In the apocalypse, you start with two knives, and all your equipment depends on drops.

Chapter 34 Tranquilizing Talisman

Yu Yao chuckled twice, stood up and said, "Alright, you go to sleep first, I'm going out for a bit."

"What are you going for?"

"Go and see Ji Yan and Ye Ziang."

Just now, Yu Yao left in a hurry. When she wanted to say goodbye to Ji Yan and Ye Ziang, several soldiers were talking to them.

So I didn't bother them.

During the day, when Yu Yao was injured and surrounded by zombies.

Luo Mei was preoccupied with her own problems, and only Ye Ziang and Ji Yan stayed by her side.

Regardless, we should still go and visit, and bring some medicine or food.

Upon hearing those two names, Luo Mei's eyes narrowed slightly, and she tentatively inquired with a hint of gossip, "Ayao, does Ji Yan... you...?"

"what?"

Does he like you?

Yu Yao frowned, thinking about Ji Yan's favorability rating.

90.

She was tall, but she didn't think Ji Yan liked her.

Human emotions are complex and diverse, and are by no means limited to romantic love between men and women.

At least in her opinion, Ji Yan's gaze towards her was very pure.

"He probably just sees me as a friend, don't overthink it."

"Is that so???"

"Yes."

Luo Mei gave an "Oh," rolled over to lie back down, and waved to Yu Yao: "Alright, go and come back quickly~"

"Ah."

......

Yu Yao quickly arrived at the seventeenth floor and found Ji Yan looking out of a window in the corridor.

Ye Ziang is not here; I wonder what he's doing.

Yu Yao walked up to him and asked, "Where's Senior Ye? Why isn't he here?"

Ji Yan turned to look at Yu Yao, his eyes darkening for a moment before quickly returning to normal. He said, "He went to ask Commander Sang some questions. Are you going to see him?"

"No, I've come to bring you medicine."

As she spoke, she handed a small first-aid kit to Ji Yan and added, "The wound from the daytime still needs to be treated properly."

In fact, Ji Yan and Ye Ziang brought some medicine and food with them when they set off.

However, their backpacks were torn by zombies during the melee on the first floor.

The supplies inside were scattered all over the ground, stained with zombie blood, and were unusable.

Ji Yan took the first aid kit and said a soft thank you.

"You're welcome. I'm very grateful for your help during the day."

Ji Yan said, "We're all classmates, it's only right."

Yu Yao hummed in agreement and leaned against the window in the same position as him, looking at the dark night sky.

The summer breeze at night is no longer scorching hot, but has become gentler.

Taking advantage of a blind spot, Yu Yao quietly slipped two protective talismans into Ji Yan's hand and whispered, "It's not safe in the hospital, be careful tonight."

Ji Yan quietly clenched the small talisman in his hand and nodded silently.

The two talismans that Yu Yao gave to Ji Yan were called "Purifying Heart Talismans".

It can resist negative buffs, such as mind control and stun.

Shi Ying was unusual; Yu Yao instinctively felt that she would cause trouble.

Actually, Yu Yao didn't want to reveal too many props.

But she has so many, there's no use keeping them. She might as well give them to people she can trust, so they can have more ability to protect themselves.

Ji Yan and Ye Ziang have a favorability rating of 90 and 85 respectively, which is higher than her so-called teammates, and they are basically unlikely to betray her.

As mentioned in the system, it is very difficult to reach a favorability rating of 80 or higher.

It takes extremely strong and unwavering emotion to be rated above 80.

Although people's hearts are fickle, we've been through so much together.

She was willing to try and believe them.

After giving Ji Yan some instructions, Yu Yao prepared to leave, but Ji Yan unexpectedly said something out of the blue.

“We received news from our family that they are working on building the Linjiang base in Rongcheng.”

Linjiang Province, which includes Lincheng and Haishi.

Rongcheng was once the provincial capital.

Once the Linjiang base is completed, the people in the Lincheng safe zone will be transferred to the Linjiang base.

Upon hearing this, Yu Yao instinctively said, "Congratulations to you two."

Ji Yan paused for a moment, then said, "We're weak right now, but we won't stay weak forever. Yu Yao, if you find yourself unable to get along with your current teammates in the future, could you give us a chance to become your teammates?"

He asked very softly.

The night breeze ruffled the stray hairs at Yu Yao's temples, brushing past her shimmering eyes.

Ji Yan stared intently at Yu Yao.

A moment later, he heard Yu Yao reply with a smile: "If I don't join them and form my own team, will you come with me?"

Ji Yan was taken aback, then smiled bitterly and lowered his eyes.

He and Ye Ziang's parents are both well, and they have many responsibilities.

How could that be... just leaving like that?

This is what Yu Yao meant.

She did not intend to be tied to the Linjiang base with them.

In the future, when we establish a team's home base, it certainly won't be in such a large, crowded, and noisy place.

Although... they are really, really good.

Even though they are young, they are brave and sincere.

In Yu Yao's view, even if they can't be teammates, there are many ways they can cooperate in the future.

......

Ji Yan lowered his eyes and after a long while said softly, "I understand... Since we can't be teammates, then I have the honor of being your... friend who doesn't always need to say thank you to each other?"

Yu Yao was taken aback and looked at Ji Yan in surprise.

Only after noticing the barely perceptible tension in his eyes did she chuckle softly and nod earnestly.

"Of course, my friend."

......

When Yu Yao returned to the sixteenth floor, she saw her newly minted boss, Chi Heng, in the corridor.

He leaned casually against the corner of the stairs, his gaze towards her gentle and calm.

Yu Yao always felt that such a look shouldn't be directed at someone like him.

And then I felt that look was strangely familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before.

But she didn't show anything, only calling out "Captain" softly.

Chi Heng straightened up and said, "If you're not comfortable with that, you can call me by my name."

Yu Yao gently shook her head: "There's nothing to be used to or not used to."

Chi Heng lowered his eyes and hummed in agreement, then asked, "Have we met somewhere before?"

Yu Yao: "...No."

She must be crazy to admit that she started using her special abilities to hoard supplies before the apocalypse.

Chi Heng paused for a moment, then simply said, "Okay."

She didn't want to talk about the past, so he didn't ask.

Chi Heng quickly changed the subject.

"Don't feel pressured. We did make mistakes before. We hastily invited you just because of Xiao Liu, putting you in a difficult position. But after that kid said those things, I seriously considered whether I would have invited you to join the team if it weren't for Xiao Liu."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "My answer is yes, simply because of you, and it has nothing to do with anyone else."

Yu Yao narrowed her eyes.

"The child?"

She's only 27, so why does she look so old?

Little did she know that Chi Heng was someone who had been taken to a training camp for brutal training since childhood.

They can be used like adults by the time they are fifteen or sixteen.

They had spent over a decade struggling through bloodshed and turmoil, and now they looked at these young people who hadn't even left the ivory tower.

It's easy to get the illusion of looking after a child.

Chi Heng frowned. "That boy named Ji Yan is very good. He knows how to respect you better than we do."

"Oh, is it so."

So, were their strange expressions because of something Ji Yan said?

Chi Heng added, "...If we do anything that makes you uncomfortable, please feel free to speak up. We rarely have deep interactions with others. If we say or do something that makes you uncomfortable during our first meeting, I apologize in advance. Or if you really can't accept us, I won't stop you from leaving. Of course, if you don't mind, we will always be your most loyal teammates."

Chi Heng was clearly a cold person; his words came out in a dry, unresponsive tone.

But it's clear that he genuinely hopes Yu Yao can integrate into their group as soon as possible.

As for... loyalty?

Mercenaries' loyalty?

Yu Yao narrowed her peach blossom eyes slightly.

It would be best if it were true...

So she nodded slightly.

"Got it, Captain."

Seeing Yu Yao's distrust, Chi Heng had no choice but to say, "...Well, it's getting late, go and rest for a while."

"it is good."

Yu Yao responded and said thank you for your hard work to Chi Heng, who was on night watch, before quickly returning to the office where she and Luo Mei were resting.

Without disturbing Luo Mei, who was quietly absorbing the crystal core to enhance her abilities, she carefully lay down on the mattress and closed her eyes to rest.

She fell asleep quickly, but her sleep was not deep.

So when she heard the rustling sound, she immediately opened her eyes.

She quickly got up and shook Luo Mei awake, while a soft knocking sounded on the door.

"Sixth and Seventh, wake up, something's wrong!" It was Dongfang Jin's voice.

"Second Brother, we're awake," Luo Mei replied as she quickly put on her coat.

Yu Yao quickly folded up the mattress, took out a pair of level 10 curved swords and handed them to Luo Mei, saying towards the door, "We're coming right now."

Luo Mei had long ago discovered that while broadswords were extremely lethal, they were also undeniably stylish.

However, it is too physically demanding and not suitable for many confined spaces.

However, she did not suggest troubling Yu Yao.

Yu Yao noticed something and simply changed it for her.

Unlike broadswords, scimitars are both agile and lethal, and she inexplicably felt that Luo Mei was very suitable for this type of weapon.

Level 10 weapons also provide a certain boost to damage output.

It can increase damage by 10% and has developed a bond with its master, meaning that no one other than the master can use it.

Luo Mei said nothing and gave the old knife to Yu Yao.

After hanging the two curved swords on their waists, he and Yu Yao opened the door and followed Dongfang Jin into the room next door.

Everyone was already awake, and the rustling sounds continued, easily overlooked if one didn't listen carefully.

Qi Xian looked around warily and asked in a low voice, "What is that?"

"Mutant plant!" As Yu Yao spoke, a strange fragrance suddenly wafted over.

When the calming talisman within her body flickered slightly, she subconsciously sealed off the surrounding air.

"poisonous!"

Luo Mei immediately released her mental energy to search for the mutated plant's true form.

Strangely, apart from the rustling sounds, she found nothing.

Yu Yao was the same; she clearly saw many yellow dots representing mutated plants and animals on the map.

When I tried to search using a single layer on the map, it never appeared.

Very strange!

wrong!

"underground!"

Yu Yao and Chi Heng's voices rang out at the same time!

Luo Mei frowned. "My mental strength isn't strong enough to penetrate underground! Besides, most of the people on the seventeenth floor are unconscious."

Chi Heng immediately said, "A-Xian, Xiao Yi, and Xiao Liu, come downstairs with me. The rest of you go upstairs to take a look."

The third brother, Qi Xian, is a fire-type ability user who is able to control mutated plants.

Xiao Wu Jiang Yi is a dual-elemental ability user of wood and earth, which is perfect for dealing with the mutated plants hidden underground.

Yu Yao thought for a moment and did not take out the Tranquility Talisman for the group.

Chi Heng's special ability is sufficient to create a wind shield to block the poison gas.

Although it would consume his mental energy and supernatural abilities, and add unnecessary trouble.

but......

Hold on.