What are your squad's benefits like? Shocked-is there anything with more freedom...

The passerby had not intended to get involved, but he stopped when he heard the word "points." He took two steps closer but did not dare approach any farther. He had noticed something strange about the vines too. "I'll get someone for you. Will ten points do?"

Sang Luoluo was about to die. Never mind ten-even a hundred or a thousand would have been fine. She hurriedly said, "Yes, I'll transfer them to you as soon as I'm down."

"I've recorded what you said. When the guards get here, you can't go back on your word," the man added.

Sang Luoluo quickly agreed. At this point, she just wanted to survive.

The man immediately ran to fetch the nearby guards. About twenty minutes later, he returned with them.

The vines had nearly strangled Sang Luoluo to death, and circulation to her hands and feet had almost been cut off. She only vaguely saw several figures approach. Several laser beams swept past, and she fell. Someone seemed to catch her and set her on the ground.

"Well, well, it's this girl! I spent ages looking for her, and here she was," Lei Qi said cheerfully. Seeing Sang Luoluo slowly regain consciousness on the ground, he took the opportunity to quickly notify the captain and the others to come over.

Sang Luoluo recovered for a while before opening her eyes to a somewhat familiar face. She remembered him as the guard named Lei Qi. Their captain was beside him, and the others who had been there when she hitched a ride during the last downpour were also present.

He Fei stepped forward, looked down at her, and smiled. "Awake?"

Sang Luoluo slowly sat up. The vines that had bound her had been blasted into over a hundred pieces by laser weapons and could no longer move.

Nearby was a man in his fifties,

an older man

who, seeing that the girl actually knew the guards, thought of his points and plucked up his courage. "The... the points you promised me."

"I'll give them to you," Sang Luoluo said weakly.

She raised her hand and transferred them to him.

The older man was overjoyed to receive ten points. He turned and hurried away, afraid Sang Luoluo would regret it and chase after him.

Looking down at her now that color had returned to her face, Qi Feng was the first to ask, "Are you an evolved human? What's your ability?"

Chapter 14: What are your squad's benefits like? Shocked-is there anything with more freedom...

His questions left Sang Luoluo a little bewildered. She looked up to find all the guards she had met watching her, waiting for an answer.

"What evolved human? What ability? What are you talking about? Why don't I understand?"

Sang Luoluo quickly thought it over. What did she have to do with evolved humans?

Had they asked that because something was wrong with the vines that had just bound her?

Before she could think further, He Fei said bluntly, "Stop pretending. Yesterday, I saw an ant that big disappear right in front of you with my own eyes. Care to explain?"

Sang Luoluo's mind instantly short-circuited. They saw it? How? I was so careful. There weren't any guards around.

Sang Luoluo was panicking like crazy inside, but she kept her expression calm and gave a dry laugh. "I don't understand what you're talking about. What ant? What disappeared?"

Seeing that she was unwilling to talk, Qi Feng immediately said, "We're just curious about your ability. Sang Luoluo, I didn't find your name on the base's list of evolved humans. If your ability is useful to us, you can join our guard team. Then you won't have to go scavenging with them anymore. If you perform well, you'll earn enough points to live in the safe zone."

Huh? They weren't here to arrest me? Could this be a trap? Were they deliberately bluffing?

Many thoughts flashed through Sang Luoluo's mind in an instant, leaving her somewhat flustered.

Qi Feng saw what she was thinking and held his wristwatch out in front of her, showing her the base's list of evolved humans. "This is the list of the base's evolved humans and their corresponding abilities. It's fine even if you don't want to join the guard team. If you're an evolved human, you can register your information at the base. When necessary, the base will protect evolved humans."

Sang Luoluo thought about a great deal in that brief interval. For instance, she had heard that evolved humans received somewhat better treatment than ordinary people, but in return, they had to contribute to the base. The base would not support people for nothing.

What relieved her was that the people before her had classified her use of her space as a special ability, placing her in the category of evolved humans. That was a good thing for her.

Thinking of the various dangers she faced while scavenging outside, and the people eyeing her covetously in the shantytown, she was far too weak on her own. Even moving freely around the shantytown was a problem. Remembering how visibly wary Brother Wang and his lackeys had been of the guards during the downpour two days earlier, joining the guard team might well be a good option. It would effectively give her the base's protection.

Besides, the guard team often ventured deep into the area outside the base on missions. It was more dangerous there, but there were correspondingly more crystal cores to find. Alone, she had neither the equipment nor the means to go there. But if she went with the guards, wouldn't finding crystal cores be easier?

Having weighed the pros and cons, Sang Luoluo said softly, "I'll talk. I should be an evolved human."

Qi Feng raised his eyebrows. He Fei asked, "How did you make that giant ant disappear back then?"

Sang Luoluo raised a hand, and the ant in her space's stasis zone, from which she had removed the crystal core and which she had partially dissected, instantly appeared before everyone.

"Here it is. I just wanted to take an ant back and see whether I could use its hide to make myself some armor, but after cutting into it, I realized it wasn't that easy. My ability is a space where I can store things and take them out or put them in at will." Sang Luoluo demonstrated for everyone. After speaking, she reached out and touched the ant's corpse, putting it back into her space.

They exchanged looks, all somewhat excited.

He Fei's eyes widened in particular surprise. "I told you she could make things disappear. I nearly thought my eyes were playing tricks on me."

Lei Qi was a little envious. "If only I had that ability. As far as I know, I've never heard of an evolved human like that at the base."

Qi Feng kept his eyes on her and continued questioning her. "You aren't the first person with a spatial ability so far. When did your ability awaken?"

His words caught Sang Luoluo's attention. "I'm not the first? Does that mean there's someone else at the base?"

Qi Feng shook his head. "I've only heard about it too. The other spatial ability user isn't at our base, but at Base 13. You... you still haven't answered my question."

Sang Luoluo immediately felt reassured. She was not the most unusual one. "Just a little while ago, less than half a month. I discovered I'd awakened an ability, so I used it to store my belongings. That way, wherever I go is home."

Qi Feng continued, "How big is your space?"

Looking at the twenty-odd trucks in the distance, he rephrased his question. "See the guard team's trucks over there? How many trucks can your space hold?"

Sang Luoluo thought it over. She certainly could not reveal the exact size of her space, but she could not make it too small either. Too small, and she would seem useless. Looking at the trucks in the distance, she thought of the thousand square meters of empty land she had just unlocked in the stasis zone. Even putting all the guard team's trucks inside would be no problem.

She said softly, "Probably... a dozen or so."

Everyone sucked in a breath.

He Fei looked at the captain with shining eyes, smiling as though asking for credit. "Captain, I think this girl can join us."

Their missions often took them deep into dense forests where neither trucks nor helicopters could enter. Small motorcycles could get in, but they could not ride them all the time. There were places even motorcycles could not pass, and they also needed recharging in time. If they brought this girl along and had her carry their things while following them, their missions would be much easier.

Fatty questioned from the side, "Look at her scrawny little body. Even a perfectly ordinary vine could tie her up. With her physical fitness, she couldn't get into even the most ordinary guard team, could she?"

They badly needed this ability, but if they actually brought her on a mission, it was hard to say how things would turn out. Even they themselves broke into a cold sweat over the dangers in the outer regions of the base. They could not guarantee one hundred percent that they could protect someone who knew nothing.

Lei Qi added from the side, "Fatty's concerns aren't unfounded. She can't even deal with a little mantis."

Sang Luoluo: "..." Seriously, was it really polite to expose all my shortcomings?

Qi Feng checked the time. It was already nine.

He looked at Sang Luoluo. "Come with me."

Sang Luoluo gathered up the bamboo cup the vines had knocked over, picked up her back basket, and put the yams inside it into her space in front of everyone. Carrying the empty basket on her back, she followed the S17 Guard Team.

After walking for over twenty minutes, they reached the trucks.

The residents were gathering nearby, some distance away from this spot.

Qi Feng pointed to the trucks loaded with cargo ahead and said in a low voice, "Try putting these trucks into your space. Let's see how many you can fit."

Sang Luoluo froze briefly. Was he testing her ability? She began putting the trucks away in front of him.

She touched the corner of a truck, and the next instant, it vanished. The sudden disappearance of such an enormous object before their eyes was truly staggering.

Qi Feng kept the corners of his mouth down and said quietly, "Keep going."

Sang Luoluo could only walk along the line of trucks, putting them into her space one by one.

The expressions on the S17 Squad members' faces grew increasingly strange. Some were even more nervous than Sang Luoluo herself.

One, two, three, four...

Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen.

Sang Luoluo stopped. Space enough for fifteen trucks was already considerable. Any more, and her ability would be too outstanding. Better stop here.

He Fei asked, "Why... did you stop?"

Sang Luoluo shook her head. "I can't fit any more."

Qi Feng said, "Didn't you say your belongings are in your space too? Why not try taking your belongings out first and putting in another truck?"

Sang Luoluo quickly shook her head. "No, I only have a few belongings. There really isn't much empty space left, and I still need to leave some room for my own things. This is already my limit."

Lei Qi's eyes shone as he watched from the side. He whispered in Captain Qi Feng's ear, "Captain, a full fifteen trucks. That's already plenty."

Qi Feng nodded. "Come over here with me."