Chapter 217
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Chapter 217: The Settlement
Ink Drench, the superpowered individual who had been in a deep slumber, suddenly snapped her eyes open, her gaze fixed intently on the expansive starry sky above.
An unseen force began to ripple around the group, as though a peculiar current had wrapped itself around them.
Accompanying the surge of energy, faint, almost imperceptible popping sounds filled the air, as if some living entities were silently meeting their demise.
Only Wind Whisper could hear these sounds, while Ink Drench herself felt the subtle feedback from her activated abilities.
This was sufficient evidence that there were indeed unseen microscopic creatures drifting in the air, possibly heading straight for them.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Ink Drench made her decision.
She deftly adjusted the intensity of her energy output, gradually reducing the harm inflicted on her innocent teammates until it was just enough to instantly eradicate the invading creatures.
Once she confirmed that everything was under control, Ink Drench slowly closed her eyes.
In this state, she couldn’t truly sleep but could only maintain her abilities and rest lightly.
The crackling sounds reverberated in Wind Whisper’s ears, resembling the distant pops of firecrackers or the rumble of thunder.
This was likely the negative effect of her power; even sounds that would be inaudible to an ordinary person became strikingly clear through his heightened senses.
Time crept by, and after a shift change, the team welcomed the dawn of their third day.
Those who had remained unresponsive throughout the night were met with a startling revelation during breakfast:
"Each of you has lost approximately a month of your lifespan."
Ink Drench spoke as she chewed on the nutritional paste, her voice heavy with Death Energy, yet carrying an air of authority.
This was the negative consequence of her power; while it could annihilate the majority of creatures invading her domain, it also inflicted harm on humans.
Only she and beings with higher energy levels were immune, and as the Captain, her teammates clearly did not fall into that category.
Her teammates had faced this situation before; they were only momentarily stunned before grasping the general reason behind it.
Meanwhile, Mercury, who was slower to react, asked:
"Captain, was there something around us last night?"
“I heard sounds; there were some invisible living particles nearby, which might not be a good sign.”
Wind Whisper quickly stepped in to explain on the Captain’s behalf, indicating that her power activation had been at his request.
“It’s fine; whether we can return is still uncertain, but losing this little bit doesn’t matter much…”
Mercury casually remarked, his words carrying a hint of foreboding, yet no one around him contradicted him.
Just as everything was proceeding according to plan and the team prepared to embark on another day of exploration, a rustling sound suddenly emerged from a bush several meters away.
The sound quickly faded into the wind, but it did not escape Wind Whisper’s keen hearing.
He raised his eyebrows slightly but made no unusual or excessive movements. Instead, he gently nudged their teammate Beast Pack with his foot and subtly gestured toward the bush in the southwest.
Beast Pack continued packing his bag as usual, his lips moving faintly.
The two wolf-like extraordinary beasts pricked up their ears, as if a command had been directly transmitted to their minds.
In an instant, the two extraordinary beasts, fully under Beast Pack’s control, darted toward the target location, their movements swift and silent across the sparse forest floor, leaving only fleeting shadows in their wake.
After completing the encirclement, they rushed towards the suspicious bush from two directions, and then a peculiar feedback signal appeared in the minds of the Beast Pack.
His expression instantly froze, as if he had just heard something utterly unbelievable.
“Captain, Captain.”
“What is it?”
“I found… a human.”
The two ferocious wolf-like extraordinary beasts bared their sharp teeth, drooling a strange, oddly colored saliva from their mouths.
A panicked human, driven by them, hurried towards the exploration team’s camp. Soon, he encountered five humans dressed in peculiar combat suits, which deeply astonished the middle-aged man.
“Ah, who are you?”
“And who are you?”
The moment Ink Drench laid eyes on the man, she memorized his basic features, her abilities ready to be unleashed in the blink of an eye, enough to end the man’s life.
This was a somewhat ragged man, appearing to be around fifty years old, or perhaps just looking older.
His face was covered with uneven stubble, and his eyes were rimmed with secretions.
The hair at the back of his head looked as if it had been gnawed by something, appearing disheveled and possibly tangled by the grease produced.
Yet his eyes were not clouded by any fluff; instead, they were as clear as a normal human’s.
Looking at these beings of his own kind, the man did not feel much joy, but rather his heart was enveloped in fear.
“We are an exploration team of superpowered individuals from Hope City. Please state your identity.”
“Hope City?”
The man’s gaze became somewhat unfocused, as if lost in memory.
“I think I’ve heard of it…”
“State your identity!”
The superpowered individual known as bipolar disorder drew his pistol and aimed it at the man’s forehead, seemingly struggling to suppress his agitation.
“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot! My name is Nick, and I’m from the Marsh Settlement. I’ve heard of you from our… leader.”
Upon hearing this, everyone wore a look of surprise, even the knowledgeable and composed Ink Drench immediately became alert.
Because this was a person capable of rational thought, and he had just mentioned a key term: settlement.
The human dwelling is called a settlement!
There are still people outside the city! There are still living humans!
Everyone understood the importance of this discovery; if it were true, then Hope City would no longer be isolated in this world!
But gazing at how poorly this settlement member was dressed, even worse than the residents of the outer city, another question arose in their minds—
How did they defend against extraordinary beast attacks? Did they have walls? Did they have superpowered individuals? How did they know about Hope City?
These doubts flickered continuously in their hearts until Ink Drench stepped forward, placing her hand on bipolar disorder’s dark gun barrel:
“Please forgive my partner’s recklessness. We did not know there were other surviving humans outside Hope City. Can you take me to meet your… leader?”
“But I haven’t completed my collection quota for today; I must…”
“As long as you agree to our request, we will help you resolve this issue.”
