiu recovered some strength and was now hiding in the small courtyard from before.

In fact, it was very safe there.

Garrison soldiers were running back and forth in other places, but none passed near that house.

Huang Xiu didn’t know if it was because that spot was special or if the garrison had already searched it.

She sat on the steps of the courtyard, waiting for the “companions” she had summoned to arrive.

After a while, footsteps suddenly sounded in the distance.

Tap, tap…

A little boy, no more than 1.4 meters tall, emerged warily from the shadows, holding up his trouser legs.

He exchanged a glance with Huang Xiu, and his expression instantly relaxed.

“So you’re the S-grade! I came to the right place!” the little boy said, pumping his fist.

“You are?” Huang Xiu tilted her head.

“My name’s Zhou Chen. Just call me Chen.”

The little boy walked to the edge of the yard, climbed over the 1.5-meter-high brick wall using both hands and feet,

and then fell to the ground.

“Damn…” He dusted himself off and complained, “Why do they have to build such a high wall around a yard!”

“Are you from Tian Du University?” Huang Xiu asked.

“As expected of an S-grade!” Zhou Chen’s eyes widened. “And how did you know?”

“…” Huang Xiu was speechless. Who else could it be but a Tian Du University student?

“I guessed. Your…”

She was about to ask about his ability when a surprised voice came from a corner of the yard.

“S-grade? The only national S-grade in this year’s re-examination?”

The wall blurred, and a boy with a buzz cut slowly materialized.

He stared intently at Huang Xiu’s face, a mix of surprise and caution in his eyes.

“It’s me!” Huang Xiu nodded without any hesitation.

The S-grade identity could help her quickly establish a strong rallying point at this moment.

“What did you call us here for?” the buzz-cut boy asked, glancing around warily,

as if afraid the garrison might burst in at any moment.

Huang Xiu looked sideways and noticed the little boy was also on guard, so she quickly said, “Don’t worry, this area is under my surveillance. If anything happens, I’ll be the first to know.”

She had already deployed immobile aberrant soybeans to keep watch around the perimeter.

“I called you here naturally because I have a plan.”

Huang Xiu straightened up. “Wait a bit longer. There are more coming. We’ll talk when everyone’s here.”

The boy and the buzz-cut nodded and found places to sit.

Since it was safe here, they could indeed wait a while.

After another short wait, four more people—three men and one woman—walked over from the surrounding shadows.

Two of the men had buzz cuts and came together, apparently dormmates.

The other had slightly longer, messy hair and very fair skin. Huang Xiu had met him briefly during the re-examination.

“We meet again, Classmate Huang!” Bai Baibai said with a smile and a nod.

Huang Xiu nodded back, then turned to the last person, the only woman.

She was short, only about 1.5 meters, but had a cold expression and an aura that said “keep away.”

Her head had smooth white hair, paired with a black ponytail and a single bang in the middle.

Overall, it was a novel color scheme—Huang Xiu mentally dubbed it “black and white match”!

“That kind of dye job… must have cost a lot, right?” Huang Xiu thought.

Then she coughed, both to draw attention and to focus herself.

Facing everyone’s gazes, Huang Xiu said calmly, “Everyone, I gathered you from different places because I have a plan to carry out.”

“What plan?” Zhou Chen raised his hand curiously.

As a fellow Tian Du University student, he felt it necessary to play the straight man for his schoolmate.

Huang Xiu smiled gently. “A plan… that might let us earn a few more points.”

Then she explained her plan in detail.

“Seems okay…” the buzz-cut boy nodded.

“Hiding is hiding wherever we go. Might as well make a gamble. I support Classmate Huang’s plan,” Bai Baibai agreed.

“No objections,” the cold girl said, shaking her head.

“Cause trouble? I love causing trouble! Count me in!” Zhou Chen said excitedly.

Huang Xiu turned to the two boys who hadn’t spoken. “What about you two?”

The two buzz-cut boys exchanged glances and shook their heads.

“Forget it. Too aggressive for us. We just want to lie low and earn more points,” said the slightly plumper one.

“Alright, you can leave now!”

Huang Xiu had no intention of forcing anyone to join. Having four people willing to participate was already satisfying.

This plan didn’t require large numbers; it needed speed.

After seeing the two off, Huang Xiu turned to the remaining four.

“Let’s each introduce ourselves and our abilities. That will make cooperation easier.”

****

Observation Point No. 1.

On the gravel road in front of the armory, mice, cockroaches, frogs, and all sorts of strange aberrant plants were crawling around.

These aberrant plants took advantage of their small size.

Some dispersed into the shadows around the armory, forming an outer defense line for Huang Xiu.

Others slipped quietly through doors, windows, and pipes into the armory.

As expected, there were almost no garrison soldiers nearby.

In a small alley near the armory,

Huang Xiu closed her eyes, rapidly scanning the vision of the aberrant plants scattered around.

Her plan was simple:

Seize the armory, use its weapons to give those damn garrison soldiers a good thrashing.

And if luck was on her side, the commotion at the armory could draw the garrison’s attention, allowing them to escape the base.

Of course, how she knew the armory’s location was thanks to Huang Xiaoxian, who was locked up there.

“I’m really nervous about stealing an armory! I’ve only robbed a police station in GTA V,”

Zhou Chen muttered behind Huang Xiu, rubbing his hands excitedly, looking like a troublemaker.

“What a brat…” Li You, a Conquest Bureau aberrant with the ability [Camouflage], curled his lip.

“Who are you calling a brat!” Zhou Chen said angrily. “I only look like this because of my ability!”

“Yeah, yeah, a brat. A good little brat,” Li You said casually.

“Stop talking. Li You, use your camouflage to sneak us in according to plan,” Huang Xiu snapped.

At a critical moment, these two were actually bickering.

But the S-grade title worked wonders. The two shut up immediately when Huang Xiu spoke.

Li You walked to the front of the alley, and the four of them placed their hands on his shoulders.

In the next second,

starting from his chest, his body became transparent inch by inch.

Finally, the bodies of Huang Xiu and the others, with their hands on his shoulders, also turned transparent and vanished into the air.

The ability [Camouflage] allowed Li You to make objects he touched invisible.

“This ability is perfect for infiltration.

You must stay close to me. If your hands leave me, you’ll become visible immediately,” Li You warned.

“Okay.”

The four nodded and then followed Li You out of the alley, heading toward the armory next door.

But after only a few steps, Li You’s expression suddenly changed.

“Damn, this ability consumes a lot of energy! Hurry up—my void energy can only maintain the camouflage for a short while!”

With that, he started jogging.

Huang Xiu and the others had no choice but to follow, running all the way to the main door of the armory.

Just then, the armory’s main door suddenly swung inward.

Click…

Several aberrant plants showed themselves from behind the door, then quickly disappeared into the shadows.

They had opened the door from the inside according to Huang Xiu’s orders!

“Good boys!” Huang Xiu said silently, stepping into the armory.

Observation Point No. 1’s armory was a huge single-story building divided into a dozen small rooms.

Categorized shelves held weapons, void energy instruments, vehicles, and miscellaneous items like emergency rations.

Huang Xiaoxian was locked in the storage room.

But without a tablet and being alone there, how could he stand the boredom?

Before midnight, he had quietly used his spines to pick the lock and wandered around the armory.

He had originally wanted to look for Huang Xiu,

but remembering the instructor’s warning not to wander off, he had to return to the storage room.

Huang Xiu, guided by her connection, quickly found Huang Xiaoxian, who was amusing himself by playing house with the food supplies.

“You’re the mommy.”

In the storage room, Huang Xiaoxian sat on a large box, holding a potato in his right hand and a tomato in his left.

“You’re the daddy.”

“I am…”

Before he could finish, the half-open door creaked open, and Huang Xiu’s voice came from the air.

“You’re my Huang Xiaoxian!”

“!!!”

Huang Xiaoxian froze, looking left and right, a big question mark on his little cactus face.

How come his owner’s voice came from the air?

Was it an invisible person?

Suddenly remembering the invisible man movies he had watched, he tentatively reached out a hand.

And touched something soft.

“Hey, what are you touching!” A cold, yet shy female voice came from nowhere.

“Ahem, the kid didn’t mean it, he’s still naive. Don’t take offense, Mu Youzi,” Huang Xiu said, taking her hand off Li You’s shoulder and becoming visible.

She scooped Huang Xiaoxian into her arms, rubbing his plant head vigorously. “You little rascal, gone for just a little while and already groping someone!”

“Ah, it really is the owner!” Huang Xiaoxian said belatedly.

“Alright, lead us to the weapons depot quickly!”

Huang Xiu dropped Huang Xiaoxian on the ground and was about to put her hand back on Li You’s shoulder to turn invisible,

when her expression suddenly changed.

The aberrant plants hidden in the shadows outside, which served as guards, were dying one after another at an alarming rate.

“The garrison found us! Huang Xiaoxian, lead the way!”

Huang Xiu didn’t know why the garrison had arrived so quickly.

But she knew that if they didn’t act fast, they would be completely surrounded!