Chapter 521 - 515: Must Thank in Person

Xie Ning made a split-second decision.

Immediately, she pulled a metal plate from her Space, crackling and sparking with electricity.

Not only did the metal plate crackle and spark, but it was also covered in rows of sharp barbs, more densely packed than needles.

In an instant, the hammer in Xie Ning’s hand was replaced by the barbed, lightning-wreathed metal plate.

Seeing the swarm of sand worms, shimmering with an emerald-green light, burst from the hole, she didn’t hesitate to charge forward, metal plate in hand, to meet them head-on.

The mutated sand worms had no idea the human before them would fight so dirty.

She was just holding up a lethal metal plate, letting them fling themselves onto it one after another and court their own destruction.

Although the sand worms were incredibly dense, the electrified metal plate in Xie Ning’s hand was nothing to scoff at.

In just three to five minutes, the clusters of green light began to extinguish, their bodies pattering to the ground like rain.

The expressionless Xie Ning took in the scene, feeling not a single ripple of emotion.

The mutated sand worms weren’t stupid. Seeing they couldn’t break through Xie Ning’s defense head-on, they soared into the sky, swarm after swarm, trying to attack her from above and behind.

Seeing the ferocity of the sand worms’ assault, Xie Ning quickly wielded the metal plate with one hand, blocking her flanks. She darted up and down, whirling it so fast it created an impenetrable barrier.

Bobbing in mid-air, she used the metal plate as a shield.

Thanks to the guidance of her spiritual power, she could precisely predict the direction of each attack.

No matter whether the small mutated sand worms attacked from above or from the side, after several attempts, they still couldn’t breach Xie Ning’s defense. Instead, their numbers only dwindled as more and more of them died.

By now, the ground was already covered in a fine, dense layer of white sand.

At a glance, it merged with the surrounding ice and snow, creating a strangely artistic scene.

Xie Ning used her Gold Ability to make the metal plate hover and guard her back, then casually pulled a superpower gun from her Space and gave it a twirl.

A torrent of fire erupted from the barrel, sweeping across the sky and ground toward the surrounding mutated sand worms.

The reason she had corralled these little bugs within the courtyard was to eradicate them completely, making sure not a single one escaped.

She had long ago erected a Space Barrier around the empty courtyard. No matter how capable the small mutated sand worms were, they couldn’t fly out of this palm-sized patch of sky.

Xie Ning spent another five minutes burning the mutated sand worms to a crisp before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

With a flick of her wrist, she stored the metal plate and superpower gun away. Then, still carrying the silver preservation case, she walked out of the small courtyard with a calm expression.

Ji Xiuming hadn’t run far.

He was standing under an old tree about two hundred meters away, pulling the metal cart and gazing anxiously toward the sky.

When he saw Xie Ning, covered in dust and grime, walk out of the courtyard, his eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but cry out in joyful surprise, "Boss, are you okay?"

"I’m fine." Xie Ning gave him a faint smile.

’The reason I was able to retrieve the massive cache of supplies Chen Zhaowei left behind so smoothly this time is all thanks to Ji Xiuming. His help was indispensable.’

Earlier, in a hidden chamber at the end of the Earth Corridor, she had found over a hundred boxes of Crystal Cores of all sizes, as well as a large cache of strategic supplies.

It looked very much like a national reserve warehouse for the Gushang Base.

The supplies were comprehensive and varied; it had practically everything imaginable.

Because her personal Space was getting too full, Xie Ning could only temporarily toss everything into the area above the villa’s courtyard.

The sky above the courtyard was so packed that the azure boundary of her Space was no longer visible. When Xie Ning looked up, all she could see was a dense jumble of supplies.

The space above the courtyard could be stacked infinitely high, so she could now hardly bear to look up.

’Although this bountiful harvest was a joyous occasion, having all this stuff dangling over my head... ahem, it’s a bit claustrophobic.’

Luckily, she had already donated the mountain of supplies collected from the buildings in Golden City’s Canghua Home to Zuo Li.

But now, it seemed that small pile was like a puddle compared to the ocean of supplies she had collected from the reserve depot today.

’Chen Zhaowei really was filthy rich.’

’Too bad for him. Of all this stuff, he was only able to take what he considered the most important research equipment and pharmaceutical data. The rest was a complete windfall for yours truly.’

’I feel like I should thank that guy Chen Zhaowei on behalf of all the people at the Jingji Base. After all, his generosity is simply beyond imagination.’

’The best thing would be to find our dear comrade Chen Zhaowei and thank him in person.’

With that thought, she gave Ji Xiuming a very friendly smile and brushed the dust from her hair and clothes. "It wasn’t a big deal. The tunnel just collapsed right before I left, so I got a little messy. Nothing to worry about."

Ji Xiuming heard how casually she spoke, but he knew better. ’For the Boss to spend forty-five minutes clearing out the entire underground storeroom, she must have gone through something incredibly dangerous. It can’t have been as simple as she’s making it sound.’

"Did Chen Zhaowei set up some kind of traps in the storeroom?"

"No traps, per se," Xie Ning said, shaking her head. "He was keeping a lot of mutated wild dogs and wolves in there, probably planning a surprise attack. Too bad for him, they were no match for me."

"Then, I found a hidden chamber, but I was attacked by an exceptionally powerful mutated plant at the entrance."

"The mutated plant was at least Fifth Rank."

’If it had been anyone else, they would have met their end right there in that Earth Corridor.’

’Fortunately, my superpowers are pretty strong, so I wasn’t taken out by Chen Zhaowei’s little scheme.’

’That’s why I’m so eagerly looking forward to meeting our comrade Chen Zhaowei in person, to properly repay him for this profound favor.’

Ji Xiuming patted his chest and let out a sharp breath. "Thank goodness. If something had happened to you in there, I really don’t know what I would’ve done."

Xie Ning patted his shoulder. "Let’s get going. We’re heading to the meeting point now."

’Barring any surprises, Gu Chen and the others should already be at the rendezvous point. They’re probably getting impatient by now.’

Xie Ning took the metal chains from Ji Xiuming’s hands and started walking, pulling the cart full of bizarrely mutated children.

The little girl with the oversized head lifted it, her eyes curiously scanning the surroundings.

The swirling wind and sand whipped against the oilcloth tarp, making a rustling sound.

She unhappily tossed her large head and let out a peculiar cry.

Xie Ning smiled, reached a hand through an opening in the tarp, and gave each of them a container of yogurt.

Then she turned and tossed Ji Xiuming a heavy backpack.

Taken aback, Ji Xiuming hurriedly waved his hands in refusal. "No, no, you’re already protecting me. How could I possibly take your things as well?"

"This is just a small reward. We’ll talk about a proper reward based on merit once we’re back at the Jingji Base. I’ll have the base leadership make some good arrangements for you."