From the way it was said, it was obvious there was a lot being kept hidden. But since it was the base's business, there was no point in digging deeper. Whatever they said, she would just listen.
As the five of them followed the team upstairs, Lan Jin asked, "After being scratched by the plant, how long before it reacts?"
When someone ate insect powder, it usually took about a week before there was any reaction. But for direct contact with the plant? Would it also take that long?
Of course not.
Brother Zhang said, "Two or three days before there's a reaction. For some people, it's even faster. One or two days is enough."
After all, the plant was much more direct than insect powder.
If it really was two or three days, that would still be manageable. But if it was only one or two days, that meant serious trouble. They had been wounded just last night. Now that they had returned to the base, an entire day had already passed. Even though their temperatures had just been checked with no sign of fever, who could guarantee the machines were truly accurate?
When they entered the so-called "top floor," the staff inside were startled by the sight of so many people arriving at once.
One of the staff looked at Brother Zhang and asked, "Brother Zhang, what's going on? Why are so many people here?"
Brother Zhang did not conceal the truth. He explained everything clearly in front of all the team members. On the one hand, the people inside needed to prepare. On the other hand, the wounded themselves needed some psychological readiness.
At first, the injured team members panicked. After a short while, they calmed down. But the staff of the "top floor" turned pale.
"All of them… all of them were injured?"
Brother Zhang answered, "Thirty people in total. All of them."
The staff dared not delay. They immediately contacted the inside and activated emergency measures.
Yet before they could even enter, two people in the team suddenly showed symptoms.
It had taken only about twenty minutes to walk from the base gate to the "top floor." Add in a few minutes of speaking, and it was still less than half an hour. And in that half hour, someone was already reacting.
The two men tugged at their collars, gasping, "Hot. So hot!"
They hunched over, squatting on the ground, yanking at their clothes as if desperate to tear them off.
Feeling hot indoors was normal. The base had central heating. Outside it was freezing, inside it was warm. Since coming in, no one had taken off a single layer, so of course it felt hot.
But to be this overheated, to the point of collapse, was clearly abnormal. When Brother Zhang went forward to check, both men already had eyes turned blood-red, terrifying to behold.
The four of them instinctively stepped back several paces in fright.
Lao Gao muttered under his breath, "Back then, my eyes didn't turn like that, right?"
Ling Jiang said flatly, "Of course not. If they had, you'd have been killed on the spot."
Lao Gao snorted. "Like you could've killed me back then. From what I heard, you were beaten half to death by me."
The man was begging for trouble. Ling Jiang promptly kicked him in the shin.
…
Back to the present.
Seeing the two on the verge of frenzy, blood-red eyes glaring, the others panicked. "Boss, what do we do?"
"Quick, get them inside first. All of you were scratched by the mutated plant. Maybe it will awaken powers in you, maybe it will only make you suffer and give you nothing in the end. But as long as you endure and push through, you'll return to the team again."
But that "return to the team" carried a very different meaning now.
Just as the crowd pondered the meaning, the two frenzied men suddenly lunged at Brother Zhang, the closest target. Brother Zhang could not dodge in time, and their nails raked across the back of his hand, leaving a thin, long wound.
The other team members rushed forward, forcing the two to the ground.
Brother Zhang looked down at the fresh wound on his hand and let out another loud curse. Great. Now the entire team without exception would have to be locked inside.
The staff could only watch in silence, not knowing what to say. Without delay, all thirty-one of them were escorted inside, separated into individual cells.
As for Lan Jin and her three companions, the staff left them in the lobby.
Before parting, Lan Jin could not resist saying, "Brother Zhang, you share blessings and face hardships together. We'll wait outside for your glorious return."
Brother Zhang had no words for that, but before being shut in, he gave the staff one last "instruction." When the staff came back, they said, "Brother Zhang said Brother Li will take over his duties. You just cooperate with him. He knows what to do. Brother Zhang also said, since you all have powers and are very strong, please stay here for now and help until the others recover."
Staying was not a problem. Someone was taking charge now, and they were not part of this base anyway. They had no say in what happened next.
…
While waiting for Brother Li to arrive, Lan Jin secretly took out four brand-new phones from her spatial storage, hidden beneath her bag.
The four of them huddled together, unwrapping the phones while chatting idly.
Lao Gao muttered, "I think Brother Zhang got himself scratched on purpose."
"You saw it too?" Ling Jiang lifted her eyes.
"Yeah, too obvious." Lan Jin thought carefully. Even if Brother Zhang had been injured, there was no way he could not have dodged that attack. The fact that he still let himself get scratched could only mean it was deliberate.
But it could be explained. First, he had led a whole team that was entirely injured by a plant that might awaken powers, yet he alone remained untouched. How could he explain that to his superiors? As the captain, it looked suspicious.
Second, if the whole team gained powers while he, the captain, remained forever an ordinary man, how could he accept that? Better to take the chance now. Maybe he would awaken powers, maybe not, but at least he would have tried. If he stayed an ordinary man, he would have no regrets.
In such a dangerous world, who did not want the ability to protect themselves? Who would not want powers? Otherwise, the base would not have fallen into chaos before.
But whatever little scheme Brother Zhang had was none of their business. They were not members of the H City base, so why meddle?
The phones Lan Jin took out were all sealed new devices. They were not famous brands—there had been no big brands in the supermarket anyway—but for now, they were good enough. The quality and storage space were perfectly adequate. After all, these days, you made do with whatever still worked.