Chapter 46: Chapter 46、A Night Raid with an Unexpected Twist!
Yi Bai stood up and walked downstairs with Jiang Xiaoci.
As soon as they reached the first floor, they saw Lin Yue and the male soldiers brushing off the dust and blood from their clothes.
"Lin Yue."
"Commander!"
Lin Yue raised her head and saluted with her soldiers, "Lin Yue reporting for duty!"
"Mm."
Yi Bai nodded, walking over to Lin Yue and lowering his voice. "Did you encounter the enemy near the gates?"
"Yes!"
Lin Yue straightened up and reported briskly, "Yesterday afternoon, after receiving a mission from Miss Jiang, I led a ten-person squad to search for potential enemy traces within a five-block radius of the shelter and also to scout locations suspected to be storing large amounts of supplies."
"We found a night market street, where we witnessed a group of thugs brutally killing several survivors who were out scavenging for supplies."
"Based on initial judgment, we identified them as targets for elimination, engaged them in combat, and from the prisoners, we learned more about the locations of their hideouts."
"That night, we approached the gathering point, set up our tactics, and launched a night raid. We finished the battle by dawn."
"This morning, after securing the shelter's survival supplies in a safer location, we prepared to return."
"On our way back in the afternoon, we discovered a grain shop, and during a search, we engaged in a skirmish with criminals, which delayed us a bit."
"As we were about to return in the evening, we spotted a large group of armed men near the shelter, possibly closing in on us. To ensure the shelter's safety, we engaged them early."
Lin Yue paused for a moment, then raised her voice. "In the end, we killed twenty of them, and the rest scattered! We didn't pursue them, as we were concerned about the shelter's safety!"
Her report, delivered with confidence, made the women around her look at her with envious eyes. They too wanted to possess such strength and pride, able to speak of their victories with such conviction.
"Good."
Yi Bai nodded in satisfaction. He gestured for Lin Yue to follow him upstairs. "Xiaoci, come with us."
After a pause, he turned to the male soldiers. "Li Yang, take your team to the top floor. Stay alert for enemy activity."
"Everyone else, stay on the first floor. Be on guard for any movements outside the walls and be ready to defend."
After giving these brief orders, Yi Bai led the two women upstairs.
In the room, Yi Bai sat on the sofa, and Lin Yue stood in front of him.
"Lin Yue, tell me more about the enemies you encountered in the evening."
Yi Bai looked at his watch, not raising his head. "Did you come across anything unusual? Someone with strange abilities or odd behavior?"
Jiang Xiaoci, watching Yi Bai's actions, noticed his unspoken mistrust. She didn't understand the exact purpose of the watch, but she sensed it was not directed at Lin Yue—it was likely aimed at the male soldiers downstairs.
Jiang Xiaoci knew Yi Bai had absolute trust in Lin Yue, but if the information from the three women was accurate, then these thugs had some form of control over people.
Soldiers were strong, but no one could be sure they were immune to the strange abilities of others from different shelters.
"Strange behavior?"
Lin Yue tilted her head, thinking hard. "One of them seemed to be mumbling something while pointing at me during the fight, but I couldn't make out what he was saying."
"How did you feel?"
Yi Bai raised his head and asked, "Did anything feel off?"
"No, I felt fine."
Lin Yue shook her head. "The guy was shot in the palm by Liu Rui and ran off. Whatever ability he had, he couldn't use it after that."
"Mm."
Yi Bai glanced down at his watch, not noticing any change in its color. It seemed the male soldiers hadn't been affected by any strange powers. As for Lin Yue... Yi Bai wasn't worried.
Lin Yue's [Loyalty] trait was incredibly strong—it guaranteed she would never betray the shelter, no matter how dire the circumstances. Based on Yi Bai's understanding of the post-apocalyptic system, even if someone tried to control Lin Yue, it would fail.
"What about the rest of the thugs? Did you feel any pressure during the fight?"
"No pressure. They were well-equipped, with guns and compound bows, but their combat abilities were poor."
Lin Yue shook her head and said solemnly, "There were many of them, but they were clearly a ragtag bunch. They ran away after a short while."
They had guns and bows, and outnumbered the soldiers, yet they couldn't even land a hit on one of them?
Yi Bai frowned. "Strange. Did the intelligence get it wrong?"
He glanced at Jiang Xiaoci. "Were there no gifted individuals among the combatants?"
"Maybe the gifted one is the leader, and his status isn't low."
Jiang Xiaoci reminded him, "The prisoners didn't know, but from my deduction, those with abilities would be considered 'strong' in the current city climate."
"Strong people usually don't go to the front lines, so Lin Yue might not have encountered one."
"Mm."
Yi Bai nodded, closing his eyes and thinking.
Jiang Xiaoci didn't interrupt. She had learned not to offer suggestions unless asked. She observed that Yi Bai was growing, and now he was handling things with increasing wisdom—like calling Lin Yue upstairs while leaving Li Yang to supervise the other soldiers. This was clearly a strategy to confirm deeper intel from Lin Yue without interference.
If the male soldiers had been compromised, Yi Bai could assess their situation by observing both Lin Yue's and Li Yang's behavior.
Yi Bai didn't think for long. He opened his eyes. "Lin Yue, are you tired?"
"Tired?"
Lin Yue froze, instinctively glancing at Jiang Xiaoci, who subtly waved her hand as if to dismiss the concern.
Lin Yue quickly understood and replied loudly, "Commander, I'm not tired! I'm ready to fight!"
"Really?"
Yi Bai raised an eyebrow.
"Protecting you and the shelter is my duty!"
"Good. Then let's proceed with the night raid. But don't worry about wiping them all out."
Yi Bai nodded and looked at Jiang Xiaoci. "I think they don't know Lin Yue is one of us."
"They probably didn't expect us to know their location, and certainly didn't anticipate a night raid."
"If we strike at night, they'll be thrown into chaos. Once they're in disarray, we'll have the upper hand, and the initiative will be ours."
Yi Bai glanced at Jiang Xiaoci for confirmation, and she smiled, agreeing. "What you say is right, Commander. I also think we should strike first and nip the danger in the bud."
"Alright, that's the plan!"
Yi Bai decisively gave his order. "I'm not an expert in warfare, so I'll leave the strategy to you, Lin Yue and Xiaoci."
"I only have one condition: if you can't defeat them, retreat immediately!"
"As I've told you before, some of our people have strange abilities, and we can't afford to underestimate any potential traps."
"Try to draw them back to the shelter if possible."
Yi Bai pressed a button on the remote in his hand. A mechanical whirring sound came from the wall next to Lin Yue's right, and a black muzzle of an automatic machine gun appeared.
"Our home can provide you with fire support!"
Yi Bai winked at Lin Yue. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't ask questions. As an excellent soldier, she knew her place and never pried into the Commander's secrets.
"Understood, Commander!"
Lin Yue snapped to attention, her expression stern. "I'll complete the mission! Eliminate the enemies!"
"Go ahead. Work out the plan. I just want the result."
Yi Bai watched them leave and soon found himself alone in the room.
It was 8 p.m. Night had fallen, and the streets outside were eerily silent. The other buildings in the complex were dark, with no movement.
Yi Bai couldn't help but think to himself, Maybe the other survivors are either dead or too scared to make a sound.
The city was silent under the cover of darkness.
If it weren't for the occasional chat message from the city's communications channel, Yi Bai would almost think he was in a deserted ghost town.
I guess I can't afford to keep those three women alive, Yi Bai murmured as he stared at the dim night outside the window. But at least I can avenge them.
They didn't die in vain. Someone will accompany them on the road to the afterlife.
Half an hour later, the soldiers returned to their gathering point, this time with Li Yang accompanying them.
Yi Bai stood at the window, watching as they disappeared into the night. They had already received Jiang Xiaoci's intel about the thugs' location.
Their goal this time was to spread chaos and inflict casualties while carefully collecting more enemy intel. With enough information, and thanks to Jiang Xiaoci's intelligence and Lin Yue's combat skills, it would be easy to plan a full extermination of the enemy in the next battle.
"I think I've really changed."
Yi Bai sat back on the sofa, reflecting on his recent mindset. "Even though we're dealing with a bunch of thugs, I don't feel as repulsed by killing anymore."
So this is the mindset of survival of the fittest? Humans are indeed incredibly adaptable creatures.
Yi Bai gave a self-deprecating smile and turned his gaze back to the computer desk. He had little interest in entertainment at the moment.
But instead of waiting idly, he figured it would be better to keep busy.
Let the soldiers fight and die out there while I stay home and play games? That doesn't feel quite right.
Yi Bai mused as he sat down at the computer and booted up a new game.
Time passed quickly.
By 11:30 p.m., Jiang Xiaoci still hadn't come upstairs. She seemed to be downstairs, setting new rules for the women.
Just as Yi Bai was starting to feel tired, a series of new notifications suddenly appeared before him.
[Warning! Your shelter's combat personnel are engaged in a battle with another shelter in the field!]
[The battle has concluded, and your shelter has emerged victorious!]
[Your combat personnel have occupied the enemy shelter.]
[Occupation complete! Your combat personnel destroyed a level 0 shelter and you inherit 1362 survival points.]
[Item inheritance complete... You have inherited the following items from the enemy shelter: "Random Talent Lottery Ticket x1," "Talent Effect Enhancement Ticket x1," "Personal Skill Ticket x1," and "D-grade Weapon - Perfect Composite Bow (100 arrows per day)."]
"Wait, what?!"
Yi Bai stared at the screen, dumbfounded.
"Lin Yue won? I told her to cause chaos with a night raid, and she ended up wiping out their shelter?"
Wait...
"These items look way too good to be true!"
Yi Bai was stunned, his mind racing.
"Could it be... that after the thugs lost to Lin Yue earlier, they went back and used their points to buy upgrades, but before they could use any of the items, Lin Yue struck again?"
"Impossible, right? How could this be such a lucky coincidence?"
Suddenly, Yi Bai froze.
"Wait a second... Lin Yue's [Fortune Bringer] trait... It's tied to luck."
"Damn it, a night raid with a bonus surprise!"
Weekly Power Status
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