Every one of them was well trained. Whether running or shooting, Sang Luoluo couldn't keep up.
With no other choice, Bingzi took charge of Sang Luoluo, never leaving her side.
Whatever else she might be, Sang Luoluo might suck, but she was a mobile supply depot, able to replenish their ammunition at any time.
Qi Xue had already contacted Qi Feng. "Brother, I've rescued Sang Luoluo and Wei Xing. How are things on your end?"
Qi Feng quickly replied, "I've rescued the people on my end. Only Lei Qi is left. He's trapped deep inside the hive. It'll be hard to get in without wiping out these mutated bees."
Qi Xue suggested, "I can sneak into the hive with Sang Luoluo to rescue him. Her spatial ability can hold a lot of honey. She could clear a passage for us."
Chapter 23: Just asking: I'll treat you to honey. Any water left?...
Sang Luoluo was a little speechless when she heard that. Wait, I only just got out of there. Miss, do you think digging a passage in there is easy? One wrong move and it'll collapse.
After Qi Xue finished, Qi Feng fell silent for a moment, then said gravely, "Sang Luoluo's space only holds fifteen truckloads. Think how big that hive is, and there are plenty of mutated bees inside. Going deep inside is too dangerous."
Hearing him through the headset, Sang Luoluo hurriedly nodded furiously at Qi Xue. Captain Qi is right.
Qi Feng said, "It's dark. Meet up with us first."
Qi Xue said, "Brother, our helicopter is damaged. It can't fly."
Qi Feng said coldly, "Send me your location. I'll pick you up."
Qi Xue immediately sent him their location.
Within a few minutes, they heard the roar of a helicopter.
Below was a dense forest. Between the obstructing trees and the darkness limiting visibility, Qi Feng couldn't immediately find a place to land.
Bingzi had an idea. "Sang Luoluo, how did you send that distress signal? Hurry and show Captain Qi where we are."
The corners of Sang Luoluo's mouth twitched, but she still took out a bottle rocket. Once lit, it flashed in the air with a bang.
That was enough to pinpoint their location.
Bingzi gave her a thumbs-up. "What is that? It's pretty useful. Where did you buy it?"
Qi Xue smiled rather helplessly. They could have simply fired a signal flare, but Bingzi insisted on seeing whatever Sang Luoluo had launched. She was curious too, so she hadn't exposed him.
Sang Luoluo said flatly, "A bottle rocket. I bought it from a vendor. Once they're used up, they're gone."
Bingzi asked, "Do you have any more? Could you sell me a few?"
Sang Luoluo now knew these things could mark her location when necessary, so she couldn't bear to sell them. Each one used was one less remaining. "Once they're used up, they're gone. Not for sale."
She didn't need those few points anyway. Instead, she took out five chrysanthemum spinner fireworks and shoved them into his hands to play with.
Bingzi thanked her sincerely. "You're a real friend."
Sang Luoluo: "..."
Seeing Qi Xue looking over from beside her, she gave her five as well, smiling gently. "Captain Xue, please look after me from now on."
As they spoke, Qi Feng landed the helicopter and opened the side door, letting the dozen or so of them aboard.
"What was that just now? It didn't look like a signal flare." Qi Feng deftly closed the door and took off, asking casually.
Bingzi jumped in to explain. "Oh, Sang Luoluo said it's called a bottle rocket."
Sang Luoluo hurried to explain, "A type of old-world firework. I found them at a secondhand market."
Qi Feng chuckled. "Those aren't easy to find."
The others agreed. They had never seen anything connected to the old world growing up. Records of how wonderful it had been existed only in the base's archives.
"Brother, how are we going to rescue Lei Qi now?"
Qi Feng said, "Yan Lang brought Crystal Core weapons. By the time I came to pick you up, he'd already wiped out nearly half the mutated bees. Wait a little longer."
Within minutes, Qi Feng rendezvoused with Yan Lang and the others, and Sang Luoluo saw Crystal Core weapons for the first time.
The energy fired by the Crystal Core weapons was more lethal than laser weapons. Their dense, needlelike attacks were perfect for dealing with swarms of mutated bees. In just a few minutes, all the mutated bees outside the hive had been killed. The few scattered survivors were promptly finished off by other Guard members.
Sang Luoluo couldn't help exclaiming, "Amazing."
Bingzi said, "Those are Crystal Core weapons. Of course they're amazing."
Then he added regretfully, "How many Crystal Cores must that be costing?"
Qi Xue said, "Yan Lang wants to earn credit. How could he do that without Crystal Core weapons? We've applied several times and never gotten approval, but he brought them straight here as reinforcements. Just watch, he'll get the credit for capturing the hive this time too. Brother, aren't you angry at all? Your S17 Squad helped discover the hive too. Without the hive scan data you provided, he couldn't have dealt with the mutated bees so easily."
Qi Feng's expression betrayed neither anger nor pleasure. He merely said evenly, "Don't say things like that again. He's Elder Yan's son. It's no surprise he could get approval for Crystal Core weapons. We still need him for this rescue."
Listening nearby as though taking in gossip, Sang Luoluo committed Elder Yan and Yan Lang to memory. Neither sounded like an ordinary figure.
Wei Xing said worriedly, "I wonder how much longer Lei Qi can hold out in there. After three days in that armor, I felt like I couldn't take it anymore. We have to rescue him quickly."
Qi Xue looked at Sang Luoluo. "Her storage capacity may be limited, but she can dump the honey she collects to free up space. We only need to shift things around enough to make a passage inside, rescue him, and come out."
Qi Feng said calmly, "That's too risky. There are still mutated bees inside. Wait here for me."
With that, Qi Feng went straight to Yan Lang. Sang Luoluo didn't know what he said, but watching from a distance, she saw that Yan Lang looked quite haughty as he spoke to him.
When Qi Feng returned, Qi Xue immediately asked, "Brother, how did it go?"
Qi Feng looked at everyone. "I discussed it with Yan Lang. We're going to start digging into the hive now, starting at the point closest to Lei Qi. That will let us find him as quickly as possible."
Qi Xue breathed a sigh of relief. She had been afraid Yan Lang would deliberately make things difficult.
Qi Feng gave his orders. "Sang Luoluo and Wei Xing, go to the campsite. Wei Xing, you're responsible for setting up the tents. We'll spend the night here. Once daylight comes, the hive will still need clearing out. Since you're injured, stay with Sang Luoluo."
Wei Xing promptly acknowledged the order. "Yes, Captain."
Sang Luoluo nodded too.
After dropping her and Wei Xing at the campsite, Qi Feng left with the others, heading toward the hive. It looked as though they were going to join the fighting.
Sang Luoluo stayed close to Wei Xing. There were people from other squads at the campsite, and she didn't know any of them.
Qi Feng checked his wristwatch, confirmed their squad's spot, and said, "Sang Luoluo, take out crates seven and eight."
Sang Luoluo did as instructed.
Qi Feng entered the password, opened the crates, and took out all the tent equipment inside. Sang Luoluo watched, unable to help much. Though Wei Xing had injured one hand, setting up the tents took him little effort. He handled everything skillfully with just one hand.
In less than half an hour, two enormous tents were up.
His task complete, Wei Xing let out a relieved breath. "We just need to wait here for them to return. Sang Luoluo, do you have any more water? I'm so thirsty."
Sang Luoluo took out an entire pack, but Wei Xing stopped her. "One bottle is enough. There are too many people around here. Don't let someone walk off with it."
Sang Luoluo nodded and did as he suggested.
The tents were excellent quality. Sang Luoluo felt the fabric. Compared with the tents she had bought before and kept in her spatial warehouse, these were far more advanced, made from a very unusual material.
With no need to run around or work, Sang Luoluo stayed quietly where she was.
Then she saw Wei Xing begin eating something with his water.
He took a bag of black dried insects from his pack and began eating them in small bites.
Sang Luoluo frowned as she watched from beside him. "What are you eating? Bugs?"
Wei Xing nodded. "Dried mealworms. They were hard to get, and I never could bear to eat them. This time, trapped in the hive, I figured something out. If I'd died in there, I'd never have gotten to eat them. These cost me a lot of points. Since you treated me to water, I can share some with you."
Sang Luoluo backed away in fright. These things used to be chicken feed. She had no desire to eat them. Fighting the crawling sensation on her scalp, she said, "No, thanks. If you like them, have more. I don't like eating these. I have nutrient solution."
Seeing his satisfied expression as he ate, Sang Luoluo thought of the honey she had dug out over the past few days. She took out a spoonful of moderately irradiated honey, put it on a disposable paper tray, and handed it to him. "Thanks for offering. I dug out some honey. Let me treat you."
Wei Xing's eyes lit up. "Honey! I had some moderately irradiated honey once before. Now that was sweet."
Before eating, Wei Xing tested it with his wristwatch.
"Beep, beep, beep! Radiation level: 31. Moderate radiation. Recommended for consumption!"
He took a tiny taste. Light and sweet, truly light and sweet.
Wei Xing was almost in tears as he ate. "I'm really jealous of your evolved ability now. You can carry so much food. Poor me, I soaked in honey for three days and couldn't even move. If only I could have brought some out too."
Sang Luoluo pushed her hair up. "You did. Didn't the honey seep into your heavy armor? You could get plenty out by cleaning it."
She had put the armor in her space's Stasis Zone, so the honey inside wouldn't spoil.
"Anyway, thank you. Since you treated me to honey, you can sleep easy in the tent tonight. I'll keep watch."
Sang Luoluo thought, Giving away honey does come in handy.
Seeing how carefully Wei Xing ate even insects, Sang Luoluo instinctively asked, "Wei Xing, what do you usually eat?"
Wei Xing took it as casual conversation and explained between bites. "We eat much better than the people in the shantytowns. Sometimes, if we're lucky on a mission and find edible mutated plants or animals outside, we get an extra dish. We stir-fry something and eat together. Most of our everyday diet is still nutrient solution, with dried earthworms and things like that occasionally for extra protein. We only earn so many points a month. Those who earn more, like the captain, buy base-grown potatoes, sweet potatoes, and things like that to eat when they have points to spare."