Chapter 330: Chapter 317: The Vanished Superpowers

Tang You didn’t want to bluff by invoking a powerful connection, but with everyone staring at him, he had no choice.

But he also knew not to overplay his hand.

Others didn’t know the true nature of his relationship with Gu Xi, but Ye Xin, an insider from back then, was standing right beside them. Although Tang You wanted to leverage the connection, he didn’t dare go too far.

’It was a miracle Gu Xi even remembered a nobody like him from all those years ago. If he asked for too much... Getting exposed and publicly humiliated would be the least of his worries. The real disaster would be losing the ability to leverage her name in the future.’

Tang You was very self-aware.

He reminisced briefly about the old days, exchanged a few pleasantries with Gu Xi, and after letting everyone know that his connections were not to be underestimated, he left it at that and moved on to official business.

"Miss Gu, I heard from Mr. Zhou that some unknown forces have appeared near the Land of Death. The team over there is under a great deal of pressure..."

Tang You began by expressing his concern for the team, then proposed that City A was preparing to assemble a support squad, composed mainly of research personnel and military forces, to send over.

He then emphasized that the core of this support squad would be researchers and military personnel. This was his subtle way of telling Gu Xi that the decision came from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute and the Liu Family. He claimed that as the mere leader of A City Base, he couldn’t overrule those two powers and had only agreed out of deep concern for her team’s situation, left with no other choice.

Tang You was undoubtedly a skilled politician. He knew how to talk. In just a few sentences, he’d completely washed his hands of the matter, as if others had forced his hand.

As if he were the most innocent one, the one in the toughest spot.

But no one present was a fool. Who couldn’t see through his little scheme?

Even Liu Bo, a gruff military man, couldn’t help but scoff inwardly at the speech.

But out of respect for Gu Xi’s formidable reputation from years past, he ultimately said nothing. ’No matter what Tang You says, once people from the Liu Family get to that place, then...

...it will be a matter of our own capabilities. We won’t let anyone else call the shots.’

After all, in the territory of City A, besides that one unfathomable individual, the Liu Family was the most powerful faction.

Brimming with confidence, Liu Bo shot Tang You a derisive look. He said nothing, instead quietly exchanging a glance with Zhou Jinyu at his side.

In fact, their military helicopters had already departed. Having Tang You be the one to inform Gu Xi was simply to avoid making things look too ugly on the surface.

After all, they still had to show the Blood-colored Asura some face, but they also needed to line up a scapegoat in advance.

Zhou Jinyu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and glanced impassively at Ye Xin, who looked ready to fall asleep. An inscrutable light glinted off his cold lenses.

Right now, Tang You couldn’t be bothered with what others were thinking. After stating his first request, he looked apprehensively at Gu Xi on the other side of the video screen.

’He didn’t know if Gu Xi would agree... After all, no matter how eloquently he put it or how much he played the victim, his intention to swoop in and steal the credit was far too obvious.’

’It was bound to make her suspicious.’

’And she had probably already heard the roar of the helicopters on the roof by now.’

’This tactic of acting first and reporting later...’ Tang You felt his confidence draining away.

But to his surprise, after hearing him out, Gu Xi gave it only a moment’s thought before nodding in agreement.

For some reason, however, seeing her agree so readily made Tang You inexplicably uneasy.

But the die was cast. Now that he had spoken, he had no choice but to continue.

"Miss Gu, there is one more thing..." Tang You composed himself and stated his second request. "The higher-ups have learned that a batch of Hibernation Chambers is buried beneath the Land of Death, and they are taking this matter very seriously..."

Because of its importance, they wish to be kept apprised of the situation’s progress.

But since the underground hall cannot be monitored in real time by satellite, Tang You was hoping Gu Xi would be willing to live-stream for them... Of course, he added, he wouldn’t dare trouble Miss Gu with such a task. Simply having Zhou Yue arrange it would be fine.

His tone was one of helplessness and difficulty, as if this was entirely an order from above. He made it seem as though a minor base leader like himself had no power to refuse and was only making such a difficult request because his hand was forced.

In reality, however, Gu Xi and the others knew perfectly well that this was just those people worrying their "rescue team" wouldn’t arrive in time and wanting to monitor their movements in real time.

Shen Yue and Wei Heng exchanged a look. They said nothing, but their expressions had darkened.

’The higher-ups are being a little too shameless about this.’

’Acting so impatiently... Aren’t they just taking advantage of the fact that Gu Xi has a good temper and is easy to deal with?’

Wei Heng was furious, but since Gu Xi had already agreed, he couldn’t say anything.

Shen Yue, however, simply gave Gu Xi a deep look and then stood silently behind her.

After settling everything with A City Base, the group prepared to enter the underground hall.

Zhou Yue and the others stared at the silver and gold gate before them, their expressions taut with tension. Some people were gripping their Superpower Guns so hard their knuckles had turned white.

This was in spite of Gu Xi having already said that the hall was empty and that no immediate dangers had been discovered.

Just then, Zhang Wen and the others covering the rear gave Wei Heng an almost imperceptible nod.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Gu Xi sent a green vine shooting from her fingertip. It landed on the silver metal door.

Zhou Yue watched the vine, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The silver metal door slowly opened before them, revealing thousands of Hibernation Chambers suspended in the underground space, gradually coming into view...

The breathing around them hitched to a stop.

Gu Xi was the first to step inside, and the others followed close behind.

The sight of the Hibernation Chambers suspended in the underground space was truly breathtaking.

Someone murmured in a low voice, "How on earth did our predecessors manage this?" Technology had regressed by decades in many respects since the apocalypse began, and the research team members were intensely curious about these autonomously floating Hibernation Chambers.

Just then, a piercing alarm suddenly blared throughout the underground hall.

Everyone jumped in alarm. One person even released their superpower reflexively, but the power—and any others that were unleashed—vanished without a sound inside the hall.

The crowd was horrified.

"My superpower!"

"What’s happening? My superpower is gone."

"Mine too..."

As more and more ability users discovered the anomaly, the atmosphere in the underground hall grew suddenly tense.

In the apocalypse, a person’s superpower was their greatest strength and their last resort.

But now, their strength and last resort were gone.

Panic began to spread silently.

"Miss Gu, what’s going on?" Zhou Yue turned to Gu Xi, his voice strained. "Didn’t you say there was no danger in here?"

"There is no danger in here," Gu Xi said, her gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd, her voice soft. "But that’s on the condition that you don’t touch anything."

Everyone was stunned, and their eyes instinctively darted around the room.

It took a moment for Zhou Yue to realize what Gu Xi meant. He immediately glared at the people around him. "Which one of you touched something?" ’If you have a death wish, don’t drag the rest of us down with you,’ he thought.

No one confessed. Everyone just shook their heads.

The piercing alarm overhead continued to blare.

"Who was it?" Zhou Yue demanded, his face grim. "Did you even stop to think? Do you think you can just touch whatever you want in a place like this? I don’t care who you are or what you took, put it back right now."

Still, no one confessed.

The atmosphere grew even more tense.

Just then, the overhead alarm suddenly stopped.

And in the dim underground space, another, far more horrifying sound began to echo...