They had already asked around earlier and learned that the spatial abilities these new people possessed were not the same as the one Lan Jin had. Lan Jin's space contained mountains and water, like a hidden paradise cut off from the world.
By contrast, their space was merely a square-shaped area of about ten square meters, something more like a storage room. Most importantly, it could not contain living beings, meaning people could not hide inside. If real danger came, there was nowhere to take shelter. What use was that?
Of course, having it was still better than having nothing.
Yet who could have guessed that Brother Li explained, "You are not thinking about it the right way. Every time we go out, there are a lot of vehicles. But how many of those are really carrying people?
If we load supplies into a spatial ability, and bring someone with that space with us, then we save vehicles. Saving vehicles means saving fuel, and fuel is more precious than ever now. Supplies carried on the body are much safer than supplies piled up outside."
So the value of spatial abilities was in fact immense, at least for the base. Especially since this was the very first spatial ability awakened in the entire H City base, no wonder Brother Li was thrilled.
Well, after hearing it explained like that, it truly did sound valuable. Valuable enough that none of them could find anything more to say.
…
A little later, two more people woke up. One awakened a fire ability, the other water.
Then came earth, metal, and wind. After these were identified, those who had awakened were already organized, yet the rest never opened their eyes again.
Brother Zhang counted the people outside. Including himself, there were seventeen. Which meant fourteen still had not woken.
Brother Zhang clenched his fists tightly, staring straight at those inside without speaking for a long time.
Brother Li could not bear it and said, "Brother Zhang, these people…"
Before Brother Li could finish, Brother Zhang interrupted, "I will wait a little longer. Even if they have no abilities, as long as they live, I will keep them alive."
But after waiting more, no one else stirred. When he went in to check, the fourteen bodies were already cold, no trace of life left.
In the end, of the seventeen who survived, twelve had abilities, five were ordinary. After going through such suffering, to still be ordinary must have been crushing. Yet unwillingness changed nothing. Some things could not be reversed just because one did not accept them.
…
"You have stood guard here for several days. There is nothing left to do. You should return to your dorms and rest."
Brother Li spoke to them bluntly. To be honest, his attitude gave off the feeling of being used and then discarded. It was true they could not contribute much to the next stage, and they had not planned to, but when things were just starting to calm, saying something like that really spoiled the mood.
Besides, if he had simply waited, they would have suggested leaving on their own. Now it left a bitter taste, like a bone stuck in the throat.
Lao Gao scowled and said, "Fine."
With that, he led them away.
After leaving the top floor, they headed straight down. Truly, they had stood guard for days without proper sleep or food, nerves stretched taut the whole time. Now that they relaxed, fatigue crashed down. No one bothered to dwell on Brother Li's attitude. After a brief discussion, Lao Gao said, "Let's rest for one whole day. None of us have slept well. After we wake, we will see if there is still anything we need to do. If not, we leave quickly."
Lan Jin agreed. "Yes. Time is pressing. We must leave as soon as we can."
People they would never meet again, matters they need not keep in their hearts.
Back in the dorm, after washing up, they each lay down without disturbing one another, sleeping straight through until nightfall of the next day before slowly waking.
Lan Jin glanced at the groggy Ling Jiang and laughed. "I never used to sleep this much. Now I feel I can sleep endlessly."
Ling Jiang replied, "Do not start with you. I am the same. But we were never this exhausted before."
Lan Jin picked up her phone. "I will send a message in the group. If everyone is awake, we can eat together. If not, the two of us can go."
But it turned out the other two had woken at noon, eaten, then gone back to sleep again. So the four of them ate dinner together, and since it was already night with nothing else to do, they slept yet another night.
That sleep was truly satisfying, as though it made up for all the sleepless days of their last trip outside. When they next saw Brother Zhang, he had already returned to his usual self.
As for the fourteen who had passed away, they did not mention them. After accepting the rewards Brother Zhang handed them for the mission, the four asked, "Brother Zhang, can we still buy weapons?"
Brother Zhang froze, surprised. "You are already very strong. Why buy more weapons? Not that you cannot, I just wonder."
"Abilities are abilities. But what if they fail? What if our energy runs dry? We want a weapon we can rely on even without powers. Nothing too fancy, just something to keep on us."
Brother Zhang pondered a while, then nodded. "It is possible. If your standards are not high, the contribution points should not be much. Why not let me first embed the crystal stones you gave me into weapons for you?"
At this, Lao Gao suddenly remembered the tier-one fire crystal they had taken from the giant serpent. He exclaimed, "Sister Lan, the crystal."
Lan Jin took it from her pouch (from her space) and handed it over. Lao Gao passed it, along with his weapon Ashen Blaze, to Brother Zhang.
Brother Zhang said, "Embedding a crystal into a weapon takes two days. As for weapons upstairs, you know how many contribution points they cost. Think it through before deciding. Truthfully, having this one gun is already enough."
He pointed at the reward he had just given them. "Aside from the limited bullets, there is little else. If you want to prepare for a gun, it is better to focus on getting more bullets. Other weapons must be carried close. Knives are more practical. This is just my suggestion. You should decide for yourselves whether to buy or not."
At the mention of contribution points, Lan Jin suddenly remembered how much the Violetbane Ring had already cost her. If she really wanted something new, she might not even have enough left. So she asked, "Brother Zhang, can we leave the base? We actually have some supplies hidden outside. Can we bring them in for trade?"